The sunlight outside the window spilled in, casting a graceful and fluid arc on the floor.
Robin, who was getting dressed, suddenly felt an extra hand slowly climbing up from her waist. Without turning, a hand grew from her side and slapped the mischievous hand away with a sharp snap.
"There's always a lot to deal with every day. If I don't finish it today, it'll just get pushed to tomorrow."
"I understand that," Kain replied, grinning, "but who told you to be so beautiful, Robin? It's impossible to resist."
Kain was lying on the bed, tightly restrained by nearly a hundred arms. Robin, in order to get dressed without interference, had bound him using her Flower-Flower Fruit powers.
Slender legs—round and plump—combined with the gentle temperament of the girl-next-door and a mischievous, dark streak in her heart...
She had already tried putting on clothes twice this morning, but Kain had dragged her into "snake pulling exercises" both times. Now that she'd finally managed to shower, she wasn't going to let him delay her again.
"President Pervert, you should get up for lunch. I'll be contacting the Revolutionary Army later. How far do you want to go with the cooperation?"
Still enjoying the sensation of dozens of hands "punishing" him, Kain said comfortably,
"You decide. It's not a bad thing if the Revolutionary Army replaces the Celestial Dragons. Aside from the biomechanical warriors under your control, the rest is up to you."
The arms business Kain dealt in was no longer as valuable in this world, but he could still sell off stock in exchange for local specialties.
The most powerful weapons were strategic missiles, but their range was limited—long-distance launches were too unstable due to the chaotic magnetic fields of the pirate world.
Launching them successfully was difficult.
The highest-tech weapon available was the nano suit worn by Vivi—but there was only one, and it was nearly impossible to replicate. As a result, rumors had started circulating that Princess Vivi of Alabasta possessed a special Devil Fruit ability.
After hearing Kain's words, Robin smiled faintly.
"Remember to get dressed and come out for dinner," she said before walking out of the room.
Doing these kinds of things with Kain was enjoyable for Robin, but she never let herself sink too deeply into them. She would only truly relax when the Poneglyph texts had been deciphered and the will of Ohara fulfilled.
"No more fooling around. I'm here on business."
Kain forced himself up from the bed with great willpower. He was still looking forward to Baby 5 returning so he could play with her, but then he suddenly remembered—the projection of the World Holy Grail hadn't been completed yet.
The original Holy Grail had been created by magi from the Fate world. But after Kain entered the Root, he had transformed it, imbuing it with many new abilities. One of them was the power to create a projection of the World Holy Grail using its raw materials.
He had gathered a large stockpile of Grail materials in the Fate world. Now, as long as he entered a new world, Kain could establish a Grail projection there. Those who had formed contracts with the Holy Grail could travel between their world and any world where a Grail had been projected.
However, Kain needed to unlock his own authority to activate this function. If he didn't, women from different worlds would start colliding—figuratively and maybe literally—and Kain would be the first to suffer.
After enjoying some delicious food, Kain left the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce and set off for Wano Kuni. His own flying ability far outpaced any airship or aircraft, so he traveled alone.
But before leaving, Kain and Robin had one last farewell caress. Under the stimulation of several electrically charged hands, even Robin—with her legendary self-control—bit her lip and moaned softly. A row of hands suddenly sprouted on the floor and shoved Kain out the door.
If he stayed any longer, she'd need another shower.
Not long after Kain left, a member of the Chamber of Commerce knocked and entered.
"Vice President, your friends have arrived."
"Bring them in."
Robin took a deep breath, adjusted her clothes—it was too late to change—and after confirming everything was in order, she gave a calm smile. In that instant, she returned to her usual "big sister next door" persona, albeit with a touch of dark charm.
The softer, squishier version of Robin only appeared when Kain was around.
"Miss Robin, long time no see!"
Even before they entered, Robin recognized the familiar voice. The door opened, and Koala and Sabo walked in. Koala immediately ran up and hugged her.
The Revolutionary Army had once been in contact with Ohara. They had even recovered many of Ohara's undestroyed books. After discovering Robin had survived, they quietly got in touch with her.
Although Robin wasn't the true leader of the Kain Chamber of Commerce, and Kain had only given her shelter, she couldn't openly mobilize the Chamber's resources to help the Revolutionary Army due to personal reasons.
So, she supported them in secret—for example, by discreetly selling weapons to kingdoms allied with the revolutionaries. The World Government had no way of tracking such covert deals. In fact, if the Revolutionary Army hadn't told Robin themselves, she wouldn't have known they were using her resources.
After exchanging greetings, Koala got down to business.
"Miss Robin, can you sell us more equipment this time? The World Government's been stepping up its efforts to hunt down the Revolutionary Army. We can offer intel in exchange with value to the Chamber."
The pirates of the New World were frequently hunted down by the Chamber of Commerce's air patrol teams and the warrior women from Amazon Lily. This had forced the Marines and World Government to divert power away from chasing pirates—and instead, focus it on suppressing the Revolutionary Army.
The power of the pirates had weakened significantly, and Marine executives understood the position of the Kain Chamber of Commerce. While the Chamber wasn't openly against the World Government, it definitely wasn't one of those sea-scavenging pirate syndicates either.
"Hehe, of course. I asked the President yesterday, and he agreed to open all goods to the Revolutionary Army—at cost price. As for the types of commodities, you can see for yourselves."
Robin knew Kain very well. He enjoyed comfort and rewards but hated trouble—especially chaos. While chaos could indeed bring profits to the Kain Chamber of Commerce, it also brought headaches. And since Kain never stayed in one place for long, he loathed troublesome situations.
With a casual wave of her hand, Robin summoned a virtual projection in the room. Although it wasn't possible to establish a full planetary internet in this world yet, localized computer networks could be created in certain regions.
And with the technology currently in Kain's hands, it was already possible to build a global computer network in the Pirate World—he just didn't have the time, and Robin was busy too.
"All of this is available? At cost? Sister Robin, how did you manage to persuade the President?"
Koala stared wide-eyed at the product list, sparkling with excitement. Apart from Devil Fruits and Biomechanical Warriors, nearly every product the Kain Chamber of Commerce had in the Pirate World was listed.
"I just asked, and he agreed. The President isn't unreasonable."
Thinking back to last night, even the usually composed Robin felt a little embarrassed.
Sabo leaned in to take a closer look at the projection, but neither he nor Koala knew how to operate the virtual interface. Robin had to help by selecting the detailed descriptions of the products they were interested in.
"Oh wow, this missile is said to have a range of over 100 kilometers, but it can actually hit targets up to 1,000 kilometers away!
And this—continuous-fire machine guns and high-caliber bullets? The firepower is insane!
Is this super soldier serum real? It says it dramatically improves combat strength… and it's so cheap!"
"Calm down, Sabo!"
Koala gently pushed his face aside, pulled out her den-den mushi, and smiled at Robin.
"Sister Robin, I'll report this to Mr. Dragon. Please wait a moment."
Robin nodded with a gentle smile as Koala began her transmission, explaining everything to Dragon in detail without hesitation.
After hearing the news, Dragon was briefly silent—pleasantly surprised, yet clearly overwhelmed. The Revolutionary Army needed everything the Kain Chamber of Commerce offered, but they had never dreamed of affording it all.
"Proceed with the original plan, Koala," Dragon finally said. "Continue purchasing arms with whatever extra funds we have. Please thank Vice President Robin on my behalf, and convey my gratitude to President Kain as well. The Revolutionary Army will repay this debt."
He ended the call. The offer had come so suddenly, it was almost hard to believe. The Revolutionary Army was so poor they were often worse off than small-time nobles. Much of their supplies were donated. Only after gaining some traction did they begin earning revenue on their own.
Still, their scale was modest—barely equivalent to a minor kingdom. Koala knew just how tight their finances were. They'd already used up most of the Revolutionary Army's savings on this trip. There wasn't much left.
Dragon's final words likely meant he intended for the Revolutionary Army to loot pirates or corrupt nobles to make up the shortfall. While many pirates in the Grand Line had already been dealt with, others remained scattered across the seas. So too were wicked aristocrats who abused their power.
Robin understood the Revolutionary Army's situation and offered with a soft smile:
"Koala, if you capture any pirates or other criminals, you can send them here. The Kain Chamber of Commerce is only interested in those guilty of real crimes."
"No problem, Miss Robin. I'll inform Mr. Dragon when I return."
Koala agreed happily. She felt the Kain Chamber of Commerce was far more approachable than before. With this new support, the Revolutionary Army could finally expand with confidence. With the Chamber's weapons, they might one day stand toe-to-toe with the Marines and the World Government.
