“The Beasts Pirates destroyed the capital of the Shikkerau Kingdom. The island was covered in… soil? How do you read this word?”
After discovering that Arceus and Kaido had secretly gone out to play behind her back, Yamato thought for a moment and then decided to read the newspaper as well. But, she quickly realized that there were quite a few unfamiliar words.
“Maria, could you read it for me? These words are so complicated,” she said. Between studying and enduring Kaido’s training, she preferred the latter. Kaido’s training brought both physical exhaustion and pain, but dealing with letters was just physically and mentally exhausting.
Although no one expects her to become a scholar, she still has to learn the basics of math and language. Cultural lessons were always a painful part for her.
Maria took the newspaper and began to read it. Morgans, the writer of the newspaper article, has strong literary skills, and his brief descriptions made it easy for readers to imagine the horrifying events.
For Maria and Jack, such matters didn’t matter at all. In their eyes, it was only natural for a country that offended the Beasts Pirates to be destroyed. However, Robin, who was listening to the content of the newspaper, gradually turned pale.
This seemed no different from a Buster Call.
“Robin, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just think… destroying a country…”
Yamato suddenly remembered that Robin’s homeland had also been destroyed like this, but she, Maria and Jack had completely different views on the matter.
“Don’t worry, newspapers always like to exaggerate things. Remember when Ohara was destroyed? They had also made all sorts of excuses back then, too. Trust me, the truth is definitely not like this. If it were Father, he might do something like this, but Dad wouldn’t harm so many innocent people.”
This was Yamato’s inherent understanding. Arceus had been mostly rational for as long as she could remember, except when it came to matters related to the Plates. Moreover, she also knew the difference between news and facts.
“Besides, look at the people of Wano Country. They’re living well. If you don’t believe me, when they come back, I’ll take you to meet them. News and facts are definitely different, and from beginning to end, they only mentioned the capital being destroyed, everything else is vague.”
As long as she considered someone a friend, she would pay close attention to their well-being, and she didn’t believe there was anything wrong with what she said.
Thinking about the current prosperity in Wano Country and the World Government’s routine deception in the newspapers, Robin thought that Yamato had a point.
At this moment, she also had a new idea: while researching history, go out and see what the real world is like.
“Alright, don’t think too much. Let’s make the most of our time playing. Otherwise, when Father and the others come back, we won’t have a chance.”
Yamato’s reminder made Maria and others realize that their current playtime was precious, and they couldn’t continue to waste it.
Based on Yamato’s understanding of Kaido, she was sure he would conduct a surprise test when he returned.
But she only guessed half of it. Two months later, when Kaido returned, he did indeed conduct a surprise test, but the difficulty, or rather the danger level of the test, was different from what she had imagined.
Because Kaido came back alone.
“Fa-Father, Dad didn’t come back?”
“Him? He’s out looking for his things. I just came back first. Now, let me examine your progress in training. You better not have neglected it over these past few months.”
Saying that, he opened his mouth wide and began to breathe fire. He wanted to assess how well Yamato could apply her abilities. However, despite playing with her ability for a while, Yamato could only produce some icy breath, which couldn’t compete with Kaido’s flames. In the end, Kaido’s flames forced her to run around in panic.
“Father! Are you trying to kill me?”
“How could that be? I prepared special Berries for treating burns for you all. Now, quickly figure out a way to counterattack! You’ve wasted time in these past few months!”
On their way back, the Beasts Pirates’ fleet split up, with only one ship, the ‘King of Beasts’ ship, returning to Wano Country. The other ships scattered to different areas, centered around Kuraigana Island, to search for Plates.
Since there was a Plate on Kuraigana Island, it was possible that other islands also had them.
So several ships set off in different directions, while the ship led by Shayna headed towards the first half of the Grand Line, closer to Reverse Mountain.
Morgans’ disseminated news was also beginning to have an impact. After the Pirate King, the title “Emperor of the Sea” appeared in their cognition. In his news reports, Morgans referred to them as the individuals closest to the position of Pirate King.
This also provided many pirates with a clearer direction, such as setting a smaller goal before becoming the Pirate King, like becoming a new Emperor of the Sea. Some naive pirates attempted to replicate Kaido’s feat of destroying a country, only to experience the terror of the national machinery.
Except for a few pirates, most pirates did not have the capability to challenge an entire country.
In short, the wave of the Great Pirate Era, initiated by Roger, was now even more tumultuous.
“Boss! There’s an island ahead. Let’s resupply there; we’re running low on supplies.”
On Shayna’s ship, the pirate in charge of logistics reported on the status of supplies and submitted a request for resupply.
“Alright, let’s dock,” Shayna said as she looked at the plate radar on her wrist, which showed no signs of activity. Her expression remained unchanged. While Mandrell had come across a plate through a stroke of luck, her and King’s gains had been minimal. Their most significant contribution had been the information about Sky Islands.
Naturally, she wasn’t very satisfied with this, which is why this team was sailing the farthest. However, the allure of rewards kept them going, and they had no complaints.
Mandrell had almost become a chosen one within the Arceus Cult, and so far, he had a share in most of the rewards. This made everyone admire his good fortune.
Moreover, Mandrell was a responsible person. Most people admired him, while only a few were envious, but no one resorted to sabotaging their teammate.
To avoid being delayed by various distractions while searching for plates, Shayna ordered her crew to hide the ship in a hidden location. Leaving a few people behind to guard the ship, she led the rest onto the island.
Anyways, they needed to replenish their supplies, and exploring a bit wouldn’t hurt.
However, on the official harbor of the island, she saw a brightly lit ship with a pirate flag anchored here.
“These Paradise pirates sure have some nerve, anchoring their ship so conspicuously in the harbor.”
“Otherwise, why would there be so many fools here? Let’s go, quickly replenish our supplies; the boss is watching from behind.”
Several pirates dressed in civilian clothes walked towards the market, but soon, they heard a row of footsteps behind them, and the figures of Marines appeared.
“Make way, make way! Clear the path for Lieutenant Commander Draw! Don’t disrupt the Marine’s mission!”
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