Chapter 179: Explosive Truth and The Father's "Love"
At this moment, standing amidst the grim dust of the Udon Prisoner Mines, Suzaku observed the scene unfolding before him with great interest.
A strange, almost amused smile played on his lips as he looked at the tall, horned woman towering over the fallen guards.
"Is this... the legendary scene of 'filial piety'?"
He mused silently, his gaze lingering on Yamato's imposing figure. She stood nearly three meters tall, her white hair fading into turquoise and blue, her attire mimicking that of Kozuki Oden down to the giant nio-daisuki rope bow on her back.
"Seeing it with my own eyes, it is indeed... very 'big'!" Suzaku thought, his eyes narrowing slightly in appreciation. "Both in stature and in courage. To stand against one's own father, the 'Strongest Creature in the World,' with such unwavering conviction... it's a level of rebellion that transcends simple teenage angst."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"To let Kaido's 'son' witness his father's defeat with her own eyes, and even... let her personally participate in the downfall of the Beast Pirates? The development of this situation seems a hundred times more interesting than simply attacking Onigashima and burning it to the ground."
"Our strength," Suzaku finally spoke aloud, his voice calm and steady, cutting through the murmurs of the crowd. "Is already enough to defeat Kaido. We do not require assistance, nor do we need a guide."
Hearing this, the excited glow on Yamato's face instantly dimmed like a candle blown out by a sudden gust of wind. Her shoulders slumped, and thinking she had been flatly rejected, her mouth pouted in obvious grievance. She looked like a kicked puppy, despite her monstrous strength.
"Is that so..." she muttered, clutching her kanabo club tighter.
However, Suzaku chuckled softly and changed the subject, steering the conversation back to the spark he saw in her eyes.
"However, since your ideal is also to liberate Wano Country, and you carry the will of Oden... then you can come along too."
He looked at Yamato, a hint of playfulness dancing in his eyes.
"Just consider it witnessing the end of an era on behalf of the people who have suffered greatly under Kaido's tyranny. I imagine you also want to do something within your power for this country, right? Rather than rotting here in this mine."
"Eh? Re... really?"
Yamato's golden eyes lit up again with a veritable whoosh, sparking with renewed vigor as if they could shoot out beams of light. The transformation was instantaneous.
"Great! Don't underestimate me!"
She puffed out her chest, slamming her fist against her palm with a resounding thud.
"This great me is a man who will become the second Kozuki Oden! I am very strong! I can fight! I can crush rocks! I can..."
She excitedly waved her shackled fists in the air, the heavy chains clanking loudly. She completely missed the subtle difference between 'letting you witness' and 'teaming up with you' in Suzaku's words. To her, this was an acceptance into the alliance.
"Boastful fellows!"
A rough, grating voice interrupted their moment.
Babanuki, the elephant-head-bellied Headliner, along with Daifugo and Solitia, finally lost their patience. Their veins bulged on their foreheads. Kaido's rebellious "Young Master" was joining forces with intruders right in front of them!
"Enough of this farce!" Babanuki roared, his elephant trunk flailing.
"Kaido-sama's young master is rebelling! And now a group of madmen who want to overthrow the Governor-General have arrived. If we don't act now, we will all lose our heads!"
"Take down these fanatics and the unruly young master together! Capture them dead or alive!"
With a command, the guards and Headliners simultaneously launched their attacks!
"Elephant's Breath!"
Babanuki inhaled deeply, and the elephant head on his stomach unleashed a massive, explosive sneeze—a cannonball of compressed air aiming straight for Suzaku's head.
"Six-Sword Style Random Slash!"
Solitia, the monkey-smile user, wielded her six arms and swords, spinning like a blade storm. Daifugo, the scorpion user, fired poisonous rounds from his body.
For a moment, various lethal attacks surged towards Suzaku and his group like a tsunami of violence!
"Watch out!" Yamato shouted, preparing to step forward and shield them.
But Suzaku didn't move a muscle. He didn't even blink.
A moment later.
Whoosh! Bang! Clang!
The dust settled.
