Chapter 210: Momonosuke and the Like Must Die!
"What was I after?"
Denjiro's voice cracked, echoing loudly off the grand, intricately carved pillars of the Shogun's palace.
He was kneeling heavily on the polished floor, his clothes torn and his once-immaculate samurai topknot completely ruined.
He threw his head back and laughed, a harsh, grating sound that held absolutely no joy, only the bitterest, most venomous irony.
"Back then, when I blindly followed that dancing idiot Kozuki Oden, wasn't it just for the absolute merit of serving a supposed dragon?!"
Denjiro slammed his chained fists against the floor, ignoring the blood seeping from his knuckles.
"I wanted to secure high titles, vast lands, and endless riches for my wife and children in the future! I wanted to become a man standing high above all other men!"
He spat a glob of blood onto the pristine floor, his eyes wide and completely bloodshot.
"He actually believed Kurozumi Orochi's ridiculous, obvious lies for five whole years! He danced naked in the streets like a clown!"
Denjiro sneered, his face twisting into a mask of pure, unapologetic greed and self-preservation.
"When your master acts like a fool, of course I had to be smart enough to look out for my own future!"
He turned his crazed gaze toward the trembling figure of Kozuki Hiyori beside him.
"I originally wanted to defect directly to Kaido of the Beasts!" Denjiro roared, his neck veins bulging against his pale skin.
"With my exceptional swordsmanship, I easily could have become a high-ranking officer under the Emperor! I could have lived in absolute luxury!"
He ground his teeth together so hard the sound echoed in the silent hall.
"But damn it! I actually believed that cursed, nonsensical prophecy left behind by Lady Toki!"
He grabbed handfuls of his own messy hair, his voice dripping with profound self-hatred.
"I really, truly thought that you useless trash of the Kozuki Clan could somehow miraculously make a comeback after twenty years! I bet my entire life on that slim chance!"
Denjiro suddenly looked up at Suzaku sitting calmly on the throne, his eyes filled with sheer, unadulterated disbelief.
"Who would have thought... who in their right mind could have ever predicted that the one to finally defeat Kaido..."
His voice shook, "...would be a terrifying monster like you who just popped out of absolutely nowhere!"
He looked back at Hiyori and gave a smile that was significantly uglier than crying.
It was a twisted expression filled with endless, bottomless regret for his life choices.
"Why do you think I kept tirelessly taking care of you all these years in the Flower Capital?" Denjiro mocked, his words cutting deeper than any blade.
"Because your surname is 'Kozuki'! Because you were my golden ticket!"
He leaned closer to her, whispering his vile truth like a demon.
"As long as your family miraculously won the final war, I would automatically be hailed as the greatest, most loyal hero in the history of Wano!"
His eyes gleamed with a sickening, greedy light.
"I could have gained even more absolute power and wealth than I ever had before the fall of Oden!"
"Who would have thought... who would have ever thought..."
His voice gradually sank into his chest, losing its aggressive volume.
Finally, it violently turned into a guttural roar filled with extreme resentment, despair, and the shattering of his lifelong ambitions.
"I actually believed the complete nonsense of that damned, fairytale prophecy! I lost the greatest gamble of my life!"
With all his noble, heroic disguises brutally and permanently stripped away, Denjiro's heavily distorted face was laid bare.
He no longer held even a single, microscopic trace of the 'loyalty' he had preached to the samurai just hours ago.
All that remained within the shell of this man was pure, hysterical malice.
He glared fixedly at Suzaku on the high, gilded throne, his eyes burning as if he were actively trying to skin the young Captain alive with his gaze alone.
A beast-like, desperate roar squeezed painfully from his dry throat.
"The most hateful ones in this entire world... are you!"
Denjiro struggled violently against his chains, pointing a trembling finger at Suzaku's relaxed figure.
"Whether it was that naive idiot Oden, the treacherous Orochi, or even the tyrannical Beast Kaido!"
He panted heavily, his chest heaving with exertion and fury.
