Yamato slowly opened her eyes in her luxurious quarters on Onigashima. The first rays of dawn painted the room in golden tones, and she allowed herself to lie down for a few minutes, enjoying the comfort. Stretching, she recalled the events of the previous day. Her father personally trained her, honing her combat skills. Yamato was his strongest and only child, and Kaido had high hopes for her as the future ruler of Vano. We are the most powerful in this world," Kaido declared in a menacing tone. "And no mortal would dare to doubt our strength. All the lands of Vano belong only to us! Yamato shared these beliefs, her life goal was to achieve power, so that one day she would become a worthy successor to her father. She rose resolutely from the futon. Today is a new day of hard training under the strict guidance of my father. And Yamato was determined not to disappoint him. After morning exercises, Yamato was called to Kaido. Upon entering his chambers, she knelt down as a sign of respect.
"My daughter, my people have brought me disturbing news," Kaido began in a stern tone. - Dissatisfaction with our rule is brewing in the villages of Vano. The rebels openly oppose our government.
- Shame on them! Yamato exclaimed. - How dare they contradict our will?!
- I am glad to see your determination, daughter. Therefore, I have an important task for you - suppress this outrage of the samurai. Gather a squad of warriors and subdue the disobedient by force," Kaido ordered.
Yamato proudly straightened up: "It will be done, Father! I will honorably settle accounts with the traitors who dared to challenge our power.
- This is the spirit of a warrior! Kaido nodded approvingly. - Go and prove that you are worthy of power over Vano. No mercy for the enemies!
Yamato bowed and left to assemble a squad for a punitive operation against recalcitrant villages. She was seething with a thirst for combat and the harsh suppression of any resistance. Yamato quickly assembled a squad of twenty Beast Pirate warriors loyal to Kaido. Dressed in her armor, Yamato appeared before them in the halo of her power and authority.
- Listen to me carefully! Her voice rang like steel. "By order of Kaido himself, we must come to the villages of Vano and mercilessly punish the daring rebels. No mercy for the rioters! We will show them all the greatness of our power!
The warriors roared their approval in response, brandishing their weapons. Yamato continued:
"If anyone dares to come against us, destroy them without hesitation!" Even the slightest disobedience will be punished with death. This is the will of Kaido, the greatest ruler of Vano!
- Long live Kaido! Death to the rioters! The soldiers roared, overcome by the frenzy of battle.
Yamato was the first to mount her horse, belligerently shaking her kanabo. The squad set off to violently crush any resistance. A detachment led by Yamato arrived at the first village engulfed by the uprising. Sounds of battle could be heard from there - samurai rebels were desperately resisting the pirates. Without hesitation, Yamato sent the squad into the thick of the battle. Her face contorted into a belligerent grimace:
- Forward, not a step back! Kill all those who do not lay down their arms! Let's show these nobodies what it means to challenge us!
The warriors drew swords and halberds with screams, rushing into battle. Yamato was the first to break into the ranks of the samurai, ruthlessly destroying their kanabo. Her perfectly honed technique and insane strength allowed her to break bones and knock the spirit out of enemies with one blow. The fight quickly turned into their bloodbath. The punitive squad acted unconditionally, exterminating all those who did not want to surrender to their mercy. Yamato personally led the massacre, not knowing the slightest doubt or pity. At some point, she noticed a samurai clutching a broken sword in his hand. He looked at Yamato pleadingly.:
- Please... by...Spare me! I have... wife and children...
Yamato didn't even flinch, ruthlessly bringing down kanabo on his head. Her face remained impassive.
"Anyone who opposes my father is an enemy worthy only of death!"
Soon the village was depopulated. Yamato looked around at the ruins and corpses, nodding with satisfaction. The first riot was suppressed. Yamato's squad was moving along the road to the next village. But suddenly a lone samurai blocked their path, pointing a trembling katana at the riders.
- Stop there! You can't go any further! He shouted, but there was fear in his voice.
Yamato pulled on the reins, curiously eyeing the daring samurai right from the saddle. Her warhorse snored, smelling blood.
"And what are you going to do to me?" One against an entire squad? She grinned at the daredevil's arrogance.
