Infinite ANime [134-136] (Patreon)

Chapter 134: Educating Yamato

"Gusion-dono, you're so strong! You've learned Ryuo so quickly. I thought I was the fastest one."

Yamato got up and looked at Gusion in amazement.

Gusion asked Yamato with some curiosity, "At what age did you learn Ryuo? And how did you learn it?"

Yamato tilted her head and thought for a few seconds. "Let me think, I guess it was when I was about eleven. Back then, I felt I'd grown a lot taller and stronger, so I wanted to carry on Kozuki Oden's will and defeat Kaido. Unfortunately, I was still too weak and couldn't do it. We fought for a while before I was knocked out. When I woke up, I could use Ryuo."

Gusion had a strange expression after hearing this. He actually heard Yamato say she fought fiercely with Kaido—when she was only eleven.

What was Yamato's level at that age? And what was Kaido's tier?

 Yet Yamato could fight Kaido for a while? Did Yamato really not find this odd?

"Did your father teach you Ryuo?"

Gusion couldn't help asking. In their previous discussions, Yamato had also mentioned Kaido was her father.

Yamato quickly shook her head. "Of course not! That damned Kaido just wanted to kill me, but he couldn't, because Kozuki Oden was watching over me."

Gusion's expression became even stranger. "Then how did you learn Ryuo?"

Yamato replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, it's because I am Kozuki Oden. I am the hope of Wano Country, so of course I could learn Ryuo."

Gusion facepalmed. "Let me ask, when you said Kaido fought with you for a long time, did he use Ryuo?"

"Yes, he basically fought me using Ryuo."

Yamato got angry remembering it. "At the time, I had just learned Armament Haki, not for long. That damned guy must have been showing off his higher-level power to mock how weak I was!"

"Uh..."

Gusion was dumbfounded. He really didn't expect Yamato's train of thought to be so out there.

If he swapped places with Kaido, he'd probably die of frustration dealing with Yamato.

Truly, Kaido was a tough guy with a soft heart. Though he didn't say it, he cared deeply for his daughter. Even when his rebellious child tried to kill him, he still endured it, and even taught her all three forms of Haki through their battles.

Thunder Bagua, Ryuo, Conqueror’s Coating—he didn’t hold back at all!

"Yamato, you said you could use Advanced Conqueror’s Haki. How did you learn that?"

Gusion couldn't help asking.

Yamato thought for a moment. "I think it was about a year ago. I felt my strength had improved a lot under Kozuki Oden's will, so I went to defeat Kaido and open up the country. Sadly, even after fighting for dozens of minutes, I still got knocked out. When I woke up, I could use Conqueror’s Coating. All thanks to Oden's will."

Gusion thought, if Kaido were here to hear this, he'd probably throw up.

"Let me ask, did Kaido use Conqueror’s Coating in that battle?"

Gusion asked.

Yamato's face filled with anger. "Of course he did! I'm his flesh and blood, but when he swung his club at me, he didn’t hold back at all. Conqueror’s Haki wrapped around it, and he hit me right on the head with Thunder Bagua, like he really wanted to kill me!"

Gusion's jaw dropped. He really thought Yamato was out of her mind. She knew she was Kaido’s own daughter, yet still tried to kill her dad?

 Is it possible that if Kaido had really wanted to kill her, one hit would’ve been the end? What’s her level compared to Kaido's? How could she even fight for dozens of minutes?

"I've heard of Thunder Bagua. Isn't that Yonko Kaido's signature move? Can you use it?"

Gusion asked again.

Yamato nodded. "Yeah, of course. What's so hard about that? I've been hit by it so many times, I’d have to be an idiot not to learn it."

"Isn't it thanks to your Oden-sama's will?"

"Of course not! Thunder Bagua isn't Kozuki Oden's move. I learned it myself. That damned guy would never expect that not only did I survive, I even learned his signature move," Yamato explained 

At this, Yamato's face showed a satisfied smile. "Just thinking about how one day I'll use his move to finish him off makes me really happy."

