Kozuki Oden trusted Ren completely.
This man had never been particularly sharp-witted. In the original story, even the blatantly obvious schemes of Orochi and Kaido had managed to fool him utterly. In this altered timeline, he stood even less of a chance.
Dealing with Kozuki Oden was essentially a one-sided affair for Ren.
So much so that Ren had actually started to find the man somewhat endearing. After all, a tool this stupid and this useful was hard to come by.
But toward Oden's son, Ren harbored no goodwill whatsoever.
During the voyage, Kozuki Momonosuke had been insufferable. Though only two and a half years old, the boy had been raised with such indulgence by Oden's retainers that his personality was downright noxious.
Momonosuke made repeated attempts to get close to Toki. He showed no interest in his own mother's embrace, yet he fixated lecherously on other women's figures.
Toki had no intention of letting the brat get fresh with her. At one point, she actually drew the blade at her waist and thrashed him soundly with its scabbard, which sparked a bitter exchange with Oden's retainers.
"Keep this perverted kappa-brat away from me!" With Ren backing her, Toki had no reason to fear Kinemon and the others.
"He's just a child!" Kinemon would not back down either, but since they were entirely dependent on Ren's goodwill, his bluster was hollow from the start.
The more mild-mannered Kikunojo and Izo each took hold of one of Kinemon's arms while simultaneously apologizing to Toki.
"We're terribly sorry. Momonosuke is just a little mischievous."
"A little mischievous? Look at his face — does that look 'a little mischievous' to you?" Toki was furious.
Had the child been a genuine four- or five-year-old, she would not have been nearly so repulsed. But Momonosuke practically had "creep" written across his features.
"Just keep him away from me. That's all I ask."
Toki had been a fierce young woman in her youth. She would not have consumed an irreversible Devil Fruit just to travel to Wano Country unless she had possessed a formidable streak of her own.
She stormed back to Ren's side and began complaining in a hushed voice.
"That perverted little brat is insufferable. I have no idea who he takes after. His father might not be much to look at, but at least he seems decent enough."
It appeared Toki had completely misjudged Kozuki Oden.
"Decent? That Kozuki Oden was frequenting the pleasure districts by age six. By fifteen, he was kidnapping respectable women every night and dragging them back to his harem."
"Heaven knows how many women he ruined."
After reaching adulthood, Oden had mellowed considerably. But those past indiscretions could not simply be wished away.
"I... I never imagined..." Toki's face cycled through shock, disgust, and bewilderment. She had never expected Kozuki Oden to be that kind of person.
"To think I went to such lengths to see Wano Country — only to find it ruled by someone like that. And if they actually succeed in taking back the Shogunate, that perverted brat will be even worse!"
Toki was no longer sure whether traveling to this era had been the right choice. But the Toki Toki no Mi's power was irreversible — it could only move forward through time, never backward.
Then she thought of Ren, and the depression in her chest evaporated. For the Toki of the present, the state of Wano Country no longer mattered all that much.
Thinking back to a year ago — the moment she had arrived in this era, she had found herself in mortal peril. Just as she had been about to use her power to flee once more, Ren had saved her. From that day forward, Toki had remained steadfastly by his side.
During this period, Ren had also been carving out time to train her.
Toki was the wielder of the Toki Toki no Mi — and a fruit of such immense power could not possibly be limited to the seemingly underwhelming ability of traveling to the future.
Under Ren's guidance, Toki had plumbed ever deeper into the fruit's potential. While the past remained immutable, she had gained a degree of control over the present moment.
By accelerating her own personal time for short bursts, Toki could dramatically increase her speed. She could also store and skip time.
She could create momentary rifts in the timeline.
Perhaps only a fraction of a second — but it was a gap so brief that even Observation Haki could not detect it.
And like the Vampire Fruit, the Toki Toki no Mi possessed the power to steal time from others. However, this ability could be resisted with Haki, and Toki's own Haki was not particularly strong — making the technique difficult to use against powerful opponents.
Speaking of time — Ren had noticed something peculiar about himself. He did not seem to age. More than a decade had passed since he had fully absorbed the Yamata no Orochi Fruit and regained human form, yet his appearance had barely changed.
Yukito and the others, on the other hand, had aged noticeably. Yukito was now twenty-seven — the last traces of girlish youth had faded, replaced by a composed, mature elegance.
Yuriko, the eldest of the group, was now forty-two. By all rights, the relentless passage of years in the pirate world should have begun to wear her down. Just look at Charlotte Linlin — once a legendary beauty in her prime.
In practice, however, nothing of the sort had occurred.
Ren had long since mastered the Vampire Fruit, giving him access to vast reserves of stolen time. Under his power, preserving Yuriko's youth was trivial — he could even restore her to eighteen with effortless ease.
And now, with Toki around, the process had become even more convenient.
As the ship approached the location of the Hidden Port, Kozuki Oden spotted members of the Beasts Pirates standing guard, just as Ren had described.
Over the years, the usage rights to the Hidden Port had been steadily ceded by Orochi to Kaido. After all, Orochi wanted Kaido and Kozuki Oden to destroy each other — he could not afford to let Kaido grow complacent.
"Weapons export trading," Ren explained. Though both men sold arms, Kaido and Ren operated on entirely different models. Ren's weapons relied on superior craftsmanship — the materials themselves were not especially rare.
Kaido, on the other hand, was a wastrel in every sense of the word. After discovering the abundance of Saketsu Iron Ore in Wano, he had aggressively expanded mining operations and begun shipping massive quantities of weapons overseas.
Including, reportedly, Seastone.
"I heard that many of the people who resisted Orochi ended up being sent to the stone quarries at Udon as forced labor." Ren did not elaborate further. He simply instructed the helmsman to change course.
"Let's go. We'll find another way in."
[
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