.. I'll kill you! There was a timid reply. Yamato laughed nonchalantly:
- Come on, try it if you have the guts...
she knew that this pathetic little man did not pose the slightest threat to her. Without even deigning to dismount, she rushed towards him and, with one powerful kanabo blow during a swift attack, tore the samurai's head off his shoulders. His body collapsed to the ground.
"Weakling," Yamato chuckled. The squadron passed by, leaving a headless corpse with a bloody stain on the dusty road.
The Yamato squad stormed into the village, immediately finding themselves surrounded by a dense ring of angry samurai rebels. Their furious screams and coldly gleaming blades greeted the punishers.
"Damn it, there are too many of them! We are surrounded..." Yamato gritted her teeth, assessing the situation. According to her estimates, there were ten times more rebels than her warriors.
Without hesitation, she bared her destructive kanabo, radiating mighty energy.
With a roar, her squad rushed through the enemy formation, waving their weapons mercilessly. A bloody battle broke out. At times, Yamato was lost in the thick of the battle, only blurred shadows flickered in clouds of dust and smoke.
After a while, she noticed the rebel command post at a large house in the center of the village. New groups of samurai flocked to him.
"Their leaders must be there! We must get through to them at all costs!" - Yamato has made a decision.
Biting through dense ranks of enemies, she fought her way to the goal without encountering worthy opponents. Yamato ruthlessly crushed anyone who dared to block her path with blows from her deadly kanabo. Powerful spiked maces spun flawlessly in her hands, carving fountains of blood from the samurai's bodies.
One of the rebels tried to hit her insidiously from the side, but Yamato only grinned at his naivety. With a swift spin, she deflected the blade ready to pierce her, and with the next movement, kanabo crushed his chest with a crunch of breaking ribs.
With every step, a pile of mutilated and lifeless bodies grew around Yamato. Her face remained cold and expressionless, showing no trace of pity. She didn't hesitate to smash the skulls and limbs of anyone who got in her way. Here the kanabo fell with all its weight on the samurai's shoulder, knocking out his weapon and shattering the shoulder joint. Yamato did not fail to finish him off, breaking through his limp body with subsequent lightning strikes. Finally, she reached a large house where the leaders of the rebel village were entrenched. Yamato cleared her way through the dense encirclement with kanabo's punches, and stormed inside.
Kanabo Yamato ruthlessly cleared her way through the line of guards inside the house. Nothing seemed to be able to stop her rampant progress. In the main hall, Yamato was met by the leader of the uprising, the old but violent samurai Rokuro. He did not hesitate and immediately drew his ancient sword, taking a fighting stance.
- Leave the outrages, you crazy daughter of Kaido! Rokuro thundered. - I have people behind me who will fight against tyranny until their last breath!
Yamato just grinned, spinning her destructive kanabo:
- Well, take the fight, old man!
A fierce battle ensued. Rokuro proved to be a true swordsman, parrying almost all of Yamato's flawless thrusts. His blade whistled through the air, deflecting kanabo's deadly blows. At some point, Rokuro sidestepped one of the attacks, and then swiftly inflicted a deep dissecting wound on Yamato's thigh. She moaned in pain as she felt hot trickles of blood flow down her leg. Growling, she redoubled her onslaught, bringing down an unrestrained hail of blows on the old man. Rokuro continued to deftly dodge and deflect attacks, but was clearly exhausted from the continuous efforts. Finally, once again dispersing kanabo, Yamato hit the old man's shoulder exactly. There was a crunch of breaking bones as his arm hung like a whip, releasing the sword from his loosened grip.
Rokuro howled in piercing pain and fell to his knees, disarmed.
Yamato loomed over him, grinning:
- Well, that's it, old stump! Your pathetic resistance is over.
The exhausted old man groaned, clutching at his useless arm. Yamato looked down at him with disdain, squaring her shoulders again after the fight.
"You've been clinging to life enough, you old lizard," she said through gritted teeth. - It's time to admit defeat and submit to Kaido's will!
Rokuro, breathing heavily, stubbornly raised his head:
- Never... Better death than life as a slave under the heel of this tyrant!
There was such determination on his face that Yamato shuddered involuntarily. But almost immediately, a wry smile twisted her mouth:
- Well, if you ask for it... Goodbye, old man!
