"Yamato, you guys go ahead without me this time."
The island isn't large. It's a truly small island, and as the ship circled around, he already sensed everything on the island.
There were no human presences or dangerous beasts, so he felt comfortable letting Yamato and the others explore on their own.
They circled around to wait for those people trailing behind; their ship was too slow. Even when the Origin sailed at its slowest speed, it completely left them in the dust.
This island lacked a suitable port, and with the Origin's draft depth, they couldn't approach. Yamato and the others had to use lifeboats to reach the shore.
However, the Origin didn't disappear from the sea, it just pulled up its flag and dropped its anchor.
The reason it remained was because Olga left with them. Yamato's evaluation test continued, and having extra assurance was always a good thing.
Donning jungle exploration attire, Yamato grabbed Robin and Maria and headed to the Golden Island marked on the map.
....
"Lord Eldoraggo, they've landed on the island."
Behind a reef, a young thug-like person reported the situation to a tall man behind him. Eldoraggo had dark skin, a mane of red hair, and a lion-like face. Collecting gold was one of his hobbies.
According to the normal timeline, it would take him at least another decade to find this place, but they overheard Yamato's conversation at the tempura restaurant yesterday and secretly followed along.
At this time, they had barely over a dozen people on their ship. They were gathered only because of Eldoraggo's ability, so even in the East Sea, they were at a small fry level. That's why Olga remarked that even the ship's cook could take on ten of them.
If not for Eldoraggo being a power-wielder, her comment would've been that the cook could wipe them all out.
"Lord Eldoraggo, let's sneak up on them. That ship is huge and looks like it'll be tough to deal with."
Their vessel was like an ant compared to the Origin; its size was nearly the same as the lifeboats on the Origin, showcasing the disparity between the two sides just from the scale of the ships.
But Eldoraggo didn't see it that way; he even considered keeping the ship's treasures for himself.
It's a common understanding in the Pirate World that since pirates sail the seas for long periods, berries are prone to damage over time. If they got wet in a disaster, they'd turn to useless paper.
So, besides a certain amount of paper currency, pirates would convert their wealth into gold or other hard currency. That way, even if it sank, they could find a chance to recover it.
Eldoraggo was deeply fascinated with gold and also someone with little worldly experience, even considering the idea of exchanging the Origin for money.
"Forget about that ship for now. How bold of them to let a woman and two girls land alone. Let's capture them first."
Maria's physique led them to a misunderstanding, assuming she was a guardian instead of a peer.
Though the Treasure Map's description was vague, they quickly found a whale-shaped stone on the island and saw its curved tail pointing toward a high mountain.
"The whale's tail should be up there, right? If it's this easy, it's no fun. Hey! Are you all still following us? You've been tailing us the whole way!"
Yamato called out to the people hiding below the hill. Their tracking skills were mediocre, and thanks to the wind direction, Yamato could smell their stench.
"Hmm, she discovered the enemy but didn't eliminate them directly, just calling them out and wasting her advantage."
In the shadows, Olga noted it down in her little notebook. According to Arceus' standards, Yamato underestimated the enemy.
However, from another perspective, one could say she accurately judged the enemy's level, hence the slash instead of a cross.
But those people didn't believe Yamato's words and continued to hide below the hill. In response, Maria chewed something in her mouth and spat a web of electricity high into the air.
A chorus of screams followed, and Eldoraggo's already few underlings were suddenly reduced by more than half.
"So weak, is this the level of the East Sea?"
Seeing her attack defeat the enemies, Maria looked incredulous. It was just a special silk from Galvantula, not even a skill.
"It's probably an exception. Pirate King Gol D. Roger and Navy Hero Garp are both from this sea area. If I'm not mistaken, Uncle Mandfeish is also from the East Sea, right? Look, here's a slightly stronger one."
Seeing Eldoraggo's hair turned into a blown-up afro, Yamato further confirmed her thoughts, at least this one wasn't knocked out instantly.
After stepping out, Eldoraggo stood there with his mouth open wide, an energy gathering at his mouth.
After what seemed like a few seconds of charging, a blue-white beam shot toward Yamato's direction, but his aim was off, only hitting the ground behind them.
Bang!
With a loud explosion, a large crater was left in the ground nearby. His attack could only shoot straight, forcing him to come out to launch it.
Seeing his first shot miss, he charged up for a new attack, his most common move: blasting enemies from afar with his Sound Wave Cannon.
"Interesting, I want to try too."
Seeing Eldoraggo's attack, Yamato suddenly became excited, mimicking his wide-open mouth with her own, seemingly gathering power as well.
Logically, she should have completed her charge quickly, but she waited for him. When Eldoraggo finally finished charging, Yamato unleashed her attack.
"Muji Hyoga!"
The charging did have some effect. This time, Muji Hyoga's power was greater than before. The blue-white Sound Wave Cannon collided with the icy blue Muji Hyoga in the sky.
Bang!
Another fierce explosion occurred, but through the dust, Yamato's Muji Hyoga wasn't canceled out. Instead, it pierced through the dust and hit Eldoraggo, leaving a gigantic ice sculpture on the island.
"Done... Olga, what are you doing here?"
"Well... you'll have to explain to Lord Arceus yourself."
With that, Olga held the Radio Snail up to Yamato. The recent battle's footage had been livestreamed to Arceus, and while the result was a crushing victory, he was not pleased with the process.
"Godfather?"
"Yamato, your Muji Hyoga doesn't require charging, does it?"
"Uh... it can be fired instantly..."
"So why were you playing the charging game with him?! Do you think you're Ultraman? Do you have to engage in a beam clash with them? Especially when you haven't really fought them before, you took them too lightly!"