"So... I should break out of prison first and go apologize to my old man?" Yamato pondered aloud.
"That's dumb," Gusion replied. "Breaking out looks insincere. Isn't the big-shot, Queen, coming today? Just go tell him you realize your mistake, and you want to see your father to apologize. I guarantee you'll be out by this afternoon."
Gusion spoke with confidence, believing Kaido would never be able to resist releasing his daughter once he heard she wanted to repent.
In fact, at that very moment, Kaido, who had just woken up and was watching the livestream, leaped up from his seat in excitement.
How many years had he been waiting? This was the moment he'd longed for—Yamato finally bowing her head and admitting she was wrong!
Just imagining Yamato obediently apologizing in front of him brought a smile to Kaido's face.
But soon, Kaido forced himself to sober up, putting on a stern look. He couldn't appear too happy.
He braced himself mentally: when he finally saw Yamato, he had to act indifferent, keep his cool, and maintain his authority as a father.
"Why are there so many empty sake barrels lying around? Clean this place up!" Kaido shouted, displeased by the mess.
The attendants, who handled Kaido's daily needs, could only grumble inwardly—after all, wasn't it Kaido himself who made the mess?
But Kaido was in a great mood, treating the staff kindly. Soon, the room was spotless, and he didn't ask for more sake.
He wanted to stay clear-headed so he could properly hear Yamato's apology.
At that moment, Black Maria, just up from her nap, walked in with a puzzled look. "What got into you, cleaning your room all of a sudden?"
To her, Kaido was always a man who didn't care about tidiness—throwing empty sake barrels everywhere so the air reeked of alcohol and sourness.
Now, not only was he ordering the room cleaned, he was even having his seat scrubbed!
"Air felt stuffy," Kaido said awkwardly. "I heard the hot springs in Wano are nice. I'm thinking of relaxing there."
With that, he walked out, heading for a bath.
Maria stared, baffled. Since when did Kaido care about personal hygiene? Was there some meeting of the Emperors coming? Was Big Mom visiting, so Kaido wanted to look good for his old flame/teammate? Maria was full of questions, but Kaido gave no explanation, leaving straight away.
Still puzzled, Maria went to see Alligator Woman, who looked utterly exhausted.
Unlike Maria and Kaido, Alligator Woman was a surveillance officer, on duty 24/7. Normally, she'd keep a balance—eight hours of rest, then switching with subordinates. But this week, with Kaido and Maria watching the livestream, she didn't dare slack off, afraid of missing anything important. So she'd been monitoring and relaying broadcasts constantly.
"What happened?" Maria asked. Considering Kaido's odd behavior, she figured the livestream must have some new scoop.
"Young master Yamato said she wants to apologize to Kaido-sama," Alligator Woman summarized.
"Huh?" Maria's jaw dropped. "Yamato wants to apologize to Kaido!?"
To Maria, this was unbelievable. After so many years, Yamato's rebellious image was deeply set.
After hearing the background, Maria finally understood what was going on.
"Sometimes, Kaido really is like a child. Or, maybe all men are the same?" Maria mused. She thought Yamato just wanted to regain her status so she could stir up more trouble. Even with that motive, Kaido was still happy, which Maria found amusing.
She glanced at Gusion on the screen and muttered, "This guy is really interesting. He actually convinced Yamato. I'd like to personally... discipline him a bit~"
…
At noon, under the blazing sun, Gusion and Yamato sat on a rock, eating heartily.
By now, Gusion's Seimei Kikan training was paying off. Though he still couldn't digest food instantly like Yamato, he could finish in about ten minutes.
He figured he'd fully master Seimei Kikan in a few more days.
While eating, a tall man with an elephant head belt approached—they recognized him as Babanuki, the Warden.
Gusion remembered him: user of a SMILE artificial Zoan (Elephant-type), and the golden elephant head at his waist seemed to have a mind of its own—quite funny.
Using his detection skills, Gusion saw that Babanuki wasn't weak. As a SMILE user, he was a Headliner in the Beasts Pirates—an officer-level member, with all attributes over 50, reaching the third-tier explorer level.
Gusion thought that if Yamato were freed from her seastone shackles, she could easily defeat Babanuki, since mythical Zoan users got huge physical boosts—once unrestrained, Yamato's stats would skyrocket.
