She raised her gun and aimed it at the floorboards beneath her feet.
"Bang!"
Sparks scattered.
Chapter 38: Ruling the World
The violent explosion was deafening, and towering flames carrying thick smoke rose into the air, illuminating half the night sky as bright as day.
The gunpowder in the warehouse was completely detonated, and a succession of chain explosions rang through the entire Kongoukaku as shock waves shook the surrounding buildings violently enough to rattle them.
When the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, that area had turned into a charred ruin, and Mima Karyotori's figure had completely vanished within the flames.
The invasion farce he initiated finally drew to a close with this explosion.
Stussy stood atop the highest tower of Kongoukaku, the night wind blowing her pristine white cloak and golden curls.
She overlooked the city below as it gradually quieted down, the corner of her lips curving upwards as it seemed the plan was proceeding very smoothly.
From initially using the blood thralls to spread talk of a god, to finding Mima Karyotori and turning him into her own blood thrall, then secretly manipulating the route of the Kabane's attack to drive all survivors to Kongoukaku, and finally using Mima Karyotori's hand to trigger this invasion.
Behind all of this, there were traces of Stussy.
Her objective was very simple: through a controllable crisis, she would thoroughly establish Saint Dio's unshakable status as a "god" in the hearts of the people, while simultaneously integrating the remaining human forces of this world under a single banner.
The resources and talents available to be gathered in this world were indeed not many, but this world itself was an extremely precious resource.
It could become Saint Dio's logistical base, a rear-area world entirely controlled by him that could continuously provide him with food, minerals, and labor, serving as an indispensable cornerstone for his future plans.
Two days later, Kongoukaku gradually recovered order from the chaos.
The corpses and ruins on the streets had been cleared away, and the residents threw themselves back into production and construction.
Although an atmosphere of sorrow still lingered in the air, since many people had lost loved ones in that invasion, the living still had to go on living.
Ironicly, because that invasion resulted in a drastic population reduction, the food pressure that originally could only sustain three days was instead alleviated.
Ayame Yomogawa, pushed forward by everyone, officially succeeded to the position of supreme leader of Kongoukaku.
In a sense, she could also be considered the highest leader of the last remaining human settlement on this land.
The first thing she did after taking office was to organize personnel to head toward those fallen station cities to salvage usable materials and resources as much as possible.
Sandersonia and Marigold also joined the reconstruction work, their massive snake bodies and astonishing strength playing a tremendous role in hauling heavy objects and repairing city walls, and the damaged city walls were repaired as good as new in a mere two days.
In addition, Saint Dio also took out five Zoan Devil Fruits from his inventory, handing them to Ayame to form a special squad specifically responsible for the defense and external expansion of Kongoukaku.
These Devil Fruits were all ordinary Zoans-the Bear-Bear Fruit: Brown Bear Form, the Tiger-Tiger Fruit: White Tiger Form, Rhinoceros Fruit, and so on, with their main traits being thick skin, sturdiness, and high durability.
Although they could not be considered particularly rare abilities, for a world where the combat power level was generally low, they were already sufficient to constitute an unmatched elite force.
As long as Kongoukaku could develop steadily and establish a complete agricultural production system and resource collection system, this world could continuously provide Saint Dio with food, minerals, and other strategic supplies.
And these supplies would become important logistical guarantees for him to advance his plans in his original world in the future.
Saint Dio possessed the ability to travel across worlds, which in itself was a trump card sufficient to subvert the established pattern.
As long as he could master new worlds one by one, continuously drawing the resources of these worlds and feeding them back into his own forces in the One Piece world, the power he accumulated would grow at a geometric multiple.
This was essentially no different from the World Government levying the Heavenly Tribute from Affiliated Nations.
It was just that Saint Dio did not need to establish a huge bureaucratic system to maintain his rule; he only needed to ensure that the leaders of each world leaned toward him and depended on him, and that was enough.
As for the Kabane of this world, Saint Dio did not plan to completely eliminate them.
Leaving a certain degree of threat was instead more conducive to his rule.
Only when the people lived in continuous fear would they rely even more on the protection of the "god" and willingly pay tribute.
