At the very least, Charlotte Smoothie was well aware that she was no match for this delicate-looking woman, and even her most respected brother, Katakuri, wouldn't have absolute certainty in a fight against Stella.
For these pirates, strength was the foundation of respect. Having great power, Stella naturally earned Charlotte Smoothie's respect.
"Ah, it's nothing serious... just some common troubles women often face!"
Stella said with a smile, picking up her small bag and taking out a pack of tissues. Charlotte Smoothie was momentarily stunned, then realized what she meant and said no more.
Leaving the tea table, Stella found a restroom and lightly pressed a button on her watch.
A strange vibration spread out. Many living things around her—the Homies that were specialties of Cake Island—seemed to be affected, yawning and falling asleep on the ground one after another.
"The effect of this Hypnosis Watch is quite good. It works wonders on Den Den Mushi and is effective against these Homies too!"
Checking her surroundings, Stella smiled, then lightly pressed her earring to connect to a miniature earpiece phone.
Soon, a familiar voice she hadn't heard in years rang out... wait, it didn't sound familiar? Oh, right, her boss seemed to have gone for 'plastic surgery'.
The communication was quickly completed. Inside the Dream Star, Vegapunk ended the call with a bit of melancholy, his expression somewhat helpless.
"Time in the One Piece World moves faster than in the Naruto World! It's only been about six years in Naruto, but eight years have passed in the One Piece World!"
"This should be around the time Fire Fist Ace set out to sea, right?! No, his bounty poster is already out; he's been at sea for a while?"
"He's even made a name for himself as 'Fire Fist'. I remember Ace only found and ate his Devil Fruit during his voyage!"
"In other words, there's a little over a year left before the main story begins!"
With the timeline established, the next thing he needed to know was the current state of his faction.
Although he, Hancock, and Nico Robin had all grown significantly in strength after their trip to the One Piece World—especially Hancock, who could probably solo the World Government now—
In terms of organizational power, after leaving Umbrella and transferring all authority to Stella, there was no guarantee it could be maintained or developed properly.
Fortunately, Stella had not failed Vegapunk's trust. Both her IQ and EQ were extremely high; she was sophisticated and almost a social genius, capable of dealing with any faction.
While she hadn't expanded Umbrella further, she had maintained its stability and development.
In fact, for Umbrella to grow any larger, it would have to develop into a separatist power like the Four Emperors. Without sufficient strength, Stella wouldn't do something so foolish.
On the other hand, thanks to Stella's hard work, Umbrella was now rooted in every aspect of the One Piece World. Whether it was the World Government, the Four Emperors' crews, the Revolutionary Army, or major nations, almost all had become intertwined with Umbrella.
If anyone tried to forcibly uproot it, even the powerful World Government would likely face turmoil and potentially severe damage.
Knowing the current situation, Vegapunk felt at ease. Even if their subordinates were wiped out, it wouldn't affect them much given their current strength, but it would certainly be less convenient.
This time, Vegapunk's return to the One Piece World was definitely aimed at total world domination, seizing all resources, and taking down the World Government!
Even though Vegapunk had ample confidence in his strength, extending his rule without trusted aides would be a major hassle.
He couldn't just use Kotoamatsukami on everyone, could he?
Uh, actually, he could! While Kotoamatsukami might not be very effective against certain Conqueror's Haki users, he didn't really need subordinates with Conqueror's Haki anyway... After his thoughts strayed in a dangerous direction, Vegapunk shook his head and began to seriously consider his next move.
Should he start by setting off fireworks for the World Government? Kill those disgusting Celestial Dragons? Or go and subjugate the Four Emperors?
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