Night, the Flower Capital.
Beneath the pitch-black sky, only the area near the Shogun's Mansion was brightly lit.
As the most honored guest in Wano Country at present, Kurozumi Orochi had arranged the most luxurious residence in all of Wano Country for Yemu to rest in for the night. After leaving Onigashima, Yemu had come here.
His schedule was indeed tight, and the Marines were moving quickly. He had to reach cooperation with the remaining Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin as soon as possible, but resting at night was still necessary.
This was not because Yemu had grown desperate and was only now scrambling to ally himself with Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaidou.
Rather, only after he had successfully declared war on the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, and successfully rescued the slaves imprisoned by the Celestial Dragons, did he possess the fame and standing needed to negotiate with Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaidou.
Otherwise, never mind Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin. Even things with Kaidou would not have gone this smoothly, and Kurozumi Orochi would not have been so groveling.
In Queen's words, Yemu was now publicly recognized by the world as the warrior who liberated slaves, the hero who brought freedom to all, and the living god who dared to challenge the Celestial Dragons.
That carried far more weight than some mere Emperor of the Sea or legendary Great Pirate. They were not even on the same level.
Only with that reputation did he have the qualifications to stir the entire sea, and only then would his words not be dismissed as a brat's nonsense.
Unlike when he had arrived alone, however, he now had someone beside him. A little girl whose face was full of both excitement and nervousness.
As Kaidou's daughter, Yamato felt as if she were dreaming.
Since childhood, her father had all but imprisoned her, stripped away her freedom, and kept her from ever leaving Onigashima or the Beasts Pirates. She had never imagined that one day she would be able to escape her father's shadow, leave Wano Country, and head out into the wider world.
How could she not be excited?
If there had not been a strange man beside her, she probably would have jumped for joy right then and there.
At that moment, everything she looked at felt fresh and new.
Under Yemu's control, a bundle roughly Yamato's size floated over and landed on the table with a clattering sound. Clearly, there was quite a lot inside.
Yamato's excitement overwhelmed her fear of the outside world and of the unfamiliar man beside her. In a voice tinged with nervous excitement, she said, "Thank you so much, Yemu-sama. I can finally go see the outside world!"
"No need to thank me. Go rest properly in the inner room. Starting tomorrow, we'll have a tight schedule. You're very lucky. I'll take you to meet people far stronger than your father, as well as some little ones about your age. I'm sure you'll become good friends."
"Mm-hmm."
Yamato nodded, filled with anticipation for both the people stronger than her father and the new friends she might make.
Still, her excitement made her certain she would not be able to sleep tonight. Thinking of that, she immediately took a book and a writing brush from her huge bundle.
"What's that?" Yemu asked curiously.
"A diary. I heard that people outside all keep diaries when they go on adventures at sea, to record what they experience. So I'm going to write down my own journey too."
"Then do your best. Also, guests may come tonight, so don't worry about it. Just stay quietly in the room."
"Mm-hmm."
Watching the adorable Yamato return to the inner room, Yemu felt rather pleased.
Taking Yamato away today had been purely a spur-of-the-moment decision.
He truly did not like the grown-up Yamato from the story, the one whose sense of filial duty was so extreme that she wanted to become Oden. But now, looking at this adorable little girl with such a pitiful expression, he felt he might be able to try correcting her worldview.
In his view, the reason the future Yamato wanted to become Oden was entirely because Kaidou had imprisoned her since childhood. Shackled in handcuffs and leg irons, unable to leave Onigashima, her inner world had been far too barren, and she had never really seen the wider world. That was why, after picking up Oden's logbook, she had treated it like scripture and worshiped it.
Now that he was taking her out to sea to travel around and see this beautiful world, she should turn out normal, right?
Maybe she might even want to become Yemu or something.
When that time came, first, cooperation with Kaidou's side would go more smoothly. Second, once Yamato grew up, she would be one of the few powerful women in One Piece who possessed Conqueror's Haki. Third, he already had quite a few little girls on his side, so adding one more Yamato was no big deal. On the contrary, once she grew up, she could become a source of support for Ayala. And lastly, having this little girl at his side would put him in a much better mood.
Even though night had already fallen, however, he had no intention of resting. Instead, he slowly sat beneath the lamplight, waiting for his guests to arrive.
And so, when the bright moon had climbed high into the sky, the candlelight in the inner room had already gone out, and all of Wano Country outside was bathed in moonlight, several dark figures swept across the night sky and appeared outside the residence.
"Brother Yemu, it's Inuarashi!"
"And Nekomamushi!"
"We'd like to see you!"
Yemu, inside the house, did not keep them waiting.
"Come straight in!"
...
Yamato was not sleepy at all.
Although she had been lying in bed for two or three hours, her thoughts of the outside world had left her so excited that she could not sleep in the slightest.
"What is the sea outside really like?"
"I heard there are lots of islands and lots of countries!"
"Are there really people stronger than Father?"
"What kind of friends will I make?"
"And there'll be delicious food too..."
"..."
Whenever she thought about these questions, Yamato felt anticipation unlike anything she had ever known.
She also noticed that Yemu did not seem to have gone to rest in the outer room. The light there had stayed bright the entire time.
But she remembered Yemu's warning that guests might come tonight, so she was careful not to make the slightest sound.
Then, after who knew how long, Yemu-sama's voice rang out from outside.
Even though Yamato kept warning herself not to eavesdrop on Yemu-sama's conversation with his guests, since it might make him unhappy, she still could not stop herself from perking up her ears...
...
In the outer room, Yemu looked at the figures who had appeared before him.
He was not surprised that the Nine Red Scabbards had shown up here. But why was Oden's wife, Kozuki Toki, here too? And sure enough, Oden still had not come?
What a disappointment!!!