At the beginning of 1502, Wano Kuni underwent an earth-shattering change overnight, earlier than the turmoil originally slated to occur in Wano Kuni on the timeline.
Most of the battles across various fronts had already ended, with the original ruling class of Wano Kuni completely eradicated. Whether it was the Acting General Kurozumi Orochi, the former General heir Kozuki Oden, or the Daimyos of various regions, all perished in the great battle at the banquet.
Except for Orochi, they were all formidable fighters, which was precisely why they had to perish here.
They were staunch supporters of the Kozuki Family, wielded some strength, had influence, and were originally part of the leadership class. Such people were not needed in the future of Wano Kuni.
This was a massive overhaul, and since it was undertaken, it had to be thorough.
The battles on the front lines had ended, but two places had become utterly busy: one was Babanuki's Udon Quarry. Besides those who died in battle, a large number of people were captured.
Not everyone could continue fighting to the death when victory seemed impossible. After the confidants and subordinates of those Daimyos were killed by the empowered, the remaining people, after holding out for a while, mostly chose to surrender.
The Udon Quarry had many vacant cells due to a jailbreak, but they were soon filled with newcomers. Eventually, Emboar was sent here to stabilize the situation.
The other busy place was the Hundred Beasts Pokemon Center, where the doctors faced their busiest night in years.
"Make way! Make way! He needs emergency surgery! Dr. Dorus, please lead the operation!"
"Send the burn victims to the underground therapy room! Comfey's medicinal bath is already prepared, don't delay, hurry up!"
The injured pirates and unsuspecting Flower Capital residents packed the hall here. There was no such treatment for the defeated, they were just handed some bandages to manage on their own.
There weren't any extra resources for them at this time. However, while the lower floors were quite tense, the top floor of the hospital was entirely different. In the VIP ward, Yamato, Maria, and Jack were forced to stay for observation.
"Well... I feel like it's just a scrape..."
Jack, looking at those strange medical instruments, felt a bit uneasy inside. He was indeed injured, but as far as he was concerned, it was nothing more than a flesh wound.
"Perceptibility can be deceiving, so Jack, my boy, calmly accept the examination. This is arranged by Mr. Arceus. All three of you need to stay here for three days."
Of course, the doctors and nurses here thought there was no need for such measures. Jack's test results were already out. The fishmen's physique was naturally stronger than humans, and though he was injured, it was all just flesh wounds; some superficial wounds had already healed.
Maria was almost the same. Although she wasn't a fishman, she was an ability user, so her self-healing ability was way stronger than most. However, no one voiced any objections.
Though the current medical model of the Hundred Beasts Pokemon Center is like a public hospital, it's purely private. The recruitment, medical equipment, and drug resources—all were solely managed by the Hundred Beasts.
That naturally included their remuneration. Orders from above were to be followed despite the emergency situation in other sections. This part of the personnel only needed to serve these few individuals.
"But... where's Yamato?"
Yamato's place was always empty. The three had gone for their check together, but the two had returned while Yamato was yet to come back.
Even though Yamato fought the fiercest in the prior battle, due to her physique, she was the least injured. The constitution of the Supernova was no joke.
By rights, she should have returned by now.
"Miss Yamato has other checkups to do. She'll return soon enough. The two of you should complete the last check, and today's activities can conclude."
With that, she took out two questionnaires. Unlike other doctors, she was a specialized psychologist tasked with assessing their mental state post-battle.
Jack and Maria exchanged glances, suddenly feeling like this was more exhausting than fighting.
Meanwhile, Yamato's thoughts were similar as she looked at the Audino attached to her with ears and other things like wires, her mind in a daze.
"Is this really requested by my foster father?"
"Of course, a comprehensive physical examination. Oh, Miss Yamato, here's a questionnaire, please fill it out while you're at it. Only twelve more checkups and it'll be over."
"How's Chansey doing?"
"It's doing well, and you can see it post-examination."
Under the urging of several doctors, Yamato disorientedly completed all the so-called checkups. When she returned to the ward, her fatigue was visible, surpassing what she felt during combat.
"I'm back..."
Lying on the so-called hospital bed, Yamato held her Alcremie, contemplating life. She just started to feel that excessive concern might not be good after all.
The doctors had already left; the detail-oriented checkups confirmed they were alright, so there was no need for them to stay. After leaving one person on duty, they also joined the rescue activities below.
"Congratulations on completing the examination, but we have to stay here for three more days."
"Three days?! That's terrible... oh wait, that's great!"
Initially, Yamato felt this was terrible, but on second thought, it meant she wouldn't have to face Kaidou's training for three days. No matter how she pondered, it was indeed a wonderful thing, so she accepted it.
However, she didn't rest peacefully. Instead, she leaned against the window, watching the bustling crowd below.
"Maria, Jack, why do you think all this happened?"
"Why what?"
"Why stir up battles anyway? Life was perfectly fine before this, wasn't it better to continue like that?"
She didn't understand why such pointless battles needed to occur. To her, it seemed completely unnecessary.
"I don't know, but if they choose to be enemies, defeating them is the right thing." Yamato's words caused them brief contemplation, but Jack soon gave up pondering this question.
Enemies must be defeated; choosing to be an enemy, the reason is irrelevant.
"I feel Jack is right, defeating them solves it, why overthink?"
This reasoning couldn't convince Yamato, but when she wanted to continue to argue, she heard Chansey's voice from behind.
"Lucky!"
It was almost dawn now, so they hadn't slept at all. Now peering out the window, in Chansey's eyes, it had become an absolute danger signal.