"You mean, you want me to give you an explanation? Got it backward."
Shano sneered coldly. "Isn't it supposed to be you who gives Junichi an explanation?!"
"Junichi..."
"DON'T CALL MY NAME!!!!"
Junichi's breathing turned rapid, his eyes red and swollen. His teeth were almost biting into his gums.
"So you were the one behind it all? You were the one secretly controlling Asaka Island? Then what do the past five years of my life mean? What about that emotional act you just performed?!"
He looked around. Despair filled his eyes as he looked at the corpses scattered on the ground.
"This is just one day—just one day, and you've already killed so many people. In five years, a full five years, just how many monstrous things have you done?! Why did you do all of this!!!"
Sakuragi Itsuki glanced at the corpses too, his expression cold and indifferent.
He then turned that emotionless gaze onto Junichi, and slowly spoke, voice like it came from the depths of a dried well.
"Do you remember what I once told you... about your mother?"
"Mother?"
Junichi became even more agitated, roaring, "Why are you bringing her up now? What face do you have to talk about her?! Didn't she die ten years ago from illness while traveling with you?!"
"Aya did die on that trip—but not from illness."
"At the start of that trip, we passed through the Goa Kingdom. Two elegant noble ladies boarded the ship. They got along really well with Aya, and they quickly became friends."
"They often held tea parties in the afternoon, and at night they sat on the deck watching the stars. Laughing, chatting... they talked about everything."
"Aya had followed me since I was poor. She worked so hard for so many years. Except when you were just born, that was probably the happiest I've ever seen her."
"Until one day..."
"Those two noble ladies suddenly mentioned wanting to play football—but where would a ship have a ball?"
"So they suddenly changed, flew into a rage, started hitting and scolding their own guards, and even wanted to kill the captain and throw him to the fish."
"Aya couldn't stand it, stepped in to stop them. That's how she saved the captain's life. She even went to the kitchen to borrow pig bladders and other materials, trying to sew a ball for them."
"She spent most of the night making the ball. She was so happy when it was done—because now, she wouldn't have to worry about the noble ladies taking their anger out on the guards."
"Early the next morning, she went to deliver the ball. I slept in a bit, and then went to look for her. Guess what I saw?"
Sakuragi Itsuki's face was blank.
It was like he was telling a story that had nothing to do with him.
"Aya's head had been cut off. Those two noble ladies were kicking her head around, happily laughing. The ball she had worked on all night was tossed aside, crushed, because they thought it was ugly."
Wha... what?! Junichi's pupils shrank violently. He staggered back two steps, trembling all over.
Shano exhaled deeply, silent for a moment.
In his heart, he began to suspect the identity of those two noble ladies.
But he didn't interrupt—he let Sakuragi Itsuki continue speaking on his own, like he was standing on a stage.
In the vast empty arena, only that emotionless voice echoed:
"...I stood there for a long time before I came to my senses. I drew my sword like a madman and rushed at them—but I was suddenly blocked by that captain."
"My proud swordsmanship was like a joke in front of that guy. I couldn't even last a few seconds before being crushed underfoot."
"I couldn't understand why. Later, I spent a long time investigating, and I finally found out..."
"Those two ladies weren't nobles of the Goa Kingdom at all. They were Celestial Dragons who snuck away from home for fun. And the captain that Aya saved was none other than Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Stellers!"
"So funny. So funny... so damn funny!!!"
Sakuragi Itsuki suddenly threw back his head and laughed like a lunatic.
"Hahaha! Aya thought she had made two new friends—but in their eyes, she was just a toy, something like a kitten or puppy to play with."
"And the guy who came knocking on our door the night before to thank her for saving his life—was the same guy who personally cut off her head the next day!"
"And me? I was kicked into the sea like a dead dog. I floated for a whole month before I barely crawled back alive!"
"No wonder you didn't speak for months after that trip..." Junichi clutched his head in pain, murmuring, "But after her funeral, didn't you slowly recover?"
"Recover? I never recovered."
