One Piece: My Name is Jack, I'm Very Resistant to Beating

The moment Queen walked in and overheard Jack's words, he turned on his heel and left without a word. Jack and his crew didn't notice—they were entirely focused on Yamato.

The hundreds of prisoners, knowing their lives were forfeit, lunged at Yamato with reckless abandon.

Despite her bravado and constant proclamations about wanting to be a mighty warrior, cutting down foes and claiming victory, Yamato was fundamentally kindhearted.

Although Jack had forced her to kill several pirates in the past, she would usually avoid going for the kill unless absolutely necessary. But this time, her reluctance nearly cost her life.

These prisoners were former samurai, far stronger than the average person. Years of wielding swords had conditioned their bodies, and while their long imprisonment had left them gaunt and weakened, their core strength and combat instincts remained.

Sensing Yamato's hesitation, the samurai exchanged glances and, seizing the advantage of numbers, charged at her.

In that moment of hesitation, Yamato was overwhelmed. Over ten samurai tackled her to the ground, raining down punches with their bare fists.

"Yamato! Jack!"

Babanuki looked ready to command his troops to attack the prisoners, but one glance at Jack's emotionless face made him shut his mouth.

Yamato's head, chest, and stomach bore the brunt of the relentless blows. Pain blurred her vision, and bloodshot veins began to surface in her eyes.

But the battle-hungry blood of Kaido surged within her. Just as the prisoners continued their assault, a fierce roar echoed through the quarry:

A blast of freezing cold erupted, instantly encasing a dozen prisoners in ice. Yamato, now in her hybrid Beast-Man form, roared with fury and charged back into the fray with a feral snarl.

Seeing this, Jack finally relaxed.

For a long time, Jack had noticed Yamato's misplaced mercy toward her enemies. After today, he suspected that might change.

Jack kicked the unconscious Bingoro aside and turned to Babanuki.

"Are the preparations I ordered complete?"

"Yes, Jack-sama! Everything is ready!"

"Good. Take these scum away. We're done here."

Babanuki nodded and left a few subordinates behind to escort the prisoners out of the quarry. Yamato, still fighting fiercely, was left to finish her battle.

The prisoners were marched into a large, empty chamber, where a robed figure sat at a desk, seemingly resting with his eyes closed.

As the last prisoner was shoved inside, the figure opened his eyes, grabbed a wooden block, and slammed it down with a sharp crack.

"The river of time flows endlessly forward..."

Outside, Jack leaned against a wall, lost in thought.

Ever since Kaido had announced his intention to entrust Kuri to him over a year ago, Jack had been planning how to change the Wano residents' hostility toward the Beasts Pirates.

Wano's people were like those of a certain prosperous land from the past—staunchly devoted to strength. Many had joined Kaido's crew out of respect for his overwhelming power, but even more harbored deep hatred toward the Beasts Pirates.

Nowhere was this hatred more pronounced than in Kuri. Of course, Kaido's reckless destruction of their environment and Orochi's relentless schemes were the main culprits.

Orochi, for reasons unknown, seemed determined to make life in Kuri unbearable. By destroying their resources, controlling access to food and clean water, and driving the residents into misery, Orochi had made them hate not just him but also Kaido's crew.

Yet, despite their suffering, Jack had noticed something after several of Yamato's rescue missions: these people still clung to hope.

Hope—a ridiculous notion tied to legends. But thinking back to those two samurai who had vanished after wounding him, even Jack wasn't entirely certain about the truth of those stories.

Whether the legends were real or not wasn't important right now. The priority was to crush that hope completely.

The first step? Undermining the legacy of Kozuki Oden.

Jack smirked. If even Yamato, Oden's most fervent fan, could be shaken by a few well-placed truths, he doubted the common people would resist much longer.

With carefully crafted narratives—heroes to idolize instead of Oden—and material improvements like food, water, and education, the people of Kuri could be brought to heel.

"They won't be worshiping Oden much longer," Jack muttered. "Hell, even a bald-headed lumberjack would make a better hero than that fool."

His musings were interrupted by a shout.

"JACK!"

Yamato stormed into the room, her body covered in blood and her eyes blazing with fury.

"Yamato?" Jack opened his eyes just in time to see her leap at him in her hybrid form.

Caught off guard, he jumped, but Yamato landed squarely on him, her jaws snapping toward his chest.

"Stop! Yamato! Let go!"

"GRRR!"

"Damn it—I said stop!"

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+140 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg