It was dusk, the sun setting in the west, painting the sky of the Sabaody Archipelago with an orange-golden hue.
On the second floor of a large villa on Sabaody Archipelago's Grove 71, in a particular room, the door stood open, letting the sea breeze flow in. Husky, a gray wolf with thick fur, his head drooping listlessly, lay on a plush black dog bed, occasionally wagging his tail. His gaze sometimes drifted to the iron cage hanging from the ceiling in a corner of the room, which contained a bat. The creature ate, slept, and ate again every day, and when hungry, it would squeak wildly, living a life like a pig. An irony the wolf could not comprehend.
"Ah..." Strange noises occasionally echoed through this villa, and the gray wolf was already accustomed to them, though he never understood why Tesoro was so enthusiastic about Stella...? Clearly, Stella had neither soft fur nor beautiful fangs and claws; any female wolf was far more appealing than her! Hmm! ...Although Husky was in wolf form, his true form was a rocket launcher, but this didn't stop him from favoring female wolves!
Swish! Half of the black-blue blade of the Butcher's Blade pierced through the void and appeared in the room. The invisible space around the blade rippled outwards from its center. In just a few moments, a spatial hole three meters in diameter, with a light green interior, manifested within the room.
Sephiroth, carrying a box in his left hand, stepped out of his Devil Fruit's dimension, shook his head gently, and muttered: "No, the speed of opening this door is still too slow! It has no practical value whatsoever. In the time it takes to open a spatial door, others can launch an attack or escape..." A cold evaluation of his ability.
After sheathing his Butcher's Blade, Sephiroth squatted down, a wide smile on his face, and extended his right hand towards the gray wolf. "Come on, Husky, shake my hand!"
"Awoo~!" The gray wolf still looked listless, but obediently raised its paw and placed it in his palm.
"Why do you look so listless?"
"Woo~!" Hearing that, the gray wolf immediately cast a resentful glance towards Tesoro and Stella.
Seeing this, Sephiroth suddenly understood and said jokingly: "Spring has arrived, everything is recovering, and it's the season for animals to breed again... Do you feel unfairly treated as a dog? Do you want me to tell Tesoro to find you a beautiful female wolf?"
"Awoo! Awoo~!" Hearing this, Husky immediately howled twice, and his tail wagged rapidly, transforming into an excited state.
"Tsk tsk tsk! I really didn't expect you to be this kind of wolf... No! You're a rocket launcher..." Sephiroth chuckled softly. After rubbing the gray wolf's head a few times, he stood up and walked out of the room.
After Husky's two howls, Tesoro and Stella's activities also ceased.
Sephiroth had only walked a few steps down the corridor. Tesoro, wearing a set of purple pajamas, opened a room door and stepped out, nodding at him in greeting.
"Boss!"
"Call Stella, let's go to the study to discuss something."
"Eh!?... Okay!" Hearing this, Tesoro was startled for a moment, but he didn't ask further and returned to the room.
Villa, Study Room.
Stella, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, carried a pot of black tea on a tray into the study and poured a cup of black tea for Sephiroth and Tesoro, who were seated on the sofa.
"Actually, I came this time to discuss two things with you..." As he spoke, Sephiroth, seated on the single sofa, opened a briefcase on the table, took out the Yuki Yuki no Mi, a Logia type Devil Fruit, from inside, and placed it on the table.
"This is the Yuki Yuki no Mi, a Logia type. Any part of the user's body can transform into snow. Even if the body is destroyed by pure physical attacks, it can be instantly reformed using snow..." After briefly explaining the Devil Fruit's abilities and effects, he finally looked at Stella. "Are you interested in becoming a Devil Fruit user...? As long as you eat it, ordinary weak creatures and physical attacks won't be able to harm you... Of course, this also means you'll need to work for me in the future."
Hearing this, Stella first looked at Sephiroth, then turned to look at Tesoro beside her, who smiled: "I respect your decision!"
As for a Logia-type Devil Fruit, it wasn't true to say she wasn't tempted, but eating this Devil Fruit also meant facing greater risks. As long as she was with Tesoro, he never let her suffer and always pampered her. However, since Tesoro was now a prominent figure in the underground world, many people were targeting him for assassination, and Stella was implicated several times... If Tesoro hadn't protected her with all his might, she might have died long ago! In truth, she also wanted to become stronger... at least strong enough to protect herself and not be a burden to Tesoro!
Thinking of this, a determined expression flashed across Stella's face, and she nodded slightly, saying: "I understand, Boss!" After speaking, she picked up the Yuki Yuki no Mi from the table, peeled its skin, and took a bite.
"Aduh~!" The incredibly foul taste almost made Stella vomit on the spot. She swallowed it, suppressing the nausea. For the second bite, however, she couldn't bring herself to eat it at all! After all, Devil Fruits take effect with one bite, so Stella put the remaining Devil Fruit back on the table.
Seeing that the other party had eaten the Devil Fruit, Sephiroth then took out two blueprints from the box and handed them to Tesoro. One was a map of the Dressrosa Kingdom, and the other was a rough sea chart of the New World. The latter could only be casually looked at; distance, size, direction... in short, there were problems everywhere! The Grand Line sea charts couldn't be relied upon! The only meaning of looking at a sea chart was to tell you that a certain island existed... As for other things, they were basically inaccurate!
When you use a Log Pose for navigation at sea, the ship's trajectory from one island to another is roughly a straight line, but when you navigate using a Log Pose for three islands or more... The ship's trajectory can be curved, or even spiraled! Perhaps the first island you left wasn't actually as far as you imagined from the destination island, or it might even be very close...
"This... New World?" After a glance at the sea chart, Tesoro looked at the silver-haired youth with a puzzled expression.
"Exactly! Do you think if the Dressrosa Kingdom agreed for the Umbrella Corporation to establish military factories and certain commercial buildings in their country, the Umbrella Corporation could make a lot of money?"
"This..." Tesoro didn't immediately give an answer but quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind and made a rough analysis. After a moment, he nodded in agreement and said: "Boss, if your proposal can be realized, it can indeed bring huge profits to the Umbrella Corporation... However, the premise is that we can establish a strong foothold in the New World..."
The New World was unlike Paradise. The New World was a place where warlords were scattered and extremely chaotic. Others didn't need a reason to attack you, and the law of the jungle could be said to be fully displayed!
"Then, how much profit do you think the Umbrella Corporation could make annually if this proposal were realized?"
Tesoro pondered for a moment before saying with certainty: "A conservative estimate should be more than fifty billion Beli!"
"Oh! That's good..." Sephiroth nodded. With Tesoro's reference answer, his next New World plan could also begin to be implemented.
"Right, Tesoro! Lately, help me keep an eye out for any Supreme Grade Swords appearing on the market... I also need your help to find the whereabouts of Gekko Moriah."
"You can start with the West Blue first; that guy should be hiding there right now..."
"Alright, I'll use the underground intelligence network to investigate..." Regarding the tasks Sephiroth assigned, Tesoro didn't question the reasons much and readily agreed, understanding that this was part of Sephiroth's grand vision.
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