Yamato's beautiful golden eyes widened to their absolute limit, and her small mouth hung slightly agape, forming a perfect 'O' shape as she looked at the scene before her.
Babanuki, Daifugo, Solitia, and the dozens of elite guards who had just been so imposing... were now scattered on the ground like broken toys.
Babanuki was charred black and smoking, twitching intermittently. Solitia was foaming at the mouth, her swords broken. Daifugo was embedded in the rock wall, completely incapacitated.
And the ones who had acted were merely three women from Suzaku's team.
Rem stood gracefully, her spiked morningstar flail dripping with... well, mostly dust. She adjusted her maid headdress, her face serene.
Ram lowered her hand, the wind magic around her dissipating. She had deflected Babanuki's explosive breath back at him with a simple flick of her wrist.
Akame calmly sheathed her cursed blade, Murasame, with a soft click. She had moved so fast that no one saw her strike the pressure points of the guards.
"Wow...!"
Yamato let out a genuine exclamation of awe, and her gaze towards the group instantly changed from friendly curiosity to deep respect.
"Your... your subordinates are really good! So amazing!"
She circled around Rem and Akame, examining them like rare artifacts.
"They managed to defeat all of the Headliners with just three girls! And so fast! I didn't even see the sword draw!"
"Of course!"
Nami placed her hands on her hips, proudly puffing out her chest. At this moment, she felt even more satisfied than if she had won the battle herself. She flipped her orange hair back with a grin.
"Rem, Ram, and Akame are all elite cadres of our Suzaku Pirates! Did you think we were just tourists?"
Nami pointed a thumb at herself.
"Let me tell you, including myself, every single person on our ship is a famous pirate on the high seas! We eat Warlords for breakfast!"
"Wow! As expected of someone with the same ideals as me!"
Yamato now completely believed what they had said before. Her eyes towards Suzaku's group were filled with absolute trust and recognition.
"It seems... you guys are really reliable! Maybe we can actually do this!"
The aftermath of the battle gradually subsided, leaving only the settling dust and the helpless groans of the defeated in the stale air of the mine.
Suzaku's gaze, however, did not linger on the victory. Instead, it rested with interest on the heavy shackles binding Yamato's slender wrists.
The shackles were pitch black, absorbing the light around them. They exuded a dull, oppressive aura that seemed to suppress all power. The metal was rough, unpolished, and clearly made of high-purity Sea Prism Stone.
"You..."
Suzaku was about to speak, but Yamato seemed to notice his gaze.
She actively raised her hands, the heavy shackles making a dull, ominous clank sound as the chains hit each other.
"Oh, you mean this!"
Her face still held that carefree, sun-like brilliant smile, contrasting sharply with the symbol of imprisonment on her wrists.
"These are the Sea Prism Stone handcuffs my father, Kaido, put on me when I was eight. Don't worry about it!"
She tried hard to shake her hands, attempting to prove she didn't care at all, though the weight clearly dragged on her shoulders.
"When I first put them on, I really felt weak all over. It felt like my energy was being drained away constantly. But now I'm much better! I've trained my body to resist it. I can exert strength, and I definitely won't drag you down in a fight!"
Her words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples of shock.
"Huh? Kaido... is really your father?"
Nami's beautiful eyes widened, voicing the common sentiment of everyone present. "He locked you up? Since you were eight?"
Even Esdeath and Hashirama couldn't help but glance at Yamato, their eyes full of inquiry.
Albedo's smile became somewhat playful, analyzing the dynamic. "A creator imprisoning their creation? How... inefficient."
Rem and Ram showed the same strange expressions. To serve a master is one thing, but for a father to chain his child?
"Father?" Nami whispered. "Locking his daughter with Sea Prism Stone in this quarry where prisoners are worked to death? What kind of father-daughter relationship is that?"
"Yes!" Yamato nodded as a matter of course, completely desensitized to the cruelty. She even complained with some distress, scratching her head with the chain.
"That bastard old man! Just because I want to become Kozuki Oden, he disregarded my wishes and locked me here to reflect! He said I can't leave until I become the Shogun of his New Onigashima!"