After that, Koala and Robin chatted about other matters—mostly about the books the Revolutionary Army had recovered from Ohara. Koala asked whether Robin wanted them, considering she was Ohara's last survivor.
Robin had already read those texts, but knowing they carried the hopes of Ohara's scholars for preserving knowledge, she accepted them anyway. In return, she gave Koala two floating power ships. Koala was overjoyed and hugged Robin tightly in gratitude.
After sending Koala and Sabo off, Robin felt the fatigue set in. Last night had been a bit too eventful, and now she just wanted to rest.
But before she could relax, the fleet from Amazon Lily arrived at the island housing the Chamber of Commerce's headquarters, and Robin had no choice but to receive them.
"What? Ka... that guy is back?"
Upon hearing the news, Boa Hancock's face lit up with uncharacteristic excitement. But she quickly collected herself and asked,
"Where is he?"
"He went to Wano Kuni. He'll probably stay there for a few days," Robin said with a smile. She wasn't jealous—she had long accepted how things were.
"Sisters, this empress suddenly has urgent matters to discuss with the President. You handle the rest."
"Eh? My Queen, why not just wait here for Lord Mage's return and—"
Robin smiled and interrupted, "Let Miss Hancock go. She has something important to tell the President personally."
The relationship between Boa Hancock and Kain had not been made public yet, but Hancock was fairly discreet. The main reason no one from Amazon Lily suspected anything was simply that Kain didn't visit this world often.
But Robin knew exactly what Kain planned to do in the Pirate World—better than anyone.
—————————————
One Punch World
After more than a day of intelligence gathering, yoko and the others had basically grasped the situation in this world.
She had also purchased the area where the World Holy Grail was projected, and construction could begin at any time.
"This world doesn't seem that strong. That whole 'mankind extinction crisis'... I feel like I could handle it myself,"
Uzumaki Naruto said casually, resting his head on his hand. For him, destroying a city would take less than ten minutes. Flattening the planet's surface might take a bit longer, but even that could be done within ten days.
"If we're talking about ordinary people, then yes—there's no real threat. But the S-Class heroes in the Hero Association are different. Based on their destructive power alone, they're likely around our level—or stronger."
Uchiha Sasuke calmly analyzed footage of monster extermination battles, both from the internet and the Hero Association's own archives.
"Especially that little green-haired girl... I haven't seen a single monster that can push her to show her full strength."
Senju yoko bit her finger thoughtfully.
"She probably uses some form of psychic power. But the upper limit of psychic ability depends on brain development. I can use similar powers, but not like her."
Both Senju yoko and Naruto possessed telekinetic powers inherited from Kain, but neither had trained in them extensively—yoko focused on magic, while Naruto specialized in ninjutsu.
They could lift hundreds of tons with effort, but manipulating gravity or generating tornado-like force? That was out of reach—and certainly not as effortless as that girl made it seem.
Hyuga Neji raised his hand.
"Some of the heroes don't have any information available. Are they the Hero Association's hidden trump cards?"
"The Red Queen couldn't find anything either. And some powerful individuals in the Hero Association have already noticed the Red Queen's presence," yoko explained.
"The Red Queen still needs solid hardware to operate at full strength. She tried to scan their classified data but was almost caught.
If I hadn't pulled her back in time and erased all traces, we definitely would've been exposed."
"But didn't Brother Sasuke mention earlier that the local police don't get along well with the Hero Association?"
Naruto tilted his head.
Sasuke nodded.
"Yeah, it's a tense relationship—kind of like Konoha shinobi and the more aggressive Cloud shinobi back in the day."
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"That bad? Sounds like they're one step away from war!"
Sasuke glanced at him.
"They won't go that far. Humanity in this world is already on the brink. But if either side gets the chance to undermine the other—they'll take it without hesitation."
"In that case, our first contact should be with the local police. The Hero Association's full strength is still unknown, so we'll observe them for now."
Senju yoko made a decisive call.
"Tomorrow, I'll have the Red Queen deploy construction robots to begin building the base.
Everyone else, continue gathering intelligence. Naruto, test out the B-Class and A-Class heroes.
If you run into an S-Class hero, go ahead and challenge them too—just try to pick someone whose temperament matches yours."
"As for you, Sasuke—keep working with the police. If there are other factions or similar forces, try reaching out to them.
But be careful."
…
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