"If this is what you call loyalty and protection, then this loyalty is simply nauseating!"
"You have turned the dignified daughter of Kozuki Oden into a caged bird that only knows how to depend on others, wasting her years in the pleasures of society! Is this the result of your twenty years of accumulating power? Is this your account to the Kozuki bloodline!!!"
Although the blood of Wano Country courses through her veins.
But growing up in the East Sea, she truly cannot understand the mindset of these samurai.
Just like if Lord Shano were to fail in rebelling against the World Government and die heroically, leaving only a beautiful daughter behind.
And she, along with Smoker, Jack, and other cadres, would send Lord Shano's daughter to Mary Geoise to the Heavenly Celestial Dragons as a plaything in order to gather more high-level intelligence?
That's too bizarre!
If such a thing were done, how could she still face Lord Shano?!
"Shut up! Don't you dare... don't you dare insult Lady Hiyori like this! And don't you dare insult my loyalty to Lord Oden!"
Traitor stared with red-rimmed eyes, let out a beast-like growl, and his hand holding the sword trembled severely due to extreme anger and a certain shame that had been exposed.
The tip of his sword still wavered, pointing toward Kuina.
But that killing intent seemed somewhat weak, as if the target of his blade was more akin to his own wavering belief.
"What do you understand! You don't understand! You don't understand what we've been through! You don't understand the pain and sacrifice we bear!"
"Pain? Sacrifice?"
Kuina sneered, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt,
"How do your pains compare to those of Wano's citizens struggling to survive outside Flower Capital under Kaido and Orochi's rule, where hunger is rampant and they're driven to desperation in towns and villages?"
"How about those who were abducted to become Hundred Beasts' slaves, exhausted to death in the mines and factories?"
"Your sacrifice is just selling the lord's daughter for her looks!"
"And you, the supposed loyal and unmatched retainers, hid in the shadows, watching this country rot and stink during your twenty years of waiting, beyond salvation!"
She took another step forward, her invisible aura pressing toward Traitor like a tsunami, her voice suddenly heightened, imbued with thunderous rage:
"Listen well, Traitor!"
"What this country needs is true change, not the restoration of a decayed old dream! The Kozuki clan, since they lack the strength to save this nation, naturally no longer have the right to govern it!"
"Your so-called pain and sacrifice are nothing but a shameful cover-up for cowardice and incapacity in my eyes!"
"You group of failures personally pushed Wano into hell, and now you wish to trample the victory fruits bought with blood and sweat by the Endgame to climb back to your noble positions? Bah, shameless, dream your spring and autumn dream!"
Clang!
A crisp sound.
The sword in Traitor's hand finally fell, unable to hold any longer, droping to the ground with a powerless lament.
He staggered backward, as if his backbone had been removed, his face as pale as paper, and large beads of sweat continuously rolled from his forehead.
Kuina's words were like the sharpest knife, stabbing brutally into his heart.
Shattering the belief he held for twenty years, the loyalty he was proud of, and the righteous purpose that supported his humiliation, to pieces.
Traitor turned his head in bewilderment.
He saw Kozuki Hiyori hurriedly lowering her head, her eyes filled with tears of grievance and deep embarrassment, her gaze piercing him like needles.
He suddenly recalled the years of watching young Hiyori forcedly smile, performing in front of guests, while he could only clench his fists in the shadows...
He—he always told himself this was a necessary sacrifice, bearing humiliation for the sake of restoring the grand cause.
But now, under Kuina's ruthless exposure, the layer of noble disguise was completely torn away, revealing irrefutable humiliation and failure underneath.
Indeed.
Twenty years have passed, what have I, we... been protecting!
Thud!
Under the enormous mental shock and overwhelming self-denial, Traitor's knees gave out, and he collapsed weakly to the ground.
His hands pressed on the cold courtyard stone slabs, his shoulders shaking violently, emitting suppressed sobs akin to a wounded beast.
"Lord Oden ah..."
He lost, utterly defeated!
Not just in strength, despite being a Sword Master like Kuina, he was completely subdued by her imposing aura, but also in belief and soul, utterly crushed by the opponent.
"Originally, I wanted to draw my sword and see just how wide the gap in swordsmanship between us really is."
Kuina's cold voice sounded again, "But now it seems there's no need, a Sword Master whose beliefs have collapsed might not even be able to exert half their power, winning so easily is meaningless."
"Now, put away your sword, take your little princess and leave here, never again claiming the identity of Kozuki's retainers! Under the Endgame's governance, Wano Country will open to the seas, gradually improving life, but will have no ties with the Kozuki clan from now on!"
Leave this country?
Traitor tremblingly lifted his head, about to speak.
"Traitor-sensei..."
Hiyori already tugged at his sleeve, shaking her head, eyes filled with tears.
"I understand."
Traitor took a deep breath, slowly sheathing his sword:
"Today's events are my offense, but please remember your promise, Lord Oden may have been wrong, but his love for Wano Country was genuine, and so is ours."
After speaking, he led Hiyori and turned around to leave.
"Wait."
Kuina squinted her eyes and suddenly spoke.
Their movements halted.
"Take this."
Kuina took out a bag of gold coins from her bosom and tossed it over: "Don't misunderstand, the treasure chests placed here are to be accounted for in the national treasury, planned for post-war reconstruction, even I don't have the authority to take them."
"This is my own money, given to you in light of your last words, enough for you to start anew, remember, never act in the name of Kozuki, it's for your own good."
Traitor caught the parcel, remained silent for a moment, then bowed deeply.
...
Once they walked far away, a member of the Combat Corps couldn't help but approach quietly to ask:
"Kuina-sama, just letting them leave like this? What if in the future—"
"It's alright."
Kuina stood with her hands behind her back, smiling as she replied:
"Lord Shano said, it's always been the people who chose the Endgame, not us choosing them; people's hearts are everything, and within a few months, Wano Country will truly become the Endgame's Wano Country."
"As for the Kozuki clan who ruled for hundreds of years, they were extinct the moment this country needed them and received no response."
...
Nightfall.
Traitor and Hiyori walked silently on the path outside the Flower Capital.
"Where... are we going now?"
Hiyori asked softly.
"Let's leave Wano Country first."
Traitor sighed: "I plan to find the cats and dogs first, talk with them, then visit places governed by the Endgame, to see with my own eyes what the outside world has become."
"But."
Hiyori bit her lip: "Father's last wish..."
"Miss Hiyori."
Traitor stopped and looked at her seriously:
"That female swordsman was right, we, the Kozuki family, have indeed failed this country. Now letting the Endgame take over Wano Country, regardless for the people or Lord Oden's last wish, it's a better outcome."
He turned his head back, gazing at the distant lights glowing brighter, hearing faint festive laughter drifting over, even seeing fireworks ignited by an unknown leader.
Bang—pop!
Sizzle~
Picturesque and colorful.
"See, even without us, they can live well."
Hiyori stared into the distance, her tears silently flowing.
She remained unwilling.
But even Traitor said so, what else can be done, the era belonging to the Kozuki clan has truly ended...
————
"Damn, the Kozuki clan is really freaking invincible!"
Meanwhile, atop the small hill near the Inari Shrine.
Shano sat cross-legged, watching the system panel, unable to resist, blurting a curse, he was dumbfounded.
As seen in the stream of information before him, after his recent sacrificial act, a notification floated up:
"You have sacrificed the diary of Kozuki Oden, earning 10,000 points."