"Alright, let's first confirm this, your goal is to 'defeat' Kaido and then liberate Wano Country."
By the seaside in Ringo, the two Yamatos sat on the shore discussing plans for the future. The main focus was Yamato giving psychological guidance to "Yamato". She just couldn't accept seeing another version of herself turn into that kind of monster.
Even if she was just a fleeting traveler in this world, she still wanted to do something meaningful.
At the moment, she was trying hard to recall how Arceus used to teach her when she had similar thoughts as a child.
As for why she wasn't thinking about Kaido's methods?
Kaido was either swinging a kanabo or using Conqueror's Haki. Even when he wasn't physically attacking, he was constantly thinking of new ways to attack. There was simply no room for constructive dialogue.
The existence of "Yamato" already proved that "Kaido's" teaching methods leads to a terrible result. Now, Yamato just wanted to use her own efforts to pull her back a little from that path.
"Yes!"
"So what's your first step going to be?"
"Umm..."
"It's fine, just say it boldly!"
That was exactly how Arceus used to encourage her; regardless of whether the idea was right or wrong, she had to speak it out first.
Seeing "Yamato" hesitate to speak, Yamato gave her a look full of encouragement. But in the next moment, she felt she had grown as a person.
"Uh... become Oden first?"
Boom!
Ringo's beach wasn't soft sand like in Kuri; it was covered in hard reef rocks. Upon hearing "Yamato's" words, Yamato couldn't contain her anger and punched the ground, smashing a large section of reef into pieces.
[Dad, you really went through a lot. I must've driven you crazy when I was little.]
"You just can't let go of that word, can you?! Why does it have to be that guy!!"
Though she was reflecting internally, her outward expression had turned into a state of fury.
"You told me to say it! You can't go back on your word now. You promised to take me away from here."
Just now, "Yamato" was hesitating because Yamato previously forbade her from mentioning that name. She wasn't torn about anything else; she was just worried that saying it aloud would affect her chances of setting sail.
"If you insist on saying that, then as Oden, shouldn't you defeat "Kaido" first before going off to sea? Doesn't that mean I don't need to take you with me anymore?"
"That seems… not right! You promised to take me with you… but this also seems wrong…"
With just a few words, Yamato successfully managed to lead "Yamato" into circles, leaving her tangled in confusion.
"Seems like she's not only clever when facing me. She's pretty good at confusing herself too."
Meanwhile, Kaido's expression was becoming more complex. Yamato defeating her enemies with strength no longer surprised him. If she couldn't win, that would be the real anomaly; there were barely any opponents left on the seas who could match her now.
But this time, she actually crushed her opponent mentally. And while that opponent was, in a way, herself, it was still impressive enough to marvel at.
Though as he sighed in admiration, Kaido wasn't holding a sake bottle; he was gripping his kanabo. As for the title "B*stard Kaido," which Yamato seemed to use exclusively for him, he planned to have a nice little chat with her once she came back.
After all, the kid had grown up. If he was going to hit her, he at least needed a new excuse. Using the same reason every time just wasn't suitable anymore.
"She's never been dumb; she just doesn't use her brain in the right place."
Watching Yamato's actions on the screen, Arceus also gave his own evaluation.
At this point, Yamato had taken a notebook out of her waist purse and began sketching and writing, using illustrations to explain her logic clearly to "Yamato."
"First of all, Oden never defeated "Kaido." You agree with that, right?"
"Yeah."
"And you need to defeat Kaido to achieve your goal. Although… maybe you don't have to. If I remember correctly, that b*stard father originally wanted me to become the Shogun of Wano Country."
"He never managed anything anyway; he wouldn't care how much you messed things up."
"No! I'm not going to follow the orders of that bull gorilla!"
At the mention of that, a strong rebellious instinct surged inside "Yamato," and she immediately rejected what was actually the more stable path.
"Alright then, forget it, I don't like that approach either. Anyway, let me summarize it for you: the actual ruler of "Wano Country" is Kurozumi Orochi, with Kaido providing the military force behind the scenes. As long as we take them out, "Wano Country" will naturally be liberated. Isn't that the logic?"
"That's right."
"Great. So all you need to do is get stronger. Oden didn't defeat 'Kaido,' so even if you become him, you still won't be able to defeat 'Kaido.'
But I can defeat 'Kaido.' If you follow my path and put in the effort, you'll be able to defeat "Kaido" too."
Yamato marked a big cross over the name Oden, placing all the emphasis on getting stronger.
"Why do I feel like something's off here…"
"What's off? The current "Kaido" is stronger than he was a decade ago. And I'm just a bit stronger than him. So by rounding up, I'm way stronger than that Oden."
"Plus, I've shown you the Sea Travel Log, isn't it way more exciting than that diary?"
Speaking of strength while ignoring time is as shameless as ignoring dosage when discussing toxicity. By Yamato's logic, Olga toyed with both a Shichibukai and a Four Emperor, and even Red-Hair and Buggy together couldn't defeat her.
But this kind of logic was already enough to sway "Yamato." Faced with the example of "herself," some changes had started taking place in her heart.
The CG montage Rotom edited from Yamato's decades-long sailing journey was far more dazzling than Oden's diary. Not long ago, Yamato had just had a major battle with "Kaido" and gained the upper hand, after which she casually froze all of Onigashima.
With such brilliance ahead of her, even though Oden's diary had an extraordinary influence on "Yamato," she now began to waver.
Seeing "herself" starting to get swayed, Yamato understood that the timing was right. This was the same mental state she used to be in when Kaido tricked her. So she decided to throw in one final spark.
"Do you know what the ideal Wano Country should look like? It's nothing like this ruined one. In my Wano Country, people live really happily. Let me show you."
Yamato's fingers swiped rapidly across Rotom's screen. Since they were currently in the Ringo region, she decided to look for videos from the Ringo region first. But in the rare moment where she was tasting victory and even achieving verbal success, she got a little carried away.
She didn't double-check the video list. As soon as she saw the word "Ringo," she immediately opened it.
Rotom's programming prioritized button inputs over voice commands. It didn't have time to stop her, which ultimately led to some rather strange footage appearing in front of "Yamato."
Onscreen, a more muscular Kaido was holding a one-meter-diameter snowball, infused with Haki, and hurling it at Yamato.
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