‟Inherited Will, the Flow of Time, and the Dreams of people.
These are things that cannot be stopped.
As long as people continue to pursue the meaning of freedom, these things will never cease to exist.
-Gol D. Roger„
Yuto didn't understand what was happening.
Slowly he sat with his back against the cold wall.
"Where am I?" he muttered.
The place was in a dark and damp cave, whose only source of light came from a small hole in the ceiling. The silence reigned inside, interrupted only by drops of water falling to the ground and the smell of mould soaking the walls.
He squinted and tried to remember the last thing he did.
- Damn it... Faker...
Yuto suddenly opened his eyes as he remembered the battle. His clothes were torn and burned and this led him to think that he had not dreamed and that he had really killed the King of Heroes.
What happened next was pretty confusing. He suddenly found himself in a place that wasn't the Ryuudou temple and there he came across soldiers with strange abilities. They were not very strong, however, he was exhausted and this had led to his defeat at the hands of a winged man dressed as a condom.
Yuto looked at his wrists.
A prison. That's where it was. The cuffs on his wrists were proof of that.
"If I were in King-sama's place, I would have killed him immediately. We don't need a bastard like him."
Yuto turned towards the direction where the voices came from.
"Admit it. You're pissed that a mongrel kicked your ass."
"Shut up!"
"But it is undeniable that King-sama wants Kaido-sama to evaluate him. He defeated a hundred of us and even killed a Tobiroppo."
Now he also remembered that he had ended up on a strange island dominated by strange individuals with unique abilities. Most of them seemed to have the ability to transform into animals to obtain physical power-ups.
And he handled them all. On the other hand, even with their enhanced abilities, they remained slower than a Rider class servant, less skilled than a Saber and less accurate than an Archer.
The door, a large boulder covering the entrance, began to move slightly.
It was his chance.
The grunts were two. Both of them were dressed as centaurs people could watch in post-apocalyptic animes. They carried guns and swords hanging from their belts.
"Consider yourself lucky, bastard. Kaido-sama is waiting for you," the first grunt spoke scornfully.
"Move and don't try any trick," the other said, pointing the gun at Yuto's head.
The two thugs were not afraid of Yuto. The skills shown earlier had been sealed by the handcuffs made of Seastone. It was a special material that blocked the power of the Devil Fruits.
They walked along a dirt road. The only thing Yuto could see in the distance was the dome. No, it was a giant skull with hanging horns.
"Where am I?" Yuto asked.
"Welcome to Wano, your grave," one replied.
"Where is Wano?" Yuto shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I will discover soon. Aperio."
The handcuffs fell and Yuto was finally free to put the two guys out of action. He created a Black Key and stuck it in the wrist of the man holding the gun and another in his throat. Then, he moved slightly to avoid the sword thrust of the second, disarmed him and finally broke his neck with a quick movement.
"Were you going to kill me?" Yuto smiled zealously. "You didn't even realise I diverted you elsewhere."
Yuto retrieved his sword and guns before turning around and staring at a tree.
.
.
.
A woman came out of hiding, knowing that she had been discovered. She was quite tall, with long white hair turning blue on the tips and a pair of yellowish-red horns. She was wearing a red and white Hannya mask.
"Do you realise what you did?" she asked.
Yuto looked at the corpses out of the corner of his eye before looking at the woman again and shoving his shoulders casually. "I doubt their leader cares about them."
He had seen it when the guy who had defeated him, known as King, had fought although his allies were there too.
"Are you here to bring me back?" Yuto threw the sword on the ground while a scarlet red spear appeared in his hand. "I will not be cooperative."
The woman smiled under the mask. Her hand reached the handle of her kanabo.
There was nothing special about that fight. No dazzling flashes or deafening explosions, just the sound of iron slamming against each other.
She smiled with excitement as the blood boiled in her veins. She had never met such an opponent before, able to repel her advanced Armament Haki hits.
"There's something I've been wondering since the beginning." Yuto stabbed the spear to the ground. "I don't think this fight is about taking me to Kaido."
"Oh, so you noticed." The woman finally took off her mask, showing her face. "Indeed, I had come to free you."
"Did you want to free me?" Yuto narrowed his gaze, looking suspiciously at the woman.
"I saw what you did the other day," the woman replied. "You fought for those children, didn't you?"
Those children she was talking about were children who had offered him their only piece of bread. Yuto wanted to repay them by bringing them some good food, but he could not find it until a ship had docked in port.
"How are those children?" Yuto asked.
"They're fine... at least for now," she replied.
Yuto sighed relieved.
"I came to free you, but I see you don't need my help," she said.
"Why?" No matter what she said, Yuto became increasingly suspicious.
She lifted both hands and showed the handcuffs. "Because I also know what it means to be without freedom."
Bang. Yuto tried to stay calm, but there was something in the girl's eyes that made him waver slightly.
"Please lend me your strength." the woman bowed her head, begging Yuto. "Help me free this country."
"Why should I help you?" Yuto asked.
Saving just for the sake of it was a principle that Yuto did not share. He thought that by doing it once, he would start doing it again and again, entering into an infinite spiral that would lead him to think only about the desires of others.
He could give many examples of this, but the most extreme was the Counter Guard EMIYA, an alternative version of his father.
"I'll help you escape from this island," she offered.
And that changed the table. Kaido's defeat in exchange for his freedom was a good exchange.
