Chapter 182 – Exposing Yamato's Potential

Vivi: "Does this involve Crocodile?"

Nico Robin: "Something that makes Zephyr's situation ironic… Could it be that in the future, the Navy and World Government end up revoking Whitebeard Jr.'s Warlord status? But Arton did say it concerns the entire Seven Warlords… The Navy wouldn't abolish the Seven Warlords system altogether, would they?"

Gion: "The Warlords include powerhouses like Hawkeye and the Empress. I doubt the Navy and World Government would just toss the entire Warlord system. Excluding that possibility, what else could make Zephyr's fate so ironic?"

Monet: "Could it be a major reshuffle of the Warlords? Maybe the Navy and World Government replaced some of the weaker Warlords. If so, then even if our Young Master got locked up in Impel Down, he might have a chance of getting out!"

Belo Betty: "We just don't have enough intel. It's too hard to piece together the whole story from the few hints Arton's dropped."

At that moment, Arton had no idea how much speculation his half-finished message about the Seven Warlords was stirring. He was too busy admiring Uta's sleeping face.

Suddenly, Uta—still asleep—rolled over. Her restless right leg flopped across Arton's thigh. The corners of Arton's mouth curled up as he gently adjusted Uta's position. Then he shifted onto his side so that he could rest his head on Uta's stomach, with their bodies forming a right angle.

Uta furrowed her brows slightly, wriggling until she found a more comfortable position. To Arton, that in itself was impossibly cute.

[Uta really is adorable. Of all the Emperors' daughters, it's rare to find someone as sweet as her.]

Smoothie: "Adorable… That's fine. I go for sexy and mature, so Arton wouldn't ignore my charm just because of Uta."

Whitey Bay: "I lean toward mature, too. Guess that means I'm Arton's type, right?"

Pudding: "Adorable, huh? Arton wouldn't find me lacking, right?"

Yamato: "What good is being cute? Strength is what truly matters! Arton, can't you mention my name a bit more in your diary so I can get stronger, too?"

[Compared to Uta, Kaido's daughter Yamato isn't exactly 'cute.' She's a girl who idolizes a guy so much she believes she is him. Being a fan is one thing, but taking it that far? She's probably the only one in the world to do that.]

[Speaking of becoming an Emperor's son-in-law, it'd be easier on Uta's side, I think. With Linlin, though… She's got plenty of daughters, so surely one of them would climb aboard my ship. So maybe becoming her son-in-law wouldn't be that hard.]

Pudding: "M-me, me, me! Please let me join your crew, Arton!"

[As for Whitebeard's side, most of his children are sons. The only well-known, beautiful daughter I can think of is Whitey Bay. I wonder if she'd come aboard? Might be tough, seeing how she's stayed single for so long—maybe she's really picky.]

Whitey Bay: "Seems like Arton hasn't forgotten me after all—great! No worries, Arton. If it's you, I'm not picky."

[Becoming Whitebeard's son-in-law might pose some difficulties, but the truly challenging one would be Kaido. His daughter, Yamato, has a serious identity issue about her own gender—even goes to the men's bath without a second thought. I mean, if her father gave me permission to marry her, I doubt she'd accept me anyway.]

Yamato: "What's with this guy? I'm a man, so why does Arton keep calling me a woman?!"

[I need a plan to set Yamato straight. Otherwise, even if we got married, she might casually wander into the men's bath. That'd be a massive headache for me. But how can we cure Yamato's obsession with calling herself Kozuki Oden no matter what? Perhaps I could talk to Kozuki Hiyori about it.]

Kozuki Hiyori: "He actually mentioned me by name. I guess I have Yamato to thank for that. But what does Arton want me to do?"

Yamato: "Kozuki Hiyori? Oden's daughter? She… she's still alive?!"

Black Maria: "So one of Arton's works features her as a heroine, too?"

Whitey Bay: "Kozuki Oden's daughter is still alive? Then what about Momonosuke? Is that kid alive as well?"

[Kozuki Hiyori is Kozuki Oden's biological daughter. If she and Yamato could have a good talk, maybe that would fix Yamato's problem. I doubt Hiyori would want a tomboy 'father' calling herself Oden, right?]

Kozuki Hiyori: "I see. If doing this can help Arton have a favorable impression of me, I suppose I can give it a try."

Yamato: "Darn it, if Hiyori sees what Arton's writing about me, she might not accept me at all!"

At that moment, Yamato's gripe toward Arton went beyond simply "he doesn't see me as a real man" to "he might also ruin my chance at bonding with Kozuki Hiyori."

[Of all the Emperors' daughters, Yamato is definitely the most challenging. Not only does she refuse to think of herself as a woman—Yamato's power and potential are no joke: all three types of Haki, Conqueror's Haki infusion, a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit… She's basically got a perfect protagonist setup. If she hadn't been locked up by Kaido all those years, she might already be famous on the seas.]

[Then again, if Yamato hadn't been locked up, she'd just have followed Oden's example—meaning she'd work toward opening Wano. To do that, she'd have to defeat both the current Shogun, Kurozumi Orochi, and her own father. She'd likely stay in Wano the whole time, unable to sail out. If she were free to go to sea right now, she might even head to Marineford to rescue Ace.]

[Too bad her Armament Haki can't yet manage internal destruction. If Yamato had that skill, she could remove her explosive collar herself. Speaking of which—Kaido sure is heartless, giving Yamato a genuine explosive collar. Was he really willing to blow her up?]

Black Maria: "A real explosive collar? Captain Kaido really is strict with Yamato."

Gion: "All three forms of Haki, a Mythical Zoan Fruit, plus Conqueror's Haki infusion—this Yamato is bound to become a major force on the seas."

Smoothie: "That girl's talent is insane! Even if she never gets one of Arton's templates, she'll still become insanely strong."

Doll: "Internal-destruction Armament Haki, right? Arton's mentioned Yamato's name several times again. By now, she'll have racked up a good number of points. Originally, Yamato never mastered that advanced Armament technique, but maybe now she will."

Kozuki Hiyori: "If that happens, maybe she'll leave Wano altogether—go out to sea to rescue Ace, or look for Arton to get stronger. If I end up seeing Yamato over with Arton, I might try persuading her to stop calling herself Kozuki Oden."

Yamato: "That rotten old man! He actually put a real explosive collar on me? Was he planning to kill me?! Damn it, it's just internal-destruction Armament Haki, right? Arton's mentioned me multiple times now, so I'll definitely learn it!"

After counting up how many points she would earn once the day's Diary Copy tally updated, Yamato's eyes glowed with renewed resolve.

Meanwhile, Arton closed the Diary interface and glanced at the peacefully sleeping Uta, her gentle smile still on her face. He couldn't help smiling, too. After a little while, he shut his own eyes, and before long, he drifted off as well.

No one knew how much time had passed when night fell. The door to Uta's room slowly swung open, and three figures snuck in quietly. It was Carina and Nami.

"What the heck, we're busting our butts out there and these two are in here snoozing away."

Nami stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Arton and Uta sprawled out like starfish, one person's arm pinned under the other's, one person's leg draped over the other's.

"Though, we did think they might be up to something… And it turns out they just dozed off. Thank goodness."

Nami patted her chest in relief. To her, even if they were sleeping in each other's arms, that was no big deal. The only thing she didn't want was to walk in on Arton and Uta in… a far more intimate situation.

***

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