Set the Tiger Against the Wolf

At dawn, in the Castle Keep of the Flower Capital, Kozuki Hiyori slowly opened her eyes.

"Waaah..."

With a soft hum, Hiyori Kozuki stretched out her smooth, Kozuki Hiyori and sat up somewhat lazily.

Feeling the touch beside her, she turned her head and saw that her mother was sleeping right next to her. Only then did she become a little more awake.

"Lord Vegapunk... has he already left?"

After patting her cheeks and fully waking up, Kozuki Hiyori smiled bitterly, feeling that she and her mother had gotten used to this kind of thing.

What a terrible habit... Kozuki Hiyori sighed inwardly, but she didn't regret it much. In any case, at least Vegapunk kept his promise and did not do anything to Wano Country after dealing with the Beasts Pirates. Now Wano Country has returned to peace.

Furthermore, the heavily polluting factories in Wano Country have all been completely shut down, and the country will even have to rely on the Umbrella Corporation's technology to treat the pollution in Wano Country.

Compared to that, the price I and my mother paid was nothing.

Without waking the still-sleeping Kozuki Toki, Kozuki Hiyori quickly washed up and went to the main hall outside the Castle Keep, where she saw Vegapunk adjusting a door-shaped device.

"You're awake? Come here and provide your fingerprints and iris scans. Also, please add a little blood!"

Vegapunk pointed to the large, gate-like device in front of him Kozuki Hiyori, hearing this, obediently went to the device, entered her personal information, and asked curiously, "..."

"Is this some kind of advanced machine, Lord Vegapunk?"

Vegapunk spoke as he adjusted the device:

"This thing is no different from Teleportation Array, except that it's a permanent teleportation portal with a personal identification code. Now that you've become a general in Wano Country, you'll definitely be living Wano Country permanently. Using Teleportation Array every time is a waste. This newly developed permanent teleportation portal is perfect."

"The portal will recognize your pupils, fingerprints, and blood DNA information to ensure that only you can enter. If you want others to enter, they must be pulled by you. This also ensures the safety of Dream Star."

"There's another point... You should know that Kurozumi Orochi of Wano Country has always had clandestine exchanges with the World Government to purchase Sea Stone and some weapons. Now, we've almost completely mined out the Sea Stone, and all the weapons factories have stopped operating. I believe the World Government will soon receive the news."

"Once the World Government discovers that the Beasts Pirates have disappeared, you can imagine what they will do. With this portal, it will be easier to provide support in that situation."

Now that his relationship with Kozuki Hiyori and her mother is special, Vegapunk certainly can't just abandon them in Wano Country. Besides, their abilities are extremely unique, making them top-notch experimental subjects with a value far exceeding that of ordinary people.

In this situation, it would be only natural to relieve the two of their worries.

After hearing Vegapunk's words, Kozuki Hiyori sparkled, and she felt a surge of joy. She leaned close to Vegapunk and gave him a kiss.

Although there wasn't much affection between the two, even from the perspective of Wano Country's interests, siding with Vegapunk was indeed a very good choice. At least this boss had a lot of good stuff and was quite generous.

The only thing that worries Hiyori is Vegapunk's indifferent attitude. If Vegapunk really doesn't care about the fate of Wano Country, there's not much she can do.

It seems that Vegapunk still considers his own interests to some extent, which puts Kozuki Hiyori at ease about her biggest worry.

After Vegapunk defeated the Beasts Pirates, it took him more than half a year just to mine Sea Stone. During that long period of time, the World Government naturally noticed the changes in Wano Country.

Putting everything else aside, the sudden silence of the Beasts Pirates has a significant impact on the New World.

Of the major powers in the New World, Whitebeard was content living with his sons and had no ambitions. Red Hair was a pure adventurer. Charlotte Linlin was only interested in sweets and only occasionally thought about conquering the world. It can be said that among the Four Emperors, the Beasts Pirates and Kaido were the most enthusiastic about war and the most active.

