The Kozuki Estate, Inner Courtyard.
Kozuki Toki sat kneeling on the tatami mats, her hands trembling as she clutched the swaddling clothes wrapping the infant Hiyori. Her once radiant face was now as pale as parchment, her eyes glazed with the look of someone standing on the precipice of a total mental breakdown. Just a single thin wall away, the husband she had once admired with such fierce pride was writhing in the mud like a mindless fool, humming a discordant, nonsensical tune. Every time that wretched sound drifted over the wall, it felt like an invisible slap to her face, ruthlessly insulting the century-old prestige of the Kozuki Clan.
Lady Toki... Kin'emon spoke softly, his voice strained. Half of his body was heavily wrapped in thick bandages, a masterpiece of pain left behind by Oden himself. Is there truly no other way to reach him? Raizo, Kiku, and Ashura Doji stood in a tight circle around her, their faces ashen and their palms slick with sweat against the hilts of their swords.
They had all tried every possible method to snap him out of it. They had cried out until their throats were raw, they had knelt until their knees bled, and they had invoked their sacred past oaths just to provoke a reaction. In return, they received only the clear yet vacant eyes of Oden and a cold, dismissive command: Get lost, and do not stop me from my dancing.
Waaaaah! I will not do it! I will not! In the far corner of the room, Momonosuke, sporting his signature chonmage hairstyle, was wailing at the top of his lungs. His face was a messy mask of snot and tears. Taking advantage of the surrounding chaos, he buried his head deep into Kozuki Toki's embrace, desperately burrowing into her soft warmth to hide from the world. Mother! Why is Father naked? It is so embarrassing! I want to leave this place! I want my red bean soup right now!
Even as the family stood on the jagged edge of total ruin, this boy still skillfully utilized his innate instincts to seek comfort and demand luxury. Kozuki Toki suppressed the sharp pang of heartbreak in her chest, forced to divide her fading attention to comfort the sobbing son in her arms. Momonosuke, please do not cry. Your father is simply...
Rumble!
A thunderous boom cut through her words and the heavy atmosphere of sorrow. The entire estate shook violently as if hit by an earthquake, and the roof tiles rattled before falling to the ground in a shower of ceramic shards. The outer wall of the courtyard was smashed into dust by a savage, overwhelming force! Amidst the swirling debris, cannonballs tore through the air, trailing streaks of orange fire as they crashed into the courtyard, blasting the decorative rockery and the serene pond into jagged fragments of stone and mud.
Enemy attack! Kin'emon's eyes went wide with alarm, and he endured the sharp, stabbing pain in his side to draw his sword. It is Kaido's people! Ashura Doji roared, stepping forward to shield the family. Deep within the rising curtain of dust, a dark shadow so massive it blotted out the midday sun was approaching them step by heavy step.
Thump... Thump...
Every footfall made the earth beneath the estate tremble. A young man's crude voice, carrying a harsh metallic quality, pierced through the settling dust and resounded throughout the courtyard. Are all the members of the Kozuki family present and accounted for? The wind caught the dust, blowing it away to reveal the intruder. Jack the Drought stood there, shouldering two massive, sickle-like scimitars. On his face, which was partially hidden by a heavy metal jaw mask, was an expression of nothing but impatient, bloodthirsty tyranny.
Behind the massive commander stood a dense crowd of Beasts Pirates members, their cannons still emitting wisps of acrid blue smoke into the air. Jack! Kin'emon gritted his teeth, his grip tightening on his blade.
Hmph. Jack did not waste a single breath on pleasantries. His emotionless eyes swept over the interior of the courtyard, finally stopping on the crazed figure of Oden still writhing and dancing outside the broken wall. What an absolute idiot. He spat disdainfully onto the ruined ground. Boss Kaido said that since this man wants to be a mere dancer, we should fulfill his wish to the end. As for the rest of you... Jack twisted his thick neck, his joints making a rhythmic sound like popping beans. Except for those who can be put to work, slaughter every last one of them.
Boom!
