novelnext Chapter 217 Yamato
Chapter 217 Yamato
Chapter 217 Yamato
Blood flowed like a torrential rain.
Kaido's massive dragon body fell from the sky and crashed into the very center of Onigashima.
The ground looked as if it had been struck by a meteorite, with debris and dust shooting into the sky, forming a mushroom cloud hundreds of meters high.
The shockwave spread outwards, completely leveling the already dilapidated buildings.
The earth cracked, and magma gushed out from the fissures, turning the area into a sea of fire.
Bai Yu slowly descended from the sky, and the black armor of Susanoo receded from his body, revealing his excessively handsome face.
He stood on the ruins, looking in the direction where Kaido had crashed.
The smoke and dust gradually dissipated.
Kaido's dragon body lay in the center of a huge pit, with not a single scale intact on his body.
Blood gushed from dozens of wounds, pooling at the bottom of the pit.
His left forelimb had been completely severed, the severed limb falling ten meters away, and the dragon claw was still twitching unconsciously.
One of his dragon horns was broken, and the other was covered in cracks.
His dragon eyes were half-open and half-closed, the light in them had dimmed to the extreme.
"call.----"
Kaido let out a faint dragon roar, his voice devoid of its previous tyranny and arrogance.
His chest was still rising and falling, once, twice, very slowly, very weakly, but it was definitely still rising and falling.
"Your choice is wrong."
Kaido didn't speak, but stared intently at Uchiha Shiroha, his pupils filled with anger and resentment.
Unohana Yachiru stood in the center of the battlefield, her white clothes unstained by a single drop of blood.
She just used her Zanpakuto's power to kill all the Beasts Pirates' officers who tried to resist.
She still wore that gentle smile, but to the members of the Beasts Pirates, that smile was more terrifying than any horror.
"This female swordsman is far too strong—"
One of the surviving members of the Beasts Pirates, who had been watching the battle from a distance, collapsed to the ground, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
"I couldn't even move before I saw her knife."
Kanna sat on a pebble, her short legs swinging back and forth.
There were still traces of snacks on the corners of her mouth.
"Bai Yu, I'm hungry."
Kanna looked at Bai Yu with her big, watery eyes.
Bai Yu took a deep breath.
"We'll eat when we get back."
"Okay~"
Nico Robin stood at the edge of the battlefield, using her Flower Flower Fruit powers to tie up the unconscious Beast Pirates members one by one.
Her face showed a hint of fatigue, but even more so, a sense of relief and ease.
"It's finally over."
She whispered, then looked at Bai Yu.
"Bai Yu, Kaido—"
"Still alive."
Bai Yu said.
"But I can't move anymore."
Robin nodded and said nothing more.
It doesn't really matter whether Kaido is alive or dead.
Let's go!
"etc!"
A voice came from behind the ruins.
All eyes turned toward the direction from which the sound came.
Yamato emerged from behind the ruins.
Her body was trembling, not from fear, but from excitement.
Her eyes were red, and tears were welling up in them.
Her eyes were fixed on Bai Yu, her pupils filled with admiration and gratitude.
"you----"
Yamato's voice was somewhat excited.
"You defeated Father and liberated Wano Country—"
Bai Yu looked at the young man in front of him, who was wearing a white kimono and a demon mask.
He had noticed Yamato's presence before, but had never known her identity.
Now he knows.
"Are you Kaido's daughter?"
Bai Yu asked.
Yamato nodded.
Her hair was white, long and cascading over her shoulders, with a touch of blue at the ends.
Her eyes were amber, and her pupils were now filled with tears.
"I am Yamato."
she says.
"Kaido's daughter, Yamato."
Bai Yu looked at her silently.
Everyone else remained silent; no one spoke.
Yamato took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
Then, she did something that no one expected.
She knelt down.
He knelt on both knees, his forehead touching the ground, and prostrated himself before Bai Yu.
"Please allow me to follow you!"
Yamato's voice came from the ground, carrying a long-suppressed excitement.
"I saw it all! Your strength! Your will! You defeated Father! You did what I've always dreamed of but could never do!"