Babanuki stopped before them, looking at Yamato, while the elephant at his waist eyed Gusion, sniffing around his food.
"Young master Yamato, your sentence is over. Kaido has sent me to bring you back to Onigashima," Babanuki announced.
Yamato was thrilled, shooting Gusion a delighted look. "Gusion-dono, you're a god!"
Gusion motioned for her to calm down—no big deal. He'd guessed Kaido wouldn't be able to resist; sure enough, it wasn't even afternoon and they were already letting Yamato out.
"I'm getting out. But..." Yamato turned to Gusion. "What about you?"
"Don't worry about me," Gusion waved. "I eat well, sleep well, and train my Haki here. It's fine."
He didn't expect Yamato to be able to get him out; in the end, it depended on Kaido. If not, he'd just unlock his shackles and escape on his own after laying low for a while.
He'd checked—the lock was mechanical, only legendary grade, and well within his master key's capacity. He could open it anytime.
Yes, while seastone shackles were common here, they were still legendary items: tough and able to suppress Devil Fruit users. Outside Wano, these were rare.
Even the Navy only gave such shackles to officers for capturing strong ability users.
"Relax, Gusion-dono. I'll find a way to persuade my father to let you out too—I still need your guidance," Yamato smiled, making Gusion stiffen.
Actually, Gusion wanted to bolt as soon as Yamato left; he didn't want to deal with Wano's mess anymore. The world was huge—he wanted to see it all.
But Yamato seemed to have latched onto him, so he might be stuck in Wano a while longer.
"You'd better behave," Babanuki warned Gusion after Yamato left. The other guards glared too.
Obviously, without Yamato's protection, Gusion would be treated like any other prisoner.
He'd been chatting with Yamato in prison, saying all sorts of rebellious things. The Beasts Pirates jailers really didn't like him now.
Sure enough, before long, the Alpaca-man came over and started spitting on Gusion's food.
Quick as lightning, Gusion snatched his plate away, rolled up the flatbread, and ate it in one bite, finishing his lunch.
"Bastard, Yamato's gone. Let's see how cocky you are now," Alpaca-man growled, raising his whip.
Gusion nonchalantly dodged attacks while eating, then picked up his pickaxe and headed for the mines as if nothing happened.
Alpaca-man followed, foaming and whipping, but neither spit nor whip touched Gusion.
Gusion simply ignored him, using him as target practice for Observation Haki.
He trained his body mining, and his Haki dodging—feeling like he'd discovered a new kind of training.
By sunset, Alpaca-man was exhausted, never landing a single blow.
…
Meanwhile, back on Onigashima, Yamato returned to the Beast Pirates' core territory.
Approaching Kaido's usual cave, she sniffed the air, puzzled.
She'd attacked Kaido here many times, so she knew the place well. It should reek of booze and rot, but now the air was fresh, even faintly floral.
Weird—did I go to the wrong place?
"Young master, Kaidou-sama's waiting inside," a pirate reminded her, and Yamato continued in, still suspicious.
Inside, there were no piles of sake jars as usual; the room was spotless. Against the far wall sat the familiar giant figure.
Kaido, bare-chested, sat on a clean stone throne. Even his black pants looked new.
His body was as solid as granite, his face expressionless, radiating Emperor-level authority.
Maria knelt beside him, pouring sake into his bowl. But Kaido didn't drink, just held the bowl, staring calmly at Yamato.
Yamato felt the pressure—it came from many angles.
For one, her father was truly powerful, one of the Yonko, called the world's strongest creature. Facing his aura was intimidating.
But also, realizing her father's love and indulgence filled her with guilt, making it hard to speak.
Plus, while she'd come to apologize, deep down, she didn't agree with her father's methods. Rejoining the Beasts Pirates was just another way to rebel—an act of deception that made her uncomfortable.
For all these reasons, Yamato struggled to speak after seeing Kaido.
After a long silence, she finally squeezed out a word: "Father..."
"Mm," Kaido nodded, leaning forward, holding his sake bowl as if just for atmosphere.
Kaido tried to keep a straight face, but inside, he was anxious, waiting for Yamato's apology.