"Look, I don't know if I can defeat him, but I'm pretty sure I can survive." Yuto turned and pinched the back of his head. "Are you willing to trust a stranger blindly?"
The plan was as simple as it was stupid.
Dangerous? Very much.
The girl, who answered Yamato's name, had decided to trust Yuto, answering all the questions he had asked her. They were all simple questions to answer for someone who had lived with the Beast Pirates.
"What's the plan?" Yamato asked, whispering.
"Just do what I say and everything will be fine," Yuto preferred the silence. It wasn't because he didn't trust her completely, it was because he feared that she might betray him or at least spill everything.
"I am the bone of my sword."
They arrived in the great hall, where they were welcomed by the three superstars who looked at him with indifference and the man at the head of the Beast Pirates. His appearance matched Yamato's description.
Giant was the word that best described him. He towered over Yuto who was an ant in comparison to him. His body was rough and muscular, with a marked scar on his right side. He had black and frizzy hair, a very long moustache and a pronounced goatee.
"What happened to the ones I sent?" Kaido asked.
Now it was time to check if Yamato's information was correct.
"I killed them," Yuto replied. "They were bothering me."
"I see," Kaido murmured, checking out Yuto.
Yuto noticed that Kaido was neither angry nor annoyed, a clear sign of the man's disregard for his subjects. Just as Yamato had told him, Kaido would simply replace them as if they were mere objects.
"And you came anyway instead of running away!" the fat man with the cigar in his hand mocked.
"We're on an island and I don't even have a raft." Yuto smiled ironically as he fleetingly shifted his gaze to the man with black wings. "Unless I develop a pair of wings, I have no way to escape from here except for my death."
The three superstars were the three strongest members of the crew.
The black-winged man Yuto recognized as the one who defeated him was King. No one knew his face and anyone who had the misfortune to see him had not lived enough to tell it.
The fat, tall man was Queen. He was the "doctor" and mad scientist of the crew.
The third superstar was Jack, a rather tall and muscular fish-man whose jaw was covered by an iron cover.
"Before anyone does anything, you should check over the castle for a moment," Yuto anticipated.
Yuto was not stupid. Going to a pirate's den was like entering a magus workshop. He was playing in an enemy's home.
The first thing was to put on a poker face so that no one could read his intentions.
The second step was to draw a giant Noble Phantasm over their heads as a deterrent.
"Damn brat. Do you dare threaten me in my castle?" As Kaido attempted to wield his gigantic weapon, gravity intensified drastically.
It was the effect of the Noble Phantasm, the Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of rulers. She would have fallen when someone higher social position than Yuto had turned some hostile intent toward him. And since he was a prisoner, everyone was above him.
"King told me everything. What are you?" Kaido asked.
King had pierced his heart and he had not died. He had tried to incinerate him and his body had not become ashes. Kaido knew few people who could survive his first mate.
"Also, you took something that belonged to me," Kaido continued slightly irritated. "Return it to me."
Yuto crossed his arms across his chest and slightly inclined his head. "What would I have stolen?"
Kaido slammed the kanabo on the ground, causing a slight shock. "You know what. The Devil Fruit that was on that ship."
"Oh!" Yuto made a stupid expression. "That." He laughed ironically. "I ate it."
"What?" Kaido's gaze narrowed on Yuto, his grip on the handle of the kanabo becoming tighter.
"Stealing from others what we don't have is part of the law of nature," Yuto replied. "I was hungry and you had food."
He honestly preferred not to have done it. The Fruit did not look good in itself but his stomach cried out for food. Who was Yuto to go against him?
Yuto smiled covertly. His strategy was going as he planned.
"Oh, another thing. It was Yamato who revealed your weakness," Yuto said, moving on to phase 2 of the plan. "She told me all about your powers."
Now that he knew this, he also knew how to take them out.
"When you see the signal, run," Yuto whispered.
What signal? Yamato didn't have time to ask when a sword pierced her heart.
Her gaze wandered from her chest to Yuto's face, staring at him in disbelief.
"You've done your part very well," Yuto said, smiling apathetically. "I don't need you anymore."
Yuto removed the sword and let Yamato's body fall to the ground.
Kaido remained impassive. Although she was his daughter, he showed no hint of sadness or anger. Dying like that meant being weak in his eyes.
"Were you not allies?" Kaido asked.
"Hmph" Yuto snorted. "It depends on the definition of ally."
Yuto turned to Kaido. A two-handed, golden greatsword with a blue jewel embedded in the hilt appeared in his hand.
"I will leave the rest to you."
"Ah!" Yamato awoke with a startle.
She breathed and tried to calm her thoughts. It was a nightmare, but it was so well done that it seemed real. The sword in her chest was so damn real that she seemed to feel the pain even now that she was awake.
"Good morning."
Yamato turned and saw Yuto sitting on a rock.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked sarcastically.
"Where am I?" Yamato asked, looking around.
"Somewhere in the East Blue," Yuto replied, offering her some food he had cooked. "Don't be surprised. I told you I'd help you get out of Wano. I also took your explosive handcuffs off."
"Explosive handcuffs?" Yamato had not noticed, but it was true that there were no more handcuffs that for many years had forced her to stay in Wano.
Yamato shook her head and turned to Yuto. "What did it happen?"
Yuto swallowed and sighed. "It's a long story, so make yourself comfortable."