The moment those words left his mouth, Jack's body underwent a monstrous expansion. His skin hardened into a thick, grayish-brown hide, his nose elongated into a swinging, powerful trunk, and his limbs grew as thick as ancient stone pillars. Zoan-type, Elephant-Elephant Fruit, Ancient Model: Mammoth Form! A killing machine from the dawn of time descended directly into the narrow, fragile space of the courtyard.
Die! A massive elephant hoof was raised high into the air and stomped down toward Kin'emon and the others with the force of a falling mountain.
Half the courtyard collapsed instantly under the pressure. Protect the Lady and the Young Lord! Kin'emon roared, his spirit flaring as flames erupted from his body. Fox-Fire Style: Flame Willow Flash! The flames transformed into a brilliant blade of light, slashing with desperate precision toward the mammoth's thick front leg.
Clang!
A slash that was fully capable of cutting through reinforced steel only managed to leave a faint white mark on Jack's prehistoric hide. Get lost! Jack swung his trunk with dismissive ease. The trunk acted like a giant steel whip, sweeping across the area in a devastating arc.
Bang, bang, bang!
Kiku, Raizo, and the others did their absolute best to hold the line, but they could barely resist the sheer physics of the blow. They were sent flying through the air by the immense force, spitting blood as they crashed into the walls. The difference in raw strength was simply too vast to bridge. In just a single exchange, the entire defense line of the Red Scabbards had collapsed into ruin. The lackeys of the Beasts Pirates swarmed in with strange, hungry cries, hacking at anyone in their path as flames began to lick toward the sky.
Run! Take the Young Lord and go now! Kin'emon had been stabbed in the back during the chaos, blood blurring his vision as he desperately pushed Kozuki Toki toward the rear exit.
Momonosuke was scared entirely witless. His eyes, which were usually narrowed in a leering gaze, were now wide and full of pure terror. His legs went weak, and a warm liquid flowed down the legs of his expensive pants. I am not going! I am not going! Father, please save me! I am the son of the Shogun! He clung tightly to a wooden pillar, crying at the top of his lungs, snot bubbles constantly bursting as he wailed in a high-pitched tone. That cowardly and ugly display even made the hardened pirates who rushed in show looks of visible disdain.
High in the sky, hidden deep within the safety of the clouds, Caine sat cross-legged on a mass of condensed air. He looked down at the lopsided slaughter occurring below with an entirely indifferent expression. His gaze passed through the chaotic, screaming crowd and accurately locked onto the boy who was currently throwing a pathetic tantrum on the blood-stained ground. His eyes turned cold and sharp.
Truly an eyesore, Caine muttered. If a piece of trash like this can grow up to become a Shogun, it would be the greatest possible insult to everyone in this world who actually works hard to live. Although according to the original plot, this kid's life was supposed to be tough enough to survive for twenty years and disgust audiences across the globe. But with me standing here today... Sorry, kid, but your script ends right here.
Caine narrowed his eyes, the reflection of that flailing, crying chonmage head mirrored in the depths of his dark pupils. He raised his right hand slowly. His thumb hooked firmly against his middle finger. The concentrated power of the Storm-Storm Fruit began to silently gather at a single point.
[Silent Severance].
A vacuum wind blade, no larger than the palm of a hand, formed at his fingertip. It possessed no color, emitted no sound, and did not even cause the surrounding air to flow or ripple. Safe travels, you little pervert dragon.
Snap.
A crisp, sharp snap of the fingers echoed in the high altitude. The wind blade instantly vanished from its spot, accelerating toward the ground at a speed the eye could not track.
Below, in the inner courtyard of the Daimyo's estate, Momonosuke was still wailing. He held onto the pillar with a death grip and would not let go, shouting, Father must be testing us! As long as I cry louder, he will come!
Directly above his head, a massive granite decoration weighing a thousand jin sat on the main beam of the hall. Its wooden tenon joint suddenly snapped in total silence. The cut was as smooth as a polished mirror. No one in the chaos noticed that the wooden support connecting that giant stone had been severed. Just as Momonosuke opened his mouth, prepared to let out his next loud wail, a shadow loomed over him.
