Recap—
After accidentally eating an Akuma no Mi, Damian mysteriously vanished...
===== In today's chapter =====
????: "What... is... your... wish...?"
Damian: "—RP-san... who...? Wher— AHHHHHHH!"
Before Damian could even process what the voice had said—or the whole bizarre situation in general—he had more immediate concerns… like not splattering onto the floor. His first instinct was to grab Mei and use her as a counterweight to steady himself, but...
Damian: "Damn it!! Mei's gone!! Where the hell am I?! And what the hell was that voice...?!"
Noticing Mei's absence, Damian tried to balance himself alone, but that only made him wobble even closer to the ground. Just as it seemed he was about to crash into the floor... a white blur appeared, scooped him up, and landed gently on the ground.
Damian: "Ta-daaa~... thanks..."
*'No way...!! Yama... wait! How did I end up in Wano?!'*
As Damian began speaking, he turned toward the person who'd saved him—and the moment he saw their face, he froze, staring dumbfounded.
Damian: *'Neuron activation!'*
??????: "Are you... okay?"
The speaker was a young woman with white hair that gradually shifted at the tips into aqua green and then deep blue. Her eyes glowed a soft orange, and atop her head sat a pair of red horns with orange bases. Despite her youthful appearance, she stood quite tall. Her attire resembled that of a Shinto miko (shrine maiden), accentuated by a large purple-and-white Nio-dasuke-patterned obi tied across her waist and trailing behind her back. Slung across her shoulders was a massive kanabō (spiked club), and around her wrists hung broken shackles attached to severed chains.
Realizing he'd been staring like an idiot, Damian straightened his posture, took a deep breath, and—
Damian: "Sorry! My name's Damian—and, uh, seems like we've got something in common, huh?"
*'Stay calm, Dami... We knew we'd meet her eventually... Just breathe and don't screw this up...'*
With that, Damian pointed to his own white horns with gray bases. The girl stepped closer, her expression full of curiosity—like a puppy meeting a new friend—but it quickly turned conflicted.
??????: "Damian... That's not a name I've heard around here... but you have horns, just like my father's subordinates... How confusing! Hey, Damian—be honest with me, okay?"
Damian: "Sure thing."
*'She's way less naive than I expected... Interesting. Shame I'm about to lie to her.'*
??????: "Do you work for my father?"
Damian: "I'd love to answer that—but first, I gotta ask... who *is* your father?"
*'Father? Wasn't it supposed to be mother? What did the D.E. even do...? Well, whatever. Kaido's still one of the Yonko.'*
??????: "You... don't know?"
Damian: "Well... in case you didn't notice, I literally just popped up outta nowhere. I'm still not even sure where 'here' is."
??????: "Seriously?"
Damian: "Yeah! One second I was eating fruit with my mentor, on my way to visit a friend—and the next, I'm plummeting from the sky and getting saved by you. Oh—thanks again, by the way. Really didn't wanna ruin these clothes with a nasty fall."
At the word "travel," the girl's eyes lit up even brighter. The instant Damian finished speaking, she leaped toward him with the enthusiastic energy of a dog begging for a walk.
??????: "Hey! Where were you headed?! Kuri? Yo? Or another region of Wano Kuni?"
Damian: "Kuri...? Yo...? Wa—NO! Wait... I'M IN WANO?!"
*'I already suspected it... but confirmation's always nice.'*
Hearing his astonishment, the girl grew puzzled. After all, how could someone *not* be from Wano if they were standing right here?
??????: "Why are you so surprised?"
Damian: "Because I'm *not* from Wano, miss!"
Hearing this, the girl's eyes practically glowed so intensely that Damian could barely look at her.
??????: "You're NOT from Wano?!?!?! PLEASE tell me everything about the world outside this place!!!!"
Damian: "Whoa, hold on! That's a lot to take in... Next you'll tell me I'm in Onigashima..."
??????: "But you *are* in Onigashima!"
Damian: "... ... ... What?"
??????: "You're standing on Onigashima."
Damian: "Wait... you're saying I'm on the Yonko Kaido's personal island?!"
??????: "So you *do* know my father?!"
Damian: "But... isn't Kaido... like... a woman? And you're her daughter?"
*'I swear I asked the D.E. to make this happen...'*
??????: "Well... yeah, my father *is* a woman—but because of an Okama, she lived as a man for a while... But that's not important! Tell me about the outside world!"
Damian: "Sure—but first... could you tell me your name? 'Miss' is gonna get awkward if we keep talking."
