Summary:
The battle between Kaida and Yamato becomes intense. Backing in a corner, Yamato remembers the three great swordsmen he met when he was a child. Their overwhelming choice for the future of Wano Earth encourages Yamato.
Luffy rides on Momonusuke’s back and they start flying towards Kaido. However, being afraid of heights and realizing that they are flying, Momonosuke plummets down.
Meanwhile, Yamato and Kaido continue to fight. Yamato remembers the first time he saw Oden and how he was touched by his sacrifice to save his servants as a young child. This caused the young Yamato to go on a rampage around the castle. The Beasts Pirates tried to restrain him, but he inadvertently used Haoshoku Haki, knocking most of them out. Eventually the men were able to restrain him and Kaidou went to investigate the commotion his son had caused.
When Yamato declared his love for Oden and claimed to be Oden, Kaidou chained him up and locked him inside the Sacred Cave. Kaidou could see that his son had potential as he was able to take out a number of his men with Haki. He told Yamato that he would be locked up for a month to cool his head, but if he changed his mind and joined his army, all he had to do was call him from an air hole in the cave ceiling. Yamato begged his father to release him and give him food because he was starving, but the emperor kept him inside with three samurai who were also being held captive. He also left the samurai their swords and a good meal for one person. It was then revealed that after Oden’s execution, Daimyos from all over the land rose up, with the three being the wildest of them all.
Yamato shuddered at the thought of being alone with a samurai who undoubtedly hated his father and might take it out on him. However, the three samurai showed him nothing but kindness. They gave him food, released him from his chains, and trained him. Seeing that the samurai had no intention of harming him, he asked them to help him read Oden’s diary, which he found at the foot of Oden Castle.
The four of them read the journal together, detailing Oden’s travels from the time Roger asked Whitebeard to lend him Oden so he could reach the last island, until Roger’s crew finally reached the Laughing Tale. The journal detailed that in 20 years another era would come that would hit the New World hard.
After 10 days, the samurai decided to escape the cave after seeing that Kaidou had no plans to release his own son. They also had no intention of rotting inside the cave, and even though they wouldn’t be able to see the battle that would happen in 20 years, they were assured that people like Yamato would still be there fighting for Wano.
In the present, Yamato and Kaidou are still exchanging blows, with Yamato remembering that there were people who believed in him and accepted him. He demands to know why his father is taking away his freedom and Wan’s freedom. Kaidou replies that life is not a series of simple questions and answers.