Chapter 793: Chapter 792: Oden’s Wraith
Guns are still controlled in Wano Kuni; they’re far more dangerous than bows and arrows. They don’t require much training, just some simple teaching, and one person can use them to cause serious harm to others.
Since these people aren’t skilled with guns, they chose bows and arrows. There are hundreds of people scattered here, almost everyone is equipped with a bow and arrow.
"Protect Lady Hiyori!"
Watching the incoming arrows, Denjiro was shocked and enraged. Back in the day, Kozuki Toki was ambushed and assassinated by Kurozumi Orochi’s arrangement while out, with an arrow piercing through her thigh.
Denjiro has always had this incident on his mind. Seeing a similar situation unfold again, a surge of anger sprang from his heart.
Blade lights slashed towards the sky as Denjiro, Kawamatsu, and Kikunojo formed an impenetrable defense line, swatting down all the arrows aimed at Hiyori.
"Are you guys crazy?! This is Lady Hiyori! Daughter of Lord Oden, do you know what you’re doing?!"
The people present couldn’t understand the mindset of these attackers. The Kozuki Family holds a special place in Wano Kuni, and the last time the Kozuki Family was attacked by locals traces back to Kurozumi Orochi’s grandfather’s rebellion.
And that was for the position of General. As for the current situation in Wano Kuni, Denjiro has no idea what these people are thinking.
Amidst the crowd, he spotted a few familiar faces. In recent years, these people were seeds of resistance in his heart, yet he couldn’t believe they would attack Kozuki Hiyori.
"Lord Denjiro, go and see the current Wano Kuni. Apart from us old folks, teenagers don’t even know who the General is! They don’t understand the significance of the General!
They’re attending schools run by Kaidou, calling out to Lord Mingwang. At this rate, will anyone still want to resist?!
You protect her, but you’re not protecting the Kozuki! You’re destroying the hope of the Kozuki. If this continues, when Lord Momonosuke returns, will anyone be willing to help him?!
We’re old now, and our descendants don’t want to continue down this path. So while we still have the strength, we need to do something!"
Although this operation had been planned for a long time, there wasn’t anything of real value. The plan was merely to exploit the Hundred Beasts’ New Year festival celebration at Flower Capital, causing a commotion to draw the Shinsengumi’s attention, and then taking the opportunity to strike at Kozuki Hiyori.
Besides that, their target also included Kojiro, whom they viewed as the biggest "traitor" to the nation.
The enemy was too strong, so they could only start with the traitor among their own ranks.
As for why they said so much to Denjiro, it was because of Denjiro and the others’ martial prowess. Even though they had several hundred times more people, they were still somewhat intimidated by the Household Attendants of Kozuki Oden.
They initially thought Kozuki Hiyori would come alone, but to their surprise, the Household Attendants were all present.
"So you want to assassinate Lady Hiyori? I feel that you might as well all go to Ghost Island and disembowel yourselves at the gate. That would be more impactful. I can attend as your second."
Listening to their words, Kawamatsu was even angrier than Denjiro. After all, he constantly blamed himself; listening to these people, he felt nothing but nauseated.
Kawamatsu’s words made sense—doing that would definitely achieve their goal, but looking at these people, it was clear they didn’t have the courage for it.
Denjiro wanted to say more, but Hiyori held him back.
"Lady Hiyori, it’s dangerous."
"It’s okay. I want to ask you all, if Momonosuke were standing here instead of me, would you still be doing this?
You say I lack the spirit of resistance, so is all of this my fault?! Am I the one who brought the Hundred Beasts Pirates to Wano Kuni?! If you all wanted to resist so badly, what were you doing back then?!"
At that time, she was just a child. By the time she understood what had happened, Wano Kuni’s fate was already sealed, and she had no power to change things.
Originally, her brotherly affection with Momonosuke was strong, but these years, living under puppet rule, her perception had changed somewhat.
Why was it Momonosuke who left, and why was she the one who stayed?
Why do these people want to kill her, with the reason being to encourage more people to support Momonosuke?
She was Kozuki Oden’s daughter and should have been living a life of luxury. But, due to Kozuki Oden’s simple-mindedness, anyone could take advantage of him, and her most carefree moments were actually spent with the Whitebeard Pirates.
The daughter of a Daimyo living like a pauper—no one but Kozuki Oden could pull that off. Aside from the lack of freedom, her current life was utterly luxurious. Her occasional outbursts were merely vents of frustration against "injustice."
Only those living as puppets could understand her feelings.
The very notion of people wanting to assassinate her was something she couldn’t begin to comprehend.
She had done nothing, yet simply being alive was a mistake.
"Being born into the General’s family and encountering all these situations is unavoidable. But for the sake of Wano Kuni’s return to its former rule, your death is necessary. This is for Wano Kuni’s future! Sunacchi!"
Facing Kozuki Hiyori’s questioning, they offered no substantial defense, stubbornly believing what they were doing was right. Amidst cries of "Sunacchi," they raised their weapons and charged towards Kozuki Hiyori.
"Shinobu! Take Lady Hiyori away!"
Being locals of Wano Kuni, they understood that when someone calls out "Sunacchi," there’s no further use for words, only force could resolve the situation.
No matter their intentions, anyone intending to harm Hiyori was an enemy. But Kozuki Hiyori wasn’t eager to simply run and instead drew a short blade.
She was not the powerless person who sang daily on Flower Street—she was of Oden’s bloodline, and under serious study, she had developed some level of skills.
Yet in the next moment, something unexpected occurred.
Swish! Swish!
Two slashes emerged out of nowhere from behind Kozuki Hiyori, sweeping directly into the crowd. The power of the Flying Slash was tremendous, and in an instant, a large part of what was a group in full assault fell.
"That... that’s Enma! And Ame no Habakiri! Lord Oden’s swords!"
One of the assassination participants shouted in terror. Behind Kozuki Hiyori, transformed into a Honedge, Enma and Ame no Habakiri had already unsheathed themselves, their blades flashing with a chilling gleam—the slashes just now originated from them.
Every time Hiyori commemorated Oden, she would bring along Enma and Ame no Habakiri without exception, and already transformed into Honedge, they possessed their own consciousness.
In this situation, they caused a severe psychological blow to the enemy.
"Lord... Lord Oden, it’s Lord Oden’s spirit!"
