Barn rubbed his nose as he spoke to Kozuki Oden, who had an arm around him.
Kozuki Oden smiled at Barn's words but did not answer immediately. He led Barn into a room inside the cave, where two men were already waiting. One was short, with a face that took up most of his head. Two crooked, lightning-shaped eyebrows arched over a crescent-shaped scar on his ugly face. Beside him sat a man holding an enormous writing brush, his fluffy white hair draped over his chest and two ridiculous patches of rouge painted on his cheekbones. The man with the oddly slanted eyes who had followed Barn and Oden inside twisted his mouth and sat down beside the other two.
Kozuki Oden showed Barn to the first seat on his right, then went to the seat in the center and sat upright, his legs together.
"Master Barn, I know of you. Captain Roger often spoke of you back then."
Sitting in the center, Kozuki Oden smiled at Barn as he spoke.
Barn raised an eyebrow and said,
"That bastard Roger couldn't have had anything nice to say about me."
"Ha ha!"
Kozuki Oden laughed at Barn's words and said,
"No, no. Captain Roger was always praising you."
Barn smiled, then said,
"All right, Lord Shogun. I didn't come here to reminisce. I have a few questions for you."
Kozuki Oden's expression grew a little more serious, though his smile remained as he looked at Barn.
"Please ask, Master Barn. I'll tell you everything I know."
Barn nodded and said,
"I heard from Rayleigh that you're descendants of the Stonecutters who created the Poneglyphs?"
At Barn's words, the smile finally faded from Kozuki Oden's face. His expression turned utterly serious, and he spoke in a low voice.
"That's right. Our Kozuki