"But... there are lots of guards watching outside."
Yamato looked conflicted, but her sparkling eyes gave her away. She clearly wanted to run off and play.
After all, she was just a kid~
"Don't worry. I have my ways."
"Your ways?"
...
Thud...
Thud...
Vmmm
A wave of overwhelming force swept across the area. With their core officers absent, the remaining Beast Pirates were no different from weeds on the roadside in Ozz's eyes.
He crushed them with ease.
"Hey, grunt."
Ozz casually left one low-level lackey alive. Yamato now sat on his shoulder, legs swinging. He stepped on the Viking-style helt the pirate wore and addressed him lazily.
"When Kaido gets back, tell him this: I've taken his daughter. I'll return her later."
"We're going on an adventure!"
Yamato had no doubt now. With soone this strong, of course he had to be her father's friend.
To be fair, anyone committed to becoming a fool is probably a fool to begin with.
She was lured away way too easily.
...
By the ti Kaido returned, dragging Oden and his defeated retainers behind him, what he saw was his entire base full of unconscious subordinates.
His brain went fuzzy.
"What the hell happened here!!!"
Roaring with rage, Kaido spotted the one conscious survivor and grabbed him by the collar, eyes seething with murderous intent.
The poor pirate nearly wet himself, bawling as he spoke.
"Boss Kaido, it was... it was... the Black Emperor! Dotor Ozz!!!"
"And... and Lord Yamato! That guy took her!!!"
"Nani???"
"Ozz!!!"
...
Far from Wano now, Ozz had already carried little Yamato hundreds of kiloters away. She was still perched on his shoulder, the scenery around them unfamiliar.
He wasn't sure exactly where they were, but at least they were far enough from Kaido's territory.
The area was bustling, streets full of life.
"Hey hey, Uncle Ozz, what's the sea like?"
Young Yamato was already showing a deep longing for the outside world. Maybe that was just her nature.
"You're so strong. You must've been to tons of places, right?!"
Eyes wide with excitent, she clung to his shirt, beaming innocently as Ozz held her in his arms.
He couldn't bear to turn her down.
So he pinched her cheeks and patted her head.
Sure, the grown-up Yamato who always shouted "I am Kozuki Oden!" wasn't exactly Ozz's cup of tea.
But none of that had happened yet.
Right now, she was just a blank slate. Untouched by the world.
Unfortunately, that slate had the misfortune of encountering Kozuki Oden king of the muscle-brained fools and ended up getting brainwashed.
Kaido, being the rough brute he was, only knew how to use violence. He tried to force Yamato into understanding her place and the harsh truths of the world through cruelty.
But that backfired badly.
Just like Garp punching Luffy in the face every day only made him more determined to beco Pirate King.
People like that, you either have to raise them properly from the start, or break their spirit with hard reality.
Punching won't work. Idealists have the thickest skulls of all.
And now...
It was ti for the Grand Architect of Worldviews, Lord Ozz himself, to pick up the brush and start painting!
"The sea is full of wonders..."
He flicked a few gold coins to buy so candied hawthorn skewers and snacks, letting Yamato nestle in the crook of his arm as they strolled and he began to tell his tale.
What kind of tale?
Why, none other than the legendary life of Ozz the Black Emperor, of course~
Everything Oden had seen on his journey, Ozz had seen too.
Everything Oden hadn't seen? Ozz had still seen it.
Even Oden's travel journal had been enough to captivate Yamato. That alone said a lot about how empty her inner world had been.
It was like a chronically online girl eting a seasoned streetwise traveler. Her emotional void was being filled bit by bit.
Ozz launched into his autobiography.
"This world has four vast oceans, and one legendary sea route: the Grand Line!"
"I've been to islands that move like castles, forests that bounce like trampolines, glaciers that freeze you solid in seconds, lands where the ground itself burns your feet..."
"And entire islands made of chocolate, cookies, and sweets. The rivers are fruit juice, and even the trees and flowers can talk..."
"I've t giants taller than ten-story buildings, the tiny Tontatta people, Longarm Tribes with three joints in their arms, the Three-Eye Tribe..."
"And up in the sky, there's a place called Skypiea, where people live on clouds. The god of that place? He's one of my underlings."
Honestly, Ozz's life could've been a full-blown power fantasy novel.
Yamato listened with her jaw hanging open.
Slowly, she began to understand what nas like Kaido and Ozz truly ant in this world. She was completely enthralled by Ozz's presence.
So cool!!!
He fought the Navy alone for his captain.
Wherever he went, even enemies had to show him respect.
He even beat up her father and his entire crew.
She had never heard stories like this before. Compared to Oden's so-called journey, Ozz's tales were like blockbusters.
Eyes sparkling, Yamato begged him to keep going, clinging to his side like a puppy.
But ten years of wild adventures weren't sothing that could be told in a few hours.
Even with Ozz's patience, enjoying snacks while telling tales, Yamato eventually dozed off in his arms.
She still clutched the candied hawthorn he'd bought her.
Even in her sleep, she mumbled
"Navy... you dare challenge Lady Yamato..."
"Kaido... co at all of you..."
Snot bubble rising and falling, the little girl muttered in her dreams.
Well now~
Mission accomplished.
If she'd never seen the world, then Ozz would show her the world.
Strictly speaking, he hadn't taken her out to sea. But the effect was the sa.
Now, as long as he could stop her from witnessing Oden's execution, her life trajectory would veer dramatically.
At the very least, the world would lose one delusional tomboy who kept screaming about being a "heroic Oden."
And what would it gain?
Ozz, maybe?
"I'm Yamato, daughter of the Black Emperor Ozz! Nice to et you!"
Just imagining it made Ozz grin.
Especially the thought of Kaido's face when that mont ca.
Now that would be fun~
...
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