Chapter 233: The Four Emperors, the Oni's Child
Sea Calendar 1516, Wano Country.
Onigashima, the stronghold of the Beasts Pirates.
A clamorous noise spread throughout the base outside the skull building.
"Report to the Headliners! Young Master Yamato has broken out of prison!!!"
A piercing scream tore through the night.
"Hey, hey! We're on the same side!"
"Young Master Yamato, have mercy!"
Under the dazzling lights, one after another, pirate grunts with horn-like decorations on their heads and black capes on their backs had looks of terror, retreating subconsciously as they dripped with sweat. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the tall figure in front of them.
"How could I be on the same side as you? I am Oden!"
With a sharp cry, a tall figure holding a kanabō vaulted over a table and instantly landed in front of the grunts. With a single swing, a dozen of them were sent flying, crashing into the water with miserable screams.
After doing this, the tall figure stood quietly, turned their head slightly, and showed the remaining grunts the Hannya mask on their face.
The remaining grunts were stunned. They subconsciously let go of their weapons, took a few steps back, and then turned and fled with a cry. "Run!!"
Soon, all the grunts had fled cleanly. In the huge base, only the tall figure in a dirty kimono, with a giant rope tied at their waist and a Hannya mask on their face, remained.
The person known as Young Master Yamato shouldered their kanabō and was about to turn and leave. However, the aroma of food wafted over, and their stomach rumbled in response.
Yamato subconsciously looked at the fragrant, glistening food on the table and swallowed silently. Then, they quickly rolled up the tablecloth, made a bundle, and packed all the food from the base inside.
Just as they were about to leave, their gaze was drawn to a thick stack of newspapers on a shelf. "Newspapers? I've been locked up for two years. I might as well see what's happened during this time."
After a brief thought, Yamato rolled up the newspapers, put them in the bundle, turned, and left the base, disappearing into the night.
A moment later, two figures, one tall and one short, strode into the base.
In the wilderness of Onigashima, in a rugged cave.
Yamato placed the bundle on the ground. After lighting a bonfire, they took off the mask from their head, revealing the red horns on their forehead and a beautiful face that was covered in black dust.
After wiping their dirty hands on their clothes, Yamato quickly opened the bundle, took out the food, and began to wolf it down.
Eating hot, fragrant food for the first time in a long while made their eyes light up, and glistening tears almost flowed down. Ever since Kaido had returned from overseas two years ago, he had seemed to be stimulated in some way. He had caught them, beaten them up, and then thrown them into prison. From then on, Yamato had been locked in prison almost all the time. The few times they had seen the sun were when Kaido took them out for "training."
If they had to describe the past two years, it would be "hell."
After simply swallowing the food in their mouth, Yamato bent down, put their head to a stream in the cave, and drank a large gulp of water.
Feeling alive again, Yamato remembered the newspapers they had brought out and took them out. Thanks to the several mysterious samurai they had met when they were locked in prison as a child, Yamato could read everything in the newspaper.
Then, they began to flip through them, starting from the oldest one at the bottom while replenishing their strength.
[January, Sea Calendar 1514. Totto Land, having lost Big Mom's protection, was attacked again, turning what was once one of the safest places in the New World into a land ravaged by war. Countless pirates, attracted by the wealth of Totto Land, swarmed in, running rampant on dozens of islands within its territory.]
[Same month. Marine Headquarters held a memorial service for the fallen Admirals Zephyr and Aokiji, the Admiral Candidate, and the countless soldiers who died.]
[March. Marine HQ Vice Admiral Fujitora was promoted to Admiral, filling the vacancy left by Aokiji's death in battle. Marine Hero Garp announced his retirement to the second line, taking over the position of head instructor of the Marine HQ training camp.]
[May. The Second Division Commander of the Archangel Pirates, "Giant God Soldier" Hajrudin, under the watchful eyes of all, lifted an island and moved it to the land now known as Terra, expanding its area. In the same month, the songstress of the Archangel Pirates, Uta, held a grand concert. Countless people from Terra and more than a dozen other countries were conquered by her singing voice and became her fans.]
[June. A considerably large pirate grand fleet gathered near Totto Land. Under the guidance of a mastermind in a special military uniform, they launched a simultaneous attack on Totto Land, directly leading to its destruction. Powerful executives such as Charlotte Snack and Daifuku were killed in battle. The Charlotte Family lost half of its islands and executives. Charlotte Katakuri, who had inherited Big Mom's position, fought an unknown enemy alone and was easily defeated. The dying Katakuri was saved by the joint efforts of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit user and several of his siblings. In the end, only the Mirror-Mirror Fruit user and Katakuri successfully returned to Whole Cake Island.]
[August. The World Government, due to the poor results of the World Military Draft, quietly canceled it.]
[December. Due to the turmoil in the New World, many refugees from Totto Land and its islands and countries came to the territory of the Archangel Pirates, to the land known as Terra, to live.]
