"Damn it, I'm being underestimated again and again!"
Who the heck is Chin Jao anyway? He thought this time the enemy would be at least a Tyson, if not a Taro, but it turned out to be a Teddy Bear. Is a guy like that even worthy of causing him trouble? This was truly annoying.
Umit on the other end of the phone naturally didn't know the anger brewing in his Boss's heart. He just seriously said, "Chin Jao is a great pirate with a bounty over 500 million. He should be heading towards my headquarters now. I'm sorry, Boss, I don't have the strength to deal with him."
Hmm. Indeed, while Chin Jao seemed like a small fry to him—what more could be said about a guy Garp could one-shot? As for Garp practicing his punches on eight mountains to defeat him, wasn't it possible that Garp just enjoyed hammering things in his daily training?
However, this "small fry" was only in comparison to himself. For the vast majority of people on the high seas, a guy like Chin Jao was a genuine monster-level threat. In an era where bounties hadn't completely inflated yet, a bounty of 500 million was definitely the level of a future Calamity or Sweet Commander-level expert. Even looking across the entire world, one might not find two hundred individuals of Chin Jao's caliber. Ranking among the top two hundred powerhouses in the world, that instantly boosted his prestige.
"Understood," Roa nodded. "I'll make a trip over." He had nothing else to do anyway, might as well find some entertainment.
"You're truly too kind!" Umit was overwhelmed with gratitude. "Someone of your stature actually made time for me amidst your busy schedule!"
"A Boss naturally has a Boss's responsibilities." Roa said profoundly, his voice still a bit crisp as he was going through puberty. Umit couldn't afford to have anything happen to him; the company's transportation and sales now entirely depended on him.
"Yes, sir!"
So, the course was set, and the large snails rumbled towards Umit's base.
Two days later.
In the center of the snail fleet, several large snails had combined to form a massive platform. On this platform, Bullet and King were enthusiastically sparring. Bullet wasn't using his Devil Fruit ability, merely wrapping his arms in pitch-black Haki. King had entered his Tengu form, wielding a pitch-black blade and continuously clashing with Bullet's fists.
A year had passed, and both had grown stronger. King had successfully mastered Observation Haki, and his Armament Haki: Hardening was already very proficient. Bullet, the same age as Roa, was also in a rapid growth phase. His already monstrous physique, a natural gift, had grown even stronger over the year, and his control over Haki and his abilities had advanced further. It was a shame, though, perhaps because his Armament Haki was too abnormal and difficult to control, he hadn't yet mastered flowing Armament Haki.
The clash between the two young men was surprisingly impactful; each collision of fist and blade caused the large snails below to tremble slightly.
Nearby, a panting Doflamingo watched them with some envy. These two guys had become even more terrifying. Damn it! How am I supposed to catch up to that bastard Bullet if this keeps up! Doflamingo still hadn't forgotten how that bastard Bullet had tormented him back then.
"Break time's over," Dylan stood before Doflamingo, raising his right hand and beckoning him. "Continue."
"Damn it!" As Doflamingo scrambled to his feet, he saw Roa leisurely reclining on a lounge chair at the edge of the platform, slowly cleaning the red blade. Although he occasionally saw Roa training his Haki, he never saw him doing physical training. That bastard Roa, his abilities are too much like cheating!
Unaware of Doflamingo's resentment, Roa merely hummed a tuneless melody, continuously pouring Haki into his beloved blade, Tohko. A few months ago, Judge's research into Shusui finally yielded some results; he successfully discovered the essence of a black blade. Ultimately, a black blade was simply a renowned blade that underwent another forging process on top of its original form. However, this time, the forging wasn't done with fire and iron, but with the wielder's Haki and will.
In this world, willpower was a tangible force; Life Return was a manifestation of this power, and those moments of power-ups in desperate situations were also the result of willpower at work. Continuously forging a renowned blade with these two powers, thereby fundamentally altering the blade at a microscopic level and leaving an indelible mark—that was a black blade. Besides its fundamental hardness, Judge speculated that a black blade, in the hands of its true master, should unleash a unique power. Roa was truly looking forward to it. However, this process seemed to be quite lengthy. Perhaps intense battles with powerful enemies would speed up the process?
While he was still forging his blade, Judge excitedly ran over. This Germa King, who once paid great attention to his appearance and looked impeccably dressed, now, a year later, had a beard reaching his chest, dark circles under his eyes, and looked utterly disheveled.
