WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter #1024, "So-And-So," by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul and Vanessa Satone, available in English via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
With the Topiroppo now out of the way in One Piece's Onigashima Raid, you would think events would be winding down in the manga. However, there are still tens of thousands of Beast Pirates for the Straw Hat crew to contend with, and they aren't even sure where their rubber-brained captain is.
Even worse, Yamato is the only thing standing between Kaido and the good guys' annihilation. In Chapter #1024, a flashback of Yamato reveals the abusive and neglected childhood the son of Kaido was forced to bear.
On the island of Onigashima, a young, exhausted and starving Yamato sits on a battlefield of unconscious Beast Pirates. While out of breath, Yamato cries out to his father "I am Kozuki Oden," but Kaido ignores his child's declarations and pleas for food. The pirate captain realizes Yamato must have used Conqueror's Haki without realizing it, so he decides to put his only child through a tumultuous test.
Kaido shackles Yamato to a massive boulder inside a cave with three samurai who were loyal to Oden. He then provides the prisoners with a single meal that can only satiate one person -- and swords for them to fight with -- promising their freedom if they pledge loyalty to the Beast Pirates. Yamato pleas with his father to not do this, realizing the swordsmen must hold a grudge against Kaido for killing Oden and will likely take their revenge out on his child, but all of his crying falls on deaf ears. Kaido suggests that if Yamato truly is "Kozuki Oden," then he can survive in the cave for a month.
Yamato initially fears for his life, but to his surprise, the samurai give the meal to the young boy. The good-natured samurai hold no grudge against those who share the same blood as their enemy. There's an excellent panel of Yamato eating the meal with tears rolling down his face that really makes you empathize with his situation.
A familiar-looking swordsman later cuts the shackles that bind Yamato to the boulder. The samurai does not give his name, but he is likely Shimotsuki Ushimaru, daimyo of Wano's snow-covered Ringo region who is theorized by One Piece fans to be a relative of Roronoa Zoro.
As the days pass in the cave, Yamato shows the samurai the logbook of Oden's travels, but unfortunately is unable to read. The samurai teach Yamato to read, and the impression Oden's stories leave on Yamato is clear as day.
When ten days pass and it's clear Kaido will not be feeding Yamato any more food in the cave, the samurai decides to break out to save his life. They can be there for the future battle that Oden spoke of, so all they can do is save the life of this child who is resolved to carry Oden's legacy.
One Piece fans have really fallen for Yamato since his debut, especially LGBT fans, and his flashback is a perfect example of why. Here we have trans allegory of a child's identity not being acknowledged or respected by their parental figure, dreaming of the freedom to leave with the found family that sees him for who he is. It's been suggested Yamato could be the next Straw Hat, and Chapter 1024's flashback reveal only further solidifies his running. For now, though, Kaido's rule must end here, with him slain and the people of Wano finally free of tyranny.
