 Hello my Naka Matachi, this is Joygirl with a video to discuss Yamato. And before we begin, I do have to warn anime-only fans that you will have to wait before you can engage in this discussion if you don't want to be spoiled. So please feel free to watch some of my other videos and come back to this one at a later date. Now for everyone else, we were only introduced to Yamato relatively recently, not even a full year ago in Chapter 983. And from what we can tell at the time of this video just past Chapter 1016, Yamato has just started engaging in combat with Kaido. But what can we expect from this? Despite being someone who is very new to the story, Yamato already has connections with some of the most important characters in this arc. Yamato's friendship with Ace creates a connection to Luffy. Yamato's obsession to becoming Odin offers a link to Moanosuke and the Red Scabbards, which is one of the interactions I am looking forward to the most. Not to mention the most obvious connection, which is the fact that Yamato is the child of the main antagonist of this arc. So from all of this, what can we expect from Yamato? In terms of strength, we know that Yamato is at least Toby Roppo level. Not only did Black Maria mention that finding and bringing Yamato to the festival will be a difficult task, we saw Yamato take down Ulti and then also prepare to fight against Sasaki. We also saw that Yamato was able to fend off Luffy's attacks whilst having a conversation with Luffy with no intent of fighting back. This is against both a Gi 2nd and Gi 3rd Luffy. We have also seen that Yamato has incredible durability. Brunting Sasaki's armoured division, Yamato emerged from multiple bazooka strikes relatively unharmed. And then, we recently saw that Kaido himself transitioned to his hybrid form straight away to fight Yamato, which could be very suggestive of Yamato's strength. We also know that Yamato is a haki user, able to use armoured haki against Hacha as well as against Ace's Logia Fire Devil Fruit abilities. And after the latest chapter, it's possible that Yamato may even have Conqueror's Haki and the ability to imbue Conqueror's Haki into attacks. So, needless to say, it does seem like Yamato possesses great strength. And what we've seen so far doesn't even include Yamato's Devil Fruit abilities because it does seem like Yamato almost certainly possesses a Zouan Devil Fruit. When preparing to fight against Sasaki, Yamato was shown to start transforming with teeth turning into fangs before their fight was interrupted. As for what this Devil Fruit would be, I agree with the popular idea that Yamato is in possession of a mythical Zouan Devil Fruit, Biako. The White Tiger is one of the four symbols of the Chinese constellation along with Seiru or the Azure Dragon, which is the model of the mythical Devil Fruit currently possessed by Kaido. For one, it would be quite symbolic as according to legends, the White Tiger is considered to be the rival or enemy of the Azure Dragon. As the Dragon represents the heavens, the Tiger represents the Earth and is known to balance out the power of the Dragon. This could perfectly represent what we have in the series. As Kaido is portrayed to be an invincible figure in a class above humans, Yamato could be the force to represent the ordinary citizens of Wano. With Yamato severing ties with Kaido and joining with the Alliance to take the Yonko down, it would make a lot of sense that Yamato possesses the Devil Fruit power, which is the natural enemy of the Dragon. And if Yamato does indeed have the Tiger Devil Fruit, then this may have even been foreshadowed. Similar to how Kanjiroju Rionosuke, which retrospectively could be taken to have been a foreshadowing of Kaido's Devil Fruit, the next thing Kanjiro drew was a cat, which could be representative of a tiger. In fact, in chapter 816, we can see a drawing of the two, seemingly circling each other as if they are preparing to fight in a similar design to the Yin and Yang symbol. As for why or how Yamato would have this Devil Fruit power, it's even possible that Kaido even gave the Devil Fruit to his own child. As one of the emperors of the seas with connections to the underworld, it's not hard to believe that Kaido could come into possession of such a red Devil Fruit. I can think of two possible reasons why Kaido would give Yamato a Devil Fruit, which is considered the natural enemy of his own. The first being that although tigers and dragons are considered natural enemies, it's also true that they symbolize perfect balance or harmony, like Yin and Yang. Perhaps Kaido wished to rule Wano in perfect balance with Yamato. Or the other possibility is that as someone who has been searching for a good way to die, it's natural to think that Kaido has been creating his own death and gave Yamato the Devil Fruit in hopes that his son would one day become strong enough to fight and defeat him. But even aside from all the symbolic meanings, a possible hint pointing to Yamato's Devil Fruit being the Biako is that Yamato has long white hair, which is fitting considering that Biako is the white tiger. So it seems quite likely that Yamato may possess the Biako Devil Fruit power, in which case Yamato's strength is something to really look forward to. But in saying that, there are other possibilities too. Thanks to Anakama Matthew, who drew my attention to a mystical Japanese creature named Shachihoko. The Shachihoko is a carp with a tiger head, which would be very fitting as this would also place Yamato's Devil Fruit in the same fish family as Kaidos. Whilst not confirmed that Kaido's Devil Fruit is specifically a carp fish, the legend of a carp-turned-dragon seems to have greatly influenced Kaido's Devil Fruit power. And so keeping both Devil Fruits within the fish category would make perfect sense for the