After hiding Yamashita Chuhide's body, Daddy left the underground warehouse. It was only a matter of time before the truth came out.
"Big D, you..."
At the Barto Mafia Bar, a squad leader from the Barto Family who guarded the warehouse saw their ruthless strategist, Big D Babaya, emerge with blood on his clothes and hands.
But Yamashita Chuhide, the boss whom Babaya had called into the warehouse, was nowhere to be seen. A terrifying thought flashed through the squad leader's mind.
Had the ruthless strategist Big D Babaya killed the Barto Family's top enforcer, Yamashita Chuhide?
Yamashita Chuhide hadn't believed Babaya would actually dare attack him inside the family's underground warehouse. That was why the strategist had managed to kill him so easily.
"Shh. Don't say a word!"
Daddy grinned cruelly and waved off the squad leader, who had gone pale with fear. He had already decided to go out to sea instead of staying cooped up in the weakest sea, the East Blue!
There was a whole world waiting for him to explore!
There was stronger Haki and martial arts for him to learn!
He had to get stronger to face this magnificent, turbulent era!
The beggars and thugs who had bullied him for being mute, along with the shopkeepers who had slandered him, had all been sent west to chant sutras by Daddy.
For two years, he had been holding back. Even now, the old woman still didn't fully trust him and had never taught him the next stage of Two-Color Haki training!
Now, after obtaining the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, he would use his own methods to seize the Haki training methods from the old woman. He even wanted to turn the Barto Family into the Babaya Family!
Daddy left the bustling Barto Mafia Bar, acting as if he wasn't worried about the crisis ahead. He returned home and took a long, hot shower.
He looked at himself in the mirror: eight-pack abs, muscles knotted all over, and a powerful build.
That was the result of two years of training like his life depended on it. The vicious scars at the corners of his eyes and across his chest didn't detract from his looks. If anything, they gave him a more imposing air!
As a scheming strategist, he had explosive muscles and was even stronger than the family's top enforcer.
That wasn't asking too much, was it?
After all, the Analects of Brawling said he should train the muscles on his back until they formed the words "benevolence" and "virtue"!
He quickly changed into a fresh set of clothes. He hadn't expected his body to develop further after he came to this world. He was now over two meters tall, standing at 2.26 meters—just as tall as the basketball star Yao Ming.
But in the world of One Piece, he was still a shorty!
He looked at the Cursed Blade, Sandai Kitetsu, on the sword rack and picked it up without hesitation, letting its eerie aura coil around his arm!
Daddy swung the cursed blade expressionlessly, displaying a fierce, brutal sword style that didn't suit a scheming strategist!
Basic Technique: Melon-Splitting Slash!
With one strike, Daddy cleaved a massive sword-training stone in two. This basic technique was one of the many killing moves he had come up with himself over the past year or two!
"Basic techniques" was short for "techniques that can basically kill your enemies." They encompassed swordsmanship, fencing, and martial arts.
Earlier, he had used his advantage of knowing the story, as well as his position as the Barto Family's ruthless strategist, to buy two Skillful Grade Swords from Ippon-Matsu, the weapons shop owner in Loguetown: Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri.
At first, Daddy hadn't fully subdued Sandai Kitetsu, so he could only take Yubashiri out with him to cut people down.
He hadn't expected that Granny Yubaba would later take Yubashiri away by force, using Daddy's position as the Barto Family's brains—and the excuse that he no longer needed to fight on the front lines.
She gave it to her boss, Cannibal Bartolomeo, to use.
Daddy had been secretly furious for days. In the end, it was the red-haired beauty Dezaya who came to comfort him, giving him more chances to spend time with her. He'd seized the opportunity and made her his.
That could perhaps count as a kind of revenge and release!
But the longer they spent together, the more irresistible Dezaya became, and Daddy gradually fell for her!
Aside from the fact that he'd fallen for her—and that other thing—Dezaya's strength and potential were decent enough. She could just about qualify as one of Daddy's future crewmates.
Half a day later, Daddy had trained both his Barrier-Barrier Fruit powers and his basic techniques!
Bang, bang, bang!
After a brief knock, Daddy's front door was kicked open. A red-haired figure rushed in, grabbed his hand, and tried to drag him outside!
"Why did you kill Yamashita Chuhide? Don't you know he was Barto's most capable subordinate?
Now Barto and Granny are bringing people to punish you under family law! We have to run!"
Dezaya's red hair fluttered as she tugged desperately at Daddy, her voice hurried and anxious. He could even see her rounded backside jiggling as she moved.
"There's no need to run! Today, I'm going to explain things to Baba Yuba. I'm planning to go out to sea! Dezaya, do you want to come with me?"
Daddy tensed his arm and yanked Dezaya, who had been charging forward, into his embrace. He gave her rounded backside a smack and asked earnestly.
Although he and this woman had been intimately involved, love didn't seem to be very reliable in this world. Everyone had their own ambitions and dreams!
Besides, he was still eyeing the old woman's Two-Color Haki training methods and the Skillful Grade Sword, Yubashiri, that Bartolomeo had "borrowed."
So how could he just run away?
Hadn't he been holding back for two years just for this day?
Dezaya was startled by Daddy's strength. How had he suddenly gotten so much stronger?
After all, she and Daddy knew each other inside and out. They'd pulled plenty of big radishes together.
When she saw the ominous cursed blade in Daddy's hand, her expression changed at once.
"Has that cursed blade affected you? Put it down, quick! Let's run for now! Once Barto and Granny have cooled off, we'll come back, apologize, and ask them to forgive you!"
Dezaya cried out anxiously. She'd known Sandai Kitetsu would bring misfortune to whoever wielded it. Now Babaya had actually done something as foolish as killing a "family member." He had to have been influenced by the blade.
She never should have let Babaya keep that accursed sword!
At the thought of facing Barto and Granny, Dezaya's expression turned tense and uneasy. She had seen Granny's strength with her own eyes. Despite her aged body, she still possessed immense power and astonishing speed.
Nothing like what you'd expect from an old woman!
Barto was powerful too, and he had a vicious nature. His nickname, Cannibal, was no joke!
With his mouthful of sharp teeth, he really did devour his enemies' flesh. Dezaya had seen Barto bite off an enemy's arm and eat it while it was still dripping with blood!
"Big D, I want an explanation!"
The sound of approaching footsteps filled the area, and an old woman's voice came from outside.
"Granny, why bother with all the talk? A traitor who killed a family member deserves to be punished under family law! Kill Babaya! Didn't you say the rules of our family were the same as the ironclad rules aboard the Whitebeard Pirates' ship?!"
A green-haired man with a gold nose ring and a rooster-comb hairstyle spoke irritably, his mouth full of sharp teeth. His open, wine-red cloak revealed his solid abs, and a long sword with a white hilt hung at his waist.
It was the Skillful Grade Sword, Yubashiri—the one Daddy had had "borrowed" from him!
Granny Yubaba and Bartolomeo had brought hundreds of gang members to Daddy's home and surrounded the place!
"An explanation? I wanted to go out to sea, so I sparred with Xiu'er to test my strength. He ended up dead!
I wonder if you'd give me the Two-Color Haki training methods, Granny—and return the 'borrowed' Yubashiri to me as well?"
With Sandai Kitetsu resting on his shoulder and Dezaya's hand in his, Daddy came to the doorway and grinned at Granny Yubaba and Bartolomeo!
Before you continue