"So… I should break out of prison first, then go apologize to Old Man?"
Yamato thought it over and voiced her idea.
"Don't be dumb. Escaping makes it look completely insincere," Kurosaki Rei said bluntly. "Isn't Lead Performer Queen here today? Go talk to him. Tell him you know you were wrong and want to see your dad to apologize. I guarantee you'll be out by this afternoon."
Kurosaki Rei spoke with complete confidence, because he was certain that once Kaido learned his daughter wanted to admit her mistake and apologize, there was no way he'd be able to hold himself back.
Sure enough, at this very moment, Kaido—who had just woken up and started watching the livestream—leapt to his feet in excitement the instant he saw this scene.
He paced back and forth, unable to contain himself.
How many years had he waited for this?
This was the moment he'd been waiting for—waiting for Yamato to bow her head and admit fault!
Just imagining Yamato standing before him, obediently apologizing, was enough to make Kaido grin uncontrollably.
But very quickly, he reined in his smile, forcibly putting on a stern expression.
No, no… I can't look too happy.
He reminded himself again and again that when he saw Yamato, he absolutely had to act cold and indifferent—only then could he maintain a father's dignity.
"Why are there so many damn empty wine jars? Clean this up!"
Kaido barked irritably when he noticed how messy the room was.
The attendants responsible for his daily life were utterly speechless inside.
Wasn't this all made by you…?
Still, Kaido was in a great mood today and unusually tolerant toward his subordinates. The room was quickly cleaned up, and he didn't even ask for more alcohol.
He wanted to stay completely sober.
He wanted to hear Yamato apologize to him while fully clear-headed!
At this moment, Black Maria—who had just finished catching up on sleep—walked in, looking puzzled at the scene.
"Why are you suddenly having the room cleaned up?"
In her memory, Kaido had never cared about tidiness. Wine jars were always scattered everywhere, and the air constantly reeked of sour alcohol.
But now, not only was Kaido ordering the room cleaned, he was even directing people to wipe down his chair.
"The air doesn't feel very well-circulated. Cleaning up a bit,"
Kaido replied stiffly. "Mm… I heard the hot springs in Wano are pretty good. I'm going to relax and take a soak."
With that, he turned and left on his own, clearly heading to bathe.
Black Maria's mouth fell slightly open.
Since when did Kaido start caring about personal hygiene?
What was going on?
Was there a Four Emperors meeting coming up?
Was Big Mom—his old partner-slash-old flame—coming to visit, so he wanted to present a good image?
Her head was full of question marks, but Kaido didn't explain a thing.
Still confused, Black Maria went to find Kaimon Gator Girl. At this moment, Kaimon looked utterly haggard.
Unlike Kaido and Maria, as the watcher, she worked around the clock, twenty-four hours a day.
Normally, she managed her time well, taking eight hours of rest and having subordinates rotate shifts.
But this past week, because Kaido and Maria were watching the livestream nonstop, she hadn't dared to relax even a little. Afraid of missing something important, she'd been monitoring and broadcasting continuously.
"What happened?"
Maria asked. "Why did Kaido suddenly change like this?"
"Young Master Yamato said she's coming to apologize to the Governor,"
Kaimon summarized succinctly.
"…Huh?"
Maria's eyes widened.
"That Yamato… is going to apologize to Kaido?!"
To Maria, this was practically a fantasy. Over the years, Yamato had firmly established herself in everyone's minds as the perfect 'filial rebel daughter.'
After asking for the details and understanding the full story, Maria finally grasped what was going on.
"Kaido-sama can really be like a child sometimes… or rather, are men all like this?"
Maria sighed.
Yamato was only apologizing so she could regain her status and stir things up again, yet even knowing that, Kaido was still overjoyed. The whole situation struck Maria as both amusing and exasperating.
She looked at Kurosaki Rei on the screen and murmured to herself,
"That little man is really interesting… to actually talk Young Master Yamato into this. Makes me want to personally 'discipline' him myself~"
At noon, under the blazing sun, Kurosaki Rei and Yamato sat atop a rock, eating heartily.
By today, Kurosaki Rei's Life Return practice had made significant progress. Though he still couldn't digest food instantly like Yamato, he could now break it down almost completely within ten or so minutes.
By his estimate, he'd fully master Life Return in just a few more days.
While they were eating, a tall man with an elephant head hanging from his waist approached them—it was Babanuki, the warden of this prison.
Kurosaki Rei recognized him. Babanuki was a SMILE Zoan user with an elephant form. That golden elephant head seemed to have its own will, which was honestly pretty hilarious.
Kurosaki Rei swept him with his detection skill and found that Babanuki wasn't weak at all. Despite being an artificial Devil Fruit user, he was a Headliner of the Beasts Pirates—a mid-level cadre.
Babanuki's overall attributes were all above 50 points, placing him around the level of a Tier-3 Explorer.
However, Kurosaki Rei felt that if Yamato's Seastone cuffs were removed, she should be able to beat someone like Babanuki—a bottom-tier Headliner. After all, Yamato was a Mythical Zoan user. Zoan fruits greatly enhanced physical abilities, and once she transformed, her stats would rise significantly.
Babanuki stopped in front of them. He himself looked at Yamato, while the elephant on his waist stared at Kurosaki Rei, its trunk sniffing around Kurosaki Rei's food.
