The Kozuki Line

The memories return to the Kozuki family in brighter days. Oden lifts Momonosuke high and tells him, "Up you go~. Up you go!" while Momo protests, "Stop it, that's a little too high don't you think?!" Oden only laughs that they are "looking up from this high in the sky after all," and Momo says, "I refuse to stop showing him this scenery!!" Oden tells him, "Make sure you engrave this scene in your mind, as it is something that even Wano doesn't possess!!" He introduces the world to his son: "Momonosuke!! This is the world!" Hiyori calls out, "Hiyori!!" and the family scene settles around Oden, Toki, Hiyori, Momonosuke, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and the others. Oden asks how the trip went and whether they stopped by Zou. Inuarashi answers that if he were to sum up the whole journey, then yes. Oden-sama is shown against Wano's cliffs, while elsewhere someone asks, "Momo! What type of girls do you like?" and another jokes, "Momo, you have to think of humans as chikuwa and cut them down in one fell swoop!!!" Momo recoils: "What the hell is that teaching style!!!"

Oden explains the bond between Wano and the minks. He tells his retainers, "Zou and the Kozuki clan were historically very linked. Minks are powerful warriors... Put that in your head, guys!! When the time comes, we must go to Zou!!" When one retainer asks, "Lord Oden, what do you mean by 'when the time comes'?" another guesses, "'When the time comes' is 'when the time comes,' right?" Oden reassures them, "They will undoubtedly be of great help to you," and Kin'emon is moved enough to say, "You will make me blush!!" The memories soften around Hiyori. Oden listens to her shamisen and says, "I really like this piece!" Hiyori says it is "The Princess of the Moon," and Oden answers, "That is true?" Hiyori promises, "I will still improve!" Oden smiles, "It's a beautiful piece, you will play it for my funeral." Hiyori protests, and when Momo teases her, Oden snaps, "Hey Momo, don't make your sister cry!" Momo cries too, and someone tells him, "It's because of you, father!" Oden laughs that it was a joke.

The happy memory shatters into the pursuit after Oden's death. Kaido's forces and Orochi's men shout, "Kill what is left of the Kozuki clan!!!" "They have no weapons!!" and "Exterminate them until the last!!!" Shinobu, exhausted and breathing "Huff huff," gives the fleeing retainers the swords that let them fight back. They cut through attackers in a burst of motion, and one enemy screams, "AARGH!!!" As the battle scatters around them, a retainer gasps, "Thank you so much for the swords, Shinobu!!" She answers, "You're welcome!!"

Kin'emon takes command while the wounded group runs. Kiku calls, "Hey, Master Kin!!" and Kin'emon declares, "We all decided to become vassals without being invited!! It's for you to choose!!" Kiku answers, "Yes!!" The others ask, "Can I consider myself a Kozuki vassal?!" The urgency explodes again when the minks clash with pursuers. Nekomamushi tries to restrain them: "Inuarashi, Nekomamushi!! Calm down!!" But rage breaks out. Someone snarls, "It's like you were the one who killed Lord Oden... You moron cat!!" Another bites back, "You are a bit disloyal to worry like that about what the enemies think!!" and the accusation continues, "Wouldn't you be the spy about whom Kaido spoke, by any chance, dog?!!" A warning cuts through the quarrel: "Look behind you!!" The enemies close in, and the retainers shout, "Don't help them, we don't have time!!" while the two minks continue raging: "Inu, Neko!! Bunch of fools!!"

The escape frays apart. One retainer curses, "Shit!!!" as Ashura calls, "Help me, Ashura! Pursuers!!" and another shouts, "Denjiro, Ashura!!" The scene jumps to Kuri, where the castle is surrounded. Soldiers roar, "They are surrounded!!" and "Burn it down!!" Inside the burning castle, Toki holds Hiyori and Momonosuke and tells them, "Nothing to fear, I'll send you away." Momonosuke panics, "Mother!!" and Hiyori clings to her, crying, "No..." Toki is calm, but the decision is cruel: she is about to use her power to send the children away from the flames.

At the burning castle, Kaido confronts Momonosuke. He asks, "Your name?" Momo, terrified and panting "PFF...!! UGH!" can barely answer. Kaido tells him, "The 'Kozuki' name will die with you." But Momo remembers Toki's words: "Your father is famous... and one day..." and Oden's shadow standing tall: "Your father is...!! A great warrior..." Momonosuke sobs, "No... Hi-c...!!" then forces the words out: "Someday I will be!! And me...!! The one that will rule this country!" At the same time he remembers Oden saying, "I'm going to fall, it's high, I'm afraid, I'm going to die!!" and someone calling his father "the 'Idiot Lord'." The childish fear and inherited pride collide inside him.

