Besides that, there were many low-level Homies on the Mama Queen Singing Ship—chess piece soldiers, animated ropes, and various other oddities—all charging toward Hancock while making a racket.
Hancock didn't even spare a glance for those ordinary Homies. The Chakra within her surged out violently, instantly annihilating them completely.
At that moment, the entire ship suddenly lurched downward. The black thundercloud Zeus flew up from beneath the ship, golden lightning crackling incessantly within the dark clouds:
"You wretched woman, I'll avenge Mama..."
Lifting her eyes slightly, Hancock coldly blew out a breath. Vast Chakra transformed into a freezing current capable of solidifying all things. In an instant, the massive thundercloud was frozen into a block of ice, then shattered into fine powder.
The cool powder fell onto the ship like drifting snowflakes, settling on the hair of the many Charlotte Family members. The faint chill seeped deep into the heart of every Charlotte present.
...
Wano Country, the castle tower of the Flower Capital.
"So you don't even know if Charlotte Linlin is dead or not?"
Vegapunk spoke with a helpless expression on his face.
"Who cares about the fate of that fat pig... And what 'Iron Balloon'? Utterly fragile. I only used sixty percent of my strength, and she was sent flying who knows where!"
"darling, you wouldn't punish your little maid over a fat pig, would you?"
Hancock leaned against Vegapunk's side, wrapping her arms around his. She used her ample assets to firmly restrict his movements while leaning close to his ear, whispering seductively with orchid-scented breath.
At this moment, Hancock fully displayed a young maiden's charm. Her slightly flushed cheeks and sparkling, large eyes were filled with infatuation and adoration for Vegapunk. Her stunning face even carried a hint of fawning, completely placing herself in a subservient position to Vegapunk.
This nearly made the kneeling Charlotte Family members below pop their eyes out of their sockets. Especially since Hancock referred to herself as a 'little maid,' it shattered the glasses (metaphorically) of all the Big Mom Pirates members who had witnessed her overwhelming power.
What kind of monster was this blond youth, to have tamed a woman like Hancock so completely?
Vegapunk muttered helplessly:
"Forget it, I'll clean up the mess... I even prepared a lab bed for Charlotte Linlin. Who would have thought the final difficulty would be finding her?"
People in the One Piece World don't possess Chakra. In other words, all perception Ninjutsu based on sensing Chakra are completely useless in this world.
The problem is, almost all large-scale perception abilities within the chakra system rely on sensing Chakra. The remaining abilities, like the Byakugan or enhanced senses such as smell, have very limited ranges.
So finding Charlotte Linlin isn't exactly easy—though not too difficult either. Vegapunk possesses no shortage of black technology. If he wants to find someone, he definitely can.
Vegapunk just hoped this 'Iron Balloon's' defenses were tougher and her vitality more tenacious. He didn't want to go through the trouble of finding her only to discover the Emperor of the Sea had already become a corpse.
After all, as the pinnacle of natural talent in the entire One Piece World, Charlotte Linlin held extremely high research value for Vegapunk.
Although the chakra system and the power of the Ōtsutsuki Clan surpass even these Emperors of the Sea, the Ōtsutsuki, who rely on the chakra system, have little value for cloning. This is because the Ōtsutsuki aren't renowned for their physical prowess but rather for their mastery of Chakra power.
Chakra resources are finite. Vegapunk had no intention of wasting them on creating clones. Wouldn't strengthening himself be better?
In contrast, the strength of pirates like Charlotte Linlin and Kaido largely stems from their unique physical structures and flesh-and-blood bodies.
Admittedly, cloning bodies of this level is difficult and resource-intensive. But compared to the nearly universal bio-energy of Chakra, those resource costs are far smaller, making the cost-effectiveness of cloning them much higher than cloning Ōtsutsuki.
However, Vegapunk couldn't blame Hancock for this minor issue. It just meant a bit more effort. Even if Charlotte Linlin was unlucky enough to die, destructive research and cloning using just her corpse could still yield many valuable results.
However, upon hearing the words 'lab bed,' a certain pinnacle masterpiece of the Charlotte Family suddenly shuddered, his eyes sharpening as he looked at Vegapunk. Then, he cast a thoughtful glance at Hancock.
Unlike in the original story, where Hancock earned the title 'pirate empress' early on, becoming a Shichibukai and the world's most beautiful woman, in this world, Hancock had always remained by Vegapunk's side. Despite her considerable strength and numerous battles, she remained largely unknown to the outside world.
It's worth noting that Vegapunk back then wasn't a pirate. Naturally, his organization didn't issue bounties. Even though he himself was widely known, and thus many major powers had intelligence on him, few paid much attention to his subordinates.
This led to Hancock, despite her impeccable strength and beauty, having little fame in the One Piece World—though not complete obscurity. At the very least, most organizations connected to Vegapunk knew he had an incredibly beautiful and formidable female bodyguard by his side.
As one of the de facto leaders of the Charlotte Family, Charlotte Katakuri possessed a meticulous mind and a keen eye for detail. Initially, he hadn't made the connection because Vegapunk had completely changed his body.
But now, Vegapunk's mention of a 'lab bed' reminded Katakuri. In the entire sea, there weren't many scientists who dared—and had the capability—to target an Emperor of the Sea for experiments... Or rather, there was only one scientist with both the nerve and the ability: the legendary, supposedly deceased myth of the scientific world, Vegapunk!
Once he confirmed this blond youth was Vegapunk, previous events found explanation. Why was the beauty named Hancock so overwhelmingly strong? Clearly, it was the result of Vegapunk's human modifications.
And the reason this woman of unimaginable beauty and power acted so subserviently toward Vegapunk also became clear. Evidently, she wasn't a naturally powerful monster. Such intense dependency typically forms during a period of weakness.
However, uncovering Vegapunk's identity held little significance for Katakuri in his current situation. He only hoped this mad scientist's intention in keeping him and his siblings wasn't to use them as experimental subjects.
Seeing Vegapunk's gaze sweep over them, the group bowed their heads even lower. Stroking his chin, Vegapunk instructed:
"Members of the Charlotte Pirates... I don't have many demands of you. From now on, all of Totto Land is my territory. Look over the rules I'll issue. As long as you don't violate them, you can continue managing Totto Land. Just provide the resources I need."
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"