Gusion looked at Yamato, thinking, "This girl is truly hopeless."

She eats Kaido's food, uses Kaido’s resources, learns Kaido's moves, yet wants to kill her own father. In her eyes, he’s always wrong, always trying to kill her, and her survival is all thanks to the spirit of the heroic man watching over her.

Gusion felt Yamato's issues weren't just from witnessing Oden’s heroic death—add in Oden’s diary and the three samurai brainwashing her, and she became like this. Kaido really didn't know how to parent, and this girl’s mind was a bit off since childhood.

In Gusion's eyes, Kaido was definitely a brutal ruler, a villain, but among One Piece’s fathers, he was one of the best.

Just look at the other famous dads in One Piece:

Usopp's dad, Yasopp, abandoned his sick wife and young son to chase adventure.

Luffy's dad, Monkey D. Dragon, left his son in Windmill Village for his revolution, barely meeting him at all.

Sanji's dad, Judge Vinsmoke, treated Sanji like trash, and Sanji only escaped thanks to his sister.

These dads barely cared for their kids. Yet Usopp still idolizes his dad, and Sanji, despite hating his father, still treats him as family.

But Kaido? He never left Yamato to others, kept her by his side, fed her well, gave her everything, even had underlings call her Oni Princess. Truly, a model father by pirate world standards.

Yet this good father ended up with such a rebellious daughter. Now Gusion finally understood why Kaido liked to drink so much, and why he always became depressed and tried to kill himself after getting drunk...

"Oh right, you said you're a Devil Fruit user, so that's why you're weak when shackled. What fruit did you eat?"

Gusion asked, mainly because he was really curious about his cellmate’s inner world.

"Oh, I’m a Zoan-type Dog Dog Fruit, Mythical Beast Model: Okuchi no Makami. Apparently, it’s a guardian beast of Wano Country. But I'm Kozuki Oden, destined to open Wano, so of course it makes sense."

Yamato spoke confidently.

"A Mythical Zoan, such a rare fruit. Where did it come from?"

Gusion asked, genuinely curious about how Yamato got her fruit.

"That was a long time ago. I remember I was locked up by Kaido and starving, when a fruit fell through the skylight. I just ate it right away."

Yamato recalled, "After eating it, I realized it was a Devil Fruit, and I gained these powers."

She smiled. "Gusion-dono, let me tell you, Kaido even came over later. He told me it was a rare Mythical Zoan Fruit he’d worked hard to get. Isn’t it hilarious? He couldn’t even keep track of such an important fruit, and a storm blew it away, right into my cell. Isn’t he dumb? He couldn’t even guard his precious fruit."

She laughed. "In the end, it landed right in my prison. Clearly, it was Oden blessing me, making Kaido unlucky, and me lucky."

Gusion fell silent, looking at Yamato.

"Do you really believe that's what happened? Just because the wind blew the fruit up and dropped it through your skylight, and you happened to eat it while starving?"

Gusion found it absurd Yamato believed in such coincidences.

Afterward, Kaido even explained to her what the fruit was, how hard it was to find. Gusion thought Kaido was a bit tsundere, too.

He wanted to give his daughter a top fruit, but had to do it indirectly, and after Yamato ate it, he feared she didn’t know its value, so he explained again.

Honestly, Gusion was crying for him.

"Isn’t that what happened?"

Yamato looked at Gusion, confused.

"Don’t you think your father wanted you to eat a powerful Devil Fruit, but was afraid you wouldn’t eat it if he gave it directly, so he used this method?"

Gusion said frankly.

Yamato was stunned. This thought had never crossed her mind. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! He wanted to kill me. Why would he give me such a powerful Devil Fruit? He even said it was wasted on me."

"But in reality, you didn’t die, did you?"

Gusion couldn’t help but want to educate this unfilial daughter. Though he disliked Kaido the pirate, he felt sorry for Kaido.

