"It worked! All parameters are perfect!"
The surrounding scientists erupted into cheers, dancing with excitement.
Tenma nodded in satisfaction. He handed the recorded footage to Robin, then fixed Caesar with a deep, unreadable gaze.
"Now that this thing exists, it's time to add a bit of… seasoning."
He hadn't been idle these past few years. With absurdly good luck, he had obtained the Kibi Kibi no Mi.
Its combat power was mediocre at best, but its beast-taming ability was downright bug-level.
He had given that power to the person most loyal to him—Nokigo.
Inside the restricted research zone.
Five- or six-year-old Nokigo stood obediently at Tenma's side. After hearing the instruction, she raised her little hand and gently pinched her rosy cheek.
With a soft pop, a squishy dango was pinched off.
"T-This is…?"
The scientists crowded around curiously.
"Just watch."
Tenma tossed the dango to the still-rampaging bull-headed monster.
The ferocious creature, moments ago brimming with murderous intent, instantly turned docile after swallowing it. It padded over and rubbed against Nokigo's feet like a wagging puppy.
"Shurorororo! This ability is totally unfair!"
Caesar trembled with excitement, instantly grasping the point.
"Lord Tenma, are you planning to plant landmines inside those Zoan users?!"
"Exactly. But the dango's duration is only one month—too short."
Tenma gestured for Nokigo to act again.
This time, with some effort, Nokigo squeezed out a micro-dango, no larger than a grain of rice, from her arm.
"This is the problem I want you to solve—the hidden dango."
Tenma pinched the tiny pellet between his fingers, cold light flashing in his eyes.
"I want you to perfectly integrate it into the SMILE fruits. It will lie dormant inside the body, and the moment it receives Nokigo's command, it will erupt instantly—turning anyone who ate the fruit into our absolutely loyal puppets!"
"Even if it only lasts a few days, at a critical moment, that's enough to decide the outcome of an entire war!"
"Especially against Kaido's Beasts Pirates…"
Just imagining that future scene nearly made Caesar choke with excitement. He thumped his chest and swore he'd get it done.
For the next month, the laboratory lights burned day and night.
Under Caesar's leadership, the scientists worked around the clock, finally succeeding in splicing the hidden dango's components into the SMILE's genetic sequence.
At the same time, the Tontatta Tribe began large-scale cultivation in the Fairy Forest.
With those born geniuses of agriculture on the job, SMILE production skyrocketed as if riding a rocket.
Everything was ready.
Tenma picked up a Den Den Mushi directly linked to Onigashima and casually transmitted the experimental footage.
"Buru buru buru—"
Click.
"Well? Kaido—are you satisfied with this little gift of mine?"
There was a two-second silence on the other end—then a burst of wild laughter.
"Wororororo! Tenma! You didn't disappoint me! I can't wait anymore!"
Even through the receiver, Kaido's barely contained greed was palpable.
"The first batch has about eighteen fruits. Add in that finished bull-man as a bonus. Package deal—one billion Beli. Fair price, yeah?"
"One billion? Pocket change! As long as the goods are solid, money's no issue!"
Kaido answered boldly. To a Yonko, one billion Beli was nothing.
Nothing mattered more than building the Beasts Pirates of his dreams.
As for the side effects on the failures?
Hah. Who cared if trash laughed for the rest of their lives?
In a world where the strong devour the weak, power was everything.
"How long do I have to wait?! My kanabo is already starving!"
Kaido's roar made the Den Den Mushi tremble.
"To cultivate a fully stable fruit, you'll need at least another half year."
Tenma smiled, casually making a calming gesture.
"This is our first shipment. You know the saying—haste makes waste. You wouldn't want me to dump a pile of half-baked junk on you, right?"
At this pace, the first truly usable batch wouldn't be ready until around Year 1507 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
Perfectly aligned with the "five-year promise" Tenma had drawn up long ago.
Kaido snorted, tacitly accepting it, with no intention of arguing further.
He tipped back a gulp of liquor and said gruffly, "The one billion's ready. The moment I see the goods, the money hits your vault."
"Money's not the issue. But this time, we're changing the rules."
Tenma leaned back in his chair, smiling.
"The middleman—the errand runner—gets replaced."
Kaido raised an eyebrow.
"Hoh? Changing the middleman? Wasn't it always that shady bastard Umit handling things?"
After all, all their previous under-the-table arms deals had gone through the so-called "Shipping King" Umit.
In the New World, with its long routes and tangled powers, you needed an old hand to make things work.
"Switching is a done deal. Arms dealing is profitable, sure—but compared to artificial Devil Fruits, it's small potatoes."
