Yamato

Yamato is the daughter of Kaidou of the Four Emperors. Groomed from a young age to be Kaidou's heir, Yamato instead developed a profound admiration for the samurai Kozuki Oden. After his death, Yamato chose to become Oden, impersonating him and adopting his mannerisms. As a result of this desire to become Oden, Yamato self-identifies as Kaidou's son, and Kaidou and his crew refer to Yamato as such as well.

This path has put Yamato at odds with Kaidou, with much of Yamato's life being spent imprisoned on Onigashima. Yamato befriended Portgas D. Ace during his visit to Wano Country, and after learning of Ace's death waited for the arrival of his sworn brother, Monkey D. Luffy. Together with Luffy and the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance, Yamato helped defeat Kaidou and the Beast Pirates, and now intends to join Luffy and his crew upon their departure from Wano Country.

Yamato is a major ally during the Wano Country Arc.

Appearance
Yamato is taller than an average human, standing at 263 cm (8'8"). 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 Kaidou. Yamato also has large, orange eyes with prominent eyelashes, wears gold hoop earrings on both ears, and has horns on the top of the head which are mostly red, but gradually become more flesh-colored toward the base.

Yamato's current outfit is a sleeveless white garment with a diamond-shaped design on both sides and an indigo, wisp-patterned bottom half. Yamato wears a pair of red hakama pants and sandals, and, much like Oden, wears a large purple and white nio-dasuki behind the back.

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. The kimono initially had long white sleeves, but were ripped off along with the rest of the disguise making Yamato's kimono more form-fitting.

Four years ago, Yamato wore a similar long-sleeved outfit, but with different symbols near the breasts. The symbols resemble an oden skewer.

At age 8, Yamato's outfit was nearly identical to today, except with a slightly different mask with shorter horns and beard and without the nio-dasuki. In the manga this outfit lacked the diamond-shaped design.

Personality
Yamato greatly admires the legendary samurai Kozuki Oden to the point of even proclaiming to carry his identity. Yamato has self-identified as Oden on multiple occasions and has even emulated his gender, proclaiming to be the "son of Kaidou" due to Oden being a man. Although initially carrying doubts as to how to present as Oden, Yamato has steadily expressed a straightforward attitude regarding this identity as time has gone on, even proclaiming this as such to Oden's son Momonosuke, to the boy's horror. Although having wholeheartedly embraced this identity, Yamato retains said birth name as an "other name". Yamato does not seem to like being misnamed, having quickly corrected Luffy when given a nickname.

Having read of the great exploits documented by Oden in his logbook, considered as a "bible", Yamato dreams of leaving Wano Country's confines and setting out to sea with the Straw Hat Pirates, much like Oden did with the Whitebeard and Roger Pirates decades before. Yamato also wishes to fulfill the goals that Oden had, namely opening Wano's borders, in direct defiance to Kaidou's wishes for the country. Yamato has shown to be extremely strong-willed, having put up considerable resistance to Kaidou's imprisonment despite taking decades to finally break free. Although initially seeming to be more subordinate to him previously, the battle with Ace led to Yamato destroying Kaidou's dragon statue in an act of defiance that has since led to more outright rebellion. Yamato has engaged in combat with Kaidou numerous times and has openly expressed opposition and defiance to his plans concerning the two of them, accompanied by insults. When the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance invaded Onigashima, Yamato was immediately willing to help them and had no qualms with attacking members of her father's crew, making intentions and loyalty clear to them in the process. Yamato is also willing to go to great lengths to achieve objectives, having basically kidnapped Luffy in order to get to talk to him and following through with this tactic even after Luffy responded by fighting back.



Yamato is more than willing to put body and life on the line to protect people out of care, believing that Oden would never abandon a comrade in danger. Yamato resolutely withstood a barrage of powerful artillery strikes by the Armored Division to protect Momonosuke, and later confronted Kaidou alone to stall him until Luffy returned despite knowing the gap in their strength. However, Yamato also takes enjoyment in engaging in combat; despite framing the plan to split up from Momonosuke as a decoy strategy to trick the Beasts Pirates, Momonosuke and Shinobu both noted to themselves that Yamato seemed mainly interested in going to fight.