She raised her kanabo for a decisive blow, aiming at Rokuro's head. But at that moment, several samurai burst into the hall and decided to stab Yamato in the back. The girl turned around in confusion, not having time to complete her plan. Three young warriors stood in front of her, swords raised fearlessly. One of them boldly threw:
- That's enough, monster! Don't you dare kill our master!
Yamato glared at them, gripping the handles of the kanabo to her white knuckles.
- Fools... You have only hastened your doom!
With a furious scream, she rushed at the samurai, engaging in a new battle. Her mace swept through the deadly hurricane, resisting the blades of the rebels. Rokuro only watched impotently as his loyal warriors fell one by one at the feet of the enraged Yamato. The head of the last samurai literally shattered into pieces from the terrible force of kanabo Yamato's blow. Bits of bone, flesh, and brains splattered across the floor with a sucking sound. The headless body collapsed at Yamato's feet, drenching her sandals with warm blood. She didn't even flinch, just brushed a few scraps off the kanabo. Rokuro looked at this sight with horror and pain in his eyes. His loyal soldiers, who became like sons to him, fell one by one.
.. You're a monster..." he croaked, barely holding back tears.
Yamato turned to the defeated old man, her gaze was as cold as ice:
"Consider yourself off lightly, old man. I just saved you from seeing what happens to this village next.
Without hesitation, she brought the kanabo down on Rokuro, fracturing his chest. The old man wheezed, his body thrashing in agony. Yamato didn't stop, hitting him with more and more ruthless weapons, turning his flesh into a bloody mess. It was only when only a shapeless lump of broken bones and meat remained of the old samurai that Yamato stopped her massacre. Blood and chunks of flesh squelched under her sandals. She glanced at the ruined hall and the piles of mutilated corpses, after which a satisfied Yamato walked out of the destroyed building onto the main street of the village. A depressing picture awaited her here-all her warriors were dead. Yamato sighed heavily, looking back at the deplorable consequences of the unequal battle. The reliable band of Beast Pirates that she had led on the punitive expedition had ceased to exist. Her loyal soldiers fell to a single one, having failed to suppress the indignation of the inhabitants.
"They did not cope with the task..." Yamato summed up bitterly, clutching the handle of the kanabo. It seemed that with the last of their strength they still tried to inflict damage on the rebels - the torn corpses of samurai were everywhere.
But the numerical advantage turned out to be on the side of the rebels. Yamato saw groups of rebels circling the streets and finishing off wounded pirates. Their cries of triumphant glee irritated the ears of Kaido's ruthless daughter.
"So I'll have to deal with them myself..." she frowned sullenly as she walked forward along the blood-soaked road.
Yamato dangerously rotated the kanabo, flexing her shoulders. Her warriors had fallen in battle, and now she had the responsibility to finally break the resistance of the village. The first group of rebels, dreaming of glee, did not immediately notice the approach of Yamato. When they saw her, it was too late. Her kanabo was already slicing through the air in a deadly arc, aimed at the thick of the rebels. There was a hideous crunching sound as the spiked maces smashed into the skulls of the two outermost samurai. Their carcasses were thrown aside, showering the surrounding people with warm, bloody dew.
- Come on, freeze, you nobodies! Yamato growled menacingly, getting into a fighting stance.
The rest of the rioters drew their katanas in horror, recovering from the shocking start of the attack. One of them tried to blurt something out, but Yamato rudely cut him off:
- Shut up, worms! You are all already sentenced for insolence against Kaido's will!
With that, she hit the nearest samurai with the edge of a kanabo, shattering his jaw. A fountain of blood, bones and teeth overwhelmed the surrounding people. Yamato rushed forward, ruthlessly hacking and maiming anyone who dared to stand in her way. The rebels broke ranks and scattered randomly, terrified of this crushing machine of death. But Yamato was relentlessly fast and flawless in her movements. Her kanabos left a trail of bleeding and flayed bodies behind them. Here is one rebel, losing his last strength, trying to hit Yamato with a sword. With a beastly grin, she grabs his arm and twists it out of the joint with one jerk. The samurai howled in breaking pain as the limb hung limply on the scraps of meat. Without hesitation, Yamato drove kanabo's spikes precisely into his skull, shattering it into pieces in a bloody mist.
