"You must be the Straw Hat Pirates. Please don't be nervous. I have no ill intentions toward you. On the contrary, I'm very grateful to Mr. Ian. Since you are Mr. Ian's friends, then you are my friends!"
As soon as these words fell, before Nami and the others could relax, Luffy pressed down his hat and said with disgust, "I won't become friends with someone like you who bullies civilians!"
Kouzuki Sukiyaki: "...?!"
Hearing that, Kouzuki Sukiyaki's face instantly lit up with joy. He hadn't expected the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates to hate evil so passionately!
However, before he could be happy for long, Luffy was pulled back by Nami, Sanji, and Teach, preventing him from speaking further.
Although things seemed different from what they had thought, Ian seemed to have done some bad things here; this was not the time to argue about it.
And they had also realized that Kouzuki Sukiyaki seemed to be hiding many things from them!
"Gufufufu!"
Facing Luffy's response, Kurozumi Orochi didn't get angry. Instead, he continued to grin viciously while looking at Sukiyaki and the others.
"Although I don't know what Kouzuki Sukiyaki told you, I can guess that this guy must have been deceiving you just now!"
"Are you saying I deceived them?"
Sukiyaki frowned and snorted coldly. "No, I did not deceive them. Everything I said is true!"
"It's true, but you didn't tell the whole story!"
"You—"
"Kanjuro, no, Kurozumi Kanjuro."
Orochi ignored the furious Sukiyaki and looked directly at a man behind him dressed like a courtesan. "There's no need to hide anymore. Tell them everything you know. After all, Mr. Ian is our savior!"
"Yes, Shogun Orochi!"
Everyone: "...?!"
Before Sukiyaki's side could react, Kanjuro, no, he should be called Kurozumi Kanjuro, stepped forward directly.
At this moment, how could Kouzuki Sukiyaki still not understand what was going on?
With a stunned and angry expression, he looked at Kanjuro. "You, you you…"
"Has the play already ended? Kakaka!"
Kanjuro no longer concealed anything. He greeted Kouzuki Sukiyaki, Kouzuki Hiyori, and his former companions. "That's right, I am the traitor you have been looking for."
"Kanjuro, you…"
"Denjiro, if you have anything to say, say it later."
Kanjuro directly interrupted the furious Denjiro. Looking at the Straw Hat Pirates in front of him, he said with a smile, "What Sukiyaki said is indeed true. It was indeed Mr. Ian who killed Momonosuke-sama!"
Straw Hat Pirates: "...?!"
But before they could say anything, Kanjuro continued speaking: "It's just that Momonosuke-sama brought it upon himself."
Kanjuro sneered and directly revealed what had happened in the Kingdom of Dressrosa. "At that time, for the sake of restoring the country and for revenge, after hearing about Mr. Ian's strength, Momonosuke-sama actually conspired with Kin'emon about Mr. Ian's daughter. He wanted to deceive Mr. Ian's daughter's feelings, become Mr. Ian's son-in-law, and thereby obtain Mr. Ian's help!"
Everyone: "...?!"
When these words fell, the Straw Hat Pirates and Kouzuki Sukiyaki's group were all stunned.
Especially Kouzuki Sukiyaki and Kouzuki Hiyori… they truly had not expected that something like this to happen.
However…
"From what you say, my elder brother didn't seem to have taken action. He merely had such thoughts in his heart."
Kouzuki Hiyori pondered for a moment, frowning as she looked at Kanjuro. "Then why would Ian strike so ruthlessly?"
"Please let me finish, Princess Hiyori."
Being interrupted did not anger Kanjuro. He continued speaking with a grin. "It's true that Momonosuke-sama did not take action, but at that time, he was not only plotting against Mr. Ian's daughter. He thought Mr. Ian's daughter was too young, so he set his sights on Mr. Ian's wife!"
Everyone: "...!!"
Damn it!
Hearing Kanjuro's words, not only the Straw Hat Pirates, but even Kouzuki Sukiyaki and Kouzuki Hiyori cursed in their hearts.
Momonosuke was way too bold!
No matter how lustful someone might be, even if someone else's wife was beautiful, you still had to consider the situation!
What's more, as long as he became the Shogun of Wano Country, would he really lack beautiful women?
"No, Momonosuke would absolutely never do such a thing."
Seeing the Straw Hat Pirates' expressions darken, Kouzuki Sukiyaki inwardly felt that something was wrong. He glared at Kanjuro and hurriedly shouted angrily, "Maybe, maybe he just misspoke for a moment. He definitely wouldn't do such a thing!"
"Mr. Ian has a subordinate who is a god that controls lightning. He can see through people's hearts!"
Kanjuro said with a smile as he looked at Sukiyaki. "Of course, Sukiyaki and Princess Hiyori are not wrong either. At that time, Momonosuke-sama was indeed only thinking about it in his heart. And Mr. Ian merely gave Momonosuke-sama and Kin'emon a simple punishment. He did not kill Momonosuke or Kin'emon!"
Everyone: "...?"
Didn't kill them?
Wait, wasn't it said that Momonosuke was killed by that guy?
Sukiyaki hurriedly said again, "Then…"
"Please listen to me first."
Kanjuro directly interrupted Sukiyaki, who was about to say something.
His tone shifted, and a sorrowful expression appeared on his face, but there was a hint of pleasure in his voice as he said, "Unfortunately, Momonosuke-sama and Kin'emon believed that the lightning strike at that time was just an accident. And they had not given up. After returning to the base, they were still planning how to marry Mr. Ian's daughter, and even Mr. Ian's wife!"
Everyone: "...?"
"As for the Artificial Devil Fruits…"
Looking at Sukiyaki, whose expression was growing increasingly ugly, as well as the increasingly gloomy Straw Hat Pirates, Kanjuro still did not stop. "Mr. Ian had already explained the possible consequences in advance. And it was because you had no money and could only buy the lowest-quality artificial Devil Fruits that so many people were harmed. If you had bought the highest-quality Artificial Devil Fruits, the success rate would have been very high. Later, when Mr. Ian stopped selling artificial Devil Fruits, you even got angry about it."
"Th-that… that was because that guy also sold Artificial Devil Fruits to Kurozumi Orochi! If we didn't buy them, we would have had no chance."
Seeing the gloomy expressions of the Straw Hat Pirates, Kouzuki Sukiyaki once again inwardly felt that things were bad, and hurriedly said to Kanjuro, "Besides, besides… Momonosuke is still just a child!"
As he spoke, he didn't stop talking and looked again at Luffy and the others. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to deceive you, and Momonosuke had no ill intentions. He only thought that way because he wanted revenge so badly. He never actually did it. Kin'emon must have misled Momonosuke. That Artificial Devil Fruit merchant shouldn't have done something like that!"
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