Rather than saying that Robin had gotten corrupted, it would be more accurate to say that Robin had awakened. In a sense, being scheming is her true nature, it's just that she spent a long time acting alone, with only Lizzi by her side.
Even if she has a scheming nature, an Inteleon wouldn't really notice.
She had spent a good amount of time with Yamato during their childhood, and occasionally revealed this side of herself, but the rather simple-minded Yamato never noticed it.
It wasn't until now that Yamato realized Robin had just been joking.
"Alright, no more jokes. Lord Arceus said earlier that when you get back, you should go see him.
Also, were you serious when you said you wanted to head out with me? If that was just a joke, then I'll set off tomorrow."
"Oh, that? Of course I'm going! Just wait a little longer. I want to see what Dad wants. If it turns out to be something important, then I'm really sorry."
In a way, she had already stood Robin up once. Yamato's original plan was to leave as soon as the banquet ended, but she encountered an irresistible force: a special summer camp organized by Arceus.
Robin was still here, partly to search through the data, and partly because she was waiting for Yamato.
"It's fine. If Lord Arceus has plans for you, there's nothing you can do about it.
Also, the Corviknight egg is about to hatch. Go take care of your stuff, I'll go observe it again."
As she spoke, Robin tidied up a stack of documents; specifically, a compilation of all the Pokémon currently residing in Onigashima.
The more they observed Pokémon, the more mysterious they became. Now, on this small Sky Island, many scholars were already captivated by these enigmatic creatures. There was even a fanatic who lived inside a Tauros barn to study Tauros.
Stretching her body a bit, Yamato leapt straight off the edge of Sky Island; she seemed to have inherited one of Kaido's odd hobbies.
Unlike Kaido, she didn't leave a crater on the ground when she landed. Right before hitting the surface, Yamato skillfully activated her ability to stabilize her body, though she still caused quite a stir in the inland sea.
Splish splish
Because of Yamato, an unlucky salmon fish was now flapping helplessly on the shore. It was quickly scooped up by Page One and tossed into his fish bucket.
"Seriously, Sister Yamato, did you have to make such a huge entrance right after getting back?"
Wiping the water off his face, Page One reeled in his fishing rod; the bait on the hook was already gone. That cast had failed again, but it didn't matter. After all, his fish bucket still had fish in it, even if they weren't caught by fishing.
For the record, there was currently only one fish in his bucket.
"Did I disturb your night fishing?"
"Nah, I just started casting."
"Pay-tan! What are you doing here? I've been looking for you for five hours!"
"…"
Page One's lie was exposed, but thankfully it was just Yamato and Ulti present, so no one realized his five-hour streak of catching nothing.
"Yo, if it isn't "Kozuki Oden"? You're back, huh?"
"Ugh, don't bring that up! Just forget that black history, okay?! Don't make me erase your memory using physical means!"
Compared to Robin's scheming nature, Ulti's bluntness was even harder for her to handle. God knows how much effort she had put into making "Yamato" stop mentioning those two words, and now that Ulti called her that, she felt like ants were crawling all over her body.
"That's gonna be tough~ Arinsu. Oh right, I even made you a little present."
As she spoke, Ulti pulled out a kimono-clad Yamato doll. Although there were no written labels, the words black history were practically written all over it. What stood out the most was the doll's unnervingly wise expression, which left Yamato at a complete loss for words.
"Damn it, if the you from over there weren't out of "Onigashima", I would've definitely dragged you out and taken pictures!"
"Hmph, even if you found me, I wouldn't be afraid. I definitely wouldn't say I'm Kozuki Oden.
Anyway, forget about that. If you'd come back two days later, Pay-tan and I would've headed out too."
With the celebration banquet over, pirates weren't getting any days off. The chaos sparked by Whitebeard's final declaration had fully erupted by now, and most seas were in turmoil. There weren't many officers left on Onigashima, and the siblings were about to head out on a mission too.
"I see? Oh well, enough talking. Dad's looking for me, I'm off."
Yamato put the doll away. Though it was a piece of "black history," she didn't get angry. That kind of joke was still within her tolerance. If you looked closely, the doll was actually kind of cute, a memento of this unusual experience from another perspective.
After a bit of joking around, Yamato made her way to Arceus, enjoying the blissful moment of not having Kaido around.
"Thanks, Dad. Good thing you got father out of the way, it would've been a pain otherwise."
"Don't get too happy just yet. He will come back. I'm only giving you a bit of breathing room for now. What happens afterward isn't my concern."
Arceus could've brought Yamato back much earlier, but deliberately delayed it for a few days so she could spend more time interacting with her other self.
During that time, Kaido, out of boredom, temporarily gave up on Yamato and rode Hydrachton off to have some fun. With so many rookies appearing on the seas, he could mess with them a bit, and maybe even find a plate, or spot some talented rookie.
"No worries. Seeing him later is just as well. But Dad, what did you need me for?"
"Did you gain any insights this time?"
"Hmm… that father is definitely a b*stard. If no one keeps him in check, he just gets crazier and crazier.
And running a country is way more complicated than I thought… also—"
Yamato began, as usual, by ranting about Kaido before finally moving on to her actual reflections. Though she didn't have any particularly deep insights, there was at least some progress, just enough to barely pass Arceus's evaluation.
"Dad, is there anything else?"
"No, that's all. Just be careful when you're out, there might be danger."
"Don't worry, Dad! If I can't beat it, I know when to run. Oh, right, I heard that Ace is kinda dumb. He was already rescued, but one sentence got him to turn back."
Yamato shared something she'd heard during her journey, clearly not taking Arceus's words to heart. What she didn't realize was, that line had been a hint from Arceus.
It was a hint that Kaido might stop her on the way. The higher Yamato scored in Arceus's evaluation, the better the rewards she'd receive. If she had gained a bit more insight during this "journey," Arceus had actually planned to directly warn her to watch out for Kaido.
But since she only got a passing grade, she merely received some subtle clues.
Given Yamato's personality, without triggering the Kaido Special Attack, she completely failed to understand what Arceus had been trying to hint at.
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