Soon, this group of rebels was completely slaughtered by Kaido's ruthless daughter. Yamato stood among the fields of mutilated bodies, breathing heavily and clutching a bloody kanabo. Yamato suddenly noticed the movement of one of the buildings. The massive doors creaked open and a samurai, unremarkable at first glance, stepped out. However, upon closer inspection, Yamato was struck by his height-the rebel was almost as gigantic in build as she was. A huge nodachi, a long Japanese sword, jingled on his back.
"We have to be on our guard, this one doesn't look weak," Yamato mechanically gripped the handle of the kanabo, preparing for a new fight.
The samurai took a few steps forward, giving Yamato a searching look. He then bowed low, then straightened up again and impatiently drew his deadly weapon.
"I am Hiro Akagi, the true guardian of the ancient traditions of Vano," his gruff voice rang out. - And I will not allow such a fiend of malice as you to trample our lands with impunity!
There was such an unwavering determination on his face that Yamato was even slightly impressed. Ignoring the shouts, she took a step forward, taking a fighting stance.
"Well, let's see how good you are at defending your worthless traditions, samurai.
Hiro Akagi took a sharp look at the field of the recent massacre. The torn bodies of samurai and pirates could be seen everywhere in pools of dried blood. Suddenly, this blood began to vibrate and rise up, as if obeying some invisible call. Countless scarlet droplets condensed over Akagi, forming a huge number of sharp spikes directed towards Yamato.
"What the hell is this?!" Kaido's daughter was taken aback for a moment, but immediately pulled herself together.
Akagi raised his nodachi, and the blade of the huge sword flashed with the radiance of the Khaki Armament.
- Know the true wrath of Vano, witch! The samurai thundered and was the first to attack.
The blood-red spikes rushed towards Yamato at the same time as Akagi's mad charge. Yamato deftly dodged the first batch of thorns, meeting nodachi samurai with her kanabo. The weapons clashed in a fierce battle. Akagi turned out to be a true master of swordsmanship, moving with incredible agility for his height and scope of nodachi. He showered Yamato with a hail of breathtaking attacks, forcing her to focus on defense. At the same time, a new batch of blood spikes once again rushed towards Kaido's daughter. Yamato had to dodge sharply, leaving the trajectory of this deadly swarm at the last moment.
"Damn, this bastard is dangerous!" she gritted her teeth, parrying Akagi's new attack.
The duel between Yamato and the formidable samurai Akagi has reached its climax. The air literally rang with the clang of crossed weapons as their kanabo and nodachi collided uncontrollably in bursts of released Haki. Yamato had to use Weapon Hacks to counter Akagi's deadly attacks. Her kanabo gained a powerful black and crimson energy wave capable of deterring any weapon.
At one point, they parted for a moment, panting for breath. Akagi immediately took advantage of this respite - he swung his nodachi, cutting through the air. To Yamato's amazement, a huge number of sharp spikes of blood formed from this swing! Controlling the drops of blood of his fallen comrades, Akagi concentrated them into the form of countless deadly needles. This swarm of scarlet thorns whistled towards Yamato. She instinctively dodged, moving away from the trajectory of this deadly attack. The spikes tinkled into the stone pavement, leaving a series of deep marks there. Akagi did not let Yamato come to his senses - the samurai immediately rushed towards her, swinging his giant nodachi. The girl barely had time to reflect the unrestrained pressure of his sweeping blows. At one point, when she parried another attack from Akagi, another swarm of bloody thorns suddenly appeared behind her! Yamato barely managed to take them away with her kanabo, barely holding back two threats at once.
"Not enough...My usual strength is not enough against this monster!" she realized bitterly, catching hoarse breaths in her mouth.
Yamato knew perfectly well that either she would use her full potential right now, or this damned samurai would put an end to her existence. There were no other options left. Gathering her last strength, Yamato growled and activated the abilities of her devil fetus. Her body burst into a blinding wave of energy! Akagi watched in stunned amazement as Yamato's figure began to enlarge and deform right before his eyes. From the blinding flash, the outlines of a completely new creature emerged! Her body was covered with thick snow-white fur. The features of the face stretched out, turning into a kind of wolf's muzzle with a fanged mouth. The auricles lengthened, and two twisted horns emerged from under the fur. Her arms and legs took the form of animal paws topped with massive curved claws. A truly demonic entity appeared in front of Akagi in the glow of hellfire - a hybrid of a huge Makami wolf and a human, holding its massive kanabo in one of its paws. In the next moment, this demonic entity rushed at Akagi, holding his weapon in his hand. Filled with power, she was ready to unleash all her destructive anger on the enemy! Hiro Akagi froze for a moment, contemplating the demonic entity that appeared in front of him. However, this stern samurai quickly pulled himself together, remembering his combat duty. Summoning all his indomitable will, he raised nodachi in front of him, taking a fighting stance.
