Choice

Upon receiving Vegapunk's instructions, Stussy's eyes lit up, and he asked:

"Can I use all the experimental subjects inside Dream Star?"

"Apart from those that are too dangerous or difficult to control, you can use anything else you like!"

"Then don't worry, boss! I guarantee I'll take care of the entire Beasts Pirates!"

Stussy patted her chest and guaranteed it; she knew very well what kind of monsters were in Vegapunk's Dream Star!

Some of these weapons are uncontrollable and extremely dangerous, with combat power comparable to that of the Four Emperors, and even more dangerous!

Of course, Stussy wouldn't dare use that kind of thing either. It was far too dangerous, and even Kotoamatsukami would have a hard time controlling it. After all, Kotoamatsukami can only control other people's thoughts, but they can't improve other people's intelligence.

For some monsters who only have a bloodlust and no reason at all, the orders given by Kotoamatsukami are completely incomprehensible to them, so there is no question of obeying them.

Even excluding the monsters sealed by Vegapunk, the number of second-tier mass-produced combatants alone in Vegapunk's Dream Star could reach three digits!

After the Ninja World has been refined, Vegapunk's technology has improved further. He can easily produce a dozen or so First Mate and hundreds of experimental subjects at the level of Great Signboard. With just that number, even Kaido would have to flee in a sorry state!

Not to mention, Vegapunk has special inventions specifically designed to counter Devil Fruit User, which can significantly weaken even Devil Fruit User like the Four Emperors.

Otherwise, the reason Stussy was so excited to make such a guarantee was because he knew just how powerful the fighting forces in Dream Star really were.

Inside a small villa on Dream Star, Kozuki Hiyori is practicing her swordsmanship in the Gravity Room.

Although Kozuki Hiyori and distressed that she and her mother could no longer escape Vegapunk's clutches, joining Vegapunk's crew was not without its benefits.

Aside from having to cooperate with Vegapunk's experiments and have some blood drawn every day, the rest of the Kozuki Hiyori are completely at one's own disposal.

Furthermore, Dream Star offers many convenient abilities, providing great convenience whether it's eating, drinking, having fun, or cultivating and studying.

Even if Kozuki Hiyori doesn't like Training Pod, which improve physical fitness almost effortlessly, she can still train in the Gravity Room. Combined with the Repair Pod that can perfectly heal the body, she can develop her body's potential in the shortest amount of time.

As for swordsmanship training, the training room inside Dream Star has a large number of video capture devices connected to Quantum Computer, which can accurately capture the movement of every muscle fiber and provide guidance through scientific means. In a short period of time, Kozuki Hiyori felt that her swordsmanship had improved again.

"Call..."

Letting out a long breath, Kozuki Hiyori sheathed her two swords, and Ame no Habakiri, with eyes and a mouth, spoke:

"Hiyori making rapid progress! It seems the environment here is indeed very good and will be of great help to you!"

Kozuki Hiyori nodded, wiped the sweat from her brow, and said:

"Vegapunk is at least intellectually unparalleled, and it is unlikely that anyone will ever surpass him."

"His inventive abilities have surpassed those of the entire world by several eras. If it weren't for the fact that he kept using my mother to blackmail me, I wouldn't actually mind working for him."

"After all... with my own strength alone, there's no way I could possibly take revenge on Wano Country!"

At this point, not only did Kozuki Hiyori lose interest, but Shusui and Ame no Habakiri also fell silent.

Kozuki Hiyori's talent is not bad; compared to ordinary people, she can certainly be called a genius. However, compared to those monsters that roam the seas, the gap is still visible to the naked eye.

Of course, while talent is a popular factor on this high seas, it doesn't mean that talent determines everything. For example, Red-Haired Shanks Hawkeye Mihawk may not be as talented as the other Four Emperors, but their strength is still comparable to the Four Emperors. It's more about their inner spirit!

With an indomitable spirit and unwavering belief, coupled with a fighting spirit that remains steadfast despite countless battles and life-or-death struggles, he has honed his Three Types of Haki to the point that they can compensate for his talent deficiencies and make him no weaker than the other Four Emperors!

