Yamato

Yamato is the daughter of Kaido of the Four Emperors and self-proclaims to be "Kozuki Oden". This profound admiration for the legendary samurai has led to the decision to embody everything related to the samurai to the extent of proclaiming to be a man as well, and hence Yamato is widely referred to as Kaido's son.

Appearance
Yamato is tall, being slightly over twice Luffy's height but not nearly as tall as Kaido. Yamato has long, white hair that is bound between orange rods into a ponytail at the back, which fades into aqua green and then blue the further down it goes, and ends in rectangular locks similar to Kaido. Yamato also has large, orange eyes with prominent eyelashes, and wears gold hoop earrings on both ears and has red horns. Clothing-wise, Yamato wears a pair of red hakama pants and sandals, and, much like Oden, wears a large purple and white nio-daisuki behind the back.

Yamato's current outfit is a sleeveless white garment with a diamond-shaped design on both sides and an indigo, wisp-patterned bottom half. This garment was originally a sleeved kimono with long white sleeves, but these were later ripped off, leaving the garment sleeveless and making it more form-fitting. Also, while in disguise, Yamato originally also wore a hannya mask, which has a blue wig with an extremely long and wild mane attached to the top and a long blue goatee attached to the bottom.

Around 3–4 years ago, Yamato wore a similar long-sleeved outfit, but with different symbols on the breast area. The symbols resemble an oden skewer.

20 years ago Yamato appearance was nearly identical to today, except with a slightly different mask with shorter horns and beard and without the nio-daisuki. In the manga, Yamato's outfit lacked the diamond-shaped design.

Personality
Yamato holds immense admiration for the legendary samurai Kozuki Oden, emulating every aspect of him, including his name, appearance, goals, and even his gender, reasoning that, since Oden was a man, then it was also necessary to become a man. Yamato wishes to fulfill Oden's dream of reopening the borders of Wano Country. Due to this admiration of Oden, Yamato often does things and considers certain actions based on assuming the identity of Oden himself. This led to Yamato being considered delusional by Luffy, Ulti, Shinobu, and Momonosuke.

Kaido
Damn it, that bull-gorilla!! He was seriously trying to kill me!!! I understand!! He is not a parent anymore!!! Kaido is Yamato's father and the two have a strained relationship, as Yamato idolizes Kaido's enemy, Kozuki Oden. When Yamato told Kaido of the desire to be Oden, Kaido responded with violent beating and has subsequently been cruel to Yamato numerous times since childhood, having kept Yamato imprisoned on Onigashima since the age of eight years old. He even had Yamato cuffed with explosive shackles to prevent a possible escape. Yamato originally had some doubts that they would explode, but after Luffy removed them and they did in fact explode, Yamato realized that Kaido was actually willing to kill his own child and, as a result, chose to sever relations with him, such to the point of proclaiming that there would not be any concern for Kaido if he were killed during the raid on Onigashima.

Kaido's overall view of Yamato is unknown. Although, Yamato has emulated Oden for the past 20 years to the point of even dressing up as a man like him, and although Kaido disapproves of this idolizing of him, he does refer to Yamato as his son, in a way possibly respecting Yamato's desire be a man just like Oden was. However, Kaido does not seem to be aware that Yamato wishes to fulfill Oden's dream of opening Wano's borders, a cause which he is opposed to. Furthermore, though he has called Yamato an "idiot," he wished to have Yamato participate in his party during the Fire Festival and later announced across Onigashima his intention for Yamato to replace Orochi as shogun, showing that he places great trust in Yamato to assume such a position.

Monkey D. Luffy


After failing to set sail with Ace, Yamato had been waiting for his brother, Monkey D. Luffy, to arrive at Onigashima. For this reason, Yamato chased and clashed with Luffy after finding him, ignoring his time constraints in order to talk to him, even if for just five minutes. Yamato then trusted Luffy enough to request his help in achieving Oden's dream of opening Wano's borders, and then expressed a wish to be freed from Kaido and an intent to leave Wano with Luffy's crew as a means to be free and explore the sea like Oden did. Therefore, after Luffy removed the explosive handcuffs Kaido had used to imprison Yamato, the two decided they would fight Kaido together. Their trust has slowly grown and Luffy even entrusted Yamato to help them protect Momonosuke.

Luffy refers to Yamato by the nickname "Yama-o" (ヤマ男), similar to the nicknames he uses for Trafalgar Law, Bartolomeo, and Eustass Kid. Yamato appears to not understand Luffy's use of nicknames, as evidenced by the attempt to correct Luffy with the former's actual name, as well as Ulti's name when Luffy gives her a nickname as well.

