"Young Master, did Lord Kaido actually agree to this?" Haruko asked, her voice tinged with genuine surprise. She hadn't expected the Governor-General of the Beasts Pirates to be so level-headed about such a request.
Yamato shrugged, acting as if the outcome had been a foregone conclusion. "Of course he did. I didn't go there to ask for his permission, Haruko. I went there to inform him of my plans."
With a bright grin, Yamato adjusted her sidearms. "Come on, let's go find Black Maria and see if she wants to join us. It'll be more fun with a bigger group."
The two of them made their way through the sprawling corridors of Onigashima until they reached Black Maria's quarters. The towering woman looked up as they entered, her expression one of calm curiosity.
"Maria, are you free next month?" Yamato asked, skipping the pleasantries. "I'm heading to a banquet and wanted to know if you'd like to come along."
"A banquet?" Maria repeated, tilting her head. "Whose territory are we talking about?"
"Totto Land," Yamato replied. "The Big Mom Pirates are hosting a Tea Party, and they've sent me an official invitation."
Maria's eyes widened slightly in shock. It was unheard of for one of the Yonko to invite a high-ranking member of a rival crew to such an intimate event. The political implications alone were staggering. "Big Mom invited a member of the Beasts Pirates? There has to be a mistake. That's never happened in the history of our alliance—or our rivalry."
Haruko stepped forward to clarify the situation. "It wasn't a direct summons from Big Mom herself initially. Charlotte Katakuri, her second son, extended the invitation to the Young Master personally. Big Mom gave her seal of approval afterward."
"Katakuri, huh?" Maria leaned back, a knowing smile playing on her lips. "He's likely trying to repay the debt from your last encounter. He hasn't forgotten that you spared his life, Yamato."
Yamato blinked, looking genuinely caught off guard. "Is that what you think? Here I was hoping he'd just fallen for my charms and couldn't bear the thought of a party without me."
The room fell silent for a beat before both Maria and Haruko burst into laughter. Yamato was undeniably stunning, but her personality was so overwhelming and dominant that most men found her terrifying rather than enchanting. In many ways, she mirrored the raw, unstoppable energy of Big Mom herself.
"Yamato, do you actually believe that?" Maria asked, wiping a tear from her eye.
In the world of pirates, few men had the courage to truly love a woman of that caliber. Even Big Mom's many husbands had mostly been collateral damage—men captured and forced into marriage simply to further her dream of a diverse family. None of them had stayed by her side out of genuine affection. To put it bluntly, most men in the New World preferred a partner they didn't have to fear.
"Why wouldn't I believe it?" Yamato pouted, crossing her arms. "I've got the strength, the pedigree, and the looks. Teasing men is easy—and honestly, it's half the fun of traveling."
"I really don't know what to do with you," Maria said, shaking her head. "Is messing with people really that entertaining for you?"
Yamato nodded vigorously. "Absolutely. Just look at Jack. I've teased him so much over the years that he's practically developed a Haki specifically designed to ignore me. It's hilarious."
Maria and Haruko exchanged a weary glance. It was clear that Yamato's eccentricities weren't going away anytime soon.
"Anyway, Maria, back to the point," Yamato said, refocusing. "Are you coming or not? I hear their desserts are the best in the entire world. It'd be a crime to miss out on a spread like that."
"I'll have to pass," Maria declined gracefully. "Just bring me back something sweet. I have too many affairs to manage here in Wano while the Governor-General is distracted. You go and have a good time."
"Oh, come on! It's only a few days," Yamato persisted. "I can fly us there in no time. You need a vacation."
Maria remained firm. "You are the Young Master of the Beasts Pirates. Your presence at a Yonko's Tea Party is going to cause a massive stir in the newspapers. If too many of us show up, the World Government might think we're staging a coup or a formal merger. Haruko is your personal guard; the two of you are enough."
"Fine, fine," Yamato sighed, giving up. "If you want to stay here and work, that's your choice. Haruko and I will just have to eat your portion of the cake."
The next two weeks passed in a blur of preparation. On the day of their departure, Yamato decided to pay her father one last visit. She found Kaido in his usual spot, nursing a massive gourd of sake.
