The instant Gern said the word "stupid," Yamato's body jolted.
Her face flushed scarlet, and she sprang up from the ground almost instinctively, her voice urgent as she protested.
"That's not true! Oden was Wano Country's hero!
"He... he acted like a fool and endured all that humiliation to protect this country and its people!
"If my father, Kaido, and Kurozumi Orochi hadn't resorted to despicable schemes at the crucial moment,
"Lord Oden... he never would have..."
Yamato's defense carried an unshakable conviction.
It was the pillar of faith she had built over the years from Oden's journal and Wano Country's legends.
"Never would have what?" Gern interrupted her.
He didn't get up. Still sitting cross-legged, he merely raised his head and calmly regarded the agitated Yamato.
"Yamato." Gern softened his voice. "You said he 'acted like a fool and endured humiliation to protect Wano Country's people'?"
"But... did he, Kozuki Oden, really need to do that?"
"If I remember correctly, when Oden first returned home, almost everyone supported him.
"He returned as a legendary samurai hailed as 'invincible,' with a reputation no one could match.
"He had brought order and prosperity to Kuri, and the regional daimyo, including Shimotsuki Yasuie, had placed their hopes in him.
"Even Hyogoro, the underworld boss of the Flower Capital, was someone he could have rallied to his side."
"Kozuki Oden could have raised his arm and called them together then, united all those forces. Even with Kaido's strength,
"they would hardly have been powerless to fight. At the very least, they could have mounted an effective resistance, bought time, and even asked the Whitebeard Pirates for help."
"But." Gern's tone abruptly turned cold. "What did he choose?"
"He chose to believe the flimsy verbal promises of Kurozumi Orochi and Kaido!
"He danced naked