[January, Sea Calendar 1515. The Admiral of the Flying Pirates, Golden Lion Shiki, took the opportunity to expand again. The pirates under his command had completely surpassed their numbers from over a decade ago, reaching an astonishing level. The Flying Pirates, with a tyrannical posture, attacked several Marine branches in the New World. Before the Marines could even react, the flying fleet had already annihilated all branches except G-1. The World Government completely lost its ability to interfere on a large scale in the New World.]
[March. Three unknown individuals in special military uniforms, all extremely powerful, attacked Totto Land. With just the three of them, they had crushed the remaining members of the Charlotte Family. After Charlotte Perospero, Amande, Cracker, and others were killed in battle one after another, Kaido of the Beasts arrived on the battlefield and defeated the unknown individuals in military uniforms. Afterward, Charlotte Katakuri's bounty was raised to 2 billion Berries.]
[Same month. Another massive pirate fleet approached Terra and was annihilated by the second and sixth divisions of the Archangel Pirates.]
[April. Charlotte Katakuri dispatched Cinnamon, Galette, Chiffon, and others to visit the Beasts Pirates, the Red Hair Pirates, the Flying Pirates, and the Archangel Pirates. In the same month, the songstress Uta, who was famous throughout the New World, held another concert. The concert was broadcast to the entire world by the World Economic News Agency. With a beauty that was not inferior to the Pirate Empress, the songstress Uta was called the world's number one most beautiful young musician.]
[May. The Charlotte Family announced its dissolution, abandoning Totto Land. A large number of members went missing. Charlotte Katakuri led a portion of the powerful members and roamed the seas.]
[The next day. The world's second "Giant God Soldier" with the title of "Continent-Puller" rushed to Totto Land and, under the watchful eyes of all, moved an island away.]
[August. The Marines launched a Buster Call, attacking the remnants of Big Mom's crew, but were stopped by the Red Hair Pirates.]
[December. The giant Loki once again rampaged on the seas, unstoppable. The entire Giant Warrior Pirates were defeated for the fourth time.]
[Same month. The last island of Totto Land was moved away by the Giant God Soldier. Archangel Louis and his cronies did not show their faces on the sea, but everyone knew that their strength was growing ever stronger.]
[The pirate ship led by Charlotte Katakuri was attacked again. The whereabouts of all members are unknown. At the same time, the people who had repeatedly attacked the remnants of Big Mom's crew were exposed as the hidden armed forces of the World Government.]
[January, Sea Calendar 1516. The Red Hair Pirates and the Giant Prince Loki had a major fight. The Red Hair Pirates emerged victorious and captured Loki alive. Countless pirates in the New World began to call Red-Hair the fourth Emperor of the Sea. The New World officially entered the era of the Four Emperors.]
Yamato looked at the last newspaper in their hand, a subtle change in their expression. "So, that guy who looked like a biscuit and the other guys who popped up around that time... they were from the Big Mom Pirates? Does the 'large-scale disappearance' mentioned in the paper mean that they scattered and joined other forces?" Yamato thought, swallowing a bite of meat from a large bone.
"But—that Charlotte Family is so miserable. They were just continuously targeted by the World Government's hidden forces. If those guys are so strong, why don't they come and deal with Kaido?!"
Yamato thought that if that group suddenly came to Onigashima to subjugate Kaido, they would probably rush up to help.
Just then, a series of heavy footsteps sounded outside the cave, catching their attention. The sudden noise made Yamato throw the unfinished food into the tablecloth and then quickly pick up their kanabō, Ken, and grip it in their hand.
"Damn it! They caught up so fast! I'm not even full yet!" Yamato gritted their teeth, a look of annoyance on their dirty face.
Just then, two figures, one tall and one short, slowly appeared in Yamato's sight.
One was a cool-looking young girl with short black hair, wearing a simple kimono with a sword at her waist. The other was about 3.7 meters tall, wearing heavy armor that completely covered them, with only a pair of black oni horns exposed, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female.
Kuina first glanced at the filthy Yamato, then gently sniffed the nauseating smell in the cave, and a look of disbelief appeared on her fair face. She had never thought that a girl could be this dirty. Yelena's "sister" looked as if she hadn't bathed in several years.
Nearby, Yelena also looked at Yamato's current appearance as if her eyes had been opened. Although Yelena had long known that this sister she had never met had a habit of thinking of herself as a man, she hadn't thought she would imitate it to this extent.
"Who are you?!"
Seeing the two blocking the front of the cave, as if to trap them here and wait for their comrades, Yamato gradually became fierce. They raised their kanabō, Ken, and pointed it straight at Yelena's neck. "Get out of my way right now—" they said in a deep voice.
Gradually, Yamato froze, their gaze unconsciously sweeping over Yelena's armor and horns. A subtle light flashed in the eyes beneath their white hair. They felt that this person's appearance was a bit like the person on the bounty poster that Kaido had given them.
Then, without any regard for the two's presence, they tore open their collar and took out several crumpled, blood- and dirt-stained bounty posters from their chest. Yamato opened them and compared them with the figure before them.
The identical appearance left Yamato at a loss for a moment. Long-term loneliness and a fatherly love so cruel it made them feel suffocated made their gaze, as they looked at Yelena, contain not only vigilance, but also a hint of expectation.
