Fang Huo hovered within the full moon like a lunar deity, Haoshoku Haki drifting faintly around him.
The last Shimotsuki clansmen aboard the warship felt as if they were looking at a god; one by one they knelt on the deck in worship.
Even Shimotsuki Kōzaburō and Shimotsuki Furiko were stunned.
What ancient secrets did this Gu Yue Fang Huo just speak of?
Had their clan once fought the World Government?
The war between Wano Country and the World Government had ended in defeat? Forced to seal the nation and build protective walls?
Could General Kozuki's ban on sailing mean the World Government is their enemy?
Would they be unable to survive on the open seas?
Rocks's gaze darkened as he stared at Fang Huo—this man knew far too many secrets.
Fūgetsu Kisaburō froze for a moment. Wano lost the war?
Was that the battle in which the shodai kitetsu was seized?
No wonder the shodai kitetsu ended up in the hands of the Gorosei—Wano had been the defeated foe of the World Government.
From the first mate's tone, he clearly disliked the Kozuki Kogetsu.
But the Kozuki line had indeed dwindled; for generations only one heir had been born.
Before Kozuki Sukiyaki was born, every great house thought the Kogetsu would die out.
That was why the Kurozumi Family had plotted their coup so eagerly.
In the end, Sukiyaki's birth and a united front of Shimotsuki, Ugetsu, and Fūgetsu houses crushed the ambitious Kurozumi.
Through that merit the Shimotsuki replaced the Kurozumi as daimyō of Hakumai District.
Creating the fame of one clan holding two great names!
Under Fang Huo's revelations and Haki, Kōzaburō and Furiko broke into cold sweat.
Was their dream of peaceful settlement in the East Blue doomed to fail?
Wano and their clans were actually enemies of the World Government!
If the Government learned they were Shimotsuki of Wano, would it send forces to wipe them out?
"How do we know you're not lying to us!"
Furiko bit back, desperate—she wanted peace, not piracy.
She had never known any of this history.
"The Kozuki are also called the Stone Clan; alongside the sun god nika they fought and carved the Void Century into poneglyphs for Joy Boy."
"Out on the seas the World Government erased that eight-hundred-year history; anyone who seeks the poneglyphs is sentenced to death."
"That is one reason Wano sealed itself."
"Had the protective walls not turned into the great waterfalls during the torrential rains, Wano and the Kozuki would have been destroyed long ago."
"The waterfalls and the seclusion policy are what keep you alive."
"So you escaped Wano and sailed all this way only because the Government and the Celestial Dragons haven't noticed you—yet."
"Once they do, what do you think they'll do?"
Fang Huo casually spilled secret after secret, enjoying the terror of the ignorant.
Dreaming of settling in the East Blue?
The future had already changed.
From now on, events would follow his script.
"Wano actually carries such a history…"
Fūgetsu Kisaburō felt dazed; if he'd met the World Government instead of the Rocks Pirates, he'd have become a wanted man sooner or later.
"How could this be?"
"So General Kozuki's ban on sailing was actually to—"
Shimotsuki Kōzaburō and Furiko turned pale—they were descendants of the Government's enemies.
Fortunately, when they applied for a safe route through Mary Geoise in the New World, they hadn't drawn attention.
Otherwise they might have been captured on the spot.
"Fang Huo, why spout all that?"
Rocks frowned; for Kisaburō's sake he'd meant to leave these samurai in peace.
But now Fang Huo seemed intent on recruiting them!
Was it for the swordsman?
Or for that woman?
"first mate, please take them with us!"
"I don't want them heading toward a deadly future!"
Now that Kisaburō knew they might be hunted, he'd rather offend his friends than let them sail on.
The Half-Moon Clans of Wano were foes of the Government; the only safe place left was the Rocks Pirates—or perhaps that secure Sky Island.
"Kōzaburō! Miss Furiko! Come with us! The first mate and I will find you a safe island!"
Fūgetsu Kisaburō's gaze hardened; in his eyes only Fang Huo could keep them alive.
"Miss Furiko, what should we do?"
Even the steady Kōzaburō's thoughts were in chaos.
He'd never imagined they were enemies of the Government—how could they live peacefully under its rule?
Change their names?
But he had sailed to found a domain for the Shimotsuki; abandoning his ancestors' name was unthinkable.
The name Shimotsuki was the greatest honor of his life.
"Kōzaburō! Miss Furiko, whatever you decide, I'm taking you with me!"
Fūgetsu Kisaburō leapt straight onto the Shimotsuki ship, his tone now unyielding.
He wouldn't let the last of their clansmen gamble on the Government's ignorance.
Furiko looked up at the handsome figure in the sky, her eyes conflicted.
"Mr. Gu Yue, what future will you lead us toward?"
In truth she had no answer; yet for some reason this notorious man gave her a sense of safety.
"At the very least, free from the Government's threat…
and would you like to see the name Shimotsuki echo across the world?"
Kisaburō and I happen to have a 'Supreme Great Weapon Ninety-Nine Works' project.
We can add the Shimotsuki name—produced jointly by Gu Yue, Fūgetsu, and Shimotsuki."
Fang Huo sounded like some pop star promising thirty-two concerts, pitching the grand project to these Swordsmith samurai clans.
"Supreme Great Weapon Ninety-Nine Works?!"
The Swordsmith Kōzaburō's heart pounded; even Furiko felt the dream of spreading the Shimotsuki name ignite within her.
The two exchanged a glance, a silent decision made.
Only Stussy, who had shared Fang Huo's bed, sensed his little design on Furiko.
"Then allow us to become Lord Gu Yue's retainers!"
Kōzaburō and Furiko refused to become Executives of the Rocks Pirates, but they could serve Fang Huo personally.
Rocks raised an eyebrow—was this man poaching retainers right in front of him?
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