"Let me see... That blind uncle Fujitora really is strong. He actually became a Marine Admiral just like that. And this Ryokugyu... hmm, never heard of him, but he should be strong too, right? As expected, there are still many monsters in this world."
New World, Galápagos Island. Yamato was on the second-floor terrace of a tavern, reading the latest issue of the newspaper.
Compared to the Fullalead incident, the World Government spent more ink on this matter.
The fact that the Beasts Pirates gained a new Calamity only needs to be mentioned once. The World Government isn't about to advertise for pirates every day. As for the topic of the young hero, it's not bad, but it doesn't carry the same deterrent power as a new Admiral.
Thanks to intel circulated internally through Rotom, Yamato had long since known about what happened in Fullalead. What's more, among the new Marine Admirals was someone she recognized: Issho, whom she had met a few times.
At the time, she had already noticed the difference in Issho's strength, but she never thought he would use the World Military Draft to directly reach the position of Admiral.
"Doesn't seem like a problem. That uncle's personality fits this kind of choice pretty well. I hope there will be more monsters in this world, then that b*stard father will be kept busy."
Murmuring to herself, Yamato slumped back against the chair behind her, wearing an expression of utter despair.
According to the messages sent to her by the Pokémon left on Onigashima, Kaido had entered his periodic "training mode" and there were even frequent fluctuations of Arceus's energy.
This was definitely not good news for her. No matter what Kaido's goal was in doing this, it would ultimately fall on her.
"Hey Reshiram, how about giving me a hint, what exactly is the truth as you understand it?"
"Figure it out yourself. There are no shortcuts to truth. There never has been."
After much effort, Yamato had managed to get Reshiram to go from completely ignoring her to occasionally responding with a sentence, but progress remained slow.
"Feels like there's more meaning behind your words. You guys always act so mysterious."
Yamato casually grabbed a frozen fish from the nearby bucket and flung it toward the bay beyond the terrace. It was a special service offered by the tavern owner: 500 Berries for a bucket of frozen fish to feed the penguins.
500 Berries wasn't expensive, and it counted as a special form of entertainment on Galápagos Island. This way, the tavern owner saved on the manpower needed for feeding and also earned extra revenue.
These penguins got to eat their fill every day thanks to the tourists feeding them. If anyone was interested, they could even participate in the local penguin surfing competition. Just rent a penguin and you could join the competition, and the champion would receive a mysterious prize.
As for how to surf with penguins...
The penguins on Galápagos Island weren't ordinary ones. These penguins typically stood several meters tall, with the bigger ones even exceeding ten meters. As a unique species in these waters, they are most adept at swimming while standing upright and serve as a major tourist attraction of the island.
"Spending your own money to help them feed penguins... This tavern owner really knows how to make money. Tesoro should start a similar project. Tourists probably wouldn't mind feeding Cyclizar, right? I'll ask Robin about it later."
At this point, Yamato and Robin had already gone their separate ways. After their vacation ended, Robin had returned to her boring archaeological work. Even though she could use the Flower-Flower Fruit to control dozens of brushes at once to clean ruins, Yamato still found the process incredibly boring.
So not long ago, they split up to act separately, and Cyclizar had already been sent back to Gran Tesoro.
Recently, Yamato was also planning to end her own travels. She had already sent word to Speed and the others, asking them to sail over and pick her up for the return to Onigashima.
However, while she was feeding the penguins, Yamato suddenly saw an "acquaintance" standing on the head of a large-sized penguin, and he had also noticed her. He patted the penguin on the head, and that penguin swam toward the shore.
From the surface of the sea, it looked like the penguin was gliding across the water, but from beneath the surface, one could see the penguin's feet paddling at high speed. This was the unique upright swimming style of the penguins here, completely unrelated to elegance, and even a bit comical.
"Ara ara, isn't this the Oni Princess? What are you doing in a place like this?"
The penguin carried Kuzan closer to the tavern, and he jumped directly from the penguin's head onto the terrace.
"Sightseeing. Wait…no, I'm looking for something. And hey, aren't you here too? If you can be here, why can't I? Marine Admiral Aokiji, or rather, former Admiral Kuzan."
Looking at Kuzan on top of the penguin's head, Yamato felt completely at ease. Ever since she read about the ten-day and ten-night battle between Kuzan and Sakazuki to decide the position of Fleet Admiral, she had confirmed a certain suspicion: the two worlds were connected in some way.
She had arrived in the world where "Yamato" existed in the year 1521. In a sense, she already knew some information in advance.
After leaving the Marines, Kuzan began his aimless journey and happened to meet a penguin by chance.
Due to the Ice-Ice Fruit, he got along well with this penguin, and eventually gained a new mount besides his bicycle — Camel. A penguin named Camel. He had come to this island to bring his mount home for a visit.
Looking at Kuzan in front of her, Yamato suddenly had an idea. Based on the attitude of the other Kuzan, after the Fleet Admiral battle, he had been wandering around randomly. If the conditions were right, perhaps he could be talked into joining them.
As a former Marine Admiral, Kuzan's combat strength was very high. And with that identity, he might be able to divert Kaido's attention and draw them into a new conflict.
Queen was no longer enough to share the pressure for her. She urgently needed a new target.
In less than a second, Yamato's mind had already formed a plan for dealing with Kaido passively. She even gave it a name:
"How to use the user of Ice-Ice Fruit to divert Kaido's attention," abbreviated as the Ice Substitute Plan.
"Boss, bring me a bottle of sherry!"
"I gotta say, I don't have much spare cash lately."
Although he said he had no money, Kuzan still sat down unceremoniously at the table across from her. He had come over with the intention to talk, after all.
"Doesn't matter. I'll treat you today. But does a former Admiral really have such small savings?"
"I just spent it elsewhere. I've been too lazy to move lately, otherwise, I'd catch a couple of wanted criminals and have money again."
"Speaking of wanted criminals, I think I'm actually a high-bounty criminal myself, aren't I?"
"Forget it. I'm no match for you. My ice has no effect on you, especially now."
Kuzan pointed to his severed leg and then continued, "See this? A scar from a previous battle. You know what Sakazuki said?"
"Let me think... He probably said something like... "Battles between peers are supposed to be heated,' right?"
"???"
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