Two Minutes Earlier - Inside The Castle
"Damn it, I just wanna be free, Fuga!" A woman shouted, jutting her fist up into the air with a fire burning in her eyes, "You agree with me, right?!"
The woman was speaking to someone who looked more like a monster than a man, as he was a round, ogre-like creature. He had an ugly face, a bulbous and jutting belly, and a long mane of curly red hair. However, the most noticeable feature of the creature was his lack of legs - well, lack of human-like legs.
Instead, there was a horse-like bottom half, with four dark-red legs and hoofs. His lower half was also much too small for his fat upper half, giving him a pretty silly appearance.
And, as Yamato asked him the question, Fuga just stared back at her dumbly for a moment. Then, instead of speaking words, he simply laughed - the noise sounding very unusual.
"Fugagagagaga!"
"I knew it! You always get me!" Yamato nodded sagely as Fuga 'agreed' with her, "I can't stand being trapped here anymore! I just want to be free!"
"Fugagagagaga!" Fuga 'agreed' once again.
"But…" Yamato's fiery words died soon after, the woman looking down as a shadow covered her face, "Ace hasn't come back yet, and these damn cuffs make sure I can't leave even when Kaido's gone. I don't know if I'll ever be free, Fuga, or if Wano ever will be either. It feels like it's been like this for as long as I can remember…"
Which, considering most of her life had been spent in a Kaido-ruled Wano, Yamato wasn't far off with that statement. Her somber thoughts hung in the air for a moment, the mood being turned sour by her sad disposition.
…
"Fugagagagaga!"
"You think I should try to break out again, Fuga?! Me too!" Yamato brightened up immediately at Fuga's 'suggestion,' nodding rapidly in agreement, "While he's gone, I might as well at least enjoy being outside of Onigashima, right?!"
Yamato didn't wait for his response, instead rushing out of the room, her massive spikey metal club in her hand. Fuga just stood there, staring dumbly at the door she left through as various shouts started to ring out, and soon a massive island-wide goose chase to prevent Yamato from leaving the island would begin - something that wasn't uncommon when Kaido left on expeditions. The hunt for the self-proclaimed Son of Kaido began.
…
"Fugagagagaga!"
Fuga simply laughed.
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I didn't think I'd see her so soon, but I wasn't complaining either. As the woman sprinted towards us, running from a crowd of Beast Pirates, I glanced at the box above her head.
[Yamato] - Level 750
Reputation: Neutral
I hummed appreciatively as I took in her level - she was seriously that strong?
Her level was equal to what Tiamat's initial level had been, and while I knew she was strong - you had to be to be able to take on Kaido, even if she could only match him for a short time before being overwhelmed - I didn't know how she or Kaido would stack up against people from the DxD world.
They were hard to judge here, as while someone like Kaido didn't have the pure destructive power of someone like Tiamat, I had suspected that he would be a higher level anyway. He had the devil fruit, along with the pure physical abilities, and his insane END.
Though the levels tended to undersell non-physical fighters, so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised. She probably wouldn't be able to actually beat Tiamat despite their levels being the same, as Tiamat had an arsenal of magical techniques along with her equal physical abilities.
"What's going on over there?" Tiamat asked blandly, looking forward as she was clearly referring to the crowd of Beast Pirates chasing Yamato in our direction, "Should we just ignore it?"
"Probably," I hummed, as simply leaving without making a fuss and using the element of surprise later would be the much smarter move, "But we won't."
It would be the smarter move, but when Yamato and the quest completion were literally running right at me? There was either some multiversal god looking down fondly on me right now, or my LUK stat was helping me out. I couldn't think of any other reason for this to work out so perfectly.
So, who was I to deny the world if it wanted to give me this Waifu on a silver platter? It wasn't like it would alter my plans all that much, and she'd actually be a nice asset to have in the fight against Kaido.
"Head back to Udon. I'll be there in a few seconds," I said, causing Tiamat to blink at the extremely short timeframe I gave her, but she nodded.
I casually reached back, wrapping my hand around the handle of my sword, and grinned widely as I muttered a word.