"Perhaps... the 'sister' Kaido spoke of is not on the same path as him?"
Yelena's gaze fell on the shackles Yamato was wearing, and her brow furrowed. From the things she had seen on the way here, she had a guess as to why Yamato was so filthy, and her understanding of Kaido's cruelty reached a new level. At this moment, Yelena only hoped that Yamato was not the same type of person as him.
After a moment, Yelena raised her hand and took off her gas mask, revealing a face with a hair color that was 70% similar to Yamato's and facial features that were 30% similar.
Yamato looked at the face with its gentle smile and, for a moment, was at a loss, subconsciously looking away.
Although Yelena had roughly confirmed Yamato's identity, she still smiled and asked again, "You—are Yamato, right?"
However, hearing this, Yamato was jolted as if they had been touched by a branding iron. "No!" they denied. "I am Kozuki Oden! The man who will save the Land of Wano and open its borders!!"
Nearby, Kuina, who had been watching quietly, heard this, and her eyes instantly widened as if she had seen a ghost. A storm raged in her heart. She thought that even she, who had once complained about her gender and had thought of becoming a man, had not been so... obsessed.
Yelena heard this, and a dark line appeared on her forehead. Even her originally gentle smile gradually became strained. It took her a good while to let out a long sigh, barely managing to compose her thoughts. "My name is Yelena," she said in a deep voice. "From your reaction, Kaido should have mentioned my existence to you, right?"
As she spoke, Yelena glanced at the bounty poster that Yamato was holding close to their chest, the one from when she was still called "Nation-Destroyer" with a bounty of 1.47 billion Berries.
Yamato looked at Yelena's face, which was as beautiful as their own, put their kanabō back on their back, and said with a laugh, "Yeah. That guy Kaido mentioned you to me. Said you were my older sister by one year."
The first time Yamato saw Yelena, they had already felt that she was not the same kind of person as Kaido. Therefore, they let down their guard.
Then, Yamato sat down again in a carefree manner, took out a large bone-in piece of meat from the bundle, and handed it to Yelena and Kuina. "Here. You want some?"
Lacking experience in interacting with normal people, after discovering that this sister of hers was just as she had hoped in her heart, Yamato became unspeakably nervous. They became a little flustered. In the end, they used eating to disguise their feelings and tried to convey their goodwill by sharing food.
Kuina looked at the dirt on Yamato's hands and subconsciously looked away, pretending not to see.
"Yes. Give me a little." But Yelena, seeing this, showed no disgust at all. She strode forward with her heavy war hammer, sat down opposite Yamato, and took the food. Then, she sat on the ground, opposite Yamato, and a gentle light flashed in her scarlet eyes as they fell on them.
Seeing this, Yamato subconsciously looked away, not daring to meet Yelena's eyes. They continuously stuffed food into their mouth, using the ravenous eating to cover up their current unease.
Suddenly, while grabbing for food, Yamato inadvertently saw the dirt on their hands. They then looked down at their own clothes, and their face became unnatural. Immediately after, when they had calmed down, they smelled the extremely strong odor on their body, and they instantly couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Th-that is... I just escaped from Kaido's prison. I haven't had time to wash up yet."
For some reason, Yamato, who had not cared about this before, felt an indescribable embarrassment and shame when facing Yelena in this state.
Yelena heard this, and a shadow of gloom flashed in her eyes. "He... locked you up?"
Yamato nodded firmly. As if they had found their pillar of support, they began to pour out their grievances. "That guy Kaido! Ever since he came back from overseas two years ago, he found me in the wilderness of Onigashima, beat me up, and then threw me into prison! Every time my wounds healed, he would drag me out and beat me up again!! Such a cruel act... and he still says he's teaching me!"
To this, Yamato stated that a beating was a beating; it wasn't as if they hadn't been beaten before. But the act of locking them up, when they had so little freedom to begin with, was absolutely intolerable!
Yelena heard this and became thoughtful. She roughly guessed Kaido's purpose. Back then, Big Mom had boasted to Kaido that Katakuri had learned Conqueror's Coating, and at that time, she herself had also mastered the internal destruction of Armament Haki. Perhaps Kaido was dissatisfied with Yamato's progress compared to her and Katakuri?
"Truly tyrannical and ruthless—"
Yelena sighed in her heart. The more she understood Kaido, the more helpless she felt about him.
Then, she came back to her senses, slowly stood up, and looked at Yamato's dirty face, unable to help but sigh. "You can wash up in the stream here. Later, I'll take you away from the Land of Wano."
Yamato heard this, and a hint of joy flashed in their eyes. But it quickly turned into dejection. "But... these are said to explode if I leave Onigashima. Although it might not be true, I still have a bad feeling—"
As they spoke, they raised their hands and showed the shackles on their wrists to Yelena and Kuina.
To this, Yelena glanced at them casually and said, "It's fine. I'll help you take those off. You just need to clean up and leave with us."
"Really?" Yamato subconsciously stepped forward, looked up at Yelena's face, and asked with some disbelief.
"Yes. It's not a difficult matter."
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