"You really are casual about this. Does drinking together once automatically make someone a good friend? By that logic, you must have at least several thousand friends—maybe even ten thousand," Yamato said, her mouth twitching in amusement.
"Well... I haven't actually sat down to count them, but that sounds about right," Red Hair said, pondering the thought for a moment with a serious face.
Yamato turned her gaze to the rest of the crew. "It seems your boss isn't necessarily the most reliable guy, is he? He's just like my idiot old man; sometimes he really deserves a good beating."
"That's right! You nailed it! The Boss acts like such a fool sometimes that you just can't help but want to hit him," the crew members replied, nodding in unison with completely serious expressions.
Shanks was immediately offended. "Hey! How dare you guys talk about your own captain like that? Are you prepared for the consequences of mutiny?"
"What's wrong with saying it? We aren't lying," everyone replied, acting as if they didn't take his threats seriously at all.
"Your relationship is actually really good. My idiot old man is incredibly petty; he gets furious at me if I criticize him even a little bit," Yamato laughed, watching the lighthearted bickering.
"Then come and join our crew! No one here is petty. Everyone on this ship is broad-minded and free," Shanks said, seizing the opportunity to ask again.
Yamato squinted at him skeptically. "Cut it out. Someone who didn't know better would think you were a traveling salesman. I already said no, and that's final. Even if you are one of the Four Emperors, you can't just ignore our respective stances. We belong to different worlds."
"She's right, Shanks. We all have our own positions to maintain. Don't make things difficult for her," Beckman added. It was rare for him to chime in, but his tone was firm.
"Is that so? Then I guess it can't be helped. That's truly a pity," Shanks sighed, wearing an exaggeratedly regretful expression.
Yamato glanced at him sideways. "Keep acting. I'm watching the show."
"Haha, you saw right through me? Is my acting really that bad?" Shanks scratched the back of his head, looking completely unfazed by being called out.
"It's terribly bad," Yamato nodded.
Shanks laughed. "Actually, I wasn't entirely acting. At least, I was serious about inviting you to join us."
"I know. If it weren't for the issue of our conflicting stances, I would be very happy to accept. Who would easily refuse an invitation from one of the Four Emperors?" Yamato paused to light a cigarette. "Besides, I think you guys have a much brighter future. Living freely and doing what you want—that is what a true pirate is. But who knew I'd have such a problematic parent at home?"
"A problematic parent? Kaido wouldn't be very happy if he heard you talking about him like that," Shanks chuckled.
Yamato shrugged. "I'm just stating a fact. If I had been able to set him straight, the Beasts Pirates wouldn't be holed up in that isolated place."
"Wano Country, huh," Shanks' eyes flickered with a brief, sharp light, as if he had realized something deeper about her situation.
"Oh, right. Last time you ran into my idiot old man, why didn't you give him a good beating? Maybe a solid loss would have corrected his attitude," Yamato said, looking directly at Shanks.
Shanks' eye twitched at the suggestion. "You think way too highly of me. 'A good beating'? Aren't you more familiar with your father's monstrous strength than I am?"
"Hey, you're the youngest of the Four Emperors! You rose to prominence faster than anyone. What's wrong with beating Kaido? Shouldn't it be easy for someone like you?" Yamato spoke without any hesitation.
Shanks immediately rolled his eyes. "Stop flattering me. You're quite the powerhouse yourself; how much worse could you be compared to him?"
"I'm not an Emperor, and Kaido is my father. Hitting him wouldn't help anyway," Yamato pouted. If violence from her side would have solved the problem, she would have tried it long ago. She knew that if someone wanted to stop Kaido, it had to be an outsider. If she opposed him directly, it would only make Kaido more stubborn and entrenched in his ways.
"You really intended to do that?" Shanks and the others were dumbfounded by her bluntness.
"What's with those looks?" Yamato glared at them.
Haruko let out a long sigh. "Young Master, it might not be appropriate to say such things out loud in front of a rival crew."
"Hahaha! Yamato, you truly are an interesting girl! It's such a shame you won't sail with us," Shanks and his crew burst into another round of hearty laughter.
"What's so funny?" Yamato was speechless. She wondered why all these high-level pirates seemed to share the same eccentric temperament.
"Having a problematic parent must be very exhausting. Your path was determined for you from the very beginning, and many things are hard to change once they've started," Shanks' expression grew serious. He seemed to truly understand Yamato's predicament and the awkward position she held within the Beasts Pirates.
"So, like I said, if you had just beaten my old man last time, maybe things would be different now," Yamato teased, blinking innocently.
Shanks smiled and shook his head. "Please, spare me that kind of trouble."
At that time, his foundation in the New World was still being established, and the conflict with Kaido had been a matter of circumstance. Now, the Four Emperors resided in the New World in a state of delicate balance. It was difficult for major conflicts to break out between them because any significant move would cause a ripple effect across the entire globe.
"Alright, I was just saying that casually. This matter still needs to wait for someone else to handle it. I just don't know how much longer we have to wait for that person to arrive," Yamato mused. According to the flow of the world she knew, they would have to wait another four years for the gears of fate to turn.
"If there truly is such a person, they will definitely bring about massive changes to this world," Shanks said, his gaze drifting as if he were recalling a specific memory.
"I think so too. I really hope such a person appears soon to bring change to this stagnant world," Yamato agreed. She felt the weight of the era; the world needed progress and a push toward a better future.
"Stagnant, huh," Shanks smiled, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"Well, thank you for the hospitality. I should be going now; I can't keep bothering you all day," Yamato said as she stood up.
Shanks stood up as well. "Leaving already? You're welcome to stay a little longer."
"Thank you for the kindness, but I'll pass. If I don't get back soon, the simpleton back on my ship will start worrying. Besides, if we stay together for too long, it might cause a huge incident if the news gets out to the Marines," Yamato said, shaking her head.
"That makes sense," Shanks understood. The meeting of two Emperor-level forces was enough to put the entire World Government on high alert.
"Haruko, let's go," Yamato waved her hand.
With that, Yamato and Haruko leaped back over to their own vessel. As the ships began to drift apart, Shanks shouted one last time across the water.
"Hey, Yamato! If there's ever a chance in the future, how about joining my crew then?"
Yamato turned back and looked at the Red Hair Pirates. "I think I'll still pass! Everyone on your ship is a grown man; you don't have a single woman on the crew. I couldn't stand that kind of environment!"
"Huh?" Shanks and the others were stunned. That was her reason?
"Let's drink together again next time we have a chance!" Yamato laughed heartily as her ship turned around and sailed away into the distance.
Watching Yamato and her companion leave, Shanks and his comrades exchanged glances before bursting into laughter. "Doesn't she act like a grown man herself anyway?"
"If we hadn't seen it with our own eyes, it would be hard to believe she is Kaido's daughter," Beckman said with a smile. Cheerful, easygoing, and unconventional—that was the impression she had left on them.
"Benn, you've got that wrong. Kaido definitely raised her as if she were his son. Think about it, isn't that clearly the case?" Shanks corrected his vice-captain.
Beckman pondered the thought. "Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case." After all, under normal circumstances, what girl would spend her afternoon drinking and playing games with a bunch of rough pirates? She fit right in.
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