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 Kaidou 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 Kaidou had used to imprison Yamato, the two decided they would fight Kaidou together. Their trust has slowly grown and Luffy even entrusted Yamato to help 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 an attempt to correct Luffy, as well as Ulti's name when Luffy gave her a nickname as well. When battling Kaidou, Yamato openly told him that he would lose to Luffy, believing that the pirate would return, calling him "the one that Oden was waiting for", and then after that, planned to go to sea with Luffy and the Straw Hats, which upset Kaidou.

After Kaidou's defeat, Yamato saved Luffy from falling. While meeting his crew, Yamato decided to wait for Luffy's confirmation to join the Straw Hat Pirates.

Straw Hat Pirates
When they first met, the Straw Hat Pirates were surprised to learn Yamato was related to Kaidou. Yamato assured them that they were not enemies, and revealed the intention to join them; Usopp and Nami were shocked at the claim, Franky was perplexed by the situation, Brook and Sanji were overcome with joy because that meant another woman was joining them, and Robin laughed with amusement as usual. Jinbe, however, said he would not be convinced until he heard from the captain himself, with Yamato agreeing that was fair enough, and Jinbe also sensed no hostility after he witnessed Yamato's anger towards the Beasts Pirates who were attempting to run away.

Portgas D. Ace


Yamato met the young 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 Kaidou. 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 Kaidou 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 him, he and Shinobu recognized her as an ally. Later, Momonosuke was shocked to hear that Yamato was Kaidou's daughter, but did not see it as a point of contention. Later when Momonosuke returned to Onigashima in his adult dragon form alongside Luffy, Yamato was visibly shocked at the sight of another dragon besides Kaidou, but soon relieved to find out that Momonosuke was in fact that other dragon. After leaving with Momonosuke to stop Onigashima from falling onto the Flower Capital, Yamato decided to help the boy out with his new abilities, trying to explain to him how dragons actually fly, and telling him how to make flame clouds to stop Onigashima from falling. Yamato even showed enough trust in Momonosuke to try to stop Onigashima from falling on his own, while deciding to return to the island to find all the weapons and try to minimize the odds of Onigashima falling onto Wano like a giant bomb. Their bond even increased to the point when Momonosuke revealed to Yamato that Zunesha told him Luffy was Joy Boy, shocking Yamato.

Shimotsuki Ushimaru
20 years ago as a child, Yamato met and became indebted to the former daimyo of Ringo, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, as the two befriended one another while both being imprisoned in a cave on Onigashima. At first Yamato was scared of dying at the samurai's hands simply for being Kaidou's child, but instead Ushimaru, Fugetsu Omusubi, and Uzuki Tempura surrendered their food and even cut apart Yamato's chains. When Yamato asked for Ushimaru's name he simply stated that he was "nobody important", and then they all spent the following days bonding over Oden and the stories in his journal. Ushimaru was the one who freed Yamato as a child, breaking everyone out of the cave and making sure Yamato survived until the day that Oden predicted would happen in 20 years finally came, which lead to his demise of himself and the other samurai. During Yamato's fight with Kaidou, when he stated that his daughter spent all those years alone without friends, Yamato adamantly rebuked his claim, saying that Ushimaru and the other samurai were friends.

X Drake
As they were both affiliated with the Beasts Pirates, Yamato and X Drake are acquainted with one another, however Yamato was unaware of Drake's loyalties with the Marines, and was also unaware that he sided with the alliance. While Yamato raced to find the weapons hidden in the castle, she ran into Drake, Apoo, and some of the Numbers, and immediately attacked Drake at first, thinking that he was still a member of the Tobiroppo. When Drake cleared up the mistake and told Yamato that he also betrayed Kaidou, Yamato immediately stopped attacking him and apologized, before resuming the mission to find the weapons.

Fuga
Despite betraying the Beasts Pirates and Kaidou, Yamato seems to still be on good terms with the Numbers member Fuga, as he delightfully smashed his way through a wall and followed Yamato around, seeming happy to see his crewmate, with Yamato only trying to keep him away rather than attack him. As a large fire apparition began heading to where the weapons were located, Yamato asked Fuga for help in dealing with it.

