"Dad, it's me, Yamato. This time when I return to Onigashima, can I bring an outsider with me?"
After tricking Kuzan and getting a positive answer, Yamato didn't dig too deeply into Kuzan's true intentions. Since Blackbeard dared to make Kuzan, who has an unknown goal, his Tenth Ship's Captain, the current Beasts Pirates naturally could too.
Not to mention Kaido and Arceus, Yamato's own ability counters Kuzan, and there's also the hibernating Regice at Zeraora's place. Even though the Icicle Plate had returned to Arceus's body, Regice's ability can similarly contend against Kuzan.
If something really goes wrong, aside from being difficult to control the aftermath, it wouldn't be a big issue otherwise.
But if something actually happened after bringing Kuzan back to Onigashima, Yamato would still have a headache over it, which is why she made a call to Arceus in advance.
As for Kaido..
Yamato was fully confident about that. If anything went wrong, Kaido would definitely seize the opportunity to make a fuss. Whether or not she informed him ahead of time, Kaido would drag her into training.
She just didn't want Arceus to completely give up on caring for her. If he got upset and casually gave Kaido a buff, that would be true hell.
"It's someone special."
"Former Marine Admiral, Kuzan. Dad, let me tell you, when you sent me to that world before, I ran into 'Kuzan' over there. That 'Kuzan' didn't recognize me, and I had always been working as a bounty hunter, so we ended up chatting about all kinds of stuff.
As a result, I used 'his own' words to trick him into joining us."
Yamato not only clearly stated who the person was but also explained how it happened, even her true motive, without holding anything back.
If Arceus didn't agree, then she would just have to leave Kuzan on some less important island and think up a new way to divert Kaido's attention.
"Handle this how you see fit, but Yamato, there's something I need to say up front."
Dragonite and Corviknight flew through the sky, Gyarados roamed the sea. These things couldn't be hidden. A lot of the things had long since ceased to be a secret; only one final layer of veil and Queen's cover remained.
The surveillance teams stationed around their territory had already reported all this information back. Arceus didn't care much about that anymore. He was emphasizing another matter of particular concern.
"Dad, go ahead."
"If he really stirs up too big of a trouble, don't blame me for being ruthless. Zekrom and Reshiram have been discussing something very interesting. If you mess up with this, I'll let you experience what it means to have Kaido everywhere.
People have to bear the consequences of their actions. That's something you need to understand."
"Don't worry, Dad. That kind of situation won't happen. And if it does, it's definitely because father did it on purpose."
She wasn't shifting blame, she was just expressing her opinion. Kaido had ways to fight without affecting the surrounding environment. How destructive it got was entirely up to him. To prevent any such situation, Yamato had even tweaked her original plan.
"Up to you. But once you're done playing around, it's time to come back. You've gotten quite lax lately. Just a heads-up, your father has prepared a bunch of new stuff."
"Ahem, Dad, I've been seriously looking for the Plates, it's just that they are too hard to find, so there hasn't been much progress."
"Mm, got it."
Yamato's strange luck really was effective. The Icicle Plate, Draco Plate, and Pixie Plate all had some connection to her—already a sixth of the total collection.
Moreover, Arceus didn't really care what Yamato was doing; it was just that Yamato kept insisting she was working, never giving Kaido any excuse.
After hanging up the call, Yamato didn't go back but instead closed her eyes and reached out to the two consciousnesses within her body.
"Zekrom, Reshiram, can either of you tell me exactly what that 'very interesting thing' Dad said you are planning is all about?"
In the next moment, the two dragons glanced at each other and, in perfect sync, booted Yamato's consciousness out. No matter how much she asked, they didn't respond, remaining silent until she temporarily gave up on the matter.
Pushing aside things that hadn't happened yet and those she couldn't figure out for now, Yamato reappeared before Kuzan.
"What's wrong? You look like something's bothering you."
"It's not a big deal. But you're not planning on causing any huge trouble, are you?"
"Hey, hey, weren't you the one who invited me? Why are you suddenly saying that?"
"It's nothing. But if you do end up causing trouble that gets me in hot water, I'll kill you, seriously."
Kuzan's first impression of Yamato had been that she didn't like fighting, followed by the thought that she was a weirdo. Now, this out-of-nowhere threat left him even more confused. What he didn't know was that, to Yamato, Kaido being "everywhere" was like half of the Sword of Damocles hanging overhead.
"Well, that's pretty dangerous. But how do you plan to get back? Riding the penguin or a bike? I saw a bicycle shop on the island. I don't have a ship I can use right now, and who leaves without a ship anyway?"
"The ship's almost here. The girls are already on their way. What about your penguin? My ship is really fast."
"Don't worry. Don't be fooled by Camel's looks, it's actually very fast. When it comes to speed, it's quite a tough guy."
Kuzan's penguin might look goofy and even blow a huge snot bubble when it sleeps, but it hated being described as cute and such, and much preferred the style of a gritty tough guy.
Just like Yamato said, it wasn't long before Speed and the others arrived on the Pokémon Ship. When they saw Yamato and Kuzan boarding together, their first reaction was nervousness, followed by relief.
Whatever their young miss does is always justified in their eyes.
The Pokémon and Kuzan's Camel began speed racing—one ship, one penguin—rushing across the sea, gradually closing in on Wano Country.
After some time, they reached the Beasts Pirates' inner territory, and the Pokémon began docking to resupply. During this time, Kuzan noticed the changes in the surroundings.
While battles still raged on the outside, the inner region was peaceful, no different from towns stationed near Marine bases.
While Kuzan was casually chatting with a worker moving fruits, a sudden shout of fury rang in his ears.
"Aokiji?! You b*stard, put your hands up! Don't move!"
Queen suddenly appeared right in front of Kuzan, all the weapons on his body fully activated. Several laser cannons were already locked onto Kuzan's head.
"Did you find out about my trip again? You Marines really are like ghosts, always haunting me. And you dare come all the way here? Get ready to taste my power!"
Queen's weapons began charging, and in just a few seconds, they were fully ready.
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