[TL/N: New Book -
Anime Group Chat in a Doomsday World!]
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"Clink! Clink!"
In the prison, a tall figure sat in chains, bound with special shackles on both wrists.
The figure's long hair flowed naturally down to their chest, starting white at the roots and fading into gradients of green and blue toward the ends. It parted neatly in the middle, with two vibrant red devil horns protruding from the top of the head.
Behind their head, the hair was tied into a ponytail, secured with two orange hairpins. Golden earrings adorned both ears.
This was Yamato, the daughter of Kaido, King of the Beasts, and the user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan Model: Okuchi-no-Makami (Large-Mouthed True/Pure God).
Despite her youth, Yamato had inherited Kaido's bloodline and awakened Conqueror's Haki at an early age, even beginning to master the advanced technique of Haki entanglement.
However, the mythical beast Zoan Devil Fruit she consumed, though rare and powerful, was not on par with the absolute strongest fruits. Coupled with her incomplete grasp of Conqueror's Haki entanglement, her strength was far below that of her father, Kaido.
Even so, Yamato's skill with Haki was formidable enough to place her attack power at an Admiral-level.
"Huh?!"
Hearing footsteps, Yamato raised her head and locked eyes with the man standing before her.
"Who are you?" she asked sharply, her brows furrowed with intensity. Despite her chains, her gaze was fierce and commanding.
The man smirked slightly before responding.
"Portgas D. Ace," he said. "The one who killed your father."
Ace walked closer and casually sat cross-legged in front of Yamato. His gaze lingered on her face, which exuded a strong and heroic spirit.
"You... killed my father?!"
Yamato's pupils narrowed in shock as the words sank in.
The next instant—
"Boom! Crackle! Crackle!"
Yamato's right hand clenched tightly, summoning a mace to her side. Unlike Kaido's thick, spiked club, Yamato's weapon was slimmer, its spikes rounded instead of sharp.
"Whoosh!"
Black and purple lightning crackled and wrapped around the mace as Yamato infused it with Conqueror's Haki.
However, compared to the likes of Kaido or Linlin, Yamato's Conqueror Haki lacked density, the aura around her weapon appearing thinner and weaker by comparison.
Even so, Yamato's preliminary mastery of Conqueror's Haki entanglement allowed her to generate attacks capable of rivaling Admiral-level power.
With a sharp swing—
"Swoosh! Crackle!"
Yamato hurled her Conqueror Haki-infused mace straight at Ace with tremendous force.
"Buzz! BOOM!!!"
"What?!" Yamato gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Ace had stopped her attack—not with a weapon, but with a single index finger.
His finger, radiating a suffocatingly dense aura of Conqueror's Haki, collided with Yamato's mace mid-air. The resulting shockwave rattled the entire prison, yet Yamato's powerful strike couldn't budge Ace's finger even an inch.
"This… this Conqueror Haki! It's stronger than his!"
Yamato's face was filled with astonishment.
For years, Yamato had clashed with her father, Kaido, constantly testing herself against his overwhelming strength.
Her ability to wield Conqueror's Haki entanglement had been forged through those battles, with Kaido serving as an unrelenting teacher.
Despite their personal conflicts, Yamato begrudgingly acknowledged that Kaido's strength was unparalleled. His mastery of Conqueror Haki had pushed her to her limits time and again, forcing her to grow.
Even Kaido himself had to exert effort to defend against Yamato's attacks once she began using Conqueror Haki entanglement.
And yet, the man before her—Portgas D. Ace—possessed a Conqueror's Haki that surpassed even Kaido's.
No, it wasn't just stronger—it was on an entirely different level, a qualitative difference.
The gap between Ace's Haki and Kaido's was far greater than the gap between her and her father.
"Is it possible…?" Yamato thought, her mind racing. "Is there someone out there stronger than Kaido? Stronger by this much?"
Portgas D. Ace.
The man who had killed her father.
Yamato's expression turned dazed as conflicting emotions overwhelmed her.
She had always resented Kaido, their strained relationship culminating in her imprisonment on Onigashima. The explosive shackles around her wrists ensured she could never leave the island.
And yet, Kaido's presence had been a constant in her life—a source of strength and conflict alike.
Now, the man who had shattered that presence sat calmly before her, exuding an aura of unshakable power.
Before the battle with Ace, Kaido went as far as imprisoning Yamato in this cell to prevent any unforeseen complications.
Despite Yamato's impressive combat strength, Kaido couldn't trust her loyalty. In a clash with the Entei Pirates, it was uncertain whether she would wield her mace for him—or against him.
Kaido was no fool. As a cunning leader, he knew the first rule of survival in war: avoid internal mistakes.
With the strategic brilliance of the Entei Pirates, any internal weakness in the Beasts Pirates could be exploited, potentially leading to their downfall.
Yet, all of Kaido's careful planning and foresight crumbled when faced with Ace's overwhelming power. Strategy and tactics can only shine when both sides are relatively evenly matched.
"You killed him—why?"
Yamato's voice was unsteady as she stared at Ace, her expression distant.
Though Yamato had been imprisoned on Onigashima since childhood due to her constant clashes with Kaido—and shackled to prevent her escape—she was far from ignorant.
While her isolation left her unaware of much of the outside world, she wasn't a fool.
Even confined to the island, Yamato could release her Observation Haki freely. Over time, she had sensed the disappearance of familiar auras and the emergence of powerful new ones.
Now, standing before her was a man, whose strength far exceeded her father's, a fact she was reluctant to admit.
But what he said... must be true.
For the first time, Yamato felt completely adrift.
Though she had long rejected Kaido's ideology and challenged him repeatedly in an effort to defeat him, he was still her father. The sudden news of his death shook her deeply.