Kaidou
Damn it, that bull-gorilla!! He was seriously trying to kill me!!! I understand!! He is not a parent anymore!!! Kaidou is Yamato's father and the two have a strained, spiteful relationship with one another, as Yamato idolizes Kaidou's enemy, Kozuki Oden. When Yamato told Kaidou of the desire to be Oden, Kaidou responded by violently beating Yamato and has subsequently been cruel to his daughter numerous times since childhood, having kept Yamato imprisoned on Onigashima since the age of eight and earning hatred and contempt for his actions, as Yamato wants nothing to do with Kaidou or his plans. When hearing Kaidou's plan for the New Onigashima Project and his desire for Yamato to be Wano's shogun as a part of the plan, Yamato was visibly upset by the news, openly yelling that such a thing would never happen. Kaidou even had Yamato cuffed with explosive shackles to prevent a possible escape. Despite being openly spiteful against Kaidou, Yamato still showed signs of familial ties with him, as shown when having doubts about Kaidou's many threats, including using explosive cuffs to kill in the event of an escape attempt. Despite Yamato's original doubts that they would explode, after Luffy removed them and they did in fact explode, the former realized that Kaidou was actually willing to kill and, as a result, chose to sever relations with him, such to the point of proclaiming that there would not be any concern for Kaidou if he were killed during the raid on Onigashima, and to the point that there was no hesitation to openly side with Luffy and his alliance and to attack any and all Beasts Pirates, despite some members' confusion as to why.

Kaidou's overall view of Yamato is unknown. Although, Yamato has emulated Oden for the past 20 years to the point of even presenting as a man like him, and although Kaidou disapproves of this idolizing of him, he does refer to Yamato as his son. However, Kaidou 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 his son to assume such a position.

Kurozumi Orochi
As a witness to the Legendary Hour and a strong admirer of Kozuki Oden, Yamato viewed the tyrannical shogun Kurozumi Orochi as an enemy. Wanting to carry on Oden's legacy, Yamato desired to do whatever possible to help liberate the people of Wano from Orochi's rule and finally open Wano's borders. Despite having enmity with him, Yamato personally had little to no interest in dealing with Orochi or his many forces personally, beyond saving Kozuki Momonosuke from being executed by him, and ending his rule, and saw Kaidou as the actual threat between the two of them. When Kaidou beheaded Orochi and announced his intention of making Yamato become Orochi's replacement as shogun of Wano, Yamato was visibly shocked by his action of killing his partner and outraged by his declaration of the New Onigashima Project, not wanting any part in his plan at all.

Beasts Pirates
As the daughter of Kaidou, the majority of the Beasts Pirates showed a great amount of respect towards Yamato, whom they addressed as "Lord Yamato", and having a great respect and fear of Yamato's strength, though most are perplexed by the self-declarations as "Kozuki Oden". Despite this, they openly followed Kaidou's every order to restrain and keep watch over Yamato for the last 20 years, and after officially cutting ties with Kaidou, Yamato openly attacked any and all members of the Beasts Pirates, despite some members' confusion as to Yamato's reasons for fighting with the enemy. After Yamato's rebellion from the Beasts Pirates was made apparent, they were ordered to immediately fight back, cementing them officially as enemies.

Ulti
Despite Yamato being Kaidou's daughter, Ulti does not regard the former very highly and expressed annoyance at Kaidou's repeating "family problems" involving Yamato. After Yamato had interrupted Ulti's battle with Luffy by knocking Ulti unconscious, the latter tried minimizing what had happened by denigrating Yamato's strength, while at the same time swearing she would avenge herself on Kaidou's child, right before passing out from the attack. Later, upon finding Yamato on the Live Floor, a vexed Ulti immediately went ahead with attacking and fighting. Annoyed with Ulti repeatedly getting in the way, Yamato fully went on to fight her, and ultimately got her out of her way. In the anime, when Ulti berated Yamato for not treating Kaidou with more respect, Yamato angrily stated that Ulti should take her own advice with her brother Page One.

Overview
I recognize your value as a soldier, Yamato!! Yamato is an extremely powerful warrior, with Black Maria noting that bringing the former back to Kaidou'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. Afterwards, Ace acknowledged Yamato's abilities, saying he could not believe someone so strong was not the captain and lamenting that Yamato could not join his crew. During the raid on Onigashima, Yamato clashed with Kaidou, a particularly notable feat considering the Emperor's nearly unparalleled physical might, with Kaidou himself acknowledging his daughter's strength and value as a soldier.

Physical Abilities
Yamato possesses immense physical strength resembling that of Kaidou, 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 he increased his strength exponentially with Gear 2 and Gear 3. When Yamato countered a punch from Luffy with a kick, the powerful collision destroyed part of the nearby wall and ceiling and blew back the Beasts Pirates around them. Yamato could easily run while carrying Luffy with just one arm and was able to shatter the extremely tough armor and weaponry of the Beasts Pirates' Armored Corps.