father and son. And again, Yamato's tiger variation would rival Kaido's Dragon. The Shachihoko is also known to be a protector spirit. And I think with Yamato taking on Odin's identity, the persona of protector fits quite nicely. Another question that we've been wondering since Yamato's introduction, whether Yamato will join the Straw Hats. And this speculation was only more teased after the last chapter, with Yamato declaring yet again the wish to travel the seas with Luffy. Now whether this means Yamato will actually be the new crew member isn't a discussion that I'll get into. I've already discussed this possibility in my future Straw Hats candidates video, so please feel free to watch that discussion. But if we do suppose that Yamato does join the Straw Hats for today's discussion, the question that we have is then where would Yamato sit in terms of strength within the Straw Hats? Whilst the concept of the monster trio isn't something confirmed within the series itself, it's hard to disagree that Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji have been portrayed to be the three powerhouses of the Straw Hats when it comes to combat. Could the inclusion of Yamato change this? From what we've seen with Yamato easily parrying Luffy's attacks, as well as the mini flashback showing the clash against Ace, it seems possible that Yamato's strength will be second to only Luffy as the Straw Hat captain is also displaying rapid development in his combat abilities in this arc. However, whilst not at the same level that Yamato is being portrayed now, we saw a similar thing with Frankie in the Water 7 arc, where Frankie went toe-to-toe with Luffy and then was also briefly involved in Luffy's fight against Rob Luchi in Ennius Lobby. But once the arc was over, this didn't interfere with the established dynamic of the East Blue Trio. We're seeing something similar again in Wano here, with Jinbei who is currently facing off against the Tobi-Roppo member, despite having been a shichibukai and who was considered equal to Ace, who many considered to be above Luffy. Sure times have changed since, but here we are with Sanji fighting a Yonko commander who ranks higher than the Tobi-Roppo. Could we get something like this with Yamato, where Yamato's portrayal in terms of strength will not get in the way of the dynamic of the straw hats once the focus on Yamato's character is over? In saying that, Yamato's strength isn't the only thing we can expect to see in this arc. From a storytelling perspective, it is clear Yamato is important to the series. From glimpses of the upcoming volume covers, 99-101, the first time we are ever going to see a triple connected cover, it seems Yamato will be included with Ace in the cover for volume 100, also featuring alongside the monster trio. Like I mentioned before, Yamato already has a very interesting backstory, as well as connections to many of the main figures of the Wano arc. And even more excitingly, would be whether a shared backstory between Yamato and Kaido will allow us a glimpse into some of the other mysteries and legends of One Piece. As for the future of the raid, though Yamato did acknowledge that beating Kaido alone wouldn't be possible, Yamato being a crucial force in defeating Kaido was planted almost as soon as Yamato appeared in the series, and Yamato's role in this would have extremely significant meaning. For one, with Yamato being the child of the main antagonist, this could lead to some very interesting developments. We saw from Orochi's backstory that the citizens of Wano made a grave error in holding the sins of a parent onto their children or grandchildren. If Orochi alone wasn't a lesson, Yamato playing an active role in fighting Kaido could play a part in teaching the Wano citizens not to judge a child for the actions of their parents. Also, when we consider Yamato's connections to Momonosuke and to the scabbards through the idolization of Odin, I'm expecting some very epic and meaningful moments. The interactions between Yamato and the scabbards is something that I am still dying to see. Based on the meeting with Momonosuke and Shinobu, I can picture a great deal of comedy as well as some real heartfelt scenes. One of the ways that I can see the fight against Kaido is that especially as kid and law have now set their focus on Big Mom, we will see Luffy and Yamato fight against the King of Beasts, the two working together to fulfill the will of those who have come before them, including both Ace and Odin. And when it comes to Yamato's character, one of my personal questions that I'm still waiting an answer for is whether Yamato will ultimately choose to live as Yamato instead of emulating someone else. Perhaps the last act of Yamato acting as Odin will be to carry Odin's will to defeat Kaido and open Wano's borders. And just as Luffy will have the shadows of the nine straw hats behind him, Yamato will have the nine shadows of the scabbards. Which begs the question, when Yamato has fulfilled Odin's wish, will the time come when Yamato stops wanting to be Odin? Will we get to know the real Yamato? Will we get to learn of Yamato's own goals? And will this goal align with traveling the seas? When Yamato no longer wants to be Odin, will Yamato still want to join the straw hats? And with that, we come to the end of our discussion. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts on this hyped character. Don't forget to like and share this video if you enjoyed today's discussion. And don't forget to subscribe for more One Piece content because we could all do with more of those. This is Joygirl, and I'll see you again soon. And I would like to say a huge thank you to our patrons, Jordan Blanche, Gregory Gerald, Jacob Champion, Usopp's Rubber Band, Clara Albras, and Jamal Nabil. Thank you guys so so much for your support.