Maria had originally just been waiting for Kaidou's orders, but after overhearing something interesting, she couldn't help poking her head out for a look.
Ulti purely thought the guys at the banquet were way too noisy, so she dragged Page One along to find a secluded spot, and in the end they also showed up here.
The onlookers thus went from just Kaidou and Arceus to a group of five.
Most people were still immersed in the banquet; someone like Queen hadn't noticed anything at all, drunk on his own "graceful" dancing. Otherwise, with people's herd mentality, there might have been more coming over.
But anyone with the guts to come here would definitely be an officer; ordinary underlings at most would raise a glass from afar while shouting Kaidou's name.
The only ones who could watch this "live broadcast" here were Yamato's close friends, so nothing too absurd would happen.
Otherwise...
Death comes in two types. One is the natural death of the flesh, and the other is social death.
Given Yamato's way of doing things, it's perfectly reasonable for her to cause some situations where she socially dies, though most likely she wouldn't really care about that kind of thing.
And even if she did care, she'd forget about it before long.
Maria obeyed Kaidou very well, staying silent the whole time, at most pouring him drinks and pounding his back, while Ulti kept silently horsing around with Page One.
"By the way, what year is it over there?"
"Roughly... a year later, I think."
"How long are you planning to have her train there?"
"It won't be long, at most around a month. I haven't fully restored this power yet. Why?"
Kaidou seemed to be asking Yamato, but deep down he clearly had other thoughts.
"I originally thought that battle against the World Government might be the final war. After that, the world would become unbearably dull, but now it seems the world is much bigger than I imagined.
Anyway, we'll talk about the future when it comes. For now, let's see what that brat can grasp from this."
...
On Yamato's side, the battle was still raging.
"Kaidou" had formed some judgment of the Yamato before him. In a sense, he'd actually prefer this to be his real child.
She didn't go on and on about being Kozuki Oden, her gender identity was normal, and while she also loved fighting, she was stronger—way stronger than the one back home.
In his lifetime, Yamato had become, in "Kaidou's" eyes, the classic "other people's kid."
Only Kaidou himself had sorted this out; no one else had. Faced with Yamato suddenly powering up, they were somewhat at a loss, stunned for a moment before starting to evacuate.
This wasn't the first time, either. In fact, their evacuation movements had become more practiced. With no Arceus here, Kaidou going berserk while drunk was genuinely lethal.
"N-no way, right? Young Master Yamato's already gotten this strong?"
"Young Master Yamato can actually suppress Lord Kaidou...."
"Impossible! Lord Kaidou definitely hasn't gotten serious yet. How could Young Master Yamato possibly be his match..."
In previous fights between "Kaidou" and "Yamato," "Kaidou" had always held absolute advantage. Sure, that had a lot to do with those Seastone Handcuffs, but they'd never imagined that once the cuffs came off, "Yamato" could reach this level.
"Lord Kaidou! Young Master Yamato doesn't want to join the banquet...."
At that moment, a pirate outside brought in what he thought was fresh intel, only to be met by a group of bizarre looks staring right at him.
"W-what's wrong?"
"What did you just say?"
"That Young Master Yamato doesn't want to come to the banquet..."
"Then take a look at who's fighting Lord Kaidou over there."
Another confused soul had joined the world, though his confusion didn't last long. Compared to agonizing over the real-or-fake Yamato, preserving his own life was more important.
"Thunder Pressure!"
Roaring thunder crashed down from the sky, blasting a massive hole through Ghost Island from top to bottom. Several black markings appeared across Yamato's body, and a pair of thunder-wings had sprouted from her shoulders.
"Ice Dragon Kill!"
Thunder usually harbors scorching heat, but the instant Yamato's lightning struck down, its very nature changed.
The invisible thunder seemed to gain substance, transforming into an ice dragon of lightning radiating cold, whose razor-sharp fangs bit down toward the Kaidou below.
"Divine Foot·White Snake Drive."
As the icy thunder descended, Yamato used her footwork to close in on the "Kaidou" before her.
"Daiitoku Ice Thunder Hakken!"
Yamato's techniques were still steeped in Kaidou's shadow. Though she'd developed her own variations, the foundation had all been laid down by Kaidou.
"Kaidou" had just broken free of the ice thunder's restraints when he saw a club wrapped in Supreme King Haki swinging toward him. This "Kaidou" hadn't Protected to respond to the crisis; all he could rely on was his own body.
Though "Kaidou" tried his best to block Yamato's attack, he was ultimately a step too slow. Yamato's club slammed into his chest, sending him flying as he crashed through several walls in succession before finally collapsing on Ghost Island's shoreline.
"Crap!"
Watching "Kaidou" get sent flying, Yamato's first reaction wasn't joy. Instead, she realized she might have smashed up the place again. Only then did it hit her that since Kaidou was fake, Ghost Island should be fake too.
With the wall broken, light from outside naturally poured in. Time on the two sides wasn't synchronized to begin with—Arceus's banquet had only just started, but here it had been going on for a while and was already close to dawn.
Once Yamato broke through the wall, sunlight was already shining into the room. Thinking about the fact that she'd finally knocked "Kaidou" flying for once, Yamato's face was covered in delight.
However, by her judgment, even a bootleg Kaidou shouldn't lose combat capability that easily, so she stepped over the rubble and chased after him.
That club strike had packed plenty of punch; "Kaidou" hadn't gotten up right away. But Yamato didn't rush in for a finishing blow or anything like that, because a pungent chemical smell seeped into her nose.
Stench.
Aside from that word, she couldn't immediately think of how to describe the smell, especially with the ongoing banquet on Ghost Island. The odor mixed with the island's reek of alcohol, making her head swim for a moment.
"What's going on... how could Wano Kuni have this kind of weird smell..."
Looking up, she saw black smoke billowing, but her view was blocked by ships and other things. As she used her wings to rise into the sky, her pupils couldn't help but dilate.
From Ghost Island's position, the areas directly in sight were Hakumai and Udon, yet all Yamato saw were countless chimneys. As the factories ran, black smoke continuously belched out—exactly the source of that stench.
Moreover, this "Wano Kuni" was many times more dilapidated than the Wano Kuni in her memory. Even across the stretch of Inner Sea, she could feel the wasteland-like aura hanging over Wano Kuni.
Though Fuji Mountain still looked the same, it had lost a bit of its mystique.
But Hakumai was another story. Compared to the bustling Hakumai that housed the Hundred Beasts Pokemon Center, Squirtle Fire Station, Machoke Fitness Center and all sorts of institutions, this place was ruined like scorched earth.
From afar, Hakumai seemed to have almost no living plants. All she could see were industrial facilities and dead trees, and even the river flowing into the Inner Sea carried a strange hue.
This was the "Wano Kuni" built by "Kaidou" and Kurozumi Orochi, a weapons-manufacturing nation that cared nothing for people's lives and existed only to serve them. Thanks to Orochi's efforts, Wano Kuni had long since been plunged into dire misery.
All of this was a sight Yamato had never imagined. Seeing it shook her far more than the bootleg Kaidou ever had...
"Wh-what the hell is this place?!"