Time seemed to stretch out into an eternity at this moment. Kozuki Toki had just turned her head toward her son, only having enough time to let out a short, choked "No." Momonosuke's terrified eyes rolled upward, and he could clearly see the complex floral patterns carved into the heavy stone. There was no miracle to be found here. No savior descended from the heavens to catch the weight. This was just the most simple and unadorned demonstration of the laws of physics.
Splat!
That half-finished cry was brutally smashed back into his stomach. The world of the courtyard instantly went silent. Kin'emon's hand holding his sword froze in mid-air. Kozuki Toki's expression froze into a blank, horrifying void. The giant stone embedded itself firmly into the shattered floorboards. From the bottom of the stone, a thick crimson liquid mixed with pale, pulpy matter snaked out across the wood. A small hand in a fine silk kimono sleeve was left exposed outside the stone, twitching neurotically for a second.
Then, it stopped moving forever.
Dead.
In the original story, this person who wore the halo of the Kozuki family heir, who would in the future ride on Robin's shoulders and dive into Nami's embrace, enjoying the treatment countless men dreamed of—the "number one lucky star of the Pirate King"—was gone. Just like that, he had turned into a puddle of indescribable meat paste on the spot.
Mo... mo... no... suke... A few seconds later, a heart-wrenching roar erupted from Kozuki Toki's throat. Aaaaaaaaah! She set down the infant Hiyori and lunged toward that pile of flesh and blood like she had gone completely mad.
Young... Young Lord... The sword in Kin'emon's hand fell to the ground with a loud clang. The moment all the loyal retainers saw that pile of crushed flesh, the string in their minds named "hope" snapped in two. It was over. It was all over. The only male heir was dead. Lord Oden had gone mad. The last spark of the Kozuki family's future was completely extinguished by a damn falling rock. How incredibly ironic!
Jack, who was still rampaging through the survivors, heard the scream and glanced back over his shoulder. Tch, what an unlucky brat. He flicked his blood-stained trunk, his tone full of nothing but disdain for the weak. Since they are all dead anyway, burn it all clean. Jack ordered the fire to be set and turned his massive body to crash into the next building.
High above the clouds, Caine withdrew his finger and casually adjusted his collar, which had been slightly ruffled by the high-altitude air currents. He looked indifferently at the courtyard below, which had turned into a living hell of fire and screams, and whispered solemnly in a voice only he could hear.
Do not get me wrong. As a Marine, performing a reasonable physical elimination of a pirate's direct relative is a glorious tradition written on the very first page of the Marine Internal Code of Conduct. Pulling out the roots to eliminate the grass—this is purely for the sake of long-term justice in this world.
As soon as he finished speaking, that familiar blue light screen flashed wildly on his retina.
[Ding! Detected that the Host has killed the key plot character 'Kozuki Momonosuke'!] [This action has caused a massive change in the world line!] [Causality collapse! This action will lead to the complete annihilation of the Wano Country plotline for the next twenty years! The Straw Hat Alliance will lose its most critical ally! The Wano Country Opening Plan is dead in the womb! Zunesha loses its only interlocutor!] [This action has been judged as: Absolute Justice Purge!] [You have successfully strangled the source of potential pirate unrest in the future. Although the methods were extremely cruel, the effect is considered extremely significant!] [Obtained discipline points: 1,200,000 points!]
Caine looked at the skyrocketing numbers in his account, and a genuine, satisfied smile finally curled at the corner of his mouth. Even killing a great pirate with a bounty of several billion was apparently not as profitable as killing such a little brat.
I am doing this for the good of the world too. Caine stood up and looked down coldly at the distant figure of Kozuki Toki, who had fainted from the sheer trauma of the sight. The kind of trash who only relies on the shadow of his father to grope women in their embrace is a waste of air while alive. I am simply cleaning house for your Kozuki family. No need for any thanks. Please just call me a Marine of Justice.
He turned around, his figure transforming into a sharp gust of wind and dissipating into the dark night.
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