One Piece: Groudon the Beasts

Chapter 10: Fooling, then lying
It's quiet at night.

A campfire was lit inside the dungeon.

Yamato covered his blood-stained buttocks with both hands, his body trembling slightly. His eyes held both newly established trust and overwhelming fear as he looked at Goode.

The cruel experience she had in the back mountain left her with severe psychological trauma.

Even her father never hit her like that!
Goode kept adding firewood to the campfire, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the girl who dared not approach, and found it somewhat amusing.

This girl is a hundred or a thousand times better than him, why is she so scared?

I didn't even dare to speak.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit tense, Goode had no choice but to take the initiative to speak.

"Yamato."

"exist."

Yamato was startled and quickly straightened his back.

Seeing the girl's stress response, Goode helplessly reassured her, "Don't be so nervous, I'm not a demon."

"."

No, you are!
Yamato looked indignant.

She was clearly powerless to resist, yet they still used such cruel methods against her; even demons weren't this ruthless.

Her butt still hurts!

Good was exasperated and changed the subject.

"Yamato, I've heard some things about you, but I don't understand why you're going against Lord Kaido. Can you tell me?"

"Because I am Oden!"

Yamato's conditioned reflex response.

Goode narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Kozuki Oden?"

"Correct!"

When Kozuki Oden was mentioned, Yamato's emotions became noticeably more excited, and his gaze toward Goode was no longer fearful, but full of a desire to share.

"You know Oden too?"

"Know something."

Goode nodded.

He asked that question to bring up the topic of Kozuki Oden. To deal with this obsessed girl, he had to start with Oden.

Yamato's eyes shone brightly as he excitedly said, "I want to become a man like Kozuki Oden, living freely. But my father won't allow me to become Oden. Instead, he beat me up and imprisoned me on Onigashima."

As he spoke, Yamato raised his hands, revealing the sea stone shackles on his wrists.

"."

I'm your dad! I'll not only beat you up, I'll break your legs!

Goode silently complained to himself.

Who wouldn't tolerate their own well-behaved daughter suddenly shouting that she wants to be their biggest enemy? Not breaking her legs is already a sign of pampering.

Good asked softly, "Yamato, why did you become Kozuki Oden?"

"Because Kozuki Oden was the most outstanding samurai in the world, I witnessed his life and his downfall, and I admire him!"

Yamato began to speak at length.

At the age of eight, she witnessed Kozuki Oden's heroic death, the legendary one-hour "boiling in a cauldron" torture, and from then on she admired Oden immensely.

Later, she learned about some of Kozuki Oden's heroic deeds, such as suppressing the rebellion in Kuri, which strengthened her belief in becoming Oden.

The girl became more and more excited as she spoke, even revealing the secret of obtaining Oden's diary and Oden's seafaring experiences.

He spoke for a full two and a half hours.

She had no friends and had never confided in anyone for over a decade. Now, the comfort of the dungeon and the trust she had built with Goode Gang finally gave her the opportunity to pour out her heart.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, the girl already considered Goode, who risked being killed to give her white rice, as her only friend.

Good listened patiently and then asked, "So that's why you've been challenging Boss Kaido?"

"Ok!"

Yamato nodded vigorously, and said angrily and unwillingly, "I am Kozuki Oden, so I want to defeat my father and liberate Wano Country, but I don't have enough power."

"oh, I understand now."

Goode nodded to indicate that he understood.

Yamato asked excitedly, "Good, do you like Oden too?"

"I do not like."

Goode waved his hand decisively.

The first priority for an excellent landlord is to abandon his conscience.

Even if it went against his conscience, he would not say something like liking Oden just to please a young girl, something that crossed his bottom line.

"Oh."

A head-on blow.

The girl sadly started drawing circles.

"Yamato."

Goode squinted and switched to deception mode.

"You are not Kozuki Oden."

"I'm!"

Yamato immediately glared angrily at Goode.

Good shook his head and said, "If you were really Kozuki Oden, you wouldn't have rebelled against your father; instead, you would have obeyed his arrangements."

"what?"

Yamato paused for a moment, feeling like his brain wasn't quite up to the task.

What do you mean?
Totally incomprehensible!

