One Piece: Starting with Sharingan, First Mate Uchiha

early morning.

A ray of soft golden sunlight pierced through the half-open shoji doors, slanting into the spacious hall on the top floor of the castle tower.

The candlelight that flickered wildly last night has long since burned out.

Only a few wisps of white smoke remained, slowly rising from the wax dripping onto the candlestick.

The air still held the lingering aroma of sake, as well as a certain enchanting scent that had not yet completely dissipated.

The area around the shogun's throne, which symbolized the supreme power of Wano Country, was now in complete disarray.

Expensive, gorgeous silks were scattered on the cold floor.

The crane, meticulously embroidered with gold thread, had been crumpled and wrinkled, and no longer showed the nobility and purity it had displayed yesterday.

"rustle……"

A faint sound of dressing echoed in the quiet hall.

Hiyori Kozuki stood barefoot among the clothes scattered on the floor, her back to the window.

Her cascading black hair had been pulled back up, but a few tangled strands still clung to her temples.

A pale purple kimono sash slipped from her fingers.

Hiyori bent down and picked it up again.

The lingering soreness from last night caused her to furrow her brow slightly as she bent over.

A flash of pain crossed her fair face, and her legs trembled slightly uncontrollably.

However, she did not make a sound.

Hiyori took a deep breath and forced herself to straighten her slender waist.

She tried twice before she finally managed to re-tie the belt, covering the unusually prominent red marks on her skin.

After doing all this, she stood in front of a bronze mirror.

The woman in the mirror was still breathtakingly beautiful.

However, the face that used to be adept at using tears, gentleness, and pitifulness as weapons now had a completely different look.

That wasn't the coquettish charm that Xiao Zi had carefully feigned.

It wasn't that Princess Kozuki deliberately maintained her nobility and reserve after donning her gorgeous attire.

It is a kind of peace that comes from truly making a choice and being willing to bear all the consequences alone.

Hiyori reached out and gently tidied the stray hairs at her temples.

Then, she looked at the man behind her through the bronze mirror.

Victor was already dressed and ready.

He was leaning against the open window of the castle tower, his large straw hat placed aside, and he had changed back into the dark Wano Country robe.

The morning breeze stirred the hem of his clothes.

Viktor remained silent throughout.

He simply watched quietly with his deep eyes as Hiyori picked up her clothes and put them back on one by one.

Sensing the gaze that had been fixed on her back, Hiyori's fingers paused slightly.

The next second, she turned around.

She did not show the timid expression that Victor had expected.

"Why does Lord Victor make that face?"

"I think I was the one who suffered last night."

Hiyori met Viktor's eyes, her smile unwavering.

"To be clear beforehand."

"I won't take responsibility."

She slightly raised her snow-white chin, and a bright and beautiful smile appeared on her lips, just like the number one courtesan who once drove the entire flower capital crazy.

"So please, please don't fall in love with me because of this."

"Lord Victor."

The soft, melodious sound echoed slowly in the spacious hall.

After saying those words, Hiyori's hands, hidden in her wide sleeves, were already clenched together nervously.

She wasn't even sure if the man she had schemed against last night would suddenly draw his sword at any moment.

However, the smile on her face never disappeared.

After a brief silence.

Viktor suddenly chuckled softly.

"hehe……"

"They gave me a drug that could drive a sea king mad, and used me as a tool all night."

"Now you're telling me you're not prepared to take responsibility?"

Victor left the window and walked step by step toward Hiyori, stepping over the silk clothes scattered on the ground.

As the distance between the two continued to shrink.

An invisible sense of oppression enveloped Hiyori's body once again.

Hiyori instinctively wanted to back away.

But she merely shifted her toes slightly before forcefully suppressing the fear deep within her body.

She stood still, looked up, and met Viktor's eyes, which seemed to be smiling but weren't.

Victor stopped in front of her.

He reached out his right hand, his rough fingers gently pinching Hiyori's delicate chin, forcing her to lift her face higher.

"Mitsutsuki Hiyori."

