Queen returned to his laboratory alone. The current Yamato isn't easy to threaten, and such battles are nothing more than extra training for him.
"Yuji...."
"It's okay, it's okay. Sooner or later, I'll defeat Uncle Queen; if I can't beat him, I can't even think about taking down that freakish old man."
Kaidou is like a towering mountain that has always weighed down on her, and he's also the target she must surpass.
"Yuji?"
"Hmm? Did they arrive so quickly today?"
Larvitar had just pointed in another direction. Sorlithia, Speed, and Mizerka were pushing a cart toward them, filled with seastone fragments and the like, which constituted Larvitar's dinner.
Through power struggles, the three of them naturally became Yamato's followers, helping her handle some issues in her life, though these issues typically didn't involve combat.
Currently, Yamato isn't fighting enemies outside, so they aren't needed on Ghost Island.
These three are quite content with their position; Yamato is easy to get along with and not arrogant. Although Kaidou sees them as mere subordinates, to her, they're undoubtedly partners.
"Ghost Princess, we're here."
"Lucky~"
A Chansey also jumped down from behind. The appearance of these Chansey is strictly indistinguishable, and only those who live with them day and night can spot differences from their ears.
However, Yamato is different; she can distinctly tell each Chansey apart. This Chansey here is now the head of Chanseys in Wano Kuni—the very same one that once took a bullet for Yamato.
Following the Chansey is the Pokemon Center's dedicated medical team. After each battle, they perform a medical examination to ensure no hidden injuries remain in their bodies.
A little injury is nothing when you're young, but as you grow older, those accumulated hidden injuries can erupt. Whitebeard in his old age is an example.
Sorlithia, Speed, and Mizerka are feeding Larvitar while patting the horn on its head. This Larvitar doesn't mind the three, and it has gotten quite familiar with them over this period.
However, apart from Yamato, its favorite is Diancie, who, to Larvitar, is a bag of jewels that can endlessly conjure candy.
"Lucky!"
"I know, I know, I'm fine, Uncle Queen knows his limits; no need to be so cautious."
Seeing that Yamato wasn't obediently accepting the check-up, Chansey gave a warning look, though the expression actually appeared quite cute.
Then she got some different news from Chansey's mouth: Arceus had left Wano Kuni again, and Kaidou was mysteriously up to something unknown.
Hearing this, Yamato suddenly had an ominous feeling. Whatever Kaidou was scheming, it likely wasn't good for her.
In the past months, nothing particularly complicated had happened on The Sea. The aftermath of the battle between Kaidou and Whitebeard had mostly settled, with the three Sea Emperors agreeing to a ceasefire again, restoring much to the way it was.
Regarding territories, Charlotte Linlin initially took advantage of Whitebeard's exhaustion to seize a lot of land. Due to his poor state, when Whitebeard arrived nearby, he didn't immediately launch a full-scale war; he only made some probing attacks, then began to recover his state.
Charlotte Linlin afterwards realized that it wasn't that Whitebeard had grown weak with age; rather, the little brother she once took care of had grown up, even becoming far stronger than her.
Eventually, the BIG MOM Pirates returned those islands; during their occupation, they had plundered enough, and Charlotte Linlin's mood had improved significantly, especially since Kaidou owed her a big favor.
In facing the changes in The Sea, Charlotte Linlin decided to continue having children to expand her family.
The Whitebeard Pirates had encountered quite a few troubles recently. After the big battle with Kaidou, challenges at their doorstep noticeably increased.
Many people assumed Whitebeard had weakened, and those individuals naturally ended up sunk to the sea. Even if Whitebeard truly had aged and weakened, he wasn't someone they could handle.
"Teach, you're pretty badly injured this time."
"No worries, I can't let Dad's reputation be sullied."
On Whitebeard's ship, Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach remained there, without any plans of switching sides. It's well known that Kaidou is a fanatic for Zoan types, while Teach has long set his own grand aims.
Having spent so many years to remain with the Whitebeard Pirates, he had no intentions of changing sides; unless the Dark-Dark Fruit appeared, he would continue being Whitebeard's "good son."
...
In the First Half of the Grand Line, the extent of the battle's impact was quite minimal, at most bringing in more newcomers. On a plain island, Tesoro arrived with Baccarat, Tanaka, and some subordinates.
Stella took this year's new plans to report on Ghost Island, feeling incredibly safe now. Tesoro came here because he found some new information.
"Mr. Giovanni, we have arrived."
In the streets, pirates walked around unrestrainedly, and many people wore masks as well, including Tesoro; it was clear that this place was a trading point in the underworld market.
Tesoro usually wouldn't reveal his face in such places, nor use his real name, instead using a code name from the Hundred Beasts. As for Baccarat and Tanaka, it didn't matter; they didn't need to worry about their identities like Tesoro did.
"Alright, as usual, let's go purchase some necessities first."
The large-scale gathering in the underworld is inevitably linked to an auction. Tesoro came here because he received news about a Devil Fruit. With some time to go before the auction starts, Tesoro wanted to store up some luck beforehand.
Baccarat discovered that if the other party voluntarily gave her luck, the fortune brought by the Luck-Luck Fruit would become even stronger; then they arrived at the casino and began implementing their plan.
[Exchange luck for 1 million Belly. One per person only.]
There were already many people who had lost everything at the casino entrance, and when Tesoro set up his sign, numerous gamblers were instantly attracted.
Initially, they were merely observing, but after seeing Baccarat shake hands with a person and then produce a stack of Belly, they turned rabid.
As for where these people who lost everything got their luck, unless they had a Devil Fruit like Baccarat's, not even a chosen one could dream of winning in the casino.