Hiro Akagi stared dumbfounded at the transformed Yamato, whose body took on the terrifying appearance of a giant mythical wolf. Its fanged mouth, horns, and flaming aura created a truly demonic appearance.
The samurai tightened his grip on the hilt of his nodachi, gathering all the will for a new attack. Drops of samurai and pirate blood spilled during the fight began to concentrate around him. The scarlet streams curled up with a hiss into deadly bloody needles and heavy spiked cores.
Yamato-Makami opened her mouth and let out a deafening roar, rushing at her opponent. Her huge kanabo whistled through the air, aimed directly at the samurai.
Akagi responded in kind - the whole swarm of bloody needles and shells rushed towards the oncoming mass of Makami. Blood clots hit Yamato like a whirlwind of murderous hail, trying to pierce her bestial armor.
But the mighty she-wolf showed remarkable speed, dodging most of this deadly barrage. Those needles that did hit the target ricocheted off her glowing fur aura.
With a furious jerk, Yamato was right next to Akagi. Her kanabo collided with his nodachi with a clang, carving out flashes of Khaki energy. The giants of strength and skill rushed at each other, exchanging a series of unrestrained lunges and punches.
The air around them shimmered with the heat of battle, soaked in the chaos of flying fragments of stone, blood and flashes. Akagi demonstrated wonders of flexibility and reaction, dodging every stream of animal rage. And Yamato advanced, delivering another series of devastating blows.
At some point, they had to separate for a moment to regain their strength. Once again, they launched a furious attack!
After separating for a moment, Akagi and Yamato-Makami once again launched a furious attack!
The samurai summoned a fresh batch of bloody needles and cores, forming them into a new unrestrained swarm. This deadly whirlwind of red stings and spiked spheres rushed straight at the gigantic she-wolf.
Yamato roared, spinning the kanabo around her, beating off most of this bloody cloud. However, some needles still reached the target, piercing her fur and leaving bleeding wounds on her body. Blinding flashes of flame enveloped the places of these blows.
But even that pain couldn't stop the rampant onslaught of Kaido's hybrid daughter. Yamato rushed at Akagi, delivering a series of devastating blows with her kanabo. The samurai only miraculously managed to evade, again and again putting a curtain of bloody needles in her path.
At one point, Yamato miscalculated, and Akagi managed to get her with his nodachi. The long blade left a deep laceration on her side, spraying a scarlet stream into the air. Roaring, Yamato retreated a couple of steps.
However, in the very next moment, her kanabo came down on Akagi again with a mountain of deadly blows. The samurai deftly parried most of them, but one powerful attack still penetrated his defenses. With a crunch of cracked bones, he flew a good hundred meters away, cutting his body on the paving stones.
A cloud of dust enveloped the place of his fall. Without hesitation, Yamato-Makami rushed after him, spinning her weapon. She seemed determined to finish off her brave opponent.
Shoveling clouds of dust with her mighty paws, she was approaching her intended goal.
Suddenly, a new unrestrained swarm of blood needles flew out of this cloud! Yamato tried to fight them off with a kanabo, but several stings still pierced her fur, causing new wounds. Fresh blood gushed out, making the she-wolf wince in pain.
And Akagi's figure appeared out of the scattered dust. The samurai was staggering on one knee, leaning heavily on his nodachi. His armor was shattered in several places, and blood was oozing profusely from his wounds. Akagi was on his last legs, but his will was not broken!
Summoning all his strength, he swung his sword sharply, summoning the remnants of spilled blood from all over the street. To Yamato's amazement, these rivers of scarlet liquid suddenly condensed into one gigantic, terrifying shape.
Right in front of them, a gigantic bloody mountain the size of a three-story house took shape! This amorphous mass roared and pulsed, consisting entirely of millions of deadly needles and spikes. Akagi pointed it straight at Makami!
