Chapter 138: Miss Bakkin’s Secret
The fear of death should be the fear of intelligent beings. Perhaps under the influence of things called beliefs and ideals, a person can possess the courage to overcome fear and be fearless of death, but it is clear that Ms. Bakin is not such a great person.
From the cane inlaid with gold and gems in her hand, one can see some of this old lady’s little hobbies.
It is only in a remote place like Black Thorn Flower Island that gold, gems, and the like are of no use to the islanders who lack stable channels for external communication. Moreover, although there are no gold mines on the island, the sunken ships on the seabed are a treasure that has not yet dried up. If you try hard enough, you can always find some pretty things from the sunken ships.
These things have now basically become Ms. Bakin’s collection.
She really likes treasure.
Since she has such a passionate hobby for gold and jewelry, she must be exceptionally fond of the prosperity of this world.
However, for various reasons, not only can she not openly enjoy the rest of her life, but she is also forced to hide in a remote rural place like Black Thorn Flower Island. This makes her resentment particularly deep. She has not yet properly enjoyed life, and before that, she absolutely does not want to die like this.
“…… Compared to the vague term ‘scientist,’ ‘biologist’ would be more accurate. I dedicated myself to the world of science over forty years ago. I devoted more than half of my life to biology, and later the research institute I established was shut down and destroyed by the World Government…”
“Wait!”
Elus felt that it sounded a bit familiar as he listened.
It seemed,
he had heard the same story before.
“You said the organization you established was shut down by the World Government? About when was that?”
“…… The research institute was destroyed by the World Government more than twenty years ago, specifically in Marineford Era 1492. World Government agents raided the institute. Fortunately, when the institute was first established, provisions were made for evacuation in case of an attack. Also, I never revealed my true identity, and the World Government agents’ primary focus was on Vegapunk, so I managed to escape. After that…”
“…… Prince Elus, are you going to hand me over to the World Government?”
Ms. Bakin looked at Elus, who had lowered his eyes, and felt a little uneasy.
She didn’t mind living under the World Government, as long as the World Government could provide her with a comfortable old age. However, as an experienced elder, she knew that the World Government’s credibility was worse than that of street thugs, especially if she couldn’t bring them enough benefits.
With Vegapunk, the World Government didn’t need her abilities.
Even if she wasn’t sentenced to death, she would most likely be sent to Impel Down to spend her remaining years.
Such a future,
she absolutely did not want to see.
“No, my relationship with the World Government is not as close as you imagine.” Elus raised his eyes. He examined Ms. Bakin from head to toe, feeling both surprised and a sense of having guessed correctly. He had many speculations about Ms. Bakin’s identity.
He had made various conjectures about the origin of this old lady with a mysterious identity who might have some close relationship with Whitebeard, but due to a lack of information, they were more like fantasies than deductions.
Judging by Weibul’s strength and appearance,
this dim-witted big kid definitely had a blood relation with Whitebeard, but it wasn’t necessarily true that he was Whitebeard’s child. Especially after he witnessed Jermma Kingdom’s Clone Army, he developed a bold conjecture about Weibul’s identity.
Perhaps,
Weibul was also a child born through similar technology?
Of course, what he didn’t expect was that Ms. Bakin was actually involved with the illegal research institute where Vegapunk, Judge, and others had stayed. However, thinking about it carefully, it was within reason. In this world that valued martial power, scientists were quite rare, especially top scientists who were few and far between.
And these top scientists, by the principle of like attracting like, it was natural for them to interact with each other. Even a genius like Vegapunk couldn’t change the world alone by staying in his room; he would also communicate with other scientists, hoping for that spark of inspiration brought by the collision of ideas.
“Do you know about Jermma Kingdom in the North Blue?”
“North Blue? Jermma… If you’re talking about Jermma 66, I’ve seen comic strips about Jermma 66 in the World Economic News before.” Ms. Bakin looked genuinely bewildered.
In fact, this world is so vast.
Unless one is a specialized intelligence expert or involved in their own familiar field, in this world with limited channels for obtaining information, not everyone has a broad knowledge base. Ms. Bakin was born in the Grand Line and had never been to the Four Seas in her entire life.
No matter how illustrious and powerful Jermma Kingdom in the North Blue was, it meant nothing to her. Even if Vinsmoke Judge beheaded four kings in a single war, creating the so-called “Four Kingdoms Decapitation,” or “Four-Kingdom Slash” for short, such an event, besides making many people in the North Blue too scared to sleep at night, was of no consequence to the people of the Grand Line and the other three seas.
“Does your research institute have a researcher named Judge?”
“Judge? My assistant is called that. His talent is quite good, and he has very unique insights in the field of biology. Even Vegapunk did many experiments with him. You should know that in the institute, out of more than twenty people, only three were able to do experiments with Vegapunk. Judge was one of them.”
Ms. Bakin answered every question with utmost cooperativeness.
“Judge… To be precise, Vinsmoke Judge, he is the King of Jermma Kingdom… Of course, that’s not important. Continue! Let’s see if you have any more value to live for.”
Elus threw out a lifeline.
He said that, but in reality, he had already made up his mind. Ms. Bakin couldn’t be simply gotten rid of. It would be more cost-effective to keep such talent and thoroughly exploit her remaining value. Of course, to better understand the old lady’s background, he didn’t make any direct promises, but merely offered a chance to survive.
“That kid, he’s a king? No wonder he’s so arrogant…” Ms. Bakin muttered softly, jealous of her former assistant’s status. “My research direction is Super Soldier, but it’s different from Judge’s idea of gene modification. I was thinking of directly using the cells of truly strong individuals…”
Jealousy did not make Ms. Bakin lose her head.
She knew very well what she needed to do to survive at this moment. Even though her intuition told her that Elus no longer harbored much killing intent towards her, she prudently continued to vigorously highlight her value, speaking rapidly like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.
After all,
here, at this moment, in this situation, her life and death were completely in Elus’s hands.
“…Weibul is my most perfect creation. Using blood cells previously stolen from Whitebeard as a blueprint, I used cloning technology to create more than twenty infants, but only Weibul survived in the end. Other infants created with cells from Golden Lion, Beasts, Silver Axe, and Pirate King Roger also all failed. By the time my research funds were exhausted, only Weibul was a successful case…”
Ms. Bakin explained in detail.
Elus’s eyelids twitched as he listened.
It was one thing to have Whitebeard, but why did names like Golden Lion and Beasts suddenly appear?
“May I ask? How did you get the blood of Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and those… monsters?” Elus asked curiously.
“I’m a doctor whose medical skills are passable,” Ms. Bakin said with a brilliant smile, her wrinkled face resembling an orange peel, seeing Elus’s curious expression. She wasn’t afraid of Elus asking too many questions, but rather of him being indifferent.
“That was a long time ago, before I established my research institute. To raise funds, I traveled around helping people with their illnesses and earning money. Coincidentally, the Rocks Pirates had just been destroyed, and all the famous Great Pirates who were once under Rocks’ command went their separate ways, with Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Beasts, and BIG·MOM… The seas were in complete chaos.
It was during that time when I was earning money by treating illnesses that I encountered members of the Whitebeard Pirates. Someone on their ship was severely injured, and I was forced to board Whitebeard’s ship. I treated all the injured, and then I stayed on Whitebeard’s ship for a while. That blood was collected during that time.”
Ms. Bakin narrowed her eyes, recalling that period filled with the scent of iron and blood.
That statement wasn’t an exaggeration at all.
Unlike the stable structure of the Four Emperors coexisting in the New World today, at that time, the New World… to be precise, after the fall of the sole overlord of the Grand Line, the Rocks Pirates, the established rules and order vanished in an instant, and the entire Grand Line descended into madness.
Pirates and Marines, pirates and pirates, countless wars were happening everywhere in the sea at all times.
Whitebeard, as one of the pillars of the former Rocks Pirates, fought against the Marines, clashed with Golden Lion, battled Beasts, and contended with Roger… It would be fitting to say he fought against the heavens and the earth. The current title of the world’s strongest man for Whitebeard was forged in those countless bloody battles.
Ms. Bakin was helping as a temporary ship doctor for the Whitebeard Pirates at the time.
After each battle concluded, while treating Whitebeard’s injuries, she not only easily obtained Whitebeard’s cells but also collected the blood of the monsters who had fought against him. After all, under the blade of Whitebeard’s Moyagarare, even BIG·MOM’s Steel Balloon could not remain unscathed.
“Did the Whitebeard Pirates not have a ship doctor at that time?”
Elus pressed.
Although the Whitebeard Pirates harbored an ambitious individual like Blackbeard, that was mainly due to his exceptional acting skills. He joined with the belief that if he couldn’t achieve his goals, he would live out his life in the Whitebeard Pirates, so it’s not Whitebeard’s fault for not seeing through him.
In reality, the Whitebeard Pirates had very high standards for their members. Not to mention their subordinate pirate crews, but the members of the main crew were all like good sons to Whitebeard. Someone like Ms. Bakin, strictly speaking, wouldn’t have met the qualifications to join the Whitebeard Pirates.
Then,
Whitebeard’s permission for Ms. Bakin to stay temporarily with the Whitebeard Pirates was likely out of necessity?
“There wasn’t one.”
Ms. Bakin gave a definitive answer.
Whitebeard was originally a member of the Rocks Pirates. However, after Rocks was defeated by the combined forces of Roger and Garp, the scattered crew, without Rocks as their leader, disbanded. They divided up the inheritance of the Rocks Pirates and then went their separate ways.
However, therein lay the problem.
Before, everyone was a member of the Rocks Pirates. Although the major figures like Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Beasts each had their own small groups, and they formed new pirate crews immediately after disbanding, the composition of these newly formed pirate crews was not comprehensive due to the haste.
Navigator, ship doctor, shipwright, chef… These positions requiring specialized skills weren’t something just anyone could fill.
“…The ship doctor of the Rocks Pirates, Wang Zhi, who was known as the ‘Plague God,’ did not join Golden Lion, Whitebeard, or anyone else. He also raised his own banner and went solo, taking all the skilled ship doctors with him…”
The newly formed Whitebeard Pirates had navigators, shipwrights, and chefs, but they were solely lacking a ship doctor. Marco, relying on his Devil Fruit ability, could provide some treatment, but the Phoenix was still too young at the time, and his ability couldn’t cover everything.
Moreover, the battles were so frequent and intense back then. Without an excellent ship doctor, they could only watch many comrades die in pain.
“…Whitebeard, that old man, turned his back on me. After Marco, that brat, secretly learned my medical skills, he kicked me off the ship. However… compared to those devourers of men like Golden Lion and Beasts, Whitebeard… was still somewhat decent.”
Ms. Bakin was invited off Whitebeard’s ship by him, but she was also given a sufficiently generous reward.
It was with this money that Ms. Bakin established that illegal research institute and issued a notice in the Dark World, recruiting all partners interested in scientific research to join her studies. Vegapunk, Judge, and other researchers flocked to her.
Later, the research institute was shut down by the World Government.
However, research results like Bloodline Factors had already been born. Ms. Bakin’s ability to truly create monsters like Weibul made the discovery of Bloodline Factors crucially important.
“It’s all thanks to Vegapunk’s influence!”
Hearing the end of it, Elus sighed with heartfelt admiration.
Whether it was Ms. Bakin or Vinsmoke Judge, a large part of their current achievements stood on the foundation laid by Vegapunk.
Without Vegapunk, they might have achieved considerable success, but it certainly wouldn’t have been to the extent of their current accomplishments.