Portgas D. Ace


Yamato met the pirate, Ace a few years ago and was initially antagonistic towards him due to his excessive rampage on Onigashima. The two quickly became friends, however, after Ace recognized that Yamato was being held captive by Kaido. As they drank sake together, they talked about the current generation of pirates and Ace's little brother, Luffy. Yamato would have liked to sail out of Wano with the Spade Pirates, but was kept prisoner on Onigashima, shackled with explosive handcuffs. However, Yamato created a Vivre Card for Ace so they could meet again.

Yamato thought highly of Ace and believed he would be the one leading the new generation of pirates, until his untimely death at Marineford two years ago. This is also evidenced by the conversation with Luffy in which Yamato fondly stated that Luffy was reminiscent of Ace and that, although it was not possible to set sail with Ace, it would be possible to leave with Luffy due to them being brothers.

Kozuki Momonosuke
Kozuki Momonosuke!! I am Oden!! I will protect you!! Yamato initially believed that Momonosuke had died 20 years ago in Oden Castle. Yamato had tried to save him from Kaido at the time, but was powerless to do anything. Yamato believes that Momonosuke is important for the "Dawn of the World".

Upon meeting Momonosuke in the present, Yamato referred to him as "my son" due to assuming Kozuki Oden's identity, but Momonosuke was confused by the fact that Yamato proclaimed to be Oden and was initially mistrustful. However, after watching Yamato take on incoming attacks from Sasaki and his Armored Division to protect Momonosuke, he and Shinobu recognized Yamato as an ally. Later, Momonosuke was shocked to hear that Yamato was Kaido's daughter, but did not hold it against Yamato.

Abilities and Powers
Yamato is a very powerful warrior, with Black Maria noting that bringing Yamato back to Kaido's fortress after having escaped would be a difficult task. In the past, Yamato was able to clash against Ace, a powerful Logia user, on equal ground.

Yamato appears to have eaten a Zoan-type Devil Fruit. The exact animal species is unknown as Yamato has never fully transformed; however, before being interrupted, Yamato's teeth transformed into fangs when the transformation began.

Physical Abilities
Yamato possesses monstrous strength resembling that of Kaido, being capable of wielding a large and heavy kanabo and using it to knock out Ulti, an Ancient Zoan user and one of the Tobiroppo, with just one blow. Yamato was also able to physically match Luffy's strength with relative ease, even when the pirate increased his strength exponentially with Gear Second and Gear Third. When Yamato countered a punch from Luffy with a kick, the powerful collision destroyed much of the surrounding wall and ceiling and blew back the Beasts Pirates around them. Luffy was even easily picked up and held with just one arm while running due to Yamato's stature. Yamato was later able to shatter the extremely tough armor and weaponry of the Beasts Pirates' Armored Corps with great ease.

Yamato is quite fast, being able to lunge forward with blinding speed to attack, as well as outrun members of the Beasts Pirates in pursuit, and eventually completely elude the pirates and escape to the attic with Luffy without anyone seeing them. Yamato also possesses tremendous durability, having emerged from being struck by multiple explosive bazooka blasts with only superficial bruises and cuts, though eventually began taking more serious wounds as the bazooka strikes continued.

Weapons


Yamato wields a giant kanabo club much like Kaido, albeit studded and more slender, while Kaido's is spiked and a bit thicker. Coupled with Yamato's immense strength, the kanabo can wreak tremendous damage to objects and opponents with a single hit, and with Yamato's strength and Haki, it can be used to perform flying strikes that can even resemble energy blasts. In addition to the kanabo being a powerful blunt weapon, Yamato has masterful technique with it, being capable of moving it to counter Luffy's rapid attacks with little effort.

Attacks

 * Raimei Hakke (雷鳴八卦): A technique used by Kaido and imitated by Yamato, in which the user lunges forward at their target with blinding speed and swings their kanabo horizontally, striking the target with tremendous force. The attack was first seen used against Ulti in her full-beast transformation, knocking her out instantly. It is called Thunder Bagua in the VIZ translation. However, while Kaido uses only one hand to swing his kanabo, Yamato swings it with both hands instead. Ulti disdainfully calls this Raimei Yonke (雷鳴四卦) instead, but coughs blood at the same time.




 * Narikabura (鳴鏑): Swinging the kanabo upward, Yamato unleashes a vertical energy projectile to hit opponents from below with great force. It was first used against Hatcha, and immediately knocked him unconscious upon striking him in the head. Narikabura is another term for Kabura-ya ("turnip-headed arrow"), arrows used by samurai which made a whistling sound when fired. It is called Narikabura Arrow in the Viz translation.

