Without Kaido causing trouble, Yamato's pretty face, which had just been grinning, softened into a gentle expression.
"Aren't you going out to sea?"
Ragnar stepped into the void and appeared before Yamato, who was still in her beast form.
"Yes!"
Yamato glanced at Kaido, who had been secretly watching her, then lifted her chin proudly and replied.
But somehow…
After seeing Ragnar…
The emptiness in her heart — that vague sense of something missing — quietly vanished.
"You—"
Kaido, standing to the side, looked like he was about to explode upon hearing Yamato declare her intent to go out to sea again.
"Dragon Binding Rope!"
Before Kaido could say more, Ragnar reacted swiftly, raising a finger toward him. A golden light flashed—
A glowing rope, golden from end to end, materialized in mid-air. Like a living python, it coiled tightly around Kaido's massive dragon body, binding even his mouth.
"Mm-mm!"
His trademark roars were muffled into groaning hums by the rope's grip.
This ridiculous sight made Yamato laugh softly.
But it was that very smile that made Kaido — still struggling — suddenly freeze. His resistance ceased. He fell quiet and still beneath the shining bindings.
"She's smiling."
The realization hit Kaido like thunder.
"Is this... the first time I've seen Yamato smile?"
Kaido was stunned.
How many years had passed?
And yet, only now, as a father, did he truly see Yamato smile.
He had once assumed she simply didn't know how. Or that she would never smile — at least, not at him.
"...Hmph."
Noticing something in Kaido's expression, Yamato's smile faded slightly — but not completely. That trace of warmth remained.
And that alone was enough to ease the weight on Kaido's chest.
"Why don't you return to your human form?" Ragnar asked, seeing the atmosphere between the estranged father and daughter gradually ease.
Instead of replying, Yamato asked, "If I wanted you to sail with me, would you?"
"Of course," Ragnar replied without hesitation. Though puzzled by her refusal to revert forms, he didn't press. Instead, he knelt slightly and rubbed her head.
To the only sister he had in this world, Ragnar never held back his love and patience.
In fact, this depth of care was reserved for only two people in his life:
Yamato.
And Kaido.
"Then I'll wait for you — for that day," Yamato said with a smile in her eyes.
Before Ragnar could respond, she added something that caught him completely off guard:
"Ragnar, do you want a Roaring Sky Dog?"
She looked at him with a glint of curiosity.
"What... did you say?"
Ragnar was genuinely stunned.
Although the divine eye on his forehead could pierce through illusions and read hearts, he never used it on family — which is why Yamato's question completely blindsided him.
"Remember that myth you once told me?" she continued.
"In it, Erlang Shen had a third eye, a three-pointed double-edged lance, and a loyal Roaring Sky Dog that lived and died with him."
"If the mythical Erlang Shen had one, then I want you to have one too."
Yamato leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his — mimicking the affectionate gesture Ragnar often used with her.
"…"
Feeling the warmth of her touch, Ragnar's heart grew quiet and warm.
He didn't say anything, but the hand that had been gently stroking Yamato's head moved forward and pulled her into his arms.
"I don't want to be Kozuki Oden anymore," Yamato murmured.
"When I was alone just now, I thought it through."
"What Kozuki Oden had… is something I could never get from Kaido—family affection, and love. That's why becoming Oden became my childhood dream."
It was the first time…
"..."
Hearing the murmurs beside his ear, Kaido slowly closed his eyes.
Those dragon claws—strong enough to tear mountains apart—were, at some point, clenched tightly.
The first time.
He asked himself honestly:
Had he been too harsh on Yamato?
Or rather… had he never truly fulfilled his duties as a father?
In a daze, it was as if he suddenly understood something.
This "filial daughter" of his—was she not a product of his own making?
"Kozuki Oden, huh?"
"So in the end, I didn't lose to you…"
"I only lost to myself."
Kaido thought silently.
"Haa... ever since you came to Onigashima," Yamato exhaled, as if releasing all the depression that had built up over the years,
"And asked to join forces with me to take down Kaido… the way you showed unconditional love and acceptance for your own family—without reason, without conditions—I started to understand."
"That's why… I no longer want to become someone else."
"I just want to be myself. Live the way I want."
"Then go live," Ragnar smiled gently.
"The world may betray you, but your family will only ever worry about you."
He slowly let go of Yamato's hand.
"I have no attachment to your 'family'—I just miss you."
"And… you still haven't answered me, have you?"
"Ragnar, do you want the Roaring Sky Dog?"
Yamato giggled as she said this, then playfully bit Ragnar's hand.
She knew her brother's body was indestructible, so she didn't hold back. Hmph.
Ragnar didn't respond to her question.
Instead, he silently released the dragon-binding rope that held Kaido and summoned a fierce wind.
It carried the three of them gently toward the direction of Onigashima.
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