Teacher Kai's Little Classroom Begins

In the original story, the relationship between Teacher Kai and Yamato could not exactly be called a loving father and dutiful daughter, but it could at least be described as utterly irreconcilable.

Yamato was Teacher Kai's daughter, meant to be the future heir of the Beasts Pirates and the princess of Onigashima.

But the problem was that Teacher Kai could hardly be said to possess a normal understanding of familial affection. He did not need an heir, nor did he intend to hand his dreams and ambitions over to anyone else.

In his eyes, Yamato was merely a tool who would help him rule Wano Country in the future. Compared to the concept of a daughter, she was more like a subordinate with a somewhat special status to him. As long as she was strong and obedient, that was enough.

Kaido would not control her, and no one else in the Beasts Pirates dared to.

Yamato had grown up in precisely such an environment.

Honestly, Ian was speechless over Teacher Kai's methods of education.

If he wanted Yamato to obey him, shouldn't he have disciplined her even more strictly?

Letting her run wild from childhood and allowing her to grow so untamed, then expecting her to obey every command later—that would be the strange thing, wouldn't it?

After Teacher Kai picked Ian up, he had always worked to improve the father-daughter relationship between the two.

After all, a cold and heartless Teacher Kai was obviously much harder to get along with than one who had fatherly affection in his heart.

Ian's methods were very simple. Yamato was the same age as him, and after he came to Onigashima, the two had always played together.

So he kept bringing Yamato around Teacher Kai, increasing the amount of time father and daughter spent together.

Though Teacher Kai was cruel and cold, he was still human and possessed human emotions.

He had a deep friendship with Charlotte Linlin, and he had even cried over Big Mom's defeat.

At the end of the day, although Teacher Kai treated Yamato coldly and mercilessly, she was still special to him.

If anyone else had dared to rebel against him like that, they would have long since been hammered into meat paste.

How could they possibly have lived healthily to the age of twenty-eight and even mastered Conqueror's Haki Infusion?

When Ian first brought Yamato around Teacher Kai, he was very impatient and even directly threw the two of them out.

But after Ian egged Yamato on to say that she wanted to surpass Teacher Kai and therefore challenge him, things changed.

Teacher Kai loved fighting and powerful opponents.

And Ian and Yamato truly had that talent. They had that potential.

Of course, Ian had never once said anything about surpassing him.

Thus began the lessons that had Ian call Teacher Kai his teacher.

The father and daughter finally began interacting frequently.

Familial affection grew under such circumstances.

Later, when Yamato, under Ian's guidance, took the initiative to act cute with Teacher Kai, he no longer cared much about it and had basically become used to it.

Ian felt that he truly was a great man. He had practically worried himself sick over this father-daughter pair who would become the strongest in the world.

"Mr. Kaido! Have they all been dealt with?"

A tall figure emerged from the room, wrapped from head to toe in black leather clothes. He wore a mask over his face and gloves on his hands. Other than his eyes, not a single patch of skin was exposed.

He was one of the Beasts Pirates' All-Stars, Inferno Disaster King.

Kaido casually set the two little ones down and strode into the room. "That guy Moria got away. Wororororo! Maybe he'll come back for revenge someday."

"If he still dares to come knocking while overestimating himself, there will be no need for you to act, Mr. Kaido. I will burn him to ashes," King said solemnly.

Ian smacked his lips. Uncle King really was incomparably loyal to Teacher Kai.

"No, King."

Kaido turned back and pointed at Ian, who silently followed behind him. "If Moria dares come back next time, let this brat handle him."

"Huh? Me?"

Ian pointed at himself and hurriedly said, "I have to fight Moria?"

"Leave it to us!"

Yamato patted her tiny chest and declared spiritedly, "Ian and I are the strongest team!"

"Wororororo! Did you hear what Yamato said?"

Teacher Kai acted as though he had heard nothing at all. Laughing loudly, he walked into the pavilion. "If you don't want that guy to kill you, then work desperately to become stronger, brat."

"Yeah! Ian!"

Yamato took Ian's hand and said with a grin, "Let's work hard together! Let's become stronger!"

Ian twitched his lips.

He really did not listen to anyone.

Both father and daughter were the same.

But whatever.

After Moria left Wano Country, he should be heading off to become a shut-in fatso, soon to suffer a double fall in both strength and mentality.

There really was nothing to fear from him.

"Ian, don't disappoint Mr. Kaido."

Uncle King solemnly instructed Ian, "If you can't do it, you won't have to wait for Moria to come. I'll kill you myself!"

You too? You're putting pressure on me too?

But you're Uncle King, so I'll forgive you.

"We will absolutely not disappoint Dad!"

Yamato declared loudly and confidently.

King snorted and followed Teacher Kai back into the room.

Yamato happily pulled Ian's troubled-looking hand and ran downstairs. "Ian! Let's go play!"

"Brother Ian! Are you back?"

The two had only gone down a few flights of stairs when a muffled voice rang out.

Ian turned around.

A sturdy boy built like a small mountain hurried over from around the corner of the hallway, his face full of delight. "I heard you went with Boss Kaido to subdue the invaders!"

"Oh, isn't this Jack?"

Yamato smiled and waved at the newcomer.

