Eight years ago, after Yamato accidentally Awakening her Conqueror's Haki, Kaido felt he could no longer let her run wild, so... he locked eight-year-old Yamato in a cave along with three rebellious samurai who had been imprisoned for defying him.
They were given only one serving of food and were forced to fight and kill each other for it...
Kaido probably wanted to test whether a miracle could happen and unleash Yamato's latent power. If it failed... well, so be it. After all, Yamato hadn't eaten Mythical Zoan Fruit yet, so she wasn't that important.
Yamato thought she was doomed, after all, she was Kaido's daughter, and those three samurai were all famous swordsmen in Wano Country. Even though she was injured and had been starving for a long time, they could easily kill her.
However, after the three samurai learned that Yamato "liked Oden," they gave her their only food and comforted her, saying, "Samurai never go hungry."
After learning that Yamato had Oden's diary, the three of them began to teach Yamato and read, explaining the contents of the diary to her.
In order for Yamato to escape, the three swordsmen of Wano Country mustered their last bit of strength, broke through the boulder blocking the exit, and went out to fight Kaido the death, never to return...
In the years that followed, young Yamato was treated gently more than once while wandering in Wano Country.
It's only because Yamato is actually being monitored and brings disaster to the other party every time that in recent years, Yamato has begun to live a completely solitary life, like a lone wolf.
The bridge between Yamato and Wano Country is not just Oden, not just a vague dream, but also the debt of gratitude for a meal from back then, and forged with the blood of all the Wano Country who died over the years to protect her and to accept her...
During the month that Sig accompanied Yamato on his travels, he discovered that many samurai and Mountain King still remembered Yamato.
Samurai refers to the warriors of Wano Country in Udon Prison; Mountain King refers to the warriors of Wano Country.
Although the latter was powerless to resist Kaido, at least he was still free for the time being.
Former...
The number is much greater than twelve years later in the original work. After all, twelve years is a long time, and even a swordsman would die from it!
Therefore, Sig judged that for Yamato, it was still a time when "people's hearts were still at stake".
Most importantly, Kaido originally wanted Yamato to become the shogun of Wano Country — Kaido never trusted a villain like Kurozumi Orochi from the beginning, and only used him.
Although it's not the right time according to Kaido's plan, and Yamato isn't obedient, based on Sig's understanding of Kaido, as long as Yamato shows the necessary resolve, quickly establishes a fait accompli, and ensures that Wano Country's military production doesn't decline...
There's at least a 70% chance Kaido won't come and kill her right away!
If we can stabilize this situation, Yamato can temporarily act as a semi-puppet "general"...
"Are you kidding me? What kind of rescue is that!" Yamato rejected Sig's brilliant idea.
"So what? You're going to drive Kaido and the Beasts Pirates out of Wano Country right now? If I could do it all by thinking of a way, why would everyone be training in Haki and honing their physiques?" Sig rolled his eyes.
Yamato, fuming, waited for Sig: "So what if you just killed Kurozumi Orochi? What does that have to do with saving Wano Country?"
"There is a difference. Wano Country's manpower is not at full capacity right now... Don't glare at me, I don't mean we can capture more laborers, but many of those samurai are working with shackles, or even Seastone Handcuffs, right? And even Kaido doesn't dare to let them eat their fill."
"If you can gain their support, even limited support, at least you can ensure they have enough to eat. If they put in more effort, it will naturally reduce the strain on the young and able-bodied workforce," Sig said, making a very reasonable point.
"That's it?" Yamato still frowned, clearly not accepting this explanation.
"Of course, there's more to come! After that, we'll subdue those samurai who are still ruling the mountains, and starting from the Flower Capital, we'll gradually fight for independent management, squeezing out the Beasts Pirates' space to interfere, making them just purely collect loot and secretly continue their power, and finally... completely drive that old guy out." Sig said with great ambition.
But Yamato was clearly not so easily fooled. "Huh? What? You've been completely kicked out?"
Indeed, Sig's statement was a bit too idealistic...
Even if all the samurai who are still alive support Yamato, recover their health, and unite, they are still no match for the Beasts Pirates. If Kaido, it would be a 50/50 match at best.
"There's nothing we can do. Fourteen years ago, it would have been easy for Wano Country to drive Kaido away. Nine years ago, the chances were also very high. Unfortunately..." Sig shrugged, indicating, "Is it my fault?"
The excellent situation has been squandered, and there's no point in reminiscing about a perfect start. We can only be down-to-earth and work hard.
"You don't understand Wano Country at all. Although... I used to identify myself as Kozuki Oden, and many samurai acknowledged that, what they acknowledged was merely 'I admire Kozuki Oden,' not 'I am Kozuki Oden.' Do you understand?" Yamato warned Sig not to misjudge her influence in Wano Country.
"In Udon Prison, I also saw quite a few imprisoned samurai, as well as those notorious bandits on the road... Of course I know that, they don't have Conqueror's Haki," Sig said matter-of-factly.
Considering the population of Wano Country, the density of skilled fighters is a bit too high, but considering the density of skilled fighters... the Conqueror's Haki is too low!
Indeed, Sig's plan had one major flaw— Yamato wasn't even from Wano Country.
Knowing that she admired Kozuki Oden did indeed garner some goodwill towards her among the samurai, however...
"Then why are you still..." Yamato said in a tone that suggested, "Are you kidding me?"
"Indeed, there's no guarantee of success, but it's not like there's no chance. Also... there's another way that can greatly increase our chances. Didn't you become acquainted with a Fish-Man in the Ringo Region before? Let's go find him first," Sig said.
"Fish-Man? No, there isn't one." Yamato stared blankly at Sig.
"It's Mr. Kawamatsu, the one we met in the mountains before!" Sig reminded him.
"Huh? Isn't Mr. Kawamatsu a kappa?" Yamato completely accepted this premise.
"That's just a cover-up in Wano Country, Fish-Man... I won't mistake him," Sig said confidently.
"Could it be... that Mr. Kawamatsu is going to join us in assassinating Kurozumi Orochi?" Yamato some concern.
Kawamatsu was once one of the Nine Red Scabbards, and his strength should not be underestimated, but... Yamato's worries actually harmed him!
"It wasn't just about assassinating Kurozumi Orochi..." Sig didn't elaborate.
Before Yamato could ask Yamato questions, Sig looked at the moonlight and said, "If you've made up your mind, then set off quickly. We must kill Kurozumi Orochi before dawn and... obtain the necessary support. We only have this one night!"
Otherwise... Kaido will soon realize what's happening, and if Sig manages to escape, that will be considered a success.