This followed the exact same logic as the Heavenly Tribute: making people feel the threat of pirates, and then using the power of the World Government and the Marines as protection, whereupon they would obediently surrender everything.
At this moment, the room was suffused with an ambiguous and decadent atmosphere.
Ayame had already limp-slumped powerlessly on one side of the bed, her legs slightly parted, the insides of her thighs soaked and still retaining traces of the lovemaking from just moments ago.
Her eyelids hung heavily, clearly having just been fiercely "favored" by Saint Dio for a round, and she was currently in a semi-conscious afterglow.
And now crouching beneath Saint Dio was another person-Mebiki.
She was once the only female member among the Hunters, and also the confidante Mima Karyotori trusted most.
During that invasion, she was transformed into the core of the Kabane Aggregate, enduring unimaginable torment for an ordinary person.
Yet after that explosion, Saint Dio pulled her back from the brink of death and used his own methods to purge the out-of-control Kabane virus within her body, restoring her to human form.
As for the present Mebiki, although she remained as taciturn as ever, her life now belonged to Saint Dio.
Ayame needed someone by her side who could guarantee her safety, and Mebiki was undoubtedly the suitable candidate.
She had solid strength, strong execution skills, and no superfluous distractions.
Before assigning Mebiki to Ayame's side, however, Saint Dio needed to ensure that her loyalty was absolute.
The most effective way to ensure a person's loyalty was to brand his own existence deep into her soul, making her thoroughly remember who her master was from body to mind.
Therefore, over the past few days, aside from necessary outings and handling official business, Saint Dio spent most of his time together with both Ayame and Mebiki in the room, rolling around on the bed.
That bedsheet had not been changed for several days, spread out wrinkled on the bed, covered all over with mottled traces of dried and re-wetted, then re-dried fluids.
Looking closely, one could even see two plum blossom stains that had dried into a dark brown color.
One belonged to Ayame, and the other belonged to Mebiki, blooming quietly atop that chaotic bedsheet and witnessing everything that had happened on this bed over the past few days.
Mebiki was currently kneeling and prostrating on the bed, her hands braced against the wrinkled bedsheet.
Her body trembled slightly, a flush washed over her skin, and sweat slid down the smooth lines of her spine.
Saint Dio knelt behind her, his tall stature completely enveloping her shadow.
His physique, far exceeding that of ordinary people, dictated that his endowments in that regard naturally could not be small.
From the moment the moon had just risen until the moonlight crossed the treetops, the gasping sounds in the room had never ceased.
One sound rose higher than the next, one after another, like a wave that would never stop.
From initially gritting her teeth and enduring to eventually letting go completely, Mebiki let out sounds that even she found shameful.
Meanwhile, Ayame beside them had just caught her breath, and seeing Mebiki's ecstatic and soul-shattering appearance, her cheeks burned uncontrollably once again.
With the final burst, Saint Dio filled both of them sequentially.
Both Ayame's and Mebiki's lower abdomens bulged slightly, as if they had been injected with full vials of life essence.
Yet even so, there was still a surplus.
He sprayed the remaining seed onto both of their bodies, from head to toe, the milky-white turbid fluid flowing slowly down their skin.
Ayame and Mebiki leaned against each other, their two flushed faces close at hand, their skin tightly pressed together and glued by sweat, bodily fluids, and turbid fluid, making it impossible to tell where anything was still clean.
They no longer had the strength to even move a single finger, and could only lean against each other and pant heavily, their eyes unfocused and hazy as if half their souls had been extracted.
Saint Dio watched this scene, the corner of his lips hooking into a satisfied arc.
To be powerful meant doing whatever one pleased.
Whatever he wanted, he had to obtain; whatever he wanted to do, he had to accomplish; his desires had to be released to their heart's content without needing to care about anyone's feelings.
This was the meaning of his pursuit of power.
It was not to protect anything, nor to save anything, but to make everything in this world operate according to his will.
He reached out and gently patted the heads of Ayame and Mebiki, like rewarding two well-behaved pets.
Afterward, he draped an outer garment over his shoulders, turned toward the window, and pushed it open.
The night wind rushed in carrying the scent of smoke and fire, and he gazed into the distance at Kongoukaku under reconstruction, its points of lamplight and moonlight reflecting within his eyes.
