Removing Yamato's Seastone Shackles

Luo Ji's identity, aura, techniques, and Haki all matched Yamato's mental image of a crewmate.

She had already decided on this captain!

"A pirate ship? I don't have one right now, but is getting a pirate ship hard?!"

"Right now my crew consists of just one crewmate and one pet. Seeing as your strength is so high, how about joining my crew as vice-captain?"

"I've witnessed Fish-Man Island ten thousand meters beneath the sea, Sky Island ten thousand meters in the air, Raijin Island packed with lightning, Boin Archipelago full of food, and Zou perched atop a ten-thousand-meter giant elephant..."

"Set sail with me, and the level of excitement won't lose to the Roger Pirates!"

"Want to come aboard?"

Luo Ji started off by buttering her up, every single word striking right at the center of Yamato's heart.

The more Yamato listened, the more excited she became. Weren't these precisely the adventure islands she had dreamed of after reading Oden's Logbook?

She had grown up in Wano Country and was utterly filled with yearning for the outside world.

Yet that jerk Kaido insisted on making her some sort of Wano Country shogun and imprisoned her on Onigashima.

She had no desire to be any lousy shogun.

She wanted to set sail for adventure just like Kozuki Oden.

She wanted to possess countless family members and crewmates just like Whitebeard.

She wanted to become the freest pirate just like Roger!

"I do! I want to! Please let me board your ship! Please take me out to sea!! Captain!!"

Yamato shouted with incomparable excitement. The adventure life she had waited over a decade or two for had finally arrived!

"Welcome aboard! My crewmate!"

Luo Ji smiled warmly, feeling quite pleased in his heart as well because this strongest brawler had been coaxed aboard just like that.

It was worth him borrowing the identity of Gol D. and using the sword techniques of that big brain Kozuki Oden.

"My name is Yamato, Captain Luo Ji. Please take care of me from now on!"

Yamato ran up excitedly, tightly gripping Luo Ji's hand with eyes full of yearning.

"Captain, when are we setting sail?"

Yamato continued to ask, worried that Beast Kaido might suddenly return and shatter her grand plan of going to sea.

"Shouldn't we first unlock your seastone handcuffs?

Your strength right now is even greater than mine. Who knows, I might even need to learn from you as your captain."

Luo Ji smiled softly. He was also planning to learn Conqueror's Coating from Yamato after awakening his Conqueror's Haki.

This was a powerful bodyguard crewmate combined with an advanced tutor.

"Right, right, right! Help me open the seastone handcuffs first!

From now on, I'll be your crewmate. Whatever you want to learn first, as long as I know it, I'll teach all of it to you!"

Yamato rubbed her hands together happily, having waited for this day for over ten years!

"Let's find a safe spot first!"

Luo Ji glanced into the distance, instantly drawing a giant flying crane, grabbed Yamato, and jumped up onto it.

"Your abilities are so convenient! And those scrolls of yours that release seawater and stones are amazing too!"

Yamato cried out in a mix of delight and curiosity. This was far more interesting than the cookie-cutter Zoan abilities of the Leadperformers and Flying Six.

"I can change clothes, too."

Luo Ji smiled gently, then activated the Fuku Fuku no Mi ability, transforming into a set of captain's attire complete with a captain's hat.

"Fun, fun! Captain, help me change into a set too!"

Amidst Yamato's cheers, Luo Ji outfitted her in a red Elizabeth Royal Navy uniform, which looked utterly dashing and heroic.

It was brimming with uniform temptation.

"Is this outside-world clothing?! Awesome!"

Yamato adored this dignified outfit. She definitely had to try out more of the various characteristic fashions of the outside world in the future.

Meanwhile, the Headliners and foot soldiers of the Beasts Pirates on Onigashima erupted into complete chaos upon seeing Master Yamato and the intruder Luo Ji leave.

Their Master Yamato had run off with someone!

"Quick! Quickly notify Governor Kaido! Master Yamato has been tricked away by Gol D. Luo Ji!"

A heart-rending, cracking scream echoed through the Beasts' headquarters, causing the place to boil over just like cold water dropping into hot oil.

Every member of the Beasts Pirates panicked.

One had to know that guarding Yamato was also one of their routine duties.

In an instant, everyone mobilized to persuade their Master Yamato to return and drive that bastard Luo Ji out.

The warden and vice-wardens stationed at the Udon Seastone Mine heard the terrible news that Yamato had been abducted.

Dropping their duties at the seastone mine one by one, they hurriedly boarded ships to return to Onigashima, determined to capture the intruder with all their might.

At that moment, Luo Ji had brought Yamato to a secluded beach, taking out processing tools for seastone and chisel blades for carving Poneglyphs.

With these professional tools for processing seastone, combined with Luo Ji's Ryuo Haki, the chances of opening the seastone handcuffs on Yamato's wrists increased drastically.

"Yamato, your seastone handcuffs genuinely contain a high-energy bomb!

Once they're forced open later, you must throw them away quickly!"

Luo Ji instructed with an extremely solemn expression. The power of these seastone bombs was enough to overwhelm even Mythical Zoan users, making them formidable indeed.

"Is that real? I actually thought Kaido was just trying to scare me?"

Yamato said in disbelief. In truth, she had figured they were merely using seastone to restrict her Devil Fruit powers and forbid her from leaving Wano Country.

After all, how could a father genuinely want to kill his own daughter!

"It's real! But you'll see with your own eyes in a moment!"

Luo Ji said gravely. He began tinkering with the seastone processing tools, groping for the structure of the seastone handcuffs on Yamato's wrists.

Since seastone bomb handcuffs could be manufactured, they undoubtedly had flaws.

Coordinated with Ryuo Haki, he could precisely sabotage the internal detonation mechanism and open the handcuffs more safely.

Luo Ji rested for a while, restoring his mental and physical energy back to their peak.

He unleashed his absolute limit of Ryuo Haki, paired with the seastone processing tools and stonemason craftsmanship, and precisely destroyed the internal detonation mechanism of the seastone handcuffs.

Within an extremely short span of time, he shattered the seastone handcuffs and hurled them far away.

The thrown seastone bomb handcuffs smashed against the ground, suffered impact damage, and instantly erupted into a terrifying explosion.

The effect of this explosion was clearly visible even to members of the Beasts Pirates far away.

Even Udon and Amigasa Village, separated by the sea, saw the billowing smoke rise into the air.

"Ah!! It really is true!! Damn Kaido! Damn Queen!"

Yamato and Luo Ji were knocked flat on the ground by the bomb's shockwave, Yamato cursing in grief and indignation as her eyes filled with tears.

That jerk of a father, Kaido, had never treated her as his biological daughter at all!

What kind of cruel and merciless father would install real bombs on his own daughter's wrists?

"Stop crying. From now on, I'm your family!"

"We need to hurry. The people from the Beasts Pirates will be coming!"

"From now on, you're a free person!"

Luo Ji stroked Yamato's head, properly comforting the emotionally shattered girl.

He immediately set to work dismantling the second seastone handcuff on Yamato's other hand.

With Yamato's cooperation, this seastone explosive handcuff was swiftly disassembled and violently hurled away.

Another massive explosion kicked up a towering mushroom of water.

"I'm free!!"

"I can shake off Kaido and set sail freely!!"

Feeling the boundless strength in her body, Yamato excitedly hugged Luo Ji, crying happily and thoroughly releasing years of accumulated bottled-up emotions!

Meanwhile, Luo Ji was also wholeheartedly enjoying the baptism of Yamato's peaks.

···