Right now, Yamato felt as if she had fallen into a terrifying swamp of thoughts.
If she kept thinking any further, her entire worldview would collapse on the spot.
So she immediately stopped herself, afraid of arriving at some horrifying answer.
But although Yamato gave up thinking, Kurosaki Rei did not stop pressing.
"When I traveled through Wano, I also heard Kozuki Oden's story. After his battle with Kaido, he was captured and immediately executed. You say your father wants to kill you—so why didn't he execute you after defeating you?"
Yamato's mind was in complete chaos. Countless pieces of information collided inside the head of this sixteen-year-old girl. In the end, her gaze grew unfocused.
"Maybe… he wanted to kill me during the fight?"
Kurosaki Rei's expression turned playful.
"So you're saying Kaido's Thunder Bagua just couldn't smash your skull—and every single time it perfectly knocked you unconscious, no more, no less?"
"…That's just because I'm lucky," Yamato replied quickly this time.
"After all, I am Kozuki Oden."
"Oh? But Kozuki Oden didn't seem very lucky to me," Kurosaki Rei said calmly.
"After all, he died in the end—unlike you, who survives every time."
"Also," he added, "didn't you say you've been getting stronger all these years?"
Yamato was completely dazed. She only responded to the latter half of his words and nodded.
"Of course. Compared to me a few years ago, I'm much stronger now."
"Then tell me," Kurosaki Rei said, guiding her step by step,
"do you think the current you could kill your eleven-year-old self in a single move?"
Yamato barely needed to think before answering.
"Of course! Back then I could barely use Armament Haki properly. My body wasn't fully developed, my strength was far weaker, and my combat techniques were nowhere near what they are now—"
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly felt something was wrong.
It was as if Kurosaki Rei had quietly set up a trap.
She was about to change her answer—but Kurosaki Rei was already speaking.
"Then why do you think Kaido, who can still defeat your current self, couldn't kill eleven-year-old you back then—and instead 'fought you for quite a while'?"
The question was a fatal blow.
Yamato was completely stunned.
The mental defenses she had built over years shattered all at once. Faced with Kurosaki Rei's questions, she realized that the "common sense" of her inner world… had no logic at all.
If she followed Kurosaki Rei's reasoning—
Wouldn't that mean her father had never wanted to kill her in the first place, and had instead been constantly indulging her?
Seeing Yamato frozen, Kurosaki Rei continued.
"You also mentioned earlier that before you were eight, everyone here called you the Oni Princess. But when the guard escorted you just now, he called you 'young master.' And you yourself said that Kaido now calls you his son. Don't you think that's strange?"
Yamato looked confused.
"What's strange about it?"
"What do you think caused those changes?" Kurosaki Rei asked.
"Isn't it because I'm Kozuki Oden now?" Yamato reasoned.
"Kozuki Oden is a man, so of course I'm a man. I can't be the Oni Princess anymore."
Kurosaki Rei smiled.
"See? You do have basic logical thinking. Then have you ever thought about why they're willing to play along with you?"
Yamato froze.
She really hadn't thought about that. Wasn't it just… natural?
"If Kaido hadn't given the order, who would dare casually change how they address you?"
Kurosaki Rei sighed.
"This is just your father playing house with you. To a certain extent, he's indulging your role-playing."
This was one of the key reasons Kurosaki Rei believed Kaido genuinely loved Yamato as a father.
After countless failed attempts at discipline, Kaido had effectively given in regarding Yamato calling herself Kozuki Oden. That was why he started calling Yamato his son and made everyone else call her "young master."
Why do this?
There was no real benefit—except making Yamato a little happier.
The only explanation was Kaido's overindulgence.
And this overindulgence, ironically, was precisely why such a "monstrous" daughter had grown up the way she did.
In the original story, on the night Kaido decided to completely tighten his grip on Wano, he even announced that Yamato would become the shogun of Wano.
That was perfect cooperation with her Kozuki Oden role-play—letting her truly become the ruler of Wano.
Sure, there was also the intention of using his daughter as a puppet to control the country—but Kaido was already close to sixty. When he retired or died, who else was supposed to inherit everything?
"No! Stop talking! Stop it!"
Yamato suddenly roared, covering her ears and stumbling back two steps. She looked at Kurosaki Rei with fear in her eyes.
"So Kozuki Oden is actually a coward who doesn't dare listen to others speak?"
Kurosaki Rei said coldly.
Yamato's body trembled. She slowly lowered her hands.
"No… that's not it. I am Kozuki Oden. I'm Wano's hero. I'm the man who will open Wano's borders."
"Do you even know what 'opening the borders' means?" Kurosaki Rei asked.
"Do you understand its benefits and drawbacks?"
"Opening the borders… opening the borders means overthrowing Kaido's rule, no longer remaining isolated, and reconnecting with the world…"
As she spoke, Yamato's voice grew quieter.
Because she suddenly realized she didn't actually know what opening the borders truly meant.
In Kozuki Oden's journal, the topic of opening Wano was vague at best.
It only emphasized that twenty years later, a hero would appear to liberate Wano, and that before then, they shouldn't open the borders—just wait for the hero to arrive.
As for how to open them, or the pros and cons?