Most importantly, seeing Yamato, who had a loving father but didn’t appreciate it, made him uncomfortable.

He had longed for parental love as a child, but he had none—he was an abandoned baby. He envied kids with parents.

If Yamato weren’t Kaido’s daughter, her rebellion would be pure positive energy. But since she was, it all felt awkward.

Even if Yamato wanted to resist Kaido’s tyranny, Gusion thought there were more reasonable ways. She could use her status and power to improve Wano, and eventually inherit everything, freeing the country that way.

 Why did she have to kill her father?

"I didn’t die... because I am Kozuki Oden."

Yamato paused awkwardly as she replied.

"But Kozuki Oden is dead. He wasn’t some immortal legend; he lost to Kaido. Why do you think you could survive so many near-deaths under Kaido?"

Gusion pressed, "Or do you think you’re stronger than Oden?"

This time, Yamato was completely stunned. She realized Gusion’s words led to a logical paradox.

Kozuki Oden was her idol, the person she aspired to be, but she was definitely not stronger than Oden.

But Oden had challenged Kaido once, lost, and was executed.

So why did Kaido never execute her after beating her?

Chapter 135: Questioning Life

Yamato now felt like she was sinking into a terrifying swamp of thoughts. If she kept going, her worldview would collapse.

So she quickly stopped, afraid of reaching some horrifying conclusion.

But while Yamato stopped thinking, Gusion didn’t stop. "When I traveled through Wano, I heard Oden’s story too. After his battle with Kaido, he was captured and immediately executed. You say your father wants to kill you, so why didn't he execute you after defeating you?"

Yamato's mind was a mess. Information crashed around in her sixteen-year-old brain, and her eyes grew dazed. "Maybe... he wanted to kill me in battle?"

Gusion’s expression was playful. "So you think Kaido's Thunder Bagua can't crush your skull? Every time it just happens to knock you out?"

"That’s just good luck. After all, I’m Kozuki Oden."

Yamato answered quickly this time.

"Oh? But I don’t think Oden was very lucky—after all, he died. Unlike you, who survives every time."

Gusion added, "And didn’t you say you’ve grown stronger over the years?"

Yamato was dazed, but responded to the last part, nodding. "Of course! Compared to a few years ago, I’m much stronger now."

"So, do you think, if you fought your eleven-year-old self now, you could kill her in one move?"

Gusion coaxed.

Yamato thought for just a moment before answering, "Of course. Back then, I wasn’t even good at Armament Haki. My body wasn’t fully developed, my strength was much less, and my combat skills were nowhere near what they are now..."

She suddenly felt something was off, like Gusion had set a trap.

She wanted to change her words, but Gusion spoke first.

"So, why do you think Kaido, who can beat you now, couldn’t kill eleven-year-old you a few years ago, but instead fought you for a while?"

Gusion delivered the finishing blow.

Yamato was completely dumbfounded. The self-consistent worldview she’d built over years was shattered by Gusion’s questions. She realized the common sense in her world had no logic.

If Gusion's logic held, then Kaido never really wanted to kill her, but continuously indulged her.

Seeing Yamato so lost, Gusion continued, "You mentioned before that people here called you Oni Princess before you were eight, but now they call you 'Young Master.' You also said Kaido calls you his son now. Doesn’t that seem odd?"

Yamato was confused. "What’s odd about it?"

"What do you think caused these changes?"

Gusion asked.

"Isn’t it because I’m Kozuki Oden now? Oden was a man, so I’m a man, not Princess anymore."

Yamato replied after thinking.

Gusion smiled. "So you have some logical thinking. But then, have you ever wondered why everyone goes along with you?"

Yamato was stunned. She’d never thought about it—wasn’t it natural?

"If Kaido hadn’t ordered it, who would bother changing what they call you?"

Gusion sighed. "Your father is just playing house with you, indulging your roleplaying."

This was why Gusion thought Kaido was a loving father. After so many failed attempts to educate her, Kaido had surrendered to Yamato’s self-identification as Oden, and told everyone to call her his son.

