Yamato, now free, was overjoyed. She spread her arms, wanting to embrace Eric, to celebrate properly.
But she went straight through him.
“Don't get too excited.”
Eric turned, tossing the shackles that had once been on Yamato's wrists.
These things were indeed explosive, at least in the original plot, they could explode.
“Do you want to know the answer?”
“Eric, what are you doing?”
Yamato's gaze fell on the shackles. She blinked, “Throw it away?”
“You can cover your ears.”
Eric smiled slightly, and abruptly hurled the object towards the sky.
The next moment.
As the shackles flew out from the cliff, Boom!!
A thick cloud of fireworks exploded in the sky. The flames rolled backwards.
“It’s actually real!!” Yamato widened her eyes in disbelief, gritting her teeth, and shouted angrily, “That bastard Kaido, does he want to kill me? I’m his son!”
“Daughter.” Eric continued to correct her.
“I’m a man!” Yamato insisted stubbornly.
“Let’s go first. I’ll take you out to explore.”
Eric smiled, grabbed Yamato's hand, and with a thought, a shadow swallowed them both.
They had just left when a woman arrived.
“Where are they? I clearly felt Yamato-dono's presence just now…”
The woman was called Black Maria, a member of the Beast Pirates, one of the Six of the Flying Six.
She looked up at the smoke and dust in the sky that had not yet completely dissipated. Her expression suddenly changed.
“Did she break free from the shackles? Bad! How will I explain to Kaido-sama when he returns?”
Da da da da.
Many footsteps approached, from pirates on patrol nearby.
“Maria-sama! The explosion just now…”
“It’s Yamato! Hurry and search! Yamato-dono is missing!”
Black Maria coldly ordered. If Yamato escaped, she couldn’t imagine the fury Kaido would unleash upon his return…
Soon, the peaceful Onigashima erupted in commotion.
The entire Beast Pirates stationed on Onigashima numbered over 10,000 people. Now, they were frantically searching for Yamato.
…
…
West Sea.
A certain sea area.
The Flame Tank Pirates.
On the deck, Kaido looked down at Capone Bege, who knelt before him.
After a fight with Kuzan, sinking the latter’s battleship, he found this pirate crew.
As one of the participants in the Sky Island Incident, Kaido believed Capone Bege would have information on Eric.
“You want to join my ranks?”
“Yes! Kaido-sama!”
In order to survive, to avoid being eliminated by the World Government, Capone Bege could only cling to Kaido’s leg.
He had originally planned to enter the Grand Line, wait until the New World to choose a good tree to lean on, but unexpectedly the Yonko, Kaido, came looking for him.
“You are not a man of the Proudmoore family?”
Kaido frowned. According to news reports, this guy was clearly an underling of Proudmoore Eric.
“The Proudmoore family abandoned me!”
Capone Bege dared not look up, answering honestly, “I don’t know where Eric went… After meeting yesterday, he disappeared.”
This is troublesome, where did this person go?
Kaido had an unhappy expression.
At this time, a toothless Wyvern flew down from the sky, landing on the deck and transforming into a humanoid form.
“Kaido-sama, it’s a message from Onigashima!” In his hand, Jhin held a Den Den Mushi.
“What’s wrong, Jhin?”
“Yamato escaped!”
Kaido's face turned black, this troublesome daughter... No, son.
Yamato considers herself a man, and Kaido just goes with it, acknowledging her as his son.
“Return!”
Kaido snorted coldly, a blue vein pulsating on his forehead. He didn’t ask how Yamato escaped or how she unlocked the shackles.
Immediately, he transformed into a Azure Dragon and soared into the air.
“Kaido-sama!” Capone Bege immediately panicked.
“Hmph, when you reach the New World and prove yourself, little guy, my ranks don’t need weaklings!”
Leaving behind a cold snort, the Azure Dragon vanished in the clouds.
…
…
Flower Capital, afternoon.
Eric was taking Yamato for a stroll. The girl hadn’t left Onigashima for at least ten years, and now everything she saw was fascinating.
Her cheeks flushed with excitement, and she even recklessly barged into a private school by the roadside, before being chased out by the teacher.
She was also stopped by the Heart Samurai on patrol, because of the prominent devil horns on her head.
“They seem to be looking for someone.”
After sending the police away, Yamato acted like a curious child.
“Eric, what’s that? It says ‘Soup’ at the entrance? Is it delicious?”
Eric followed her gaze, “It’s a bathhouse, a place for bathing. You can drink it if you want.”
“Just right, I’ve been training all day, I need to go take a bath!”
Leaving that sentence behind, Yamato walked boldly into the store.
Eric shook his head and followed her into the bathhouse. Then he saw Yamato heading towards the men’s bath, and he was speechless.
“Miss! This miss! That’s the men’s…”
“I am a man!”
Yamato didn’t pay, lifted the curtain and went in.
Eric used his Observation Haki to scan, and found no one’s presence. It was daytime, and there were no customers at the bathhouse.
The owner was dumbfounded.
“Here, take this. You can have the place to yourself.”
Eric took out a small piece of gold and handed it to the owner: “Don’t let anyone else in, got it?”
Upon receiving the gold, the owner immediately broke into a wide smile, and gave him an “I understand, man” expression.
“Don’t worry, boss! Not even a fly will get in!”
Watching Eric enter the men’s bath, the owner mumbled to himself, young people these days are really something.
Arriving at the hot spring, Eric was still fully clothed and didn’t get into the water. He stood aside, shaking his head and said:
“You really are a female Bodhisattva.”
“What’s a Bodhisattva?”
Yamato had no sense of shame, soaking in the hot spring, letting out comfortable sighs.
“The feeling of freedom is so good~ Thank you, Eric!”
“Verbal thanks are not sincere.”
Eric thought for a moment, wanting to verify his guess: “Help me with something.”
“Say it, I can do anything for you!”
Yamato agreed cheerfully.
Eric smiled with a hint of amusement, “You said so yourself.”
He took a few steps closer and whispered a few words.
Yamato looked puzzled, not understanding what the point of this was.
But she still nodded in agreement.
…
Soon, the two emerged from the bathhouse, fully clothed.
Yamato’s cheeks were, for once, flushed red.
In Eric’s eyes, the numbers on top of her head changed, to 0 and 1.
“I guessed right.”
Eric muttered to himself, the numbers on top of her head were indeed as he had guessed.
If the former was doubles, the latter was singles. Under Eric’s guidance, Yamato got a rare singles experience.
By this time, it was already night in Flower Capital.
Yamato stretched comfortably and asked, “Eric, where are there fun things to do next?”
“The General’s dinner party?”
Eric looked towards the General’s mansion and smiled faintly, “How about killing a general to celebrate your freedom?”