"What's happening over there?!"
"That scene—could it be a Conqueror's Haki clash?"
"Is the Governor smacking his son again?"
"Tch... the aura fluctuation at the shore is too strong. The Governor isn't there!"
"An outsider... an outsider's entered Onigashima!"
"..."
The sky's sudden turn drew eyes from all over Onigashima.
For the Beasts Pirates, such a scene was neither unfamiliar nor surprising.
It usually meant a Conqueror's Haki clash.
Whenever the Governor—Kaido, the world's strongest creature—disciplined that son with the king's disposition, the sky over Onigashima looked like this.
Every year or two, the spectacle grew more dramatic.
At first only gathering clouds; once the Governor's son came of age, the sky even looked torn.
So when they saw thunderheads mass and white serpents of lightning coil within, some in the crew assumed the Governor had started another round of child-rearing.
But that did not include those adept at Observation Haki.
To their senses, Kaido's familiar presence wasn't at the shore.
The one clashing with the Governor's son was an unfamiliar, powerful aura.
Those who noticed hurried off to report to Kaido.
"My idiot son is fighting an outsider?!"
Kaido, drinking at the time, brightened instead of raging. "That brat is finally willing to share my burdens? Hic—"
"...Yes, Governor!"
The underling, who had expected another drunken fury, saw his good mood and asked quickly, "Governor, shall I send people to assist Lord Yamato?"
"Assist my ass—who do you take him for?!"
With a gourd in one hand and the kanabō Hassaikai in the other, Kaido smashed the floor and bellowed, "He's my son! A mere outsider—wait here for him to bring back the corpse!"
"Get out. No one is to spoil Yamato's fun!"
"Yes, Governor!"
"Waaah..."
Once they'd gone, Kaido suddenly bawled, tears streaming as he drank. "After so many years, my idiot son has finally grown up—waaah..."
He had no idea his idiot son had just been abducted.
Nor that, a moment ago, he'd offered to team up with someone to beat Kaido down.
If he knew, he'd turn into an azure dragon and blast the brat-corrupting Karl with a Bolo Breath.
Back to the shore of Onigashima.
By Kaido's order, though Karl's arrival caused a great stir, none of the true fighters or the All-Stars remaining on the island disturbed Yamato's battle.
The gale from the Haki collision lasted several minutes.
Only when Karl fully shed the Conqueror's coating from Yamato's club did the bout of weak-against-strong Haki grinding stop.
"So strong... as expected of the captain!"
Seeing Karl block Conqueror's coating with only Armament, Yamato's eyes shone.
Wanting to be a man like Kozuki Oden, Yamato wished not only to see the world's breadth, but to become crew to someone stronger than himself—like the "World's Strongest Man" Whitebeard and the Pirate King Roger.
Now he felt he'd found such a one—Karl, of "Whitebeard" and "Roger" caliber.
"Thanks, Yamato..."
Karl lowered his fist and thanked him from the heart.
All at once he felt it was a blessing to meet this dutiful child here.
He had not only recruited a mighty crewmate, but also learned Conqueror's Haki coating—something he might otherwise have needed a true life-and-death fight with Kaido to grasp.
After all, by total strength Karl was still a small step behind Kaido.
With just a club and Haki, the latter could cope.
If Karl used the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the mysterious spear, it might backfire—Kaido wouldn't waste Haki, would use his fruit, and might not employ Conqueror's coating at all.
Having achieved his main goal without even meeting Kaido, Karl could have left now with Yamato.
"Hahaha... don't mention it!"
Shouldering the kanabō, Yamato laughed like a fool.
He didn't know why Karl thanked him, but accepted it without the least politeness.
"Let's go."
Karl strode toward Onigashima with confidence. "I'll pay your father a visit, then leave."
"Mm-hmm..."
Yamato nodded again and again, following the figure seventy centimeters shorter than himself, and said firmly, "If the two of us fight together, we can definitely smash that old man."
"I won't fight with you. I want to challenge Senior Kaido alone."
Because he'd just abducted Yamato, Karl's form of address shifted slightly. "This next bout is between men. If I lose, it means I'm not there yet—I don't need your help."
"If I win with help, I won't be happy either."
"As expected of the captain!"
Chastened, Yamato said with worshipful eyes, "I understand. I won't interfere!"
"Still... though I won't admit it, that old man really is unmatched. Be careful, Captain!"
"Ah... I will."
Karl nodded with a smile. "From now on, just call me Karl. My crew and family all do."
"Mm-hmm... Karl, I'll never forget that name."
Yamato swung his club and, in a samurai's cadence, said, "Because it's the name of the one I follow!"
"...Yamato, before we arrive—could you not call yourself Kozuki Oden to me?"
"Of course."
