Courage

Uncle Kaido was a very decent leader, Sirius admitted that much.

He was very tolerant. Even if his subordinates acted recklessly before him or directly talked back to him, he usually did not take it seriously.

He was much better than Charlotte Linlin. That old hag would directly steal her children's lifespans over the slightest dissatisfaction.

And Uncle Kaido? Even enemies, so long as he valued them, would be spared.

But Kaido's tolerance had its limits.

When Kaido had taken Sirius away from the Desert Island, he had said that the sea could accommodate all dreams. He said Sirius could do whatever he wanted, even turn the world upside down.

But Uncle Kaido had also said that there was one condition to all of it: Sirius could not defy him.

The conflict between Yamato and Kaido in the original story definitely was not merely because of her blind worship of Kozuki Oden.

What Kaido wanted was a substitute who could hold down Wano Country for him, rule the nation, and provide him with a secure rear base when he launched his wars.

But what Yamato wanted was freedom and adventure. Kozuki Oden, who had broken through every obstacle and successfully set sail, was probably the embodiment of that wish.

And that was something Kaido would never permit.

Yamato calling herself Kozuki Oden or claiming to be a man did not matter to Uncle Kaido. He even called Yamato his son. But setting sail was absolutely non-negotiable. That freedom had already exceeded the limits of what Uncle Kaido would allow.

So Sirius knew that if Yamato was allowed to speak, trouble was about to happen.

Now he finally understood why Teacher King's attitude had been a little strange lately.

Had Uncle Kaido already been dissatisfied since the Spiked Club incident? Or rather, had all the dissatisfaction he had accumulated in the past finally erupted at once?

The priority now was no longer whether Yamato would kill those Samurai. It was stopping her from clashing with Uncle Kaido!

He had to do something!

So Sirius rushed out.

"Uncle Kaido,"

Sirius said with a grin, "isn't that going a bit too far? I'm just Yamato's partner, aren't I?"

To be honest, it had happened too suddenly. Sirius was not some genius with astonishing intelligence. Though he had already stepped forward, he had no idea what to say.

In any case, he would first try to muddle through it.

Sirius successfully interrupted the words already on Yamato's lips. She turned her head and stared blankly at him. "Sirius—"

"Hm?"

Kaido's attention was successfully drawn to Sirius as well. He lowered his head to look down at him. "Partner?"

Then—

"Wororororo!"

Kaido burst into laughter, his tone carrying a hint of appreciation. "If it's you, brat, then you do have the qualifications to stand beside Yamato. But calling yourselves partners is too shallow."

"You, brat—"

His gaze toward Sirius took on a trace of scrutiny. "You seem suitable to become Yamato's husband too. How about marrying Yamato when you grow up? You can serve as the Shogun's chief Samurai and hold down Wano Country together with Yamato."

Who the hell would be interested in an eight-year-old white-haired girl?

If I were going to fall for her, they would have to bring over Yamato from twenty years later.

But for now, he should just go along with it. As long as that idiot Yamato forgot what she had wanted to say, it would be fine.

Sirius scratched the back of his head in feigned confusion, glanced at Yamato, and gave her a look. You have to understand!

"Marriage and all that... Yamato is indeed cute, and I do like her, but I'm only six."

"I don't want to stay in Wano Country!"

At that moment, the idiot beside him seemed to have been triggered by a keyword and loudly declared it.

Sirius turned his head and saw Yamato raising her chin, glaring at her Old Father, and saying seriously, "One day, I'll set sail and see all the beautiful sights the sea has to offer!"

"And Sirius, and Aken, are both my partners! They're my most important partners! I won't give them up! And I'll have even more partners!"

"I don't want to become the strong person Father talks about! I only want to go on adventures with my partners!"

She completely failed to understand, that idiot girl! Couldn't she read the room even now?

Sirius gritted his teeth.

This was bad. What came next was going to be very bad!

Conqueror's Haki was already surging from Uncle Kaido's body!

Kaido calmly met his daughter's eyes. Then he raised a hand, dug at his ear with his little finger, and lifted a brow. "Yamato, what did you say?"

"I will set sail!"

Yamato took a deep breath, then shouted.

Whoosh!

In the next instant, the air itself seemed to explode as the hand Kaido had used to pick his ear swung out in a slap.

Sirius did not react at all. By the time he realized what had happened, Yamato was no longer beside him—Kaido had sent her flying with a single slap.

Only after flying a long distance through the air did she crash onto the ground.

Blood sprayed across the sky.

Sirius stared blankly at Yamato lying on the ground, her beautiful white hair stained crimson.

Was she an idiot?

Couldn't she have just lied?

There was no need to stubbornly stand her ground at a time like this!

"Muahahahaha, now this really is..."

Queen laughed heartily as he watched the show. "That foolish girl has completely enraged Boss Kaido this time."

Below, Jack and Black Maria clenched their fists and cried out at the same time, "Yamato..."

Kaido was their idol, but Yamato was also their companion.

Kaido shook out his hand and slowly stepped forward. "I'm asking you, you brat. What did you just say?"

He truly was angry. Black lightning crackled around him, and swathes of Pirates nearby began to collapse unconscious. Even Jack and Black Maria fell, while the ground cracked beneath Kaido's every step.

Ahead, Yamato slowly raised her head. Her face was completely swollen, blood staining it red. Her eyes were filled with terror as she looked at Kaido, and tears streamed down uncontrollably, making her face look even more of a mess.

But in the next instant, she took a deep breath and shouted, "I'm going to set sail with my companions!"

Kaido's face turned livid, his right hand already clenched into a fist.

But Kaido immediately stopped walking and looked at the person standing before him.

"Brat, what's the meaning of this? Are you trying to stop me?"

Sirius stood in front of Kaido, his back to Yamato.

His back was drenched in cold sweat. Just standing before Kaido while enduring his Conqueror's Haki made him dizzy and short of breath, let alone facing Kaido's icy gaze.

But he couldn't just stand by and watch, could he?

When that idiot was holding fast to their shared dream, when she was willing to pay any price to insist that he was her companion, how could he just stand by and watch!?

Yamato had shown her courage. He had to do something too.

"Uncle Kaido,"

Give me some face.

Sirius wanted to say that, but what he actually said was, "Please stop. Yamato is already badly injured. Surely she's been punished enough?"

Kaido looked at Sirius. "Are you telling me what to do?"

His body felt as though it were about to go numb.

The Haki crashing into him like a gale made Sirius feel as though his brain were about to explode. He could barely remain standing.

What should he say now?

Whatever he said would be meaningless, right? To an enraged Kaido, any excuse would be meaningless.

Was he afraid?

Of course he was. How could he not be? The monster before him was one of the strongest in the world!

But he couldn't bring himself to back down either.

She was an inflexible idiot, but also an idiot who refused, no matter what, to deny that he was her companion.

If he lacked the courage to speak his dream aloud, did he not even have the courage to protect his friend?

If he stayed silent, then why had he come to this sea in the first place?

Sirius fell silent for a moment. At last, he said, "Yamato is my companion. If Uncle Kaido is truly that angry, then please give half of that anger to me."

If wanting to set sail was a crime, then there should be two criminals.

"Sirius..." Yamato stared blankly at Sirius's back.

"Worororororo! Interesting! Truly interesting! What long-lost, deeply moving friendship this is!"

A black shadow covered Sirius and Yamato behind him.

"Then I'll grant your wish!"

Thanks to '98015louis' for the huge 100 reward, and thanks to 'Yingyingying Little Monster' for the huge 500 reward!