" Pluton? What Pluton?"
Kozuki Sukiyaki frowned, her expression perfectly feigning confusion.
"I am just a blacksmith, I don't understand what you are saying."
If you're looking to buy a knife, I do have a few decent pieces to show for myself.
Hearing Kozuki Sukiyaki still rambling on and on about its sophistry,
Kaido's face darkened.
He took a step forward, and the ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch.
That Conqueror's Haki unconsciously leaked out, making the surrounding air hum and vibrate.
"Old man, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."
Roy said, "If you know, then you must know."
Roy reached out and stopped Kaido.
His expression remained unchanged, and there was even a faint smile on his lips.
But when Kozuki Sukiyaki saw those eyes, she broke out in a cold sweat even more.
The look in his eyes wasn't anger or a threat, but rather a sense of certainty.
It was as if Roy already knew all the answers and was just giving him a chance to cooperate.
" Kozuki Sukiyaki ".
Roy's voice was very soft, so soft that only the few people in front of the cabin could hear it.
The location of Pluton's hiding place is a secret passed down through generations of the Kozuki Clan.
Only the head of the family knows.
Kozuki Oden died before he could inherit this secret, so now, on this vast sea, you are the only one who knows where Pluton is hiding.
Kozuki Sukiyaki's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but Roy stopped her by raising his hand.
You don't need to rush to deny it.
I know what you're afraid of—the possibility that Pluton will fall into someone else's hands, that this Ancient Weapon will be used to destroy the world, and that you'll become a sinner against the Kozuki Clan.
Roy took a step forward, reducing the distance between them to less than three steps.
"But have you ever thought about what the point of keeping this secret is?"
You know better than I what Wano Country is like now.
The black smoke from the factory turned the sky gray, all the fish in the river died, and the people couldn't even get enough to eat.
You lived in anonymity for over a decade, watching helplessly as this country rotted away, and did nothing about it.
Kozuki Sukiyaki clenched his fists. The muscles beneath his mask were taut.
Even if you take this secret to your grave, what difference will it make?
No one in the Kozuki Clan can inherit this secret anymore.
Oden is dead, Momonosuke is dead, and your bloodline is severed.
Pluton will rot forever underground, and no one will know where he is until the seas dry up and the rocks crumble.
Roy paused, his tone suddenly becoming extremely flat.
"Or do you find it more frightening to hand it over to me than to let it disappear forever?"
Kozuki Sukiyaki remained silent.
He kept his head down, his white hair obscuring his expression.
No one knew what he was thinking at that moment, but everyone could sense the surging emotions within him that had been suppressed for over a decade.
Then he looked up, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I am merely a swordsmith, not some Kozuki Sukiyaki.
As for Pluton —I've never even heard of him.
Kaido's patience has completely run out.
He took a step forward, his right hand already clenched into a fist, his knuckles cracking.
Conqueror's Haki exploded around him, and dark red arcs of electricity cracked the ground.
"Old man--"
Roy reached out and stopped him again.
"Don't rush."
Roy's voice remained calm.
He looked at the Kozuki Sukiyaki, the smile on his lips not fading, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He said he didn't know.
Roy raised his right hand, his five fingers slightly curled.
Kozuki Sukiyaki's body suddenly stiffened.
It wasn't the brute force of Kaido's suppression, but rather a more sophisticated and irresistible power.
He felt as if he were being gripped by an invisible hand, every inch of his skin, every muscle, and every bone was being held firmly by that force, and he couldn't even blink.
He said he wasn't Kozuki Sukiyaki.
Roy walked slowly forward and stopped in front of the Kozuki Sukiyaki.
He said he had never heard of Pluton.
Roy extended his right index finger and gently tapped Kozuki Sukiyaki's forehead.
Kozuki Sukiyaki's pupils contracted to their limit.
He could feel the power contained in that finger—not physical power, not Haki, but a kind of intrusive feeling that directly affected his spirit and penetrated every pore.
"I really don't know--"
"It doesn't matter."
Roy interrupted him, gently pressing his fingers against his brow.
"I'll see for myself."
The Telekinesis, like countless fine tentacles, probed deep into Kozuki Sukiyaki's mind from Roy's fingertips.
The Mental Shock wasn't violent, but the feeling of having one's consciousness forcibly pried open and memories rummaged through was more despairing than any form of torture.
Kozuki Sukiyaki's mouth was still moving, still uttering those denials, but he knew in his heart that it was all over.
Roy's Observation Haki, combined with his Telekinesis, peeled away the layers of Kozuki Sukiyaki's deepest memories.
The Battle of Onigashima many years ago, Oden's death, the disappearance of Momonosuke and others, and his own feigned death to escape—
These memories flashed before his eyes as if they had been fast-forwarded.
Then he saw it.
The memory passed down through generations of the Kozuki Clan.
