"Who exactly are you?!"
Kozuki Hiyori spoke again, asking with some confusion. However, compared to her initial question, this inquiry was less about not knowing Vegapunk's identity and more about doubting her own suspicions.
How is this possible? Isn't that person already dead? The shadow that hung over me disappeared along with my Mother... but—
"Can you still not tell who I am? I should be the only one who can make Hancock obey so readily, right?"
Vegapunk grinned as he looked at Kozuki Hiyori. Kozuki Hiyori's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth slightly, displaying an expression of disbelief:
"You, you really are Vegapunk! Didn't you die? Didn't you even take Admiral Akainu down with you?!"
"Also, why have you changed into this appearance? What happened to your Brain-Brain Fruit ability?"
"So many questions!"
Vegapunk shrugged, looked at Kozuki Hiyori, and answered dismissively:
"But I don't seem to have any obligation to answer you, do I? You just tried to attack me!"
Swallowing slightly, Kozuki Hiyori showed a hint of fear in her eyes and asked timidly:
"Alright, I don't need to know that... How is my Mother doing now?"
With a clatter, Vegapunk, after isolating the area using Chakra, directly threw out a pair of Sea Stone handcuffs:
"Your Mother is fine now, but what happens to her next depends on your choice!"
Looking at the Sea Stone handcuffs on the ground, Kozuki Hiyori gave a wry smile, reached out, and picked them up. Just touching them, she felt her body weaken. After locking the Sea Stone handcuffs onto her wrists, Kozuki Hiyori slumped to the ground, taking a long time to catch her breath before finally managing to stand up.
Vegapunk couldn't help but glance over in surprise. It was important to know that these Sea Stone handcuffs had been compressed by Vegapunk, making their effect far superior to ordinary Sea Stone. Their suppressive power was more than three times stronger than the highest purity Sea Stone.
Under these circumstances, Kozuki Hiyori was still able to stand up after putting on the Sea Stone handcuffs. It seemed she had trained herself quite well.
"Heh heh, I'm truly surprised. I thought you might resist a little, Little Hiyori!"
Stella covered her mouth, looking at the bowing Kozuki Hiyori with a feigned expression of astonishment.
"When you defected from the Umbrella Corporation back then, weren't you quite domineering? Why are you so pathetic now?"
Kozuki Hiyori kept her head down and said nothing. Vegapunk also shook his head and said to Stella:
"Alright, we can talk about anything else when we get back! Oh, and you spoils of war should put on the Sea Stone handcuffs yourselves!"
Seeing the Sea Stone handcuffs thrown in front of them, Gekko Moriah and Perona exchanged glances, then both nodded simultaneously:
"Ghost Kamikaze Bomb!"
"Shadows Gathering!"
With two muffled thuds, the two who were preparing to make a sudden move fell to the ground with swirling eyes, and the Devil Fruit abilities they had deployed vanished.
Hancock withdrew her two fingers and let out a slight cold snort:
"Truly courting death! How dare they act out in front of my darling!"
Kozuki Hiyori's pupils constricted slightly. What just happened? Hancock actually stunned Gekko Moriah from a distance?
Kozuki Hiyori wasn't surprised that Perona was stunned by a single blow; after all, Perona's physical body wasn't much different from an ordinary young girl's.
But no matter how decadent Gekko Moriah had become, he still had some foundational strength left from the past. Even ignoring his Devil Fruit ability and considering only his physical body, he possessed roughly the strength of an average Marine Vice Admiral.
Yet this level of strength was enough for Hancock to stun him just by flicking her fingers. What exactly had this ace bodyguard under Vegapunk gone through? How could she have become this strong!
Or rather, what had Vegapunk himself experienced for his technological methods to achieve such a sudden, explosive improvement!
It is difficult for powerhouses on the sea to improve further once they reach a certain level through isolated training. Although the original Hancock was strong, she was only slightly superior to the current Kozuki Hiyori.
That was the limit of arduous training. To improve further, she would need continuous bitter fighting and practical combat experience to enhance her Haki training level and enter the ranks of the sea's top-tier fighters.
Battles between people of this caliber possess immense destructive power and are almost always the center of attention, making them difficult to hide from others. Kozuki Hiyori, at least, was unaware of any battles Hancock had fought against any major sea powerhouses.
Without genuine combat experience, such rapid progress in strength is virtually impossible. The only possibility remaining is technological modification by Vegapunk.
As a scientist whose work was 500 years ahead of humanity, Kozuki Hiyori, who had been working on the periphery of Vegapunk's organization, faintly felt that Vegapunk had held back quite a bit from the World Government back then.
Given his level, while this extent of human modification was hard to imagine, it was still somewhat possible... Next to the Giant Terror Ship, an ordinary wooden sailboat slowly rose up. The energy barrier covering the sailboat gradually disappeared, revealing Kozuki Toki, who was anxiously waiting on the deck.
When Kozuki Toki looked up, she saw Stella smiling, holding an iron chain that led several pirates behind her.
There was a huge, obese man dressed like a vampire demon; a round, fat man wearing stockings and sunglasses, looking shifty; a delicate, petite, eerie Goth Lolita with strange-looking eyes... and finally, a beautiful girl with green hair and a bright face, wearing traditional Wano Country kimono—her own daughter, Kozuki Hiyori!
"Hiyori!"
Kozuki Toki cried out excitedly. Hearing her Mother's voice, Kozuki Hiyori immediately turned her head. Seeing Kozuki Toki alive and well, Kozuki Hiyori couldn't help but shout excitedly:
"Mama, boohoo, are you alright? It's wonderful that you're not dead!"
As the Mother and daughter spoke, tears streamed down their faces, looking incredibly emotional. Facing this common scene in the One Piece World, Vegapunk merely shrugged boredly.
"Heh heh, don't get too excited yet, Lady Kozuki. Your daughter just attacked Lord Vegapunk, and we haven't discussed the punishment for her yet!"
Stella covered her mouth, smiling sweetly, her malicious gaze lingering on the Mother and daughter.
Kozuki Toki's body trembled slightly, and her tear-stained face twisted into an expression of terror and panic:
"Lord Vegapunk, Hiyori surely didn't mean it! Please forgive her!"
"If you have any dissatisfaction, then punish me! I will accept any punishment!"
"Wait, I did everything! It has nothing to do with Mother!"
The expression on Kozuki Hiyori's face changed slightly. She quickly shielded her Mother, her face filled with the look of one ready for martyrdom.
"Whatever you want, take it out on me! Don't hurt Mother!"
"Yohoho, what touching Mother-daughter affection!"
Stella's eyes shone brightly. She looked at the Kozuki Mother and daughter as if she had found a fun new toy, slightly licking the corner of her mouth, seemingly excited.
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