Haki
Yamato is a user of Busoshoku Haki, as evidenced by them imbuing their hand and kanabo with it while preparing to attack Hatcha, resulting in a lightning-like effect. Yamato can use this Haki to an advanced degree, being capable of projecting it a great distance forward and hitting faraway opponents with tremendous force with a simple kanabo swing. Yamato can also use this Haki to hurt Logia users, having clashed against Ace's fire when they first fought.

Past
At the age of eight, Yamato was present at Oden's execution during the Legendary Hour twenty years before the events of the story, and was mortified by the sight. After the execution, Yamato rushed to Oden's Castle to save Momonosuke, but could only watch as Kaido threatened the boy.

Although angered and saddened by Oden's death at the hands of Kaido and Orochi, Yamato felt a burning passion rise, and after discovering Oden's logbook in Kuri, Yamato realized that someone needed to carry on Oden's will, and so began to emulate everything about Oden himself as to carry on his legacy. At some point in the latter's childhood, Kaido learned about Yamato's desire to emulate Oden and responded by beating Yamato up. He would also put explosive shackles on Yamato to prevent any chance of escape from Onigashima.



At some point between two and five years ago, Kaido and his top subordinates were away from Onigashima on an expedition. During that time, Yamato met the pirate Portgas D. Ace when he came to the island to kill Kaido. After Ace did so much damage to Kaido's castle, Yamato decided to fight him because of boredom. During the scuffle, Yamato broke the dragon statue at the island's entrance to show disdain for Kaido. Ace then left a mark on the statue and took responsibility for breaking it. Afterwards, Yamato and Ace became acquainted. Yamato had expressed the desire to go to sea with Ace and his crew, but because of the explosive shackles that threatened to blow up if Yamato had left, there was no choice but to remain behind. While drinking sake together, Ace told Yamato about Luffy and his dream. Before parting ways, Yamato gave Ace a vivre card. After some time, Yamato decided to wait for Monkey D. Luffy to come to Onigashima.

Wano Country Arc


On the day of Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi's party during the Fire Festival, Yamato disappeared from Kaido's mansion to look for Luffy. Yamato passed Eustass Kid's group which raised a small commotion, and ended up finding Luffy fighting Ulti near the front entrance of the mansion. Seeing as how Luffy was being held down by Ulti, Yamato immediately knocked Ulti out in one blow, and quickly carried Luffy off to a private space to talk and reveal being the son of Kaido. Since Luffy was in a hurry and had no desire to talk, the two engaged in a powerful and destructive clash with Yamato managing to counter all of Luffy's attacks, all the while trying to convince him to listen. However, with Luffy stubbornly continuing to refuse to listen, Yamato was starting to get annoyed, but then remarked that this fight with Luffy was reminiscent of past fights with a certain someone.

Eventually, Yamato took Luffy to the attic immediately after their clash and was able to get him to stay and talk for five minutes, in which Yamato first discussed how Oden had left behind a logbook and that someone needed to carry on Oden's will. Yamato then removed the mask that had been covering his face this whole time and exclaimed that the two of them should fight alongside each other to achieve the legendary samurai's dream of opening Wano's border. Upon seeing that Yamato was actually a girl, Luffy exclaimed out in surprise, and Yamato explained that since Oden was a man, then it was also necessary to become a man as well. Yamato then complimented Luffy on how strong he was and then told Luffy how he was just like Ace. Afterwards, Yamato asked for a ride on the young pirate's ship since he was Ace's younger brother, while proclaiming to be speaking as Oden himself. Hearing this, Luffy objected and complained how it was not possible for Yamato to be Oden. In response, Yamato conceded that it was impossible to truly be Oden since it was not possible to be free like Oden would be. Yamato then showed Luffy the explosive shackles and revealed to him how it had been impossible to leave Onigashima with Ace and his crew despite wanting to do so. Hearing this, Luffy offered to remove the shackles, but reminded Yamato that he would be beating up Kaido. Kaido's speech then started and the two listened on, but they then fell out of the attic when the floor collapsed below them. Afterwards, Kaido exclaimed his "son" would be the the next shogun of Wano, with Yamato immediately refusing out loud while running towards the platform with Luffy as the latter asked for the path towards Momonosuke.