She paused, then added casually.
"He also said that if I leave Udon or Onigashima with these handcuffs, they will go 'bang' and explode! Like, blowing my hands off!"
As she spoke, she even gestured an explosion with her hands, spreading her fingers wide.
Yet there was no trace of fear on her face. Instead, it was as if she was talking about someone else's amusing anecdote, or a prank a strict parent played.
Upon these words, the entire place fell silent.
Nami opened her mouth, feeling her worldview being repeatedly trampled.
"Explode? Blow your hands off?" Nami stuttered. "Even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs... Is this Kaido really so cruel to his own daughter?"
"He's a monster," Akame murmured softly.
"Next, let me see if what Kaido said is true or false?"
Suzaku broke the silence. He stepped forward, his boots crunching on the gravel.
He developed a strong interest in Kaido's twisted paternal love, and was even more curious whether the so-called 'exploding handcuffs' were real or just a bluff to keep her obedient.
"I'll help you unlock it and see if what your 'good father' said is true."
Yamato's eyes lit up at the words, hope flushing her cheeks. But then she shook her head with some distress, her ears drooping.
"No, you can't. The key was taken away by that bastard Kaido a long time ago. He keeps it on his person."
She sighed.
"I heard that to unlock this without a key, you have to use 'Ryuo', which is a very advanced Haki technique used by the samurai of Wano. It destroys the object from the inside. I... I only know the simplest wrapping and hardening. I tried to learn it from Oden's journal, but I can't master the flow."
"Ryuo?"
Suzaku chuckled, a confident sound. "Coincidentally, I know a little bit about that."
He stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Under Yamato's expectant, wide-eyed gaze, he extended two fingers.
He gently placed them on the cold, heavy lock mechanism of the shackles. The metal was freezing to the touch, sucking away energy, but Suzaku's Haki flared, pushing back the suppression.
"It's alright," his voice was calm but filled with reassuring power. "Not just me, many of my companions know this technique. It's a standard requirement on my ship."
"So, relax. Don't move."
Before his words finished, an invisible, intangible, yet solid surge of crimson energy subtly emerged from Suzaku's fingertips.
It was Busoshoku Haki—Advanced Armament. The Flow.
That power, like a living stream of liquid metal, precisely permeated the interior of the lock core. It bypassed the physical tumblers, flowing into the explosive mechanism itself.
Creak...
Yamato held her breath. The world seemed to stop.
With a soft click, as if just opening the most ordinary door lock, the mechanism gave way.
The Sea Prism Stone shackles that had troubled Yamato for twenty years, symbolizing her imprisonment, her oppression, and her father's tyranny, fell open.
Clatter.
They landed in Suzaku's hand, heavy and cold.
"This... it just opened?"
Yamato looked at her freed hands in disbelief. She rubbed her wrists, feeling the blood flow freely for the first time in decades. She looked at Suzaku, who appeared calm and composed, holding the deadly devices.
"Did... did it work?"
Suzaku didn't answer immediately. He weighed the cuffs in his hand, feeling the tremors inside the mechanism.
"Run," he said simply.
He threw the cuffs with immense force.
Whoosh!
The handcuffs turned into a black shadow, thrown far away into the wasteland outside the quarry, arching high into the sky.
Everyone's gaze involuntarily followed that parabola.
One second.
Two seconds.
Just when everyone thought this was really just a cruel joke by Kaido, or a bluff to scare a child...
BOOM...!!!!!!
A sky-piercing flash of fire suddenly erupted in the distance!
Accompanied by a dull, earth-shaking roar, a massive explosion mushroomed into the sky. It wasn't a small charge; it was a bomb designed to kill. The scorching hot airwave rushed towards them from hundreds of meters away, blowing Yamato's hair back wildly.
The explosion was powerful enough to have blown not just her hands, but her entire upper body into mist.
Yamato stood frozen, the orange glow of the fire reflecting in her wide, horrified eyes.
Her father... really meant to kill her.
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