"They all knew the unwritten rules! They all knew to highly value us samurai! They knew our swords were the true power of this nation!"
His eyes darted wildly around the room, glaring at the various crew members.
"Only you! You absolutely despicable outsider!"
Denjiro's voice cracked as his aristocratic pride completely shattered.
"You actually dared to defile our glorious, honorable samurai bodies! You made us work right alongside those filthy, lowly peasants!"
He screamed the last words, spit flying from his lips.
"Doing that kind of dirty, low-class manual labor in the dirt! We are nobles, not slaves!"
These disgusting words were a raw, unfiltered roar directly from the darkest depths of his heart.
They were also his truest, absolute ugliest inner thoughts regarding the strict, oppressive class system of Wano.
The very moment he said this, the air inside the grand hall seemed to instantly freeze solid.
"You...!"
The first one who absolutely couldn't hold back her disgust wasn't Suzaku, or even one of the hardened warriors.
It was actually Nami.
The beautiful navigator stepped forward, her slender body trembling violently with an intense, unquenchable rage.
A blazing, righteous fire instantly ignited within her large, beautiful brown eyes.
Her knuckles turned completely white as she clenched her fists tightly at her sides.
This sickening scene, this arrogant declaration of noble superiority, forcefully reminded her of her darkest days in Cocoyasi Village.
It reminded her of the innocent villagers who were mercilessly enslaved like livestock by Arlong and his Fishman crew!
Those people worked themselves to the bone every single day, shedding blood and tears, yet they were barely able to fill their empty bellies!
"Earning rewards and feeding your family through one's own honest, hard labor is only natural!" Nami shouted, her voice ringing clear and angry through the hall.
She pointed fiercely at the kneeling Denjiro, her disgust palpable.
"This is the kind of peaceful, stable life that so many oppressed people on this island constantly dream of!"
Nami took another aggressive step forward, her chest heaving.
"In your filthy, arrogant mouth, honest work actually becomes something 'lowly'? You make me absolutely sick!"
Seeing Nami's intense emotional agitation, Rem hurried forward with gentle, silent footsteps.
The blue-haired maid reached out and gently patted Nami's tense shoulder, offering her quiet, supportive comfort to calm the navigator down.
And Denjiro's brutally honest, selfish words, which had completely and permanently torn off his heroic mask, became the final, fatal blow.
It was the blow that utterly crushed Kozuki Hiyori's fragile spirit.
"Denjiro... you..."
She murmured weakly to herself, her voice barely louder than a dying breath.
The last, lingering light of hope and trust in her beautiful, tear-filled eyes faded completely into an abyss of darkness.
It turned out that from the very beginning to this bitter end, her entire life had been nothing but fake.
The so-called unyielding loyalty of the Red Scabbards, the so-called enduring of immense humiliation for the Kozuki name...
It was all just a cheap, despicable, theatrical performance solely designed to maintain their own aristocratic privilege.
With a dull, heavy thud, Hiyori's trembling legs finally gave way beneath her.
She slumped completely onto the cold, hard marble floor, looking exactly like a beautifully crafted puppet whose soul had just been violently snatched away.
"What truly disgusting, pathetic creatures."
Esdeath spoke up from the side, her icy blue eyes looking down at Denjiro with absolute, unmasked disgust.
She crossed her arms beneath her chest, making absolutely no effort to hide her overwhelming contempt for the weak.
"Are the so-called proud 'samurai' of this world really just this kind of pathetic, whining thing?"
Esdeath even squinted her eyes intentionally, a highly mocking smirk playing on her lips.
She deliberately glanced over at Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju, who were standing quietly not too far away.
The sarcastic meaning in that sharp look was entirely self-evident: Look, these are your weapon-wielding peers.
"Hmph!"
"Hmph!"
The two absolute top powerhouses from the Naruto world instantly darkened their faces to the color of storm clouds.
They snorted loudly in perfect, simultaneous unison, clearly deeply offended by the casual comparison.
