[Little girl reading my journal—I see you.]
That single sentence alone made both Yamato in the recording and Pudding, who was being held by Yamato, turn ghostly pale, shuddering violently.
In Yamato's memory, the journal fell to the ground with a thud.
In reality, Pudding buried herself deeper into Yamato's warm embrace, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart, shaken from being too immersed in Yamato's memories.
For a moment, Pudding almost thought those words were meant for her.
"Hah… haha… I thought he was talking to me! But that's impossible, right? It must be for Yamato… But why would he write that? And how did he know his journal would end up in Yamato's hands? How did he know she could even read?"
After a few steadying breaths, Pudding lifted her head again, determined to keep watching.
In the vision, Yamato's trembling little hand reached out, picking up the fallen journal and flipping back to that page.
[Little girl reading my journal—I see you.]
[You are Kaido's daughter. Your name is Yamato—a beautiful name, just like mine. You will surely become a great person one day.]
[You must yearn for the vast ocean, don't you?]
[You must have been beaten, tormented, and locked away in a pitch-black cell by your father, Kaido, haven't you?]
[You must… hate your father deeply, don't you?]
[Yamato, you must remember the words that follow. They will change your life. I hope you are a strong child, capable of bearing this truth.]
[Yamato, your birth mother—a gentle, kind, and understanding woman, just like my wife Toki—was beautiful, tender, and full of love.]
[She cherished you more than life itself. When you were little, she would always hold you in her arms, smiling as she cared for you.]
[When you were sick, she nursed you, worried over you.]
[When you sleep, she covers you with a blanket, staying awake all night for you.]
[Yamato, I must tell you something now. You must stay strong!]
[Your mother died three years ago—killed by Kaido!]
[Your mother was killed by Kaido!]
[Kaido killed your mother!]
[Kaido…]
Thud!
The notebook fell to the ground again.
In the memories, Yamato let out a terrified scream, shrinking into a corner of the prison cell, hugging her knees and trembling uncontrollably, screaming incessantly.
In reality, Pudding's face turned pale as she stared at the thick, heavy ink strokes of the words, as if they radiated an overwhelming killing intent that could pierce through the paper.
Anyone who read them would naturally find their minds bombarded by the relentlessly repeated phrases.
Over and over again, the words "Kaido killed your mother" echoed relentlessly in Yamato's heart.
Eventually, they even transformed into a voice, reverberating endlessly in the young Yamato's mind!
Pudding bit her lip, her petite body trembling involuntarily.
"This Oden definitely had ulterior motives!"
"If this were an ordinary notebook, there'd be no need for him to repeat these phrases over and over, especially with Kaido's name bolded. His intention was clearly to plant seeds of hatred and distrust in Yamato's heart!"
"This Oden's journal is truly poisonous!"
"If you read it as a normal diary..."
"The first half would deeply captivate you, drawing you into a wild and heroic fantasy world."
"But once you're thoroughly immersed and turn to the second half, you'd unconsciously believe everything written there due to the deep engagement from earlier."
Pudding took a deep breath, steadying the turmoil in her heart.
"But there's another question—how did Oden know for certain that Yamato would be the one to get the notebook? And at the time of writing, since he knew his impending fate was death, why would he willingly accept it? What was his purpose in manipulating Yamato?"
With trembling hands, Pudding continued flipping through Yamato's memories.
This time, she started from where Yamato was imprisoned and slowly moved forward a little.
In the scene that appeared, three tall Wano Country samurai stood before her.
Samurai: "Hah! Has it really been ten days? Yamato, does your father truly intend to let his own child perish like this? At this rate, we might not live to see the battle Oden spoke of twenty years from now."
Yamato: "When that time comes, I'll fight alongside Wano Country! And then I'll set sail, growing stronger and stronger!"
Samurai: "Your words are enough. All we can do now is ensure you don't die, so we can take part in that future war. After all, twenty years is a bit too long for us to wait!"
Pudding shuddered again.
Why did the samurai keep mentioning "twenty years later"?
She flipped back slightly further, and in the next scene, Yamato continued reading Oden's travelogue.
[You must be wondering how I knew all this.]
[My beloved wife, Toki, possessed the power to traverse time. Though she couldn't return to the past, her ability allowed her to glimpse fragments of information from the future's flow.]
[She said she came from eight hundred years ago with a certain mission.]
[The reason she stayed in this era was because she saw me. She believed I would become a great man, leading Wano Country to open its borders and guiding the world toward peace!]
[But Kaido's arrival shattered all of that. He slaughtered samurai, destroyed Wano's spirit of bushido, enslaved the people—he ruined everything. He is the root of all calamity!]
[I had the power to kill him!]
[Yet I couldn't do it. I had to follow the flow of time's information, not interfere with the future Toki saw!]
[Toki said that in twenty years, an unprecedented war would occur. A boy bearing the initial 'D' would arrive in Wano Country and, under the leadership of my son Momonosuke, defeat your father Kaido—saving this suffering land! When nine shadows descend from the heavens, it will mark Wano's victory. And in that crowd, she also saw you, Yamato.]
[If you don't believe me, then remember this: in the coming days, you will witness the following events.]
[In your future, when you are locked up by Kaido and unable to set sail, you will meet a boy whose name carries the 'D.' He will be a flickering candle in the darkness of your life. He will invite you to sail with him, speak to you about a future even further ahead—another 'D' tied to Wano's fate!]
[On that day, you will fully believe everything written in this journal!]
[When, twenty years later, you help the 'D' boy and my son Momonosuke kill Kaido, your mother's death will be avenged!]
[Then, you will truly become... Kozuki Oden!]