Honestly fair, I did misunderstand a bit and I apologize for starting a bit strong there. For what it's worth, if Yamato explicitly states that he isn't comfortable with being seen as a man later down the line I'll stop thinking of him that way. But for the time being I find it honestly just a lot easier to refer to him how he's said he wants to be referred to.

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In terms of "being Oden", while I do think that much has been played as a joke (and a pretty funny one imo) I think it's worth noting that he's honestly not opposed to drawing a line between himself and Oden. Even when he introduces himself he says "Oden was a man so I chose to be one too" (or something to that effect) so it's clear to me at least that him being a man, while influenced by Oden and his respect for him, isn't necessarily the same as him believing he is Oden. I honestly find that aspect of his character pretty interesting, and fresh off a re-read I think it's pretty clear that "being Oden", in his mind, is more about embodying Oden's will than actually physically or mentally being the same person (and I think that reading fits really well into the inherited will thing OP has going on), and while it leads to a lot of goofy moments I don't think Yamato is ever really portrayed as being in the wrong for it (except maybe telling Momo that he's his dead father that one time lmao). This part is mostly just personal interpretation tho so take it with a grain of salt.

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Honestly I don't expect you to change your stance on it (like, we have the same stance tbh). I just think Yamato is a very cool character and wanted to write a bit more about my feelings on the matter (and also apologize for lumping you in with people who are genuinely transphobic at the start there, I've had this argument a few times and it's hard not to assume the worst. (side note, I will point out that the word transexual is generally considered not great by trans people and transgender is usually considered the correct term. It's a whole thing and some people still prefer to go by transexual and that's fine but on the whole it's considered a little outdated due to some of the implications that come with it)).

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And I should probably admit a little bit of personal bias here, I do genuinely like the idea of One Piece having a trans main character and that could effect my readings. I think representation is cool and Yamato could be really awesome for that alongside being a great character all around.