Chapter 9: Kidnapping the Father and Daughter

After contemplating for a while about how to proceed with Wano, Dante decided to take Kaido's place while leaving Orochi alive. He would, of course, discard the idea of producing Smiles because of obvious reasons. 

Dante reached Onigashima where most of the beast pirates were positioned. Stealing their perception of him, Dante was able to stroll around taking in the sight of the ugly island. He didn't like the design very much and the people living in it only made it worse.

Having decided that he had seen enough, Dante blinked into the main hall where Kaido was drinking with Queen and King. In front of him, chained to the ground was his own daughter, Yamato. The now 18-year-old Oni, gritted her teeth, once again declaring herself as Oden and that she would defeat her father and free Wano from his clutches.

King and Queen laughed the child's temper tantrum off while Kaido entered his Sad Drunk phase crying his eyes dry as he lamented his daughter's hatred for him. The next moment it changed into his Aggressive Drunk phase and he smashed the ground with his steel club.

'It was weird in the manga, but seeing it in person is even weirder...' Dante could only lament the poor child who had to grow up with Kaido as a father.

Dante's gaze wandered down at her wrists and ankles that bore marks of her unwavering struggle against her own fate. Ever since he became the Lord of Mysteries, Dante gained a slight disgust against fate. As the Beacon of Destiny, he understood the powerlessness of mortals as they struggled and failed to go against fate. It was one of the reasons he had decided to provide them with the possibility to break free from their destiny instead of him doing all the hard work.

Time seemed frozen in place as not a single sound could be heard around Yamato. She looked up in shock as she witnessed the frozen figures of her father and his commanders. A figure materialized in front of the young Oni woman.

In front of Yamato, a woman materialized with a delicate face, her skin was clean and devoid of any blemishes. Her soft and attractive curves accentuated her beauty without taking from her elegance and noble demeanor. Her shining, golden hair was braided into a tress long enough to be twisted and knotted above her head and still almost touched the floor.

Her silver eyes sparkled like stars and her gaze was filled with the love and caring of a mother looking at her child. The gorgeous woman reached out for Yamato who flinched in response. Yet instead of the cold and harsh touch of her father, Yamato felt for the first time the caring touch of a mother.

"You poor, child. How much have you suffered at the hands of others, unable to break free from your fate." The woman stopped caressing Yamato and instead brought her closer for a hug. In the meantime the chains binding Yamato to the main hall opened, freeing the young woman from her prison.

"M-My chains!" Tears of happiness flooded her face as she reveled in her freedom. The pain and soreness brought by the steel chains vanished, not even her scars remained.

"Wow! Thank you! But... who are you?" Yamato watched the woman stand back up, her loving gaze never leaving Yamato.

"I am 'His' angel. The angel of life and the mother to all the oppressed." Dante struggled to not cringe and hide in the historical void but he had decided upon this and he would go through with it since he already started it.

"'His' angel?" Dante let the words sink in, since she read Oden's diary she should know about the Fool, at least that was what Dante expected.

"Wait?! Are you the Fool's angel?! The one that Oden mentioned would bring forth a new era?!" Yamato jumped up grabbing Dante's shoulders in shock. 

'If I had used any other marionette besides the vice admiral, it would have broken from her grip...' Dante's thoughts and the words he spoke couldn't be more mismatched.

"So you heard already about the great lord Fool. Yes, I was sent here to prepare the stage for Joyboy's arrival."

"My child, are willing to serve the Fool? 'He' shall break the chains of fate holding you prisoner, 'He' allows us servants to roam the worlds as we see fit. Only when our service is required does 'He' require us to follow his orders. Other than that we are free to live the way we want." Dante caressed the young woman's face, he had seen the horror her father had put her through. He pitied her, but also admired her for never allowing her father to break her spirit. Even without him, she would endure until Luffy's arrival.

Yamato remained silent, her gaze fixed on her smooth wrists.

"I wish to save Wano, to uphold Oden's wish and open its borders! If the Fool can help me with it, then I shall gladly follow him!"

Dante reigned in a smirk, his female appearance sporting a loving gaze as he watched the young Oni.

"I already told you, I was sent here to prepare the stage for Joyboy's arrival. It will take another 10 years for his arrival but there is someone you might want to meet."

Dante stirred the powers of the gray fog letting a small patch form a mirror, the form of Momonosuke appeared on the smooth surface as he trained fiercely inside Sefirah Castle.

Dante had left Momonosuke inside Sefirah Castle because he could use his spirit worm to use the sephirot's abilities to continuously fool the young Kozuki's body. Whenever he reached his limits, the spirit worm would fool his body into recovering instantly allowing Momonosuke to train for an extended time. This however meant the kid would have to endure an increase in his mental strain but he had warned him about it before. Momonosuke was ready to endure whatever Dante threw at him if it meant saving Wano a single day sooner.

"Who is that?" Yamato glanced at the young figure trying to figure out who he was, alas none of the people she knew fit the description.

"That child is Kozuki Momonosuke, Oden's son and the future shogun of Wano."

"Huh?!" Yamato couldn't believe her ears.

"Didn't Kaido kill him ten years ago?!"

Despite her harsh words, her eyes shone in a hopeful light. With Momonosuke alive, the chances of saving Wano increased tremendously.

In the end, Yamato accepted Dante's offer to follow the Fool.

'Nice... I now have Vegapunk, Yamato, and Fisher Tiger as well as Skypiea, Fishman Island, and soon Wano under my control. Now once I bring Kaido to Vegapunkt, project Seraphim will finally begin.'

Dante sent Yamato into Sefirah Castle where she was to help Momonosuke become stronger until he managed to bring over Mihawk as well.

Among all of his pawns, only Vegapunk was given the seal of the Fool. He would be the only one he would bring along as he travels across different realms in the future, at least the only one for now.

Once Yamato was gone from Onigashima, Dante returned his appearance back to normal. His eyes locked on the giant Oni that was still frozen in time. Dante had stolen the flow of time for everyone except Yamato, leaving everything, except for her, frozen in time.

He willed the area inside Sefirah Castle to shift and produce several distinct compartments inside the giant, ancient hall. He needed Kaido alive but also had to avoid Momonosuke and Yamato seeing him or his ruse would fall apart.

Dante stirred the powers of the gray fog to swallow Kaido, sealing him in one of the new rooms he had recently created. Then, Dante inserted his hand into the historical void pulling out a projection of Kaido. He connected it with another spirit worm inside Sefirah Castle whose main goal was to keep the marionettes, Dante would place in the future as doubles, acting like they normally would.

Then Dante did the same with Yamato's projection and left Onigashima. The flow of time returned to normal and none of the beast pirates was any wiser on what had transpired only a few moments ago.

...

Dante appeared inside Dr. Vegapunk's lab on Punk Hazard, informing him about the suitable blueprint for the Seraphim he had acquired.

Dante used the Fool's grafting ability to connect one of Vegapunk's secret doors with the prepared laboratory inside Sefirah Castle. The door would only open for someone wielding the Fool's insignia and even if someone else managed to enter the sephirot, Dante was one with the castle making it a death trap for any intruder.

'Next on my list is to gather the devil fruits I want to add to the Sephiram...'