However, Kozuki Hiyori is also very clear about herself. Although her beliefs may be firm, her courage is far from enough, and she has no chance of even Awakening Conqueror's Haki.

No matter how much he cultivates, he will never be able to reach the level of the Four Emperors. In Artificial Soul-Soul Fruit, he would have had almost no chance of even reaching the level of First Mate.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Kozuki Hiyori has developed a desire to rely on others. Not everyone can become the protagonist in this world, and at least Kozuki Hiyori does not have the protagonist's halo.

Although the two swords, Shusui and Ame no Habakiri, only gained the ability to think after being Kozuki Hiyori into Homies by Hiyori Kozuki, they still retained some of their memories of following their master and roaming the world before that.

Therefore, the two swords were well aware of Kozuki Hiyori's current situation and did not spout any nonsense about her being able to defeat Kaido by continuing her training.

Lacking in both spirit and talent, how can they possibly win? Unrealistic encouragement is just sending Kozuki Hiyori her death.

Despite her young age, Kozuki Hiyori's strength is already comparable to that of First Mate. This is her limit; it can only be said that her strength develops quickly, not that her limit is high.

Even on Dream Star, with all sorts of training aids, Kozuki Hiyori's strength could only be improved slightly, still a far cry from Kaido's.

After a brief moment of low spirits, Kozuki Hiyori quickly recovered. She was well aware that Kozuki Hiyori couldn't defeat Kaido on her own.

Now that he has fallen into Vegapunk's hands again, he can only take it one step at a time and try to use Vegapunk's power to avenge himself.

"Little Hiyori really hardworking, is she still practicing hard here?"

Hearing the voice behind her, Kozuki Hiyori frowned slightly and said without turning around:

"Is there something you need, Miss Stussy?"

Although he was just an experimental subject, his villa still had a complete security system. Apart from a few high-ranking officials with extremely high authority, no one else could enter silently.

However, the other high-ranking members didn't have such leisure time. Vegapunk would only notify Kozuki Hiyori when he needed experimental materials, Kozuki Hiyori was never seen otherwise. Nico Robin and Hancock were even less likely to be seen.

The only high-ranking person who would do something like this is that troublesome woman, Stussy.

"I have some good news to tell you! Lord Vegapunk is preparing to conquer Wano Country! How about it, Hiyori? It looks like your revenge is just around the corner!"

"What!"

A look of surprise appeared on Kozuki Hiyori's face, along with a hint of smugness. Although she hadn't seen much on Dream Star, she had a deep understanding of Vegapunk's background. With the addition of super-powerful fighters like Hancock and Vegapunk, crushing a Four Emperors Pirates would be a piece of cake!

He was still trying to get Vegapunk to help him get revenge, but he never expected that Vegapunk was already preparing to take action against his enemy.

However, after the initial surprise, Kozuki Hiyori calmed down a bit. Vegapunk wouldn't attack Kaido because of his hatred. She was just an experimental subject and didn't have that kind of nerve. It would be more like Hancock or Nico Robin.

There must be some conflict between the two sides, or Vegapunk might simply be after Wano Country's resources, which is why he actually took action.

Furthermore, while Vegapunk's technological level is high enough to significantly improve the living standards of any nation, whether he is willing to help the people of Wano Country is a huge question mark.

Don't let the wolf at the front door be turned away only to be attacked from the back... Vegapunk may not be brutal, but his scientist-like indifference to human life is not necessarily better than Kaido's.

Thinking of this, Kozuki Hiyori took a deep breath and looked at Stussy:

"Miss Stussy, why exactly did Lord Vegapunk choose to clash with the Beasts Pirates?"

"Of course it's for the Sea Stone of Wano Country. What else could it be? Could it be that Hiyori thinks Lord Vegapunk is avenging you?"

"Of course I wouldn't have such thoughts, but... how will Lord Vegapunk treat the people of Wano Country?"

"You mean the people of Wano Country..."

Stussy covered her mouth and giggled.