Tenma spoke leisurely, full of confidence.
Kaido might be crazy, but he wasn't stupid. He understood most of it.
As the biggest buyer, he knew better than anyone the strategic value of artificial Devil Fruits.
Before his power fully swelled, keeping this secret tightly sealed was absolutely necessary.
Kaido slammed his gourd onto the floor.
"So—who's the new middleman you've got your eye on?"
"Donquixote Doflamingo."
Tenma softly spoke the name.
"The string-playing brat from the North Blue?"
Kaido's disdain was obvious.
"That's a heavy burden. Can his scrawny shoulders carry it?"
"Anyone who can unify most of the underworld in the North Blue's cesspool has at least some real ability."
Tenma explained calmly—of course, he didn't reveal all the calculations in his head.
Beyond Doflamingo's competence, doing him this favor mattered even more because of his special background.
A former Celestial Dragon… and a Marine mole named Rosinante at his side.
With those two cards in hand, Tenma could naturally use Kaido as a springboard.
When the time came, SMILE would spread like a virus.
Calendar pages tore away one by one, and in the blink of an eye, it was already mid–1506.
The legendary Fire Festival was drawing closer by the day.
All of Wano Country was like a finely wound machine, bustling nonstop in preparation for the grand event.
This time, it wasn't some small, internal celebration.
Tenma was planning something big.
Imitating Big Mom's practice of sending invitations far and wide, he used this special occasion to cast invitations across the entire New World.
This was Wano's first true show of muscle to the outside world.
First—to display its wealth and strength, intimidating the wavering powers of the New World.
Second—to use the opportunity to spread Wano's influence like a spiderweb, gradually turning the Fire Festival into a top-tier social circle on par with the Tea Party.
Every town was busy with preparations, especially the Flower Capital, which was lively beyond belief.
At the same time, gilded Fire Festival invitations were delivered—through the ghostlike skills of the Shadow Guards—to the desks of every major figure in the New World.
Without a doubt, this was about to become the most explosive headline of the season.
People couldn't help but wonder—besides the immovable Tea Party, it seemed the Fire Festival would now become another annual spectacle.
One had to admire it: these two Yonkos really knew how to play the game—each claiming one massive yearly event, milking it in every possible way.
And judging by the early momentum alone, Wano's Fire Festival looked even more ferocious than Totto Land's Tea Party.
Of course, that was just surface excitement.
The invitation from the Flying General—no one knew how different it really was from Big Mom's infamous "attend or die" clause.
But no one dared gamble their head on the consequences of refusing.
Especially when Wano had been thriving in the New World these past few years, with profits so high they were frightening.
Any underworld boss who had worked with them had walked away filthy rich.
And more importantly—this was Yonko Tenma's debut performance.
Being personally invited by such a young emperor was like having your name circled in the Book of the Dead.
Who would dare refuse?
Thus, just like before the Tea Party, the heads of major underground powers began clearing their schedules, preparing to attend an event that absolutely could not be missed.
Of course—where some rejoiced, others suffered.
Certain factions held the invitations with faces dark as thunderclouds.
On Cake Island, inside the fairy-tale castle, Charlotte Linlin's roar shook dust from the ceiling.
"That bastard! Is he doing this on purpose to disgust me?!"
"Burn that damn letter! Burn it to ashes!"
"Yes, Mama!"
Her children trembled and obeyed at once.
…
Elsewhere, some factions frowned deeply as they stared at their invitations.
In the North Blue, inside a mansion bearing the Donquixote Family crest, the atmosphere was suffocating.
More than a dozen core members sat around a long conference table, all wearing grim expressions.
The reason for this emergency meeting lay in the letter clenched in Doflamingo's hand.
The glaring crest of Wano Country stabbed at their eyes.
Doflamingo sat at the head of the table, fingers tapping rhythmically on the surface.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Each sound struck directly at their hearts.
Only after chewing over every word of the letter did Doflamingo finally exhale.
"Looks like we've caught the attention of a big shot from the New World."
The moment those words fell, more than half the room paled.
Rosinante snapped his head up, staring at the invitation with a complicated gaze.
"Is it really that legendary Flying General, Doffy?!"
The tall, lanky Diamante blurted out, his voice cracking.
"The Fire Festival that's been making waves?"
Even though they were still holed up in the North Blue and hadn't formally entered the New World—
Through their intel network, they were fully aware of every tremor over there.
This was Wano's unprecedented opening to the outside world—and an invitation personally issued by Yonko Tenma.