"What the hell are you looking at, Ice Woman?!" Madara growled, his Sharingan flashing dangerously for a split second.
"We are proud Shinobi, not these pathetic, honorless samurai!" Hashirama added, crossing his arms and pouting slightly like a scolded child.
"But your traditional battle outfits really do look quite similar to theirs..." someone nearby whispered quietly from the crowd.
"..."
"..."
Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju immediately fell into an equally awkward, highly suspicious silence, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
Standing near the throne, Albedo completely ignored the brief, comedic farce happening over by the Shinobi.
The stunningly beautiful, black-winged Overseer of the Guardians took a graceful step forward.
She bowed deeply and respectfully to Suzaku, her movements fluid and perfect.
Her voice was incredibly soft and melodious when addressing him, but the actual content of her words was terrifyingly cold.
"Lord Suzaku," Albedo reported, her golden eyes gleaming. "All the rioting samurai outside the city gates have been swiftly and mercilessly executed on the spot."
She didn't even blink as she mentioned the mass slaughter of hundreds of men.
"Only these two primary culprits remain alive before you. Does my Lord permit me to dispose of them immediately?"
She paused for a brief moment, her sharp mind moving to the secondary issue, and smoothly added:
"Additionally, regarding the massive number of prisoners we recently liberated from the Udon quarry."
Albedo looked up, her expression turning slightly disdainful.
"Most of the ordinary commoners are extremely grateful. They are entirely willing to become loyal citizens of the newly established Vermilion Bird Country and happily contribute their honest labor to build the nation."
Her tone grew noticeably colder.
"However, a significantly large number of former samurai among those prisoners stubbornly refuse to associate or work alongside the commoners."
Albedo's black wings twitched slightly in irritation.
"They audaciously demand the immediate restoration of their historical privileged status. They expect to be fully financially supported and fed by the hard-working people in exchange for their imaginary 'protection'."
She looked directly at Suzaku, a cruel, enchanting smile playing on her lips.
"I suggest... should we simply dispose of all of these useless parasites together to save on food rations?"
After quietly hearing the comprehensive report, Suzaku had absolutely no change of expression on his handsome face.
He merely leaned back against the plush cushions of the throne, casually waving his hand in an indifferent, dismissive gesture.
That relaxed posture was as incredibly casual as if he didn't care about the lives of thousands of men at all.
"Dispose of this loud, annoying one called Denjiro immediately. Take him out back."
Suzaku's voice was calm, sealing the fate of the last Red Scabbard without a second thought.
"As for that group of arrogant, ungrateful samurai currently complaining at the Udon quarry..."
Suzaku drummed his fingers lightly against the armrest.
"...since they clearly don't want to live a good, comfortable life under my rule, then let them continue to contribute their remaining physical energy to our new country's rapid development."
A sharp, merciless glint appeared in his dark eyes.
"Send them all straight back down into the deepest, darkest pits of the mine to dig coal honestly until they drop."
His gaze finally drifted downwards, falling heavily on the soul-shattered, weeping woman collapsed on the floor.
"Throw Kozuki Hiyori directly into the Udon quarry as well."
The command was absolute, carrying no pity for her royal blood or her tragic beauty.
"Tell those complaining, lazy samurai that even their precious 'Princess' is now leading by example in the dirt."
Suzaku rested his chin on his hand, a cold, calculating smile forming.
"So what possible excuse do they have left not to work hard? She can be highly utilized to boost their overall morale and make them work with the grueling efficiency they should have."
"Yes, my beloved Lord Suzaku."
Albedo immediately revealed a perfect, absolutely flawless, and chillingly beautiful smile.
She turned around, her black dress swirling elegantly around her legs.
Then, exactly like casually dragging two filthy, dead dogs off the street, she reached down.
With terrifying, monstrous physical strength, she grabbed the violently struggling, resigned Denjiro by the collar, and the completely broken, limp Kozuki Hiyori by the back of her kimono.
She dragged them both smoothly out of the grand hall, their bodies sliding across the polished floor until the heavy wooden doors clicked shut behind them.
