Infinite Anime [146-148] (Patreon)

Chapter 146: Waiting for Yamato to Apologize

"So... I should break out of prison first and go apologize to my old man?" Yamato pondered aloud.

"That’s dumb," Gusion replied. "Breaking out looks insincere. Isn’t the big-shot, Queen, coming today? Just go tell him you realize your mistake, and you want to see your father to apologize. I guarantee you’ll be out by this afternoon."

Gusion spoke with confidence, believing Kaido would never be able to resist releasing his daughter once he heard she wanted to repent.

In fact, at that very moment, Kaido, who had just woken up and was watching the livestream, leaped up from his seat in excitement.

How many years had he been waiting? This was the moment he’d longed for—Yamato finally bowing her head and admitting she was wrong!

Just imagining Yamato obediently apologizing in front of him brought a smile to Kaido’s face.

But soon, Kaido forced himself to sober up, putting on a stern look. He couldn’t appear too happy.

He braced himself mentally: when he finally saw Yamato, he had to act indifferent, keep his cool, and maintain his authority as a father.

"Why are there so many empty sake barrels lying around? Clean this place up!" Kaido shouted, displeased by the mess.

The attendants, who handled Kaido’s daily needs, could only grumble inwardly—after all, wasn’t it Kaido himself who made the mess?

But Kaido was in a great mood, treating the staff kindly. Soon, the room was spotless, and he didn’t ask for more sake.

He wanted to stay clear-headed so he could properly hear Yamato’s apology.

At that moment, Black Maria, just up from her nap, walked in with a puzzled look. "What got into you, cleaning your room all of a sudden?"

To her, Kaido was always a man who didn’t care about tidiness—throwing empty sake barrels everywhere so the air reeked of alcohol and sourness.

Now, not only was he ordering the room cleaned, he was even having his seat scrubbed!

"Air felt stuffy," Kaido said awkwardly. "I heard the hot springs in Wano are nice. I’m thinking of relaxing there."

With that, he walked out, heading for a bath.

Maria stared, baffled. Since when did Kaido care about personal hygiene? Was there some meeting of the Emperors coming? Was Big Mom visiting, so Kaido wanted to look good for his old flame/teammate? Maria was full of questions, but Kaido gave no explanation, leaving straight away.

Still puzzled, Maria went to see Alligator Woman, who looked utterly exhausted.

Unlike Maria and Kaido, Alligator Woman was a surveillance officer, on duty 24/7. Normally, she’d keep a balance—eight hours of rest, then switching with subordinates. But this week, with Kaido and Maria watching the livestream, she didn’t dare slack off, afraid of missing anything important. So she’d been monitoring and relaying broadcasts constantly.

"What happened?" Maria asked. Considering Kaido’s odd behavior, she figured the livestream must have some new scoop.

"Young master Yamato said she wants to apologize to Kaido-sama," Alligator Woman summarized.

"Huh?" Maria’s jaw dropped. "Yamato wants to apologize to Kaido!?"

To Maria, this was unbelievable. After so many years, Yamato’s rebellious image was deeply set.

After hearing the background, Maria finally understood what was going on.

"Sometimes, Kaido really is like a child. Or, maybe all men are the same?" Maria mused. She thought Yamato just wanted to regain her status so she could stir up more trouble. Even with that motive, Kaido was still happy, which Maria found amusing.

She glanced at Gusion on the screen and muttered, "This guy is really interesting. He actually convinced Yamato. I’d like to personally... discipline him a bit~"

…

At noon, under the blazing sun, Gusion and Yamato sat on a rock, eating heartily.

By now, Gusion’s Seimei Kikan training was paying off. Though he still couldn’t digest food instantly like Yamato, he could finish in about ten minutes.

He figured he’d fully master Seimei Kikan in a few more days.

While eating, a tall man with an elephant head belt approached—they recognized him as Babanuki, the Warden.

Gusion remembered him: user of a SMILE artificial Zoan (Elephant-type), and the golden elephant head at his waist seemed to have a mind of its own—quite funny.

Using his detection skills, Gusion saw that Babanuki wasn’t weak. As a SMILE user, he was a Headliner in the Beasts Pirates—an officer-level member, with all attributes over 50, reaching the third-tier explorer level.

Gusion thought that if Yamato were freed from her seastone shackles, she could easily defeat Babanuki, since mythical Zoan users got huge physical boosts—once unrestrained, Yamato’s stats would skyrocket.