Yamato is extremely 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 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. During the fight against Kaidou, Yamato was able to withstand the Emperor's powerful attacks and continue to fight effectively.

Devil Fruit


Yamato ate the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Okuchi no Makami, a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit that enables transformation into a divine wolf, as well as a human-divine wolf hybrid. According to Kaidou, this beast is a "Guardian Deity of Wano Country". Yamato ate this fruit purely out of hunger, with Kaidou not intending for his daughter to be the one consuming the fruit.

As a Zoan, this fruit greatly bolsters Yamato's physical abilities. Yamato was able to clash near-evenly against Kaidou, an Emperor of the Sea, while the latter had assumed his extremely powerful human-dragon form. Furthermore, being a carnivorous animal, this animal transformation grants Yamato heightened predatory instincts, as well as equipping fangs and claws that are well-suited for combat.

Being a Mythical Zoan, this fruits bestows special powers that a regular wolf does not possess. Yamato is able to utilize the element of ice, using it for augmenting weapons, creating protection with ice armor or walls, and even releasing a powerful throat-based blast of ice that can clash evenly with and cancel out Kaidou's flame breath blast.

Haki
Yamato is one of very few people in the world who is capable of using all three forms of Haki.

Haoshoku Haki


Yamato possesses Haoshoku Haki, a very rare form of Haki whose users are stated to have the qualities of a king. It first awakened 20 years prior as a result of Yamato running wild throughout Onigashima as a child, knocking out Kaidou's subordinates. As an adult, Yamato demonstrated its advanced application of infusion, something that only a "handful" can do, often imbuing the weapon Takeru causing a stream of black lightning to be emitted from it, as shown when performing Raimei Hakke and Shinsoku Hakujaku.

Busoshoku Haki
Yamato is a highly masterful user of Busoshoku Haki, as shown by facing off against Ace, a Logia user and clashing against his flames, managing to wound him. Two year later, Yamato was shown projecting a long-distance swing using a hardened Takeru that knocked out Hatcha. Yamato's Busoshoku Haki is strong enough to the degree that it can wound Kaidou, whose skin is impervious to all but the strongest Haki attacks.

Kenbunshoku Haki
Yamato possesses the ability to use Kenbunshoku Haki.

Weapons


Yamato wields a giant kanabo club named Takeru, which is much like Kaidou's club Hassaikai, though it is studded and more slender while Hassaikai 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. Yamato has masterful technique with the kanabo despite its great size and weight, being capable of moving it to counter Luffy's rapid attacks with little effort.

Past
Twenty years ago at the age of 8, Yamato was present at Kozuki Oden's execution in the Legendary Hour, being extremely saddened yet also inspired at the great samurai's death. Immediately afterwards, Yamato ran to Kuri Castle to try to save Oden's family, but could only watch as father Kaidou attacked them. Following Kuri Castle's destruction, Yamato found Oden's logbook in a nearby river, and at some point told Kaidou that about the desire to become Oden, leading to Kaidou beating Yamato up and imprisoning his offspring on Onigashima with exploding handcuffs. However, this did not deter Yamato from continuing to emulate Oden.

At some point not long after Oden's death, Yamato was running wild across Onigashima, and despite being chained up by Kaidou, unleashed Haoshoku Haki which knocked out many subordinates. When Yamato told Kaidou of this new identity as Oden, he accepted this but stated that Yamato would have to die. To try to make Yamato see sense, Kaidou locked his daughter in a cave alongside Shimotsuki Ushimaru, Fugetsu Omusubi, and Uzuki Tempura for a month or until they agreed to obey him. He left them with food provisions for only a single person, and gave them swords to fight over it. Yamato grew extremely scared, believing their relationships with Kaidou would invoke the samurai's wrath; however, the samurai proceeded to immediately give Yamato the food, saying they did not feel hunger. Ushimaru cut Yamato free from the chains Kaidou put in place, saying that he had been friends with Oden. Yamato asked for help reading Oden's logbook, and the samurai guided Yamato through it as they took great interest themselves in the exploits it contained. After ten days, the samurai stated that they would not make it 20 years to the day of the promised battle and so prepared to escape the cave and confront Kaidou in order to enable Yamato to survive until that day. One time, whilst starving, Yamato found the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Okuchi no Makami and ate it, not realizing it was a highly valuable Devil Fruit that Kaidou had worked hard to acquire.



