Hearing Kaito's voice, Yamato trembled all over. She slowly turned around to meet his slightly bluish face.
Kaito couldn't believe this woman. And now she's offering to raise Kalifa for him?
The more he thought about it, the more pissed off he got. Kaito couldn't help but raise his fist again, making Yamato clutch her chest in a panic and yell,
"You can hit me anywhere, I don't care! You saved my life, so it's yours to take. Just… don't hit here again!"
In the end, Kaito didn't hit her. After all, Kalifa was standing right there—might as well keep up appearances. Not that it mattered. Unknown to him, his image in Kalifa's eyes didn't need saving anymore.
He shot Yamato a grumpy look and said,
"I did save your life, didn't I? And this is how you repay me?"
Yamato still clutched her chest tightly, lifting her chin stubbornly as she replied,
"Those are two different things! My life is yours to take whenever, I know I can't beat you. But you can't hit me there again!"
"Heh. Like I'm dying to hit you in the first place."
As soon as he said it, not just Yamato—Kalifa too—nodded solemnly at Kaito, as if agreeing wholeheartedly.
Kaito was speechless. Not wanting to dwell on the topic any longer, he reached out and tapped Yamato's forehead with a finger.
"You seriously idolize that idiot Kozuki Oden, don't you?"
The moment Yamato heard him call her idol an idiot, she exploded. She even forgot to cover her chest, clenching her fists the size of boulders and roaring at Kaito,
"Who are you calling an idiot!? Oden was a real man!"
"And you call that idiot a real man?"
"You don't know anything about him! That kind of man represents true freedom! Do you even know how he died!?"
"Hah. Died like a fool."
"You're spouting nonsense! He willingly endured boiling alive for the sake of his retainers and the people of Wano!"
"Oh."
"ARGHHH!"
No matter how Yamato ranted, Kaito's face remained full of disdain. That pushed her over the edge. But she still couldn't beat him—so all she could do was clench her fists and rage helplessly.
Watching Yamato stomp and flail in fury before him, Kaito couldn't help but find it amusing.
Did that dead fool Oden know he had such a rabid fangirl?
In Kaito's eyes, Oden was a certified idiot. And not just an idiot—he was the kind of guy everyone in the anime praised endlessly. From Whitebeard and Roger to Yamato here, there wasn't one person who didn't sing his praises. You'd think the guy had some kind of irresistible charisma or something.
But thinking back on all the brainless things Oden had done, Kaito couldn't help but laugh. Today, he was going to take advantage of Yamato's youth and let her see just how foolish Oden really was.
He looked at her and asked,
"Do you know who brought Kozuki Oden back to Wano?"
"I do! The Roger Pirates!"
"Oh? You do know that much. So, tell me—if Oden had invited them to come along to Wano, don't you think they could've helped with what happened afterward?"
"Hmph. I know what you're getting at. His journal said it—he came back to open Wano's borders. He didn't need anyone else's help!"
"Ha! What noble resolve. So first he gets stopped by the previous user of the Barrier Fruit, Kurozumi Semimaru, and then gets tricked by the previous user of the Clone-Clone Fruit, Kurozumi Higurashi, who turned into his father, Kozuki Sukiyaki?"
"That's because the enemy's powers were too strange! I'd fall for it too!"
"Hmm. I guess from that angle, your admiration is somewhat understandable. But let me ask you this: knowing Kozuki Sukiyaki's personality, do you really think he would've agreed to let someone like Kurozumi Orochi become shogun of Wano?"
"...That's hard to say."
"Fine, let's say Oden wasn't Sukiyaki's biological son. Let me ask you—what do you think of him dancing naked in the streets for five years straight?"
"He did it to protect the people of Wano!"
"Wow, how noble. But don't you think five years is a lot of time? He used to be part of the Whitebeard Pirates, didn't he? In five whole years, it never occurred to him to ask Whitebeard for help?"
"...Like I said earlier! Oden didn't want outsiders interfering in Wano's affairs!"
At this point, Yamato's tone clearly started to falter—she herself was beginning to think maybe Oden should have asked Whitebeard for help.
Because this wasn't just his personal issue anymore. The entire nation of Wano was being crushed under Kaido and Orochi, and he still insisted on handling it himself. It was starting to look more like stubborn pride than anything noble.
But Yamato was a die-hard Oden fangirl, after all. Even though her heart was wavering, her mouth stayed stubborn. Kaito could tell, so he pressed on, continuing to drag Oden through the mud.
"Alright, so full of pride. Then when he finally fought your father—he lost again, didn't he?"
"That was that damn Kurozumi Higurashi again! She turned into Oden's kid, and that's how my father beat him!"
"Amazing. Fooled twice by the same person. Truly incredible."
"..."
"Did you know your father gave him three days to escape? He wanted to fight Oden fair and square again. But what did Oden do? Gave up and got himself boiled to death."
"At least... at least he was free. He—"
"You mean when he was sailing with the Roger Pirates? You really are sheltered. Do you know how many scumbags the so-called Great Pirate Era unleashed? How many homes were destroyed by those 'free' pirates? That 'freedom' you admire came at the cost of countless others'."
"No! I... I just wanted to see the outside world..."
"Then go. The shackles holding you back are gone. What's stopping you now?"
"But... Kozuki Oden's journal said someone would come in a few years to save this country. I want to see that with my own eyes!"
Clearly, her blind worship had already started to fade.
Kaito, on the other hand, knew the "someone" mentioned in that journal was Luffy, who'd eventually sail to Wano. This kind of fatalistic prophecy nonsense was exactly what he hated most. He stared at Yamato and asked,
"So you're going to let your life be chained to some vague prophecy? If you really want to save Wano, why not do it yourself?"
"I'm not strong enough to defeat my father..."
"Not now. But what about later? Or is that the limit of your ambition?"
"Of course not! I'll get stronger!"
"Then go see the outside world. You've got talent, real talent. Staying here will only waste it."
Yamato didn't reply, but her expression said it all. A strong desire to set sail was burning inside her.
However, there was one major problem—how?
She was a Devil Fruit user who couldn't swim. Kaido hadn't left a single ship behind. Even if there was a ship, she had zero sailing experience. She didn't even know how to navigate and would probably starve at sea before finding land.
Was she really going to lose direction again right after discovering her life's purpose? Yamato clenched her teeth, her mind spinning—then suddenly, her eyes lit up and she looked straight at Kaito.
How could she forget him?
He was strong. He could fly. If she followed him, wouldn't that solve everything?
Plus, he was the one who kept encouraging her to go out to sea. If she asked him to take her with him, surely he'd agree!
Excited, Yamato looked at Kaito and shouted,
"I got it! Take me to sea with you!"
"Get lost."
"...?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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