RNP Chapter 147 Yamato
Chapter 147 Yamato
Like a cherry blossom in full bloom, a beautiful young girl gracefully descended the stairs of the dock, as if carrying the prelude to spring, and in the blink of an eye, she joyfully leaped into the street surrounded by dazzling flowers.
The vibrant flowers embraced the bustling market, and everyone's face was filled with smiles. Moko's attire clearly indicated that she was a noble lady. Instantly, the vendors on the street hawked their wares even more enthusiastically, eagerly calling out to Moko as she looked around, displaying the goods they were selling.
Like a bird released from its cage, Moko was filled with childlike wonder and joy at everything around her, looking here and there. Chunhe followed closely behind Moko, holding the lazy Ella, with a genuine smile on her face.
The streets were bustling with excitement, and in the center of the street, on the top floor of a Japanese-style building that was dozens of times more luxurious than the surrounding buildings, Maria and Jin were watching Moko flitting about like a butterfly.
"I remember that it would take three or four days to travel to and from the nearest city, Candice. Lord Jin was gone all day yesterday. Did he go to buy cherry blossom cakes for Miss Moko?"
Wano Country also has sakura mochi, but because the sugar used is different, the aroma is not as sweet as the plate that Jin just brought. It is easy to tell that the sweets were bought from Candice. Maria crossed her arms and her alluring eyes were fixed on Moko, who was strolling in the street.
“Maria, this is your second transgression. There will be no third.”
Jin spoke coldly, and a tremendous pressure suddenly struck Maria. Maria was forced to her knees by this sudden pressure, and a metallic taste quickly rose in her throat. Maria gritted her teeth and swallowed the taste. Her voice was no longer charming and unreasonable, but extremely steady and respectful.
"I'm sorry, Lord Jin, there won't be a next time."
The eyes beneath the mask stared coldly at Maria. Just as Maria was about to collapse, Jhin withdrew his oppressive aura and turned to walk downstairs.
"Take those insects you caught to the dungeon."
"Yes, I'll arrange it immediately."
The air seemed to freeze for a long moment until the footsteps faded into nothingness. Only then did Maria breathe a sigh of relief and struggle to her feet, leaning against the railing. Maria's face was somewhat pale. A maid in a purple kimono emerged from the shadows, bowed her head, and stood behind Maria, offering her her pipe with both hands.
A dark glint flashed in Maria's eyes. Her long, sharp nails were adorned with crimson nail polish. The air seemed to freeze because of Maria's silence until she heard the lively voices of people again. Maria took a deep breath, regained her usual graceful and noble demeanor, and elegantly picked up her exquisitely carved pipe.
"Go and send all the marines and pirates we captured last time to the dungeon. Get everything ready, so Lord Jin doesn't get bored."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As soon as she finished speaking, the maid lowered her head and disappeared back into the darkness. Maria stared intently at Moko, who was particularly eye-catching on the street, and as if she had thought of something amusing, a captivating smile suddenly appeared on her lips.
"If that child saw your true self, would he still be so close to you, Lord Jin..."
She's just a pampered young lady who's been raised in ignorance of the world. She probably've never even seen a dead person. What kind of expression will that bright, smiling face have if she sees the scene in the dungeon? And what will Lord Jin, who has never shown any emotion, do? Well, she's really looking forward to it more and more. She definitely has to tell Lord Kaido about this fun thing after she sees it.
A gentle breeze rustled, and a fully bloomed cherry blossom danced gracefully, settling lightly on the ancient railing. Maria gently picked up the cherry blossom, a meaningful smile slowly curving her lips. She slowly and deliberately kneaded the cherry blossom in her palm, its former beauty and elegance gradually twisting and deforming between her fingers, eventually turning into a broken, deep pink blob. The former beauty was completely overturned in this moment, leaving behind only a tattered remnant of spring in the woman's hand.
"It would be so beautiful if the cherry blossoms were covered in blood."
The sound of wooden clogs clicking on the floor echoed in her heart. As the wind subsided, the figure on the rooftop disappeared. Moko looked at the spot where the two had just stood, a dark glint flashing in her eyes. Hearing footsteps behind her, Moko immediately withdrew her gaze from the luxurious wooden building.
"Miss Moko, where would you like to go next?"
After paying for Bailey, Chunhe caught up with Ella and each took a candy apple. Their faces were full of the smiles that children their age should have. Moko gently pinched Chunhe's puffed-up cheeks, but her face still had that sweet and innocent smile.
"Get out of the way!!"
Before Mo Ke could speak, a soldier's shout suddenly came from behind. Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw a group of soldiers chasing a girl wearing a Hannya mask.
Her long, gradient white-green hair was tied up high, and she wore a white sleeveless fitted kimono embroidered with blue diamond patterns. A huge shimenawa rope was tied around her waist, and she wore a long red skirt. She was barefoot and wore a pair of simple red strappy wooden clogs.
The girl was running too fast and couldn't stop. Just as Chunhe, who was standing in the middle of the road and hadn't reacted yet, was about to be hit, Moko quickly grabbed Chunhe's waist and picked her up. With an unintentional spin, she quickly brought Chunhe to safety.
The girl in the Prajna mask seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, glanced quickly at Moke, but with pursuers behind her, she simply passed by the two and fled at high speed. The soldiers also chased after them very quickly. The surrounding crowd watched the departing group, and it took them a long time to react.