Babanuki stopped before them, looking at Yamato, while the elephant at his waist eyed Gusion, sniffing around his food.

"Young master Yamato, your sentence is over. Kaido has sent me to bring you back to Onigashima," Babanuki announced.

Yamato was thrilled, shooting Gusion a delighted look. "Gusion-dono, you’re a god!"

Gusion motioned for her to calm down—no big deal. He’d guessed Kaido wouldn’t be able to resist; sure enough, it wasn’t even afternoon and they were already letting Yamato out.

"I’m getting out. But..." Yamato turned to Gusion. "What about you?"

"Don’t worry about me," Gusion waved. "I eat well, sleep well, and train my Haki here. It’s fine."

He didn’t expect Yamato to be able to get him out; in the end, it depended on Kaido. If not, he’d just unlock his shackles and escape on his own after laying low for a while.

He’d checked—the lock was mechanical, only legendary grade, and well within his master key’s capacity. He could open it anytime.

Yes, while seastone shackles were common here, they were still legendary items: tough and able to suppress Devil Fruit users. Outside Wano, these were rare.

Even the Navy only gave such shackles to officers for capturing strong ability users.

"Relax, Gusion-dono. I’ll find a way to persuade my father to let you out too—I still need your guidance," Yamato smiled, making Gusion stiffen.

Actually, Gusion wanted to bolt as soon as Yamato left; he didn’t want to deal with Wano’s mess anymore. The world was huge—he wanted to see it all.

But Yamato seemed to have latched onto him, so he might be stuck in Wano a while longer.

"You’d better behave," Babanuki warned Gusion after Yamato left. The other guards glared too.

Obviously, without Yamato’s protection, Gusion would be treated like any other prisoner.

He’d been chatting with Yamato in prison, saying all sorts of rebellious things. The Beasts Pirates jailers really didn’t like him now.

Sure enough, before long, the Alpaca-man came over and started spitting on Gusion’s food.

Quick as lightning, Gusion snatched his plate away, rolled up the flatbread, and ate it in one bite, finishing his lunch.

"Bastard, Yamato’s gone. Let’s see how cocky you are now," Alpaca-man growled, raising his whip.

Gusion nonchalantly dodged attacks while eating, then picked up his pickaxe and headed for the mines as if nothing happened.

Alpaca-man followed, foaming and whipping, but neither spit nor whip touched Gusion.

Gusion simply ignored him, using him as target practice for Observation Haki.

He trained his body mining, and his Haki dodging—feeling like he’d discovered a new kind of training.

By sunset, Alpaca-man was exhausted, never landing a single blow.

…

Meanwhile, back on Onigashima, Yamato returned to the Beast Pirates’ core territory.

Approaching Kaido’s usual cave, she sniffed the air, puzzled.

She’d attacked Kaido here many times, so she knew the place well. It should reek of booze and rot, but now the air was fresh, even faintly floral.

Weird—did I go to the wrong place?

"Young master, Kaidou-sama’s waiting inside," a pirate reminded her, and Yamato continued in, still suspicious.

Inside, there were no piles of sake jars as usual; the room was spotless. Against the far wall sat the familiar giant figure.

Kaido, bare-chested, sat on a clean stone throne. Even his black pants looked new.

His body was as solid as granite, his face expressionless, radiating Emperor-level authority.

Maria knelt beside him, pouring sake into his bowl. But Kaido didn’t drink, just held the bowl, staring calmly at Yamato.

Yamato felt the pressure—it came from many angles.

For one, her father was truly powerful, one of the Yonko, called the world’s strongest creature. Facing his aura was intimidating.

But also, realizing her father’s love and indulgence filled her with guilt, making it hard to speak.

Plus, while she’d come to apologize, deep down, she didn’t agree with her father’s methods. Rejoining the Beasts Pirates was just another way to rebel—an act of deception that made her uncomfortable.

For all these reasons, Yamato struggled to speak after seeing Kaido.

After a long silence, she finally squeezed out a word: "Father..."

"Mm," Kaido nodded, leaning forward, holding his sake bowl as if just for atmosphere.

Kaido tried to keep a straight face, but inside, he was anxious, waiting for Yamato’s apology.

Chapter 147: Facing Kaido

Father and daughter stared at each other, deadlocked.

