Chapter 96: The Chaotic Future
The New World is a lively and great place. There are always jaw-dropping, regrettable, or curse-inducing big news here. It’s no wonder that the World Economic News Agency’s headquarters is located in the New World. Compared to the four seas and Paradise, this is the best place for reporters to show their skills.
And sure enough,
First, the four magnates of the Dark World were killed by the Executioner on Nigoshit Island. The Black Prince’s aides-de-camp swiftly wiped out the remaining forces of the four magnates with thunderous momentum. A maritime transport network even larger and tighter than during Umit’s time took shape in the New World.
Before Elus could stay hot in the newspapers for long, it broke that the former King’s Seven Warlord “Sea Knight” Jinbe and the currently rising “Fire Fist” Portgas D. Ace had a big fight on Whitebeard’s territory. The two battled for three days and three nights. The Sea Knight was exhausted and defeated by Fire Fist’s hand.
And that’s not all,
After defeating Sea Knight Jinbe, Fire Fist didn’t know when to stop. He went all out and directly challenged the Whitebeard Pirates, issuing a challenge to Whitebeard.
The final result was naturally predictable. The young Fire Fist was no match for Whitebeard, the ultimate monster who had dominated the New World for decades. Not only was Fire Fist beaten down by Whitebeard, but the entire Spade Pirates were captured by the Whitebeard Pirates.
At this point in the development, it should have been time to drop the curtain,
Who would have thought,
The Black Prince suddenly visited Whitebeard and asked him for the imprisoned Fire Fist, saying he wanted to hand Fire Fist over to the World Government. The content of the conversation was known only to Whitebeard, the Black Prince, and a few captains of the Whitebeard Pirates. Even the omnipotent reporters of the World Economic News Agency couldn’t uncover the details of the talk.
It’s said that the Black Prince and Whitebeard even fought during the conversation, but of course, this is just hearsay with no reliable evidence to prove a battle occurred.
In any case, the final result seemed to be an unhappy parting,
The Black Prince returned empty-handed to the Eckmond Kingdom, shut himself indoors, and honestly stayed within the territory as a shut-in prince. The Whitebeard Pirates continued patrolling their territory as usual. But not long after the Black Prince left, the imprisoned Fire Fist of the Whitebeard Pirates transformed and filled a vacancy, becoming the second division’s captain······
There’s also a piece of gossip,
Rumor has it that Black Arm Zephyr, the commander of the Pirate Guerilla Squad, upon hearing the news of Fire Fist joining the Whitebeard Pirates, smashed the six newly captured pirate ships in a fit of anger, saying that Fire Fist would surely become a new major tumor on the Sea······
Afterward, he hunted pirates in the New World like a madman, stirring up one bloody storm after another. Fortunately, he didn’t completely lose his head; his cannons weren’t aimed at the Four Emperors, avoiding an even more spectacular show in the New World.
This dazzling, heart-pounding grand drama continued until the new year,
Marineford Era 1518.
New year, new atmosphere.
Compared to last year’s constant exciting spectacles, the first two months of this year were finally a bit quieter. There were no more shocking big news to startle people, and even the Pirate Guerilla Squad temporarily halted their aggressive hunting operations, hunkering down on an island to rest and recuperate.
————
Eckmond Kingdom,
A blizzard howled and raged on the island. On the deck of the warship docked at the port for less than two hours, a thin layer of snow had already accumulated. The Marines running around like mad were sweating profusely, but their speed of clearing the snow still couldn’t keep up with the snowfall.
The Marines couldn’t help cursing today’s bad weather.
Such a heavy blizzard was rare even on this winter island named “Skathi.”
On the island, beneath the thick curtain of wind and snow, the research institute covered in heavy snow stood amid the snow forest. If one’s eyesight wasn’t good, they might not even spot the buildings hidden in the blizzard. Following a series of almost invisible footprints and rut marks buried by the wind and snow, through the snow forest, one could see the research institute’s gate.
A huge “Skathi” signboard hung on the iron gate covered in frost, also coated with a sturdy layer of ice.
“Shurorororo!!”
A strange laughter came from inside the gate.
Elus standing outside the gate impatiently cursed, “Caesar, you bastard, hurry up and open the door instead of laughing there. Believe it or not, I’ll throw you into the sea and let you taste winter swimming?”
The laughter abruptly stopped,
Replaced by the creaking sound of the iron gate opening. Layers of frost shook off. A man with long blue-purple hair and goat horn decorations on his head floated out. He cautiously approached Elus, a fawning smile on his face,
“Your Highness, research on artificial Devil Fruits has shown some progress.”
Ever since the research institute was completed, Caesar had holed up here conducting research. Over three months, he gradually mastered how to communicate with his new boss Elus: no nonsense. In front of Elus, it was best to get straight to the point. If he dared to blabber······
Vegapunk would at most kick him out of the research team, but Elus would expose his boasts and then teach him a lesson with fists. He wouldn’t be beaten to death, but getting beaten until crying for mommy and daddy wasn’t anything to look forward to. After two thrashings, Caesar had learned his lesson.
Well, that strange laughter couldn’t be changed.
“How much longer do you estimate until production can start?” Elus stepped aside, signaling the convoy loaded with supply materials behind him to enter the research institute.
“If the next experiments go smoothly, we might have finished products by mid-year. But producing according to Vegapunk’s notes would be costly with very limited output. For that, I’ve made some revisions······” Though Caesar was often unreliable and loved to boast about research, he had real substance.
Elus had also gathered the top scientists domestically and sent them to the research institute to study Vegapunk’s notes with Caesar. In the end, out of over a dozen scientists, only two could barely understand Vegapunk’s notes, let alone make revisions like Caesar. Well, nine times out of ten, they were degraded revisions.
