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"Haah... haah..." Pudding panted lightly as she sprinted through the forest, pushing her Observation Haki to its limit and keeping all her senses sharp. An attack could come from any direction...
Then she sensed it. 'From the left...?'
She instantly ducked, barely avoiding a Mochi fist that shot past her and blasted a tree into splinters.
But it wasn't over as the next attack came immediately after, 'Crap... I need to dodge that too...'
Feeling a bit anxious, she leapt into the air just as another Mochi fist smashed through the spot where she had been standing a moment earlier.
But even that wasn't the end because a third attack came hurtling toward her, 'Can't dodge this one...'
Suspended in midair, unable to use Shave or Moonwalk, she knew she had no way to evade it.
So this time, she fought back. Clenching her small fist, she punched toward the incoming Mochi fist and shouted, "Don't bully me!!!"
At that moment, the scene that should have happened never occurred.
Pudding had a small frame. She shouldn't have possessed enough strength to clash head-on with Katakuri's punch. She should have been blown away immediately or smashed into a tree in a battered heap.
Instead, the moment her small clenched fist collided with Katakuri's Mochi punch coated in Armament Haki, a powerful shockwave erupted outward, bending the surrounding trees and plants from the force alone.
Boom!
Indeed, Pudding's delicate-looking, small hand contained such tremendous strength that it was able to match Katakuri's Mochi punch coated in Armament Haki.
Watching the fight from the sky with his wings spread, Zechs stroked his chin in satisfaction, "Hmm... her strength really has improved a lot with the fusion of the 50% Steel Balloon Physique card..."
That's right… the secret to Pudding having such a strength is indeed the 50% Steel Balloon Physique card. After Pudding had gained a basic understanding of combat, Zechs had fused the card into her, just as he had planned.
The card had been completely useless to him. He already possessed a 100% Steel Balloon Physique, so he wouldn't benefit from it at all. It wasn't as if the physique would stack and improve his physique to 150 %. So fusing it with himself would have been pointless.
Giving it to Pudding, however, had been a good choice. And that was why she now possessed enough strength to clash with Katakuri's Armament Haki-infused Mochi punch directly.
Of course, even with her improved physique, colliding head-on with Katakuri's Mochi punch coated in Armament Haki was still too much for her.
Instead of destroying the Mochi fist, she ended up hurting her own hand.
"Ouch... it hurts..." she cried out in pain as she was slowly pushed backward and crashed into a tree.
Fortunately, the collision with the tree didn't hurt her much. Her hand, however, throbbed painfully, causing her to shake it rapidly.
That was only natural. Her physique had improved, but her fists weren't coated in Haki. Without Armament Haki, she had no way to defend against Katakuri's attacks properly.
Indeed, while Pudding had more or less mastered Observation Haki, learned the basics of combat, and greatly improved her physical strength... Armament Haki was still far beyond her.
She simply couldn't use it yet.
Even so, at only sixteen years old, she was already quite impressive.
But anyway... she didn't have time to worry about the pain in her hand because she could already hear his footsteps drawing closer.
Tap... tap...
And as he approached, more attacks came with him...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She dodged them by rolling to the side, ducking, and desperately throwing herself out of the way. Then she kicked several nearby trees, snapping them apart with each kick, and launched the broken trunks and bark toward Katakuri with powerful kicks.
But it was useless.
Katakuri simply reformed his Mochi body and effortlessly avoided every single piece.
Of course, Pudding already knew those trees wouldn't do much. They had never been her real attack.
Using the flying debris as a distraction, she quietly released several memory threads from her fingers toward Katakuri and managed to bind them to him.
The moment they touched him, he froze briefly as she activated her Devil Fruit.
'Flashback!'
Instantly, Katakuri became trapped in a painful memory, leaving him momentarily distracted.
'Now is my chance…!' Pudding seized the chance and leapt into the air.
Her bangs shifted aside, revealing the third eye on her forehead. It was glowing with an ominous crimson light.
"Katakuri Onii-sama... I'm sorry for this..." she said. But the smile on her lips didn't carry even the slightest trace of guilt.
Without giving Katakuri time to recover from those painful memories, she fired a crimson beam from her third eye straight at him.
