The districts of Kuri were still under reconstruction, and Zunesha had returned to its usual patrol route.
On her day off afterward, Setsuna once again returned to Wano Country.
She had won the "Moonlight Deathmatch," but she felt no joy in victory.
To be fair, she had never once thought of killing Inuarashi or Nekomamushi before.
But the two of them had gone too far, and things had been forced to this point.
The battle itself was monotonous—so monotonous that Setsuna found it uninteresting, because in the end, she was just fighting two lunatics.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi had lost twenty years of training, so they had not truly mastered Sulong.
Even if they had studied it since childhood, Sulong was never a simple skill for the Minks.
With the Soothe Bell, this bug-like item, the risks of mastering Sulong had been greatly reduced, but excluding this unexpected factor, and under circumstances where there is no external interference, the very first Mink to master Sulong was actually Carrot.
Though still young, she had a natural talent for it.
So from start to finish, Setsuna was only fighting against two crazy guys who had lost their rationality; ones who felt no pain from their wounds, who never feared their enemy, and who could only be dealt with through the purest form of violence.
Even if she only used the Minks' own power, the two of them were no match for Setsuna.
And Setsuna herself had no interest in sadistically tormenting her enemies; in the end, their conflict had only come from being on opposing sides. So she simply and cleanly crushed them.
But this was also the part she regretted. On the brink of death, with their strength exhausted, their Sulong forms naturally lifted. No matter what, they had once been playmates in childhood, so Setsuna gave them the chance to speak their last words.
But the contents of those last words: Lord Momonosuke is the true heir. Lady Toki's prophecy could never be wrong.
Every time she thought about this, Setsuna only felt irritated.
"I can understand Nekomamushi, but even Inuarashi was like that? What charm did Kozuki Oden even have?"
"Who knows. Maybe that's just their belief. You've seen what fanatics are like. You're losing your rhythm; there's no need to dwell on this."
Outside their residence, Setsuna and Zeraora were sparring. Even at this level, daily training was still necessary to maintain their fighting condition.
Since inheriting the throne, Setsuna's frequency of actual combat had dropped, so on regular days she could only keep herself in condition by sparring with Zeraora. Proper exercise also helped ease her emotions. She was probably the first in history to feel gloomy over winning a Moonlight Deathmatch.
"That's different. Kozuki Oden may have saved their lives, fine, but who is that Momonosuke? If those two had ever become dukes, they'd probably drag the entire Zou Island along to serve as his retainers."
"I'm going to see for myself what kind of person this Kozuki Momonosuke is, to have earned such unwavering loyalty from the two of them."
Ever since that day, the name Kozuki has been like a virus in her mind.
"But they're already dead. Even if you get the answers you want, what good will it do?"
"It doesn't matter. Dead or alive, they couldn't convince me anyway. I just want to figure it out for myself, otherwise it would feel like something's missing."
The two of them still had the mood to chat while sparring, but in the eyes of the spectators, it was different. Nearby Farfetch'd could only see two shadows flashing through the sky nonstop, and nothing else at all.
Oden had long since died. Now, Momonosuke was in the Udon Quarry, Hiyori in the palace of the Flower Capital. Setsuna's days off were short, and she had intended to hurry and visit both places, but Hiyori solved the travel problem for her.
"Mom, today's national daily."
The next day, the sun had barely risen, yet the newsboys of Wano Country were already working hard to earn their living.
Meowna also took the morning paper from the mailbox by the door.
[The true culprit of the Kuri fire, Shogun Hiyori apologizes to the citizens.]
Every word was recognizable, but when strung together, the meaning left Setsuna bewildered.
She knew very well what had really happened during that fire. It was nothing more than someone setting a blaze while fleeing to slow down their pursuers. Yet according to the newspaper, the true culprit was now Kozuki Momonosuke.
Based on the report, if Momonosuke hadn't shown up, those people wouldn't have followed him out. If they hadn't come out, the Shinsengumi wouldn't have acted, and thus the fire would never have occurred.
[Shogun Hiyori deeply apologizes for this and has announced that all ties with him will be severed. All losses suffered by the residents of Kuri will be compensated by the Shogun's palace]
"Zeraora, I'm sure of it now. It's not just that Momonosuke is the problem, the whole family is messed up."
After rubbing her eyes to make sure she hadn't misread, Setsuna reached her conclusion.
Rather than siblings, they were more like mortal enemies.
"You two remember this: no matter what happens in the future, even if you quarrel, once things calm down you must sit down and talk it out properly, understand?"
Rubbing Meowna and Wolff's heads, Setsuna impressed this lesson on them. The rift between Momonosuke and Hiyori gave her a headache. If something like that happened in her own family, it would be too terrifying.
"We won't quarrel."
"Yeah, yeah, I'd never quarrel with the big bro."
"True, I'm overthinking it."
Seeing Meowna and Wolff like this, Setsuna felt relieved. They had fought before, but if they quarreled in the morning, by noon they would have already made up.
Neither she nor Zeraora ever took sides in their disputes, and they always prepared gifts in pairs. As long as parents treated their children equally, without letting either sense unfairness, sibling grudges usually didn't last overnight.
The rift between Momonosuke and Hiyori had many causes. Kozuki Toki, afraid of losing both her children at once, had separated them, but she hadn't considered what the one left behind would have to endure.
The Beasts Pirates' earlier treatment had already placed immense pressure on Hiyori, and on top of that, the assassination attempt pushed her further into race, leading to the situation today.
"Right, you two better remember this: stay away from anyone with the surname Kozuki. That whole family isn't right. You're still too young."
