Wano had entered an uneasy peace. Kaido's grip remained, but his attention waned. With no imminent war, his subordinates roamed the country more freely, and so did Yamato—still calling himself Kozuki Oden, still dreaming of freedom.
But there was someone who complicated those dreams.
Ulti.
Fiery, loud, impulsive Ulti. A Tobi Roppo who always had something snide to say, especially to Yamato, whom she mockingly called “Daddy’s Boy” whenever she caught him sneaking out.
They were oil and fire—too volatile to coexist, yet always circling each other like storm clouds and lightning.
One night, under the dim glow of the Wano moon, Yamato stood on a cliff near Onigashima, overlooking the sea. He felt it again—the pull toward freedom, and the ache of chains still unbroken.
“You’re always out here sulking,” came Ulti’s voice behind him. “Trying to be edgy like Law or something?”
Yamato turned. “What do you want, Ulti?”
She walked up beside him. “I could ask you the same. You keep sneaking out, and then staring at the ocean like it’s gonna kiss you back.”
He laughed in spite of himself.
There was a silence.
Then she added quietly, “You know, I get it.”
Yamato blinked. “You do?”
Ulti crossed her arms, facing the horizon. “Yeah. Wanting more than what Kaido gives. He’s strong, sure—but he doesn’t see us. Not really. I bet he never listened to a damn word you said about Oden.”
That hit home.
Yamato looked at her, really looked this time. “And you? What do you want?”
She glanced sideways. “I want to stop fighting to be noticed. Maybe be with someone who looks at me like I’m more than a weapon.”
There was something raw in her voice—more real than he’d ever heard.
“I see you,” Yamato said, stepping closer. “Even when you're yelling. Especially when you're yelling.”
Ulti chuckled. “That’s because I’m always yelling.”
“I like that about you.”
Her eyes widened, and then she gave him that rare, soft smile she usually reserved only for Page One.
“You’re such a dork,” she whispered.
Yamato stepped forward and brushed a strand of her blue hair aside. “Maybe. But I’d rather be a dork with you than a warrior alone.”
They didn’t kiss then. Not yet. Just stood there, two rebels under Kaido’s roof, letting the silence between them crackle like thunder.
But later—after whispered meetings in hidden corners of Onigashima, shared laughs and stolen touches—the kiss did come. It wasn’t soft. It was fierce, like both of them—teeth, breath, fire. A declaration that even in a world built on violence, love could erupt like a storm and demand to be felt.
In the end, maybe they wouldn’t escape together. Maybe they'd burn everything down first. But no matter how the story ended, Yamato and Ulti were no longer just tools of Kaido’s reign.
They were lightning and thunder.
And together, they roared.