Watching Yamato sob uncontrollably while muttering incessantly, Pudding's pupils dilated in shock.
"Uncle Kaido... killed Yamato's mother? This... how could this be?"
Pudding's mind was in turmoil, waves of shock crashing through her thoughts.
Had she heard Yamato's words before getting to know Kaido, Pudding would have absolutely believed that Kaido might have truly killed his own wife.
On the seas of the New World, rumors about the Yonko Kaido of the Beasts Pirates were countless.
Especially in Totto Land, due to the friendly relationship between the Big Mom Pirates and the big news Morgans.
The World News Society, which specialized in news and entertainment papers, often provided the Big Mom Pirates with large quantities of newspapers, books, and strange tales free of charge.
Among these were stories about famous figures from around the world.
Like Kaido.
Pudding had once read a book called "Chronicles of the Strongest Creature," which documented Kaido's life.
In the book, Kaido was recognized as the strongest creature on land, sea, and air—physically powerful, temperamentally cruel, and emotionally volatile.
In his eyes, whether they were enemies, innocent civilians, or his own men, if Kaido was momentarily displeased, he would slaughter them without mercy.
It was said that to date, over two million civilians had died by Kaido's hands.
Because of Kaido's bloodlust, his crew had to recruit new pirates every year.
Due to his volatile temper, the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates had been replaced over ten times.
The Disasters, has been replaced several times, the Plague eighteen times and the Drought sixty-six times.
This kind of outrageous documentation was strangely widely believed—at least, the young Pudding had believed it completely.
Comparing him to her own mother, Pudding thought Kaido might indeed be such a person.
But when Caesar brought Kaido to Totto Land...
After spending over ten days together, Pudding discovered that Kaido was cold-faced but warm-hearted, his personality actually quite similar to Katakuri's—sometimes even more naive than Katakuri.
He loved drinking, and when drunk, his expressions would change—thirteen times in one second.
He loved fighting, and when bored, he would beat up Queen for no reason.
He had quite a girlish heart at times.
When he saw little girls' clothes on the street, he would sometimes linger in front of the shops for an entire afternoon, frightening the merchants half to death.
He also called King his sworn brother, while he and Caesar would curse each other as scoundrels.
Once, when Kaido was drunk, Pudding heard him wailing loudly, muttering Jack's name, saying he failed to protect his brother and wishing they could be brothers again in the next life.
After the little girl Ain arrived, Kaido's temperament grew even gentler.
He even smiled at the Gifters and Linlin's children.
He often called Caesar a bastard, yet refused his healing even when injured, despite Caesar possessing nearly boundless life force.
But what made it hardest for Pudding to believe Kaido could have killed his wife was his attitude toward Yamato.
That day atop the Cake Tower, as the key figure in memory modification, Pudding listened to the entire conversation between Caesar and Kaido in the council hall.
There, Caesar gave Kaido a thorough tongue-lashing, absolutely scathing.
Kaido hung his head in dejection, finally resolving to alter Yamato's memories.
Yet when Yamato cried out "Dad," pleading not to have her memories changed...
Kaido wept bitter tears.
His heart softened.
He even punched Caesar over it.
These were the reasons Pudding simply couldn't believe Kaido could be so heartless.
Perhaps Kaido was cruel to enemies and harsh to some subordinates.
But he would never lightly strike his own officers, especially not old comrades like King and Queen who'd stood by him for decades.
Let alone his own wife.
"There must be something wrong here. Yamato's temperament supposedly changed after reading Oden's journal. So the key factor must lie in Oden's notes!"
A glint flashed in Pudding's eyes.
Perhaps by finding Yamato's memories of Oden's journal, she could learn why Yamato was so absolutely certain Kaido killed his wife—Yamato's mother!
Pudding immediately began rapidly rewinding Yamato's memory tapes.
Age 25.
Age 20.
...
Age 8.
"Hmm? What's this...?"
In the footage, Yamato's [first-person perspective] showed her reading a tattered book before a dark, dilapidated prison cell.
Inside the cell were three strangely dressed samurai.
Yamato's small hands held the journal as she read its words one by one under moonlight filtering through the cell bars.
[Dictated by Kozuki Oden: Wano Country's wisest ruler in millennia, Whitebeard's strongest fighter, the mighty swordsman who surpassed Pirate King Roger. Handwritten by his beloved wife Toki]
[I am Kozuki Oden. If you're reading this, I may already be dead]
[Remember, this journal is crucial. Whoever reads it must safeguard it, for it records the life of a great man...]
[My beloved wife is Toki. She was a beautiful, kind woman.]
[She traveled through time from 800 years ago, having eaten a Devil Fruit called the Time-Time Fruit that lets her move freely through time—though she said she could only journey forward.]
[Haha, if there's an ability to travel to the future, is there also one to go to the past?]
[...]
What followed was a lengthy account of Oden's travels—his experiences at sea, such as the sky islands floating high above, the thunder-filled Raijin Island, the man-eating flowers drifting on the ocean, the mountain-sized sea kings, and the Fish-Man Island deep beneath the sea at ten thousand meters.
Oden's writing was truly exceptional; the adventures recorded in his journal were utterly captivating.
Even Pudding, upon reading it, couldn't help but feel that Oden was an extraordinary adventurer.
Brave, fearless, always the first to charge into battle, saving the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates in their darkest hours.
Battling monstrous beasts, diving into the sea to capture sea kings, clashing with infamous pirates.
A dozen or so stories vividly depicted Oden's experiences after setting sail.
But when the journal reached its latter half, just a few lines of text were enough to drain all color from Yamato's face as she read.
Even Pudding, who was viewing Yamato's memories, turned deathly pale in an instant, her soul nearly fleeing in terror.
[I am Kozuki Oden. By the time you read these words, I will already be dead.]
[I was killed by Kaido. He will force me to jump into a pot of boiling oil and cook me alive. I am prepared to face my impending fate.]
[Little girl reading my journal—I see you.]
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