A huge underground cavity.
Seawater seeped in through cracks in the rock wall and gathered at the bottom of the cavity to form an underground lake.
On the lake, a collection of relics is displayed, and a huge Road Poneglyph stele stands there.
Beneath the lake lies the ruins of Wano Country from eight hundred years ago, and according to Kozuki Sukiyaki's memories, Pluton Pluton, one of the Three Ancient Weapons, lies beneath this surface.
The scene abruptly ends here.
Roy withdrew his finger, Kozuki Sukiyaki collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
His eyes were still open, but his pupils were dilated, drool was dripping from the corners of his mouth, and his lips were moving unconsciously, uttering a series of meaningless babbling.
The consequences of Mental Shock.
The best-case scenario is waking up as an idiot; the worst-case scenario is never waking up again.
Roy didn't even glance at it.
He turned around, his gaze falling on the wall of the main hall of the wooden house.
There was a knife hanging there.
The scabbard is deep purple, the hilt is wrapped with dark red cord, and the guard is shaped like an extremely rare clover.
Even through the scabbard, Roy could feel the eerie aura emanating from the blade.
The Demon Blade.
The Nidai Kitetsu.
Tenguyama Hitetsu's identity as a swordsmith is a facade, but this sword is real.
One of the Twenty-One Great Grade Swords, the second generation of the Kitetsu series, it is older, more dangerous, and more powerful than Zoro's Sandai Kitetsu.
Roy extended his hand, his fingers slightly curled.
The Nidai Kitetsu hanging on the wall trembled slightly, then flew into his hand on its own.
He gripped the hilt and pulled the blade out half an inch.
A cold, sharp light flashed across the blade; its color was deeper than that of ordinary swords, with a faint glint of dark purple.
The blade was devoid of any patterns or decorations, only emanating an eerie aura that sent chills down one's spine.
It is indeed a fine knife.
Roy sheathed the knife and casually hung it on his waist.
Then he turned around and lightly stomped his right foot on the ground.
His Telekinesis spread outwards from him, and the ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed.
The wooden house, furniture, ancient books, forging tools, and even the Kozuki Sukiyaki lying on the ground were all crushed to pieces and sank into the ground by this one stomp.
The surrounding soil and gravel surged over as if they came alive, filling and compacting the entire depression.
A few breaths later,
The spot where the log cabin once stood is now just a flat piece of land, with not a single piece of wood to be seen.
Kaido looked at the filled-in area, snorted, and turned to Roy.
"The item has been found?"
Roy nodded.
Kaido's eyes lit up instantly, and he grinned, revealing a ferocious smile.
"Then what are we waiting for!"
"Walk!"
Kaido bent his knees slightly and shot into the sky like a cannonball.
Ember spread its wings and followed closely behind, its black wings casting long shadows in the sunlight.
Roy took one last look at the flat ground, then activated his Telekinesis, and his figure vanished from the spot.
The coastline of Wano Country receded rapidly beneath their feet.
Following the coordinates extracted from Kozuki Sukiyaki's memories, Roy flew over Wano Country with Kaido and King.
Finally, they stopped at the General's Mansion.
"This is it?" Kaido frowned.
Roy did not answer.
He closed his eyes, activated his Telekinesis Domain, and probed deep into the underground of the General's Mansion, centered on himself.
Penetrating the rock layer.
Penetrating the soil layer.
Penetrating underground water veins.
Nearly a hundred meters underground, his Telekinesis touched a huge void.
The scent of the sea.
The chill of metal.
There's also that oppressive feeling that transcends eight hundred years of time, so heavy it's suffocating.
Found it.
Roy opened his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.
"It's down there."
Kaido burst into wild laughter, a laugh that shook the surrounding clouds.
After they left, in the direction of Amigasa Village, the Beasts Pirates soldiers who had witnessed the whole thing were returning to Onigashima to report back.
One of the soldiers silently followed the group for a few steps, then suddenly turned at the fork in the road and hid in an empty alley.
He pulled a tiny, encrypted Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
The Den Den Mushi rang three times before a deep, cold voice came from the other end.
"Explain."
The soldier lowered his voice, speaking quickly and steadily.
" Heavenly Dao Emperor Roy and Kaido have found the hiding place of Pluton."
Kozuki Sukiyaki is dead.
Pluton's coordinates are not yet known.
There was a few moments of silence on the other end of the phone, then the voice spoke again, saying only two words.
"Continue to remain hidden."
The call ended.
The soldier put the Den Den Mushi back in his pocket and rejoined the group returning to Onigashima.
Their steps were as synchronized as everyone else's, and their expressions were as tired as everyone else's.
No one noticed his unusual behavior.
Deep within the Pangaea Castle in Mary Geoise, the lights in the Five Elders' emergency meeting room, which had been off for many years, were turned on again.