The World Government didn't know Vegapunk had changed bodies. Their intelligence on the world's number one scientist, who had faked his death, was still stuck on his original elderly appearance, so they naturally couldn't find Vegapunk's true body.
But to say the World Government would do nothing because of that was also impossible... "Boss, the World Government has assigned me a new mission!"
Stella yawned, snuggled into Vegapunk's embrace, nudged him twice, and then spoke.
"Hmm? Is it a mission related to us?"
Vegapunk was slightly taken aback and asked a question. As a top leader in the World Government's intelligence agency, Stella handled a massive amount of intelligence and various missions assigned by the World Government every day.
Normally, she wouldn't report ordinary matters to him at all, unless the mission had something to do with him.
With the Artificial Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit and Umbrella's technology, Stella herself possessed abilities akin to clones, along with specialized clone bodies.
She could effortlessly juggle being the Queen of the Pleasure District, the secret leader of Umbrella, and the ace of the World Government's intelligence agency. Thus, the World Government still didn't know Stella's true identity.
"That's right. The mission the World Government gave me this time is to negotiate with Charlotte Linlin of the Charlotte Pirates, ideally to get her to turn her attention toward Wano Country!"
"Using the Charlotte Pirates to test the waters? That really sounds like something the World Government would do! Whether it succeeds or fails, it has nothing to do with them. On the contrary, they can profit from the conflict!"
Anyway, to the World Government, the Charlotte Pirates were also enemies. If they were wiped out in the process of testing, the World Government and the Marines could just take over their territory.
If they found Wano Country to be a soft target, the World Government certainly wouldn't be soft either. Although the Charlotte Pirates were strong, they weren't strong enough to hold onto Wano Country's territory while also protecting their core at Cake Island.
The World Government valued Wano Country's various mineral deposits. As for some of Wano's surface wealth, if Charlotte Linlin plundered it, they didn't care.
It could be said that the World Government's calculations were very shrewd. Even Vegapunk had to admit that this tactic of pitting one enemy against another was indeed effective—provided the gap between the two sides wasn't too large!
The World Government probably thought that his forces had only defeated Kaido by relying on some high technology and Sea Stone techniques, possessing at most some weapons of mass destruction.
They didn't expect that after the trip to the Naruto World, Vegapunk's technology tree had already advanced by leaps and bounds, and the individual strength of his subordinates had reached a level that the great pirates of the One Piece World could only dream of.
Because of Stella, the World Government's intelligence was lagging too far behind. With such a huge disparity in strength, the Charlotte Pirates wouldn't serve as much of a test at all.
Seeing Vegapunk's indifferent expression, Stella, who was drawing circles on his chest, asked:
"Boss, what do you think should be done about this mission from the World Government?"
Vegapunk rubbed his chin and thought for a moment:
"Hmm... The Umbrella Corporation and the Charlotte Pirates should still have some connection, right?"
"That's right. Unlike that jerk Kaido, Charlotte Linlin has always been the Umbrella Corporation's best partner!"
Vegapunk wasn't surprised by this at all. When he conducted underground deals, his favorite partner was the Charlotte Pirates.
Charlotte Linlin's personality was quite different from Kaido's. Although both were brutal and cunning, Charlotte Linlin was undoubtedly much more emotional than Kaido, aside from her mental instability, and she wasn't as purely profit-driven as Kaido.
Therefore, as long as one grasped her needs, trading with her was actually much easier. Not only was the cost-effectiveness of the deals higher, but Charlotte Linlin also basically wouldn't turn hostile after the fact.
In that case, it wouldn't be right to screw her over like Kaido. He had to maintain some sense of decorum, even though the Giant Race traded by that Big Mom had also been tampered with by Vegapunk...
"Although the Charlotte Pirates are a family-based crew, in reality, their cohesion is much worse than that of Kaido's Beasts Pirates."
"After all, Kaido is just cruel and tyrannical, but he has the heart of a formidable leader and wins over important combatants. So while his low-level pawns have no loyalty, his high-level combatants are relatively loyal."
"On the other hand, Charlotte Linlin is a pure lunatic. Although she has a gentle side toward her children, she's unstable more often than not. Combined with the influence of her Hunger Pangs, her rule is maintained solely by fear."
Vegapunk murmured to himself, and Stella just leaned her head against his chest, listening quietly. She knew Vegapunk had likely already made a decision and was just explaining his reasoning.
"So, to subdue the Beasts Pirates, one must break up the entire crew, completely eliminate their ability to resist, and then slowly bring them to surrender. Even then, without the Artificial Devil Fruit Users leading the surrender, it would likely take quite a long time to fully subdue them."
Even now, there are many die-hard members of the Beasts Pirates being used as experimental subjects. Those people are essentially loyalists whom Vegapunk can't sway.
Fortunately, Vegapunk doesn't need their fighting power; they can just be used as experimental subjects.
"But with the Charlotte Pirates, if Charlotte Linlin is crushed, there's actually a possibility of subduing them!"
"Charlotte Linlin's children are filled with fear of Linlin herself, but in that high-pressure environment, their bonds as siblings have grown deeper. For the sake of their family, these Charlottes won't make pointless sacrifices!"
The pirates of the Charlotte Family have only fear for Big Mom, not loyalty. On the contrary, their feelings for each other are their weakness. Therefore, as long as Big Mom is defeated with unmatched power and a gesture of acceptance is shown, subduing the Charlotte Pirates will be very easy.
"This way, it can be considered a fair treatment for our years of friendship with Charlotte Linlin! I'll find a better laboratory for her then."
Well, in Vegapunk's view, this was indeed fair to Charlotte Linlin. Hadn't she seen how miserable the Beasts Pirates had become?
Kaido, now injected with Concentrated Sea Stone Radiation Factors, had gone from the so-called strongest creature in the world to a waste who needed a cane to walk!
Stella chuckled. She was no pushover either and didn't oppose Vegapunk's idea at all. Instead, she began to plan with great interest:
"Then, when the time comes, I'll go have a talk with Charlotte Linlin and have her come straight to Wano Country!"
"After leaving Totto Land and without those Homies, the Charlotte Pirates should be easier to deal with."
"Hmm... are there any outstanding and unique sweets in Wano Country? I can bring some to give to Charlotte Linlin then!"
"Other things might be hard to use for persuasion, but if there are exceptional 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 delicacies, especially sweets, were the real hard currency. After all, if Charlotte Linlin couldn't get her sweets, she might end up eating them instead!
Under these circumstances, if any special delicacy from Wano Country caught Charlotte Linlin's eye, those pirates would mobilize in full force to attack Wano just to get it for her.
Otherwise, if Charlotte Linlin's Hunger Pangs flared up again and she insisted on eating that unique delicacy, wouldn't the Charlotte Pirates be in a real bind?
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