"Boss! It's finished!" Judge presented a small canister to Roa like a treasure. "My conceived Raid Suit!"
"Oh?" Roa showed some interest. "It's finally done?" He still had a strong impression of the Vinsmoke family's Raid Suits from the original story. Combined with the Germa siblings' unique Lineage Factors, they provided a considerable boost to combat power.
"What kind of functions does it have?"
"The most basic function is providing defense that can easily withstand bullets and cannons!" Judge said excitedly. "Even our heavy artillery is no match for it!"
Then, he added, "As long as the parts not covered by armor aren't hit."
Then how does it withstand heavy artillery? Roa rolled his eyes.
"In addition, it also provides significant physical enhancement," Judge continued to explain. "Strength, speed, agility—all can be boosted!"
"I've also equipped the Raid Suit with specialized electromagnetic weapons. In terms of offensive power, it shouldn't be lacking either."
"Is that so?" Roa nodded lightly. "Then let's test it out." He looked back, his gaze slowly settling on Doflamingo. "Doffy, you're up."
"Huh?" Doflamingo, who was clashing fiercely with Dylan, turned back in bewilderment.
A moment later, Doflamingo was covered in a golden, skintight battle suit, complete with a hood that covered his head and a mask that concealed his face, with an inexplicably attached cape draped over his shoulders. His feet were clad in boots with jet nozzles on the heels, and his hands wore gloves. A weapon hung on the outside of each thigh: a small stick on his left leg and a pistol on his right. Overall, his appearance was already quite similar to the future Raid Suits. Only, the functionalities were still quite lacking.
"Not bad!" Doflamingo moved his body in place, bouncing around, and his grin gradually widened. "I like it!"
"Don't just like it, let's test its defensive capabilities first," Roa tilted his head. "King."
"Yes, Boss." King smiled and stepped closer.
"What do you mean, 'test its defensive capabilities'?" A sudden ominous premonition swelled in Doflamingo's heart. Wasn't testing about him experiencing it and then giving feedback?
"Here it comes, Doffy." Although Doflamingo heard King's voice, he couldn't react to his speed at all. He just felt his vision black out as he was directly kicked away.
"Oh! Not bad." Roa nodded in satisfaction. If not for the Raid Suit's defense, King's kick would have been enough to shatter Doflamingo's bones. But after putting on the Raid Suit, Doflamingo landed heavily, then scrambled back to his feet as if nothing happened. "Hey! King! Are you trying to kill me?!"
King didn't answer, merely flicked his finger, and a ball of flame directly blasted onto Doflamingo's body.
"Boom!" The flames exploded, and Doflamingo was once again blasted away, his screams echoing in the air.
"Bastard! You're not done yet, are you?!" Doflamingo gnashed his teeth in anger as he scrambled back up. King merely shrugged innocently. "That's Boss's order."
Doflamingo glanced at Roa, and his body, tensed with anger, instantly relaxed.
"Continue, test the amplification and the power of the weapons," Roa said.
So the testing continued. One could say Judge's excitement was justified. The Raid Suit directly increased Doflamingo's strength and speed by several times, finally giving him the appearance of an expert. The two electromagnetic weapons equipped also had decent power; the small stick was an electromagnetic sword that could extend and cut through steel like mud once electromagnetism was activated. The bullets fired by the electromagnetic gun were even more powerful than a heavy cannon. All in all, for Doflamingo, this Raid Suit was indeed a significant upgrade.
"But it doesn't seem to be of much use to us," Dylan calmly stated. The Raid Suit's stat boosts were fixed; while they could increase Doflamingo's strength severalfold, for them, it was truly negligible. As for defense and offense, there was even less to say; for those who had mastered Armament Haki, it was just scraps.
"It's enough for Doffy," King said with a smile.
"He'd better wear it all the time and not take it off," Bullet said expressionlessly. "Otherwise, if he encounters an enemy, we won't even know how he died." He had always had little fondness for Doflamingo, who was always a drag. Dylan was a senior and not weak, and King, after eating his Devil Fruit, was almost comparable in strength to him. But this Doflamingo guy, what right did he have to be compared to him?
These two bastards! Doflamingo gritted his teeth in anger. He was truly being looked down upon!