Four years before the present day, Yamato confronted the pirate Portgas D. Ace as he and his crew invaded Onigashima to kill Kaidou, who was on an expedition. Yamato and Ace engaged in a fierce duel, during which Ace learned of Yamato being trapped by Kaidou and thus gave the encouragement to break free from his control. This ultimately led Yamato to destroy a large dragon statue that Kaidou valued in an act of defiance while expressing the dream to be free and set sail. Yamato and Ace then had drinks together, and the former asked the latter about other pirates making a name for themselves. Ace told Yamato about several up-and-coming ones, but spent most of the time talking about his little brother Luffy. Ace ended up accidentally mentioning Luffy's ambitious dream and, realizing his error, begged Yamato to not laugh at it; however, Yamato reacted with excitement and quickly affirmed there would be no laughing, as Luffy's goal was the exact same as that of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger that was recorded in Oden's logbook. Following their time together, Yamato gave Ace a Vivre Card which would allow them to meet again one day as he set sail. Two years later, however, the card burned up and Yamato learned about Ace's death soon afterwards from the newspaper. In that newspaper, Yamato also learned about the exploits of Luffy and gained the desire to meet him one day.

Wano Country Arc


Right before the planned Golden Kagura festivities on the day of the Fire Festival, Yamato went missing and could not be found by any of the Beasts Pirates. Later, after Monkey D. Luffy had invaded the Skull Dome and began clashing with Ulti of the Tobiroppo, Yamato came charging in and knocked Ulti out with Raimei Hakke. Yamato then grabbed Luffy and carried him off while making introductions; however, Luffy was not willing to stay and talk with Yamato and so the two of them clashed as the Beasts Pirates gathered around. Eventually, however, Yamato was able to take Luffy into an attic space and he agreed to talk for five minutes. As Yamato's disguise was shed, the prisoner explained to Luffy the goal of becoming Oden and fulfilling his dream of opening Wano's borders; as a result, Yamato intended to fight on the pirate's side.



Yamato also told Luffy about Kaidou's exploding handcuffs, and Luffy offered to remove them. The duo then peeked from a crack in the floorboards to watch Kaidou give a speech, but the floorboard eventually collapsed and caused them to fall onto the main floor, where they were once again chased by the Beasts Pirates. As they fended off the pirates, Luffy removed Yamato's handcuffs and tossed them aside. The cuffs then exploded, sending the duo flying toward the Live Floor where Kaidou was as Yamato grew angry at him for actually being willing to kill his offspring for escaping and thus disowned him. However, Yamato was prevented from going after him by Luffy, who knew the Nine Red Scabbards would shortly be coming to initiate the assault on the Emperor.



Once the Scabbards arrived and ambushed Kaidou, Yamato raced to help them finish him off, only to be confronted by a vengeful Ulti. The two of them clashed with their clubs as Yamato's intent to become Oden was explained, and when alerted to the attack on Kaidou by other members of the Beasts Pirates, Yamato shocked them by revealing a change of allegiance and desire for Kaidou to die. After Kozuki Momonosuke was freed from Kaidou's captivity and sent to escape with his vassal Shinobu, Luffy told Yamato to go help protect him. Yamato was initially unsure whether to do this, but then realized it would be natural to protect Oden's son. Yamato chased after Momonosuke and Shinobu and called out to them, proclaiming to be Oden and a protector; this left the duo horrified and caused Shinobu to unleash a smoke ball to try to get away.



While running from Yamato, Momonosuke and Shinobu were ambushed by Sasaki and the Armored Division, but Yamato stepped in to protect them in the nick of time, fully declaring the intention to fight for the Kozuki Clan to Sasaki. While intercepting a bazooka strike, Yamato's full identity and intention to protect was communicated to them. Yamato began battling and taking down members of the Armored Division, but started taking serious bodily damage from constant bazooka strikes. Sasaki then prepared to intervene, and to deal with him, Yamato's Devil Fruit transformation began to activate. However, the Straw Hat member Franky then came running in while being chased by the Number Hatcha. Hatcha smashed the floor with his club, creating a hole in the ground that enabled Yamato, Momonosuke, and Shinobu to escape by falling to a lower level. Yamato left Franky to take care of Sasaki's troops, but to aid him, the former unleashed a long-range strike with Takeru which knocked out Hatcha. After landing on the floor below, Yamato continued running while holding Momonosuke and Shinobu, telling the former he must survive as he would be the one to guide the world to the "dawn".

