“Is it fine as long as they agree?”
“That’s right. They can understand human speech, and we will respect their individual wishes.”
“What if all of them want to come with me?”
“You’re really… narcissistic…”
Tesoro never expected Cavendish to ask such a question. It seemed he had underestimated the latter’s confidence in this regard.
“Hmph, if that brute can gain their approval, why can’t I?”
“You can give it a try. If you really manage to pull it off, no one will stop you. Lord Arceus might even appreciate you for it and prepare something special for you.”
If he could gain the approval of a group of Pokémon, he could achieve a significant leap in status. However, such a thing was destined to be nearly impossible. For now, the only person capable of doing this was Yamato, who possessed the Power of Viridian.
In the end, all he received were disdainful looks, without any exception.
Even though he tried a few more times, not a single Alcremie showed any interest in him. He left in anger, following Tesoro to his new workplace.
“Lord Sacred Beast, that newcomer was taken away by Tesoro. This is the future development direction of his Entertainment Department. Would you like to take a look?”
“No need. How are Misu and others doing?”
“Everything is going smoothly. Misu and Tiger have already started preparing for their return. Their first voyage is about to conclude.”
Misu and Tiger’s voyage had only one stop remaining. According to the random selection method, their final destination was Asuka Island.
Moreover, this is news from a few days ago. Based on the speed of their ship, Misu and Tiger should be close to their destination by now.
Flipping through the documents in her hands, Shayna continued reporting on other matters, including the new expedition assignments. The task of staying behind to guard Wano Country was once again handed over to Yamato.
Kaido wandered outside for a long time, only to return empty-handed. In a bad mood, he fought both Red-Haired Shanks and Kizaru on his way back, adding to his already impressive combat record.
…
Elsewhere, after a period of sailing, Cavendish arrived at the new headquarters of Beasts Fruits.
During this period, Beasts Fruits underwent several developments. While retaining their headquarters on the Red Line, they had built a new headquarters on a nearby island.
At the same time, Tesoro began to consider another issue.
Cavendish alone wasn’t a problem. Though narcissistic, he didn’t have any major flaws. The issue was that this guy had a split personality. Besides Cavendish, there was also Hakuba inside him.
While Cavendish was awake, he could suppress Hakuba. However, the two still shared the same body.
Tesoro wasn’t a doctor and wasn’t skilled in dealing with such matters. Moreover, Cavendish’s condition wasn’t like a typical case of split personality; it was more like two souls crammed into one body.
Tesoro actually knew how to deal with this situation.
Tesoro envisioned Cavendish as a future idol and a male star, so he decided to introduce him to the internal staff gradually. Additionally, Tesoro had another purpose this time: to use Uta’s Sing-Sing Fruit to address the alter ego issue.
This alter ego was bloodthirsty. During the day, Cavendish could control this personality, but at night, when he was asleep, it was a different story.
To prevent any accidents, the issue with this personality had to be resolved.
Hakuba and Cavendish shared a single body, so killing Hakuba was essentially the same as killing Cavendish. However, Uta’s Sing-Sing Fruit had the ability to pull a person’s consciousness into another dimension.
In other words, on a consciousness level, they now have a way to deal with Hakuba.
As for the Demon King of Songs, last time Darkrai had a feast and left it half-dead. Since then, it hadn’t shown up again, afraid of being targeted by Darkrai once more.
“She’s Uta. If you’ve been paying attention to the newspapers, you should recognize her. This time, we’ll be borrowing her to deal with your issue…”
“Of course I know her. She was the most famous rookie songstress at the time.”
Cavendish’s voice carried a hint of jealousy. He envied the overwhelming popularity Uta had garnered, amassing a large fanbase the moment she officially debuted, with fans spread across the world.
“Good that you know. Then, prepare to enter a new world. Uta, are you ready?””
“Ready. Leave it to me, Mr. Tesoro.”
…
A melodious song rang out, and a sense of drowsiness gradually washed over them.
When Cavendish opened his eyes again, he saw a figure in front of him that looked very much like himself, except that this figure was bound by musical notes on a music staff and couldn’t move at all.
In the past, when Cavendish fell asleep, Hakuba would emerge and cause trouble. But this time was different.
This time, even though Cavendish had fallen asleep, Hakuba couldn’t take over his body because he had been pulled into Uta World too. Here, Uta was practically the ruler, and anyone who didn’t understand the musical score couldn’t break free from these restraints.
Uta originally didn’t dare to use this score casually, but the Demon King of Songs had long been scared out of his wits, allowing Uta to use this ability without worry.
“Hakuba, right? You have two choices: either behave and cooperate, or be eliminated here and now.”
Tesoro’s demeanor was almost identical to how he had threatened Cavendish before. Hakuba was several times stronger than Cavendish, making him a potentially useful asset. Therefore, Tesoro wanted to see if he could tame this alter ego.
If that failed, then they would have no choice but to deal with this personality here.
This dimension was incredibly unique; theoretically, it allowed other people’s souls to achieve a form of “eternal life.” Uta could let souls live within this dimension, but she could also destroy them here, which was why she could deal with Hakuba’s special existence.
If one day Uta decided to stop singing and switch careers to become a psychologist, she might actually have some potential.
As a distinct personality, Hakuba seemed to sense something. Although he said nothing, fear appeared on his face. Even Cavendish noticed the change, surprised, as this was the first time he had ever seen Hakuba afraid.
Before this, Hakuba had never feared Cavendish. The only way Cavendish could kill him was through suicide. Even if Cavendish, as the dominant personality, could suppress him, Hakuba still looked down on Cavendish.
However, when faced with an enemy Cavendish couldn’t defeat, Hakuba would still comply and fight. The logic was the same: if Cavendish died, he would die too. But now, the situation is different. This ability had pulled him out separately.
As a certain famous figure once said, “People die if they are killed.” [*Shirou Emiya in Fate/stay night.]
This principle also applied to alter egos. With the blade metaphorically at his neck, he had no choice but to face this new reality.
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