Yamato ate like someone who had never known fullness. Not just hunger of the stomach, but hunger of years — for warmth, for kindness, for something that didn't come with chains. By the time she finished the last bite, her body felt alive in a way it hadn't in years.
The bruises faded. Her breathing stabilized. Strength flowed through her limbs like molten iron cooling into steel. She flexed her fingers slowly, staring at them as if they belonged to someone new.
She looked at Ren with wide eyes and asked, "So what was that thing?"
Ren leaned back against the stone wall, casual as ever. "Hmm? Ohh, that's just an ability of mine. Helps in regeneration and body strengthening. Nothing special."
"Nothing special?" she repeated, almost offended on behalf of reality itself. "I've never felt that kind of recovery before. Even my Zoan doesn't work that cleanly."
Ren only shrugged, as if he had healed people stronger than her before. His gaze studied her for a moment, sharp but unreadable. "So what's your story?"
Her eyes lit up instantly, like a child being asked about their favorite hero. She practically bounced in place, chains rattling as she leaned forward. "You really want to hear it? It's a long story."
"I'm listening."
She inhaled deeply and began.
"I am Kozuki Oden!" she declared proudly. "The man who boiled for an hour to save his retainers. The man who laughed in the face of Kaido. The man who carried the future of Wano on his shoulders."
Her voice trembled with reverence, not doubt.
"When I was a child, I found Oden's journal. I read about his travels with Whitebeard… with Roger… about Laugh Tale. I read about his dreams, about opening Wano's borders." She clenched her fists tightly. "That's when I decided — I would become him."
Her eyes softened slightly. "My father tried to break me after that. Chains. Explosives. Isolation. But I kept reading that journal over and over. If Oden could endure boiling oil, I could endure this."
She smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile.
"I'm Oden," she repeated, quieter this time. "I have to be."
Ren stared at her in silence after she finished. The air in the cell felt heavier now, not because of tension — but because of something unsaid.
"So," Ren finally spoke, his tone even. "You are not Yamato… but Oden, right?"
She nodded like a chicken pecking grain, enthusiastic and certain. But she noticed it immediately — his tone wasn't impressed. It wasn't amused either. It sounded… disappointed.
"Well," Ren said calmly, turning toward the exit, "it was nice meeting you."
He began walking away.
She blinked in confusion before panic surged through her chest. "H-hey! Wait! Weren't we gonna go together? Why are you going alone?"
Ren stopped at the doorway and looked over his shoulder. His eyes were steady, analytical. "Do you know Internal Destruction level of Armament?"
She hesitated. "No. I can only use Ryo… emission level."
Ren nodded slowly. Now it made sense why she hadn't broken her explosive cuffs. "I see."
He plucked a strand of his own hair and flicked it forward. It expanded mid-air, forming into a perfect clone of himself. The clone stretched once and leaned casually against the wall.
"This clone will be here," Ren said. "If you find out who you really are, he will break your cuffs and you can join me in battle."
Then he left.
Yamato stared at the clone in disbelief. "Does he also hate Oden?" she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "After so long… I thought I found a friend. And even he abandoned me."
The clone crossed his arms and replied calmly, "It's not about Oden. It's about who you are."
Her breath hitched.
"A king with Conqueror's Haki who doesn't even know who he is can never become the strongest," the clone continued. "He didn't abandon you. He left so you could find your true self."
He looked at her directly now.
"He trusts you will find it. That's why he left alone."
Yamato stared at her hands. "Who am I?" she muttered. The question felt heavier than chains. She had never truly asked it before. After reading the diary, she simply declared herself Oden. But who was she before the journal?
Before the dreams. Before the imitation.
She fell into deep thought.
The same question echoed over and over in her mind.
Who am I?
Just then—
BOOOOM!
An explosion shook the island.
---
Ren was already walking through Onigashima's corridors, staff resting on his shoulder. Guards spotted him almost immediately, rushing forward in confusion.
"Who are you? How did you—"
They never finished their sentences.