Now that this active member has suddenly disappeared... naturally everyone feels that something is wrong. Those who are slow to react, like Whitebeard and the Red Hair Pirates, are not too bothered, but people like Doflamingo from the New World, and Charlotte Linlin who has a closer relationship with Kaido, already know about Kaido's downfall.

The World Government, with its most sophisticated intelligence, and the World Economy News Agency have even identified Vegapunk's robot forces as the culprits, since Vegapunk's robot army has never made any attempt to conceal its activities in Wano Country.

The World Government has even come to suspect that the "natural disaster" that Red Line last time was actually caused by Vegapunk. For such a behemoth, there is little difference between suspicion and certainty.

The reason they haven't made a move yet is simply because they haven't discovered Vegapunk's true strength, not even Vegapunk himself, so they're holding back.

The World Government had no idea that Vegapunk had changed bodies. The information about the world's greatest scientist, who had faked his death, was still based on his original aged appearance, so of course they couldn't find Vegapunk's true form.

However, it is impossible to say that the World Government would do nothing because of this.

"Boss, the World Government has given me a new mission!"

Stussy yawned, snuggled into Vegapunk's arms, nuzzled a couple of times, and then spoke.

"Hmm? Is it a mission related to us?"

Vegapunk paused for a moment, then asked, "Stussy, as the most important leader of the World Government's intelligence agency, handles an overwhelming amount of intelligence and various missions assigned by the World Government every day."

Normally, she would never report ordinary matters to me unless the task was related to me.

Possessing the technology of Artificial Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit and Umbrella Corporation, Stussy himself has the ability to create near-clones, as well as specially made clones.

Even if she were to simultaneously act as the Queen of the Pleasure District, the secret leader of Umbrella Corporation, and the ace of the World Government's intelligence agency, she could do it all with ease. Therefore, the World Government still doesn't know Stussy's true identity.

"That's right. The World Government's mission for me this time is to negotiate with Charlotte Linlin of the Charlotte Pirates, and preferably get her to set her sights on Wano Country!"

"Using the Charlotte Pirates to test them? That's exactly what the World Government would do! Whether they succeed or fail, it's none of their business; on the contrary, they can profit from it!"

In any case, the Charlotte Pirates are considered enemies by the World Government. If they were to perish during the probing, the World Government and the Navy could simply take over their territory.

If the World Government discovers that Wano Country is an easy target, it certainly won't hold back. Although the Charlotte Pirates are strong, they aren't strong enough to protect Wano Country's territory in addition to protecting the core of Cake Island.

The World Government values Wano Country's various mineral resources, and they don't care about the Wano Country's other assets, as Charlotte Linlin has already taken them away.

It can be said that the World Government's calculations were extremely shrewd. Even Vegapunk had to admit that this tactic of using one enemy to devour another was indeed very effective—provided that the gap between the two sides was not too large!

The World Government may have thought that its forces only defeated Kaido by relying on some advanced technology and Sea Stone technology, and at most possessed some weapons of mass destruction.

However, after his trip to the Ninja World, Vegapunk's technology had already advanced by leaps and bounds, and the individual strength of his subordinates had increased to a level that even the greatest pirates in the Pirate World could not match.

Because of Stussy, the World Government's intelligence was far behind, and with such a large gap in strength, the Charlotte Pirates were of no use in probing the enemy.

Seeing Vegapunk's nonchalant expression, Stussy, who was drawing circles on Vegapunk's chest, finally spoke up and asked:

"Boss, what do you think we should do about this mission assigned by the World Government?"

Vegapunk stroked his chin, thinking for a moment:

"Hmm... there must be some connection between the Umbrella Corporation and the Charlotte Pirates, right?"

"That's right, unlike that bastard Kaido, Charlotte Linlin has always been our Umbrella Corporation's best partner!"

Vegapunk wasn't surprised at all by this, as he had always preferred Vegapunk Charlotte Pirates for his underground dealings.

