"I was born in a kingdom called Vodka," Kaido began, his voice a low, steady rumble that seemed to mix with the sound of the waves. "It was a world even more hopeless than Wano is now. From my first memories, all I knew was war and famine. Everyone I saw either died on a battlefield or starved to death in the dirt."
Otama's eyes had already gone wide. "Eh?" she whispered, her expression downcast. "So... there are other countries outside of Wano that are also occupied by demons?"
"Demons?" Kaido turned to look at the girl, a flicker of dark amusement in his eyes. "That's not an entirely wrong way to put it."
He decided then to explain the world to her, to tear down the simple reality she knew. "On the seas outside Wano, there's a group that rules over everything, kind of like the Shogun's government in the Flower Capital. They're called the World Government. Because of them, countries in the outside world are split into two types: those that are protected by the World Government, and those that aren't."
"The countries without protection become the main targets for the 'demons' you mentioned—pirates. But there are others, too. Slavers, mercenaries... you name it. It's safe to say that every one of those unprotected countries is in a worse state than Wano is right now. Not having enough food, wearing rags for clothes, and dying at any moment is just normal for them. Compared to that, wouldn't you say Wano is fortunate? Do you know why?"
Otama stared at him, her small mind struggling to keep up.
Without waiting for an answer, Kaido provided it himself. "Because the demons you're talking about, while they do harm this country, they're also the ones protecting it."
The statement was so contrary to everything Otama had ever known that it left her utterly stunned. The demons she feared, the ones who had killed her parents, were protecting Wano? That's impossible, that's impossible! The thought screamed through her head. She couldn't grasp such a complicated idea.
Seeing her confusion, Kaido didn't press the point. He simply asked another question. "Do you know how many other countries in the world are as miserable as Wano?"
Otama shook her head, looking lost.
Kaido raised one massive finger. "Worororo... I haven't counted them all, but there are hundreds of countries like that. And plenty of the 'protected' ones are suffering just as much."
Otama looked like she couldn't process the information. "Why, Uncle?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Didn't you just say the World Government protects them?"
"Worororo, the answer is simple. That protection isn't free," Kaido explained. "To get it, every country has to pay a huge amount of treasure to the World Government every year. It's called the Heavenly Tribute. Some rich countries can afford it, but many others can't. My home, the Vodka Kingdom, was one of them. So, those countries chose another way to get the money..."
He paused, letting the dark implication hang in the air as Otama's face grew pale. "War," he said softly. "They wage war on the unprotected countries and plunder their wealth. And to keep the wars going, even children had to become soldiers and fight for their country. Kid, do you know how old I was the first time I killed someone?"
A sliver of real fear appeared in Otama's eyes.
"Five years old," Kaido said flatly. "Worororo... When I was five, I stepped onto a battlefield as a child soldier and killed my first man."
Otama was frozen. She finally understood what he meant by 'even more miserable than Wano.' Killing someone at five. She was already six years old.
"But back then, I didn't feel any fear about it," Kaido continued. "Because, just like you, I placed my hope of ending it all on someone else. That person was the King of the Vodka Kingdom. I truly believed that as long as I fought hard enough and stole enough money to pay the Heavenly Tribute, the war would end, and everyone could finally live a happy life. But in the end, I found out I was just a fool. Do you know when I realized that?"
Otama dumbly shook her head.
"When I was ten. By then, the strength of my body had already made me the strongest warrior in the kingdom. So, for the first time, I was summoned by the King. It was my first time inside the royal city, but instead of feeling excited, all I felt was betrayal. Do you know why?"
"Because I saw their luxurious palaces and their wealthy royal family. While children like me were killing each other on the battlefield just for a full stomach, these royals were living in complete extravagance. They had endless meat, endless wine, and more treasure than they could count."
"In that moment, I understood," he said, his voice dropping to a low growl. "The Vodka Kingdom wasn't unable to pay the Heavenly Tribute. It was just that the greedy royals didn't want to use their own money. Even if we lost our lives for the country, even if we went to bed starving every night, they would still try to squeeze money from us poor wretches. Their greed had no end, which meant the war would never end."
"That was the first time I felt the disappointment of trusting someone else, only to have that hope crushed. It was truly disappointing. But I still chose to act like I saw nothing. I kept fighting for that country, because I still held on to a second hope in my heart: the World Government. As hard as our lives were, I believed that as long as the Vodka Kingdom was one of their affiliated countries, they would protect us, just like you hope your samurai will protect you. I thought they would help us drive away the real demons. Until one day, I found something out. Do you know what it was?"
Otama shook her head, a deep sense of unease now visible on her face.
"I learned that the biggest, most terrifying, and most evil demon in this entire world was the very thing I had been looking forward to: the World Government itself."
Otama's eyes shot wide open again. "H-how could that be?"
"Do you know how I found out?" Kaido continued, his tone becoming grim. "I had just become the captain of the kingdom's guard, and I was leading an army to attack another country. With my strength, their resistance was easily crushed. I began to plunder the nation's wealth. In the process, I captured a human trafficker who hadn't managed to escape. He had been selling the people of that country as slaves. Disgusted, I immediately ordered his execution... Worororo..."
Kaido let out a dry, mirthless laugh.
"But then, that slave trader told me I couldn't kill him. He said his boss was a World Noble: a Celestial Dragon. That was the first time I'd ever heard of them. Maybe he thought I was afraid, because that man arrogantly told me everything. I learned that our whole reason for attacking—to get wealth—was just an excuse. The real reason was that the World Government had wanted to take over this country for a long time, but it refused to bow to them. So, the government itself sent pirates and slavers to weaken it from the inside."
"My army and I were only sent in because the country's resistance was too strong for the pirates to handle. I was just their tool."
"At that moment, I completely understood. It turned out that everything I had hoped for was a lie. The World Government, the organization that rules the seas, is the biggest demon in this world. As long as there are people who refuse to submit to their rule and enslavement, the wars will never stop."
"And I," he concluded, his voice laced with ancient bitterness, "had become an accomplice of the demons."
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