The trio went outside to the port to try to sail away from Onigashima, but found that Onigashima had been lifted into the air by Kaidou's Flame Clouds and was heading toward the Flower Capital. The trio moved to a storeroom inside the Skull Dome, and upon seeing the dragon statue that they had broken during Ace's visit, Yamato told Momonosuke and Shinobu about their encounter. While recounting what Ace said about Luffy, Yamato believed it was an act of fate that caused Momonosuke's group to bring him here, especially considering the initial D. in his name. Yamato gave Momonosuke his father's logbook while reflecting that Oden's record foretelling a new generation of pirates coming 20 years after his time to strike down Kaidou was on the verge of coming true.

Later, Yamato heard a voice coming from within the room and found a mouse Mary lurking nearby, which meant the Beasts Pirates had surveillance of their location. The trio then heard a group of Beasts Pirates gathering outside the storeroom to attack, and Momonosuke was ushered into Yamato's garment as Yamato and Shinobu fought their way out of the room. As they resumed running through the Skull Dome, Momonosuke suddenly transformed into a dragon, causing him to pop out of Yamato's garment to a shocked reaction. Momonosuke quickly managed to calm down and revert back to human form, and Yamato noted his transformation's similarity to Kaidou's, expressing the desire to get a shot at defeating him.



The trio hid inside the first floor crawlspace, and Yamato prepared to go out alone, claiming it was to serve as a decoy though Momonosuke and Shinobu knew their companion wanted to go and fight Kaidou. Yamato rampaged through the castle, taking down any Beasts Pirates in the way. Upon arriving at the dome roof, Yamato confronted Kaidou, who told his daughter to refer to him as "Father", but Yamato refused and expressed the desire to break the chains holding them together as well as to go out to sea with Luffy after Kaidou was defeated. Kaidou stated that Luffy was dead and there was no way Yamato could beat him; Yamato acknowledged the latter, but still believed Luffy would return and so was prepared to hold Kaidou off until then as the duo clashed. Soon into their battle, Yamato had transformed into the Okuchi no Makami hybrid form while making clear the intent to fulfill Oden's vision for Wano and refusal to rule over Wano the way Kaidou had intended. As Kaidou unleashed a fiery Bolo Breath attack, Yamato countered with an ice breath attack. Kaidou then unleashed a flying strike that overwhelmed Yamato, who realized he was attacking with the intent to kill. Kaidou said that if his daughter wished to bear Oden's name, it must come with readiness for war. Whilst remembering the samurai who sacrificed themselves, Yamato asked Kaidou why he had taken away the freedom of Wano and his daughter, and Kaidou responded that there was no simple answer to that as the two both performed the Raimei Hakke technique and created a powerful clash of Haoshoku Haki.

Yamato then leapt into the air and attacked Kaidou, knocking his head into the ground. As he stood back up, he mocked Yamato's defense of Wano and claimed that the samurai would never accept his daughter; however, Yamato dismissed the claims. When Kaidou added that Yamato had always been alone, the latter refuted this, but Kaidou retorted that everyone who had ever shown compassion had been killed. A disheartened Yamato's guard went down, and Kaidou knocked his daughter into the ground before unleashing a vicious beating, claiming that those friendships were phony and that Yamato should rule others with the fear of her power.



Standing back up, Yamato reverted back to normal and readied to continue the fight with Kaidou before imbuing Takeru with Haoshoku Haki and striking Kaidou again. At the same time, Luffy rode an adult Momonosuke in his dragon form to the rooftop and struck Kaidou as well. The combined attack sent Kaidou flying, while Yamato and Luffy greeted each other. Kaidou transformed into his dragon form and confronted the other dragon, whom Yamato was surprised to hear was Momonosuke. As the fight continued, Yamato watched as Luffy and Kaidou clashed, with their attacks splitting the heavens, and Yamato looking onward with amazement. While Luffy told Momonosuke to stop Onigashima from falling onto Wano, Yamato began to bleed and suffer pain. Luffy then called to Yamato to help Momonosuke, to which Yamato agreed and climbed onto the new dragon. Kaidou refused to let them go anywhere and charged at the both of them, as Yamato tried to encourage Momonosuke to get going, which he eventually did, with Yamato blocking Kaidou's attack right as Luffy grabbed him from behind and stopped him.

