"Between those two, one of them is definitely a traitor!" He said confirming their guess.
Shock spread on the faces of everybody there.
But before the accused can even stand to defend themselves, the straw-hats yelled at the same time that it was impossible.
"Impossible… we have been traveling with them and we know that they can be trusted. Ian, you must be wrong!" Nami told Ian as she looked at the two people in question.
Ian gave her a look that said are you stupid.
"I'm not accusing them. I simply stated the facts! Both Inuarashi and Nekomamushi can be accounted for! Obviously, we would exclude Momo, which would leave both of them! And since Zou can't be found easily, not to mention that Jack specifically came for the person that was hiding here, there definitely was a traitor!" Ian told her calmly.
And this managed to shut them all up.
Even the two persons in question.
But then Kin'emon refused to accuse his friend Kanjuro and came to his defense.
��There is no way that one of us is a traitor! Ian, you don't know how close the bond between each of us is! There must be another explanation." Kin'emon said. A bit hurt that their friendship would be questioned.
The two rulers had suspected the moment that Jack cam for Raizo, that there was a spy from their side.
But they had no way to know who he was from the two before them. Still, their gut feeling pointed at one of them as each of them looked at him warily.
At this point in time, Kanjuro who was silent opened his eyes and looked at Kin'emon with a hurt look on his face.
"I understand now!" He said.
And this managed to shut up everyone there.
"Y-You understand what?" Kin'emon looked at his friend confused. He didn't understand why he was looking at him that way.
"All the facts now make sense! I had always suspected you Kin'emon! I have seen you from the shadows always sending those letters to someplace! And at that time when I questioned you about it, you told me that it was necessary for our Lord! But you didn't want to say anything else! Those were letters to the enemy right? How long?" Kanjuro was the perfect visage of anger.
"How long have you been fooling us, you bastard?" Kanjuro roared at him.
And Kin'emon took a step back.
"W-What are you talking about?" He honestly didn't know what his fellow samurai and retainer were talking about. He sent no letters and they certainly had never talked about this beforehand.
He turned at the rest to tell them this but then he saw them all looking at the both of them warily but at him more so.
Thankfully, Ian came to his help.
In the form of him laughing his ass off.
"Hahahaha…" He laughed out loud at this.
"This is so good!" he muttered between heaves.
"Ian, what's so funny?" Inuarashi asked him.
"The bullshit that guy has been saying is!" Ian replied to him.
"Also you don't need to keep spouting that crap I already know it is you!" Ian told him.
At this Kanjuro's eyes widened as he started to think of solutions to this particular trouble he had gotten himself into.
Still, outwardly he replied with.
"Why would you say that Ian?" He questioned him.
Ian brought his hand to his shin and thought for a bit.
"You all know that you can sense emotions with Observation Haki right?" And at seeing them nod he continued on.
"Then do you mind explaining to me, why you, during the time you were happy and sad for your current lord, mourning for your former lord, and happy for the alliance outwardly, why did I not sense them from you? It is almost as if you are a very good actor, wouldn't you say?" Ian told him as he finished with a question.
Kanjuro knew that he was in trouble.
"I do not know what those skills are, however, there is indeed a technique to sense emotions for us but it is not always accurate not to mention that another master can hide his true emotions!" He replied back.
By now everyone was starting to suspect him more.
"You mean to say you have been hiding your true emotions while outwardly you were crying with the rest? Now, why would you do so?" Ian knew he had him.
"Never mind, don't answer that. Also, let me give you a good piece of information. There is no way to lie in front of someone who had mastered the ability of the voice of the world!" Ian told him.
This was indeed new to them.
"How sure are you Ian?" Inuarashi asked. By now he was close to sure that Kanjuro was suspicious.
After all, he had been trying to blame his friend and now he was trying to defend himself by saying he was hiding his emotions while crying on the outside.
Ian snorted.
"Apart from him just now proving it with his acing?" Ian asked him sarcastically.
"Well there is also the fact that I can read minds when I focused enough and if the person was distracted, as otherwise, they would be able to stop me, and earlier I had used it on him. And what I heard was: I need to tell Lord Orochi that another emperor would be joining the alliance with these samurais and pirates! Now if my memory serves me right, isn't Orochi the name of the current Shogun you are trying to overthrow?!" Ian told them.
And they were shocked that he could read minds but even more so when they heard that what he found out from Kanjuro.
"I can also force him to speak up if you really want to be sure!" Ian continued on.
"You ruined everything, Ian Louis! I would make sure that you regret this!" Kanjuro spat through gritted teeth.
He knew that he was busted at this moment, so he hurriedly stood up from the ground and took his brush off.
And with one fluid motion, he pulled on the strands of his hair and from his mane a thick cloud of ink was released.
And then the cloud spread above them in the room.
Next, he did another drawing of his, and this time real lifelike snakes, as opposed to his usual awful drawings, spread around the room holding each of them up and tightening around them.
Another drawing was followed next which was an elegant giant flying crane! He then stood above it and it started to fly off before Kanjuro spoke up.
"Although I wouldn't be able to take all of you down with me, I'll take what I can! Enjoy my technique: Evening INK Shower!" He said as he continued flying away at a very fast speed. And when he reached the roof of the room he was going to continue and pierce through it.
Meanwhile, his technique had started.
A shower of ink drops started to fall on them, but Ian casually waved his hand after which the drops started pooling above their heads as if an invisible barrier was keeping them from cutting through their bodies. From the sound on the barrier, they knew that it was possible.
And just as Kin'emon was about to run, Ian spoke up.
"What kind of emperor would I be if I let you escape like that?" He then waved his hand again and a bolt of lightning shaped like an eastern dragon shout out from his hand and reached him in the blink of an eye, after which he was electrocuted with his crane returning to Ink and him soon falling over!
Only one thought went through Kanjuro's head.
'How?'
The crane was made with all of his power, and he was sure that anyone else would need a huge effort to revert his drawings to ink.
And then he lost consciousness.
(1400 words)
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