Yamato recoiled in horror, trying to meet this hurricane of deadly stings with her kanabo. But the whirlwind of needles was too dense-a myriad of these deadly pins pierced her fur and flesh from all sides!
Roaring in unbearable pain, Yamato thrust her paws forward, concentrating all her Haki. Finally, she managed to stop this deadly wave, throwing most of it aside with a hurricane of energy.
Both sides were seriously injured and bleeding after a series of rampant attacks. Yamato remained standing on her wobbly paws, breathing hoarsely through her fangs. Akagi was barely conscious, but he was determined to fight to the end.
Suddenly, Yamato spread her paws wider and swung her kanabo heavily, holding it with both hands. Her gaze focused on Akagi with insane determination...
In the next instant, kanabo Yamato swooped down with a roaring arc, aiming straight at the samurai's head! This decisive blow was supposed to erase her opponent's last resistance!
At the last moment, he tried to block the attack by putting his trusty nodati in front of him. The blade trembled from contact with the wave of compressed wind generated by the roaring kanabo.
But even this sword, which has repeatedly endured the most brutal battles, could not resist the onslaught of Yamato. The maces of her weapon slammed into the steel blade, breaking it in two with a clang of shattering fragments!
The sheer force of the blow was so great that it threw the useless pieces of the sword aside. Now nothing stood between Kaido's daughter and her victim.
Kanabo fell on Akagi's head without the slightest resistance, shattering his helmet. All his enormous height and powerful physique could not save him at this last moment.
The samurai's skull literally exploded under the apocalyptic force of this blow! Yamato did not spare him, putting all the frantic energy of her demonic incarnation into kanabo.
Pieces of bones, meat and brains flew in all directions with a terrible squelching sound. Stripped of her head and face, Akagi's body collapsed at the feet of the winner, splattering her with bloody fragments.
Yamato was breathing heavily, returning to her human form. She fell to her knees, dropping the kanabo and leaning her hands on the blood-soaked ground. The monstrous battle with Akagi had exhausted her to the limit. Yamato felt extremely tired after this unrestrained battle. Overcoming exhaustion, Yamato slowly but resolutely got to her feet, picking up her weapon again. She had to make sure that not a single soul remained in this village after the punitive operation. Leaning on a kanabo, she slowly wandered through the devastated streets. Her attentive gaze searched every nook and cranny. Yamato came across several samurai corpses bleeding. But they were already dead-from the weapons of her warriors. Fortunately, it seems that the rest of the villagers either fled or were killed after such a brutal suppression. No one else was alive. After completing the final rounds, Yamato nodded in satisfaction. Her order was fully executed - the riot was suppressed with merciless force. Turning around, Kaido's daughter slowly trotted along the main road, which she had previously taken on a course to the capital of Vano. Alas, all the horses have already fled. Yamato had a long way to go on foot. Along the way, she encountered the torn bodies of samurai and the remains of destroyed huts. Yamato barely noticed these ruins, her mind was preoccupied with Kaido's upcoming mission report.
After a while, Yamato came out onto the main road leading to the capital. The wounds from the battle with Akagi slowly began to heal, but fatigue was still making itself felt. There was still a long way to go, so Yamato decided to take a short break to catch her breath. She went to one of the roadside wells and washed her face with cool water, washing away the bloody streaks from her forehead and cheeks. Sitting down on the surviving stone fence, Yamato took out a flatbread and a piece of salted meat from her waist bag. Fortified by this meager meal, she felt a surge of new strength. The sky was already beginning to be streaked with the red rays of sunset.
"It's better to hurry before it gets completely dark," Yamato thought.
She imagined how Kaido would react to the news of the bloody suppression of the riot. Perhaps he will frown with displeasure at the loss of his people. But after seeing Yamato's determination and the fact that she herself has endured almost the entire operation on her shoulders, he will certainly approve of her actions. Yamato felt a new surge of pride at the thought that she would soon appear in front of Kaido and report on the completion of his task. All these destroyed villages, the corpses of the rebels - all this is the result of her total devotion to her powerful father. Rising, Yamato resolutely walked along the road to the capital, clutching the handle of the kanabo. Her footsteps thundered heavily on the scorched earth. Wisps of dust and sand billowed under her feet as she approached her goal. The city walls of the flower capital were already visible ahead.