"Eye Beam!!"
The crimson laser travelled at the speed of light and engulfed Katakuri's figure in an instant. The intense heat melted and burned through the Mochi before an explosion erupted.
Boom!
Smoke billowed everywhere as flames burst outward.
On the other side, Pudding landed steadily on the ground and turned around to look at the explosion.
"Haah... haah..." she panted.
Then Katakuri's familiar voice came from behind her. "Pudding... are you alright?"
"Y-yes... Onii-sama... just a little exhausted," she replied with a nod as she turned around, unsurprised to see Katakuri sitting atop a nearby boulder.
At that moment, Zechs, who had been hovering in the sky, landed beside her and said, "Well... it seems you've become strong enough to defeat one of Katakuri's Mochi clones."
"Ehehe..." Pudding giggled shyly at Zechs' praise before replying somewhat humbly, "It's only because Katakuri Onii-sama's clone wasn't going all out..."
Katakuri shook his head. "No... that's probably the maximum output a clone can produce. So you really have become strong," he said before adding after a brief pause, "Especially that laser beam from your third eye... it has a lot of power."
"Yeah... that eye laser really is surprising..." Zechs murmured. "I didn't know the Three-Eyed Tribe possessed that kind of ability."
"I... I only awakened it thanks to you, Zechs-sama..." Pudding said softly as she adjusted her bangs to hide her third eye again.
The ability to fire laser beams from the third eye was indeed a power of the Three-Eyed Tribe.
But only pure-blooded members who had undergone a true awakening could use it.
In canon, and in this reality as well, Pudding originally didn't possess that ability because she was only half-blooded.
However, that changed after Zechs fused the Three-Eyed Tribe bloodline card into her, along with the 50% Steel Balloon Physique.
Since Zechs had already awakened the Voice of All Things thanks to Pudding, there was no reason for him to keep the Three-Eyed Tribe bloodline card for himself.
It was better to fuse it into Pudding and see what would happen.
And the result did not disappoint him.
After the fusion, Pudding became a full-blooded member of the Three-Eyed Tribe and underwent a true awakening.
As a result... she could now use the Eye Laser as well.
"Well... now that we've tested Pudding-chan's improved strength, and I'm somewhat satisfied with my own improvements as well... let's start packing up. It's finally time to leave this island..." Zechs said, changing the subject.
Initially, he had only stayed on the island because he needed to recover from the injuries he'd suffered before being washed ashore.
At first, he had planned to leave as soon as possible so he could contact Linlin.
But after finally speaking with her through Dream Walk, he decided to remain on the island for a while longer and improve not only his own strength, but Katakuri's and Pudding's as well.
And over the past few months, their strength had indeed improved considerably.
Personally, Zechs had mastered the usage and application of Advanced Armament Haki, and he had also made significant progress with Advanced Conqueror's Haki. He wouldn't claim that he had reached his peak or mastered every aspect of it yet... but the improvement was undeniable.
As for the more specialised applications of Haki, such as Observation Killing, Future Sight, Concealment, Wi-Fi Haki, and Haki Blasts, he hadn't had much success with them so far.
He hadn't even fully mastered the Voice of All Things yet…
It would probably take several more months, perhaps even years... or maybe a few proper life-and-death battles before he could truly master those abilities.
In fact, Zechs wouldn't have minded staying on the island for several more months... Perhaps even years, if circumstances had allowed it.
But having made that bet with Linlin, he didn't have the luxury to continue training and honing his skills in isolation for the years to come.
If he wanted to win that bet, he had to leave.
Three months had already passed. Delaying any longer would only reduce his chances of winning the bet, and that was unacceptable.
So he intended to leave now.
"Got it..." Katakuri replied with a nod before leaping off the boulder and landing on the ground.
He fully agreed. They had already spent several months on the island, and by now it had become boring. It was far better to leave.
Unlike Katakuri and Zechs, however, Pudding looked a little disappointed and downcast, "…"
She bit her lip but said nothing. Instead, she quietly followed after them, helping pack their things and load them onto the ship Zechs had built.
