“Kin’emon and Kanjuro? These names really are familiar. So they took advantage of the opportunity and returned to Wano Country a few days ago, is that right?”
Kozuki Hiyori leaned expressionlessly against a sofa. The palace naturally had a seat for the Shogun, but aside from representing power, the seat itself was not particularly comfortable.
Her current authority came from the Beasts Pirates. Although it was still Wano Country’s legitimate regime, in essence, it was merely a puppet regime. For example, with this matter, Kaido had only sent someone to notify her after he had enough fun.
Even if she sat upright on that seat every day like a wooden statue, it would be meaningless, so she had no intention of tormenting herself. Naturally, she would do things in whatever way was comfortable.
“Lady Hiyori, that is what the information sent from Onigashima says. In addition, the ones who set the fires were also fake people created by Kanjuro’s Brush-Brush Fruit. But it is very strange. I remember that Kanjuro’s painting skills were very poor. He should not have been able to draw such exquisite portraits.”
This was also something Kawamatsu could not understand. It was not as if he had not known Kanjuro before. He knew that Kanjuro possessed his own “sorcery,” a sorcery activated through painting skill.
In Wano Country’s closed-off environment back then, the vast majority of people in Wano Country had no concept of Devil Fruits. Even if they accidentally ate that fruit, they would only think that this kind of fruit tasted extremely awful.
The abilities they obtained afterward would then become sorcery in their understanding. In order to make Kanjuro stronger, they had even helped Kanjuro study painting techniques back then. Unfortunately, Kanjuro’s talent seemed to be completely unrelated to painting, and the things he drew could only be described as abstract.
Turning a picture of the divine bird phoenix into a picture of a chick pecking rice was something he could do with ease. In real time, twenty years had passed, but Kawamatsu also knew that for Kanjuro, only a few days had passed. This sort of breakthrough was far too exaggerated.
“They really are hardworking. For Momonosuke, they can even manage something like this.”
Kozuki Hiyori did not know that Kanjuro had originally been Kurozumi Orochi’s spy. She only thought that he had comprehended something in order to rescue Momonosuke. The more she thought about it, the more resentful she became.
Kozuki Hiyori had already been trapped in a dead-end state of mind. The more others wanted to do something for Momonosuke, the more she would put herself in his place and imagine, if their roles were reversed, whether they would still risk their lives like this.
And the conclusion she came to was basically always no. This time was no exception. After all, she herself was in the Flower Capital, and this was not some secret in Wano Country. One could find out just by asking any random passerby.
Likewise, her whereabouts were not a secret either. She had even gone out these past few days, and yesterday, one of the places that caught fire was less than a thousand meters away from her.
Even so, she had not seen them show any intention of searching for her.
“Never mind. This sort of thing was expected anyway. After all, Elder Brother is male. Only he is the heir to the Shogun’s bloodline, while I am just someone expendable.”
“Lady Hiyori, that is not the case. I think—”
“That’s enough, Kawamatsu. I know what you want to say. You don’t need to blame yourself for anything. Thinking about it now, you were powerless back then too. The fact that you and Kikunojo are still willing to stay on my side is already quite good.”
Originally, they had all been Oden’s retainers, but after Oden’s death, divisions appeared in these people’s persistence. Aside from those who had died, most of the retainers were thinking about Momonosuke’s situation. Even Denjiro was no exception.
“Now they can be considered to have met my dear elder brother. Since they’re in so deep, let them keep each other company in Udon.”
“By the way, does Denjiro know about this?”
“Not yet.”
“Go tell him. As for the rest, proceed as usual.”
“Yes.”
Proceeding as usual referred to maintaining the state of house arrest. This was also Kozuki Hiyori’s attitude toward Denjiro. Ever since he had strongly urged Kozuki Hiyori after Momonosuke’s appearance back then, a rift had already appeared between the two of them.
Kawamatsu and Kikunojo did not wish to see this situation, but reality told them that the more they tried to persuade her, the more easily something would go wrong. If Kozuki Hiyori thought things through by herself, it would be a little better once she calmed down.
At least for now, she had only locked people up together and had not chosen slaughter or anything of that sort.
When Kawamatsu left this place according to Kozuki Hiyori’s orders, he saw someone he was not very willing to see.
Doflamingo was walking through the palace corridor with those same arrogant steps, while Kikunojo was beside him, leading the way.
“Isn’t this Kawamatsu? You don’t look very happy.”
“I have no desire to see you at all. What have you been telling Lady Hiyori day after day, you b*stard?”
“Fuffuffuffu, you’re mistaken about one thing. The current situation isn’t entirely because I’ve been influencing her. It’s just that we found a tiny bit of resonance, that’s all.
“Speaking of which, you people should be a little happier. You know very well who really calls the shots in Wano Country. Even those ordinary people are changing their views.
“With no military power above and the people’s support lost below, the fact that you can live in this state is something you should all be grateful for.
“On this sea, the most worthless thing is human life. If they chose to kill all of you and then replace you with another group of people to live here, every trace of you would vanish completely.”
Doflamingo did not care about Kawamatsu’s expression at all. He believed he had already figured out how things operated in Wano Country; as long as he didn’t stir up any trouble, he should be safe.
And in fact, that was the case. Kaido and Arceus had little interest in him either; as long as he didn’t cause any stir, they would hardly even notice him. The most dangerous thing was, to win the bet, Queen having the dangerous idea of beating him so that he is admitted into the hospital.
Even if someone wanted to kill him, it would not be Kawamatsu’s turn. Besides, dealing with one Kawamatsu was not something Doflamingo would find difficult.
So he spoke without restraint. For him, a former Celestial Dragon, the idea of killing all the original inhabitants while keeping the land was perfectly normal.
Even if Homing had been unwilling to participate in those inhumane hunting games, it did not stop Doflamingo from hearing about such things from others.
“Judging by the look on your face, I’m afraid something has happened with your Lady Shogun again, hasn’t it? My personal suggestion is that you tell me first. Otherwise, if I have to improvise on the spot, there’s no telling what I might say.”
“Tell you in advance so you can plot some new conspiracy?”
“Fuffuffuffu, don’t say that. This can hardly be called a conspiracy. Such a minor matter isn’t worthy of the word conspiracy.”
Seeing that Kawamatsu had no intention of saying anything, Doflamingo did not mind. He simply headed toward the reception hall with practiced ease.
“That guy definitely doesn’t have anything good to say.”
“Sigh… the two of them have come back as well, but what use is that? If they hadn’t come back, once Lady Hiyori’s anger subsided, perhaps things might still have changed. Now everything has returned to the starting point again. Who knows what the future will be like…”
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