Chapter 227: What Right Does He Have to Do the Same Thing as Me?
After the rather abstract welcome ceremony, the exchange between the two sides quickly got down to business.
The technology Wobbegong wanted to understand was not difficult for Queen. After arriving in Wano Country with Kaido, in addition to continuing his virus research, Queen had also dabbled heavily in Wano's local techniques.
Although this country was completely closed off to the outside world—with its culture and lifestyle forming their own isolated, unique systems—its specialized technologies were still in a leading position globally.
After all, across the entire sea, ancient technology was a notoriously difficult aspect to replicate. Vegapunk had also managed to "resurrect" certain technologies through the exhaustive study of ancient texts.
Whether it was the energy source capable of powering the Ancient Weapons, robots possessing self-awareness, or the ability for inanimate objects to consume Devil Fruits—these were all essentially technologies from the era of the Great Kingdom.
To achieve true technological advancement on this sea, one needed not just a brilliant scientist, but a brilliant archaeologist.
"I see. By adjusting the composition of PYROBROIN particles in Seastone through this method, you can artificially increase its 'concentration,' thereby vastly enhancing its suppression effect on Devil Fruit users..."
PYROBROIN was a special substance unique to this world. It didn't just exist abundantly within Seastone; it could also be found naturally in the oceans, rivers, and even the clouds.
It was just that the trace amounts of PYROBROIN naturally present in water droplets weren't enough to physically affect ability users. The massive, hyper-dense concentration of PYROBROIN packed within Seastone was the true source of its power to seal Devil Fruit abilities.
"Alright, enough of that. That's just how Wobbegong is. Once he starts analyzing research data, he gets completely engrossed in it and won't be able to snap out of it for a while," Sebastian interrupted. "What was Kaido's true purpose in asking the Boss for help? You can tell me now."
"There's no rush for that. Big bro Kaido will handle it personally once he gets back. He's an incredibly busy man right now; he has to handle a lot of things himself."
Originally, Kaido would have had Alber to help shoulder some of the administrative workload. Although Alber's personality was quite extreme due to his past experiences, his ability to manage logistics and handle miscellaneous tasks was exceptional.
But now, without Alber—and with Queen frequently displaying his deeply unserious and chaotic side—Kaido naturally couldn't rest easy. With no one truly competent enough to delegate to, he had no choice but to do things himself.
Queen had still notified Kaido of Sebastian and Wobbegong's arrival. Despite his rather abstract appearance and behavior, Queen genuinely possessed formidable scientific prowess and combat strength. If one only looked at the results and ignored his unhinged process, he could actually get things done.
Not long after, Kaido returned to Onigashima.
"Sebastian, you're the one who came? I thought Nereus would make the trip himself. This is a highly interesting matter, after all."
"The Boss doesn't have that much free time to run around. The apprentice from back then is now the boss of his own pirate crew. The times really have changed."
"Urororo! A lot more has changed than just that! Remember to pass a message to Nereus for me: once I'm done dealing with the mess here, I'll go find him to catch up."
Back when Kaido was recruited by Rocks, Sebastian was already a veteran core member under Nereus. If they were ranking strictly by seniority, Sebastian was technically senior to Kaido.
Sebastian's own strength was quite formidable; in Kaido's eyes, he was no nameless weakling. Coupled with the fact that he had a colossal backer like Nereus standing behind him, Sebastian naturally didn't react much to Kaido's words.
"Catch up? Are you planning to challenge the Boss too?"
"Urororo! Is it that obvious?"
"There's already someone like that lately. It's that brat Douglas Bullet from Roger's ship back in the day. But that guy is far more naive. He has absolutely zero understanding of the Boss's true strength."
A naive and ignorant brat—that was Sebastian's evaluation of Bullet. Bullet had never seen Nereus fight at full power. He was completely relying on his own imagination, fueled solely by Roger's single sentence: "He's stronger than me."
"Bullet, huh? I'll remember him..."
At that moment, Kaido's thoughts were essentially: What right does a second-rate punk like him have to do the exact same thing as me?
Kaido wanted to challenge Nereus because he recognized the man's overwhelming, apex might. Even to this day, Kaido knew there was a significant gap between them.
The mere fact that Bullet dared to do the exact same thing he was planning to do was reason enough for Kaido to want to beat him to a bloody pulp.
"Alright, let's put that aside for now. As you can see, this place of mine is still under construction. During the excavation process, my men discovered something peculiar underwater. I need you to do me a favor and investigate exactly what is down there."
Onigashima was currently far from being fully completed. Ongoing construction projects could be seen everywhere.
According to the reports his men brought back, the object submerged underwater might be related to a Poneglyph.
It had already been an entire year since Roger's execution, and two years since he completed his unprecedented voyage. The pirates in Paradise and the Four Blues had no clue how to actually reach Laugh Tale; to them, just surviving long enough to reach the New World was the only thing they needed to worry about.
But the pirates of the New World—especially veterans like Kaido and Big Mom, who had been sailing for a long time and possessed their own vast intelligence networks—had already managed to dig up some crucial clues.
They knew that to achieve that ultimate goal, one first had to locate the Road Poneglyphs.
This was exactly why Kaido chose to seek Nereus's help upon discovering traces of such an object. Investigating something deeply submerged underwater was as easy as reaching into a pocket for a Fish-Man. Not to mention, this was the inland sea of Wano Country, a relatively calm body of water.
After Kaido pointed out the general location, it didn't take Sebastian long to complete the dive. He quickly returned and reported his findings to Kaido.
"A Road Poneglyph?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what it is. Want me to make a rubbing for you? Or should I just haul it up directly?"
"No, leave it for now. I can just have it translated once I gather the other blocks. As for right now... let it sleep quietly underwater."
If he made a rubbing of the text, he'd have to constantly worry about someone stealing it. Kaido hadn't gathered all the pieces yet anyway, so obtaining this single block wouldn't solve the problem.
Just knowing what was down there was more than enough. Given its depth, without the assistance of a Fish-Man or Merfolk, absolutely no one could quietly steal it away.
Leaving it there served as a flawless, natural anti-theft system. At the very least, it wouldn't end up like Charlotte Linlin's, which was blatantly "stolen" right out from under her nose.
As for whether another Fish-Man might try to steal it... currently, every single Fish-Man of any significant renown was strictly under Nereus's command. And if Nereus genuinely wanted to do something, Kaido knew perfectly well he couldn't stop him anyway. Therefore, there was no point in hiding it from Sebastian.
The only people who had accompanied Kaido and Sebastian here were Kaido's absolute trusted confidants. Kaido had no intention of broadcasting this discovery to the world.
For now, he planned to seal this information as a top-secret classified asset of the Beast Pirates. He just needed to assign a few trustworthy men to keep a close eye on the water's surface.
But right at that moment, a pirate wearing horned headgear sprinted over frantically.
"Governor-General Kaido! A pirate crew just breached Wano Country by climbing the outer waterfall! They have currently entered the Ringo region!"
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