Watching the dumbfounded Yamato, Kaido slapped his thigh and couldn't hide his grin.
If only he were more educated, he'd add, "Brilliant!"
Gusion had set up a trap for Yamato to fall into herself, so her logic was now directly contradicted, forcing her to think through what's right and wrong.
She had just concluded, herself, that abducting someone else's wife and forcing her into something she didn't want was despicable.
Logically, that meant Oden's abduction and forced orgies—especially in a sacred temple—couldn't simply be called despicable. It was downright inhuman.
Realizing this, Yamato trembled and snapped out of it, looking at Gusion in horror as she backed away. "No, something's not right. Let me think, let me think..."
She retreated to the wall, sat down, hugged her knees, and looked utterly lost.
Gusion, seeing her like this, couldn't help but smile. He quickly wiped the grin from his face.
He thought, this isn't right—he's not supposed to be so devious. But why does seeing Yamato suffer an existential crisis feel so satisfying?
Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen, Kaido was laughing heartily. "I like this Gusion!"
He'd been annoyed by his daughter for years, but it was the first time he'd seen Yamato so stumped.
Sure, he could physically overpower Yamato with beatings or by starving her, but that never made her submit mentally.
He didn't want to see her weakened by hunger or beaten bloody—he wanted to see her admit she was wrong!
Of course, Yamato hadn't admitted defeat yet, but seeing her so lost and doubting herself was a pleasure in itself.
Kaido was growing increasingly fond of Gusion, even though he called himself a demon slayer and seemed destined to clash with their Oni race. But that didn't matter.
After all, Gusion was an outsider—his demon-slaying had nothing to do with their kind, just a title.
In fact, in this world, the only remaining Oni were Kaido and Yamato.
Kaido thought if he could recruit Gusion into the Beasts Pirates, and have him educate Yamato every day, within two years she'd be a worthy heir.
"Not many people can get the better of Young Master Yamato. This prison labor idea was really clever."
Black Maria flattered Kaido since he'd ordered Yamato to the labor camp.
Of course, Kaido never really expected Yamato to change—this wasn't the first time he'd sent her to Udon Prison.
"Hmm... Let them stay a while longer, but don't make it too obvious. Starting tomorrow, have them work with the other prisoners."
Kaido thought it over. To keep things natural, he couldn't keep giving them special treatment, or Yamato would get suspicious.
Yes, his daughter, though crazy enough to call herself Oden, wasn't stupid. She was, in fact, pretty perceptive.
…
Another morning came. Gusion stretched, ready to practice Haki, when a guard appeared at their cell.
"Gusion, Young Master Yamato, starting today you'll be mining."
The guard opened the door, his gaze lingering on Yamato. "Queen-sama is in Udon Prison today. Don't get any ideas about escaping."
Truthfully, the lower ranks of the Beasts Pirates thought some of the rules were pretty lax. Kaido ordered Yamato imprisoned—this wasn't the first or second time.
But each time, Yamato escaped, and as long as she didn't immediately challenge Kaido again, no one bothered to recapture her. It was almost an unspoken rule among the higher-ups.
But this time, Kaido had ordered that Yamato stay in Udon for a while, so the guards had to take it seriously.
Queen, a top executive who rarely bothered with Udon, had even arrived that morning in his boar cart, just to keep an eye on Yamato.
After all, Yamato wasn't stupid—she knew she couldn't escape with Queen around, so she'd behave.
Plus, with Queen's rank, even if he punished Yamato, Kaido wouldn't complain.
"Damn Kaido, so we have to work today..."
Yamato cursed her father first thing. "But my injuries are pretty much healed. How about you, Gusion-dono?"
"I'm fine. Mining is nothing."
Gusion wasn't surprised about being sent to the mines. He'd never expected to rest in the cell forever—mining was just daily physical training.
Actually, in Udon Prison, strong people could live quite well. Kaido believed in strength above all and rewarded hard work.
The more work you did, the more food tickets you got. You could eat plenty, and if you had extra tickets, you could even sneak them to others as long as guards didn't catch you.
He and Yamato left the prison. On his fourth day in the One Piece World, Gusion finally saw the sun.
He noticed most prisoners didn't wear handcuffs—since they weren't that strong, it was easier to supervise them without losing labor.
In the quarry, the prisoners moved in groups under the watchful eyes of supervisors, entering the mines to work.
"Hey, what are you looking at!? Get to work!"
While Gusion was surveying the prison, thinking about possible escape routes, a man with an alpaca head came over, spitting everywhere as he spoke.
Thanks to his Observation Haki training, Gusion dodged the disgusting spit.
He recognized the man as one of the Beast Pirates' Gifters, who'd eaten a SMILE Fruit, permanently transforming part of their body into an animal, looking like a monster.
Some Gifters were cute, but this alpaca-man was disgusting, especially with his spitting.
"Dodging, are you!? Get to work!"
The alpaca-man, annoyed, raised his whip to strike.
But before he could, a pale hand caught the whip mid-swing.
"Don't touch my friend!"
Yamato shouted angrily, and with a flick, sent both whip and man flying.
The alpaca-man started to protest, but seeing it was Yamato, he wisely shut up and pointed instead. "Young Master Yamato, that mine over there is easier to dig."
This minor scene didn't attract any attention—everyone was used to Yamato in the labor camp.
"Let's go, Gusion-dono. He said that mine is easier. We should dig more—the red bean dumpling soup here is really good."
Yamato grabbed Gusion's hand, leading him to the mine like she was coming home.
Sometimes, when hiding on Onigashima and too hungry to beg Kaido for food, she'd challenge Kaido, get beaten, and be sent to Udon, where she could work for food.
Once she was healed and strong, she'd escape and cause more trouble.
Gusion let her lead him, observing the other prisoners.
He realized he'd overestimated the average power level of the New World.
Most prisoners, former samurai who'd followed Oden and lost to Kaido, should've been strong.
But most had overall stats around twenty, or even less than ten, basically normal human level.
He realized: even in a world full of strong people, talent was everything—not everyone could become a true powerhouse.
These people, like the Beasts Pirates' fodder, were just cannon fodder, good for bullying civilians, but useless against real strength—a single Conqueror's Haki would knock them all out.
Even in the original story, when real battles happened, only the top officers mattered—everyone else was just disposable.
The Straw Hats' alliance five or six thousand pirates actually only had a handful of real fighters, matching the Beasts Pirates' officers.
In the end, this was a world where top-tier strength ruled.
Gusion picked up a pickaxe and started mining. Yamato was even more enthusiastic, clearly experienced.
"Yamato, thank you for helping me earlier."
Mining was dull, but it didn't stop Gusion from chatting. He saw another opportunity.
"We're friends—of course I'll protect my friend."
Yamato said with a big smile.
"I appreciate the help, but Yamato, have you ever thought about this: with my strength, I could've caught the whip and knocked him down myself. If you hadn't stepped in and I fought back, what would've happened?"
Gusion quizzed her.
Now, Yamato instinctively frowned whenever he posed a question, expecting a trap.
But thinking it over, she answered honestly, "I've seen prisoners resist guards before—usually, all the supervisors gang up on them. But don't worry, I'd help you fight them if it happened."
Gusion shook his head. "You missed the core issue. If I fought back, it'd bring more supervisors or even Queen. But when you did it, nothing happened."
Yamato froze, a sense of unease rising. After these days, she sensed another critique of her Kozuki Oden identity was coming.
"Gusion-dono... what are you trying to say?"
She asked hesitantly.
Gusion stopped mining and looked into her eyes, exciting Kaido, who was watching.