The two little girls huddled together and read with rapt attention. Though neither of them could read well, the illustrations in the book captivated them completely.
Especially the man wielding a long sword, effortlessly cutting down enemies and monsters alike — he made Yamato's eyes light up.
"This person is incredible! He might even be stronger than Father!"
Yamato said excitedly.
Kaido: My own daughter, ladies and gentlemen.
In truth, what they were reading was a picture book about Ren that Yukiko had created years ago. It chronicled many of Ren's deeds, up until the point when he left Wano Country.
The first half mainly depicted his battle achievements. The latter half described how he had transformed Kuri into the most prosperous region in the land.
Now, after circulating within Wano Country for years, this picture book had been brought to Onigashima by Orochi. And it had ultimately fallen into Yamato's hands.
One could imagine that Kaido was in for yet another round of filial devotion.
"That can't be right, can it? Lord Kaido is the strongest person in the world."
Black Maria said uncertainly. She had never seen anyone stronger than Kaido.
"Maybe. It's such a shame — if only I could read the words."
Yamato said regretfully. Though she had looked at the pictures, she had no idea what the text actually said.
Maria was in the same boat. She only recognized a few characters — like "nine" — which amounted to basically nothing.
"Why don't we ask someone to read it for us?"
Yamato suggested. Normally, she wouldn't have had any interest in books. But being confined to this monotonous Onigashima had left her with an endless yearning for the outside world.
And this picture book happened to contain images of Kuri's boundless golden rice paddies, the Sky Island above the clouds, and the glittering Sabaody Archipelago.
These sights fascinated Yamato deeply. They were as beautiful as fairy tales — things she could never have even imagined before.
The two of them agreed instantly. They found a pirate standing watch and asked him to read the book to them.
The pirate didn't dare refuse Yamato, so he started reading aloud.
"This picture book chronicles the deeds of the daimyo of Kuri..."
As he read, something felt off to him.
The daimyo of Kuri? Could this be about that Kuri?
"Deeds of the Kuri daimyo? Does that mean all of this actually happened?"
Yamato grew excited. If the stories in this book were real, then did that mean there truly were boundless fields of golden rice? Were there really winged people living above the clouds?
And a fantastical island covered in soap bubbles — all of it real?
The pirate nodded.
"I haven't been to Kuri myself. But I have been to the Sky Island and Sabaody Archipelago!"
"That's amazing! Hurry, hurry — keep reading!"
Yamato bounced up and down with excitement, her small fists clenched as she urged him on.
The pirate was now a bit torn on whether it was appropriate to continue. But faced with Yamato's relentless prodding, he had no choice but to keep going.
"...Facing over a hundred bandits, this lord showed no fear whatsoever. His black blade instantly subdued the fearsome Asura Demon. Through his own power alone, he pacified Kuri, which had been in chaos for hundreds of years — and built a town upon it."
"...The Asura Demon, awed by his magnanimity and strength, willingly chose to follow him."
"...When Kuri was first established, the land was barren and the people impoverished. The daimyo used divine power to make the rice paddies bloom. It's said that on that day, thunder rumbled three times across the sky, and the newly planted rice in all of Kuri ripened instantly."
"Because of this, the people also called that lord 'Narukami'!"
"After making Kuri prosperous, the daimyo divided his authority into three parts — assigning the Military Commissioner to command the army, the Finance Commissioner to manage the treasury, and the Cultural Commissioner to oversee rites and ceremonies — ensuring that Kuri's prosperity would endure."
"After that... Lord Narukami saw that everything was on the right track and the people were living in peace. Only then did he leave Kuri and set out for the seas beyond."
The picture book didn't contain a great deal of text. Many of Ren's greater deeds had actually taken place overseas. But even so, it was more than enough to leave Yamato awestruck.
She even started to wonder whether this Ren might truly be a god among gods.
"How wonderful. I want to become someone amazing like that too!"
She said with starry-eyed admiration.
"Maria, do you think I should call myself Narukami? I think that sounds so cool!"
Ren: Oh no, I've been replaced!
"I'm not sure that's a good idea..."
The pirate scratched his head awkwardly.
"My Lady Yamato, I think it'd be better if we just got rid of this book."
He might have been a nameless pirate, but even he understood the danger of letting this book stick around. If Yamato started idolizing the daimyo of Kuri, that probably wouldn't end well.
"I don't want to!"
Yamato shook her head violently. His words had no effect this time.
After the banquet, Kaido found out about the book.
He squinted, struggling to read a book that was barely larger than his thumbnail, and felt mentally exhausted.
A few more pages of this and he'd probably need reading glasses.
"Never mind. If Yamato likes it, let her have it."
Kaido said with magnanimity. In his view, the book was harmless. Besides, it actually contained a fair amount of information about governing Kuri.
Kaido hoped that Yamato would eventually take over Wano Country. Getting her started on the basics early couldn't hurt.
The only thing that caught his attention was the name "Narukami."
The term sounded like it had something to do with lightning. But after examining the book more carefully, he realized that wasn't the case.
The reason the daimyo of Kuri was called Narukami wasn't because he possessed the power of lightning. It was because he could make rice crops mature in an instant.
In Wano Country, it was believed that thunder and lightning frequently occurred during the autumn harvest season, and so the people associated lightning with bringing forth ripened grain.
So in Kaido's assessment, the daimyo of Kuri was probably a Devil Fruit user of some kind — but not one with lightning powers. More likely, his ability was related to time or plants.
Whoever the daimyo of Kuri was, as long as he wasn't the leader of Inazuma, Kaido didn't care.
He thought about it lazily.
Ren had no idea that he'd gained a tiny new admirer back in Wano Country. If he'd known, he would have been grinning from ear to ear.
In the original story, Yamato's constant "Lord Oden" this and "Lord Oden" that had been annoying to read. But when that Oden was replaced by himself, it was a completely different matter.
With such a wonderfully filial child around, Ren itched to prepare Scaramouche's seat right away and then make a guest appearance as Lesser Lord Kusanali to become Yamato's new daddy.
[
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