"Miss Moko~"
The faint sounds of mosquitoes and flies rang out. Moko looked at Chunhe, whose face was flushed with embarrassment, and gently placed Chunhe on the ground, while also straightening the hair ornament that had fallen off Chunhe's head.
"Chunhe, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Miss Moko."
"That's good. Let's go, let's go to the next place."
"Yes."
The incident didn't dampen Moko's spirits, and she continued strolling along the streets until she got tired and found a well-known pastry shop to rest.
Along the way, Moko witnessed scenes of extreme luxury. From the architecture to the people, everything could be described as extravagant. But strangely, the smiles on these people's faces were bizarre. They emanated such a sorrowful aura, so why were they smiling? They were like puppets being forcibly manipulated. Moreover, the colors on their bodies were very off, similar to Devil Fruits, but much weaker—almost like…
A Devil Fruit with incomplete power?
A faint salty smell suddenly wafted through the air, and Moko immediately snapped out of her thoughts, pinching Ella's round cheeks as she ate.
"Looks like we have new customers."
"Miss Moko?"
Chunhe tilted her head, looking at Moko with some confusion. Was Miss Moko talking to her?
Instead of explaining, Mo Ke said something that seemed completely incomprehensible.
Would you like some tricolor dumplings?
"Gurgle~"
There was no sound of talking, but the rumbling of her stomach was particularly loud. Moko couldn't help but chuckle. At that moment, the three-colored dumplings that Moko had ordered were ready.
"Ladies, please enjoy your tricolor dumplings and red bean rice cakes."
The shop owner came out of the store and placed the prepared tricolor dumplings and red bean rice cakes in front of Moke and Chunhe. Moke nodded and spoke softly.
"Could you please add another serving of tricolor dumplings and red bean rice cake?"
"Okay, please wait a moment."
After saying that, the boss went back into the shop. Moke put Ella aside and let Ella eat the tricolor dumplings by herself. Behind the corner, a pair of eyes stared at the tricolor dumplings with shining eyes. The sweet aroma wafted over with the air, and her stomach protested again.
"Let's eat together."
"what!!"
The soft voice was right next to her, startling the person behind the corner. It was the girl with the prajna mask from before. Her face under the mask was beautiful, but perhaps because of her somewhat boyish attire, it added a unique touch of heroic spirit, making her look both gentle and dashing.
The girl looked at Moko, who had suddenly appeared behind her, and then at where Moko should have been. She shook her head so hard she could hardly understand how Moko had appeared behind her so silently.
"Your stomach is already rumbling. Let's eat something first before we talk about why you're following us."
Moko didn't give the girl a chance to speak. She pulled the girl's hand and walked towards the rest area downstairs from the shop. The girl was forced to sit on a wooden bench by Moko, with three-colored dumplings and red bean rice cakes pushed out in front of her.
The girl looked at the freshly baked pastries in front of her and noticed that another girl had some in front of her, the pet bear had some in front of her, and Moko had just pushed some over in front of her. Only Moko had a cup of tea in front of her.
"Here's your food, you can eat it yourself. And just now, I'm sorry, I almost bumped into you."
The girl stood up and bowed to Chunhe. Chunhe hurriedly waved her hands, not knowing what to say, and looked to Moke for help. Moke took a sip of tea and glanced at the girl out of the corner of her eye. The girl's strength was not bad, but her aura was very clean. She was not a bad girl.
"The snacks won't taste good when they get cold, and then we'll have to throw them away."
"Oh, how can we waste it like this? It can still be eaten cold."
The girl immediately turned to look at Moke. Moke put down her teacup and smiled brightly at the girl. Realizing she had been teased, a blush crept up the girl's cheeks and down to her ears. The girl hurriedly turned her head away, no longer looking at Moke.
"Eat up, or you'll get caught by those soldiers next time if you go hungry."
"...But I'm the one the soldiers are arresting."
The girl was still hesitant, clutching the hem of her clothes and swaying nervously.
"The soldiers wanted to arrest you, but I didn't. So what does that have to do with me treating you to snacks?"
Moko rested her chin on her hand, her eyes seemingly filled with stars, sparkling with a playful yet gentle smile, like the warmest sunshine in spring, generously showering down on the girl opposite her.
"Pfft, hahaha, you really are a strange person. My name is Kozuki Oden. What's your name?"
The girl finally relaxed and grinned, revealing a big smile. However, this self-introduction startled Chunhe so much that she froze on the spot, dropping the spoon in her hand before she could react. Moko raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Kozuki Oden?"
"Moko, this is Haruka, and this little one is called Ella. But you can't just say the surname Kozuki, okay? Do you have any other names?"
"Oh, right, then you can just call me Yamato from now on."
The girl covered her mouth and looked around. Seeing that no one else had heard, she breathed a sigh of relief and then introduced herself by another name.
"Okay, I got it. Eat up, there'll be oden later." As she spoke, Moko took a clean spoon and placed it in Chunhe's hand.
"Oden!!" Yamato's eyes lit up when he heard "Oden".
"Yamato likes oden?"
Moko smiled as she looked at Yamato's excited and joyful expression, and she vaguely saw Oden, who used to sing that strange oden song every day. In this respect, she was exactly the same as Uncle Oden in liking oden.
"Uh-huh!"
Yamato nodded vigorously, his eyes practically overflowing with joy and delight. Moko smiled and pushed the newly served snacks back in front of Yamato.
"The oden should be arriving soon, Yamato, you should eat plenty!"
"Uh-huh!"