Chapter 70. Chains of the heart

Before Who's Who could sya anything, he got kicked towards the direction of a beautiful, prince-looking pirate.

"Cavendish, he's your's, take care for him." Ace shouted.

Cavendish drew his sword and slashed at the incoming Who's who. But the helmed man was not a pushover as he also drew his sword. Yet on the inside, he was shaken. The kick from The Flame Emperor... He couldn't react to it nor stop the force of it in anyway... He had only felt that kind of superiority form few people before.

The two started fighting with their swords.

Ace sat on the roof as he looked around.

"Captain, I found these children in a building, they seem to have been experimented on." Law appeared beneath with a bunch of fearful children.

"Help them back to the ship." Ace said.

Looking down on everyone while they fought, Ace nodded. He became surprised when he saw Nobojuro also join the fight even though he hated being a samurai.

It seemed like seeing the kidnapped children moved him.

After a while, Ace felt that someone strong was on their way here, so he started flying towards that direction, leaving this place to his Nakama.

It didn't even take 20 seconds before he intercepted a 263 cm tall person with a mask.

"Are you the one causing this mess!" The person shouted angrily. It sounded like a woman.

"Who are you!" Ace asked as she seemed strong, maybe as strong as Jojo.

"Even though it's not my responsibility to defend this land, with the chaos you've caused... enough is enough already!" She angrily shouted as she attacked Ace with her Club.

Ace countered with his sword then kicked her through countless buildings.

She stood up, holding her stomach.

She attacked again and again and again. Ace countered and fought back. And to her annoyance, she kept getting pushed back.

She started panting after a while. She raised her club and attack again. Ace simply sidestepped and then hit her face with the hilt of his sword making her fall back on her butt.

Her mask cracked open and Ace could see half her face. He also noticed that her hands were chained as if she was some kind of slave.

"Who are you?" Ace asked.

"You identify yourself first." She retorded.

"I'm Gol D. Ace, I'm here to defeat Kaidou." Ace said.

When she heard his name she seemed to be shocked for a second.

She stood up, and took off her mask.

"I'm Yamato, it's not my responsibility to defend this land, but my father is on a expedition and you caused to much havoc!" Yamato started.

"Enough, are you really the daughter of Kaidou? You look more like his prisoner. None the less, it doesn't matter, the people of this land are hurting, and your father is the cause, move out of the way." Ace said

He could hear from her tone that she didn't really want to protect this place and stand up for her father.

"I can't." She said as she looked down.

"My dream is to become the strongest in the the world... So I have a reason to go after your father... But seeing the state of Wano and its people, I now also have a reason why I CAN'T leave this place until I defeat Kaidou!" Ace shouted as he took a step closer to her.

When she heard those words, she took a step back with widened eyes. Dreams and aspiration to save Wano....

She had always idolised the former Shogun, Kozuki Oden, precisely for those reasons.

He was a man that was willing to protect this land even if it meant to sacrifice his own body.

Oden had boiled his own body to death as a sacrifice to save his friends and Wano... He was also a man that sailed the seas and went after his dreams of adventure.

That was her ideal, her dreams, yet even though she put on a mask and pretended to be Oden, she had never ever truly dared to think that the chains on her hands could be cut, and that she could possibly go after her dreams.

Ace saw on her face that she wanted to do something but didn't have the courage.

"So he didn't just bind your hands, even your heart is bound." Ace said as he walked past her.

" I TOO..." She shouted, making Ace stop and turn back, giving her his attention.

"GO OUT TO THE SEA AND HAVE ADVENTURES! JUST LIKE ODEN, I WANT TO LIVE FREELY!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

Ace smiled.

"So you finally broke free of your chains." He said.

When she heard those words, she suddenly started crying out loud.

"EH EH?!! Miss, sorry I didn't mean to make you cry!" Ace got afraid. If Nami knew he made a girl cry, she'd boink his head for a year.

"THESE ARE TEARS OF JOY!" She cried out while sobbing in happiness.

She had finally found her resolve to overcome her destiny as Kaidou's daughter.

Ace had allowed her try cry her tears out, only after she was done did they start walking back.

"But why haven't you escaped Wano?" Ace asked as they walked back.

"My cuffs... My father put these on my... If I try to remove them they'll explode." She said while showing her wrists.

"Huh, he'd do that to his own daughter?" Ace questioned.

"Although I believe he just said so, and theses won't explode... Knowing my father, it might be true." She said. It sounded like she hoped for it to be lie and that Kaidou wouldn't actually put her in danger, but she wasn't sure.

After Ace returned, he found that Who's-who had been defeated and all Kaidou's treasure had been stolen.

Jojo informed him that it will take 2 weeks for Kaidou to return at the fastest.

"Oh... Then let's return to Amigasa village." Ace said.

"Yamato, come with us, you have to party with us." Ace invited her and she jumped ontop of Black Pearl.

By the time they arrived back at Amigasa village, the villagers had weird looks on their faces.

"Hey, it hasn't even been 3 hours since they left... Don't tell me they regret going after Kaidou and came back here in defeat." One whispered.

Ace noticed their looks as he stepped off his ship.

"Shh, let's not shame them, they did after all give us their food."

"Yeah, it doesn't matter that they failed only three hours after they left."

"Even though they did brag about how strong they were."

"I even started believing them for a second." The villagers whispered.

"Erm... Everyone it's not what you think." Ace said, trying to resolve the misunderstanding.

"BIG BRO ACE, YOU'RE BACK!" A small ball of cuteness pounced him.

"Did you defeat that big monster?" Tama asked with cute eyes.

"No, no yet." He said awkardly. But that seemed to confirm it for the villagers as they nodded.

"As expected."

"I knew it."

"No, I meant that." Ace tried to clarify, but Tama interrupted him.

"It's okay big bro Ace, even though you're less cool now, I still look up to you."

"..." Ace felt like crying.

"Captain, it seems like you're a big loser." Urouge chuckled as he smiled at the situation.

Jojo chuckled as well.

"Hey, where's the party?" Yamato asked.