This world was already within his grasp.
Chapter 39: The Next Target-Wano Country
"Is this... the world where God lives?"
Mumei stood on the sandy beach, curiously looking around at this completely different realm before her eyes.
The sky was bluer than the world of the Kotetsujō, the sea breeze rushed over with a salty and fishy scent, and in the distance was the boundless azure sea with shimmering light dancing across it as if extending to the end of the world.
She had never seen the ocean before, and unmasked novelty and excitement flashed within those large eyes of hers.
Saint Dio did not answer her question, merely raising his gaze to look at the sky and estimating the time-it should be arriving soon.
Sure enough, not long after, a small black dot appeared on the distant sea level.
That ship gradually sailed closer, its hull becoming clearer and clearer.
That was a large, gorgeously styled, and extraordinarily magnificent sailing ship, which was the vehicle Saint Dio rode when traveling. After letting the sailors drop him off at this island, he had ordered this ship to depart first and stand by in nearby waters.
Now, it came in handy just in time.
The ship slowly docked, and the gangway was lowered.
Saint Dio stepped onto the ship, with Mumei following closely behind, looking about eagerly along the way and filled with curiosity toward everything on the ship.
It was her first time riding a ship, her first time seeing the true ocean, and her first time feeling the sensation of the sea breeze brushing against her cheeks.
All of this was a brand-new and wondrous experience for her.
Saint Dio walked straight into the cabin.
Inside the luxurious dining room, the long dining table was already covered with dishes meticulously prepared by the ship's senior chef.
Pan-seared steak, butter-baked lobster, roast suckling pig, various fresh fruits, and exquisite desserts were dazzling to the eye and overflowing with aroma.
Having eaten coarse grains and unrefined food for several days in that resource-scarce world, Saint Dio felt it necessary to properly nourish himself.
He sat down in the main seat, picked up the knife and fork, and unhurriedly cut a piece of steak, sending it into his mouth.
The meat was tender and juicy with just the right seasoning, which was worlds apart from the crude food in Kongoukaku.
Before long, having finished playing enough on the deck, Mumei also skipped and hopped into the dining room.
When she saw the table full of sumptuous food, those eyes instantly lit up like two stars.
She climbed onto the chair, impatiently grabbed a piece of roasted meat, and shoved it straight into her mouth.
The moment the first bite went down, her expression froze, and then her entire body seemed struck by happiness as she buried her head directly into the plate and wolfed her food down.
Stussy stood to one side, watching Mumei's eating posture, and could not help but smile faintly.
Immediately afterward, she turned toward Saint Dio,reined in her smile, and asked with a serious expression: "Master, what plans do you have for the upcoming itinerary?"
Saint Dio put down his knife and fork, wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin, and calmly spat out three words: "Wano Country."
Hearing this, Stussy could not help but be slightly stunned.
Wano Country, that mysterious nation located in the New World, practiced a strict isolationist policy, and the outside world knew very little about its internal conditions.
The World Government's Cipher Pol had attempted to infiltrate it many times, but all ended in failure.
The degree of closure of that country could be described as an impregnable fortress.
"Why would Master choose Wano Country?" Stussy could not help asking.
Saint Dio picked up his wine glass and gently swirled it, his gaze passing through the amber-colored liquid in the cup as if seeing the distant future.
Naturally, he had his own plans.
At present, if he wanted to further enhance his strength, he had to seek a breakthrough in his mastery of Haki.
The simplest and most direct path was to master the advanced technique of Armament Haki-Ryuo.
This advanced application of Haki, which could injure enemies from a distance and flow into objects to cause internal destruction, was a unique skill exclusive to Wano Country.
There, Ryuo was a technique that every high-ranking samurai had to study.
Aside from that, Wano Country also possessed quite a few Devil Fruits that made his eyes burn with desire.
Merely within the hands of the Kurozumi Clan, several highly valuable fruits were held.
The Clone-Clone Fruit, the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, and that Snake-Snake Fruit: Mythical Zoan-Yamata no Orochi Form.
If these fruits could be gathered into his possession, it would be of great benefit to his future layout.
More importantly, the timing was just right.
Before you continue