Maria’s arms grew tired from holding the sake jar. What is this, a staring contest? Yamato, aren’t you here to apologize? Say something!

After ten more minutes, Yamato finally forced out, awkwardly, "Father, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so unruly these past years... I... I’m really sorry."

Maria wanted to retort—that face! You look so unwilling! But Kaido didn’t notice Yamato’s awkward expression. As soon as he heard "Father, I’m sorry," he felt deeply satisfied.

But, being Kaido, he kept a poker face, just nodding.

Seeing her father’s lack of response, Yamato continued, "I... I hope we can reconcile and be a family again."

Saying this, her awkwardness faded a bit; maybe, deep down, she did want to make up and reclaim her lost family bond.

Hearing this, Kaido almost lost his composure. He gulped down his sake, then exhaled, "Yamato..."

To Maria’s exasperation, Kaido also got stuck after just one word.

After a long pause, Kaido simply gestured for Yamato to come over.

When she did, he patted her head. "You’re too scrawny—need to train more."

Yamato bowed her head. "Mm."

Maria thought, What is this, the most awkward family chat ever? She wanted to leave, but didn’t dare move lest she spoil the atmosphere.

"But as a girl, you don’t need to get too bulky—just don’t fall behind in strength," Kaido added, contradicting himself.

Really, his mind was half-blank, and after the initial excitement, he had no idea what to say to his daughter.

"Mm," Yamato replied, even more lost. She’d thought apologizing would finish her mission.

But as her father patted her head, she recalled warm childhood memories. Her eyes stung, forgetting what came next.

So, father and daughter lapsed into silence again, but the mood softened.

Eventually, Kaido broke the silence. "I heard you made a new friend in Udon Prison?"

At this, Yamato perked up. "Gusion-dono is really a great person. He wants to—"

She caught herself, covering her mouth. Phew, almost blurted out our plan to overthrow father...

Kaido saw this, a bit exasperated. He’d seen everything on the livestream—he knew what his daughter was planning with Gusion.

But he didn’t mind. As long as Yamato acknowledged him as her father and stopped declaring herself Kozuki Oden, he could let other things slide.

"Yeah, Gusion-dono is really smart. I want to work with him to make the Beasts Pirates even better."

Yamato switched to a safer line, then added one of Gusion’s phrases: "We’ll make it big and create new glory!"

"Fine, since you say so, I’ll give you a chance," Kaido went along. "From today, you’re again the Oni Princess of the Beasts Pirates. Pass down my order—no more 'Young Master Yamato.' Use her former title."

With this, Kaido officially reconciled with Yamato and restored her status.

From this day, Yamato was again Kaido’s daughter, first heir of the Beasts Pirates, with authority equal to the three All-Stars.

"Thank you, Father. I know I was wrong. I’ll do better from now on," Yamato said, still a bit awkward. She’d stopped calling herself Kozuki Oden, but still struggled with gender roles—at least she understood she was a daughter, not a son.

Kaido ignored her awkwardness, feeling delighted. If not for his stern father act, he’d probably be grinning.

"By the way, Father, my friend is still in Udon Prison. Can you let him out? I promise he won’t cause trouble or attack you again."

On prisoners, only Queen, who directly oversaw Udon, or Kaido himself could authorize releases. Even as Oni Princess, Yamato couldn’t overrule them, so she had to ask her father.

Kaido’s expression turned strange—Yamato was a repeat offender for attacking him, and now she was vouching for someone else. Bizarre.

But he nodded. "Since he’s your friend and you’re vouching for him, let him out to stay with you. If he behaves, I might make him an officer."

Maria’s mouth fell open. She wanted to warn Kaido—this Gusion was clearly a troublemaker. Giving him power could wreck the crew.

But seeing Kaido’s good mood, and knowing his word was law, she stayed silent.

"Really? Thank you, Father," Yamato said, sincerely grateful. Without Gusion, she wouldn’t know what to do next.

…

The next morning, Gusion sat up in his cell, stretching.

He figured Yamato would now do some good for Wano’s people, and it was time for him to plan his escape.

Last night, after work, he’d scouted Udon’s exits. Scaling the wall seemed easiest.

With his Sky Walk and Soru techniques, he could fly out at night without much trouble.

As he mused on his jailbreak plans, the cell door opened—not the usual guard, but Babanuki.

