The battle in the sky only lasted for two hours before ending with Gion's defeat.
But with Zephyr and Moria joining in, along with Rosse's remote protection, Oden could go no further.
And neither Zephyr nor Moria had any intention of pushing it further.
Since Amatsuki Toki had already come this far, Rosse was naturally willing to let the play continue.
If they struck too hard this time and broke Oden's spirit, then there'd be nothing left to play with afterwards.
"You bastards!", Oden bit down on his gums until they bled. His bloodshot eyes, sharp like poisoned blades, locked onto Toki's figure in her water-veil garment, then swept across Zephyr and Moria at her side.
The humiliation churning in those eyes was about to burst out of his chest.
'Disgrace, the greatest disgrace!'
"Oden, take care of yourself. The future of Wano will be decided in the coming days," Toki's voice carried a barely audible sigh as it fell upon Oden's battered figure. Her gaze trembled almost imperceptibly for a moment.
But in the end, she withdrew all emotion, and resolutely turned, stepping toward the exit of the mansion.
Since the play had gone this far, she no longer had any room to turn back.
Though Oden hadn't protected her, in the end it was still she who had failed Oden.
"YOU BITCH!", Oden's crimson eyes burned with rage. His twin blades suddenly wrapped in overwhelming Conqueror's Haki, two flying slashes with the power to shatter the heavens and earth tore forth like raging dragons, aimed directly at Toki's back.
He couldn't accept it.
Why did the one to betray him have to be Toki?
They had already prepared everything so perfectly, why did Toki still betray them?
The cold light of the blades cut straight for her back, but Toki never turned around. She only walked forward in silence. One step. Then another. As though completely ignoring the killing intent behind her.
Clearly it was an enraged strike from a top-tier powerhouse like Oden, yet Toki found her heart terrifyingly calm.
If it had been before, she would've frozen in place, trembling too much to move. Never like this, so composed.
But now, she cared nothing for the attack behind her.
'Oden… is this the sense of safety you could never give me?', Toki's gaze lowered, her eyes filled with deep self-mockery.
The Oden who had accompanied her so long could not give her safety. Instead, it was her enemy who gave her safety.
'Indeed, just as Oden called me, I truly am a worthless woman.'
In the end, Toki never looked back. Her steps never faltered. She only walked forward, step by step.
And just as the flying slashes crossed half the distance, Zephyr and Moria stepped forward together, two iron gates blocking the way.
In an instant, blade light and Haki collided with a deafening roar. The two slashes were shattered by their combined force, dispersing into nothing but waves of air.
Oden was strong, but before the two of them together, he could gain no advantage.
Not to mention, Gion's unreasonable recovery ability had already drained much of his stamina.
If the battle truly continued, the two of them could seize the entire Kozuki clan.
"Lord!"
Kin'emon and the others saw Oden still trying to charge forward and hurriedly stopped him.
If it were only Gion, they wouldn't be too afraid, and wouldn't think much of it.
But now it was clear, Toki had more people, stronger people, and Rosse hadn't even made a move yet.
With Rosse's current lineup, they weren't opponents at all.
"Damn it!"
Oden cursed furiously, snapping his head up. His gaze cut across the ruined Kozuki mansion to the gate a hundred meters away.
There stood Rosse, straight and tall, wearing a faint smile. Behind him was Gion, now dressed in a new set of clothes.
Rosse's casual smile was, in Oden's eyes, the cruelest mockery in the world.
Some things he could give, but others could not be given.
But now, what was his had run away, into the arms of the enemy. How could he not rage at that?
Especially when, before his very eyes, Toki walked step by step to Rosse.
Rosse opened his arms. Toki, with light steps, finally fell into that embrace.
"AHHHHHH!!"
Oden let out a beast-like roar, struggling like a trapped animal, but was held down tightly by his six retainers.
Even Kin'emon and the others bore looks of humiliation on their faces.
But now was not the time to fight again.
Rosse wasn't ready, and neither were they.
If they had to fight to the death, it needed to be planned. It needed Kaido and the others brought in.
"Hold me back like this… otherwise I really will kill him!", Oden's eyes bulged red, his face twisted as six retainers restrained his body.
If it were one on one, he would absolutely fight Rosse to the death right now.
But with Zephyr there, he had no chance of victory.
Still, he wasn't without cards to play.
If they could hunt down a Five Elders in the Holy Land, then here in his own home turf of Wano, there was no reason he would lose to Rosse.
In the end, Oden didn't break free from his retainers' cage. He didn't choose immediate revenge against Rosse and the others.
"Disappointment, or relief?", Rosse lightly held Toki, leaning close to whisper in her ear.
Oden's downfall to this state, they were accomplices in that.
"Perhaps relief. At least this time he made the right choice," Toki's expression was complicated.
"Even at the cost of you?", Rosse chuckled.
"Even at the cost of me," Toki said calmly.
If Oden had charged just now, knowing Rosse as she did, at the very least Oden would've been gravely injured.
Pulling such a stunt might truly have broken Oden's spirit.
Since she had already made her choice, there would be no regrets.
Now, she and Oden were no longer on the same path.
She would even become Rosse's accomplice, to make the rebellion in Wano more decisive, igniting a slaughter.
"Let's go, my dear Lady Toki," Looking into Toki's magnificent, bright emerald-green eyes, Rosse's lips curved upward. Without sparing Oden a glance, now like a defeated dog, he wrapped his arm around Toki's slender waist and walked away.
Since Toki had jumped out of his original arrangements and chosen an unprecedented path, he too would look forward to Oden making some outrageous moves.
And if Oden could rally others, all the better.
"Lord Rosse, from now on call me Toki," Toki's voice was soft. As they left the Kozuki mansion, her long green hair swayed gently. The traces of humiliation on her face and body from before had all vanished.
The Kozuki family's act was over for her.
Now, it was her turn to feed the tiger with her own body, to complete the role she had to play at Rosse's side.
To deal with Rosse, the Kozuki clan alone was not enough. The whole of Wano had to be bound together.
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