"Of course, you should leave it to me. After all, Lord Vegapunk entrusted the entire operation against the Beasts Pirates to me!"

Kozuki Hiyori's expression changed slightly, and she inwardly cried out in alarm. Although Stussy was loyal to Vegapunk, this woman was definitely not a good person.

On the surface, he appears to be charming and sophisticated, but in reality, he is ruthless and vindictive. This is the true nature of Stussy.

The fact that Stussy could become the covert leader of the Umbrella Corporation, the queen of Pleasure District, and even maintain her position as the intelligence chief of the CP0 organization already proves that she is a truly bad person.

It's important to understand that this basically covers the entire range of traditional underworld businesses, including Mercenary, prostitutes, and special agents/assassins. For someone to believe that such a person is a good person, it would take some people to actually believe it.

Can someone like that manage Wano Country well? This isn't a matter of ability, it's a matter of character!

Furthermore, her relationship with Stussy is not good, and this time she will definitely take this opportunity to settle personal scores and cause a lot of trouble for Wano Country.

Before Kozuki Hiyori could even ask, Stussy pressed her lips, seemingly troubled, and spoke:

"I heard that the Sea Stone in Wano Country is mined by the Wano Country people. It's really inefficient."

"I remember that Lord Vegapunk developed Crushing-Type Mineral Harvester. We can just fire at the Sea Stone Mine and clear out all the Sea Stone in just a few days!"

Seeing Kozuki Hiyori's somewhat bewildered expression, Stussy knew she hadn't understood anything about a crushing mining machine. Then, with a faint smile, Stussy explained:

"By the way, Xiao Hiyori, you don't know what a crushing mineral mining machine is, do you? It was invented by the boss. It's Flying Vehicle specifically designed to mine minerals from asteroids in space. Only two have been manufactured so far."

"This kind of Flying Vehicle will completely crush asteroids the size of islands, and then completely absorb all kinds of minerals inside the asteroids. It is extremely efficient. Island countries like Wano Country would probably be completely crushed without leaving even a trace!"

Kozuki Hiyori's face turned from rosy to deathly pale, and she looked at Stussy with trembling lips:

"Are you... are you crazy? There are millions of people in Wano Country!"

"That's true!"

Stussy narrowed his eyes slightly and said, seemingly cheerfully:

"So many people perished along with the island; it was indeed a waste."

"Hmm... I can set up a refugee spaceship over Wano Country and call it Noah's Ark!"

"To get on Noah's Ark, you have to pay a lot of money or resources. If you're a pretty girl, you can just sell yourself into slavery... Hehe, that should add a lot of people to my Pleasure District!"

"No... no! You can't!"

Kozuki Hiyori's face was completely drained of color. Just imagining the tragic scene made her feel like she was about to collapse, and her expression as she looked at Stussy was filled with fear.

"Why not? This is the plan I came up with that will maximize profits in the shortest amount of time. Do you have a problem with it?"

Looking at Stussy's ambiguous, mocking expression, Kozuki Hiyori opened her mouth, but her eyes lost their light, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Stussy walked with a smile into the distraught Kozuki Hiyori and whispered in her ear:

"What's wrong? Are you so desperate? Actually, if you want to save those poor wretches in Wano Country, there is still a way..."

Kozuki Hiyori's body trembled slightly as she looked up at Stussy with an almost pleading expression.

A few hours later, Stussy left Kozuki Hiyori's villa with a smile on his lips. Hiyori's eyes were dim, Kozuki Hiyori she huddled in a corner with slightly red eyes, gently touching the area below her navel.

Feeling the texture of the seal marks on her lower abdomen, Kozuki Hiyori gently bit her lip and sighed silently.

As night fell, Kozuki Hiyori, dressed in a white kimono, slowly approached Vegapunk's door.

Taking a long breath, Kozuki Hiyori and pushed the door. The automatic sensor door, which normally required extremely high privileges to open, was easily opened with her gentle push.

A series of alluring sounds rang out, Kozuki Hiyori's face turned red. She lowered her head, feeling dizzy, and did not notice that among the chaotic sounds, there was a familiar voice.