A single swing of his staff sent bodies flying into stone walls. The impact cracked pillars, splintered wood, and left craters in reinforced flooring. Ren didn't even slow down.
He adjusted the staff on his shoulder and continued walking.
With every step, the ground fractured subtly beneath him. Guards rushing from distant corridors suddenly froze — then collapsed unconscious before even reaching him.
His Conqueror's Haki was leaking.
No.
It was pressing outward deliberately.
The walls groaned as if burdened by invisible gravity. Torches flickered violently. The air itself felt thick and oppressive.
It wasn't just knocking people out.
It was affecting the physical world.
Just like when Shanks met Whitebeard.
But stronger.
Ren chuckled softly. "Now I can say for sure… no one in Conqueror's Haki can match me other than Joyboy, Imu… and Loki."
He frowned slightly at the last name.
Loki was said to have been captured by Shanks. Ren didn't believe it. If Loki could kill a Giant King, even if he couldn't defeat Shanks, he should have been able to escape.
Something didn't add up.
As he continued walking, he let his Haki expand fully.
Entire Onigashima was swallowed.
Hundreds collapsed instantly. Banquet halls fell silent as pirate after pirate hit the ground. Stronger combatants staggered violently.
Who's Who gritted his teeth. "What the hell is this pressure?!"
Sasaki's legs trembled. Jack dropped to one knee, veins bulging from strain. Even King was partially paralyzed, wings twitching as he forced himself upright.
Then—
A laugh echoed across the island.
"Wororororororoo!"
Kaido released his own Haki.
The collision was immediate.
Onigashima trembled as if struck by a quake. The clash of their wills split the sky above so cleanly and violently that all of Wano saw it.
Clouds tore apart.
Golden-red lightning collided with blood-red thunder.
The heavens split.
Orochi stumbled inside his palace chamber. "Wh-What's happening on Onigashima?!"
Denjiro stared upward from afar, eyes wide. "Th-that's Conqueror's Haki. Who is fighting Kaido to make such a commotion? Is Lady Toki's prophecy coming true? But it hasn't been twenty years…"
Chaos filled his thoughts.
Across Wano, samurai felt it.
Kawamatsu stood frozen, clutching supplies. Hiyori stepped outside, eyes widening as she saw the sky crack like porcelain.
"Kawamatsu… what's happening?" she asked, voice shaking.
He looked toward Onigashima, jaw tight. "Princess… someone is fighting Kaido. Someone stronger than Lord Oden."
Her pupils dilated. "Y-you mean the sky is splitting just because Kaido and someone are about to fight? J-just how strong are they… that even heaven can't handle them fighting and is being torn apart?"
Kawamatsu didn't answer.
He simply lifted her and began running.
"I don't know, Princess. But we have to check. If I'm correct, many loyal samurai will be heading to Onigashima right now. If we can find a few trustworthy people, it would be great."
Elsewhere, Asura Doji, Denjiro, Hyogoro — and countless hidden samurai — were already moving.
They didn't know who was fighting Kaido.
But this was their best chance.
If Kaido was engaged in a tough battle… Orochi could die tonight.
---
Inside Onigashima's rooftop chamber, Kaido laughed wildly. "Worororororoo! Someone dares come and challenge me. And it's someone strong."
He picked up his Hassaikai and leapt upward, transforming mid-air into his dragon form before landing atop the skull dome.
He knew.
The other party would come there.
And Ren sensed him moving.
With a thought, Nimbus formed beneath his feet. He rose into the sky calmly, cloak fluttering in violent wind currents created by their clashing Haki.
The rooftop awaited.
Back in the cell, Yamato's heart pounded violently. She wanted to run. To fight beside him. To prove herself.
But the clone blocked her path again.
"Who are you?" it repeated.
"Stop asking that!" she snapped. "I'm Oden!"
The clone didn't move. "Are you?"
She fell silent.
Outside, thunder cracked again.
She sat down slowly, mind racing. Her thoughts were no longer about the fight alone.
They were about herself.
About the question she had never dared to answer.
Who am I?
And above Onigashima—
Two monsters stood beneath a split sky.