"Big idiot?"
The words stunned everyone into silence.
Just moments ago, they still clung to hope—if Luo Yu truly knew Kozuki Oden, maybe they could appeal to sentiment.
But reality came crashing down like a slap to the face.
Their revered hero—the pride of Wano—in this stranger's mouth, was just a "big idiot."
"You dare insult Lord Oden?!" Kyoshiro's expression went cold, his right hand gripping the hilt of his katana as killing intent surged from his body.
Luo Yu, unfazed, shook the wine gourd in his hand, took a sip, and sat leisurely on a nearby boulder.
"Why? You don't believe me?"
He chuckled, looking at them with disarming calm.
"That big idiot… was once the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. He even sailed with the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger."
"He returned to Wano, found Kaido and Orochi conspiring to overthrow the country—and what did he do?"
"Instead of seeking help from the allies he already had, he claimed he didn't want to trouble his friends."
"He insisted on handling everything alone. Admirable? Sure."
Luo Yu narrowed his eyes, his voice turning sharp.
"But when Kaido and Orochi held hostages, what did this so-called hero do?"
"He believed a pirate's promise. Stripped naked and danced in the streets for five years."
"And in the end? He failed to save anyone. Instead, he helped Kaido consolidate control over the country."
"When he finally struck back—it was half-baked, poorly prepared. And he died a laughingstock."
"If that's not a big idiot, what is?"
The words fell like hammers, and no one could refute them.
"To you, he may be a saint," Luo Yu said coldly. "But to me? He's a man with strength and no sense."
"If he had the wit to unite the daimyo and rally the warriors of Wano, launch a campaign from the start—he could have reclaimed this land."
"Don't forget—Kaido back then was not the Kaido of today. He was still a crawling lizard."
"Don't forget—before all that, Gecko Moria fought Kaido in Wano and lived to tell the tale."
"If Oden had seized that moment… maybe this country wouldn't have suffered for decades."
Luo Yu raised the wine gourd and looked directly at Hiyori.
"Tell me I'm wrong."
"Shut up!" Kyoshiro roared, face twisted in rage.
His instincts told him to deny everything Luo Yu said.
But every word had struck deep—like an invisible hammer battering his soul.
"He was saving lives!" Kyoshiro snapped.
"Hundreds of innocent people were at stake. Lord Oden did what he had to!"
Luo Yu took another sip of wine, laughing softly.
"Hundreds of lives? And the rest of Wano's population condemned to suffer?"
"There are many ways to save lives."
"Oden chose the worst one—trusting pirates, preaching loyalty and honor to snakes."
"On the Grand Line, it's survival of the fittest. If you want justice, pick up a sword."
"An emperor wages war, not dances naked in the street."
His voice dropped low and cold.
"Wano suffered for decades—because its would-be savior was a fool."
"He wasn't just a failure as a ruler—he couldn't even protect his family."
His words echoed over the bloody field.
Even the once-hidden Kozuki Sukiyaki—now observing in secret—was stunned silent.
Hiyori was frozen.
Only Kyoshiro still roared with emotion.
"You're spouting nonsense!!"
He raised his katana, fury blinding his reason, and charged.
"Kyoshiro! Stop!!" Hiyori's anguished cry rang out.
Kyoshiro froze mid-charge.
It was the tone of her voice.
Authoritative. Noble.
Like her father's voice in years past.
And then—
Clang.
The sword in Hiyori's hand slipped to the ground.
She collapsed to her knees, hands covering her face.
And she sobbed.
"I'm sorry, Kyoshiro-uncle… I wanted to defend Father…"
"I thought of so many arguments in my head…"
"But he called my father a big idiot, and…"
"I… I couldn't refute him…"
Her voice broke into a wail.
"There were so many other ways to save Wano. Why did Father choose the dumbest one?"
"If that's not what a big idiot does… then what is…?"
Her grief spilled out like a dam breaking.
The weight of truth—ugly, painful truth—had finally broken the wall of idealism around Kozuki Oden.
And in that moment, on the bloodstained grass of Wano, a daughter wept not just for her father's death—
—but for his failure.