"Hey, you old drunk! I'm off to see your 'big sister,'" Yamato shouted, leaning against the doorway. "Don't you have any messages for her? Something like, 'Dearest Linlin, your little brother misses you terribly'?"
Kaido immediately choked on his drink, spraying sake across the floor. He coughed violently, staring at Yamato with a mix of shock and irritation. "You brat... where do you get off saying things like that?"
He had never shared the details of his history with the Rocks Pirates with her. He wondered how she always seemed to know exactly which nerves to poke.
"Haha! I hit a nerve, didn't I?" Yamato laughed, dodging a half-hearted glare. "Don't tell me Big Mom is still the 'white moonlight' of your youth—the one that got away? If that's true, I'd actually feel sorry for my mother."
Kaido's veins began to bulge in his forehead. He reached out, grabbed an empty sake gourd, and hurled it at her head with the speed of a cannonball. Yamato leaned to the side, letting the ceramic shatter against the wall behind her.
"Tsk, tsk. Someone's sensitive," she teased. "Come on, tell me if you want me to bring her a gift. Since you're my father, I guess I can do you this one favor. I really am the best daughter anyone could ask for. You must have saved a kingdom in a past life to be blessed with me."
Kaido's beard practically twitched with rage. The girl was insufferable. She had a way of inflating her own ego while simultaneously dragging his through the mud. Furthermore, his relationship with Linlin was strictly professional—mostly.
"Get out!" Kaido roared, his voice shaking the rafters. "Get the hell out of Wano! And don't you dare mention that old hag to me again!"
He began grabbing every empty bottle within reach, coating them in a dark sheen of Armament Haki before launching them. They whistled through the air like mortar shells. Yamato scrambled out of the room, her laughter echoing down the hall.
"Such a drama queen!" she yelled back. "You're a total tsundere, Old Man!"
"YAMATO!" Kaido's scream followed her all the way to the docks.
King, who was approaching the inner sanctum to deliver a report, watched Yamato sprint past with a giant grin on her face. He sighed, knowing exactly what had transpired. The father and daughter simply couldn't be in the same room for more than ten minutes without someone throwing furniture.
After waiting for the crashing sounds to subside, King stepped into the room.
"Governor-General," King said, acknowledging the panting Kaido. "Apoo has checked in. He's successfully formed an alliance with Eustass Kid and Basil Hawkins. We have the coordinates for their base of operations."
The news immediately shifted Kaido's mood from irritation to predatory interest. "Apoo, huh? Good. I'm bored anyway. I'll head over there myself and show those brats what happens when you play pirate in my ocean."
"Understood. I'll have the scouts prepare for your arrival," King replied. He knew Kaido needed to vent his frustrations on someone, and a group of overconfident rookies was the perfect target.
Meanwhile, Yamato and Haruko had already cleared Wano's borders. They were currently aboard a sleek pirate vessel cutting through the waves of the New World, bound for Vanilla Island.
"Young Master, I still find it hard to believe Big Mom agreed to this," Haruko remarked, leaning against the railing.
"It is unusual," Yamato agreed, staring out at the horizon. "But I suspect my 'disciple' Katakuri put in a good word. He's probably the only one in that crew with enough backbone to tell his mother what to do."
"I've heard she isn't exactly the listening type," Haruko noted.
"She's a force of nature, just like my father," Yamato said, her expression turning thoughtful. "People like them only respect one thing: strength. They don't care about bloodlines or loyalty unless you have the power to back it up. Katakuri must have proven himself in a way she couldn't ignore."
Yamato paused, a small smile touching her lips. "I'm sure he had to work for it. I pushed him pretty hard during our fight. I doubt he's reached my level yet, but I'm curious to see how much he's grown."
"You used that battle to teach him about the Advanced applications of Conqueror's Haki, didn't you?" Haruko guessed.
"Exactly. It was a waste to see someone with that much potential using his Haoshoku just to knock out fodder. I decided to give him a crash course. That makes him my first official disciple."
Yamato puffed out her chest proudly. "Think about it, Haruko. I have two disciples now. One is the powerhouse of the Big Mom Pirates, and the other is Portgas D. Ace, the son of the Pirate King himself. I'd say I have a pretty good eye for talent."
