In the abandoned courtyard deep in the mountains of Kuri.
The wooden door creaked open as Kane settled Kozuki Toki on the relatively dry tatami. He closed the door behind him, shutting out the howling wind and bitter rain outside, along with the cries of slaughter from the Beast Pirates.
He removed his spotless Justice Coat and casually hung it on the wooden rack by the door. Beneath it was a finely tailored white shirt, its cuffs slightly rolled up to reveal his sturdy, well-proportioned forearms.
Hiyori wailed loudly from within her damp, cold swaddling clothes, her voice hoarse and heartbreaking.
Without a word, Kane walked toward the sunken hearth in the corner. He skillfully lit the charcoal fire and retrieved a bottle of fresh cow's milk.
Kozuki Toki sat slumped in place, staring blankly at his every move.
The man known in the outside world as the "Navy Monster" now held a wooden spoon, intently stirring the milk in the pot. The firelight illuminated his sharply defined profile, softening his usual air of lethality and lending him an oddly serene quality.
[Inner Monologue: Tch, this damn shack is unbearable. If it weren't for the sake of perfectly taking over Wano Country, I wouldn't be here playing house with a widow and her baby.]
Kane inwardly grumbled, yet his expression displayed an utterly natural gentleness.
Once the milk boiled, he poured it into a small wooden bowl.
Scooping up a drop of the white liquid with the wooden spoon, Kane carefully dripped it onto the back of his hand to test the temperature.
"Feed it to her. It wouldn't be good for her to ruin her voice from crying."
Kozuki Toki numbly took the bowl, the warmth seeping through the wood into her palm. Hiyori, catching the scent of milk, instinctively moved her tiny mouth closer and began greedily sucking. The room fell silent save for the faint sounds of the infant swallowing.
"The back of your foot is still bleeding. If not treated promptly, it could worsen and become infected."
Kane approached carrying a medical kit, taking out medicinal alcohol and sterile gauze.
Kozuki Toki flinched, instinctively tucking her feet beneath her muddy skirt hem. Those once meticulously cared-for, delicate, and fair feet were now caked in black mud, with thorns and sharp stones having cut numerous bloody gashes into them.
"Don't hide. In my eyes, right now, you are simply a wounded person in need of salvation."
Kane's large hand reached out, grasping her slender ankle with a steady yet measured strength.
The palm against her skin was warm, dry, and strong. With immense patience, Kane first washed away the mud and sand with clean water, then uncorked the bottle of medicinal alcohol.
"Bear with it, it'll be over soon."
As the alcohol poured over the wounds, Kozuki Toki gasped in pain, her frail body trembling violently.
Medicinal powder was sprinkled on, followed by layers of gauze carefully wrapped around, ending with a neatly tied knot.
After completing all this, Kane returned to sit on the chair opposite her, leaning slightly forward, his deep gaze quietly fixed upon her.
Kozuki Toki, holding the now-sleeping Hiyori, looked up at this man.
She truly couldn't help but compare.
Just a few hours earlier, her husband, Kozuki Oden, had been dancing naked and absurdly in the muddy marketplace, cheering mindlessly about the tragic death of his eldest son, Momonosuke, like an irredeemable imbecile.
And now, a stranger she had never met before, in this dilapidated hut in the wilderness, patiently picked out the gravel from her wounds, boiled hot milk for her and her daughter, and gave her the last vestiges of dignity and protection.
One was a "hero" who preached benevolence and righteousness but retreated at the critical moment, reduced to a useless coward.
The other was a Navy Admiral with overwhelming power, yet he showed her nothing but the utmost gentleness.
Kozuki Toki bit her lower lip so hard that the taste of blood filled her mouth.
"Admiral... why have you come to Wano Country?" Kozuki Toki asked, her voice trembling.
"The World Government is not blind," Kane said, his hands folded on his knees, his tone instantly turning solemn and pained. "Kaido has entrenched himself here, building armories on a massive scale, severely disrupting the balance of the seas."
He paused for a moment, lowering his gaze, his voice tinged with just the right amount of anguish.