The sun had already completely disappeared below the horizon when Yamato finally approached the city gates of the capital. Powerful stone walls with watchtowers reliably guarded the city. At the very gate, Yamato was stopped by two armed pirates from the Beast Pirates squad.
- Stop, who's coming? One of the guards called out to her, hitting the ground with the shaft of his halberd.
"Don't you see, you idiot? Yamato said rhetorically, without slowing down her pace. "I am the daughter of Kaido himself, Yamato!
The pirates immediately quieted down and stood aside, letting her inside the capital. Yamato walked past them with her back proudly straight. Lanterns have already been lit in the city itself, illuminating the streets with warm light. The sounds of nightlife came from all sides - the shouts of barkers, the laughter of drinkers, the clink of dishes from the open windows of taverns and inns. Yamato walked straight to the imposing Kaido Castle, towering in the center of the capital. This structure made of black stone dominated the whole area with a formidable appearance. At the foot of Yamato Castle, armed guards in the uniforms of Pirate Beasts met him again. At the sight of Yamato's formidable figure with a bloody kanabo, they stood at attention.
"I returned from the punitive mission at Kaido's behest!" She announced to the guards. "Announce my arrival and escort me to the throne room immediately!"
One of the pirates replied in a trembling voice:
"Yes, Mrs. Yamato!" Let me escort you!
Yamato nodded and was escorted through the spacious courtyard of the castle. Her footsteps rang off the stone slabs laid out on it. Many slaves and servants hurriedly made way for Kaido's furious daughter. Finally, she found herself in the very heart of the stronghold-her father's huge throne room. This room was entirely decorated in gloomy red and black tones and lined with stone. The candles barely dispelled the gloom, casting a trembling glare on the stone columns. At the far end of the hall, on a raised platform, was a massive throne made of roughly hewn rock. It was on this gloomy throne that Kaido sat in all his terrifying splendor. Yamato approached the foot of the throne and knelt down on one knee, bowing her head in reverence. Her soiled kanabo clattered onto the stone slabs.
"Father, I have returned with the fulfillment of your order!" - she announced in a loud voice, breaking the deathly silence of the hall.
Kaido fixed his menacing gaze on her from under his brows.
"Speak, my daughter," came his low rumbling voice. - I'm all ears.
Yamato began her story about how her mission went. She didn't miss a single detail, down to the description of the fatal wounds and the duel with the formidable Hiro Akagi. As she narrated, Kaido's face frowned more and more at first, but then acquired an approving expression.
"... And so I killed the last of the rebels with my own hands! Yamato finished. "Your order has been carried out, Father. No one else will dare to doubt your undivided power over Vano!
For a while there was a deathly silence in the hall. Kaido's gaze studied his daughter carefully, assessing her every word and movement. Finally, he spoke again:
"Your actions were decisive and ruthless, as befits my daughter. I approve of the way you dealt with Vano's traitors.
Kaido rose from his throne, looming over Yamato with a gigantic bulk:
"However, I was very saddened by the news of the loss of my loyal soldiers from the personal guard. Were your skills not enough to save their lives for further service?
Yamato faltered, but quickly pulled herself together:
"Forgive me, almighty Father! I am proud that I could only single-handedly defeat the rebels. But I promise to work harder to improve my strength!
Kaido gave her another searching look, but then nodded contentedly.:
"Well, I see your determination, daughter. From now on, you will personally lead my punitive detachments throughout Vano. Show these pathetic people what it means to resist my will!
- It will be done, Father! Yamato cocked her head, her eyes blazing with a belligerent fire.
The ruler of Vano shouted approvingly: "Now go and heal your wounds, daughter." Great things are waiting for you ahead! You will become my right hand in strengthening our power over Vano and suppressing any dissent!
- Yes, almighty Father! Yamato bowed and walked away from the throne room.
Her heart was oozing with pride at the approval of the mighty Kaido. Yamato was determined to justify this trust by unquestioningly obeying Kaido's will. With this fervent zeal, Yamato retired to her chambers in order to recuperate after the bloody events in the villages. She knew that new trips were waiting for her soon. And she was ready, knowing neither pity nor doubt. For the sake of her all-powerful father's undivided rule over Vano, Yamato was on the alert to deal with anyone who dared to tarnish their rule with even a drop of petty rebellion.