"I was born in a kingdom called Vodka," Kaido began, his voice a low, steady rumble that seed to mix with the sound of the waves. "It was a world even more hopeless than Wano is now. From my first mories, all I knew was war and famine. Everyone I saw either died on a battlefield or starved to death in the dirt."
Otama's eyes had already gone wide. "Eh?" she whispered, her expression downcast. "So... there are other countries outside of Wano that are also occupied by demons?"
"Demons?" Kaido turned to look at the girl, a flicker of dark amusent in his eyes. "That's not an entirely wrong way to put it."
He decided then to explain the world to her, to tear down the simple reality she knew. "On the seas outside Wano, there's a group that rules over everything, kind of like the Shogun's governnt in the Flower Capital. They're called the World Governnt. Because of them, countries in the outside world are split into two types: those that are protected by the World Governnt, and those that aren't."
"The countries without protection beco the main targets for the 'demons' you ntioned—pirates. But there are others, too. Slavers, rcenaries... you na it. It's safe to say that every one of those unprotected countries is in a worse state than Wano is right now. Not having enough food, wearing rags for clothes, and dying at any mont is just normal for them. Compared to that, wouldn't you say Wano is fortunate? Do you know why?"
Otama stared at him, her small mind struggling to keep up.
Without waiting for an answer, Kaido provided it himself. "Because the demons you're talking about, while they do harm this country, they're also the ones protecting it."
The statent was so contrary to everything Otama had ever known that it left her utterly stunned. The demons she feared, the ones who had killed her parents, were protecting Wano? That's impossible, that's impossible! The thought scread through her head. She couldn't grasp such a complicated idea.
Seeing her confusion, Kaido didn't press the point. He simply asked another question. "Do you know how many other countries in the world are as miserable as Wano?"
Otama shook her head, looking lost.
Kaido raised one massive finger. "Worororo... I haven't counted them all, but there are hundreds of countries like that. And plenty of the 'protected' ones are suffering just as much."
Otama looked like she couldn't process the information. "Why, Uncle?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Didn't you just say the World Governnt protects them?"
"Worororo, the answer is simple. That protection isn't free," Kaido explained. "To get it, every country has to pay a huge amount of treasure to the World Governnt every year. It's called the Heavenly Tribute. So rich countries can afford it, but many others can't. My ho, the Vodka Kingdom, was one of them. So, those countries chose another way to get the money..."
He paused, letting the dark implication hang in the air as Otama's face grew pale. "War," he said softly. "They wage war on the unprotected countries and plunder their wealth. And to keep the wars going, even children had to beco soldiers and fight for their country. Kid, do you know how old I was the first ti I killed soone?"
A sliver of real fear appeared in Otama's eyes.
"Five years old," Kaido said flatly. "Worororo... When I was five, I stepped onto a battlefield as a child soldier and killed my first man."
Otama was frozen. She finally understood what he ant by 'even more miserable than Wano.' Killing soone at five. She was already six years old.
"But back then, I didn't feel any fear about it," Kaido continued. "Because, just like you, I placed my hope of ending it all on soone else. That person was the King of the Vodka Kingdom. I truly believed that as long as I fought hard enough and stole enough money to pay the Heavenly Tribute, the war would end, and everyone could finally live a happy life. But in the end, I found out I was just a fool. Do you know when I realized that?"
Otama dumbly shook her head.
"When I was ten. By then, the strength of my body had already made the strongest warrior in the kingdom. So, for the first ti, I was summoned by the King. It was my first ti inside the royal city, but instead of feeling excited, all I felt was betrayal. Do you know why?"
"Because I saw their luxurious palaces and their wealthy royal family. While children like were killing each other on the battlefield just for a full stomach, these royals were living in complete extravagance. They had endless at, endless wine, and more treasure than they could count."
"In that mont, I understood," he said, his voice dropping to a low growl. "The Vodka Kingdom wasn't unable to pay the Heavenly Tribute. It was just that the greedy royals didn't want to use their own money. Even if we lost our lives for the country, even if we went to bed starving every night, they would still try to squeeze money from us poor wretches. Their greed had no end, which ant the war would never end."
"That was the first ti I felt the disappointnt of trusting soone else, only to have that hope crushed. It was truly disappointing. But I still chose to act like I saw nothing. I kept fighting for that country, because I still held on to a second hope in my heart: the World Governnt. As hard as our lives were, I believed that as long as the Vodka Kingdom was one of their affiliated countries, they would protect us, just like you hope your samurai will protect you. I thought they would help us drive away the real demons. Until one day, I found sothing out. Do you know what it was?"
Otama shook her head, a deep sense of unease now visible on her face.
"I learned that the biggest, most terrifying, and most evil demon in this entire world was the very thing I had been looking forward to: the World Governnt itself."
Otama's eyes shot wide open again. "H-how could that be?"
"Do you know how I found out?" Kaido continued, his tone becoming grim. "I had just beco the captain of the kingdom's guard, and I was leading an army to attack another country. With my strength, their resistance was easily crushed. I began to plunder the nation's wealth. In the process, I captured a human trafficker who hadn't managed to escape. He had been selling the people of that country as slaves. Disgusted, I imdiately ordered his execution... Worororo..."
Kaido let out a dry, mirthless laugh.
"But then, that slave trader told I couldn't kill him. He said his boss was a World Noble: a Celestial Dragon. That was the first ti I'd ever heard of them. Maybe he thought I was afraid, because that man arrogantly told everything. I learned that our whole reason for attacking—to get wealth—was just an excuse. The real reason was that the World Governnt had wanted to take over this country for a long ti, but it refused to bow to them. So, the governnt itself sent pirates and slavers to weaken it from the inside."
"My army and I were only sent in because the country's resistance was too strong for the pirates to handle. I was just their tool."
"At that mont, I completely understood. It turned out that everything I had hoped for was a lie. The World Governnt, the organization that rules the seas, is the biggest demon in this world. As long as there are people who refuse to submit to their rule and enslavent, the wars will never stop."
"And I," he concluded, his voice laced with ancient bitterness, "had beco an accomplice of the demons."
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