At the sight of this emblem, every member of the Mink Tribe present was stunned. Then they said, "That's right. It's the same as the ones Duke Inuarashi, Boss Cat Viper, and Mr. Raizo have—the Kozuki Clan's family crest."
Lu Yu was also greatly surprised. After seeing the crest, he felt that things were not so simple. He had already realized that events might unfold differently from what he had imagined. He became even more curious about the guards' backgrounds. It seemed that what came next would certainly be far more interesting.
Lu Yu stepped forward and asked, "What is this about? Kozuki? You know each other?"
By now, Usopp and the others had given up struggling and sat to one side. "So those guys are old acquaintances. I was so nervous for nothing, thinking we were going to clash with the Mink Tribe. Seriously."
Brook added, "It seems our efforts to conceal the matter of the samurai were wasted. All for nothing. Yohohohoho!"
Robin said understandingly, "There was nothing they could do about it. It probably wasn't something they could easily tell us."
Chopper said from the side, "That's true."
Nami rested her cheek on her hand and watched happily. "They just said that Duke Dog and Boss Cat have the same crest too. Their relationship may run much deeper than we imagined."
Then someone said, "But Inuarashi! Cat Viper! The two of you are still living well in this place? That truly astonishes me." It was the guards speaking.
Duke Inuarashi sat on the ground and said, "We didn't die, so we held on to those words from that day and waited here..."
Cat Viper happily lit a cigarette, took a drag, and said, "Yeah. I knew that one day, we'd see you again."
Duke Inuarashi snapped angrily,