According to common sense, a club smashing down or a stream of hot breath blowing over is normal; if he's in a good mood, it might be a baptism of Supreme King Haki or an Armament Haki attack from afar. None of this would surprise Yamato.
But for Kaidou to do nothing at all is something she couldn't accept.
Because in her understanding, Kaidou could never do such a thing; everyone else gets to have a holiday while she's the only one at school, but for him to take a holiday himself seemed impossible.
"It's not a birthday... no one is setting sail... the instructor didn't mention any new courses..."
Yamato's special trait: when confronted with Kaidou, her intelligence surges temporarily, leaving no detail unnoticed.
At this moment, she was recalling details, but found nothing, which only made her more anxious. This tension persisted until noon. Even when Maria and the others began their lunch break, she continued to watch her surroundings warily.
"Hey, do you really need to hold onto your No. 5 while eating?"
"It's not No. 5, it's A-Jian No. 6."
Facing Ulti's questioning, she first corrected the issue of the Wolf Fang Club's numbering. A-Jian 5.0 didn't meet an untimely demise; it just became unsuitable for her as she grew. It was the second one to retire smoothly besides No. 1.
No. 6 inherits the will of No. 5, with enhanced size and weight.
"I have a really bad feeling right now, there's no way my father would just sit by idly."
"Yeah, that weirdo really isn't normal."
Ulti rarely did not refute her and agreed that Kaidou was indeed a freak.
Under pressure, even her appetite was affected, consuming only enough for five adults.
"Yamato? Why are you so jumpy?"
"Foster father, you don't know, but Father actually let me have a holiday today, this is too abnormal, there must be a plot."
It wasn't until Arceus appeared that her tense state relaxed slightly, but she still remained vigilant, fully unleashing her Observation Haki, trying to capture any hint of Kaidou who might appear at any moment.
However, it was useless; her Haki was far inferior to Kaidou's. Kaidou could easily evade Yamato's perception with stronger Haki and then launch a surprise attack on her.
"I know, it was me who told him to let you know about the holiday. I was preparing something and couldn't spare the time. Didn't he tell you?"
He had gone to prepare a special trial for Yamato. Since it was time-consuming, he asked Kaidou to pass on the message.
Kaidou did relay Arceus's message, but only half of it, leading to Yamato unnecessarily worrying all morning.
No doubt, Kaidou did it on purpose. He knew Yamato was very wary of him, so he exploited that, providing an abnormal answer without any other hints, which led to this outcome.
"How could this be... so I wasted my holiday for nothing?"
Holidays always pass quickly, especially when you waste them yourself, and that heartache is hard to describe.
When it comes to scheming, she'll probably never surpass Kaidou in this lifetime, but Arceus didn't give her time to ponder further.
"Don't think about it, come with me. This is a specially prepared course for you."
For Yamato, this sentence wasn't delightful; courses and training have completely different connotations. She wasn't interested in so-called courses at all.
"Foster father, I think maybe it's better if father gives me some extra training, forget about the classes.."
"Don't worry, this will definitely be more fun for you than classes, but you should mentally prepare yourself, as I made an agreement with your father."
"What?"
"If you succeed this time, the rest of the year will be a holiday. But if you fail, get ready for his hellish training."
There's not much left of this year, but this agreement had piqued her interest. In the face of holidays, she selectively ignored Kaidou's "hellish training" comment and eagerly followed Arceus away.
As for Arceus and Kaidou making an agreement using her future, she didn't object; she was somewhat used to this kind of autocratic state.
...
Under Arceus's guidance, she arrived at the top of Mt. Fuji, the highest point in Wano Kuni. Usually, the summit is shrouded in clouds and mist, invisible to the outside world, and it was even Yamato's first time reaching the top.
"Foster father, why did we come here?"
In her Okuchi no Makami state, she wasn't afraid of the cold; the severe cold here was no different from normal temperature for her.
"Because this is your brand new trial venue."
Following Arceus's gaze, she saw several stone plates. Usually, these plates were kept inside Arceus unless they were used to create new Pokemon; otherwise, they wouldn't appear outside.
But now, several plates were implanted in the snow, with three in the center and five surrounding them, totaling eight plates exposed to the outside.
"Your Okuchi no Makami is just part of the power. I've told you before, it's merely a vessel.
Whether you can bear the full might depends on yourself. Going out like this, you should have gained some insights. Now it's time for you to try. Stand in the center."
Yamato followed Arceus's instructions and stepped into the center of the stone plate formation, curiously poking one of the plates.
"Don't move around, relax your mind, what you're about to see is your trial."
"Wait, foster father, first tell me what the trial is!"
This time she received no response, as the plates around her had already begun to glow with light, lightning, fire, dragon's might—these three forces directly drew her consciousness into a special space.
Meanwhile, the surrounding plates were also activated, stabilizing the combined force of the plates.
This was the unknown trial where Yamato wouldn't receive an answer—an examination of ideals and reality.
Her consciousness had now entered a unique space. Simply put, her game had transitioned from dodgeball and battle royale to virtual reality.
To nurture the complete power of a divine beast is a massive task, but nurturing the power at the level of consciousness was much simpler.
After modifying the Okuchi no Makami, he had been incubating the consciousness of Zekrom and Reshiram using the Draco Plate. Their consciousness was about complete by this time.
Given the nature of a divine beast's powers, the power isn't simply granted but instead melds like the tailed beasts; even if imparting energy, they must manifest fully in the world. This was a test for Yamato.
If the condition was right, he would split part of their consciousness, allowing them to establish a connection with Yamato first. If not, they would continue to wait until circumstances were favorable. By the time Yamato's consciousness opened its eyes, her surroundings had undergone a tremendous change...