*'Man, the D.E. must've twisted reality pretty hard to make Yamato exist *and* turn Kaido female simultaneously...'*
Realizing she hadn't introduced herself yet, the girl stepped back, then turned toward Damian with a dazzling smile—and an almost heavenly glow radiating behind her.
Oden: "My name is Oden!"
Damian: "Oden, huh? Interesting name!"
*'She's in full denial about her own identity? This is worse than I remembered from the manga...'*
Oden: "Thanks, Damian! Now tell me about the outside world!"
Damian: "Of course! What do you wanna hear first?"
And so Damian began recounting the islands he'd visited—and others he'd seen in the anime. He described the creatures there: the dinosaurs of Lily Garden, the beasts of O-Kan Island, and more. He also shared tidbits about the people and governments of those lands—though Oden didn't seem too interested in the politics, she listened with rapt attention anyway.
Damian: "...Well, I think that's all I can remember for now!"
As soon as he finished, Oden flopped backward—only to sit up moments later with a satisfied grin.
Oden: "Huhahaha~ Those places sound amazing, Damian!!"
Damian: "Ta-daaa~ You think so?"
*'Damn... she's cute.'*
Oden: "Of course! It's the first time I've heard about islands beyond what's in Oden's journal!"
Damian: "Huh? But... aren't *you* Oden?"
The moment the words left his mouth, "Oden" flushed bright red with embarrassment.
Yamato: "Well... actually... my name isn't Oden... My real name is Yamato..."
Damian: "Then why not use it? It's a pretty cool name—why hide it?"
Yamato: "Because I *want* to *be* him! I want to *be* Oden!"
Damian: "Ta-daaa~ But... why?"
Yamato: "Because he was incredible! He..."
Yamato then launched into Oden's entire story. She started with bright enthusiasm, recounting how Oden left Wano with Whitebeard, then joined Gol D. Roger, and finally reached Laugh Tale. But her tone grew heavy—and even sorrowful—as she described what Shogun Orochi and Kaido did to Oden… and when she reached the legendary man's death, tears streamed down her cheeks.
Yamato: "And *that's* why I want to be Oden!"
Without a word, Damian tore a piece of his own clothing and handed it to Yamato, who quickly wiped her tears and looked back up at him.
Damian: "Oden truly *was* inspiring—but I still don't get it... Why *become* him, instead of just *being like* him?"
Yamato's expression turned confused.
Yamato: "Huh?! Aren't those the same thing?"
Damian: "Of course not, Yamato. In my opinion, one completely disrespects someone's legacy and life—while the other honors their dreams, wishes, and ideals."
Yamato: "I... I don't... understand..."
Damian: "*Sigh* Let me ask you this—you know Oden better than I do. So tell me: do you really think he'd want to know you're trying to *replace* him? Instead of being truly free yourself? Do you think he'd be happy knowing his name became someone else's chain?"
Yamato fell silent, her expression growing thoughtful, anxious—even melancholic. She stared into Damian's eyes for a long moment before finally...
Yamato: "...I never thought about it like that... I just wanted to be like him... I... I... I messed up, didn't I? ...Did I disrespect him? ...Did I... disrespect Oden...?"
Seeing her distress, Damian grabbed Yamato's shoulders, looked deep into her eyes—and with a silvery aura flaring around him—gave her a firm headbutt, knocking her flat onto her back.
Yamato: "Ow! Wha—"
Damian: "Listen up!! I haven't known you long, but even *I* know you never meant to disrespect Oden! You just got things mixed up! So repeat after me!!"
Still rubbing her head, Yamato listened intently—and when Damian asked her to repeat his words, she stood up, albeit confused, and echoed him.
Damian: "FROM THIS DAY FORWARD!"
Yamato: "From... this... day... forward...?"
Damian: "I WILL NO LONGER USE ODEN AS A MASK!"
Yamato: "I will no longer use Oden as a mask!"
Damian: "BUT INSTEAD...!"
Yamato: "But instead!"
Damian: "AS A BEACON TO GUIDE ME TOWARD FREEDOM!!"
Yamato: "AS A BEACON TO GUIDE ME TOWARD FREEDOM!!"
As their voices rose in unison, a radiant glow emanated from both of them—their auras intertwining into a shimmering blend of silver and amethyst. With their final words, a strange tremor rippled through the air around them.
Damian: "Now tell me, Yamato—who are *you*?!"
Yamato: "I'm not Oden... I'm one of the many people he inspired... I am... YAMATO!"
To be continued...