"Do you know that on this vast ocean, those who dare to scheme against me usually don't have a good ending?"

Viktor's tone was very soft.

There was even a faint hint of a smile in those eyes.

But Hiyori sensed a danger in it.

Her throat bobbed slightly as she forcefully suppressed the trembling in her heart.

"I know."

Hiyori did not deny it, nor did she make any excuse for her behavior last night.

"So from the moment I put the drug in that glass of wine, I was prepared to bear all the consequences."

She gazed at the man so close to her, her voice gradually becoming calm.

"You can be angry, you can punish me, you can even kill me."

"But I won't use what happened last night to ask you to stay."

"I will not bind you with the Kozuki clan, Wano Country, or any so-called title."

"I know very well."

"A man like you doesn't belong on this island, and he won't stop for anyone."

Hiyori's eyes trembled slightly.

On that beautiful face that was trying so hard to remain calm, a hint of tenderness finally showed that could not be completely hidden.

"Last night was not a political deal."

"It wasn't that Princess Kozuki offered up a bargaining chip to a powerful figure for the sake of Wano Country."

"That was just my last act of willfulness, Kozuki Hiyori."

She gently pursed her lips.

"Thank you for tearing me out of Xiao Zi's false mask."

"Thank you for letting me pierce the serpent's body with my own hands."

"Thank you for telling me that the so-called bloodline of Kozuki is not just an identity that people kneel down to, but also an inescapable responsibility."

"I just want to make sure you remember me at least once before you leave."

"Not that courtesan, Xiao Zi, who wags her tail and begs for favors in the brothel."

"She is not a weak princess who can only survive by relying on the strong."

"It's Kozuki Hiyori."

By the end, Hiyori's voice had become so soft it was almost a whisper.

"That's all..."

Silence fell once again inside the castle tower.

Outside the window, the morning breeze rustled the bronze wind chimes on the eaves, producing a clear and melodious sound.

Viktor stared at the woman before him.

Before last night, she was still trying to use the entire Wano Country and her own body as bargaining chips to win over the strong.

But at least at this moment, she didn't ask herself for any promises.

He was not asked to take responsibility.

He had no intention of using the events of last night to become a new protector for the Kozuki clan.

What a terrifyingly intelligent woman.

Victor tightened his grip on her chin slightly.

"You dared to do something like this just to make me remember you."

"What an incredibly audacious woman."

Hiyori felt the pain in her chin, but instead chuckled softly.

"So, did I succeed?"

Victor looked into her clear eyes, which were filled with tension.

A moment later, he released his grip.

"You win this time."

Upon hearing this answer, the smile on Hiyori's face was no longer a forced pretense.

Those eyes, which were as clear as water, brightened up in an instant.

However, before her emotions could fully blossom...

Viktor leaned down slightly and whispered in her ear.

"However, the debt of drugging me is not so easily wiped clean."

You'd better remember what you said today.

"Don't come crying to me begging me to take responsibility later."

A warm breath brushed against Rihe's sensitive earlobe.

Her cheeks instantly turned bright red, and even her legs, which she had been forcibly trying to keep calm, began to weaken again.

But this time, she did not back down.

Hiyori turned her head, her red lips almost brushing against Viktor's cheek.

"Rest assured, Lord Victor."

"When we meet again, it's still uncertain who will beg whom to take responsibility."

Victor raised an eyebrow slightly.

"His tone is much harsher than last night."

Hiyori did not reply.

She turned around, her gaze falling on the disheveled general's throne.

She slowly straightened her back.

"You were right yesterday."

"A true king should not kneel at the feet of others and beg them to support his country."

Hiyori walked past Victor and strode toward the closed doors of the hall.

"I am still a weakling."

"I do not have the strength of my father, nor the title that my elder brother inherited."

"But starting today, I will learn to use everything I have the power to do."

"Tears, beauty, status, people's hearts, and even the power of this country."

"I will make them no longer a bargaining chip for me to depend on others, but a weapon to protect Wano Country."