Despite wanting to go back and help fight, Yamato quickly realized that Luffy wanted a one-on-one with Kaidou, and so jumped off Onigashima with Momonosuke. After helping the grown boy stay in the air by generating Flame Clouds, Yamato realized that Onigashima had begun crumbling due to the degree of fighting within it. With only about five minutes remaining until the island landed on the Flower Capital, Yamato told Momonosuke that he must create Flame Clouds that could overpower Kaidou's. Momonosuke initially resisted out of fear, but Yamato was eventually able to sway him, knowing that Onigashima would likely create a massive explosion upon landing due to the massive amounts of explosives stockpiled. A short time later, Yamato began to worry that they would not make it in time and so left Momonosuke in order to directly disable all the explosives in the fortress' armory.

While heading toward the weapons stock, Yamato saw Kid and Law's fight with Big Mom, seeing Kid being sent out of the third floor but due to having to reach the stock fast, Yamato later bashed into the Cave Chamber, right into Apoo's and Drake's skirmish. Yamato would then proceed to make her way through, dismissing Apoo's attempt at allying themselves while also shortly clashing with Drake. Yamato was surprised to hear he left the Beasts Pirates as well, but shook him aside and ran towards the stock again, this time chased by Fuga, closely followed by Apoo, Drake and the other Numbers. When the flaming entity Kazenbo made its way downwards, Yamato was immediately worried about it reaching the bomb stocks and blowing the island up, asking for Fuga's assistance while making their way downwards. Fuga and Yamato made their way down to the armory, where Rokki was sleeping while guarding the gate. Following Yamato's orders, Fuga charged headlong into Rokki, breaking down the gate in the process, and then held Rokki down, so Yamato could continue down into the armory.

Yamato reached the armory at the same time as Kazenbo and quickly coated the room in a thick layer of ice, preventing the entity from igniting the explosives, and then attacked Kazenbo directly to distract it from melting the ice. While continuing to hold back Kazenbo, Yamato was surprised to see Big Mom falling from the hole previously made. Yamato's amazement quickly ended after seeing Big Mom punch through one of the frozen bombs and accidentally causing it to explode, forcing the former to quickly make an ice wall to protect the frozen bombs as the explosion destroyed a portion of the lower part of Onigashima. Big Mom and most of the remaining explosives fell directly into the second hole Law created on Wano, creating a more massive explosion away from Onigashima.

Yamato was then approached by Momonosuke again, and while explaining the situation to him, Momonosuke then said that Zunesha was approaching Wano and was getting closer. After hearing this, Yamato asked if this Zunesha was the same one mentioned in Oden's journal. Momonosuke said yes, then explained that it was once Joy Boy's companion and that it committed a crime 800 years ago. After Momonosuke told Yamato that Zunesha had come to join the battle, Yamato told Momonosuke that this was a sign that he might be the one to lead the world to its dawn like his father predicted. Momonosuke disagreed, acknowledging that he could not die in this fight, but also saying that his father Oden ripped out the most important parts of his journey with Roger out of the journal. He told Yamato that he was not wise or brave like his father and admitted to her that when he thought about all the potential dangers of the outside world, it made him want to keep Wano’s borders shut rather than open them, asking Yamato if he was a coward for thinking like that. Unable to answer his question, Yamato sadly looked at Momonosuke.

As the battle on the roof between Luffy and Kaidou intensified, Yamato dodged one of Kaidou's blasts that went through Onigashima. After Kaidou returned to the Live Floor following his apparent victory over Luffy, he declared that he had won and demanded that Momonosuke surrender to him. Hearing this, Momonosuke began to stop pulling the island and decided that surrendering was the best option, until Yamato angrily pointed out that even if he did this to save everyone now, they would still suffer as Kaidou's slaves. Yamato reminded him that this war had gone on for 20 years and that there was too much at stake to stop now, boldly expressing the preference to die fighting together than surrender. Momonosuke, shocked by Yamato's words, accepted the situation and prepared to join the battle. However he was stopped at the last moment by Zunesha. Yamato watched Momonosuke converse with Zunesha, who informed him that Joy Boy had returned. Momonosuke told Yamato that Luffy was Joy Boy, shocking Yamato in the process. When witnessing Luffy fighting Kaidou again, Yamato was shocked at what Luffy was able to do in his new form. As the fight continued, Yamato noticed Kaidou getting weaker and weaker, urging Momonosuke once again to create more powerful Flame Clouds than Kaidou's as Onigashima was about to fall. Yamato tried to encourage him, but he was not confident about his own powers. However, once Kaidou's Flame Clouds had completely vanished to which Yamato had warned Momonosuke, giving him the determination he needed to make new Flame Clouds to stop Onigashima in time from crashing into the ground.

