The Great Voyage Begins with the Celestial Dragons

Kozuki Oden remained silent, took two steps forward, and picked up the letter that had fallen to the ground.

He had heard the conversation between the samurai and Orochi very clearly.

This matter may not only involve Kikunojo, but Nekomamushi may also be involved.

However, Kikunojo is involved in this matter, and he is now almost certain of it.

He picked up the letter and opened it to read.

It records the events of that year, recounting what happened in Linghou in a personal and regretful tone.

After reading only half of the letter, Kozuki Oden roughly guessed who the protagonist was.

Flower Flows, Willow Cultivation!

Kikunojo's biological father.

The letter records how Hana-ryu Ryuu Sō was threatened by Kurozumi Hagoromo, and how he was eventually abandoned and implicated.

"Oh, I see..."

Kozuki Oden murmured a sentence and silently put down the letter in his hand.

Everything makes sense now...

He had nothing to say about the outcome.

Kikunojo did nothing wrong in seeking revenge for his father.

Even if it hadn't been exposed, he would have said "good" after finding out.

He should have been the one to bear the consequences, but he had more important things to do...

What a pity...

He didn't try to hide anything and handed the letter in his hand to the other four extremely curious retainers.

"Do not damage the letter; it is Ajuku's father's last will and testament!"

Looking at Kikunojo's sad face, Kozuki Oden gave him a special instruction.

After doing all this, Kozuki Oden closed his eyes in pain, as if making a final struggle.

"Your Highness Oden..."

Tears streamed down Kikunojo's face as she clenched her fists tightly, her expression one of struggle.

Gion and Robin mingled with the crowd, silently watching the tragic scene unfold before them.

Cheers and insults directed at Kikunojo could be heard intermittently.

Regardless of the circumstances, the people of Flower Capital, under the rule of Kurozumi Orochi, still held his heart.

In particular, Kozuki Oden's actions over the past five years have almost broken the hearts of the people of the Flower Capital.

"Only one last step remains..."

Looking at the scene before him, Robin murmured softly, clearly still somewhat nervous.

After all, this can be considered her debut battle.

The Kikunojo incident was almost entirely orchestrated by Robin.

That night, Gion was responsible for hunting down Kurozumi Serimaru and Kurozumi Higurashi, while Absalom used his invisibility ability to lure Kikunojo out.

Then, while giving Kikunojo the scroll, he recounted what happened back then.

The information about the Ringo incident was originally collected by Absalom, who was mainly investigating several retainers of Kozuki Oden at the time.

However, what he didn't expect was that he would run into several geisha from the Hana-ryu-Yanagi-sō Chaya at the time, who happened to be people who had personally experienced the incident.

Furthermore, they all knew Kikunojo and his older brother Izo.

Izo is not currently being considered for the Whitebeard Pirates, but Kikunojo's information is being given special attention.

Thanks to Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability, the geisha easily recounted what happened back then, and also revealed all of Kikunojo's information at once.

In fact, these individuals became the final straw that broke Kikunojo's back.

It was precisely because of the presence of these individuals that Kikunojo was able to easily believe Absalom's account and completely trust the authenticity of the letter.

As for Gion taking revenge on Kikunojo, he would only understand it as a backup plan left by his father, or that someone his father had helped had found an opportunity and came after him.

Everything is proceeding smoothly according to plan.

Chapter 89 Calculation and Showdown

"Lord Oden! There is no evidence on this document to prove that Okiku committed the murder."

"It was Inuarashi, one of Oden's retainers, who said in a deep voice."

“That’s right. The information above only shows that Kiku and the two old guys from the Kurotan family have a grudge, but it doesn’t prove that Kiku killed them.”

Raizo, also a retainer of Oden, spoke up.

Compared to Ashura Doji, Kikunojo's personality and image made it easier for him to gain the favor of other retainers.

"Your Highness Oden! I..."

Hearing his colleagues' explanations, Kikunojo no longer wanted to suffer in his heart.