Bai Yu frowned.
"stand up."
He said.
Yamato did not move.
"Let me tell you!"
Bai Yu's voice became more forceful.
Yamato's body trembled, and she finally straightened up, but she remained kneeling on the ground, looking up at Shiraha.
"I hated my father since I was a child."
Yamato began to narrate.
"He imprisoned me, preventing me from leaving Ghost Island, from going out to sea, and from having any contact with the outside world."
"He put an explosive bracelet on my wrist, which would explode if I tried to escape."
Yamato's voice trembled.
"But I don't want to become like him."
"I don't want to become a beast, I don't want to become a monster, I don't want to become Kaido of the Beasts, who makes countless people bleed and cry."
"I want to be—"
Yamato took a deep breath, his eyes hardening.
"I want to become someone like Kozuki Oden!"
Bai Yu's brows furrowed even more.
Yamato, oblivious to Shiraha's change in expression, continued excitedly, "Years ago, I found Kozuki Oden's nautical log in a warehouse on Onigashima."
"I read his story: he went to sea, he followed Whitebeard, he followed Roger, he returned to Wano Country, and he sacrificed himself for the people of Wano Country—"
"He is a true warrior! A true man!"
Yamato's eyes lit up, his pupils filled with longing.
"From that day on, I decided that I would become Oden! I would open Wano Country to the world! I would fulfill Oden's unfinished wish!"
She reached out and pulled a worn notebook from her bosom.
The notebook cover bears the words "Kozuki Oden's Voyage Diary".
"This is Oden's diary!"
Yamato held the diary in his hands as if it were something sacred.
"This book records his life's adventures, the world he saw, the people he met, and the lessons he learned."
"I will carry on his will and open Wano Country to the world!"
Yamato's voice echoed above the ruins.
Bai Yu looked at her silently.
After a long while, he spoke.
"Are you finished speaking?"
Yamato was taken aback.
"—That's all."
Bai Yu nodded.
Then he reached out and grabbed Oden's diary.
Give me back one.
Yamato tried to take it back, but she found herself unable to move.
Bai Yu's eyes were fixed on her. Although the Mangekyou Sharingan had consumed too much of its power, its intimidating presence remained.
Yamato stood frozen in place, only able to watch helplessly as Shiraha opened the diary.
Bai Yu turned the pages one by one, his expression gradually changing from calm to a frown, and then from a frown to a sneer.
"Is this the Oden you admire?"
Shiraha threw the diary back to Yamato.
Do you know what he did?
Yamato caught the diary and held it protectively in his arms.
"He did what he had to do! He did it for the people of Wano Country!"
"What did he do for the people of Wano Country?"
Bai Yu interrupted her.
Yamato was taken aback.
"He—he stood in the frying pan for an hour—"
"and then?"
"And then—and then he died—"
"And then what happened to Wano Country?"
Yamato remained silent.
Bai Yu answered for her.
"Wano Country has become even worse."
"Kaido and Orochi have ruled Wano Country for so many years, and the people have been doing hard labor in factories, unable to eat clean food, drink clean water, or even breathe clean air."
"This is the result of Oden's sacrifice."
Yamato's face turned pale.
"But—but this wasn't Oden's fault—"
"Whose fault is that?"
Bai Yu's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Yamato's heart like a hammer blow.
"Kaido's fault? Orochi's fault? Yes, they are wrong, they deserve to die."
"But wasn't Oden entirely without fault?"
Shiraha's Mangekyou Sharingan spun, reflecting Yamato's pale face in its pupils.
"Do you know how strong Kaido and Orochi were when Oden returned to Wano Country?"
Yamato shook his head.
"Kaido wasn't as strong back then as he is now, and Orochi's power hadn't fully taken shape yet."
"If Oden had acted directly back then, he would have had a great chance of winning."
Bai Yu's voice grew colder and colder.
But he didn't.
"He chose to believe the serpent, chose to perform naked dances every week, and chose to let the people suffer for five years in vain."
Five years.
Bai Yu emphasized his words.
"A full five years."
"Do you know how the people of Wano Country survived those five years?"
Yamato's lips were trembling.