Silence, absolute and heavy, finally returned to the massive throne room.
Ram, standing quietly near the throne, blinked her large, expressive pink eyes.
With a prominent hint of genuine curiosity, she looked up at Suzaku's relaxed profile.
"Lord Suzaku," Ram asked, her voice calm and analytical. "Since you clearly knew long ago that these foolish samurai would inevitably riot..."
She tilted her head slightly, "And since you had already made absolutely perfect, lethal arrangements in advance to crush them..."
"Why didn't you just act from the very start and arrest all of them before they even caused any trouble?"
Standing right beside her sister, Rem also cast an equally curious, adoring gaze toward her Captain, waiting for his profound wisdom.
Hearing this innocent question, Suzaku couldn't help but chuckle softly.
He reached out from the throne and, with a deeply habitual, affectionate motion, gently stroked the soft hair of the two twin maid sisters.
"Haha, that approach would honestly be far too much unnecessary trouble for us," Suzaku explained warmly.
He enjoyed the soft texture of their hair against his palms.
"Looking for every single hidden rebel across this massive island, rooting them out one by one, is incredibly time-consuming and highly labor-intensive. Isn't this current result just exactly right?"
His handsome smile held a distinct, undeniable hint of dark, mischievous pleasure.
"I simply let that overly ambitious fool called Denjiro do all the hard work. He helped me perfectly gather all the ill-intentioned, conservative, and most restless troublemakers together in one convenient spot."
Suzaku's eyes flashed with tactical brilliance.
"And then... we simply wipe them all out at once with a single, decisive strike."
He playfully pinched Rem's soft cheek. "This is so much easier and cleaner than doing all the tedious hunting ourselves, isn't it?"
"So that's how it is! As expected of the brilliant Lord Suzaku!"
The two demon sisters immediately showed matching expressions of sudden realization and profound, boundless admiration for his intellect.
At this time, Rem, tilting her blue-haired head slightly, seemed to think of something deeper and immediately added her thoughts.
"Then, Lord Suzaku deliberately didn't directly kill that woman named Kozuki right now..."
Rem's eyes widened slightly as she pieced the puzzle together.
"...was it also to specifically use her existence to bait out the remaining big fish still hiding in the ocean?"
As soon as she finished speaking her brilliant deduction, Suzaku's large hand, which was gently stroking her hair, paused slightly.
He looked down at Rem with a considerable amount of genuine surprise.
This gentle, devoted girl had actually managed to perfectly guess his deepest, most secretive political calculation.
Indeed, she was absolutely right. The people of this vast, chaotic world were still far too deeply poisoned by archaic concepts like 'bloodline theory' and 'destiny'.
The tattered banner of the fallen Kozuki Clan still held a fatal, almost religious attraction for some stubborn people across the seas.
As long as Hiyori was officially known to be alive and suffering in the Udon quarry, the ultimate bait was set.
The troublesome remnants like Kin'emon and that cowardly brat Momonosuke, who were currently hidden somewhere in the distant shadows of the world, might eventually surface to try and save her.
Suzaku sighed internally.
For the future happy, stable, and truly free life of the millions of common people of Wano Country...
As this designated great villain of their era, I can only play the role of the ultimate bad guy straight to the very end!
That whining, perverted little brat Momonosuke and his entire stubborn kind must definitely, absolutely be killed the exact moment they dare to appear on my territory!
Who told me to be so incredibly kind-hearted and thorough!
Thinking of this absolute, uncompromising resolution, the confident smile on the corner of Suzaku's mouth grew even deeper and more dangerous.
He didn't speak his dark thoughts aloud, but only nodded deeply and approvingly to the incredibly smart Rem.
Having received direct, loving affirmation from the man she worshipped, Rem's beautiful blue eyes instantly burst with a brilliant, overwhelming light of pure joy.
Her fair, delicate cheeks slightly flushed a beautiful shade of pink under his gaze.
She looked up at him, revealing a happy and charming smile enough to melt an iceberg.
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