Babanuki’s elephant trunk opened the door as he announced, "Kaido-sama ordered your release. Please proceed to Onigashima to meet him."

The moment Gusion saw Babanuki, he had a bad feeling—sure enough, Yamato had gotten him out.

As he followed Babanuki, Gusion thought, Now what? I have no idea how to run a country. All that talk before was just hot air.

Even after two sleepless nights, he had no good plan. If Yamato asked, he’d just wing it.

Because it was Kaido’s order, they didn’t dare delay; Gusion didn’t even get breakfast, just got sent straight to Onigashima.

Also, maybe on Kaido’s orders, his leg shackles were removed, but the seastone cuffs remained—probably to prevent escape.

Wano was a ways from Onigashima, requiring a boat trip. By noon, Gusion arrived on the island.

Led by a pirate, he quickly reached Kaido’s residence.

There, he saw a massive figure, over seven meters tall, radiating the intimidating presence of an overlord.

Kaido’s muscles were chiseled, and even Gusion’s detection skill returned only question marks. But even by aura alone, Kaido was on another level entirely.

"Gusion-dono, you’re here!" Yamato was inside, running over to introduce him. "Father, this is my friend Gusion."

"Mm," Kaido nodded, looking at Gusion. "Brat, I remember you tried to assassinate me, didn’t you?"

As he spoke, a wave of killing intent swept over Gusion, nearly suffocating him.

"I was a Demon Slayer from my homeland. Hearing the Yonko Kaido ruled here as an Oni, I simply followed my heart to test myself," Gusion replied calmly. He knew Kaido didn’t care about the attempt, and flattery would only annoy him.

"Pretty bold. What about now?" Kaido narrowed his eyes, unleashing his Conqueror’s Haki.

Yamato stiffened—she knew her father was using his King’s Haki.

The pressure hit Gusion like a mountain, threatening to crush his will. If he couldn’t withstand it, he’d pass out, like a small fry in anime.

But as his spirit was battered, something deep in Gusion’s soul roared, shattering the Haki’s effect and clearing his mind.

He stood tall, sweat beading on his brow, locking eyes with Kaido.

Kaido seemed surprised. "Not bad, brat." He was puzzled—his Haki had collided with something strange. Did this brat have Conqueror’s potential? He doubted it; Conqueror’s was rare, after all.

"I still want to challenge you someday, but I know I’m not strong enough yet—so I’m training, hoping to fight with you in the future."

Gusion’s answer was steady, setting the stage for a future match.

Kaido smiled, now looking at Gusion with some appreciation. "Then work hard with Yamato. Right now, you’re both too weak."

Yamato was struck by this. Even after all her growth, in her father’s eyes, she was still just a weakling.

"Exactly. I’ll spar with Yamato, and we’ll both improve," Gusion replied, secretly relieved—once he lost his prisoner status, it’d be much easier to leave.

But then Kaido’s next words troubled him.

"By the way, I heard from Yamato you’re good at governing. Why don’t you tell me—what’s wrong with the Beasts Pirates’ rule over Wano?"

Kaido’s eyes narrowed, clearly dissatisfied and wanting to hear Gusion’s critique.

Chapter 148: Kaido: I Kinda Get Yamato Now

Gusion hadn’t expected Kaido, not Yamato, to test him.

He now realized Kaido must have been monitoring him and Yamato somehow—he knew too much about their plans.

Given Kaido’s age and experience as a pirate, he wouldn’t be as easy to fool as Yamato.

Clearly, if Gusion failed to give a good answer, Kaido wouldn’t let it go.

After a moment’s thought, Gusion asked, "Do you want the truth or a polite answer?"

Kaido took a swig from a sake jar. "The truth, of course. Just a discussion—I’m not that petty."

Gusion found this believable, so he spoke frankly. "Honestly, the Beasts Pirates’ rule over Wano is terrible. In my estimation, within fifteen years, Wano’s order will collapse, the country will fall apart, and your factories will stop working."

Yamato was shocked—she’d never considered things so deeply, just assumed there’d be a hero in twelve years to save Wano.

Kaido’s face darkened. "Brat, what’s your basis for that?"

He thought Wano was fine. He’d set up factories and paid workers—surely that was better than Doflamingo, who abused the Tontatta and didn’t pay them a cent.

He saw himself as a wise ruler—the country’s protector. Unemployment was down, thanks to his factories.

