"The Hundred Beasts Pirates have destroyed... the capital of the West Kael Kingdom, the island is covered with... dirt? How do you pronounce this word again."
After discovering that Arceus and Kaidou snuck out to have fun without her, she briefly pondered and started to read the newspaper content, only to find that there seemed to be quite a few obscure words.
"Maria, read this for me, will you? These words are so complicated." She'd rather be trained by Kaidou than read aloud; Kaidou's training brings physical exhaustion and pain, but dealing with words is mentally draining.
Even though no one expected her to engage in scientific research, she still had to learn basic math and literacy, and cultural classes were always a painful segment for her.
Maria took the newspaper and began to read. The literary skill of Morgan's writing was strong, and with just a few words, it easily led to terrifying associations.
For Maria and Jack, such matters were of no concern. Nations that offended the Beasts were expected to be destroyed, but Robin, listening to the newspaper content, gradually turned pale.
Such an event seemed no different from a Buster Call.
"Robin, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing, just the thought of destroying a nation and all..."
Yamato suddenly remembered that Robin's hometown was destroyed in the same way, but she viewed it very differently from Maria and Jack.
"Don't worry, newspapers always like to exaggerate. Didn't they come up with all kinds of explanations when Ohara was destroyed?
Trust me, the reality isn't like that. If it were my father, maybe, but my foster father could never harm so many innocent people."
This was Yamato's inherent belief. From as far back as she could remember, Arceus had mostly been quite rational, and apart from matters concerning the Plates, he rarely got angry. She was already aware of the gap between newspapers and reality.
"And just look at the people in Wano Kuni; they're living so well. If you don't believe it, when they come back, I'll take you to ask around. The news and the facts are bound to differ, and the only thing mentioned was the destroyed capital; everything else was vague."
For anyone she considered a friend, she would pay a lot of attention to their situation, and she didn't think there was anything wrong with what she said.
Thinking about the current harmonious and prosperous situation in Wano Kuni and the World Government's daily fabrications in the newspapers, Robin found that Yamato made some sense.
At that moment, she also developed a new thought: while verifying history, she wanted to see for herself what the real world was like.
"Alright, stop overthinking. Use this time to have fun; otherwise, when my father and they return, there'll be no chance."
Yamato's reminder made Maria and the others realize that their playtime was very precious now, so they really couldn't waste it.
Based on Yamato's understanding of Kaidou, she was sure he would organize a surprise exam upon his return.
However, she only guessed half right. Two months later, Kaidou did return and carried out a surprise test, but its difficulty, or rather its deadly level, was different from what she imagined.
Because only Kaidou returned.
"F-father, foster father... didn't come back?"
"Him? He's out there looking for his things, only I came back first. Now let me check on your training results; hopefully, you haven't been neglecting your training these past few months."
He opened his mouth and started to spew fire, wanting to see how well Yamato could apply her abilities. Yamato, who had played for so long, could only exhale a bit of frost, unable to match Kaidou's flames, and ended up running around scorched.
"Father! Are you trying to kill me!"
"How could I? I've prepared Berries specifically for treating burns for you, so hurry up and find a way to counterattack! You've been slacking off these few months!"
....
On the way back, the Beasts' fleet separated, leaving only the Hundred Beasts King to return to Wano Kuni, while the other ships spread out from Kuraigana Island in different areas to search for the Plates.
Since there were stray Plates on Kuraigana Island, there could be others on different islands too.
Ships set sail in various directions, while the one led by Shaina headed towards the First Half of the Grand Line near Inverted Mountain.
The effect of the news released by Morgans was also starting to ferment. After the Pirate King, the title of Sea Emperor emerged in people's minds, as Morgans described in the news that they were closest to the Pirate King position.
And this gave many pirates a clearer direction. For instance, before becoming the Pirate King, some set a smaller goal to become the new Sea Emperor, while naïve pirates tried to emulate Kaidou's feat of destroying a country, only to experience the terror of national power.
Apart from a few pirates, the vast majority did not possess the capability to challenge a country.
In summary, the wave of the Great Pirate Era ignited by Roger had become even more turbulent by now.
"Boss! There's an island up ahead. Let's go resupply; we're running low on supplies."
On Shaina's ship, the logistics officer reported the supply situation and submitted a resupply request.
"Hmm, let's dock." Looking at the non-responsive Plate Radar on her wrist, Shaina didn't show any emotion. It was by sheer luck that Mandfeish found a Plate, while her and King's contributions were minimal, merely providing intelligence about Sky Island.
This naturally left her dissatisfied, hence her crew's journey being the longest, but under the lure of rewards, they had no complaints.
Mandfeish was quickly becoming like a chosen one within the Arceus Sect, having shares in most of the rewards so far, which made everyone admire his luck.
And Mandfeish was a responsible person in himself; most were simply envious, a few were jealous, but no one did anything reckless to harm the team's interests.
To avoid any messy incidents delaying the search for the Plates, Shaina ordered the ship to be hidden in a secluded spot, leaving part of the crew to guard the ship before taking the others ashore.
Since they needed to resupply anyway, they might as well explore a bit.
But on the island's official port, she saw a ship brazenly displaying a Pirate Flag docked there.
"The pirates of Paradise really have a lot of nerve to dock so openly in the port."
"Well, that's why there are so many fools here; come on, hurry and resupply, the boss is watching from behind."
A few pirates, having changed into civilian clothes, walked towards the market direction, only to soon hear a lineup of footsteps behind them as the Navy's presence appeared here.
"Make way, make way! Let Colonel Dorlo through! Do not interfere with the Navy's duties!"