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As mentioned before, Zechs was not an expert shipwright and had never built a ship in his life. Katakuri wasn't one either, let alone Pudding.
So the ship was hardly magnificent… it was crude and even looked a little ugly.
It was simply good enough to leave the island and, hopefully, safely reach the next one.
Zechs had already tested it several times on the island's lake and river, fixing obvious problems such as bad design flaws, leaks, and other issues. At the very least, the ship floated and seemed seaworthy enough.
Anyway, once they reached a proper island, he would probably throw this ship away and get a better one.
But until then, this would do.
Loading all their supplies, food, clothes, tools, and everything else onto the ship took quite a while.
They had no idea how long it would take to reach the next island. It could even take more than a month.
The reason for that concern was simple: this island seemed to lie in an extremely remote region. During the several months they had spent living there, they hadn't seen even a single ship pass by.
That meant ships likely never sailed through these waters at all.
And if that was true, then the nearest inhabited islands were probably very far away.
Because of that, they needed as many supplies on board as possible to last until they reached another island.
Fortunately, they had Katakuri, who could provide Mochi.
Pudding could also survive on Zechs' white yogurt, and Zechs could survive simply on lust.
Which meant that, between Zechs and Pudding, only one of them actually needed regular food at a time.
So that was helpful.
Even if the journey ended up taking a month... or even several months... it wouldn't be much of a problem.
'Hopefully we'll reach the next island before then...' Zechs thought.
Anyway, by the time they finished loading all the supplies onto the ship, the sun was already close to setting.
So they made a decision. "Well... let's celebrate tonight. We'll leave tomorrow morning."
Katakuri nodded, "Yeah…"
"…" Pudding remained silent.
Both of them noticed her silence.
Katakuri said nothing because he could more or less guess the reason.
As for Zechs, he figured he would probably need to talk with Pudding later, so he chose not to bring it up for now. Instead, he focused on setting up a bonfire while Pudding cooked meat over the flames, and they held a small celebration.
Zechs even sang a song neither Katakuri nor Pudding had ever heard before, making the atmosphere somewhat more cheerful.
After a while, once the moon had risen high into the sky, Katakuri stood up.
"I'm sleepy... so I'll sleep on the ship."
Without saying anything more, he left the camp, leaving Zechs and Pudding alone.
Once Katakuri was gone, Zechs pulled Pudding onto his lap.
She offered no resistance. She quietly settled there, resting her head against his chest while he stroked her back with one hand and intertwined his fingers with hers using the other.
For a while, the two simply cuddled together, lightly teasing and caressing one another as they enjoyed the warmth of each other's touch.
Then, without beating around the bush, Zechs asked, "What's wrong, Pudding-chan...? Why have you been so quiet? Is something bothering you? Or is it because of your period...? That… shouldn't be… right?"
He remembered that her last period had been only a few days ago... so it definitely couldn't be that.
"It's not... that..." she replied softly, nuzzling further against his chest.
"Then what's the matter?" he asked.
She hesitated for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh. "I guess... I'm just a little sad at the thought of leaving this island..."
"Ohh…" he nodded, understanding. After all, they have spent nearly nine months on this island… and durig
"Don't you want to go out there and explore?" he asked, somewhat surprised by her answer.
"I... I do... but I also..." She bit her lip, looking both frightened and reluctant. Then she looked into his eyes and asked quietly, "Zechs-sama... part of me wants to stay here... just the two of us... like we've been living on this island all this time."
She lowered her gaze for a moment before continuing. "I want to forget about everything else... everyone outside... even forget that there's a world beyond this island. I want it to be only us..."
Her voice trembled. "M-Maybe... someday... somehow... I could get pregnant and have your children... and then... we could build a family here... just for the two of us..."
"Is that what your heart is telling you...?" he asked softly.
"Yes..." she replied with a trembling nod. After a brief pause, she looked up at him again and asked, "Can we do that? Forget about Mama... forget about everything else... and just stay here... the two of us... and I… I'll do anything… to make you happy…"
He fell silent, unable to give her an answer.
She noticed his hesitation, and it stung. Because that silence told her everything. He couldn't agree with the future she wanted.
