Under the night sky, they traversed the empty streets and arrived at Caesar's estate.
No one spoke along the way, the atmosphere heavy with tension.
As they entered the manor's hall, servants—having noticed their master's return from afar—lit the lamps.
The walls weren't illuminated by torches, but by a special oil extracted from deep-sea Sea Kings.
When burned, it not only provided light but also emitted a refreshing, pleasant fragrance.
The faint, elegant fragrance in the air could naturally put one at ease.
But at this moment, as the main figures of the day, the father-daughter pair of Yamato and Kaido were clearly in no position to fully relax.
In truth, the obsession that Oden had instilled in Yamato's heart had already wavered considerably.
That day, after being scolded by Pudding in the seaside forest, Yamato returned to her residence in a daze, spending the entire night reminiscing about the past, recalling every little detail from her childhood to the present.
She also tried to find a reason to forgive her father, Kaido.
But after searching high and low, Yamato realized that the question that had always haunted her was whether her mother had been killed by Kaido's own hand.
A person's beliefs are shaped from childhood.
When Yamato was very young, Kaido's harsh teaching methods were somewhat excessive for a little girl.
Growing up without a mother's love and surrounded by rough men, the only thing that could fill the void in Yamato's heart was observing the lives of ordinary people in Wano Country.
It was during that time that the man Oden entered Yamato's sight.
When the young Yamato sneaked into the Flower Capital alone, listening to the people of Wano Country daily discussing Oden's great achievements and recounting the evil and cruelty of her father, Kaido.
Gradually, Yamato began to harbor hatred for Kaido and conversely, developed admiration for Oden.
What deepened her impression of Oden was the journal that had a profound impact on her young mind.
Yamato was no fool—she was very intelligent.
But intelligent people also tend to obsess over details.
Oden's journal recorded over a dozen events that would happen in Wano Country's future.
As Yamato grew older, she personally witnessed each of these events unfold.
Thus, Yamato began to wholeheartedly believe everything written in Oden's journal.
"Hey, bro, don't look so grim. Smile a little. Laughter keeps you young, you know?" Caesar, noticing the heavy atmosphere, couldn't help but pat Kaido's shoulder and laugh.
Veins instantly bulged on Kaido's forehead.
"Enough with your nonsense, get on with it! And I'm warning you—aside from... aside from that memory, you better not go poking around in my other memories!"
Caesar curled his lip dismissively.
"You think I care? Thirty years ago, we were always together. I knew every time you went to the pleasure district. And during the thirty years I was asleep, there's even less worth seeing—because you failed, beaten by that Straw Hat kid."
Kaido grunted.
This bastard Caesar really loved rubbing salt in his wounds.
Watching Kaido close his eyes as if resigned to his fate, Yamato turned her gaze to Pudding, seated in a chair.
She had thought Pudding would be the one to extract Kaido's memories.
But the next moment, she saw Caesar extend a large hand and plunge it directly into Kaido's forehead.
"This...?" Yamato stared in shock at the scene, then looked back at Pudding.
Her mind reeled with disbelief—how had Pudding's Memory-Memory Fruit power transferred to Caesar?
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
Understanding Kaido's past was far more important.
Since Kaido was conscious but had relinquished control of his body, Caesar faced no obstacles and smoothly extracted Kaido's memory tape.
Whoosh.
The tape unfurled like a ribbon of light, and Kaido's body instantly froze motionless.
Yamato was the same age as Hiyori—twenty-eight this year.
Therefore, to search Kaido's memories for information about Yamato's mother, they only needed to locate the memories from twenty-eight years ago.
But Caesar's fingers moved swiftly over the video tape, showing no intention of stopping.
Until the footage approached Kaido's childhood.
"What's that?"
Pudding widened her eyes, staring at the enlarged projection Caesar displayed in the air.
Within Kaido's field of vision lay an expansive valley, stretching endlessly into the distance where towering mountains pierced the clouds.
Across this vast valley, numerous horned figures darted to and from.
These strange beings, adorned with horns of various colors, mostly stood around one meter tall.
Regardless of gender, each boasted exaggerated musculature, their physiques terrifyingly robust.
Some busied themselves farming, wielding enormous hoes nearly ten meters long—each swing excavating massive craters.
Others returned from hunts, their bulging arm muscles supporting game the size of small hills.
Pudding gaped as these horned beings effortlessly carried tyrannosaurs, brachiosaurs, giant mammoths, and even sea kings stretching hundreds of meters in length.
"These... these people. Are they Father's kin? The legendary Oni Clan?"
She was genuinely awestruck.
In her imagination, such a scene could only exist in the giant village of Elbaf.
Here, young Kaido appeared as a child, his stubby legs carrying him as he scampered between towering Oni Clan members.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed through the valley, shaking the earth itself.
The young Kaido, clearly intrigued, ran toward the source.
Many Oni Clan members abandoned their tasks to gather at the commotion.
Kaido squeezed through the crowd with difficulty, finally witnessing a breathtaking sight.
Beneath a towering mountain peak, a tyrannosaurus rex—its size rivaling a sea king—violently thrashed its savage head, unleashing deafening roars.
Its cries carried fury, despair... and fear.
"Brother!" Kaido suddenly cried out joyfully.
In the hall, Linlin, Pudding, and Yamato startled, their gazes snapping to Caesar.
Kaido's brother—wasn't that Caesar himself?
The footage revealed a youth approximately two meters tall standing atop the tyrannosaur's skull, which itself resembled a small mountain.
His legs anchored firmly in the beast's cranium, he rained down punches upon its head.
Though his fists appeared unremarkable, each blow elicited pained howls from the creature.
Despite violent head shaking, it couldn't dislodge its tiny tormentor.
With one final punch, the mountainous dinosaur emitted a piercing shriek before collapsing like a falling pillar, crashing to the earth with tremendous force.
Through billowing dust emerged a blood-soaked youth, dragging the colossal carcass with steady steps.
His cold demeanor, twin horns jutting towards the sky, his handsome face that remained impassive.
Both the one-meter-tall Oni Clan members and the occasional giants standing dozens of meters tall instinctively parted before him.
"Brother! You caught another tyrannosaur! We'll feast tonight!"
Little Kaido laughed gleefully, leaping up to cling to the youth like a koala, wrapping around his neck.
In the hall, Caesar stared straight at the cold and indifferent young man, as if transcending time and space, returning to the past.
Just as Pudding and the others watched with sparkling eyes, thoroughly engrossed, Caesar suddenly fast-forwarded through the memory tape, skipping over this entire segment and arriving at thirty years ago.
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