Momonosuke screams, "Father!!!" Kaido stares down at him and dismisses it as "not his own dream" but "a dream that his parents or someone forced to say." He calls Momo "an immature kid" and "that pathetic brat is Oden's son," then orders, "Burn along with the castle!" Kaido's dragon form coils above the flames as the castle burns. Elsewhere, the retainers rush back and call through the chaos, "Lady Toki!!" "Lord Momonosuke!!!" "Lady Hiyori!!" and, with relief, "Thank God you're all ok!"

Toki gathers the retainers and children under the burning sky. She says, "All of you... come here! I need to tell you something." When they understand what she intends, Kin'emon reacts in horror: "The future?!" A retainer begs, "Princess!! Please hold on a little bit!" but the castle is already under attack. Outside, soldiers shout, "Don't let the samurais escape!" "Watch the castle's exit!!" and "Someone went out, fire!" The moment of escape is no longer a plan; it is the only remaining path.

A figure flees through the night, exhausted and gasping "Huff huff." From the darkness, pursuers wonder, "Who is it?" and answer themselves, "It's not a samurai." In Kuri Bakura, common people watch the burning castle and feel the night closing around them. A child says, "Grandma, I'm scared. It's getting dark. This is different from other nights!" An elder says, "The night is coming." Others understand what the fire means: "It's the end... The Kozuki family... Lord Oden!" People say they are "being punished for not believing in them," that "this will be the start of a 'forever night'," and that these are "dark times where the sun will no longer rise!"

Toki stands beneath the moon and leaves her prophecy for Wano: "May your wish come true... The hope that after 20 years of endless moonlit nights, nine shadows will bring a blinding sunrise!" Then she falls, and the people cry, "Lady Toki!!" At the castle, Orochi hears the prophecy through panic rather than faith. He screams, "I told you to boil the water!!" A servant protests, "It's already boiled Lord Orochi," and another complains, "It's not hot! You want me to go into room temperature water?" Orochi shivers and demands, "I can't stop shaking, bring the bones of the Kozuki samurai! Why can't we find them!" Even in a tub of hot water, he is terrified: "Shut up, I'm cold!" while others warn, "Be careful or you will burn!" and "It's hot! The water is very hot."

Orochi cannot accept that the Kozuki retainers may have escaped. He says, "I need proof that they are dead!!" In the years that follow, Kawamatsu hides with Hiyori, calling out gently, "Princess--see this kappa dance♪" but Hiyori sits in silence, grieving. Kawamatsu wonders aloud, "Lady Toki... What is this 20 years about... are they alive?" The hiding place is rough and dark. Kawamatsu struggles to provide food, breathing "FRRRH...!!" and "GUUUH...!" while he searches and suffers for the princess.

Denjiro is consumed by grief and rage. In solitude, his face twists under the weight of it until even his appearance changes. He emerges into the Flower Capital with a new look, and strangers mock him: "Hey you look filthy!" and ask, "Are you from around here?" Denjiro says only, "Take me as your underling!" When asked, "What's your name?" he pauses, "Hmm..." and chooses a new identity: "Kyo-shiro!!!"

Under the name Kyoshiro, Denjiro builds a new criminal presence in the capital. People speak of the "Kyoshiro Family..." and Orochi asks, "You want to protect me?" Kyoshiro answers, "I've heard a lot!" and bows: "It would be an honor Shogun Orochi." He offers, "Money, women, army, I will take care of and be in charge of everything you need. Hahaha!" The city soon says there is "a person to replace Hyogoro," that "the 'Flower Capital' is now protected by the Kyoshiro Family!" People admire him: "That guy is amazing who is that!" "He is so sharp and skilled!" Yet they also notice his one weakness: "He always look so tired," "He does have one weakness!" "He must party through the night!" and "His nickname is 'Napping Kyoshiro!'"

Meanwhile, Kawamatsu is accused in the city. Someone shouts, "It's the witching hour boy!" and another cries, "He stole the money from my safe!" In the confusion, Hiyori disappears. Kawamatsu calls, "Where did you go!" and "Lady Hiyori!!" but she is gone. People in town notice a hungry little girl: "Boss, this pretty little girl was wandering in front of the shops." Another says, "I think it's an orphan that got mixed into the city. She looks hungry!!" The girl has found her way to Kyoshiro. Denjiro, still hidden under his new face, tells her, "You may not recognize me but..."

Hiyori recognizes him in shock: "Denjiro!? Really??" Denjiro smiles and explains, "So that's what happened with you and Kawamatsu." He tells her, "My appearance was changed by a monster called 'rage'! Even Kinemon and the others probably won't recognize me, but that's better." Until the final battle comes, he says, he will protect Hiyori in Kawamatsu's place: "I will protect you instead of Kawamatsu for now." He gives her a new public identity and a strict warning: "Please go with the name 'Komurasaki'. Please do not let anyone even in our allies know that it's me!" The chapter closes on the truth that Kyoshiro and Komurasaki have hidden their game well until today.

No description for this page.