How could Kozuki Oden possibly obey his father!

"Yamato, let me ask you something," Goode said in a deep voice, "Can you defeat Kaido?"

"Of course I can't beat my father!"

Yamato gave a confident and justified reply.

If she could have won, she wouldn't have been locked in the dungeon time and time again.

Goode sneered, "Since you know you can't win, what's the point of challenging Boss Kaido again and again? Just to get beaten up?"

"I"

Yamato was speechless.

I feel like something's wrong, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Goode gave him a way out.

"To become stronger?"

"Correct!"

The girl's spirit was shaken.

Yes, to become stronger!

Goode scoffed.

"Getting stronger will allow me to defeat Lord Kaido?"

"."

Can't beat it!
Yamato gritted her teeth. She had become hundreds of times stronger than when she was a child, but the gap between her and her father was still endless.

My father is so powerful!

Good sighed: "Yamato, in my opinion, your repeated challenges to Lord Kaido are nothing more than attempts to fulfill your fantasy of becoming Kozuki Oden. You don't really understand Kozuki Oden at all."

"me."

Yamato stuttered.

She wanted to say that she knew Oden very well, better than anyone else, but she didn't know how to organize her words to refute him.

Damn it, she's not well-educated!

The girl racked her brains but couldn't figure it out, and became furious.

"Damn it, you're lying to me! Kozuki Oden died because he rebelled against his father. How could he possibly obey his father!"

"I have no interest in lying to you."

Goode sneered: "Before the final battle with Boss Kaido, did you know what Kozuki Oden was doing?"

“Oden—”

Before Yamato could finish speaking, Goode abruptly interrupted him, coldly saying, "Kozuki Oden danced naked beneath Orochi Castle for five years!"

"."

Yamato blushed and retorted, "That's because Father threatened Oden with hostages, and Oden had no choice but to do that!"

"You're right. He had no choice. To protect Wano Country and the hostages, he had to sacrifice himself by performing a nude dance."

Goode had no interest in judging the matter, nor did he want to argue about right and wrong. He brought it up simply to make Yamato understand one thing.

"Oden had no choice but to perform a naked dance like a clown, and he had to endure humiliation and temporarily submit to Orochi and Boss Kaido."

"Yamato, and what about you?"

"Do you have a way to fight Kaido?"

"There's nothing you can do!"

"Think carefully about what you've done since you became Kozuki Oden. You clamored to save Wano Country, but what have you actually done for it?"

A question that comes from the soul.

Yamato was at a loss.

Aside from challenging her father, she seems to have accomplished nothing.

Good said in a deep voice, "As Kaido's only child, you, like Kozuki Oden, possess great power and a solid background."

"If you are truly Kozuki Oden, what you should do now is endure and wait until you are strong enough before rebelling against your father!"

"Your current foolish behavior is not only meaningless, but it also puts you in a difficult situation and wastes the resources of being a child of demons."

If Yamato hadn't gone astray, his current status in the Beast Pirates would be at least at the Disaster level, and it would be easier to cultivate loyal followers than even a Disaster.

If they were even smarter, Yamato could extend its reach into Wano Country and secretly cultivate a force entirely of its own.

Unfortunately, this girl has no brains.

Like Kozuki Oden, he squandered a winning hand.

Gu De said earnestly, "Yamato, you have every right to become like Kozuki Oden, to become the hope in the hearts of the people of Wano Country, just like Kozuki Oden. But your current actions are going against the very path of Kozuki Oden!"

"."

Yamato's pupils lost their luster, his brain went into a malfunction, and he completely lost the ability to think.

She and Oden went against each other?

Seeing that the time was right, Goode asked solemnly, "Yamato, I'll ask you one more time, do you want to become Kozuki Oden?"

"miss you!"

The girl nodded vigorously.

This was the only thing she was absolutely certain of.

"Okay, I'll help you!"

Goode smiled.

I, Guradon Good, love helping others the most!

Yamato, as if grasping at a straw, asked urgently with a sob in her voice, "Good, what should I do?"

"It's very simple."

Goode smiled, like a cunning old fox who had worked out a lot.

"After you get out of prison, go and kowtow to Boss Kaido and apologize!"

(End of this chapter)