Chapter 173 March Forward to Freedom, Yamato
Under Yamato's astonished gaze, Brett reached out and grabbed the two handcuffs on her wrists.
Haki instantly penetrated into the handcuffs, and then—
His two hands moved like phantoms, and the two handcuffs immediately flew up into the sky.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two explosions roared almost simultaneously, creating two brilliant fireworks against the night sky at the seaside.
Yamato's eyes widened.
They actually exploded!
She had harbored hope in her heart, thinking the handcuffs were just meant to limit her abilities.
But they really would explode.
"Whoa, this is really—"
Brett couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
With her abilities and Haki suppressed, if Yamato had been hit by bombs like these at point-blank range, her hands might have been blown clean off.
Kaido had always been ruthless with Yamato.
But he probably never truly intended to kill her, since he still wanted Yamato to become Wano's shogun to help him rule the country.
"That bastard old man!!"
Yamato was practically grinding her teeth.
The change that should have happened nine years later had come early.
"Well then, now you're free, Yamato."
Brett said with a smile.
"..."
The anger on Yamato's face froze.
She became petrified like a statue, completely motionless.
But Brett could hear it - something was surging vigorously in her heart, soon rumbling like a great bell.
"Am I... free?"
She said in a daze.
"Nothing can bind you anymore. You can do whatever you want to do." Brett said, "Isn't this freedom?"
"That's right, this is freedom!"
Tears welled up in Yamato's eyes, "Now I'm free!"
She bowed deeply to Brett, "Although I still don't know your name, thank you so much! I'll never forget this kindness!"
"I'm Kaido's enemy, just wanted to cause him some trouble."
Brett was very honest, "So it's hardly a kindness."
"Eh?"
Yamato was greatly shocked, "Is that so?"
Brett couldn't help but want to laugh. How Kaido managed to raise such a naive daughter was truly a mystery.
"Go to Wano's mainland, Yamato,"
Brett said, "I freed the samurai prisoners from Udon. They'll probably go into hiding in Wano afterward. Find them and become the Kozuki Oden who leads them."
"Become the Kozuki Oden who leads them?"
Yamato's eyes lit up, "I understand! I'll lead the samurai and drive that bastard old man away!"
"If they don't believe you, try mentioning my name,"
Brett did his best to give Yamato advice, "My name is Brett."
"Anyway, keep a low profile until you become strong enough to match Kaido. Just hide in the shadows and build up your strength."
"Brett?"
Yamato repeated the name, then nodded firmly, "I'll remember!"
Brett smiled lightly.
The samurai alone would never be able to fight against the Beast Pirates.
Never mind Kaido - just sending out King or Queen would be a force they couldn't resist.
But adding Yamato would be different.
Yamato's talent was probably on par with the three brothers Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. Even though she had worn seastone handcuffs since childhood, she still possessed strength capable of matching a serious Kaido at age twenty-eight.
Probably even stronger than Shanks at twenty-seven.
Now freed from her restraints, growing in an environment of fighting against the Beast Pirates, her rate of getting stronger might be even faster.
Perhaps she really could give Kaido a major headache?
Anyway, it required no investment - just going with the flow, right?
Moreover, if Yamato really became Wano's shogun, wouldn't that be better than Kozuki Momonosuke? He didn't have a fruit to eat anymore anyway, so he might as well give up the shogun position too.
"Well then, set off, Yamato."
Brett said with a smile, "Go do what you want to do."
"Yes!"
Yamato nodded firmly.
She turned around.
Then turned back again.
"Oh right, Brett!"
Yamato pulled out a piece of paper, tore off a corner and handed it to Brett, "This is my Vivre Card. We'll definitely meet again, won't we?"
Brett reached out and took it, nodding lightly, "Of course."
They would meet again.
He would return to Wano, since Pluton was kept here after all.
Having Yamato's help then would make things much easier.
"Well then, I'm off!"
Without any hesitation, Yamato's face bloomed with an incredibly joyful smile as she leaped toward the sea.
Midway through her jump, her already tall body stretched further, transforming into a white wolf wreathed in white mist!
When she landed on the sea surface, the water froze to give her footing.
The white wolf looked back and flashed Brett a smile.
Then she raced forward.
Toward freedom.
"Damn brat!!"
From the distant battlefield, Kaido sensed something and suddenly turned around in fury, "Yamato!! Where do you think you're going!"
His voice was like thunder, exploding across the battlefield.
But the racing Yamato turned a deaf ear.
Old man, this time you can't stop me.
"Mama mama, Kaido, don't be angry!"
Charlotte Linlin laughed heartily. Though she didn't know what was happening, blocking Kaido now was the right move.
The black lightning on her blade became even more fierce.
"Linlin!!"
Kaido gritted his teeth, then looked up and roared, "King! Go stop that fool!"
Without hesitation, King, who had been circling in the sky and staging a "I can't hit you, you can't hurt me" show with Katakuri, suddenly soared higher.
He dove toward Yamato racing across the sea like a bomber.
"Yamato, be good and go back. Don't try to anger Kaido-san!"
His voice was cold.
At such a crucial moment, he had to disengage from a powerful enemy to do this sort of thing.
This fool was really embarrassing Kaido-san!
Yamato's body instinctively trembled.
It was King!
"Don't look back! Yamato!"
But suddenly, another voice came.
Yamato was stunned for a moment.
Then she smiled and picked up speed.
In the sky, someone was trailing long streaks of lightning, descending like thunder and directly blocking King's path.
Brett heard King's extremely annoyed thoughts and said with a smile, "Why would you stop someone with dreams from racing toward freedom?"
"You bastard!"
King's tone was incredibly low.
On the sea surface was a white trail stretching forward, extending all the way to the end of this ocean.
The next instant, the flames behind King's head extinguished as he switched to speed mode, and in the very next moment he circled around Brett, pursuing Yamato on the sea.
His speed was truly very, very fast.
But—
CRACK!!
A pillar of thunder shot skyward!
Brett's entire body was engulfed in lightning.
His Armament Haki had grown stronger, which meant he could further increase the intensity of his electrical propulsion!
BANG!
Just from being stepped on, the air exploded. Brett's speed increased to the absolute limit of what the naked eye could distinguish.
He caught up to King from the side.
"...!"
King's eyes were filled with alarm.
Overtaking him despite starting later?
What kind of speed was this?
"Fall down."
Brett threw a punch, "Tile-True Punch!"
****
50+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces