Chapter 163: Fighting Champion
“The next issue… is how to deal with the changes in the Revolutionary Army. Sakazuki’s fleet was caught off guard by submarines, and all our warships are currently incapable of underwater combat. To counter submarine attacks, we must make corresponding changes.”
Crane slowly moved her stiff neck.
She was no longer young. She used to be able to stay awake for days without feeling tired, but now, after sitting for a while, her body was already signaling fatigue.
“Underwater combat equipment… cannot remain a blank. The same applies to aerial combat capabilities. We can’t cope with the Revolutionary Army like this. The Devil Child has fallen into the hands of the Revolutionary Army, and there shouldn’t be any major changes in the short term, but we can’t be sure what the Revolutionary Army will become in the future.”
Devil Child + Revolutionary Army = ?
The answer is unknown, but it is by no means optimistic.
The Revolutionary Army, which aims to overthrow the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, combined with Nico Robin, who possesses the power to explore and decipher forbidden history, is not a simple 1+1=2 calculation. Of course, it is unrealistic to speculate on the future changes of the Revolutionary Army based on such limited intelligence, and it is also unreliable to make preparations based on it.
However, while the unknown future makes targeted measures difficult, countermeasures can be devised based on the intelligence already gathered.
The submarine technology, artificial dragons, and laser weapons that the Revolutionary Army’s operation this time revealed… If we continue to turn a blind eye to these things, the battles with pirates might not change, but it will be extremely disadvantageous when we go to war with the Revolutionary Army in the future.
“I will explain this situation to my superiors. Funding… will be difficult to obtain!”
Sengoku’s head throbbed.
He understood the importance of what Crane was saying, but the problem wasn’t whether he understood it, but whether the World Government, the Five Elders, understood this issue, or rather, whether they cared about the future impact it might bring.
The Five Elders are by no means foolish.
They could not possibly fail to understand the reasoning he understood; it’s just that… they may not care about a clash of conventional forces. They care more about the combat power of the Admirals and Vice Admirals. As long as the superiority of the top-tier forces is maintained, the lower-tier soldiers are cheap and easily replaceable consumables.
The Navy has also benefited from the Pirate Era.
Due to the ravages of pirates, the number of volunteers joining the Navy has been increasing every year. The only concern is the loss of warships… If we can get Fleet Admiral Kong to help, we might get more.
“The Revolutionary Army’s actions this time were exceptionally strong. My superiors should soften up and provide some subsidies. It’s uncertain whether we can form a fully organized underwater combat unit, but corresponding weapons to counter local submarines will be equipped, such as torpedoes…”
“As for aerial units, don’t think too much about it. I estimate that some cannon orders will be revised to anti-aircraft guns.”
“…Let’s take it one step at a time!”
Zephyr shook his head, showing no obvious signs of disappointment.
“Torpedoes and anti-aircraft guns? Barely…” Crane didn’t push Sengoku too hard either. She knew that the Fleet Admiral did not have true freedom. As one of the three branches under the World Government, the Fleet Admiral was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Kong, whose position was above the Five Elders.
The hour hand on the clock turned round and round.
The old men’s club lasted for a good part of the day, and this small meeting, without any minutes, concluded.
The Navy began to act.
……
Time is the best medicine for healing rumors.
As Sakazuki hunted down dozens of pirate crews and washed away the stigma that had clung to him with the heads of pirates with bounties of over 100 million, his fearsome reputation as Akainu spread even more widely.
Soon, as other new pieces of news emerged one after another, coupled with secret warnings from Marine Headquarters, most newspapers abandoned reporting on the Akainu incident. The number of people discussing Akainu’s rare failed mission gradually decreased. Sakazuki returned to Marineford with over fifty pirate flags from different pirate crews.
It seemed as though,
everything had returned to normal.
At least,
that was how it appeared on the surface.
In the Grand Line, the lower and middle tiers engaged in endless combat, the Navy and pirates were locked in a deadly embrace, and some countries were forced to join the fray. The big shots, sipping aged wine, enjoyed the wars below as if they were a circus. The battles at the top seemed to have temporarily paused for rest.
In the New World, the Four Emperors remained complacent. Apart from sending their subordinates out to work, they themselves stayed put in their respective strongholds.
The Seven Warlords, having gone through several upheavals, also entered a long period of peace. The new Warlord, White Horse Cavendish, had established a foothold in Paradise. Through Elus’s introduction, Cavendish replaced Crocodile and remained in Alabasta.
Of course, this decision sparked considerable domestic opposition. The citizens were already traumatized by Crocodile and were extremely wary of Cavendish.
Unfortunately,
the men’s resistance was ultimately defeated by the women. In this world where freaks were rampant and beauties were precious, a handsome man like Cavendish possessed such charm that it could break through some prejudices. Although this made the men even more enraged, when Cavendish was invited to a banquet at the Royal Palace, he was challenged seventy-nine times mid-way. If Cobra had not intervened, the men waiting to challenge Cavendish could have formed a line from the palace gates to the city gates.
Fortunately, the Alabasta Kingdom is a desert kingdom with a fierce populace. While the women liked the handsome Cavendish, they weren’t so crazed that all unmarried women in the country would refuse to marry anyone but him.
Setting aside the new Warlord Cavendish for now,
the other Seven Warlords were also well-behaved… That would be impossible.
It should be said that all the Seven Warlords except Elus were disciplined. Only Elus… energetic and ambitious, had no idea what complacency meant.
……
Skadi Island, Eckmond Kingdom’s First Research Institute.
“Oh! Have you found their specific whereabouts?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Let me see, where is our target? Hmm… this is Whitebeard’s territory, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. We didn’t expect the target to dare to hide in Whitebeard’s territory. Whitebeard’s territory has always been strictly managed. When we first investigated, we didn’t prioritize Whitebeard’s territory… This was our mistake.”
The man lowered his head, adopting a posture ready to accept punishment.
“No, it’s fine. The mission was completed within the deadline, so you deserve a reward, not a punishment. Alright, someone will contact you about the reward later. You may all withdraw now!” Waving his hand, he dismissed the intelligence personnel. Elus, holding the report, carefully reviewed it from beginning to end again.
Then,
he left the office and went to a research laboratory.
“Miss. Baggin, excuse me.”
He pushed the door open and entered.
The first thing that caught his eye were the deformed lumps of flesh on the operating table. Under the illumination of the surgical lights, the strangely colored organs could be seen more clearly. Miss. Baggin was standing on a specially heightened operating table, her gloved hands moving back and forth among the organs.
“Your Highness Elus, I told you, I need materials from truly strong individuals to cultivate powerful Super Soldiers.”
“Didn’t I give you several tubes of blood? It’s the blood of Great Pirates!”
“That’s too little. Do you know how much material it took me to create Weibul back then? Whitebeard was that massive, and it took me several years to continuously draw fifty kilograms of blood. Even then, Weibul’s success was merely by chance. To recreate Super Soldiers like Weibul, a few tubes of fresh blood are nowhere near enough.”
Miss. Baggin spoke very rudely.
She was a very intelligent and cunning old woman.
She could tell that Elus was not the type to be overly concerned with trivial matters. As long as she wasn’t negligent in her work, she didn’t have to live on tenterhooks. After spending a long time at the research institute and getting a feel for Elus’s personality, she became much more casual in her speech.
Of course, only when discussing research matters would she put on such airs.
“Several years? Did the stored blood go bad?” Elus, unbothered by Miss. Baggin’s tone, asked curiously.
“Amateurs should mind their own business.” Miss. Baggin rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a hospital; I have unique methods for preserving blood. Compared to that… materials, if Your Highness wants Super Soldiers, provide me with sufficient excellent materials. The trash you sent before can only create a bunch of cheap consumables.”