This newspaper completely dispelled Setsuna's earlier thoughts. In her eyes, there was no one normal left in the Kozuki family. Momonosuke was probably no better. Out of sight, out of mind; she would rather not bring frustration upon herself.
As it turned out, her decision was correct. And in places she could not see, even more outrageous things were happening.
At the Udon Quarry, according to Hiyori's orders, a copy of the morning paper was deliberately delivered to Momonosuke.
He at least knew how to read, and upon seeing Hiyori's ruthless words and thinking back to her previous coldness, his heart was filled with sorrow. He curled up in a corner, unwilling to move at all.
His position in the quarry was unusual. Kozuki Hiyori had yet to assign him heavy labor, as if she had other plans for him.
Inside the quarry, he was also completely isolated. Anyone who spoke to him would find their workload doubled the next day. The work here was already brutal, and having it doubled repeatedly could genuinely kill a person from exhaustion.
Apart from an old man who delivered meals daily, Momonosuke had no contact with anyone. And even that old man often looked at him strangely, making Momonosuke feel absolutely terrified.
The old man's name was Udon, but that was only an alias.
His real name should be Kozuki Sukiyaki.
The father of Kozuki Oden, and the grandfather of Momonosuke.
Everyone had believed he was killed by Kurozumi Orochi, but in reality, Orochi hadn't killed him back then, only imprisoned him. During the war in Wano Country, Sukiyaki escaped, and since then had lived in hiding under a false identity.
When Kozuki Hiyori was used as a puppet, he did not appear. When Kozuki Hiyori was being assassinated, he did not appear.
Even when Kozuki Hiyori turned dark, Sukiyaki had no reaction at all.
Now that he appeared by Momonosuke's side, it wasn't to help him. It was simply because his current job required it.
If not for Queen investigating everyone's identities across Wano Country to protect himself, Sukiyaki might still be holed up in the mountains right now.
In the original timeline, that was exactly what he did. Before Kaido's defeat, before Momonosuke became Shogun, no one knew the former Shogun was still alive. They only knew there was a masked man in the mountains called Tenguyama Hitetsu.
If the Kozuki family could return to power, he would step forward again. If not, then he would never reveal his true name for the rest of his life.
The upheaval to restore Wano Country was like a flash in the pan, stirring no ripples, but on the vast seas outside, the turmoil has never ceased.
Pirates fought each other for treasures, and the Marines hunted pirates across the seas.
After Akainu's appointment, his third major crackdown had ended. At first, Marine actions had greatly suppressed the rise of new pirates. But as more and more people set sail, the number of pirates once again began to grow.
Chaos breeds war. In this chaotic sea, the forces qualified to run mercenary businesses were all raking in massive profits.
Buggy's Delivery, now famous, had become an emerging power on the seas. Doflamingo's subordinates were also moving about everywhere, and after another mission, Pica returned with a very valuable prize.
"Doffy, I'm back. Here's the spoils from this time."
Pica solemnly produced a small treasure chest. Seeing that Pica had kept it close at all times, Doflamingo's interest was piqued.
"Fuffuffuffu… What is it? Judging from the size… Let me guess, is it a Devil Fruit?"
"Yes, Doffy."
"It's a very powerful Devil Fruit. The ones who found it didn't recognize it at all. They had no idea of its value."
Devil's Picture Books were rare. Most people would go their whole lives without seeing a Devil Fruit, let alone a book that recorded the appearances of most of them.
As Pica opened the chest, a pale blue Devil Fruit with cracked vein-like patterns appeared before Doflamingo.
"This is… Fuffuffuffu… Pica, this is quite a treasure indeed. After almost two years, this fruit has finally appeared."
There were many fruits listed in the picture book, but some were unforgettable. For Doflamingo, the one he remembered most vividly was the Op-Op Fruit.
This fruit didn't mean as much to him as the Op-Op Fruit did, but it was enough to stir up a bloody storm across the seas. He could never forget this fruit.
It was none other than the Quake-Quake Fruit, once wielded by the former Four Emperor—Edward Newgate.
Unlike Logia-type fruits, even if someone else ate the Quake-Quake Fruit, they might not wield Whitebeard's same power. But because Whitebeard had used it to earn the title of "Strongest Man in the World," the fruit itself had become linked with that very strength.
There were still members of the Donquixote Family who weren't Devil Fruit users, but Doflamingo had no intention of letting them eat this fruit.
He has no desire to give away such a powerful fruit, instead planning to use it to extract the maximum profit before distributing them to his subordinates.
"Perfect. Soon we'll have our prize. Trebol, contact Monet, ask how her mission is progressing.
Diamante, get ready. The colosseum will probably have new guests arriving soon.
Oh, and whom did you take this fruit from?"
"It wasn't taken, it was bought. The ones who found it were from Buggy's Delivery. They didn't recognize its worth. I bought it back for just 200 million berries."
"Well done. Don't spread this news yet. Wait until everything is prepared before we let it out."
As an excellent supplier of Devil Fruits, Doflamingo had handled many powerful ones before. But this fruit was different.
Whitebeard had not yet been forgotten by the world. That world-shaking power had come from this very fruit. The Marines and the World Government would never allow it to simply vanish, and countless forces across the seas would be drawn to it.
And beyond that, there were still the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Once the news was released, they would never allow this fruit to fall into anyone else's hands. Doflamingo had already foreseen just how lively Dressrosa would become.
Chapter 1169 Cherish Life, Stay Away from the Kozuki Family, and the Reappearance of the Quake-Quake Fruit (2-in-1)
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