Chapter 32: If You Want Something, Take It (Patreon)

Later that night, Dio formally accepted Ayame into his personal circle.

For Ayame, the decision carried enormous weight.

She had come to the residence knowing that remaining close to Dio would change her life and permanently tie the Yomogawa family’s future to his.

Yet even after preparing herself mentally, the reality of stepping into such an unfamiliar role left her nervous and overwhelmed.

Dio, however, had never been someone who surrounded his decisions with unnecessary ceremony.

Once he had decided Ayame would remain at his side, the matter was settled.

Outside, moonlight washed across the courtyard.

Stussy stood in the open space, teaching Mumei the fundamentals of Shave, one of the Six Powers.

She patiently broke down the technique.

How to unleash multiple powerful kicks against the ground in an instant.

How to use the resulting force to accelerate beyond ordinary human perception.

Mumei listened intently, nodding from time to time.

Her eyes shone with excitement.

On the opposite side of the courtyard, Hancock was sparring with Sandersonia and Marigold.

The three figures moved rapidly beneath the moonlight.

Fists and kicks collided in quick succession.

Hancock was practicing how to integrate the Love-Love Fruit into her martial arts.

Each strike now carried a subtle influence from her ability, creating brief openings whenever her opponents became distracted.

Sandersonia and Marigold, meanwhile, focused on controlling their Devil Fruits in hybrid form.

They sought to combine human agility with the strength, flexibility, and armored scales of their serpent transformations.

Their coordination was steadily improving.

At one point, a startled cry came from inside the residence.

Mumei immediately stopped training.

She looked toward the building.

“Was that Sister Ayame? Is something wrong?”

She instinctively moved forward.

Stussy extended one arm and stopped her.

“Nothing dangerous.”

Mumei tilted her head.

“What happened?”

“She’s simply adjusting to her new responsibilities around Master.”

Mumei did not entirely understand, but Stussy’s calm expression reassured her.

Then Stussy smoothly changed the subject.

“Speaking of which, Mumei… you mentioned someone you call ‘Brother.’”

“Can you tell me more about him?”

The instant she heard that title, Mumei’s eyes lit up.

She immediately began enthusiastically describing him.

How powerful he was.

How kind he had been to her.

How he had saved her during a Kabane attack.

How he had taught her to fight.

Every word carried the admiration and dependence of a young girl speaking about the person she trusted most.

Stussy listened with a pleasant smile.

At the same time, her mind was already evaluating the information.

Another person who could potentially be manipulated.

Another possible piece on the board.

Later, Mumei yawned and rubbed her tired eyes.

She was still a child.

After everything she had experienced during the day and the hours she had spent training under Stussy, exhaustion was finally catching up with her.

“Sister Stussy, I’m sleepy. I’m going to bed.”

“Go ahead.”

Stussy smiled and watched her walk unsteadily toward her room.

Only after Mumei disappeared down the corridor did Stussy look up toward the residence.

Then her body dissolved into a swarm of bats.

The flock surged into the air.

High above the station, the bats converged and reconstructed Stussy’s form.

Her broad wings spread behind her as she glided beneath the moonlight.

She looked down upon the sleeping Aragane Station.

The reconnaissance bats she had created from Kabane blood during the day were now returning one after another.

They had followed the railway lines outward, passing station after station.

Some settlements remained brightly lit, their populations stubbornly surviving despite the Kabane.

Others had already been reduced to ruins.

Walls had collapsed.

Gates had been shattered.

Kabane wandered between the remnants.

Through the blood resonance connecting her to the bats, Stussy received everything they had witnessed.

A clear map of this world’s situation was forming inside her mind.

More importantly—

she had found the person Mumei called her “Brother.”

Biba Amatori.

The man Mumei regarded as a hero.

The young commander who led the Hunters, a private force dedicated to fighting Kabane, and who enjoyed enormous prestige among the people.

Stussy had already identified his approximate location and movements.

He was her target.

This world needed a villain.

Someone the population could fear.

Someone whose existence would push frightened survivors into greater dependence upon the “god” who had appeared to protect them.

And Biba Amatori was almost perfectly suited to the role.

A cold smile appeared on Stussy’s lips.

She adjusted the angle of her wings.

Then she silently glided toward Biba’s location.