After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, White Ghost looked at Reiju in her ultra-short skirt.
"You're smart. Saved me a lot of effort."
Reiju lowered her head.
She did not dare meet White Ghost's eyes, because the way he looked at her felt like a beast staring at prey.
"If I didn't do this, my whole family might not have survived. For my family, this was the only choice."
White Ghost poured himself a glass of red wine, very satisfied with Reiju's answer.
He liked dealing with smart people. That way, he did not have to waste brain cells.
"On my ship, aside from making clone soldiers that satisfy me, you can arrange the rest of your time yourself.
"As long as my business comes first, I don't care what you do. Just don't betray me."
White Ghost pushed the red wine toward her.
"Drink?"
Reiju thought for a moment, accepted the glass, and drank it all in one go. Finally, she licked the wine from the corner of her mouth with her alluring tongue.
White Ghost nodded.
"Drinking it means you're mine now. Same as what I just said.
"Alright, go do whatever you need to do. I'm going to take a nap."
Reiju stared blankly at White Ghost.
That was it?
White Ghost rolled his eyes at her look.
"Enough. Go handle your own work. I may be lecherous, but I'm not that kind of scum."
Reiju left with a strangely disappointed expression, leaving the others confused.
What was wrong with this girl?
Once she arrived at the laboratory White Ghost had arranged for them, Reiju and the others immediately began working. There were many things to sort out.
They had brought a lot out this time.
Nami was exactly like White Ghost. Anything good that could be taken had been taken.
"Princess… are we really going to do this? This is Germa 66's core technology."
An old man carefully looked around. Only after confirming no one was nearby did he dare ask.
The others also looked at Reiju.
After all, that man had said Reiju would be their leader.
Reiju brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
After leaving that cold place, she felt much more comfortable.
"You all heard what he said. He's a ruthless man who has killed who knows how many people.
"If we can't produce anything useful, I don't think he was joking about feeding you to his pets."
Hearing Reiju's words, the others trembled all over.
One of them could not help saying, "But the king…"
Reiju shook her head.
"We no longer belong to the Germa Kingdom. Father also silently accepted this.
"From now on, this is our new life. Maybe it will be better than over there."
The others nodded.
From the moment they were taken away, they no longer belonged to Germa 66.
Besides, that man had also said that as long as they could produce results, he would support them unconditionally.
Reiju and the others began getting busy.
After all, they had just moved into a new home. There were many things to do.
For some reason, Reiju did not hate White Ghost at all.
White Ghost rubbed his chin, thinking about what other methods could increase the clone soldiers' strength.
Kuro and Lafitte walked up together.
"So our manpower problem is solved. No wonder you never planned to recruit too many people before."
Kuro and Lafitte sat down nearby.
There were no real rules around White Ghost. Or rather, White Ghost hated that sort of formality, so everyone on the ship was fairly casual.
Lafitte took a sip of wine.
"The only issue is that it takes five years to see results. That's rather slow."
Seeing the confident smile on White Ghost's face, Lafitte and Kuro both smiled as well.
"It seems the captain already has a solution."
White Ghost tapped his fingers on the table.
"I just made a deal with Kaido. There's one of Oden's subordinates in his territory."
The two waited for White Ghost to continue.
They knew he would not bring this up for no reason.
White Ghost smiled.
"That woman is a Paramecia Ripe-Ripe Fruit user. That fruit can age or mature any object or person it touches.
"More specifically, the Ripe-Ripe Fruit can make anything or anyone it touches decay, age, or mature."
"Accelerated maturation?"
White light reflected off Kuro's glasses, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
"Yohohoho. In that case, we no longer need to worry about soldiers. As expected of our captain."
"Then what were you worrying about earlier, Captain?" Kuro asked. "Is that person hard to capture? Or did Kaido demand an outrageous price?"
White Ghost leaned back in his chair.
"I've already negotiated with Kaido. I'll trade an Ancient Zoan."
Kuro and Lafitte were both smart. They immediately understood.
As long as they obtained that woman, and as long as they had enough materials, an endless stream of soldiers would be waiting for them.
White Ghost continued, "What I'm worried about is how to increase the clone soldiers' combat power.
"After all, those clone soldiers' upper limit is only so high. If we can strengthen them even a little, that would be best."
Just then, Acier walked up with a file and looked at White Ghost.
"Captain, the Seraphim plan you mentioned is very troublesome.
"Even with this lineage factor technology, it will still be very difficult for us to create them."
Kuro and Lafitte both frowned.
They had heard the captain mention the Seraphim before. Those things were absurdly strong.
White Ghost looked at Acier.
"What about a weakened version? Even if their strength isn't high, it's fine as long as they can be mass-produced."
Acier considered it seriously for a while, then still shook his head.
"Captain, we don't have Lunarian genes. It will be very difficult."
White Ghost held his forehead.
"Damn it. If I ask Kaido now, that guy will definitely explode."
Kuro rubbed his chin.
"We can't fight him. According to your plan, Captain, the more chaotic the New World is, the more beneficial it is for us."
Lafitte analyzed as well.
"Sending someone to assassinate King would also be troublesome. He is Kaido's trusted top officer. He could never have reached that position without real strength."
White Ghost turned to Acier.
"Can my genes work? After all, I probably no longer count as human now."
Acier lowered his head in frustration.
"Captain, your blood can't be used for fusion experiments at all. Once it leaves your body, it can't remain stable for long."
White Ghost clicked his tongue.
"Then take it slowly. No wonder they call it Vegapunk's top technology. We'll find a way later."
Acier nodded and withdrew.
He planned to continue studying the clone soldiers and see whether they could be strengthened in other ways.
White Ghost looked up at the sky.
"Damn it. I can't mess around with King."
He could defeat Kaido and capture King, but it was better for Kaido to continue existing. That would make White Ghost's future plans easier.
At that moment, Kaido, who had just finished teaching his unfilial daughter a lesson, sneezed hard.
It felt as though someone was badmouthing him behind his back.
Kaido looked at his unfilial daughter lying motionless on the ground.
It was probably her.
He tightened his grip on his kanabo and was about to give Yamato another couple of blows when King hurriedly stopped him.
"Brother Kaido, that's enough. If you really break her, it'll be troublesome."
Kaido snorted coldly and went off to drink on his own.
King waved a hand, and someone immediately carried Yamato away for treatment.
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