"You will truly become Kozuki Oden!"
After reading Yamato's memories of Oden's journal, Pudding fell silent for a long time, her turbulent thoughts refusing to settle.
She couldn't imagine what scars and cracks had been left in the heart of an eight-year-old Yamato, locked in a dark cell, as she painstakingly read every word of that journal.
Perhaps, back then, Yamato had merely been rebellious, blindly idolizing the legend of Oden.
But as Yamato grew older, that impression deepened.
One by one, the events Oden had described in his journal unfolded before her eyes.
The foreseen truths would cement the reality—Kaido had murdered her mother.
"Was Kozuki Oden truly just the reckless fool Queen claimed him to be?"
But if Oden wasn't a fool, why hadn't he dealt with Kaido back then?
He had the strength.
Even if he couldn't kill Kaido, he could have fought him evenly.
And he had allies—Whitebeard and Roger.
Given their bond, a single message from him would have brought either of those two great pirates to Wano.
Kaido would have fled with his tail between his legs.
Pudding still couldn't understand.
What had Oden been thinking?
A man who could use a journal to manipulate his enemy's daughter, plotting a future twenty years ahead...
Yet he refused to solve Wano's suffering with his own hands, leaving it to an uncertain fate two decades later!
"Perhaps the answer lies in what happened in Wano twenty years later—just recently. An event that connected Wano, Momonosuke, Yamato, Kaido, and the 'D' boy." Pudding's expression shifted dramatically as she suddenly grasped a crucial point.
"If Father hadn't unexpectedly awakened, then Wano Country's outcome would have been perfect."
"Kaido's dead, the enemy's daughter becoming Wano's guardian, his son becoming Wano's ruler, the 'D.' boy awakening his Devil Fruit powers to become Sun God Nika - the legendary Joy Boy from history!"
"Among these events, which one was the reason Oden risked death yet refused to alter history himself?"
"Kaido's death? No, because Oden had the chance to achieve that back then."
"Yamato becoming the new Oden? Wrong. The guardian could have been the Red Scabbards or anyone else. Choosing the enemy's descendant seems too whimsical."
"Then was it about making his son Wano's ruler? Also incorrect. If Oden had been determined enough to call Whitebeard, that too could have been accomplished!"
Pudding's eyes blazed with realization as she arrived at the final conclusion - this was what Oden truly sought!
Perhaps it was also what Oden's wife had come searching for!
When Toki kept leaping through time toward the future, she encountered Kozuki Oden twenty years ago.
In him, she glimpsed a fragment of the future timeline - the answer to the "mission" she carried.
Oden wasn't the person Toki awaited.
Neither was his son Momonosuke, nor Yamato!
Yet together, these individuals could lead to the person Toki ultimately sought - the "D." boy!
One who bore a certain mission, traversing millennia, rising and falling through history's tides until finally awakening!
No, not a person - but a fruit.
The Gomu Gomu no Mi.
The Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika after awakening!
Thus, what ultimately determined Joy Boy wasn't strength or status, but the Gomu Gomu no Mi and "D."!
When these two elements - bloodline and fruit ability - converged, successfully awakened to reach the level everyone anticipated...
The truth concealed by the World Government, the reason Roger said the time wasn't right, the outcome Toki sought across eight centuries!
"Straw Hat, Monkey D. Luffy, Sun God Nika!" Pudding took a deep breath, piecing together this staggering conclusion.
She looked at the sleeping Yamato again, but this time without disgust - only an inescapable sympathy.
If her deduction proved correct, then Yamato was merely a catalyst in this trial to awaken "D." and the Gomu Gomu no Mi!
Not just Yamato - the Red Scabbards, Kaido, even Toki's own children, Oden himself and Pudding too - all were catalysts.
All to nurture that long-awaited figure across millennia who would change the world!
To achieve this envisioned outcome, any factor that might alter history's predetermined course couldn't interfere with Wano!
Not Whitebeard, not Roger - and Roger might have known this truth!
Moreover, unbeknownst to Pudding, Kozuki Sukiyaki still controlled the Ancient Weapon Pluton!
The Wano Country has guarded the Pluton Battleship for generations, so they must be capable of controlling this world-destroying weapon.
But when Kaido invaded Wano, turning it into scorched earth, Sukiyaki hid in a thatched hut playing with swords and forging blades!
Everything suddenly makes sense now.
Oden pretended to be a fool, Whitebeard and Roger turned a blind eye, the Pluton Battleship remained dormant, and Toki sacrificed her life to send her son 20 years into the future to guide 'D' to Wano.
"Poor Yamato... brainwashed by Oden to become a catalyst, used as a mere pawn."
Pudding felt profound sorrow and heartache for Yamato's past.
No wonder Yamato harbored such hatred for her biological father.
Even if she hadn't believed Oden's words initially, witnessing the truth repeatedly must have made her lose herself.
"There's only one way to save Yamato! We must bring Uncle Kaido here, extract his memories, and uncover the truth about Yamato's mother's death!"
This was the only method Pudding could think of - one that wouldn't require altering Yamato's memories but could free her from this world of resentment, darkness, confusion, and inner conflict.
"I'll need to find time to speak with Uncle Kaido. Knowing him, he should agree!"
Suddenly!
An unexpected voice startled Pudding from her thoughts, making her jump in shock.
"Mamamama~ You youngsters are certainly having fun, aren't you? Hehehe~ Pudding, come out here. I need to speak with you."
Pudding struggled free from Yamato's embrace and sat up, looking toward the window where an enormous face nearly blocked the entire view.
Her petite body trembled, nearly screaming in fright.
Fortunately, Sanji had just turned on the lights, revealing the visitor clearly in her eyes - Charlotte Linlin, her mother.
"Oh! Yes, Mama! Just a moment, I'll be right out!"
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