In an instant, countless sword flashes flickered between the handcuffs on Yamato's wrists.
Before she could even react, the handcuffs were sliced into countless tiny fragments, clattering to the ground.
"Done. All set."
Celo sheathed his katana back into the scabbard at his waist.
As long as the explosive embedded in the cuffs didn't have time to respond, slicing both the cuffs and the explosive into fine fragments would prevent detonation.
With advanced Armament Haki (Ryuo) and swordsmanship at the level of a great swordsman, this was a piece of cake.
"Why didn't the cuffs explode? Has Kaido… been lying to me all along?!"
Yamato stared blankly at the shards on the ground.
A strange mix of emotion stirred within her, a flicker of restored familial warmth toward Kaido… and a surge of resentment.
Had she known earlier that the cuffs wouldn't explode, she would've accepted Ace's invitation to sail without hesitation.
Then maybe… Ace wouldn't be facing public execution at Marineford right now.
That thought alone , and being finally freed , made Yamato desperate to leave. She once again grabbed Celo and Hancock, intending to storm out of the library, out of Onigashima, out of Wano, and to Marineford to rescue Ace.
But once again, Celo and Hancock held her back.
"Yamato, calm down. Sit. Let me explain!"
"Why aren't we heading to Marineford right now to save Ace?!"
Yamato couldn't calm down anymore.
She couldn't bear another second trapped on Onigashima, this prison that held her for years.
And she couldn't bear the thought of Ace enduring one more moment in the Marines' custody.
She simply couldn't understand why Celo and Hancock were still standing.
"Aside from Hancock and me, we brought two others to Onigashima looking for you, Sabo and Koala."
"Where are they now?!"
"We split into pairs. The plan was to meet back up tomorrow night. Right now, I don't know where they are."
"Then let's go look for them! Once we find them, we'll leave Wano and head to Marineford to rescue Ace!"
"They're probably in hiding right now. Rather than search aimlessly, we should use this time to prepare for the rescue mission."
Celo did his best to reason with Yamato.
Whether it worked or not was unclear, but Yamato deflated like a balloon and sat down again.
She still burned with the desire to leave immediately, but reason told her Celo had a point.
"There are still fifteen days left until Ace's execution at Marineford. That gives us plenty of time to save him."
Celo patted her on the arm to calm her down.
But just then, gurgle gurgle, Celo's stomach let out a long, awkward growl.
He was starving, his stomach loud in protest.
His last proper meal was probably that distant morning.
Lunch and dinner combined had consisted only of some fruit, hardly enough.
Such suffering was something Celo had never endured before.
"Celo, are you hungry? I'll get something for you two to eat!"
Yamato was sharp; she stood up immediately and went to find food.
A few minutes later, she returned, staggering under the weight of a tableful of food, at least ten dishes.
"This is all I could gather for now. Celo, Hancock, I hope it's enough!"
Her tone was apologetic, even feeling guilty toward her two benefactors.
Celo and Hancock glanced at each other, speechless.
Was Yamato humble bragging just now?
A dozen dishes, and she thought it wasn't enough?
Did she usually eat dozens of dishes per meal?
No wonder Kaido's daughter had such incredible physical strength; she was raised with luxury and nourishment.
As they ate, those idle thoughts flickered through their minds.
And the truth was, the food was really good.
The Beasts Pirates didn't skimp on meals.
"Celo, why did Ace get captured by the Marines?!"
Yamato, sitting nearby, began asking questions while watching them eat.
The thing that puzzled her most was: How could someone as strong as Ace be caught?
Ace was her equal in strength.
He was also the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, one of the Four Emperors.
It just didn't make sense.
"Because Ace is a scrub!"
Celo quipped casually, the thought of Ace somehow made food taste even better.
Then, he explained the whole series of events that led to Ace's capture and his scheduled execution at Marineford.
After hearing the full story, Yamato exploded with fury, slamming her fist onto the table. Shattering it into pieces.
And with it, all the dishes on the table went crashing to the floor.
Only two bowls of rice, in Celo and Hancock's hands, remained.
The two sat there, stunned.
"That damned Blackbeard Teach! I'm going to help Ace beat the crap out of him!"
Yamato hadn't even realized Celo and Hancock weren't done eating. She was lost in her burning hatred for Teach.
She despised treacherous pirates like Blackbeard above all.
And in that moment, Celo and Hancock fully felt just how deep Yamato's hatred ran.
If it weren't for Blackbeard… maybe they could've enjoyed a full meal.
Damn you, Blackbeard. You must be crushed.
"So, Celo, what's the plan to save Ace?"
Yamato was laser-focused on the mission, still unaware of the food on the floor.
At first, only the dishes were on the floor. But eventually, as they had nothing to eat the rice with, even the rice ended up there too.
Still, they were about 60% full, good enough.
Celo began explaining:
"We'll wait until the Whitebeard Pirates clash head-on with the Navy. In that chaos, we'll sneak into Marineford and rescue Ace off the execution platform."
Ideally, they'd wait until the three Navy Admirals left the execution platform.
At that point, only Garp (who wouldn't fight) and Sengoku (who might be caught off guard) would remain.
With Celo, Sabo, Yamato, and the phoenix Little Sparrow, if they struck fast and unexpectedly, they could succeed.
Hancock and Koala weren't part of the main infiltration plan.
Hancock was to stay with the Navy under invitation, maintaining her Warlord title to continue protecting her people.
Koala, on the other hand… was too weak.
Bringing her would only slow Sabo down.
After that, Yamato's questions gradually shifted away from Ace and toward the world outside Wano.
Hancock answered many of them.
Compared to the slacker Celo, Hancock, as a Warlord, clearly had a better grasp of the world.
And just like that, the entire night passed.
And the morning too.
Celo only woke up in the afternoon.
If it weren't for the thunderous noise outside the library, he might've slept straight into the night.
"What's happening out there?"
Still groggy, Celo asked Hancock, who was already awake and chatting with Yamato again.
The two women seemed to be getting along well, maybe because their mutual hatred toward Kaido and the Celestial Dragons had aligned them.
"Sounds like a fight… a big one."
Hancock casually guessed it was just an internal scuffle among the Beasts Pirates.
But Celo suddenly felt a sense of dread.
"Yamato, have internal fights among the Beasts Pirates ever been this intense before?"
The question caught Yamato off guard.
After a pause, she answered uncertainly:
"They fight a lot… but never this violently."
It's over. Barbie-balled.
Upon hearing that, Celo knew instantly:
The fighting outside was Sabo battling the Beasts Pirates.
He had hoped they could lay low until nightfall, meet up with Sabo and Koala, then escape Onigashima and Wano riding on Little Sparrow.
Speaking of Little Sparrow… that lazy bird hadn't shown up once all night.
Who knows where it had flown off to, probably roaming around with King the Wildfire.
"Hancock, stay here and watch those two burlap sacks. Yamato, you're with me. Let's go see what's going on."
"Celo… I don't want to leave your side…"
"I only trust you, Hancock, to guard the sacks."
"You… you think I'm that important to you? I'm so touched! I'll guard them with my life!"
If every woman in the world were as gullible, uh, easy to convince as Hancock, Celo thought the world would probably be a much more peaceful place.
Leaving Katakuri and Jack in the sacks under Hancock's watch, Celo and Yamato hurried outside the library.
The sound of battle raged on.
Celo was beginning to suspect that Sabo was fighting Kaido himself.
Soon, he and Yamato arrived at the source of the commotion, the central hall inside the giant skull...