"As you said, the food is cheap—we import it," Maria, who’d been silent, spoke up. "The amount is enough to feed the country. No loss of labor force."

The Beasts Pirates weren’t benevolent—they just saw Wano’s people as valuable labor. If everyone starved, there’d be no one to work.

Gusion nodded. "As the saying goes, food is the people’s heaven. The fact you thought of that puts you above many rulers."

He first gave Kaido some credit, then continued, "But have you considered—even if the total amount of food is enough, if distribution fails, there’s still famine? Especially since the Beasts Pirates aren’t the direct rulers of Wano."

Kaido frowned, thinking. "You mean, most of the imported food is wasted?"

"You get it. You know what kind of person Orochi is. Even if we ignore waste within the Beasts Pirates, let’s just say the portion you give to Wano—maybe less than 30% reaches the people."

Kaido fell silent. Pirates loved to party, wasting food was common, but he didn’t care much.

But the part about Orochi caught his attention. Kaido only handed over what was estimated to be enough for the people, and gave it to Orochi.

But Orochi was a puppet, ruling cruelly to get revenge on Wano’s people, living in luxury, so he probably kept most of the food for himself. Even 30% reaching the market was optimistic.

"Maria, do we have recent population stats for Wano?" Kaido asked. He’d barely managed the country, spending most days drinking.

"Not in the last two years, but three years ago, compared to five years before, population dropped by 3%," Maria said, looking uneasy.

People in Wano loved to have kids, and with the Beasts Pirates in charge, there was no invasion. The pirates hadn’t slaughtered civilians. So logically, the population should be growing. Why was it shrinking?

Gusion watched their faces, feeling odd. He never considered himself smart, but realized that in One Piece, just being normal made him a genius strategist.

These people just didn’t think deeply about anything.

"Is population loss due to food shortages?" Yamato wondered aloud.

Gusion nodded. "Food shortage is the main reason. The root cause is distribution failure."

"So I shouldn’t have given the food to Orochi?" Kaido frowned. "But I thought it wasn’t time yet..."

Gusion knew what Kaido meant. Orochi was just a temporary puppet—Kaido would kill him and rule directly when the time was right.

But Gusion was confused—if Orochi was just a puppet, and illegitimate at that, why keep him around? Waiting for Luffy to come defeat you—is that your plan?

"Giving food to Orochi is one thing, but before that, there’s something else you mishandled," Gusion said.

"What?"

"Too little food, and you didn’t account for losses in distribution—corruption."

Gusion explained, "Inside the Beasts Pirates, no one is hungry, so no one pockets food. But in Wano, food is extremely valuable. Even if Orochi didn’t keep most of it, at every level officials would skim a share—at least 30% lost to greed."

Kaido slammed his armrest, making the cave shake. "They dare steal my food!?"

"You underestimate human greed. At every level, everyone takes a cut. They probably even think there’s safety in numbers."

Gusion smiled. "Of course, that’s because Orochi set a bad example. His followers are all the same. From my observations, I estimate less than 5% of the food you send actually reaches the people."

He’d asked Yamato—food prices in Wano were sky-high. Under Orochi’s rule, people had no land to farm freely. Farmers only kept 5% of their harvest, barely enough for their families—the rest went to the treasury.

Orochi sold the food at high prices, draining people’s wallets.

Even workers in Kaido’s factories only earned enough to barely feed their families. Four-person households couldn’t afford food.

The capital looked prosperous, but only because it was full of gangsters or vested interests—so it seemed wealthy.

Outside the capital, towns were poor; at best, people could barely eat.

In short, 80% of food from Kaido to Orochi was skimmed. The rest was further divided, barely any reaching outside the capital.

Most market food was grown by the people themselves.

Seeing Kaido’s grim face, Gusion continued, "Don’t you see a contradiction in your rule?"

Kaido snapped out of his thoughts, now feeling he kinda understood Yamato.

Watching the livestream, he’d enjoyed seeing Yamato being grilled by Gusion. But now, when it was his turn, it was uncomfortable.

"What contradiction?" Kaido asked.

"Though you’re a pirate, everyone knows you’re a great overlord. After talking to you, I see you don’t want to ruin this country—you want it to be productive for you..."

Gusion met Kaido’s eyes. "So why hand this country to someone who wants to destroy it?"