With time to spare, Karl decided to bond, starting from the topic of Kozuki Oden, and to learn Yamato's twenty-odd years of life.
At the mention of Oden, Yamato, like an otaku from Karl's previous life, produced Oden's logbook and eagerly began to preach.
Listening, Karl finally understood why Yamato idolized him so.
Like Gol D. Roger smiling at death.
Oden could not compare with Roger, but the gallantry he showed at the end did have a trace of Whitebeard and Roger.
At eight, Yamato couldn't understand gallantry.
Had he never seen Oden, growing up under Kaido's fists might truly have twisted his nature.
Before the blank page of selfhood had been inked dark.
Like those who admired Roger and Whitebeard, Yamato worshiped Oden's last-moment gallantry.
From then he decided to become that kind of cool man.
Thus the logbook slowly turned into scripture.
Before the World's Strongest Man and the Pirate King, Oden had learned true gallantry and charisma.
As one of the few who sailed with both Whitebeard and Roger, he was deeply influenced and grew ever more like them.
Through his words, Yamato came to worship not only Oden, but also Whitebeard and Roger as they existed in text.
Perhaps...
It wasn't people he worshiped, but a spirit.
Bound to Onigashima, as Oden had been bound to Wano.
He would be like Oden—sail the world, meet all kinds of people and things, and become a man of gallantry like Oden, with Roger and Whitebeard's fire.
Karl nodded inwardly.
He felt little for Oden, who played a strong hand poorly.
But that gallantry, he acknowledged.
Having seen Shiki's gallantry, Karl too belonged to Roger's era.
Roger, Rayleigh, Whitebeard, Shiki, Red Count, Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr...
After Rocks fell—the true golden age!
Understanding the spirit Yamato worshiped, Karl gave strong encouragement.
But Yamato's current state needed correction.
Shut in on Onigashima from childhood, more country than a villager, he'd accepted "knowledge" under Kaido's fist.
To become a gallant man like Oden, he needn't imitate his outward form at all.
If he meant to inherit Oden's will, stand with Wano, and resist Kaido, his methods needed change.
From another world steeped in "filial piety first," Karl disliked one thing most in Yamato—raising a hand to his father.
If his father were truly cruel, that would be different.
But...
Kaido doted on him in his way—beatings to toughen him were a kind of love.
Yamato idolized Oden and chose to be like him; after beating him, Kaido still accepted that choice and called him a silly son.
He even went to great lengths to obtain the Animal-Animal Fruit, Mythical Model: Okuchi-no-Makami for him, to make him stronger.
With such love, whatever kind of man his father was, one should not raise a hand to kin.
Besides, though Kaido was sly, like Shiki he was a true great pirate.
In the end, he merely failed at education.
Karl was confident: take Yamato out of this tiny place, and he could correct this rebellious big sis.
Time to flash the "Education Master" badge.
If one master wasn't enough, he had Carina and Robin—two masters—to assist. Triple pressure.
If all else failed, make her stay home with a big belly and a baby—no time to run out.
As that wicked thought surfaced, Karl's expression turned odd.
Looking toward Kaido's seat, he suddenly had a different feeling.
If one day I really lay hands on Yamato, then right now I'm on my way to beat up my future father-in-law?
How am I any different from Yamato then?
Suddenly Karl felt like he was about to meet the parents.
He quickly shook his head and cleared it.
"Captain, are we there?"
Yamato, in the middle of childhood tales, asked curiously.
"Ahem... no."
Karl coughed, a little embarrassed.
"Hey, that outsider?"
"Lord Yamato, are you escorting him to the Governor now?"
"So strong—the fight ended that fast?"
"As expected of the Governor's son!"
As Yamato talked, the two reached the Beasts Pirates' main base.
Seeing Karl walking ahead and Yamato behind with the kanabō, some small fry assumed Yamato had subdued him.
The pirates blocking their way hurried to open a path.
They entered a vast building in Wano style, and Karl, as if returning home, headed straight for Kaido's presence.
"Hm? That man..."
On the way they met more crew.
This time, not mere small fry.
One pirate—though not among the Flying Six—had strength fit for an officer or vice-captain in any New World crew.
He glanced at Karl as they passed, and his steps faltered.
Turning to stare at Karl's back, his eyes fixed on the blue cloak and armor.
Cold sweat beaded his brow.
"Dragon Knight Karl... the King of the Underworld with a bounty of 2,011,000,000 Berries—why is he here?"
"Was Lord Yamato fighting the Dragon Knight just now?"
"Lord Yamato fought the Dragon Knight and isn't even scratched?"
"That way is where the Governor is... I'd better keep my nose out of this."
Muttering, the pirate shook his head.
Neither Karl nor Yamato heard him.
Because at that moment, Karl met his future father-in-law—one of the New World's four sovereigns, Kaido of the Beasts.
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