Kozuki Toki's choice didn't significantly impact his interesting plan.
Her role was simply to send Momonosuke twenty years into the future; her choice merely meant a few details needed to be changed.
However, her choice had a huge impact on herself; if she chose to return to Kuri to accompany Momonosuke, her death was inevitable.
If she chose to stay here, she could live.
As for Kozuki Hiyori, Hiyori was still a baby who couldn't even speak, and with Karl's personal guidance, the Hiyori from the original story would be gone forever.
After Karl left, the temperature in the room gradually returned to its original state.
But Kozuki Toki felt no warmth at all; she squatted on the bed, her hands clasped tightly around her legs, as if only this could give her a tiny bit of security.
"Wuwuwu~"
Only when she was alone did she dare to cry; she didn't want her weak side to be discovered by others.
Why was this happening? Why had everything changed after she woke up from a nap?
How much she wished it was all just a dream! But everything that had just happened told her it was all real.
"Oden, where are you?!"
At this moment, Kozuki Toki thought of Kozuki Oden; how much she wished Kozuki Oden would appear before her now and rescue her and Hiyori from this cage.
But she also knew in her heart that this was all an illusion; Kozuki Oden had only left a few days ago, so how could he possibly appear now?
Suddenly, she thought of the two choices Karl had just given her.
This was clearly asking her to choose between her two children; both were equally dear to her, and she wasn't even sure if Momonosuke was truly safe now.
Under this almost desperate pressure, Kozuki Toki finally couldn't help but cry again.
If her children were all safe, she could end her life without hesitation, so as not to become a bargaining chip for them to threaten Oden.
But now, the situation of her children was unclear, so she couldn't die yet!
"Perhaps I can agree to his request first."
Kozuki Toki thought at this moment that she could first agree to stay, and then wait for Oden to return and rescue them.
There was no other way now; she could only choose to believe Karl's words that Momonosuke was still in Kuri.
This way, Momonosuke's safety would be somewhat guaranteed, and she would stay here to prevent them from harming Hiyori... Kuri Daimyo Palace.
Kin'emon and the others searched the entire Daimyo Palace and finally found some clues.
Among them, Raizo, as a ninja, immediately recognized that this was definitely the work of another ninja, and it had happened not long ago.
Throughout Wano Country, besides Orochi, there was no one else who held hostility towards them and also had ninja capabilities.
After confirming who the culprit was, Kin'emon and the others could no longer tolerate it.
Picking up their weapons, Kin'emon led the remaining Nine Red Scabbards, ready to go and subjugate Orochi.
"For our Lady, Young Master, and Young Lady! Subjugate Orochi!!"
Kin'emon raised his arm and shouted, and the remaining few responded one after another.
Kanjuro's eyes flashed with a peculiar look, but he still joined them in expressing anger towards Orochi.
The group stormed out of the Daimyo Palace with an air of fighting to the death.
But just then, Ashura Doji and the others, who had gone out to search, returned.
This wasn't the most important thing; the most important thing was that Ashura Doji was holding a person, or to be precise, a child.
"Young Master!!"
Kin'emon's eyes widened as he looked in disbelief at Momonosuke, whose face was swollen like a pig's head.
The Nine Red Scabbards, who had just been so imposing, looked at the Young Master, who had no other injuries besides his swollen face, and for a moment, they were at a loss.
They didn't know what to do now; the Young Master had returned, but the Lady and Young Lady had not yet returned, and they didn't know whether to continue to subjugate Orochi or wait for the Young Master to wake up first.
"Kin'emon, what should we do?"
Finally, Kanjuro asked the most crucial question.
The rest of the Nine Red Scabbards all looked at Kin'emon, asking him to make a decision.
Feeling the gazes of his companions, Kin'emon felt immense pressure; if the Lady and Young Master had truly been kidnapped by Orochi, he would have declared war on Orochi without hesitation.
Now the Young Master had been found, but there was no news of the Lady and Young Lady; in his heart, Momonosuke, as the eldest son, took precedence over Kozuki Toki and Hiyori.
This was not to say that he disrespected Kozuki Toki; on the contrary, he greatly respected the Lady, but compared to Momonosuke, Oden's designated heir, her priority was slightly lower.
"Go back first! We'll talk after the Young Master wakes up!"
Kin'emon gritted his teeth and made a decision.
"Kin'emon!!"
"What about the Lady...?"
"Enough! I will apologize when Oden returns."
Kin'emon roared, carried Momonosuke back to the Daimyo Palace, leaving only a resolute back for everyone.
Seeing this scene, all of the Nine Red Scabbards felt extremely stifled; if Oden were here, he definitely wouldn't have done this... Karl naturally didn't know what was happening in Kuri, and even if he did, he would clap his hands and cheer, giving Orochi a thumbs up.
He hadn't even thought of finding someone to take the blame, and someone had voluntarily stepped up to take the blame and draw hatred, truly a good person.
Karl's situation wasn't too good now either; who knew when Kaido would suddenly go crazy and want to personally give him some guidance.
To put it bluntly, he was itching for a fight and wanted to beat someone up; teaching was secondary.
"Wurorororo..."
"Karl, you little brat, let me see how much you've improved."
Kaido stood opposite Karl, grinning menacingly and leaning on his kanabo.
Karl knew that against Kaido, he could only take a beating, but at this point, backing down would only earn him contempt.
"Kaido! Don't look down on me!"
Karl stomped hard on the ground, rushing towards Kaido like a swift sword.
Against an opponent like Kaido, any schemes or tricks wouldn't be very effective; it was better to attack head-on.
Kaido wouldn't kill him anyway; at most, he would get a beating and be sore for a few days.
Karl rushed in front of Kaido, his long sword carrying a chilling aura, slashing horizontally towards Kaido.
Kaido lightly swung his kanabo and easily parried Karl's attack.
"Wurorororo..."
"Your strength is not bad, but it's still far from enough!"
Kaido suddenly exerted force, knocking Karl's long sword aside, and then swung his kanabo again towards Karl's face.
If this blow landed, he would probably be covered in bruises.
Karl didn't retreat but advanced, his long sword instantly enveloped in a layer of ice crystals.
Then it collided with Kaido's kanabo, emitting a series of hums.
Karl gritted his teeth and held on, while Kaido was all smiles, looking incredibly relaxed.
"Wurorororo..."
"Karl, you little brat, not bad, come try this move."
Kaido quickly pulled back his kanabo, then swiftly spun it in a circle in the air; for some reason, streaks of lightning were already entanglement around the kanabo.
"Thunder Bagua!"