"I was ordered to infiltrate Wano Country and investigate the Beast Pirates in secret. According to intelligence, the Kozuki clan was supposed to be a crucial force in restraining Kaido. I had hoped to join forces with Lord Oden... but who would have thought..."
A heavy sigh.
That sigh struck Kozuki Toki's heart like a hammer, piercing her to the bone.
"I was too late," Kane closed his eyes, his voice filled with regret. "If I had understood the situation in Kuri a few days earlier and intervened decisively... perhaps those Red Scabbards who died protecting you wouldn't have had to sacrifice their lives. Your innocent son, the civilians of this land... they wouldn't have had to suffer such a calamity."
A Navy Admiral, standing at the pinnacle of power, actually blaming himself for failing to save a few warriors from a non-allied country and for the suffering of the devastated civilians!
At that moment, Kozuki Toki could no longer suppress her emotions.
The despair that had built up over days, the pain of losing her son, the guilt over the deaths of her loyal retainers, and the bone-deep hatred for her husband Oden—all of it found an outlet at once.
She covered her face, her shoulders shaking violently, and wept uncontrollably.
Between sobs, she poured out everything: Kaido's deception, Orochi's treachery, the loyalty of the Red Scabbards, and the horrific sight of Momonosuke being crushed into pulp beneath the falling rocks.
Kane remained silent throughout.
He simply took out a snow-white handkerchief from his pocket, carrying a crisp, refreshing scent, and gently handed it to her.
His eyes were filled with compassion, as if he could see through her eight hundred years of loneliness and despair.
"Such an absurd thing has happened," Kane's voice was heavy, carrying an indescribable anger. "You have suffered greatly, madam. A scoundrel like Oden is unworthy of being a husband, let alone a father!"
The words "unworthy of being a father" severed the last shred of foolish attachment Kozuki Toki had for Oden!
She clutched the handkerchief, still warm from Kane's touch, and wept bitterly. In that cramped tiled hut, all her defenses were completely shattered within Kane's "gentle trap."
...
In the following days, Kane truly proved with his actions what it meant to be a "reliable man."
Kozuki Toki experienced a rare period of peace.
Whenever small patrols of the Beast Pirates wandered nearby, Kane always acted first. He never drew his sword in front of Kozuki Toki, merely snapping his fingers casually. Invisible blades of wind would silently reduce those pirates to piles of minced flesh before they could even scream.
He went out early and returned late each day, bringing back clean water, fresh food, and news from the outside world. During the day, he would sit on the veranda, holding a grass-woven cricket to play with Hiyori. His tall frame bathed in the sunlight, and even the sharp lines of his face seemed to soften.
And whenever the night grew still, Kozuki Toki would often hide behind the door, watching Kane under the moonlight in the courtyard.
Clad in a white coat, Kane quietly wiped the terrifying Black Blade, Zangetsu, with a cotton cloth.
As she gazed at his broad back, the long-accumulated resentment, pain, and despair in Kozuki Toki's heart gradually twisted into an obsession, sprouting fully under the scorching flames of vengeance.
The Kozuki Clan was utterly finished.
Oden, her husband in name, was already a broken man.
Their retainers were all dead, and the only male heir had been shattered to pieces.
Only she and the infant Hiyori remained, completely abandoned by this cold world.
She had nothing left.
Except… revenge!
And this unfathomably powerful Navy Admiral before her was her only hope.
She had to seize this man. Once he completed his investigation mission and returned to headquarters to report, she and Hiyori would once again become prey at the mercy of others.
Moonlight filtered through the paper window, casting a pale glow on Kozuki Toki's face. Her eyes, once numb with despair, now burned with unprecedented madness and resolve.
For revenge.
For the dead Momonosuke.
To nail that worthless Oden to the pillar of shame.
She was willing to pay any price.
Even if it meant herself.
…
Outside, the rain gradually ceased.
Kozuki Toki slowly rose. Clad in thin garments, she gently knocked on Kane's door in the dead of night.