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't bully a young man in poverty! Just wait!
"So, Boss," Judge said with some disappointment, "is it not useful after all?"
"No, it's very useful!" Roa said with a smile. "While we don't need it, it's very suitable for the Yoki (Dependent Ghosts/Wailing Ghosts) to use." Among a crowd of Choki (Mourning Ghosts), very few could use Haki. Most Yoki were mere mortals, and also mindless, a single stray bullet could take their lives. However, with this Raid Suit, it would be different.
"Can it be mass-produced?" Roa asked.
"It's somewhat difficult, but it can be overcome!" Judge's spirits instantly soared, and he puffed out his chest, responding loudly.
"Excellent!" Roa nodded in satisfaction. Speaking of Yoki, he should be able to expand the scale of the Yoki army this time.
"By the way, how's the cyborg research coming along?" Roa asked about Judge's other research.
"We can officially begin experiments!" Judge quickly replied. "However, the modifications need to be done from the embryonic stage, so I plan to find a wife first, and then use my children as the initial test subjects!"
Geez, Iron S (Iron D), huh? Roa casually said, "Isn't that too long? Just use the latest batch of Artificial Humans as test subjects."
"This—" Judge was stunned. He wanted to revive the Vinsmoke family, so he needed strong children. But to use lowly Artificial Human soldiers as test subjects...
"Think about it, an entire army composed of cyborgs, coupled with your Raid Suits, wouldn't that be interesting?" Roa said with a smile.
Judge paused, then couldn't help but be moved by the future Roa spoke of. If all the cyborgs could reach the level he envisioned, then this cyborg army would be invincible!
"I understand!" Judge nodded solemnly, then added, "Boss, both the Raid Suit and the cyborgs require precious materials. To mass-produce them, a large amount of funding is needed."
"Money?" Roa said indifferently. "Money is certainly not a problem." He wasn't short on money. The weapon trade was a highly profitable industry, and he had already made a fortune in the past year. Not to mention he also had Feld, the loan shark king, as his cash cow.
But then again, one could never have too much money. To mass-produce cyborgs like the Vinsmoke siblings, the current funds might indeed not be enough. So, where could he get more money? Don't say it, but there really was a place. On the hands of the guy he was about to meet next.
A certain sea area in the New World.
A colossal pirate ship rode the waves, rapidly heading towards an island not far away. It was a very peculiar island; from above, its overall shape resembled a crescent moon, with a massive harbor on the inner side, filled with almost countless ships. Outside the harbor were artificially constructed towering walls, emerging from the sea and extending onto the land, surrounding the entire island along the back of the crescent moon.
"This is it! Old Man!" A man shouted back. "This is Umit's base! All the weapons were sent to the West Blue from here!"
"Have we finally arrived?" Heavy footsteps sounded on the deck. A particularly robust man stepped onto the bow. He wore a green cape, and his head was shaped like a tall, pointed cone. This was Chin Jao, the 12th Head of the Happo Navy of the Flower Country, a great pirate with a bounty over 500 million.
Looking at the island not far away, a hint of ferocity flashed in Chin Jao's eyes. In the past year, the enemies of the Flower Country had suddenly acquired a batch of advanced weapons, causing immense casualties to the Flower Country on the battlefield. The king had entrusted him with investigating the origin of those weapons.
Although the Happo Navy was nominally a group of pirates, few knew that they were actually a pirate force secretly cultivated by the Flower Country. And there were seven other official pirate groups like them, essentially early Warlords, which was why the Flower Country was a dominant force in the West Blue.
With the king's personal request, Chin Jao immediately began his investigation. Soon, Chin Jao, who had many connections in the West Blue, had already traced the weapon distributors and then, through them, found Umit's logistics company. So now, Chin Jao had come knocking!
"It's a very strong fortress!" Chin Jao's son, also his subordinate, looked at the island ahead through a telescope. The sturdy high walls and the dense array of cannon muzzles on the battlements made him gasp. "Old Man, what should we do?"
"What should we do?" Chin Jao sneered. "Who do you think I am? Bring the ship closer!"
So the ship drew closer. Then they discovered that the city gate was actually open! Chin Jao was stunned. His son also looked at him blankly. What did this mean?
"Old Man?"
"Who does he think I am! Sail the ship in!"
So, the ship sailed through the gate, entering the interior of the island.