Charlotte Linlin and Kaido very different personalities. Although both can be described as cruel and cunning, Charlotte Linlin is undoubtedly much more emotional than Kaido, except for her mental illness, and she is not as focused on interests as Kaido.

Therefore, as long as you grasp her needs, it is much easier to make a deal with her. Not only is the cost-effectiveness of the deal higher, but Charlotte Linlin is also unlikely to turn her back on you afterward.

In that case, it's not right to cheat Kaido like that. At least you should try to be more considerate. Although the giants acquired from Big Mom were also tainted by Vegapunk ...

"Although the Charlotte Pirates are a family-run pirate crew, their cohesion is actually much weaker than that of Kaido's Beasts Pirates,"

"After all, Kaido is just cruel and tyrannical, but he also has the heart of a ruthless hero. He will also win over important combat forces, so his lowly soldiers are not very loyal, but the high-ranking combat forces are relatively loyal."

"Charlotte Linlin is purely a psychopath. Although she has a gentle side towards her children, she is more prone to acting crazy. Coupled with the influence of bulimia, what actually maintains her rule is only fear."

Vegapunk muttered to himself, and Stussy simply rested her head on his chest, listening quietly. She knew that Vegapunk had probably already made a decision and was now just explaining his motives.

"Therefore, if the Beasts Pirates want to be subdued, the entire pirate crew must be broken up and their ability to resist completely eliminated. Then, they can be slowly subdued. Even so, if no artificial Devil Fruit User leads the surrender, it will probably take a long time to completely subdue them."

Even now, there are still quite a few die-hards in the Beasts Pirates are being used as test subjects. These people are basically loyal to the death, the kind that even Vegapunk can't change.

Fortunately, Vegapunk didn't need their fighting power; he just used them as experimental subjects.

"But if it were the Charlotte Pirates, and Charlotte Linlin were defeated, it would indeed be possible to recruit them!"

"Charlotte Linlin's children are filled with fear of Charlotte Linlin herself, but under that high-pressure environment, their sibling bond deepens even more. For the sake of their family, these Charlottes will not make unnecessary sacrifices!"

The Charlotte Family Pirates only fear Big Mom, they have no loyalty. On the contrary, their mutual affection is their weakness. Therefore, as long as they defeat Big Mom with unparalleled power and show a willingness to surrender, it will be very easy to subdue the Charlotte Pirates.

"In that case, it will be a fair return to Charlotte Linlin and our friendship over the years! I will find her a better Laboratory later."

Well, in Vegapunk's opinion, this is indeed a fair sacrifice for Charlotte Linlin. Didn't you see how badly the Beasts Pirates are behaving?

Kaido has now been injected with concentrated Sea Stone radiation factors, and has gone from being the so-called Strongest Creature in the Sea, Land, and Air, sea and air to a useless piece of trash who can only walk with a limp!

Stussy chuckled. She was no pushover either, offering no objection to Vegapunk's statement. Instead, she enthusiastically began to plan:

"Then I'll talk to Charlotte Linlin and ask her to come to Wano Country!"

"After leaving Whole Cake Island, without those Homies, the Charlotte Pirates should be easier to deal with."

"Hmm... Does Wano Country have any outstanding or unique sweets? I can bring some back as gifts for Charlotte Linlin!"

"Other things are hard to convince, but if there's something amazing about sweets, Charlotte Linlin won't care about anything else, and the entire Charlotte Pirates will be tied to her carriage!"

For the Charlotte Pirates, all kinds of food, especially sweets, are real hard currency. After all, if Charlotte Linlin couldn't eat sweets, she might have to eat them!

In this situation, if Charlotte Linlin were to take a fancy to any special delicacy from Wano Country, all the pirates would have to attack Wano Country to get it for her.

Otherwise, if Charlotte Linlin's bulimia were to flare up again, and she insisted on eating those unique delicacies, wouldn't the Charlotte Pirates be in trouble?

If Kozuki Hiyori refuses Charlotte Pirates' request for food, the two sides will definitely have to fight.