For what? Just to make his daughter happy—nothing else.

The only explanation: Kaido doted on his daughter.

That was the root of Yamato’s issues. Even though he was a cruel pirate, Kaido spoiled his daughter in some ways, so she grew up so twisted.

In the original, when Kaido announced he’d make Yamato the shogun of Wano on the night he took full control, he basically let her play out her Oden fantasy, making her shogun for real.

Of course, he also wanted to use her as a puppet to control Wano, but at almost sixty, who else could inherit everything after he retired or died?

"Impossible! Stop talking!"

Yamato yelled, covering her ears and backing away, looking at Gusion in fear.

"So the great Kozuki Oden is a coward who can’t even listen to others?"

Yamato flinched, then lowered her hands. "No, that’s not true! I am Kozuki Oden, the hero of Wano, the man who will open the country!"

"Do you know what opening the country really means? Do you know its pros and cons?"

Gusion pressed.

"Opening the country... means overthrowing Kaido’s rule, ending isolation, and connecting with the world..."

Yamato’s voice grew quieter, realizing she didn’t actually know what opening the country meant. Even Oden’s diary was vague about it.

It just emphasized that a hero would come twenty years later to free Wano, and before that, there was no need to open the country.

As for the form and pros and cons of opening the country, she had no idea.

Maybe Oden himself didn’t understand it either.

"See? In the end, you know nothing. You’re just a girl who found Oden’s diary and worships him mindlessly. You’re no different from eight years ago—your body grew, but your mind stayed the same."

Gusion said.

Tears welled in Yamato’s eyes. "Why are you saying such hurtful things? I thought we were friends!"

"Exactly because I consider you a friend, I have to tell you these things—to point out what’s wrong and help you wake up."

Gusion said, "I don’t think rebelling against Kaido’s tyranny is wrong, and wanting to free Wano’s people is admirable, but your views on Kaido and Oden are seriously twisted. Haven’t you realized?"

Yamato hugged her head and curled up in the corner, seemingly shutting down.

Maybe because she was still young, at an age good at learning and thinking, and had only identified as Oden for eight years, Yamato was actually seriously considering Gusion’s words.

She felt everything Gusion said was outrageous, but somehow made sense.

For a while, Yamato was extremely conflicted, and the Oden figure she’d built up over eight years was slowly collapsing.

She really didn’t want to admit that her father had never tried to kill her, but instead had indulged and spoiled her.

If that were true, wouldn’t it mean she was an utterly unfilial, heartless person?

Gusion realized he might have pushed Yamato too hard. He got carried away and ended up breaking her down.

So he stopped talking, closed his eyes, and rested. After all, after all the stories and sparring, he was mentally exhausted.

…

On the other side, Onigashima.

Torches in the cave dispelled the darkness, illuminating the massive figure seated at the central throne.

The small giant sitting there was bare-chested, his muscular body covered in tattoos, exuding a powerful presence.

But despite his formidable appearance, a cloud of sorrow hung over him, so much that the two minions serving him drinks were terrified.

This was none other than Kaido, Supreme Commander of the Beasts Pirates, the world’s strongest creature, and one of the Four Emperors!

Bang—

Kaido smashed an empty sake jug against the wall, shards scattering everywhere. His face was flushed with drunkenness, breath reeking of alcohol. "So miserable... I just want to die."

Those who knew Kaido understood—after drinking, he’d display all kinds of emotional states, the most common being depressed mode. Once in this state, he’d get so sad he wanted to kill himself.

And Kaido wasn’t just talking—he’d actually try to do it, but his body was so tough that normal suicide methods never worked.

"Sake! I need more sake... Bring me sake!!"

Kaido roared, on the verge of a drunken tantrum.

"Boss, more sake is on the way. Please, just wait a moment..."

One of the attendants said nervously, knowing Kaido’s drunken rages could get violent. Others had been seriously injured by him before.