"I guess... I'm asking for the impossible..." she sighed.
"You already know what my goal is..." he said quietly.
"Humph..." She pouted, clearly dissatisfied. "You're such a pervert... and a bastard for having a goal like wanting to become the Harem King."
If his ambition had been something else, like becoming Pirate King, or even King of the World, she wouldn't have minded at all and even supported it.
But his goal was to become the Harem King.
That clearly meant he was going out there to chase women.
How was she supposed to feel about that?
He chuckled. "After all... There are plenty of women out there who want me. I understand that I can't let myself be monopolised by just one woman. That would be unfair to all the others who want me. So, for their sake, I'm willing to make the sacrifice and let many women have a taste of me. Considering the sacrifice I'm making for women everywhere... I should be called a truly magnanimous person, not a pervert or a bastard."
She stared at him speechlessly before snorting. "All I see is a shameless man. There's no magnanimity at all."
He was clearly just being a bastard, yet he was acting as though he were some kind of saint.
Pudding swore she had never met anyone so shameless. Truly... her Goshujin-sama was the most shameless man in the world...!
It is indeed rightfully said that throughout heaven and earth, Asmodeus Zechs is the most shameless man.
"Calling your master shameless like that... Pudding-chan... it seems you need to be disciplined..." he said with an amused smirk.
"Di-Disciplined?" She immediately shivered and tried to protest. "N-no..." It wasn't because she was afraid of him disciplining her... it was because it was so embarrassingly shameful.
But she had no chance to argue.
Zechs had already flipped her over onto his lap. His tail wrapped around her wrists, holding them in place and making sure she couldn't struggle. Then he lifted her skirt, exposing her bare ass.
He slowly caressed her asscheeks for a moment, warming them up for the punishment, "Are you ready, Pudding-chan... for your punishment?"
"Wuu... Zechs-sama... don't bully me..." she pleaded, blushing furiously. She didn't need to guess what kind of punishment he had in mind. She could already imagine it perfectly.
"Nuh-uh... disciplining the maid is also the master's responsibility..." he chuckled.
Then he brought his hand down sharply against her ass.
Cha!
"Aaahhhnn...!" Pudding cried out, her voice echoing across the island and startling the sleeping birds awake. They fluttered about in confusion, wondering who the hell was making such noises in the middle of the night.
But then another cry came, "Aaahnnn…!!!"
And then another, "Ooohnnn…!!"
And another, "Nooonnnn!!!"
That entire night, the same cries echoed throughout the island without pause. Not a single animal, bird, fish, or reptile managed to sleep properly.
The only one who could be said to have slept peacefully was Katakuri, who had long since stuffed a pair of Mochi earplugs into his ears.
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The next morning...
"Haaa... look at that... it's a perfect morning to set sail..." Zechs murmured as he and Pudding walked out of the cave they had spent the past several months living in.
He looked refreshed, clearly pleased with what had happened the previous night, and he was already dressed in the clothes he intended to wear for the journey.
Behind him walked Pudding.
Her face was slightly red, dark circles hung beneath her eyes from not having slept all night, and she walked a little stiffly because of the soreness between her legs.
Of course, it wasn't so bad that she couldn't walk and needed to be carried after only a single night.
After fusing with the 50% Steel Balloon Physique, Pudding was no longer left half-dead and bedridden for days after every night with him. Now she was merely sore and aching... but still perfectly capable of walking on her own.
She had also changed out of the crude cavewoman clothes she'd worn for the past few months.
Instead, she was wearing something much closer to a maid uniform.
Because, well... She was Zechs' maid. That's her identity and role… so she was dressing accordingly.
Anyway, after leaving the cave, the two released the black puma that had acted as the cave's guard for the past several months.
"Paw..." Zechs ordered, holding out his hand.
Well-trained by now, the puma lifted its paw and placed it on his hand.
"Good... next... roll..."
The puma obediently carried out one command after another. Clearly, this had become a routine over the past few months.
After it finished, Zechs finally said, "Alright... you can go now."
The puma froze for a moment. It seemed to realise that Zechs was finally leaving the island.
For some reason, it felt a little sad.
Then, before it could stop itself, it suddenly stuck out its tongue and licked him across the face.
