Meanwhile, Kozuki Oden had already landed on Onigashima with the Nine Red Scabbards, only to discover—
The Beasts Pirates were standing by in full force, having clearly learned of their plan in advance.
Kaido stood at the very front, a spiked club on one shoulder and a sake flask in his other hand, a half-smile on his face:
"You're slower than I expected, Oden."
"What? The plan was leaked?"
The moment he saw the Beasts Pirates gathered there, Oden sensed something was wrong.
Kaido took a big swig of sake, gripped his spiked club, and took a few steps forward, laughing loudly towards the Nine Red Scabbards behind Oden:
"Orororororo..."
"You lot, hurry up and come over."
"Once I kill Kozuki Oden, you will be the greatest heroes!"
Swish, swish, swish!
At these words, the Nine Red Scabbards instantly split into several groups.
Kin'emon, Denjiro, Ashura Doji, Kiku, and Raizo looked warily at the others.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi stood back-to-back, weapons already in hand.
Kanjuro, meanwhile, looked innocently from left to right.
Kawamatsu's expression was grim, the famous sword in his hand glinting with a cold light.
Oden drew his sword and held it horizontally in front of the Nine Red Scabbards, looking at Kaido:
"Enough!"
"Whether it's a lie or the truth, all problems can be solved by cutting you down!"
"Or are you, Kaido, so afraid that you need to rely on exposing others to stall for time?"
"Orororororo..."
Kaido transformed into a blue dragon and soared into the sky:
"I'm going to make sure you die understanding!"
"Boro Breath!"
"Oden Two-Sword Style!"
The surrounding Beasts Pirates' fodder could not withstand Oden and Kaido's Conqueror's Haki; apart from Abel, Queen, and a handful of others, everyone else collapsed, greatly reducing the pressure on the Nine Red Scabbards.
It was very strange that Kozuki Oden still didn't suspect the Nine Red Scabbards even at this point.
Clearly, the entire surprise attack plan was only known to the ten people present and Lady Toki.
Since Kaido was clearly prepared, it should indicate that the plan had indeed been leaked.
But Oden's mind didn't work that way; he still trusted these people.
However, among the Nine Red Scabbards, who had already developed conflicts and contradictions, there was no longer any harmony.
This caused them to constantly guard against each other during battle, and they no longer had their former synergy... Black and his group arrived at the Shogun's Palace under Lady Toki's guidance.
The current Shogun's Palace had been occupied by Orochi, so they naturally wouldn't be allowed to enter freely.
Boom!
The Shogun's Palace gate was cut down, and Mandy, rapier in hand, charged ahead, none of her opponents being a match for her in a single move.
"You... who are you?"
"How dare you trespass into the Shogun's Palace? You must have been prepared for the consequences, right?"
Black and the others followed behind Mandy, making their way to the front hall of the Shogun's Palace, where they heard these words.
Black was already accustomed to the inexplicable confidence of the Wano Country samurai.
After all, when Whitebeard first came to Wano Country, he used his Tremor-Tremor Fruit to knock Oden out with one punch.
Even then, the Nine Red Scabbards were still asking Whitebeard if he was prepared for the consequences.
Black looked in the direction of the voice and saw a lewd old man, about three and a half meters tall, staring at them.
The old man's body proportions were extremely disproportioned—
Short legs, a big belly, and a large head.
It was none other than the current Shogun of Wano Country—Orochi.
Black had no intention of saying much to this fool who treated a Mythical Zoan like a revive coin; he was afraid it would affect his intelligence.
Kicking Orochi flying, Black smiled at Lady Toki:
"The troublesome people have been dealt with, Lady. You can continue to lead the way."
Lady Toki expressionlessly fiddled with things in the room for a while, then opened a downward passage.
Proceeding along the secret passage, Black constantly used his Observation Haki to perceive his surroundings and predict the future.
Who knew if this woman, whose heart was dead, would suddenly go mad and try to take him down with her.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful, and they arrived directly at the third secret room.
Looking up, they saw a massive red poneglyph embedded in the wall.
"Indeed."
Black exclaimed:
"The locations of these poneglyphs are known to the Shogun, Daimyo, and other people of Wano Country, so they don't necessarily appear in the original places mentioned in the story."
"Luckily, I was clever and found someone to lead the way."
Black placed Kozuki Hiyori on the ground, took the lantern from Stella's hand, walked forward, and examined the content on it.
Hmm... couldn't understand it.
However, the Road poneglyphs didn't originally record anything too important; they only served their purpose when all four were gathered.
Black also didn't plan to carry it with him; it was too conspicuous.
Anyway, the content on it was the main point; the stone itself was useless.
Black called out to Robin:
"Come here, record the content on this, we should go."
Robin hurried forward, her eyes gleaming as she looked at this special poneglyph:
"This is..."
As she looked, she prepared to make a rubbing of its content, and Koala and the others also went to help.
Black walked over to Lady Toki, put his arm around her trembling body, and whispered:
"Thank you for your trouble, Lady. After we watch Kozuki Oden's execution, we'll take you back to Mary Geoise."
Lady Toki turned her head and glared at Black, but when she saw the smile on his lips, she couldn't help but shiver again, quickly lowered her head, and said softly yet firmly:
"Oden will not fail."
"Then let's wait and see."
Black was not a person who liked to argue; he casually responded, and seeing that Robin and the others had finished the rubbing, he motioned for everyone to prepare to leave.
Returning to Oden's house courtyard, Momonosuke's screams on the ground had become faint, and the blood gushing from the severed limbs also began to decrease.
Lady Toki rushed to Momonosuke's side, wanting to pick him up, but was afraid of touching the wounds.
Hiyori, standing beside the other women, also covered her mouth, softly calling "Brother."
After being at a loss for a long time, Lady Toki finally seemed to remember the presence of Black and the others.
She turned to Black, knelt respectfully on the ground, trembling, but still performed a standard dogeza:
"Please, save Momo!"
"As long as you can save his life, I am willing to pay any price."
Black walked forward, looking at the dying Momonosuke, and couldn't help but click his tongue twice:
"This looks too tragic."
"It shouldn't be, it really shouldn't be."
With that, he extended his finger and drew it across Momonosuke's neck; that lewd head instantly separated from his body.
"This way, he won't suffer anymore."
Black shook his head and sighed:
"Alas... I'm still too kind."
Lady Toki looked at Momonosuke's corpse in disbelief, slowly extended her hand, and held his head in her hands.
Momonosuke's eyes were still open, looking as if he had died with grievances.
Lady Toki's face lost all expression. After a long while, she slowly raised her head and looked at Black with calm eyes.
At this moment, another idiom was concretized—
Heart like dead ashes.