That was only because Kaido recognized them as his own, and held back.

"Huh? Why is it taking so long!?"

Kaido fumed, slamming the armrest, making the cave tremble.

As the two sake servers trembled, a tall, alluring woman walked up and rescued them. "Who made our boss so angry?"

The woman entering was tall and voluptuous, with alluring charm, her long golden hair in an updo, emerald green eyes, snow-white skin, and a pair of red horns on her head. She wore pearl earrings, a sword for a hairpin, a black off-shoulder kimono with floral patterns, and a green sash. As she spoke, smoke curled from her pipe.

"Maria-sama."

The two attendants bowed respectfully. She was Black Maria, one of the Tobiroppo and a high-ranking officer in the Beasts Pirates, with a close personal relationship to Kaido.

"Maria, you came at the right time. Drink with me."

Kaido seemed agitated, but after seeing Maria, calmed down and waited for his sake.

"I heard Young Master Yamato challenged you again yesterday. Is that why you’re upset?"

Maria picked up a half-empty sake jug and poured for Kaido, smiling gently.

At this, Kaido’s expression turned despondent again. "Don’t mention it. I just taught her a lesson and sent her to Udon Prison. Hopefully she’ll reflect this time."

But history told him that his rebellious child would never reflect, and would just challenge him again after getting out.

"Don’t be mad. I hear Young Master Yamato is actually reflecting this time."

Maria smiled.

Kaido dismissed it as a comforting lie and said nothing, just gloomily drank his sake.

"Don’t believe me? I’ve had the Crocodile Woman keep an eye on Young Master Yamato. This time, she met an interesting person in prison. Remember that oni slayer who challenged you a few days ago?"

Black Maria smiled, "They’re in the same cell. He analyzed Yamato’s growth for a long time, and now Yamato is doubting her whole life."

Kaido was stunned, even stopped drinking. "What?"

Chapter 136: Kaido: Should I Hire a Tutor?

Facing Kaido’s question, Black Maria gestured for her subordinate to enter. "Let her explain."

Kaido wasn’t strict about status with talented officers—many called him by name, some with honorifics, but Black Maria, being close, was especially casual.

At Maria’s signal, a young woman with long black hair entered, wearing a leaf-patterned kimono and a wide belt, her shoulders exposed. She wore a monitor mask representing an eye—this was the Beasts Pirates’ intelligence officer, Crocodile Woman.

Because she had eaten an artificial Devil Fruit, her lower half was a giant crocodile, hence her name.

"Kaido-sama, after Yamato entered prison, I’ve been monitoring her, recording the cell conversations. Please take a look."

Crocodile Woman was more respectful, using her mask’s abilities to record and report reliably.

"Show me."

Kaido sobered up, curious what could make Maria say Yamato was really reflecting.

Crocodile Woman opened the monitor system, sharing the previously recorded scenes. Kaido, seeing Gusion, was confused. "Who’s that?"

Black Maria smiled. "You’re so forgetful! I just said, that’s the oni slayer who challenged you a few days ago."

Kaido cocked his head, trying to recall. "No impression. I must’ve been drunk, thought a fly was buzzing around and swatted it away."

"Haha, that’s so you. He was confident, declaring he’d slay you, but you didn’t even remember him."

Maria laughed, "So pitiful."

"Not important. Keep playing; I want to see what they talked about."

Kaido urged.

As the scenes played, Kaido’s expression shifted between anger and calm.

When Gusion’s words led Yamato to question her worldview and break down, Kaido slapped his thigh, making the cave shake.

"This guy! He actually made Yamato think!"

Kaido was surprised. He never expected his stubborn daughter to actually doubt herself and reflect on her Oden obsession.

"At first he didn’t seem that smart, but he speaks logically. Maybe it’s true that outsiders see more clearly. He pointed out all the illogical things in Yamato’s life. Even Yamato can’t ignore them now," Maria said. "Come to think of it, our crew doesn’t have any good debaters."

