[Two Days Later]
[Kozuki Mansion]
"What? He slaughtered the entire Ringo Castle?"
Kozuki Oden shot to his feet, grabbing Kanjuro, who had rushed back to report in person, his face filled with disbelief.
Not only him. Even the other retainers felt like they had just heard a bad joke.
Around Ringo Castle there had been at least 200,000 people gathered, and because this outsider Rosse wanted to become daimyo, another hundred thousand or so from other parts of Ringo had also gathered there to protest.
'So many people, all slaughtered?"
"It's true… not a single one left. That demon hung Shimotsuki's clan head on the city gate tower and made him watch the killing with his own eyes."
Kanjuro's expression was also grim.
He admitted he wasn't much of a good person, but compared with Rosse, he felt he was definitely a saint.
The entire Ringo, hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, all wiped out by Rosse.
And the way of killing was simple and brutal. His Conqueror's Haki descended like divine punishment, killing ninety-nine percent on the spot, leaving alive only a small fraction.
"Lord Oden, can Conqueror's Haki precisely identify others' goodwill?", Thinking of the scene then, Kanjuro couldn't help but ask.
At the time, about 10,000 had survived, and now they had already been taken in by Rosse, forming Ringo's new guard force.
"What kind of joke is that? Conqueror's Haki doesn't have that ability. Observation Haki does. That bastard Rosse killed the Red Count, who had that kind of ability."
"Damn bastard, may he die a miserable death!"
"Motherfuker! That dog-born scum, I'll kill that bastard!"
"And that bitch too! Them going to Ringo to kill people, most likely it was her idea. The Amatsuki family's ancestral land is in Ringo, she definitely egged him on."
Kozuki Oden gave a casual reply, then launched into curses and condemnations of Rosse.
For the sake of saving the people of Wano, he had even been willing to dance naked in the Flower Capital.
Each time he danced, it was only to make Kaido release a hundred people.
Now, in this one wave alone, Rosse had killed more than just a hundred.
"No, I damn well must stop him," Kozuki Oden stood up, ready to rush out.
Ringo was also part of Wano, and he had the duty to go to their aid.
"Lord Oden, you can't go alone," Kinn'emon, seeing this, hurriedly stretched out his only remaining arm to block him.
Someone who could kill hundreds of thousands singlehandedly, added to the fact that before, when Oden faced Rosse with Gion and the others, they had gained nothing from it.
From that moment, they already knew this wasn't something the Kozuki family could resist.
"I must go, or else Ringo is finished!"
Kozuki Oden gritted his teeth and kept walking. Whether it was Toki or Hiyori, he could ignore them.
But Rosse carrying out a massacre in Wano, he had to intervene.
Even if it meant death, he had to stop Rosse.
Right now, Kozuki Oden really did regret provoking the World Government.
Back when he killed the Five Elders, it had indeed felt good. But now that retribution had arrived, it was unbearable beyond measure.
If he had to do it again, Oden absolutely wouldn't have gone to cause trouble in Mary Geoise.
"Lord Oden, please calm yourself for now. What did your friends from the seas say? How long until they arrive?", Denjiro stepped forward to block him too, trying to steady him.
"The old lion should be arriving soon. As for Whitebeard, I'm not sure, maybe he'll come, maybe not," Oden thought aloud.
When he sent out the call for help before, he hadn't counted on them coming.
Wano's affairs were Wano's own problem, why trouble outsiders?
But now things had reached the point where they had no choice but to ask for aid.
Oden took a deep breath, calmed himself, and said, "Then let's wait a little. I'll contact them again, see when they can arrive."
———
[Ringo, Daimyo Residence]
"Shiki the Golden Lion can reach Wano in a day. As for Whitebeard, at their speed it'll take about two days."
Rosse hung up the Den Den Mushi with a smile, and passed on the news.
Hearing this, Gion and Zephyr both frowned.
"With them coming, our advantage won't be much," Zephyr said in a low voice, "Sakazuki is also rushing to Wano, but he's expected to arrive in three days. That leaves a gap of two days."
But as he spoke, it felt like he had more he wanted to say but held back.
And his complexion looked worse than before.
"I can stake my life to hold one back," Gion gave her guarantee decisively.
Even if she hadn't yet reached that level, to forcibly stall a half-crippled Golden Lion wasn't without hope.
This was Wano. In a situation where costs didn't matter, the Vampire Fruit's potential was huge.
"Only two of them coming, what's there to be so tense about?", Rosse smiled, completely unconcerned.
Feeling the surging power within his body, he was truly swelling with confidence now.
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[Jaygarcia Rosse]
[Strength: 58.25 million / 100 million (SS–)]
[Fruit: Human-Human Fruit · Mythical Zoan · Form of Watatsumi (Awakened)]
[Combat Skills: Conqueror's Haki (SS), Observation Haki (SS), Armament Haki (S), Swordsmanship (S), Martial Arts (S)…]
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After the Ringo massacre, his strength had leapt past the S+ barrier and reached an entirely new realm.
And with this growth, his fruit had awakened purely by brute force, while his Conqueror's and Observation Haki had also naturally risen a grade thanks to his enhanced body.
In terms of Haki technique, he might still be inferior to Joy Boy and Imu.
But in terms of Haki quantity, he absolutely wasn't behind them.
Now, he could fight three of his previous selves combined.
Which meant, even if Whitebeard, Kaido, and Kozuki Oden joined forces, he could defeat them alone.
Four top-tier powerhouses, just enough for him to toy with.
"How's the Ringo cleanup going?", Rosse paid little mind to Whitebeard and the others. This information was connected through Moa and passed to him by Sora.
"Rest assured, my lord, Ringo is already cleaned up. All the corpses have been cremated."
Moria was now obedient to the point of terror. Before Rosse, he didn't even dare breathe loudly.
"Ringo will be left to you and Toki for now," Rosse said this as he turned his gaze toward Toki at his side.
Looking at her, silent all this time, Rosse chuckled and teased, "What's wrong? Think I didn't kill efficiently enough? How about I take you on a tour around Wano?"
Since he'd already acted, he bore no psychological burden.
And killing just this many people had already earned him a leap in strength. Well worth it.
If this system had gone to any of the other pirates, they would have killed far worse than him.
Of course, he admitted he wasn't any good himself.
But the people of Wano, he had no pressure killing them at all.
They didn't recognize him, so why should he keep them?
Those with an attitude of acceptance toward him had survived this purge.
And Wano, with its massive reserves of seastone ore, was still well worth developing.
But leaving land while not leaving people, there were too many natives here.
Rather than wait for them to stir up trouble in the future, better to replace them all now.
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