In response to Kaido's question, Black Maria waved a hand toward the outside of the cavern, signaling for her subordinate to come in.
Kaido was quite tolerant toward capable officers and didn't enforce strict hierarchical etiquette. Many of the higher-ups addressed him directly by name without formal titles.
More polite ones would call him Mr. Kaido, while others simply used his name. Black Maria had a close personal relationship with Kaido, so she spoke even more freely.
At her summons, a young woman with long black hair entered the cavern. She wore a kimono patterned with leaves, her shoulders exposed, with a wide sash around her waist.
Covering her face was a mask shaped like an eye—the symbol of a watcher.
She was the Caiman Crocodile Woman, the Beast Pirates' intelligence monitor.
Due to having eaten a SMILE Devil Fruit, her lower body from the legs down had transformed into that of a massive crocodile, hence her nickname.
"Mr. Kaido, after Young Master Yamato was imprisoned, I've been monitoring her continuously. I recorded the conversations inside the cell using my ability. Please take a look."
The Caiman Crocodile Woman was much more respectful toward Kaido. Through her Watcher Mask, she could observe scenes via special means and record them, making her reports highly reliable.
"Play it. Let me see."
Kaido had sobered up quite a bit. More than anything, he was curious about what exactly had happened after Yamato was thrown into prison—enough for Maria to say she was actually reflecting.
The Caiman Crocodile Woman activated the Watcher System and shared the previously "recorded" footage.
At first, when Kaido saw Kurosaki Rei, he looked confused.
"Who's this?"
Black Maria laughed.
"You really are forgetful. Didn't I just say it? This is that Oni Slayer who challenged you a few days ago."
Kaido tilted his head as if recalling.
"No impression. I was pretty drunk then. Thought it was a fly buzzing over and just swatted it away."
"Haha, that figures. He was full of confidence back then, calling himself an Oni Slayer and saying he'd come to kill you."
Maria's smile deepened.
"And you didn't even remember him. Poor guy."
"That's not important. Keep playing. I want to hear what they talked about."
Kaido urged.
As the footage continued, Kaido's expression darkened when he heard Yamato saying she wanted to team up with Kurosaki Rei to deal with her own father.
But after a while, the conversation shifted into mundane adventure stories from the outside world, and Kaido started to look drowsy.
"Skip this part. I'm about to fall asleep."
At Maria's instruction, the Caiman Crocodile Woman adjusted the playback, skipping ahead to the part where Kurosaki Rei and Yamato were sparring and learning Ryuo.
Kaido perked up immediately.
Watching Kurosaki Rei release Ryuo around his hands, Kaido showed some interest.
"This kid learns fast. Not a waste that I spared him. Later, let him join as a Waiter."
In the New World, Haki wasn't rare—almost every sea adventurer knew at least a bit.
But mastering Ryuo in a single day and using it stably was, in Kaido's eyes, an extremely rare learning ability.
Considering Kurosaki Rei's age, if brought under his command and properly trained, he could at least reach the level of a Headliner, or even rise to the Flying Six, perhaps eventually a Lead Performer.
"His talent really is outstanding," Black Maria agreed.
"But the guards already hinted at it—he seems to hate pirates. He'd rather mine in Udon Prison than join the Beast Pirates."
She didn't look particularly regretful. After all, the New World had no shortage of geniuses—but very few actually grew to maturity.
"What an ungrateful brat," Kaido snorted.
"I heard he's an adventurer. So naive. I really don't know how someone like that made it here alone."
Kaido believed that power was everything. Justice, evil, identity—none of that mattered. Only absolute strength could change the world.
Black Maria didn't reply, because the footage had shifted to a more important part of the conversation.
As Kurosaki Rei and Yamato talked, Kaido's facial expressions kept changing—anger, calm, surprise—one after another, highly entertaining.
When Kurosaki Rei finally guided Yamato into logical self-examination, triggering her mental collapse and withdrawal, Kaido slapped his thigh, violent air currents surging through the cavern.
"Good kid! He actually managed to get through to Yamato!"
Kaido looked at Kurosaki Rei in the footage with genuine surprise.
He had never expected that the stubborn, oil-and-salt-immune Yamato would actually start questioning her own identity after listening to this man.
"I thought he didn't look very smart at first," Black Maria said with a smile.
"But his words are extremely well-structured. Maybe it's because an outsider sees more clearly—he pointed out all the inconsistencies in Young Master Yamato's life."
"At this point, even she can't avoid thinking about it."
"Seems so…"
Kaido grew thoughtful.
He understood what Maria was implying.
Power was important—but that didn't mean they didn't need people with brains.
If someone like Kurosaki Rei—eloquent and perceptive—had been around when Yamato first started going astray, maybe she could have been pulled back then and there.
Kaido wouldn't say Kurosaki Rei was some strategist-level genius, but one thing was certain—
This kid understood education.
So even if he didn't become part of the Beast Pirates' combat forces, bringing him in as Yamato's personal tutor didn't sound like a bad idea.