At this moment, his feelings for Kozuki Oden and his other retainers even outweighed his feelings for the lives of those geisha.

He sighed softly, preparing to tell the whole story.

But before he could speak, he was interrupted by the cat viper:

"Lord Oden! Everyone! I did this!"

"Cat Viper, you!?"

Kozuki Oden looked at Nekomamushi with suspicion and uncertainty, unable to discern the truth from the other's firm and certain gaze.

But... how could that be...?

He subconsciously looked at Kikunojo and saw that the other man also looked incredulous. Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him.

Kikunojo alone couldn't kill Kurozumi Serimaru and Kurozumi Higurashi; they were in cahoots.

Kikunojo's accomplice is Nekomamushi.

The Nekomamushi's current actions clearly indicate that it wants to protect Kikunojo.

"I see..."

After figuring everything out, Kozuki Oden glanced guiltily at Nekomamushi, but his eyes were filled with only disappointment when he looked at Kikunojo.

Doing something and then being afraid to admit it is not the behavior of a man!

"Cat viper..."

Kikunojo gazed silently at Nekomamushi, a hint of guilt in his eyes, and the emotions he had wanted to express were swallowed back.

He should have taken the blame for this himself.

As for why he didn't admit it before, it was because he didn't want his father's friends to be implicated.

If he had told everything, those actresses and people involved that night might not have survived.

Moreover, as Inuarashi said, a suicide note only proves that he had a grudge against the Kurozumi family, but it does not mean that he was the murderer.

Ultimately, he still harbored a sliver of hope, expecting that Kozuki Oden could turn the tables on this matter.

"Fine, since you've admitted it, arrest the cat viper!!!"

Upon seeing the cat viper confess its guilt, the excited voice of the black charcoal snake immediately came from the side.

As mentioned before, a suicide note cannot prove that Kikunojo committed the act. Arresting someone is not a problem, but it is somewhat far-fetched.

But now that someone has admitted it, things are different. We can take him down without worrying about Kozuki Oden's feelings.

This was something Kozuki Oden himself said: as long as it was confirmed that it was done by his retainer, he would let him deal with it personally.

Orochi didn't care about tying her up himself; he actually hoped that Kozuki Oden would change his mind.

To publicly renege on one's promise is enough to label the Kozuki family as traitors, providing a legitimate reason to deal with them.

His current partner is not that good-for-nothing Kaido, who would have to be very careful even with someone like Kozuki Oden.

With the World Government as their backer, they have the ability to kill Kozuki Oden on the spot as long as they can fabricate a plausible charge against him.

If it weren't for the large number of people in Wano Country still loyal to the Kozuki clan, and the fact that he was required to demonstrate his abilities, he would have simply handed the matter over to the World Government long ago.

Under Orochi's command, the samurai swarmed forward and immediately put shackles on the surrendered Nekomamushi.

"Cat demon, did you really do this?"

Inuarashi frowned, his hand resting on his sword, poised to strike at any moment to save his opponent.

He had an excellent relationship with Nekomamushi. They were both from the Mink Tribe, were born in the same place, and later became retainers of Kozuki Oden.

If the cat viper denies it, he will not hesitate to rescue it.

"It's me! Meow!"

On the contrary, the cat viper was extremely carefree at this moment, his face showing composure:

"It's just killing two scumbags, what's wrong with that?"

He happened to notice Kikunojo's unusual behavior that day.

He then followed behind the other person and witnessed everything that happened.

It was precisely because he knew what had happened that he decided to take the blame.

Since Kikunojo's death would implicate more than one person, it would be better to have him take his place.

"Hmph, falsely accusing a high-ranking official of the General's Mansion is an even greater crime!"

Kurozumi Orochi let out a cold snort, shouted at his samurai subordinates, and led his men toward the general's mansion.

"Wait a moment!"

Kozuki Oden's deep voice suddenly rang out.

His voice made Orochi pause, turn his head to look at the other person, his eyes filled with expectation.