“Any difficulties?”
Elus watched the reindeer-pulled wagons entering the gate one by one, his peripheral vision landing on Caesar.
“We need some live research materials, and quite a few. At least starting from hundreds of people upward.”
“That’s simple. I’ll send you death-row criminals from the prison. Any pirates we catch later will be for your use too. However, if there’s no result by mid-year this time, it won’t end with just a few beatings. Of course, if you deliver results that satisfy me, you’ll get to see a few more pages of the Pluton Blueprint.”
Carrot and stick, a simple yet extremely practical management method.
Especially when the carrot is tempting enough, even the smartest people will willingly fall into the trap. Caesar was like that. At first, he submitted out of fear of Elus’s power, but after seeing a portion of the Pluton Blueprint provided by Elus, he became utterly devoted to him.
At least until he saw the complete Pluton Blueprint, Caesar absolutely wouldn’t betray Elus of his own accord.
This was the Pluton Blueprint,
Though Pluto was a warship, the knowledge and technology it contained went far beyond shipbuilding skills. The super powerful mass-killing weapons inside made Caesar’s heart race. In this blueprint, he saw real hope of surpassing Vegapunk. If he could recreate Pluto······
He could definitely make that arrogant bastard Vegapunk admit his greatness.
“Your Highness, even if I don’t eat or drink, I’ll deliver finished artificial Devil Fruits before mid-year.” Caesar puffed out his chest, swearing confidently. His darting eyes glanced at Elus now and then. He licked his lips and continued, “That······”
“Not showing it to you in advance.”
Elus shook his head in refusal.
He chuckled, “Before seeing your research results, not a single extra page of the Pluton Blueprint will reach you. Focus on artificial Devil Fruit production technology. I hope to build an Ability User legion surpassing Beasts.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Seeing he couldn’t get the Pluton Blueprint early, Caesar disappointedly lowered his head.
“By the way, where’s Kappas? Why haven’t I seen him?”
Elus changed the subject.
Though it was changing the subject, he had just noticed his aide-de-camp hadn’t come out to greet him. While waiting, he had released his Neuro-Scan to explore the entire island, confirming no unfamiliar presences.
He had sensed Kappas and Caesar’s presences then.
But now, the one greeting Elus was Caesar, the scientist mainly in charge of research, while Kappas, responsible for security and chores, was nowhere to be seen.
Could it be—
“Slacking off and sleeping again?” Elus sighed.
“······Yes.” Caesar gave a dry laugh.
Kappas was Elus’s aide-de-camp, sent to the island to protect the research institute’s security while also monitoring Caesar. But······ Caesar found this monitor utterly incompetent. Since arriving, at least twenty out of twenty-four hours a day were spent sleeping, and the remaining four minus time for eating, drinking, and toilet······
Utterly irresponsible to the extreme.
Though he had no intention of escaping anyway. Even without the Pluton Blueprint from Elus, Caesar hadn’t planned to run. Despite his often unreliable appearance, this mad scientist calculated very clearly.
After betraying the World Government and Navy, he was doomed to hide like a sewer rat.
But he couldn’t bear to abandon his research for a mundane, boring second half of life.
Thus, he had no other choice. Relying on a big shot who could ensure his safety and provide a good research environment became his only path. Conveniently, Elus appeared on Punk Hazard, sparing him the dilemma of approaching the Four Emperors or Seven Warlords.
Becoming a subordinate of Elus, the fifth Overlord of the New World, was actually pretty good! Aside from the new boss’s habit of punching people, there was nothing to nitpick.
“That lazy bum······”
Elus cursed, then sighed helplessly, “Never mind him. Caesar, take me to your lab and show me that poison gas of yours.” He didn’t waste more words on the lazy Kappas. Sleeping a lot wasn’t a flaw or Devil Fruit side effect for Kappas; it was just his nature.
But despite Kappas’s lifelong sleepy personality, he never failed Elus’s assigned tasks.
“Your Highness, are we going to war with someone?”
Caesar got excited.
This bully who feared the strong lacked the guts for brutal wars himself but loved seeing them erupt. His personality was twisted to the extreme, evident from his enthusiasm for developing mass-killing weapons like poison gas.
“What are you thinking? Now’s not the time to start a war.”
Elus rolled his eyes.
The Eckmond Kingdom was currently in a high-speed development phase. The maritime transport network covering the New World and Paradise was bringing him massive wealth and supplies. The sea train connecting twenty-seven islands was still under construction. Starting a war now would only be a hindrance.
After all,
Honestly, aside from the Four Emperors, no faction in the New World could challenge the Eckmond Kingdom anymore. That meant any war the Eckmond Kingdom started now would be a super war against the Four Emperors, which wasn’t what Elus wanted.
“And your chatter is too much! These aren’t things for you to worry about.”
Elus coldly glanced at Caesar leading the way ahead, scaring him into shrinking his neck and not daring to ask more, obediently leading Elus to the isolated poison gas lab under multiple layers of seals.
Behind the transparent reinforced glass window, the released thick deep-purple poison gas quickly filled the entire room. The previously thrown-in hamster, turkey, goat, and a tied-up criminal quickly lost their vital signs under the poison gas assault.
Elus stood outside the window, quietly observing the power of this H2S poison gas.
He came specifically to see this not for war. He planned to sell it to support the Revolutionary Army resisting the World Government and Celestial Dragons’ brutal rule. The Eckmond Kingdom was still developing, but the Revolutionary Army was already substantial. Plus, during his time on Fish-Man Island, he had personally told Dragon they could do some business.
Perfect timing,
A Revolutionary Army emissary had appeared before him a couple days ago.
So he personally escorted the supply materials to the research institute today.