She knew none of it.
Or rather—Oden himself probably didn't understand it very well either, so he never wrote it down.
"See?" Kurosaki Rei said.
"When it comes down to it, you understand nothing. You're just a little girl who picked up Kozuki Oden's journal and started worshipping blindly."
"You're no different from eight years ago. Your body grew, but your brain stayed the same."
Tears shimmered faintly in Yamato's eyes.
"Why are you saying such cruel things? I thought we were friends!"
"It's precisely because I see you as a friend that I'm saying this," Kurosaki Rei replied.
"I'm pointing out what's wrong with you so you can wake up."
"I don't think resisting Kaido's tyranny is wrong. Wanting to liberate Wano's people is a noble idea. But your views on Kaido and Kozuki Oden are seriously twisted. Haven't you noticed?"
Yamato hugged her head and curled up in the corner, completely shutting down.
Perhaps because she was still young—at an age where people easily absorb new ideas and are capable of reflection—and because she had only been calling herself Kozuki Oden for eight years, she was genuinely thinking about Kurosaki Rei's words.
They all sounded like outrageous nonsense.
Yet… they also seemed to make some sense.
Her heart was filled with contradiction as the image of Kozuki Oden she had spent eight years building slowly began to crumble.
She desperately didn't want to admit that her father had never wanted to kill her—that he had instead been indulging and spoiling her all along.
Because if that were true—
Wouldn't that mean she was the truly heartless, unfilial one?
Kurosaki Rei felt he might have gone a bit too far.
In the heat of the moment, he'd spoken his mind—and it looked like he'd completely broken Yamato's mental defenses.
So he stopped talking, closed his eyes, and rested. After all, between storytelling and sparring, he had spent a great deal of mental energy.
Meanwhile, on Onigashima.
Torches inside a cavern dispelled the darkness, illuminating the massive figure seated on the central throne.
The giant sat bare-chested, his powerful muscles covered in tattoos, radiating overwhelming authority.
Yet such a fearsome and majestic figure was currently shrouded in sorrowful negative emotions—so much so that the two low-ranking pirates serving him drinks nearby were trembling in fear.
This man was none other than Kaido, Governor-General of the Beast Pirates, the strongest creature on land, and one of the Four Emperors.
Bang!
Kaido smashed an empty jug of alcohol against the wall. Shards scattered across the floor. His face was flushed from drink, alcohol steaming from his breath.
"It hurts so bad… I really want to die."
Those who knew Kaido well understood that once he got drunk, he would cycle through various emotional states. The most common one was the depressed state.
Once he entered it, he became overwhelmingly sad—sad enough to want to kill himself.
And he wasn't just talking. He really did attempt suicide.
It was just that his body was far too strong for most methods to work.
"Booze! There's not enough booze… bring me more!"
Kaido roared, on the verge of throwing a drunken tantrum.
"G-Governor, the alcohol is already on its way. P-Please wait a moment…"
One of the Beast Pirates' Waiters spoke carefully.
Kaido's drinking habits were terrible. When drunk, he might lash out violently—there had been cases where servants delivering alcohol were beaten severely.
That was only because Kaido retained enough awareness to know they were his own men, so he held back.
"Huh!? Why is it so slow?!"
Kaido slammed the armrest, shaking the entire cavern.
Just as the two servants were frozen in terror, a tall woman stepped in and defused the situation.
"Oh my~ who upset our Governor this much?"
The woman entering the cavern was tall, voluptuous, and alluring—radiating mature charm. Her long golden hair was styled in an elaborate shimada mage, her green eyes seductive, her skin pale and flawless.
A pair of long red horns grew from her head. Pearl earrings adorned her ears, and a blade was used as a hairpin.
She wore a black, low-cut, off-shoulder kimono decorated with floral patterns, with a teal obi rich in white petal designs. A smoking pipe in her hand released wisps of smoke as she spoke.
"Lady Maria."
The two servants bowed respectfully.
She was Black Maria, one of the Flying Six, a high-ranking officer of the Beast Pirates—and someone with a close personal relationship with Kaido.
"Maria, you came at the right time. Drink with me."
Kaido sounded deeply dejected, but upon seeing her, he stopped venting his anger and waited quietly for the alcohol.
"I heard Yamato challenged you again yesterday. Is that why you're upset?"
Black Maria smiled gently as she poured the remaining half jug of alcohol for him.
At the mention of this, Kaido's expression grew gloomy again.
"Don't bring it up. I just disciplined her and sent her to Udon Prison. Hopefully she'll reflect properly this time."
Though he said so, years of experience told him otherwise.
His rebellious child would never reflect—she'd just challenge him again once released.
"Don't be so sure. Yamato actually seems to be reflecting this time."
Black Maria chuckled.
Kaido didn't believe her, assuming it was just comfort, and kept drinking in silence.
"Oh, don't doubt it. I've had the prison watchers keep an eye on Yamato. After she was locked up, she met someone interesting."
Black Maria smiled.
"You remember that Oni Slayer who challenged you a few days ago?"
"They ended up in the same cell. He analyzed her entire growth history with her… and now Yamato is seriously questioning her life."
Kaido froze, the alcohol forgotten in his hand.
"…What?"
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