Yamato's beautiful features clouded with confusion as she struggled to process it all.
"What now? Do you want revenge?"
Ace's sharp gaze cut through her daze, his tone steady and direct.
"Revenge? Against you? I wouldn't stand a chance. Besides, what that man did... is unforgivable."
Yamato lifted her head, her voice resolute despite the bitterness underlying her words.
Ace smirked, his lips curling with confidence.
"Is that so? Then why don't you join my crew?"
He extended a hand toward Yamato, his gaze unwavering.
"???"
Yamato blinked, dumbfounded. She stared at Ace's outstretched hand, her mind reeling.
He had just killed her father... and now he was inviting her to join his pirate crew?
Even for someone as bold as Yamato, this was beyond comprehension.
"Why? Isn't your goal to make Wanokuni a better place?"
Ace's confident grin widened.
"Wanokuni is my territory now. If you want to fight for its future, it's only natural that you join my crew."
Yamato's face darkened.
"Wanokuni? Your territory? What about the Kozuki family?"
Her voice sharpened as she glared at Ace.
Ace laughed, his tone brimming with amusement.
"The Kozuki family? That's ancient history. I saved Wanokuni, and its people chose me—Portgas D. Ace."
His grin grew broader, until it turned into a full-throated laugh.
The Kozuki family? Kozuki Oden? In Ace's eyes, they were a joke.
Kozuki Oden had possessed the backing of both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates, the two strongest crews of their time.
With their help, Kaido and Orochi should have been nothing more than minor obstacles.
At that time, Whitebeard had been at his peak, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Roger, the Pirate King.
Either crew alone could have crushed Kaido and Orochi's ambitions with ease.
Yet, due to Oden's foolish choices, the people of Wanokuni had suffered under Kaido's rule for years.
The true architect of Wanokuni's suffering wasn't Kaido or Orochi. It was Kozuki Oden, the incompetent fool who squandered his power.
As history has shown time and again, an inept general dooms his army, and an incapable ruler brings disaster to their people.
Ace's laughter faded as he turned his sharp gaze back to Yamato.
Though Ace's words stung, Yamato couldn't help but feel conflicted.
To be fair, she was just an ordinary girl at heart. Years of isolation on Onigashima had left her ignorant of the vastness of the sea and the true might of the world's strongest.
Ace knew this—and he intended to change her perspective.
"You!"
Yamato's expression hardened, her mind battling with Ace's challenging words.
Changing Yamato's mindset, forged by years of belief and isolation, wouldn't happen overnight.
But Ace had a plan.
"Go on. Feel the current state of Wanokuni for yourself."
He waved his right hand, summoning a glowing orb of light imbued with the power of the Thunder Fruit.
"Buzz!"
The orb pulsed with energy as Ace used the Thunder Fruit's abilities to amplify Yamato's Observation Haki, extending her awareness across all of Wanokuni.
The emotions of the people in Wanokuni began to resonate with Yamato.
"Can you feel it? The changes in Wanokuni? Do you sense the despair and sadness in the farthest reaches of the land?"
Ace's voice was calm but carried a certain weight.
"That despair stems from places my subordinates haven't fully taken over.
Yet, in the places where the flag of my Entei Pirates flies, there's hope and vitality.
They have ample food, clean water, joyous banquets, and laughter.
Feel it carefully, Yamato."
Ace observed Yamato's silence, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
---
After a long pause, Yamato slowly opened her eyes, her gaze a mix of confusion, relief, and hesitation.
"But... but... the Kozuki family could have done something like this too. Back then, Wanokuni..."
Yamato raised their head, but the lingering doubts still weighed heavily in their mind.
"Really? Do you truly believe that the actions of that fool, Kozuki Oden, were correct?" Ace's tone sharpened.
"As a leader, he acted on impulse and neglected the people of Wanokuni.
The years of suffering and disaster in this land were not caused by your father, Kaido, nor by Orochi.
The root cause was Kozuki Oden himself."
Ace's eyes narrowed as his aura intensified. Conqueror's Haki erupted from him in a powerful wave.
"Boom!"
The sheer pressure of Ace's Haki bore down on Yamato, making her sweat profusely as she struggled under its weight.
"That's nonsense! There's no way Kozuki Oden was responsible for the disaster!"
Despite being completely overwhelmed, Yamato strained to voice her objection.
"There's no need to argue. I'll let you see for yourself."
Ace's smile deepened as he slowly retrieved a peculiar Devil Fruit from within his coat.
"What... what is that?"
Under the brief reprieve from Ace's suppression, Yamato lifted her head with difficulty, staring at the Devil Fruit in Ace's hand.
"This is the Paramecia-type Time-Time Fruit," Ace replied with a knowing look.
It's the same Devil Fruit that Kozuki Oden's wife, Toki, once possessed.
After her death, the fruit's powers disappeared, its whereabouts unknown.
But Ace used his Realm of Comprehension to attract this fruit from the depths of the sea.
This fruit has the power to traverse time. However, its ability is limited—you can only travel to the future, never the past.
The past is immutable, but the future holds endless possibilities. Even the Devil Fruit abides by this law.
But Ace 'Realm of Comprehension' changes everything.
Ace turned to Yamato, his expression cold.
"Go and witness it yourself, Yamato. Return with your answer."
With a powerful motion, Ace activated the Devil Fruit's ability. He combined it with the powers of the Paw-Paw Fruit to eject a fragment of the Time-Time Fruit's essence, further amplifying its effects using his 'Realm of Comprehension.'
"Buzz!"
The air shimmered as the Time-Time Fruit's ability enveloped Yamato, making her vanish in an instant.