Super Soldiers were the technology Miss. Baggin researched.
Weibul, who had cut off Zephyr’s arm, was a weapon she created using Whitebeard’s cells as raw material. Elus brought Miss. Baggin into his research institute precisely because he admired this technology. Recently, he had provided nearly ten Great Pirates with bounties over one hundred million.
Unfortunately, not a single one had caught Miss. Baggin’s eye.
If it were just a small amount of fresh blood, it would be easy for Elus’s aides-de-camp to donate. However, Miss. Baggin stated that if they didn’t want to rely on luck and wanted to stably create usable Super Soldiers, it was best to provide a stable blood source – someone from whom blood could be freely drawn without it being fatal.
This meant Elus could not sacrifice his reliable subordinates.
Therefore,
Pirates were the best targets, and they had to be powerful pirates.
However, such targets were not easy to find. Out of nearly ten Great Pirates with bounties all above one hundred million, not one had caught her eye; their quality was all substandard! The Super Soldiers created were only slightly stronger than ordinary people and couldn’t be considered Super Soldiers at all. It would be better to expand the army than to spend a large sum of money creating such trash!
“Alright, alright! I’ve found a new target on my end. Take a look, can this person do it?”
Elus said, handing over the document in his hand.
“Without touching them personally, I can’t be completely sure just from a photo…” Though she said this, Miss. Baggin had already taken off her gloves, washed her hands, wiped them dry, and picked up the document to read it. “Fighting Champion? Jesus Burgess… Bounty, huh?”
“One zero, two zeros, three zeros… twenty million Beli? Your Highness Elus, you’re not joking, are you?”
If monsters with bounties over one hundred million wouldn’t do, what use would a twenty-million-Beli individual be?
“The bounty is indeed a bit low, but I think the person is quite excellent. This individual isn’t a professional pirate; the twenty-million bounty is only because he beat up a Navy officer… Read it first.” Elus was quite confident.
A bounty of twenty million Beli was indeed very low.
However, underestimating someone because of it could lead to great loss.
Bounties primarily targeted pirates, but non-pirates were also often wanted. The most famous example was the Revolutionary Army. Additionally, there were individuals wanted by the Navy or the World Government for various reasons. Their bounties might not be high, but their strength could not be judged by the bounty amount.
For example, this Fighting Champion, Jesus Burgess.
A bounty of twenty million Beli was practically meager in a godforsaken place like the New World. If placed within a Four Emperors Crew, he would only be a low-ranking subordinate. However, in reality, this individual could contend with the previous two Flare-Flare Fruit users, although neither was his match… and as one of the future top executives of the Blackbeard Pirates.
Burgess was by no means someone only worth twenty million Beli.
“These muscles… they look really good! This guy, if he’s not just for show, he should be able to create a decent product!” Miss. Baggin had a good eye. Looking at photos of Burgess fighting in the arena, her eyes immediately lit up.
She had been researching Super Soldiers for decades.
During this time, she had encountered countless strong individuals. Although her own strength was weak, her honed discerning eye was not.
“Can this target work?”
“I can’t guarantee anything, but this guy is much more usable than the trash you sent before. If you can deliver him, perhaps a better product can be created.” Miss. Baggin didn’t dare to pat her chest and guarantee it, which Elus was accustomed to.
All the scientists under him were like this; they always habitually left room for doubt in their words.
Well, as long as the result was good!
“I will deliver the person as soon as possible,”
Elus said. “However, before the target is delivered, please don’t be perfunctory with the current experiment. I am looking forward to seeing a group of Bald Sea Monsters fighting for me underwater.”
Hearing this, Miss. Baggin’s expression immediately worsened considerably.
She complained, “Your Highness, although humans and Fish-Men can intermarry, it doesn’t mean there are no differences between them. This is not something that can yield results in a short time.”
Unfortunately,
Elus’s figure had already vanished from the room.