"Sister Yamato!"

The excessively tall child obediently greeted Yamato.

This fellow, who was clearly the same age as Ian yet three times taller than him, was the future Drought Disaster Jack.

He was a fish-man Teacher Kai had picked up last year. He was also exceptionally talented and was being raised as a future officer of the Beasts Pirates.

After greeting them, Jack looked at Ian expectantly. "How was it? Brother Ian, you must have been incredibly active!"

"It's hard to put into words."

Ian shook his head.

He had indeed been quite active on the battlefield.

But as soon as he returned, he had been assigned a future opponent.

Jack tilted his head.

What did that mean?

He could not understand.

"Jack! You came at just the right time!"

Yamato gave a sly grin. "Come play a game with us!"

Jack's face instantly fell. "D-Do I have to play Kozuki Oden again?"

"That's right!"

Yamato rolled up her sleeves, revealing her short, chubby little arms. "Evil Kozuki Oden! I, the great Yamato, will defeat you!"

Jack could not help complaining, "Why do I have to play Kozuki Oden every time? Sometimes, I want to play the righteous pirate who defeats evil Kozuki Oden too."

"Enough nonsense!"

Yamato glared at him. "Do you want a beating?"

"N-No, I don't."

Jack immediately shook his head obediently and said aggrievedly, "I'll play him."

Ian found it somewhat strange.

It was not only Teacher Kai who had changed. Yamato had also gradually begun learning some of her father's traits.

As for why Kozuki Oden was always the big villain in their games, Ian could only say that it was all in the name of preventing trouble before it happened.

The children's make-believe game continued until dinnertime.

After eating dinner in the dining hall, Ian messed around with Yamato and Jack for a while longer before it was time to rest.

Ian's residence on Onigashima was located on the second-highest floor of the main building. The only people on the same floor as him were Yamato, King, and Queen. Teacher Kai's residence was on the top floor above them.

Just from the sleeping arrangements, one could see how high Ian's status was within the Beasts Pirates.

Though still young, he was already comparable to Teacher Kai's biological daughter and the two All-Stars.

He was the future third All-Star of the Beasts Pirates. Everyone knew that.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, Ian woke up early as usual.

At five in the morning, he had already crawled out of bed. After yawning and washing up a little, he quickly went downstairs to the square outside the main building.

The moment he came out, a small figure in the square waved at him.

"Ian!!"

Yamato stood with her hands on her hips, grinning smugly. "I was earlier today!"

"Great,"

Ian said somewhat enviously, "you got to see Onigashima at four in the morning."

Yamato, from now on, I'll call you Bro.

"Let's start today's training!"

Yamato clenched her tiny fists tightly, brimming with fighting spirit.

Ian nodded. "Yeah, warm up first."

Getting up this early was obviously not for a date with a five-year-old brat. It was time for morning training.

Their so-called warm-up consisted of Ian and Yamato each carrying a heavy barbell while jogging around the square for half an hour.

Ian's barbell was larger, and Yamato's was smaller, but neither was a weight an ordinary person could lift.

Yamato was no ordinary child. She had inherited Teacher Kai's bloodline. Though young, she possessed the constitution of a monster as well.

Once their bodies had loosened up, the real training had only just begun.

All kinds of fitness tutorials that had gathered dust in Ian's old bookmarks were now proving useful: weighted push-ups, weighted sit-ups, weighted crunches, weighted high knees, and weighted shuttle runs.

The two children worked hard to temper themselves in the square.

Ian in particular was exceptionally serious, striving to train every muscle in his body.

He was not a meticulous or serious person, but he had never once relaxed when it came to training.

This kind of training had continued for a long time, ever since he had encouraged Yamato to challenge Teacher Kai.

While the two trained enthusiastically, two tall figures stood on the rooftop terrace of the main building behind them, silently looking down at them.

"Muhahaha! That brat is always slacking off, yet he never relaxes when it comes to training."

Round as a ball, one of the Beasts Pirates' All-Stars, Plague Disaster Queen, offered his amused critique.

The man standing beside him, King, merely said coldly, "Ian simply doesn't like taking risks or fighting, but he understands very clearly that strength is the most important thing."

"Strength may not represent everything, but in this world, those without strength can easily lose everything."

Naturally, Ian had no idea about the two men's comments. He simply continued training in silence.

It could not be helped. In this world, the weak truly had no way to control their own fate.

Ian did not like causing trouble, but he also believed that when someone came looking for trouble, he could not lack the strength to strike back.

Morning training continued until eight. Exhausted, Ian and Yamato slowly made their way to the dining hall for breakfast.

After breakfast came study time.

The Beasts Pirates were practically all illiterate. Even Teacher Kai was only at the level of being able to read, while Queen was somewhat more educated.

Ian felt that he could not learn from these old-timers. He still needed to understand some basic natural science, history, and humanities.

There were no dedicated teachers on Onigashima, so Ian could only find books to read by himself.

Every morning was his study time.

Yamato had no interest in it at all. Usually, she would read picture books nearby, though she did not know many characters and could only enjoy the pictures.

In the afternoons, Ian would usually train his abilities or simply find someone for sparring practice.

Or else—

"Brats! Get up here!"

Teacher Kai's little classroom was about to begin.