Kaido was tempted. He realized that while strength was important, he needed smart, persuasive people too.

If he’d had someone like Gusion when Yamato started going astray, maybe Yamato could have been set straight.

He didn’t know if Gusion was a military genius, but he clearly understood education.

So Kaido thought, even if Gusion just became Yamato’s tutor, that’d be good.

"Keep him locked up for now. I’ll have Queen talk to him later."

Kaido decided. Queen was a capable manager and trusted by Kaido, and ran Udon Prison.

"True, there’s no rush. My analysis is, maybe it’s not that Gusion is so smart, but that Yamato finally made a friend her own age—she listens to her friend’s advice."

Maria analyzed, "To Yamato, we’re all her enemies, so she never listened to us, thinking we were deceiving her."

"So that’s the logic... Good thing I didn’t kill that guy."

Kaido was happy. After eight years of headaches, this was the first sign of hope for his daughter’s character.

He also reflected a little—maybe he let Yamato grow up too isolated. If she’d had friends, maybe they could have talked sense into her.

But the thought quickly passed. In Kaido’s view, the strong are always alone.

He became his kingdom’s top warrior at ten, led many victories, but won only fear, not love, and was betrayed, handed to the Marines.

So, he thought his daughter must have a heart strong enough to soar alone. He never let her play with other kids.

To Kaido, that was weakness—after all, he was on the battlefield at seven or eight.

"Now that Yamato has a new friend, she probably won’t try to break out soon. Let’s just observe."

Maria said.

Kaido nodded, looking at Crocodile Woman. "Right. In future, report to me every day—no, every half day!"

Then he thought, "Actually, just stay here. If anything happens, broadcast it live."

He figured, live was better than replays. If anything happened, he could deal with it right away.

…

After two days of exhaustion, Gusion was resting against the wall in his cell, not knowing he was being watched by the strongest in the world.

Yamato, still injured, had fallen into a deep sleep after her breakdown.

Unlike Gusion, she subconsciously felt this was her home turf, so she slept soundly, without a trace of vigilance.

Gusion regretted not having a bed in prison—comfort was second to training progress.

When the sun rose, the other cell doors were opened and prisoners dragged themselves to the mines for another day of hard labor.

Only Gusion and Yamato’s cell stayed closed, with no guards coming to order them to work.

By now, Gusion’s injuries would have healed enough for him to be sent to work, but last night the guards were told not to send Young Master Yamato and the cellmate Gusion to mine—just deliver meals.

The lower-level guards were puzzled, but dared not ask, and simply delivered ample food and left.

"The uses of Observation Haki include sensing attacks, predicting the next move, sensing the strength of living beings, sensing their emotions and thoughts, and detecting the location and number of things outside your field of vision. The range and strength vary by person, but with training, it can be expanded..."

After waking, Yamato didn’t pester Gusion for stories about the outside world. She seemed listless and explained the principles of Observation Haki.

Gusion, seeing Yamato like this, didn’t push her any further, but focused on learning Observation Haki.

Unlike Armament Haki, which he’d gained through a skill scroll, he hadn’t mastered Observation Haki before, so it was new to him.

But he learned quickly—since the core principles of Haki were similar, and with Yamato’s instruction and demonstration, he soon grasped the basics.

Observation Haki is closely related to one’s mental state. To use it well, you must be calm; emotional agitation cuts it off.

Experts can predict moves, sense locations, even hear thoughts—a kind of mind reading, or "the power to hear." At its peak, it can even see glimpses of the future.

Gusion found this ability powerful—a strong support in battle, raising his margin for error.

Yamato’s Observation Haki wasn’t especially strong; she wasn’t an expert—mainly because her fights with her father were always head-on, rarely dodging or using tricks.

Gusion guessed Kaido’s Observation Haki probably wasn’t very strong either—it matched his style and personality. Kaido was the type to fight head-on with overwhelming strength, relying on Armament and Conqueror’s Haki, so Observation Haki didn’t help him much.