"Boost."
I didn't actually need to say the word, but what's the harm in dramatic flair?
My sword glowed, and that glow extended to my body for just a split second as my already insane AGI stat doubled in an instant.
Then, I vanished. One second, I was standing next to Tiamat, and the next, I was in front of Yamato.
"Don't scream," I said bluntly, causing her to flinch as I was suddenly right in front of her.
"W-Wha-" Before she could react, I swept her off her feet, carrying the massive woman in my arms as she was even taller than myself, and vanished.
It was a bit strange to move so quickly, even though I had practiced and tested the Boost Gear out a few times already. I had already been so fast that traveling across thousands of miles was nothing more than a step when I was trying my hardest, and after that speed had doubled?
I could travel across all of Wano at a 'leisurely' pace in only a second or two. It was an odd sensation, as it wasn't like my brain was processing everything in slow-motion. My INT was high enough that I could at least make sense of what was going on, and could maneuver myself so I didn't hit any obstacles, but it was still pretty jarring.
But, as with everything, it would just take some getting used to. I had initially struggled to not act on instinct during the high-speed fights I had as I got stronger, as even with my insane INT stat, it was still hard to process things moving that quickly and still make decisions mid-fight. Over time, it had become like second nature to me.
"-t are you-" Yamato lurched forward, and I had to hold her in place as she experienced the disorientation that came from moving so quickly. She nearly fell out of my arms as she shoved against my chest instinctively, trying to free herself from my grip, but I just gently placed her on the floor as I ignored the fist slamming into my chest.
"H-How did you…" Yamato coughed as she stumbled back, looking at me with wary eyes as she tensed, "What the hell are you doing?!"
"You wanted to leave Onigashima, right?" I asked simply, grinning as I spread my arms out wide, "So, I took you away from Onigashima. Welcome to Udon."
"Udon? What the hell are you…" Yamato blinked, glancing around as her eyes went wide and she took in the sight around her - which was Udon prison. It looked mostly the same, though it was now crawling with unchained prisoners and various soldiers from my Kingdom as it was occupied by a new ruler.
"H-How the hell are we in Udon?!" Yamato spat out, her eyes wide as her jaw literally dropped, "T-This is the prison?! And what the hell is that?!"
I stared blankly as Yamato's jaw dropped even further and she pointed in shock at a dire wolf walking by. Seriously, we just moved from Onigashima to Udon in less than a second, and that was what she was shocked about? They have wolves in this world!
"A direwolf," I said bluntly, "That's what you're surprised about? Not that we're in Udon?"
"R-Right! How'd you do that?!" Yamato turned back to me, her eyes a mixture of excitement and suspicion, "How'd we get here?! Was that a devil fruit?! Wait, who even are you?!"
Well, that was the question I was waiting for.
"It's nice to meet you, daughter of Kaido," I grinned widely, locking eyes with her, "I am Valon - the true Beast King, the Ruler of the Underworld, and soon to be new ruler of Wano. How'd you like to join me in taking down your father?"
As the air around us became filled with tension, and as Yamato stared at me with wide eyes, I expected a lot of reactions. None of them was what I got.
"...Did he put you up to this?" Yamato deadpanned, her eyes trailing up and down my body, "Is this some kind of prank? A joke? Mental torture?"
I was confused by her words for a second, but then quickly realized what she meant.
Right - I still looked like a typical Beast Pirate right now, and a rather chubby and plain looking grunt as well. I chuckled as I dispelled the skill, letting the illusion fade away as my armored form became revealed, and Yamato's eyes went wide.
"No. This is quite serious, daughter of Kaido," I smirked as she took a step back while I used [King's Aura], letting my presence wash over her oppressively, "Your father has been prancing around, calling himself the King of Beasts, when he's truly nothing more than a pup. Now, it's time for his false reign to come to a close, and for the true Beast King to take over. Join me."
Of course, I knew it wouldn't be this easy to convince her. She certainly hated her father and definitely wanted him gone, but that didn't mean she suddenly liked or trusted me. She had no idea who I was, and I was an unknown, ridiculously strong entity.