Sakuragi sneered, "I only pretended to. I had to raise you. I had to maintain the dojo I built with my own hands. So I chose to run away, to forget. I kept pretending to be the good chairman, the good father."
"The real Sakuragi Itsuki—the original Sakuragi Itsuki—drowned ten years ago."
"I thought I could keep running forever. I mean, what could I do? Take revenge? Against who? Celestial Dragons? A Vice Admiral? I'm not even a Sword Master! Where would I get that power?!"
He grinned.
"But fate just wouldn't let me bow down!"
"Five years ago, in that shipwreck, I almost drowned again while saving people. But I lived. Not only that—I found a Devil Fruit among the wreckage of a passing merchant ship!"
"You know the rest."
Sakuragi Itsuki finally turned his body around. The hole in his chest from the sword strike surged with wooden tendrils—and in the blink of an eye, fully healed.
His expression gradually became emotionless again.
"Fate saved me twice. It gave me the power of a devil. Clearly—it was urging me to take the path of revenge."
"So, I personally destroyed everything that belonged to Sakuragi Itsuki."
"The dojo, family, old friends... all those things that would make me hesitate. That kept me hiding on this tiny island, licking my wounds like a coward!"
"As for all the people I've killed these years?"
He chuckled darkly and shook his head slightly.
"Relax. They didn't die in vain. Those puppet dolls earned me over a billion Berries in five years. That finally gave me enough to fund my revenge."
"Shameless! You... You... Do you feel no guilt at all?!"
Junichi's face was pale. His finger shook as he pointed at Sakuragi Itsuki. "You're insane! You went crazy five years ago, didn't you?!"
"Those Celestial Dragons deserve to die! I want to cut off their heads myself to avenge Mother! But why this way?! Would Mother want to see you like this? You killed so many innocent people—when you die, how will your soul face her?!"
"Mind your words, Junichi."
Sakuragi's voice suddenly turned cold. "Five years ago, I was going to kill you. But in the end, I softened and let you float away at sea. That was me sparing your life."
"But the one thing you shouldn't have done—the biggest mistake—was coming back to this island when I was ready to take my final bow. And worse yet..."
"You brought a brat who loves to get in the way!"
The moment he finished speaking—
Hundreds of puppet strings burst out from his head, dancing wildly under the light. They turned into thick, dark yellow vines, as thick as arms.
Sakuragi's voice became cold and mechanical, like a puppet. Not human at all.
"Once, maybe twice. But not three times. Junichi, if you don't want the life I gave you..."
"—Then just turn into my puppet along with that brat!"
Whoosh!
With a roar, the vines flew at Junichi and Shano, completely surrounding them from all directions.
Shano looked at the snake-like vines twisting madly around them.
"Still got the strength to fight?" he suddenly turned and asked, "If you don't want to fight him, I understand."
"...I... I..."
Junichi looked silently at the figure on the platform, then suddenly wiped away his tears and gritted his teeth.
"I don't want to run. Boss! My father—Sakuragi Itsuki—is like he said, already dead. The guy on that platform now, he's just a ghost wearing my father's skin."
"He wants revenge? Let him wait. First, I'll take my revenge for my father!"
Shano was a little surprised.
"Here. Take this."
He pulled out the Masamune blade and tossed it over. "This power is tricky. I'll take the main body. You handle the vines."
Junichi caught it instinctively and stood back-to-back with Shano.
Whoosh whoosh! Before he could adjust to the weapon, several puppet lines attacked from the side.
He immediately raised his blade to block the first wave—then slashed sideways, instantly cutting several of the thick threads in half.
What a fast sword... Junichi was shocked. Even teacher Koshiro's Wado Ichimonji wasn't this sharp.
Shano had already raised his head, eyes narrowed, locking onto the source of the puppet threads.
"Who gave you permission to stay up there, playing god?!"
He suddenly grabbed the nearest vines, his muscles bulging like hills, and yanked with monstrous force!
Crack crack! The platform cracked at the edge. Sakuragi's body was pulled up into the air!