"You certainly do, Young Master," Haruko smiled.
Two days later, the ship's den-den mushi received the latest edition of the World Economic Journal. Yamato spread the paper out on the deck, a cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes widened as she read the front-page headline.
"Well, look at that. Joker actually did it," Yamato muttered. "Donquixote Doflamingo has officially resigned from the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
She wondered if the warning she'd given him months ago had played a part in this, or if he had simply been backed into a corner he couldn't escape.
"That's incredible," Haruko said, leaning over to read the article. "If he's truly out of the Shichibukai, the Marines will have no choice but to arrest him. An Admiral will be dispatched to Dressrosa within the hour."
The implications were dire for the Beasts Pirates. Doflamingo was their primary broker for SAD and the SMILE fruits. "He wouldn't give up that protection voluntarily," Haruko continued. "The alliance between Monkey D. Luffy and Trafalgar Law must be more formidable than we anticipated."
Yamato let out a sharp laugh. "Straw Hat makes his move the moment he steps back into the spotlight. He really doesn't know how to keep a low profile, does he?"
"Haruko," Yamato said, her golden eyes gleaming. "If they actually manage to take Joker down, who do you think they'll come for next?"
Haruko didn't have to think long. "If Doflamingo falls, our supply of artificial Devil Fruits vanishes. By destroying that trade, they are declaring war on the Beasts Pirates. Their next target... will be us."
Haruko blinked as the weight of her own words sank in. "Do they really think they can challenge a Yonko?"
"They're rookies, Haruko. Arrogance is their middle name," Yamato said. "But remember, the last brat who tried to take on a Yonko ended up losing an arm to the Red-Haired Pirates. Most of these 'Worst Generation' kids have to huddle together just to survive the weather in the New World."
"Even with the Straw Hat-Law alliance, challenging our crew is suicide," Haruko insisted. "It's like an egg trying to break a mountain. They've only been pirates for a few years. They don't have the foundation."
"Perhaps," Yamato conceded. "But time is a luxury they don't have. If you want to change the world, you have to grow faster than the people currently ruling it. It's the only way."
She looked out at the sea, her pink haori snapping in the wind. "Haruko, how old was I when I finally made the Old Man back down?"
"You were twenty-one, Young Master," Haruko replied instantly.
"Right. I started training when I was seven. It took me fourteen years of constant hell to reach a level where I could stand my ground against a Yonko. If these rookies want to win, they have to do in months what took me over a decade. Do you think they have that kind of soul?"
Haruko looked at Yamato, whose golden eyes were as brilliant as the gems she wore. "I don't know about them, but to me, you are the most incredible person in this world. No one compares to you."
Yamato let out a boisterous laugh. "Stop it, Haruko! You're going to make me blush!"
After a moment, Yamato's expression sobered. "We'll just have to wait and see if they can actually scale the mountain. I hope they don't disappoint me. It's been too long since this world had a real shake-up."
A few days later, the ship finally docked at Vanilla Island, one of the many outskirts of Totto Land. The air smelled of sugar and spice. As they stepped onto the pier, they were met by a representative of the Big Mom Pirates.
"Young Master Yamato, Lady Haruko," the official said, bowing deeply. "Master Katakuri left this invitation for you. He also requested that you take this transponder snail. He asks that you contact him the moment you arrive."
Yamato took the gilded envelope and the snail. "He's as organized as ever. I like that."
She immediately dialed the number. The snail's features shifted, growing a sharp jawline and a serious expression.
"Yamato? Is that you?" Katakuri's deep, steady voice came through the speaker.
"In the flesh," Yamato chirped. "I've just touched down on Vanilla Island. How long until the big show starts?"
"The Tea Party begins in three days," Katakuri informed her. "I will send a personal escort to collect you one day in advance. Until then, please enjoy the hospitality of the island."
"Sounds like a plan. See you soon," Yamato said, hanging up.
She turned to Haruko with a predatory grin. "Well, we have some time to kill. I haven't had real sweets in ages, and this place is practically made of them. Come on, Haruko! Let's go find the best bakery on the island and eat until we burst!"
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