Chapter 608 Negotiations Failed!
"Uncle Koushirou."
The moment Momonosuke stepped inside, he forced a smile onto his face.
"I'm Kozuki Momonosuke. You used to hold me when I was little."
"What happened recently was all a misunderstanding. I've already reprimanded those samurai."
"We came here specifically to apologize to everyone in the Shimotsuki Clan."
After speaking, Momonosuke bent at the waist and bowed deeply, a perfect ninety degrees.
The posture was flawless.
A full display of humility.
A move meant to disarm everyone in the room before they could even raise their guard.
Koushirou stared at him for a few breaths, then spoke calmly.
"Momonosuke, you don't need to do this."
"Forget the apology."
"I only want to know one thing."
"Are you willing to hand over control of Wano Country?"
"My Shimotsuki clan will become the masters of Wano Country."
Momonosuke froze for an instant.
Then his brows twitched.
He had not expected Koushirou to cut straight to the throat like that.
But Koushirou was not stupid.
Momonosuke only changed his attitude because he had learned the Shimotsuki had a backer.
If he did not know the Dragon Hunter Pirates were standing behind Koushirou, he never would have come here bowing his head.
And as for what happened before?
Momonosuke could not possibly be unaware.
Those cruel pursuits, those attacks, those orders moving through the shadows.
Even if he did not swing the blade personally, they were still born from his side.
"Wano Country has always developed under the leadership of our Kozuki clan," Momonosuke said, choosing his words carefully.
"The decision to close our country off from the world was a mistake made by our Kozuki clan."
"And now it's our Kozuki clan's responsibility to correct that mistake."
"I hope Uncle Koushirou can give me that chance."
He did not deny it.
He wrapped himself in a pile of reasons instead.
But as he spoke, his expression grew more unpleasant.
He had already lowered himself this far.
He had bowed.
He had used the word uncle.
And Koushirou still refused to give him any face at all.
It irritated him.
Deeply.
Yet he also understood something very clearly.
If he did not want to be targeted by the Dragon Hunter Pirates, he could not force his way through this.
Even if the negotiations failed, he could not afford to offend Koushirou outright.
Koushirou's eyes sharpened, and his voice rose.
"Do you know what your father said when he died?"
"Do you know who has been manufacturing weapons for Orochi all these years in Wano Country, trading them for the safety of those samurai?"
"Did you know Wano Country was founded by Shimotsuki in the first place?"
The room tightened.
Those were not questions meant to be answered.
They were accusations carved into the air.
The history of Wano Country was long enough that many people had forgotten where it began.
But the Shimotsuki had not forgotten.
And they certainly had not forgotten what those samurai did to them.
The cruelty.
The hunting.
The humiliation.
Those were things Koushirou could never forgive.
If Momonosuke came here to apologize, Koushirou could still talk.
If Momonosuke came here to attack, Koushirou would not even allow him the chance to speak, much less beg.
The only reason Koushirou was still talking now was because a part of him still held on to old feelings.
Momonosuke's eyes darkened.
"It seems Uncle Koushirou doesn't plan to continue this discussion."
"Then we'll take our leave."
"However, Wano Country was left to me by my father, and I will never give it up."
With that, he turned around and walked toward the exit.
Koushirou's calm face instantly sank.
"I see. You still haven't realized your mistake."
"Were those words just now your way of skipping the parts you didn't want to say?"
He took a step forward, his voice hardening.
"Now that you're all here, shouldn't the ones who laid a hand on our Shimotsuki Clan stay behind as well?"
In that instant, it became obvious.
Momonosuke never came here to truly apologize.
He came because he had discovered the Dragon Hunter Pirates were here.
And because of that connection, he performed that bow.
Koushirou could not accept something like that.
Momonosuke slowly turned back.
"Uncle Koushirou… are you planning to fight us here?"
As he spoke, Conqueror's Haki burst out of him.
The pressure slammed into the room like a wave of iron.
At the same time, his arm shifted, scales spreading as his hand twisted into a dragon claw.
With the Ripe Fruit's help, Momonosuke had fully mastered that power.
Even though it was an artificial Devil Fruit, it was considered the most perfect of its kind.
Otherwise, Momonosuke would never have chosen to rely on it.
A terrifying aura rolled outward from his body.
"So strong…"
"Is this really Momonosuke?"
"How did he become this strong?"
"Is that the Conqueror's Haki that only kings have?"
Shock rippled through the Shimotsuki Clan.
They had never faced a presence like this before.
Yet not a single one of them stepped back.
Because the man standing at the front was Shimotsuki Koushirou.
Koushirou did not fear.
So they did not fear.
"Conqueror's Haki?"
A lazy voice drifted down from above, light as smoke.
"There are plenty of people on our ship with that kind of pressure."
"It's nothing special."
Everyone looked up.
Chrollo stood there, having watched the whole performance from the shadows.
He had planned to keep watching.
If Momonosuke left quietly, he would not interfere unless Koushirou insisted on stopping him.
But now that the room had reached the edge of violence, it was time for him to step in.
The moment Momonosuke saw Chrollo descending, his chest tightened.
"Captain Chrollo…"
He already knew someone from the Dragon Hunter Pirates would appear.
He simply did not expect it to be Chrollo, the captain of the Second Division.
Even though Momonosuke had never met him, he had heard enough stories.
The Second Division captain was known as the Devourer on the seas.
Once Chrollo marked you, there was no escaping.
Those who resisted died.
Those who survived lost everything of value.
In the early days, the Dragon Hunter Pirates' finances had relied heavily on Chrollo.
Otherwise, without Ryuunosuke personally doing the same, where would the money have come from to build so many garrisons into what they were now?
If Chrollo was here, it meant the Dragon Hunter Pirates would arrive soon.
That was not good news.
And what made it worse was the memory of the last time.
On the Straw Hat ship, Ryuunosuke had looked at Momonosuke like he wanted him dead on the spot.
Momonosuke did not dare gamble with his life.
Chrollo's gaze settled on him.
"The captain said that if you try to harm Koushirou and the others, I can kill you on the spot."
"And now you're ready to move, aren't you?"
"So you should be prepared to die too, right?"
As soon as Chrollo finished speaking, a black aura spread outward, swallowing the space around them.
The killing intent was so cold it made the samurai's legs turn soft.
Hands trembled.
Blades slipped.
Some could not even hold their swords anymore.
How many people did Chrollo have to kill to carry an aura like this?
"It's a misunderstanding," Momonosuke blurted out, forcing his voice steady. "We didn't mean to fight, it's just because…"
Puff.
Before he could finish, a giant fish lunged in and swallowed half of Momonosuke's body whole.
.....
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