"They were exploited, abused, and worked to death in the factory."
"Their children are starving to death, and their wives are being humiliated."
"And Oden, the man on whom they placed their hopes, was dancing naked in the city."
Yamato's tears finally flowed.
"But—but he was protecting the people—"
"Protect?"
Bai Yu chuckled.
"What did he protect?"
"If he makes his move on the very first day he returns to Wano Country, even if he loses, the people will only suffer for a few more years at most."
"But he waited for five years, letting the people suffer for five years, and then he still lost."
"6
"Is this the hero you admire?"
Yamato was speechless.
Bai Yu continued.
"Also, do you know what the situation was like in Wano Country when Oden set sail?"
"His father, Kozuki Sukiyaki, was seriously ill, and Wano Country was leaderless, but he chose to go to sea."
"He is the general's son, the first in line to the general's position. What reason does he have to abandon his country and go to sea?"
"Was he forced into it?"
"no."
"He wanted to go himself."
"He placed his own adventurous desires above the interests of the nation and its people."
"Is this the hero you admire?"
Yamato's tears kept flowing.
Bai Yu did not stop.
"Also, when he was following Whitebeard, Whitebeard asked him if Wano Country had any problems and if he needed help."
He said no.
He said Wano Country was very good.
"Is Wano Country nice?"
Bai Yu's voice was full of sarcasm.
"A country that is closed off from the world and whose people suffer is considered good?"
Why did he say that?
"Because he doesn't want others to know that his country has problems, because he feels ashamed."
"He values his pitiful pride more than the country."
"Is this the hero you admire?"
Yamato knelt on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Artoria watched this scene without saying a word.
Robin watched this scene without saying a word.
Rangiku sighed and turned her head away.
Kanna tilted her head, not quite understanding what had happened.
Yachiru was still smiling, but there was a hint of complexity in that smile.
Bai Yu took a deep breath, her tone softening slightly.
"I'm not saying Oden was completely useless."
Bai Yu said.
"He has his merits, his courage, his loyalty, and his kindness, and I acknowledge all of these."
"But have you ever considered that he's essentially just a spoiled, overgrown child?"
"He had ideals, but lacked the wisdom to realize them."
"He has the power, but he lacks the resolve to use it."
"He was kind, but it was a foolish kindness that shirked responsibility."
"He was loyal, but he misplaced his compassion on an enemy who did not deserve it."
"He was not a qualified pirate, not a qualified daimyo, and not even a qualified husband and father."
"He was a man who was pushed along by fate and never truly controlled his own life."
Bai Yu's voice echoed over the ruins.
"You are not worshipping a hero; you are worshipping a phantom you have imagined."
Yamato lowered his head deeply.
Bai Yu looked at Yamato and remained silent for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"I'm not telling you not to admire anyone, nor am I telling you not to have ideals."
"I want you to know what kind of person you should be."
Yamato looked up at Shiraha through teary eyes.
Bai Yu's Mangekyou Sharingan had faded, revealing his jet-black eyes.
Those eyes were calm, without anger or mockery, only something indescribable.
"Don't become like Oden."
Bai Yu said.
"And don't become Kaido."
"Don't become anyone else."
"Be yourself."
Yamato's pupils suddenly contracted.
Bai Yu continued.
"You are not Oden, you are not Kaido's daughter."
"You are Yamato."
"You have your own path to walk, your own choices to make, and your own destiny to create."
"Oden's diary can inspire you and give you courage, but it cannot become your shackles."
"You have your own will, not Oden's."
She has always lived in a shell called "Oden".
She wore Oden's clothes, spoke in Oden's manner of speaking, and imitated Oden's every move.
"Be yourself."
Bai Yu crouched down and placed his hand on Yamato's head.
Yamato's body stiffened.
"Your new life begins today."
Bai Yu said.
"This is not Oden's life, nor is it the life Kaido arranged for you."
"It's your own life."
She looked at Bai Yu's calm face, opened her mouth, as if to say something.
But she found herself unable to say anything.
She could only nod vigorously, once, twice, three times.
Bai Yu stood up and looked into the distance.