Wano Country.
Flower Capital General's Mansion.
Before long, the four returned to the courtyard where the Thousand Sunny was docked.
Looking out at the prosperous Flower Capital under the moonlight, and thinking about what they had seen and heard underground, a sense of unreality welled up in everyone's hearts.
Time truly changed many things.
"Hmph!"
As they exited the room, everyone's gaze drifted towards the right side of the Thousand Sunny, towards the surrounding wall.
They weren't looking at the wall itself, but at a dark figure squatting on top of it.
"Konata, we saw this guy on the ship earlier when we were scattering newspapers."
Kuina stared at the dark figure and said calmly, "I thought something was off about him then, lurking suspiciously on the rooftop. I didn't expect him to follow us all the way here."
Even so, Kuina made no move.
The old man on the wall, though possessing some strength, was nowhere near capable of making her draw her sword.
"Since you've appeared here and haven't hidden your tracks, I assume you have something to discuss with me."
Konata's cerulean eyes held a hint of amusement as he looked at Shimotsuki Kozaburo. With his instincts and Observation Haki, he could easily sense someone following them.
Honestly, he didn't know who it was, but since he felt no malice, he hadn't paid it much mind.
Now, seeing the familiar attire, he thought for a moment and realized who it was.
Smiling, Konata shook his head, reached for the sake gourd at his waist, pulled out the stopper, and tilted his head back to drink.
Under the moonlight, the sake, reflecting a silvery sheen like a halo, flowed from the gourd's mouth into Konata's wide-open mouth.
Gulp—!
Setting down the gourd, Konata swallowed the sake, exhaled a breath of alcohol, and looked back at Shimotsuki Kozaburo.
"Aren't you going to ask? Or have I misjudged?"
On the wall, a hint of hesitation flickered across Shimotsuki Kozaburo's face, obscured by his headscarf.
If he hadn't known who Konata and his companions were before, even if he'd met them, he wouldn't have known today.
But after seeing the newspapers, and now seeing them in person, he knew who the silver-haired youth below and the blue-haired young lady beside him were.
Despite their youth, such extreme youth, these were super-beings who could kill Kaido!
His hesitation wasn't fear, but rather the dread that the information in the newspapers might be false upon meeting them in person.
He wasn't afraid of death, but he was afraid of seeing hope only to fall into despair.
Thus, his hesitation was understandable.
Gritting his teeth, Shimotsuki Kozaburo pushed off the wall with both hands and leaped inside.
Since he was here, how could he not seek clarification?
Since the newspapers were distributed by the main actors themselves, and they had come here, they must have a purpose.
Regardless of whether this purpose was good or bad for Wano Country, it couldn't be worse than the current rule of Orochi and Kaido.
Moreover, with his decades of experience in judging people, and the absence of any malice he sensed from Konata and his group, he could tell that they were not cruel individuals.
As he drew closer and saw Konata's face clearly, he couldn't help but sigh.
"So young!"
Of course, this was just an exclamation.
"Hm! The smell of blood."
He had been squatting on the wall for a long time. As the banquet hall of the General's Mansion was just ahead, he hadn't gone further and therefore didn't know what had happened inside.
He had been wondering why the General's Mansion was so unusually quiet today.
If not for this silence, he wouldn't have been able to reach this place so easily.
Now, it seemed…
Emerging from the shadows, Shimotsuki Kozaburo stepped fully into the light.
Being able to bathe in the light meant he could now see the situation inside the room.
So…
"That's…"
Even with his expectations, seeing it with his own eyes made his heart lurch, and his pupils widened to their absolute limit.
"Alright, sir, speak up!" Konata asked with interest, staring at the greatly shocked Shimotsuki Kozaburo and smiling, "You've been following us all this way, what is it you want?"
"This, this, did you do this?"
Shimotsuki Kozaburo didn't ask anything else, but instead, stammering slightly, pointed at the room behind Konata and asked loudly.
"Yes!" Konata nodded, "This General, Kurozumi Orochi, was completely unreasonable. We only asked to stay for one night, and he actually, actually…"
At this point, Konata feigned fear, patted his chest, and continued with feigned terror, "He actually tried to kill us."
"Since he wanted to kill us, of course, we had to resist."
"I didn't expect…" Konata spread his hands helplessly and shrugged, "These guys looked scary, but they were so weak. I just flicked my fingers, and they all fell."
"It's not my fault, is it?"
"After all, they made the first move."
Watching Konata's lively performance, Shimotsuki Kozaburo's tension slowly dissipated. He knew Konata was joking, but he didn't feel any malice, only warmth.
"Sil-silver-haired sir," meeting Konata's deep cerulean eyes, Shimotsuki Kozaburo hesitated slightly but still spoke, "Is it alright if I call you that?"
"No problem," Konata dropped his flippant expression and smiled, "Tell me, what's wrong? The person in the room behind me is likely someone you also want dead, right? We don't have any particular objective coming here, other than to see the legendary Wano Country."
"Although I find the person behind me disgusting, I'm still very friendly towards Wano Country as a whole."
Glancing again at the familiar yet strange, severed figure lying at the far end of the room, the one who had led Wano Country into abyss, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Shimotsuki Kozaburo's eyes.
In his heart, he bore an inescapable responsibility for Wano Country's current state.
Because Kurozumi Orochi had initially apprenticed under him, it was his poor judgment that allowed this fellow to grow to this extent.
However, he was unaware that this was all a scheme by the two old men behind Kurozumi Orochi. Even without him, the great name of Byakko, another great name would have appeared, and in the end, this fellow would have gotten his way.
This was because Kurozumi Mutsu, behind him, was a user of the Mimic-Mimic Fruit, capable of transforming into anyone.
As long as he didn't reveal any flaws, no one in Wano Country, except perhaps Oden Kozuki, could have seen through him.
With that alone, his group could do anything they pleased in Wano Country.
Furthermore, Oden Kozuki always wanted to go out to sea and had no intention of taking the position of Shogun. Later, he left Wano Country with Whitebeard.
During this time, even without prior groundwork, this fellow could have achieved their group's objective.
Therefore, Shimotsuki Kozaburo wasn't as important as he thought.
Of course, he was completely unaware of all this.
In his eyes, Kurozumi Orochi was his subordinate, and had come from Byakko. As the person who had first interacted with Kurozumi Orochi, he naturally bore an inescapable responsibility.