"Ugh... I didn't need that..." Zechs sighed.
Still, he didn't stop it.
The puma then moved over and licked Pudding's face as well before finally turning around and slowly walking away.
"Don't get into trouble... okay?" Pudding called after it, waving.
The large feline glanced back. Then, as if it were crying, it suddenly ran off into the forest.
"Come on... let's go..." Zechs replied as he wiped the saliva from his face.
"Umm..." Pudding nodded and followed him toward the lake. As they walked, she couldn't help but ask, "Zechs-sama... do I... still have to wear that thing in my ass...?"
"Of course..." he replied with a grin, patting her cheek before continuing toward the ship.
She pouted, feeling the ache not only from the thing still stuffed inside her, but also the lingering soreness from being disciplined the night before. Still, there was nothing she could do about it except grumble inwardly.
'Perverted master...'
But when she saw him continuing to walk away, she hurriedly called out, "Hey... wait for me..." and quickly ran after him despite the ache.
Ehh... it wasn't that bad... anyway...
The two of them soon arrived at the ship.
Katakuri was already awake, sitting on the railing and waiting for them while casually tossing snacks into the Megalodon's mouth.
"Is it ready to set sail?" Zechs asked as he landed on the deck.
"Yes... it's ready..." Katakuri nodded and pointed toward several places around the ship where his Mochi Clones were hard at work. Some were at the helm, others were handling the ropes, the paddles, and various other tasks.
For only Zechs, Katakuri, and Pudding, sailing the ship properly would have been exhausting.
But thanks to Katakuri's Mochi Clones... that wasn't a problem at all.
"Alright then..." he nodded before looking over the railing and calling out to Pudding, who was caressing the Megalodon's scales. "Come on, Pudding-chan... it's time to go..."
"Coming… Zechs-sama…" Pudding replied, her voice soft. She turned back to the massive mackerel shark one last time, once again tracing its rough scales. "Meg-chan… take care, okay? Don't get eaten by any sea kings…"
"Zuuu~" the mackerel shark let out another low, rumbling sound in response.
With that, Pudding took a graceful leap, landing lightly on the ship's railing. She glanced back once more, waving goodbye to the creature below, then hopped down onto the deck. Her expression softened as she murmured, almost to herself, "I'll miss it…"
"We may encounter it again on the sea," Zechs said quietly, stepping closer and wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Umm… maybe…" Pudding nodded, leaning her head against his chest.
Though both of them knew how unlikely that was. After all, the ocean was vast, and one particular fish could disappear into its depths forever, yet fate also had a strange way of working. Who knew where the currents would carry that megalodon next? They might cross paths again… or it might simply become prey for something larger. That was simply how this world worked.
And now, after nearly nine months away, Zechs was stepping back into it.
"Let's unfurl the sails," Zechs ordered.
"Got it," Katakuri replied. His mochi clones immediately moved into action, climbing the masts with smooth efficiency. The sails caught the wind with a heavy snap, and the ship began to glide forward, slipping out of the lake and into the river current. The vessel picked up speed, carried along by both wind and water, heading steadily toward the open ocean.
As they sailed along the riverbank, animals emerged from the treeline, birds, beasts, even some of the larger predators, all watching in silence. The island seemed to sense it, too. Its top predators were leaving. The entire ecosystem felt the shift.
The moment the ship finally broke into the open sea, the island behind them erupted into distant chaos. With the power vacuum left in their wake, the food chain would be redrawn in blood and conflict.
But… none of that mattered to the three on board who'd probably never return to this island and just remember it in their memories.
Out in the ocean, the wind kept filling the sails, pushing them forward across the waves.
At least they weren't stuck in the Calm Belt; that much was clear from the steady breeze. But exactly where they were… that was still a mystery.
"Let's try to find an island… or any other ship to understand our situation," Zechs said, waving a hand toward Katakuri. "I'll leave it to you and your clones for now."
After giving that order, he dropped into a reclining chair on the deck, stretching out with a sigh. Pudding appeared beside him almost immediately, handing over a cool mug of grape juice. "Nice…" he nodded, accepting the mug of juice and enjoying the shoulder massage she began giving him.