Following the battle, Yamato met the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates and declared to them the intention of joining their crew. Yamato got angry when some Beasts Pirates members tried to run away.

Major Battles

 * Yamato vs. Portgas D. Ace
 * Yamato vs. Monkey D. Luffy
 * Yamato vs. Ulti (Onigashima Live Floor)
 * Yamato vs. Armored Division
 * Yamato vs. Kaidou
 * Yamato, Luffy and Kozuki Momonosuke vs. Kaidou
 * Yamato vs. Kazenbo

Anime and Manga Differences
In the anime, Yamato was shown to be the unknown figure who observed Robin and Jinbe when the Straw Hats enter into Onigashima's castle. The manga has yet to show whether the person was Yamato or not.

Gender
The gender identity of Yamato is a complex and nuanced issue that has resulted in a fair amount of confusion due to potentially conflicting information as well as conflicting interpretations of this information. This uncertainty has forced English translators to take their own stance on the matter, as translations must often add third-person pronouns on their own due to such terms being rare in Japanese.

Information on Yamato's gender that has come directly from the author has indicated that Yamato is female. This includes Yamato being referred to as the "daughter of Kaidou" in both her introduction box in Chapter 984 and her listing at the beginning of volumes starting in Volume 98. Additionally, Vivre Card - One Piece Visual Dictionary lists Yamato's gender as female in her card entry.

However, certain statements by characters in the manga have continued to create confusion and uncertainty regarding Yamato's gender, particularly regarding Yamato being referred to as Kaidou's son. Yamato has stated that she refers to herself as Kaidou's son due to her desire to adopt Oden's identity, saying "Oden was a man, wasn't he? So I chose to be a man too!" Yamato has also been referred to as Kaidou's son by Kaidou himself as well as the Beasts Pirates; though their reasons for doing so still remain unclear, given their relationship with the real Oden and their reactions to Yamato claiming to be the legendary samurai. This has led to a significant portion of the fanbase believing that, in-universe, characters who know Yamato consider her to be male, and the official VIZ and Funimation translations have taken this approach, with Luffy and the Beasts Pirates referring to Yamato with masculine ("he/him") pronouns.

Playable Appearances

 * One Piece Treasure Cruise
 * One Piece Bounty Rush
 * One Piece Thousand Storm

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's kanabo being named Takeru makes it nearly certain that the name was based on this figure.
 * 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 possesses some notable parallels to Kozuki Momonosuke, with both of them being born 28 years ago and given the shogunate of Wano as their birthright. Interestingly, however, each of them share traits and goals more so with the other's father rather than their own. Yamato has been trapped on Wano for a large portion of life and wishes to leave and set sail with a pirate crew like Oden, while Momonosuke has been out on the sea but wishes to rule over Wano, much like Kaidou. Additionally, Yamato desires to directly become Oden while Momonosuke possesses the very same Devil Fruit transformation as Kaidou.
 * Both Yamato and Momonosuke ate their Devil Fruits purely out of hunger without even knowing what they were consuming.
 * Yamato being forced to wear exploding handcuffs by Kaidou in order to fulfill his plans and be prevented from leaving their homeland is very similar to what happened to Sanji in the Whole Cake Island Arc.
 * Yamato's Vivre Card entry revealed design concepts, including designs with differently shaped horns, and also includes concept art for Fugetsu Omusubi.
 * Yamato battling Ace to a draw to defend the territory of one of the Four Emperors, then later befriending Ace and taking an interest in Luffy due to Ace's relationship with him, also occurred with Jinbe.
 * In the 7th fan popularity poll, Yamato was ranked 11th.

SBS-Based Trivia

 * Yamato's birthday, November 3, in Japan is known as 'Culture Day' (文化の日).
 * On a request from a fan, Oda drew a personification of the side of Yamato's breast, or "sideboob" (横乳).
 * Yamato's favorite food is oden and raw salmon eaten by biting into it.

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