"Young Master Yamato, your sentence has ended. Lord Kaido has ordered me to bring you back to Onigashima."
Yamato's face lit up with joy. She looked at Kurosaki Rei excitedly.
"Brother Rei—this is divine!"
Kurosaki Rei raised his hand and pressed downward slightly, signaling her to calm down. Basic operation.
He'd known Kaido wouldn't be able to resist. It wasn't even afternoon yet, and Yamato was already being released.
"I'm getting out, but…"
After the excitement, Yamato looked at Kurosaki Rei.
"What about you, Brother Rei?"
"Don't worry about me. I eat well here, sleep well, and train Haki without a care in the world,"
Kurosaki Rei waved it off.
He wasn't counting on Yamato to get him released. Freeing prisoners ultimately depended on Kaido's will.
If Yamato could get him out, great. If not, it didn't matter—after lying low for a bit, he could just unlock his chains and leave.
He'd already checked. His shackles were mechanical locks, not anything special, and only of legendary quality—well within the range of his Universal Key.
Yes, even though they were common Seastone shackles here, they were indeed legendary-grade items.
After all, they were incredibly durable and could suppress Devil Fruit users. Outside of Wano, they were rare and valuable tools.
Even in the Marines, not everyone was issued such shackles—only officers received them, specifically for capturing powerful ability users.
"Don't worry, Brother Rei. I'll definitely convince Father to let you out too. I still need you to guide me,"
Yamato said with a bright smile, making Kurosaki Rei's expression stiffen.
To be honest, Kurosaki Rei really wanted to run the moment Yamato left. He had no desire to keep cleaning up Wano's messes. The world was vast—he wanted to see it.
But Yamato seemed determined to cling to him. Chances were, he'd be tied to Wano for a while longer.
"Kid, you'd better behave yourself."
After Yamato left, Babanuki shot Kurosaki Rei a warning glare. The other guards also looked at him unfriendly.
Clearly, without Yamato as a protective shield, Kurosaki Rei's treatment would be no different from any other prisoner's.
Over the past few days, Kurosaki Rei had openly discussed rebellion with Yamato in the prison. The Beasts Pirates' guards had long grown resentful of him.
Sure enough, not long after, that alpaca-man walked over, spewing foul saliva, deliberately spitting on the flatbread in Kurosaki Rei's bowl.
Kurosaki Rei reacted instantly, snatching up the plate and dodging aside. He rolled the flatbread up and stuffed it straight into his mouth, finishing his lunch in one go.
"Brat! With Young Master Yamato gone, you still dare act so arrogant? I'll teach you a lesson!"
The alpaca-man swung his long whip at Kurosaki Rei.
Kurosaki Rei calmly chewed his flatbread, casually dodging each strike. He walked over, picked up his mining pick, and headed toward the mining area as if nothing was happening.
The alpaca-man chased after him, cursing and whipping wildly, but neither spit nor whip could touch Kurosaki Rei.
Kurosaki Rei simply ignored him, using the man as a tool to practice Observation Haki.
Mining to train his body, dodging to train his senses—he found himself engaged in a brand-new kind of cultivation.
In the end, by the time the sun set, the alpaca-man was panting in exhaustion, still unable to land a single hit.
Meanwhile, on Onigashima.
Yamato once again set foot in the core territory of the Beasts Pirates.
As she approached Kaido's usual dwelling, she sniffed the air, her face filled with confusion.
Something felt off.
She had attacked Kaido here countless times and knew this place well. In her memory, it should have been filled with the stench of alcohol and sour rot.
But now the air felt fresh—there was even a faint floral scent.
That's not right… Did I come to the wrong place?
"Young Master Yamato, the Governor is waiting inside,"
the pirate leading her reminded her, prompting her to continue forward.
Entering the cavern, Yamato didn't see the mountain of discarded wine jars she remembered. The entire "room" was clean and tidy.
At the far end, against the stone wall, sat a familiar massive figure.
Kaido sat shirtless on a clean stone throne. Even his black trousers looked new and spotless.
He sat there motionless, muscles like carved granite, expressionless, radiating the authority befitting a Yonko.
Black Maria knelt beside him, holding a wine jar and pouring into the large bowl in Kaido's hand.
Yet even when the bowl was full, Kaido didn't drink. He merely held it as a prop, his calm gaze fixed on Yamato.
Yamato felt immense pressure.
Part of it came from her father's sheer power—one of the Four Emperors, the so-called strongest creature on land. Facing his presence head-on naturally brought overwhelming pressure.
But the rest was far more complicated.
Having realized her father's care and indulgence toward her, Yamato felt deeply guilty. That guilt made it hard for her to even open her mouth.
Furthermore, although she had come to apologize, she didn't truly agree with her father's ways. Returning to the Beasts Pirates was merely another form of "rebellion." That sense of deception made her uncomfortable.
Under the weight of all this, when Yamato saw Kaido, she opened her mouth—yet no words of apology came out.
After a long moment, she finally forced out a single word:
"…Father."
"Mm."
Kaido nodded, leaning forward slightly. He held the wine bowl without drinking, like a stage prop meant to heighten the atmosphere.
He was doing his utmost to maintain his composure, but inside, he was burning with anticipation—waiting for Yamato's apology.
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