"But I heard it's a gathering for top-tier New World players. Why would they specifically reach into our backwater North Blue?"
Senor Pink raised the question in his muffled voice.
At that, Trebol's perpetually snot-covered face twisted as his imagination ran wild.
"Could it be they want to butcher us like pigs—just like that crazy woman Big Mom?!"
"Lots of people went to that cursed Tea Party and ended up forced into signing their lives away, becoming that monster's slaves!"
"Ne! Ne! Doffy! Maybe we should just pretend we never saw this letter and not go!"
Used to being a local emperor in the North Blue, Trebol genuinely didn't want to risk everything.
If they ruined their comfortable lives, it would be a tragedy.
"Yeah, young master. Trebol's got a point. We should play it safe."
Senor Pink and several other officers echoed him.
They might run wild in the North Blue, but in the eyes of a Yonko, they were nothing more than slightly bigger grasshoppers.
When a grasshopper got invited to dine with an elephant—anyone would suspect something fishy.
With Trebol leading the charge, fear spread around the table like a plague.
Everyone chimed in, urging the still-silent Doflamingo.
If Tenma could see this scene, he'd probably laugh helplessly.
What he considered a supreme honor had, because of its uniqueness, instead terrified the naturally suspicious Donquixote Family.
"No. There's no room for discussion. We're going."
After several minutes of silence, Doflamingo suddenly raised his head, his gaze behind the sunglasses heavy and sharp.
"If you treat this like Big Mom's Tea Party, then you should understand even better what happens when you refuse an emperor."
"Maybe his hand can't immediately reach into the North Blue and strangle us—but all he needs is to say one word, and our family's business will be completely crippled!"
More importantly—if they backed down now, their dream of entering the New World would shatter forever.
Doflamingo's ambition went far beyond ruling the North Blue.
Besides, he figured it out: sooner or later, they'd have to face monsters like these.
This just moved the timeline up a little.
"Besides, don't scare yourselves. Tenma isn't like Big Mom, who scoops everything into her basket."
"He's extremely selective. Up to now, all the forces that have truly joined Wano wouldn't even fill ten ships!"
"There are plenty of people in the New World with louder reputations than us. Maybe he just has some small business in the North Blue and wants to borrow our hands."
"And think about it—who's attending this festival? All of them are New World predators!"
"What do we lack right now? Isn't it exactly a ticket into that top-tier circle?!"
After Doflamingo laid it out like that, it actually started to make sense.
The Donquixote Family's gloom lifted noticeably, and the atmosphere revived.
Seeing morale stabilize, Doflamingo immediately began issuing orders.
"Enough standing around. Dig out our best treasures."
"If we're meeting that big shot, a shabby gift won't cut it. If we can satisfy him, who knows—we might get returns beyond imagination!"
Time, as always, slipped by unnoticed.
In the blink of an eye, the Fire Festival was only days away.
Thanks to early coordination, Wano Country was already adorned with lanterns and decorations, brimming with festive cheer.
That prosperity spread like oil poured on flames, igniting the entire nation.
Food stalls lined every street, their aromas drifting for miles.
Unlike previous years, however, a massive open area had been cleared along the Flower Capital's central avenue.
This zone connected directly to the Shogun's Castle plaza and was designated as the VIP area.
Even the grand opera stage had been relocated to the high steps of the plaza.
Over the past few days, invited ships had begun arriving one after another, passing strict inspections through the hidden ports.
Guided carefully, these guests avoided deadly whirlpools and waterfalls, docking safely within Wano's internal harbors.
Transportation from regions like Kuri to the Flower Capital had also been upgraded.
Floating yachts equipped with electric boosters became the primary means of transport.
Guests were treated to a god's-eye view of the mysterious nation from the sky.
"So this is the legendary Wano Country? The scale is incredible!"
Many of the invitees were first-time visitors.
Seated aboard the floating craft, watching the scenery rush by outside the windows, they were left slack-jawed in awe.
Below them, crowds flowed like woven fabric; towns were laid out in orderly layers, rich with exotic charm.
In the distance, massive entertainment cities, heavily guarded military bases, and high-tech research facilities came into view.
This was nothing like Cake Island, where everything was sweets and the air itself seemed coated in sugar.
Compared to Totto Land's cloying, artificial fairy tale, this festival radiated raw enthusiasm—and openly displayed, jaw-dropping hard power.
Upon reaching the Flower Capital's core, the sense of shock intensified.
To receive these distinguished guests, a palace complex had been built encircling the Shogun's Castle.
Like a coiling dragon, it linked together the capital's most prosperous commercial districts.
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