...
Outside the light screen, Big Mom's gaze remained glued to that pink giant dragon.
Her smile first froze, then gradually spread, and finally turned into that signature "Mam-ma-ma-ma" laughter.
The laughter echoed across the sky above God Valley…
"Vegapunk… Vegapunk…"
Big Mom muttered the name: "A man who can even replicate Devil Fruits—if he could be used by this old lady…"
Her eyes narrowed into slits, a light deeper than greed flickering in the gaps.
"Mam-ma-ma-ma!"
The laughter suddenly rose in pitch.
"Wouldn't this old lady's pirate crew be about to take off?!"
The surrounding pirates looked at each other, not daring to respond.
They knew Big Mom too well. When she showed this kind of expression, it definitely wasn't anything good…
"Although there are some flaws, the replicated things aren't complete…"
Big Mom continued speaking to herself: "But if every one of this old lady's children could turn into that kind of giant dragon…"
She paused, her voice lowering, low enough that only the few people beside her could hear.
"Wouldn't ruling the world be just a matter of time?"
No one answered, but everyone could hear what was in that tone.
Perhaps this was the moment when the man named "Vegapunk" in the light screen truly entered the public eye.
Zeus shrank into a ball of cloud, not daring to make a sound. It only knew that the name "Vegapunk" sounded very powerful, but didn't know in what way.
But it knew one thing: anyone who could make Mama show this kind of expression was definitely not simple.
Big Mom's laughter continued to echo, but as she laughed, she suddenly stopped.
Because she noticed that Kaido beside her had no reaction. In the past, Kaido would have already spoken up to mock her…
But at this moment, Kaido did nothing.
He simply stood there in silence, staring at the pink giant dragon in the light screen, staring at the Straw Hat boy on the giant dragon's back.
There was no anger in his eyes, no killing intent, not even the cold indifference Big Mom was used to.
There was only complexity in his eyes.
This kind of Kaido made even Big Mom feel somewhat unaccustomed…
"Tch…"
Big Mom withdrew her gaze, no longer looking at this suddenly unfamiliar brat.
She really couldn't understand what Kaido was thinking…
In the light screen, the battle on Onigashima was still continuing.
Yamato's figure climbed up from the ruins, her entire body covered in wounds, her white long hair matted together with blood and grime.
Her kanabo was propped on the ground, supporting her swaying body. Her breathing was as heavy as an old bellows.
Opposite her, Kaido stood in the center.
He didn't pursue. He just coldly watched his daughter, as if looking at a fool who knew no bounds and insisted on running into a wall.
"This is all you've got?"
Kaido's voice had no emotional fluctuation, flat to the point of boredom.
"This is the extent to which you learned the things this old man taught you?"
Yamato didn't answer, because Kaido was stating facts.
Every move she made, that battle instinct, that perception and application of power—all of it was taught by Kaido.
From the day she first held a weapon, Kaido had personally served as her teacher, tempering her into a "weapon" in the cruelest way possible.
But the weapon he wanted to temper was one to kill enemies, one to conquer, one to fight side by side with him and jointly rule these seas.
But Yamato just wouldn't listen to him and actually stood in his way.
"You're very strong."
Yamato finally spoke, her voice hoarse yet steady: "Much stronger than me."
She raised her head. There was no fear in her eyes, no retreat, not even the despair of being crushed.
Only calm—calm like a frozen lake.
"But you will definitely lose. You will fail!"
Listening to Yamato's words, Kaido's brows twitched.
"The things you taught me, I learned! But the things you didn't teach me…"
She tightened her grip on the kanabo. Ice mist rose around her once more.
"I learned them myself."
...
"Then let this old man see."
Kaido raised his kanabo, Conqueror's Haki once again coiling around it: "Whether that 'learned by yourself' stuff of yours is enough to let you walk out of this Onigashima alive.
Father and daughter charged at each other once more.
...
Amid this intense battle, the light screen suddenly showed scenes of Yamato's childhood.
It was another equally cold night. She had been locked by Kaido into a prison cell…
This was her father's usual method of punishment.
He would bind her with ropes and chains, then throw her into the prison cells holding Wano Country captives, letting her face the fury of those "enemies" alone.
That night, there were several people locked in the prison cell.
They were all samurai of Wano Country who would rather die than surrender…
When the clattering of chains rang out in the darkness, when that iron door slammed shut behind her, when several pairs of eyes simultaneously turned toward her…
Yamato thought her time of death had arrived. After all, she was Kaido's daughter.
She curled up in the corner, using her last bit of strength to force her eyelids open, preparing to receive the samurai's fists, blades, or whatever method they wanted to use to vent their anger.
But nothing happened.
In the darkness, there was only silence.
A long while later, a hand stretched out from the shadows and offered food to her.
"Eat…"
The voice was hoarse and weary, yet held no hatred.
Yamato was stunned.
She couldn't see that person's face clearly, only a blurry silhouette.
"You… don't hate me?" Her voice was as small as a mosquito's.
A low sigh came from the darkness.
"What's the point of hating you? You're just a child."
Another voice sounded: "Kaido's daughter does not represent Kaido."
Yet another voice: "Oden said that hatred cannot be passed on. What can be passed on is only will."
Yamato didn't know what to say. She simply accepted that rice ball, lowered her head, and took bite after bite.
Tears slid down silently.
That night, she took out the Kozuki Oden's diary she had hidden in her bosom, which was almost worn out from flipping through.
"There are some parts here I don't understand… Can you explain them to me!"
The samurai were all very surprised to see Oden's diary. They saw Oden's sea voyages and experiences, read about Oden's meeting with Whitebeard, read Oden's longing for Wano Country, read the prophecies Oden had written in the final moments of his life.
In the darkness, there were no interruptions, no questions, no sounds at all.
Only the rustling sound of turning pages, and Yamato's increasingly firm voice.
When she finished reading the last page and closed the diary, one samurai spoke.
"Do you believe these?"
"I believe them." Yamato didn't hesitate.
"Even though you're Kaido's daughter?"
"Then I still believe them!"
Silence…
The samurai exchanged glances with each other. Immediately after, the other samurai also believed in the matters of Oden's diary!
In the darkness, one person slowly raised his head.
Light leaked in from the gaps in the iron window, illuminating his face.
It was a young man whose appearance actually somewhat resembled Roronoa Zoro from the Straw Hat crew!
The samurai finally made their decision.
"Rather than waiting to die here, it's better to die on the path of charging forward."
"Lord Oden was right!"
"The dawn of Wano Country will not be delayed because of our deaths."
The leading man took off his clothes and, dual swords in hand, cleaved open the prison door!
They charged at those guards, charged at those wardens, charged at those endless enemies that could never be wiped out.
Yamato remembered every single back.
Especially that one man holding dual swords!
He charged at the very front, dual swords in hand, blade light like rain.
That man's movements were so fluid it was unreal. Every swing of his blades brought an enemy down. Every turn carried a dance of death.
Those guards were like scarecrows before him—collapsing at a touch, shattering with one strike.
He charged farther and farther… farther and farther.
Until he disappeared into the smoke at the edge of Yamato's vision.
Yamato never learned his name.
...