"A fine day and fine weather to sail… to restart the journey…, Pudding-chan?" Zechs murmured, relaxing under the steady pressure of her hands.
"Well—" Before she could answer, a low rumble rolled through the clouds overhead.
Zechs's smile stiffened, "Or maybe not…"
The storm that followed was indeed a slap in the face.
Before they knew it, rain began to lash down in heavy sheets, driven sideways by sudden, angry winds.
Zechs let out a long sigh, drained the rest of his grape juice in one go, and stood up.
"It seems fate is really against me venturing out on the seas…" he muttered, already moving toward the rigging. Pudding fell in beside him without hesitation.
While Katakuri's mochi clones were excellent at manual labor, water remained their greatest weakness. With rain pouring down like this, there was no way Katakuri could handle the entire ship alone. Zechs and Pudding would have to pitch in.
"This fucking fate... one day, I'm really going to fuck with it..." he muttered irritably as he hauled on the ropes.
Pudding giggled.
"Maybe this will be fun..." Since she had never sailed much before (Of course, the previous experience didn't count), she felt a little excited and eagerly helped as well.
"Hmm..." Katakuri hummed quietly as he took hold of the helm. He had spent his entire life as a pirate... but this era, this wild, untamed time era when he himself had still been just a brat, stirred something in him. He wanted to fight the legends of this age, wanted to test himself against the legends that walked these seas now.
He was looking forward to it.
Sensing their excitement, Zechs also became excited and laughed out loud, "Fufufu… perhaps… perhaps the entire world will be turned upside down… by me…"
Thus, in May of the year 1492 of the Age of the Sea Circle, Asmodeus Zechs—a pirate with a bounty of 900 million berries who had been missing and inactive for nearly nine months- set sail once more alongside his companions, Charlotte Pudding and Charlotte Katakuri.
And this journey... It would surely stir up countless storms in the years to come.
But that was still in the future.
For now, their goal was simple: find an island...
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Underworld Growth System
Host: Asmodeus Zechs
Age: 22 Years
Height: 211 cm
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Incubus Bloodline Level: 12 (124/1,300)
Racial Traits: Charm(1), Endless Virility(2), Pheromone Secretion(3), Physique Alteration(4), Persuasion(5), Life Drain(6), Attachment(7), Obsession(8), Beauty(9), Dream Walk(10), Medicine(11), Taste(12)
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Devil Fruits: NA
Swordsmanship: One-Sword Style, Steel Cutting, Flying Slash, Foxfire Style
Physical Skills: Shave, Moonwalk,
Unique Skills: Voice of All Things, Kotoamatsukami
Observation Haki: Strength Sensing, Intent Sensing, Presence Sensing, Emotion Sensing
Armament Haki: Hardening, Imbuement, Emission, Internal Destruction
Conqueror's Haki: Domination, Incapacitation, Infusion
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Available Bloodline Points: 0
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A/N: I've decided to remove the aspect of the Attribute Point from the story. From now on, there will only be Bloodline Points.
I've been thinking about this for quite a while, and honestly, Attribute Points have become redundant. They don't add much to the story and mostly just make things more complicated for me by forcing me to keep track of extra numbers.
I know changing something that was established earlier in the story isn't ideal, and I shouldn't have added them in the first place if I was going to remove them, but I think this will make the system simpler and easier to follow as well as write going forward.
So yes, this is a retcon. I can only apologize and hope it doesn't bother anyone too much.
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A/N:
I hope the readers will continue to give the story lots of Power Stones.
Comments and Reviews are also necessary, especially Reviews. The story has far fewer reviews than I'd prefer.
And naturally, the greatest support comes from Pa-t-r-e-o-n.
For me, who is trying to make full-time as a writer, Pa-t-r-e-o-n support is the most needed since this is my only source of income. So, if you love this story, and you can support me, please do so to help me stay consistent and motivated with writing.
On my Pa-t-r-e-o-n, you can read up to 28 chapters in advance before public release, and I generally post 6 chapters a week, meaning you'll get one extra chapter per week compared to the regular schedule, which is 5 chapters a week.
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