"What do you think of his idea?", Rosse's amused voice came, "Raise Momonosuke a bit, let him become a spy for the World Government. Then when Whitebeard is taken down, I can spare his life."
"No need. I won't help you pass the message. Give up on that thought," Toki glared hard at Rosse, already feeling like she had nothing left to lose.
No matter what Kanjuro and Raizo went back and said, she wasn't going to care anymore.
Momonosuke wasn't only her child, he was also Oden's. If it really came to dealing with him, she would have nothing to say.
But when that time came, they'd better not expect her to help the Kozuki family or Wano anymore.
With people like this, the more she tried to help, the more disheartened she became.
Seeing Toki cracking under the pressure, Rosse only smiled.
Not afraid of teammates being evil, only afraid of them being stupid.
He figured under Kanjuro's maneuvering, Momonosuke's future days would be miserable.
But according to news from the Holy Land, Momonosuke had already reached Whitebeard, and had even been taken in as Whitebeard's godson.
The question was, would Whitebeard protect him or not.
But for now, that had nothing to do with Rosse.
Momonosuke might be annoying, but he wasn't Rosse's teammate. If he caused trouble, it would be the enemy cleaning up after him. Rosse was happy to watch the drama.
The main thing was, there wasn't anyone Rosse cared about on Whitebeard's ship. No matter what Momonosuke stirred up, it wouldn't affect his plans.
Whitebeard's remaining value was only in giving the World Government some trouble, and raising a few people who might be interesting in the future.
That night's attack didn't delay Rosse and the others' journey at all.
But ever since that night of slaughter, the road had been very quiet.
Every Wano person they met looked at Rosse's group with hatred, especially at Toki.
But no matter how much they hated inside, outwardly they were still polite.
So when they lodged in a village on the second night, the village chief respectfully led all the villagers to kneel in welcome, and gave them the best house.
"See? Slaughter doesn't seem to unite people," After the chief and villagers withdrew, Rosse smiled teasingly.
"No one doesn't fear death. But if they know they'll die anyway, most people still have the courage to fight," Toki said calmly.
All day, she had stayed close to Rosse.
And with his help, her senses had been magnified at least a hundred times.
Before even reaching the village, she could hear the heated discussions inside.
Everyone was shouting to drive Rosse out of Wano, pouring out their hatred for him and for her. But all their hopes were pinned on Orochi and Oden.
When Rosse's group actually arrived, their faces were completely different.
Though inside they hated to death, through Rosse's perception, Toki could even see subtle expressions of disgust. On the surface they bowed respectfully, almost wanting to lick Rosse's toes.
Toki wasn't too shaken by this.
What Rosse had done was already beyond what ordinary villagers could comprehend.
Expecting them to act was like expecting chicks to fight tigers, no difference.
Still, seeing them so desperate to survive left a trace of sadness in her heart.
"In this world, if you don't have strength, does that mean you can only live this humbly?", Toki asked, unwilling to accept it.
"What kind of nonsense is that? Isn't that just the law of nature?", Rosse glanced at her, "You say the villagers of Wano are humble, so let me ask you."
"When sparrows in the sky face eagles, are they not humble?"
"When rats on the ground face cats, are they not humble?"
"When little fish in the sea face Sea Kings, are they not humble?"
The questions left Toki choked, but she stubbornly replied, "But we are people. Should the strong just trample the weak?"
"Because we're people, most don't actually eat other people. That's the only difference."
Rosse gave her a blunt look and said, "The line between weak and strong isn't that clear."
"Let me ask you something simple."
"Farmers and street thugs, their real strength is about the same. But when honest farmers meet thugs, they're sometimes even more humble than these villagers facing me."
"After all, I'm just passing by, I haven't truly bullied them. But those thugs? They don't farm. They've probably bullied the farmers countless times."
"So tell me, can you really call that the difference between strong and weak?"
"Isn't that just strong people not stepping in…", Toki muttered under her breath.
"Well said. I suggest you kill Kurozumi Orochi, and you become Daimyo of Kibi," Rosse laughed.
By now they were already in Kibi's territory. At their pace, by tomorrow morning, they'd be in Ringo.
"That's why I asked, isn't there any situation where the strong and the weak can develop together?", Toki glared at Rosse. She knew he was mocking her.
After all, the farmer-and-thug example had actually happened on the road that very day.
It was only after she struck and defeated the thugs that she learned they were retainers of a samurai household tied to the Fugetsu family.
The ties were messy, but the point was clear: samurai in Wano were a privileged class.
And today she realized, these non-producing samurai made up about 5% of the entire population, and many committed evil deeds.
Eight hundred years ago, it hadn't been like this.
Truthfully, Toki had known all this before. She just hadn't cared as much.
Oden's retainers were always bullying scoundrels.
Even Oden himself wasn't much better.
It was just that by the time she came to Wano, Oden had already taken over Kuri, and those bullies had become rulers.
And Orochi at the time was acting even worse, causing trouble daily. She hadn't had the mind to think too much, so she let it slide for so long.
Now, Toki truly couldn't look at the Kozuki clan the same way.
It seemed the people of Wano really lived worse than those under the World Government.
Thinking of this, Toki suddenly looked up, speaking seriously, "That Fish-Man Kingdom, is it really as good as you all discussed?"
Her feelings came because in these days, Rosse had openly discussed matters with Otohime right in front of her.
Through those talks, Toki had suddenly realized what ordinary people really needed.
Sacrificing all of Ringo, dragging Wano into the grave with her, maybe in most people's eyes, that made her even more evil than Rosse.
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