Standing beneath the trees outside the schoolyard fence, Yamato listened quietly as Kizaru explained the First Military Academy and the Land of Light's educational system. As she watched the boys and girls running wild across the grounds, laughing and making a ruckus, an unmistakable envy crept into her eyes—though she didn't even realize it herself.
Back in Wano Country, Yamato had never seen a school like this. She hadn't even heard of one. In the Pirate World, education belonged to the nobility. As for pirates, they received no education at all—only hard lessons learned between life and death, and the occasional bit of guidance from the stronger members of their crew. That already counted as a rare blessing.
Whether it was academic knowledge or lessons in combat, such knowledge was passed down to only a select few in the Pirate World. Across the entire sea, perhaps only the Navy and the intelligence agencies under the World Government had comprehensive training systems. That was what ensured the Navy and the World Government's strength across the seas.
Yamato had grown up under Kaido's twisted upbringing and Oden's foolish ideals. As she listened to Kizaru, she instinctively felt that he was right.
Children should grow up in a world like this, with an education like this. That was how things were supposed to be!
After Kizaru finished speaking, Yamato still disliked his "slander" of Oden, but she felt far less resistance toward the idea of receiving an education in the Land of Light.
Of course, part of that was because Yamato had come to accept that she probably couldn't escape Kizaru.
Once he had finished introducing the school, Kizaru looked at Yamato and asked, "How about it? From now on, you'll study here."
Yamato had already expected this. Instead of answering outright, she