As the two ran through the Beasts Pirates, Luffy told Yamato that Momonosuke and his retainers were alive the whole time, much to Yamato's shock. Luffy then removed Yamato's handcuffs and tossed them away before they detonated and caused a huge explosion that sent them flying to the Performance Stage. Seeing the explosion, Yamato realized that Kaido was truly willing to kill his own child, and so chose to completely sever relations with him. The two then arrived at the Live Floor with Yamato telling Luffy to hurry so that they could attack Kaido alongside Oden's retainers. However, they are intercepted by Ulti, with the two briefly clashing and Ulti questioning Yamato for attacking her earlier. Yamato then replied that it had to be done and made a statement about becoming Kozuki Oden at last, to which Ulti exclaimed her confusion at what she just heard. One of the Beast Pirates then reported to Yamato that Kaido was being attacked and that there were enemies everywhere, but Yamato made it clear that they were now on opposing sides and that it did not matter if Kaido died.

Later, Momonosuke was freed from the crucifix, and Luffy asked Yamato to help Shinobu protect him, to which Yamato wondered if it was okay, but then quickly realized that it was obviously natural to do so as Momonosuke's "father." When meeting Shinobu and Momonosuke, Yamato once again fell under the delusion of being Oden by exclaiming to be Oden himself, unintentionally scaring Shinobu and Momonosuke and causing the pair to run away instead of accepting Yamato's help.

Yamato ran after the two for a while until they were attacked by Sasaki's platoon. After Shinobu was wounded, Yamato stepped in to protect them, shielding the two from bazooka fire and sending one of Sasaki's men crashing into a wall. The Armored Corps continued with their onslaught on Yamato, and Sasaki prepared to step in as Yamato defeated more of them. In response, Yamato began using a transformation, but was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Hatcha chasing General Franky. Hatcha slammed his club into the floor, causing it to fall out and sending Yamato, Shinobu, and Momonosuke falling. Yamato decided to utilize this opportunity to make an escape and told Franky to handle the Armored Corp. Yamato then unleashed a long-range kanabo strike upwards that struck Hatcha and knocked him out. After landing on the floor below, Yamato told Momonosuke that he must survive as he was the one who would guide the world to the dawn.

Yamato later got out of the Skull Dome with Momonosuke and Shinobu, but by that time, Kaido already lifted the entire island above sea level. They then hide out in the storeroom inside the dome. When Momonosuke asked about the discarded dragon statue, Yamato revealed that Ace once came to Onigashima to kill Kaido. Yamato told Momonosuke about the meeting with Ace and revealed that Ace was Luffy's brother and Roger's son. Yamato also gave Oden's journal to Momonosuke.

Later, a mouse with an eye mask wandered into the storeroom. Yamato caught the mouse and revealed that it was a cyborg from Kaido's surveillance unit. Their location was compromised and a group of Beasts Pirates stormed the storehouse. While hiding Momonosuke, Yamato and Shinobu fought their way out. In the Right Brain Tower, Yamato and Shinobu continued moving as Yamato asked Momonosuke if he was okay. Momonosuke said that he felt disgusted with himself because everyone thought highly of him yet he saw himself as weak and foolish. Shinobu denied this and called him brave, but Momonosuke refuted this claim and transformed into his dragon form at the same time, which surprised the two. After he returns to normal and hides back under their clothes, Yamato admits they were surprised to see him transform into something similar to their father, before wondering if Luffy is okay and they wish they could help take Kaido down.

Major Battles

 * Yamato vs. Portgas D. Ace
 * Yamato vs. Monkey D. Luffy
 * Yamato vs. Ulti (Onigashima Live Floor)
 * Yamato vs. Sasaki and armored corps

Trivia

 * "Yamato", meaning "Great Harmony", is an ancient name for Japan (originating from the Yamato Province) and can can also refer to the Yamato period of Japanese history, which lasted into the 8th century. Relating to that, Yamato is the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan and further refers to the dominant ethnic group of Japan, the Yamato people. Otherwise:
 * Yamato Takeru is a legendary Japanese prince of the Yamato dynasty, prominent in mythology.
 * Yamato is the name of a prominent WWII-era Japanese battleship.
 * Yamato nadeshiko is a phrase that refers to the idealized image of a Japanese female.
 * Hannya, which Yamato's mask is based on, are well known in Japanese theatrical stage culture for representing characters who are the physical manifestation of twisted female souls.
 * Yamato seems to be inspired by Oscar François de Jarjayes, from the shōjo manga The Rose of Versailles, who is a woman raised by her father as if she were a boy in order to succeed him as the commander of the Royal Guard at the Palace of Versailles.
 * Additionally, in the Chapter 945 author's comment, Oda talks about reading The Rose of Versailles for the first time and being surprised to find out Oscar was a woman.
 * Yamato's favorite food is oden and raw salmon eaten by biting into it.

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