"Keep him locked up for now. Later, have Queen go talk to him."
Kaido made his decision.
Though Queen was a goofy fat man, he was still one of the Lead Performers—Queen the Plague—highly capable and deeply trusted by Kaido.
And Queen was also in charge of Udon Prison, making him the perfect person for the job.
"Haha, there's no rush," Black Maria said lightly.
"From what I can tell, it's not just because Kurosaki Rei is so clever."
"The key is that this is the first time Young Master Yamato has made a friend her own age. She's more willing to listen to a friend."
"In Yamato's eyes, we're probably all enemies. No matter what we say, she'll think we're lying to her."
"So that's how it is…"
Kaido felt a wave of relief.
"Good thing I didn't smash that kid to death that day."
For the first time in eight years, he saw a real turning point in his daughter's warped mindset.
He even briefly reflected on himself—maybe he had made Yamato's life too lonely.
If she'd had close friends when she was younger, perhaps having those friends talk to her might've prevented her from going so far astray.
The thought passed quickly.
In Kaido's worldview, the strong were destined to be alone.
He himself had become his kingdom's strongest warrior at just ten years old, leading countless victorious battles.
What he gained wasn't admiration or love—but fear.
In the end, he stood alone, betrayed by his own king and handed over to the Marines.
So he believed that as his daughter, Yamato needed a heart strong enough to soar even when walking alone.
That was why he never let her play with children her age.
In his eyes, that was weakness.
After all, he'd been on the battlefield at seven or eight—when would he have had time to play?
"Now that Young Master Yamato has made a new friend, she probably won't escape anytime soon. Let's observe slowly."
Black Maria said.
Kaido nodded, then turned to the Caiman Crocodile Woman.
"Right. From now on—no, every half day—come report to me."
He thought for a moment.
"Actually, just stay here. If anything happens, broadcast it directly through the Watcher System."
Kaido figured that instead of watching recordings afterward, it'd be better to watch live. That way, if something went wrong, he could deal with it immediately.
After two exhausting days, Kurosaki Rei was resting against the wall in the cell, unaware that he was now under surveillance by one of the world's top-tier powerhouses.
Yamato, still injured, had fallen into a deep sleep after her mental shutdown.
Unlike Kurosaki Rei, even though she was in prison, she subconsciously felt this was still her home turf—so she slept soundly, without a hint of vigilance.
Kurosaki Rei, on the other hand, regretted that he couldn't take out his bed inside the prison.
Comfort aside, what bothered him more was the loss of training efficiency.
When the sun rose again, cell doors throughout the prison opened one by one.
Prisoners dragged their exhausted bodies out toward the mines, beginning another day of grueling labor.
Only Kurosaki Rei and Yamato's cell remained tightly shut.
No guards came to open the door or shout for them to work.
By the original logic of Kurosaki Rei's identity, his injuries should have been considered mostly healed by now—he should have been sent back to mining duty.
But last night, the guards received orders from above:
Do not send Young Master Yamato or the prisoner in her cell to mine. Just deliver their meals every day.
The guards were puzzled, but they didn't dare ask questions. They obediently delivered generous portions of food and kept their distance from the cell.
"Observation Haki includes sensing attacks, predicting an opponent's next move, sensing the strength of living beings, sensing emotions and thoughts, and perceiving the position and number of objects outside your field of vision."
"The range and intensity vary from person to person, but it can be expanded through training…"
After waking up, Yamato no longer pestered Kurosaki Rei for stories of the outside world.
She seemed dispirited, and instead calmly explained the principles of Observation Haki.
Seeing her in this state, Kurosaki Rei didn't dare push her further. He avoided mentioning Kozuki Oden and focused seriously on learning Observation Haki.
Unlike Armament Haki—which he'd obtained via skill scrolls—Observation Haki was something he had never mastered before.
It was new, but he learned quickly.
The underlying principles of Haki were similar—once you understood one, the others followed more easily.
With Yamato's explanations and demonstrations, Kurosaki Rei soon grasped the essentials.
Observation Haki was closely tied to mental state. Calmness was essential; emotional agitation or loss of reason would render it unusable.
Advanced Observation users could predict movements and positions, hear others' inner voices—a form of mind-reading—and even perceive things beyond sight.
At its peak, it could even allow glimpses of the future.
Kurosaki Rei found it incredibly powerful—a strong support ability in combat.
Even with his naturally sharp combat instincts, mastering Observation Haki would significantly increase his margin for error.
Yamato's Observation Haki wasn't particularly strong—she clearly wasn't a specialist.
That made sense. Most of her fights with her father were direct, head-on clashes, with little emphasis on dodging or finesse.
Kurosaki Rei also suspected that Kaido's Observation Haki wasn't especially strong either.
That had to do with fighting style and personality.
Kaido wasn't someone who liked dodging or fancy maneuvers—he relied on his overwhelming physique, Armament Haki, and Conqueror's Haki to bulldoze through everything.
For someone like him, Observation Haki simply wasn't that important.
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