She had just seen me take her from Onigashima to Udon in an instant - moving so quickly that she couldn't even react, much less stop me. If anything, she would be wary of me, and outright refuse my proposal, if not attack me on the spot-
"Alright! Let's do it!" I blinked rapidly as Yamato cheered, looking at me with a big grin, "You must be pretty strong, or at least fast, to move us over here this quickly, right? And you seem like you're gathering forces here, so that's a good start!"
I stared at her blankly, "...that's it? You're down to join my cause that easily?"
"Huh?" Yamato blinked, looking at me as if I had said something stupid, "You said you wanted to take down Kaido."
"I did."
"Well, I also want to take down Kaido!" Yamato answered as if it were obvious.
"...but you literally have no idea who I am," I deadpanned, "For all you know, I could be worse than Kaido."
"Worse than Kaido?" Yamato stared at me blankly, and then, abruptly, burst out into laughter, "Ahaha! Someone worse than him? Yeah, right! So, what's the plan?"
"I-I really could be!" I found myself being the one to stutter for once, staring at her incredulously, "That's it? You're not questioning the whole 'true Beast King' or 'Ruler of the Underworld' shit?"
She could at least try to be confused!
"You want to defeat Kaido, and I want to defeat Kaido," Yamato replied simply, grinning as she gave me a thumbs up, "So, we're on the same side!"
I stared at her blankly again. Then, I shrugged.
If it was as simple as that to her, then who was I to complain?
"Let's get those off first," I hummed, nodding at her handcuffs as I reached back and unsheathed my sword, "Hold your hands out."
"You can try, but it's impossible," She shot me down bluntly, shaking her head lightly, "I've been eating, sleeping, and even bathing with these on for years. Kaido barely takes them off when he's here, and when he's gone, he puts them on and takes the key with him. The metal is unbreakable-"
My sword slashed down, and with my insane STR stat, my [Legendary] sword, and my doubled stats, it was like I was cutting through butter. There wasn't a sound - not even a clang - as my blade cut through the handcuffs, and Yamato looked down with wide eyes as the cuffs fell to the ground.
"W-Woah…" She muttered, her eyes filled with disbelief, "How… how strong are you?!"
"Strong enough to beat Kaido," I said simply with a light smirk, "Stick with me, and you'll be free in no time, alright?"
"R-Right!" Yamato agreed, still staring at me with slight awe.
And, just like that, Yamato had joined my King-
"BUT!" Yamato held up her hand, stopping my thoughts as she looked at me with a deathly serious gaze, "If we are to work together, then you must use my proper name! While I am Yamato, the daughter of Kaido, I prefer to be Kouzuki Oden - the Son of Kaido! Call me Oden!"
Right, there was still this part of her that I hadn't experienced yet - Yamato idolized Oden so greatly that she literally wanted to become him.
"Sure," I said simply, but glanced over her as I gave her some honest advice, "I don't really give a shit about who you want to be, but Oden was a great samurai here, right? Isn't it kind of rude to his legacy to take his name?"
When I died, I guess I would be a bit honored if some woman idolized me so much that she wanted to become me, but I wouldn't really like it. That was my name, y'know? My legend was my own, and I wouldn't want someone trying to shove themself into it.
"N-No! Oden was a great warrior!" Yamato huffed at my words, "By taking his name, I'll ensure it's never forgotten! I'm protecting his legacy!"
"I'd say you're doing the opposite," I hummed, causing Yamato to look at me confusedly, "By taking his name, you're overwriting his legend with your own."
I glanced over as her eyes widened a bit, locking our gazes, "Make your own legacy. Then, when people wonder how Yamato did so many great things, they'll know you were inspired by Kouzuki Oden - the real, living man. Not someone whose identity you copied."
Yamato stared back at me blankly for a moment, the cogs turning in her brain. Then, she simply glanced away, not saying a word as she was clearly conflicted.
"Well… maybe…"
And so, Yamato, not Kouzuki Oden, joined the Beast Kingdom.
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AN: Thank you for reading! Sorry for the break in updates, they will be more frequent now!
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