"What about Uncle Queen?"
Ian didn't know what Redfield was thinking. He simply called out.
"Muahahaha! I'm right here!"
Queen immediately squeezed in front of Ian, beaming with pride. "Well? Want to test the special energy I prepared?"
He knew Pluton lacked energy, but he had no idea that Ian had prepared something even more powerful—leveraging Vegapunk and the energy he was developing.
"No."
Ian shook his head.
"Huh?"
Queen froze, incredulous. "What do you mean? Ian, haven't you always had me research this?"
"Because now there's something more important I need you to do, Uncle Queen."
Ian's expression and tone were serious and solemn.
Queen genuinely felt respected, and he patted his chest confidently, saying, "If there's anything, just leave it to me. Don't you trust that I can handle it?"
Ian nodded with relief. "That's great. Then I'll leave it to you to inspect this ship, Uncle Queen."
"I've done a rough inspection, but I can't guarantee that all the key modules are functioning correctly."
A real professional still needs to go through the blueprints carefully and check everything meticulously.
"Ah?"
The Beasts Pirates' chief scientist froze for a moment.
"Also," Ian looked at the ship's surface, marked with the traces of history, "take some time to give this ship a proper cleaning while you're at it."
"You bastard! What do you take me for!"
Uncle Queen immediately flew into a rage! He was a great scientist! Not an inspector, and definitely not a janitor.
"Uncle Queen," Ian's smile never wavered. "This is a captain's order."
Queen's anger instantly froze on his face.
He almost forgot—now the Beasts Pirates were under Ian's command.
This kid was no longer the little brat he could toy with back then. Now he was stronger than Kaido himself—a true monster in every sense.
"I understand!"
Uncle Queen quickly nodded.
"Good."
Ian finally nodded in satisfaction.
"Ian!"
At that moment, Bullet excitedly came over. "Leave this ship to me to operate!"
"Oh?"
Ian's eyes lit up, impressed. "That's a great idea, Bullet."
Although Pluton had formidable firepower, it was still just a ship. Against the Uranus of the World Government, who could soar through the skies, it was a bit too clumsy.
But if Bullet controlled Pluton, it would be a completely different story.
The power of the Clank Fruit would allow him to manipulate the ship as if it were an extension of his own body.
Uranus is a floating city?
Then Pluton could become a Gundam!
Who could be a more fitting pilot for Pluton than Bullet?
"Hahaha!"
Bullet's excitement was evident. "Then just leave it to me!!"
Ian smiled.
As for whether Bullet would harbor any ill intentions after obtaining Pluton, Ian didn't particularly care.
After all these years, whether Bullet truly regarded him as a comrade or not, what difference would it make if he got his hands on Pluton?
Did possessing an ancient weapon automatically mean victory over oneself?
Not necessarily.
Do they even understand the value of a godlike immortal phoenix that ignores attacks combined with the all-destroying flames of annihilation?
And so, the legendary dreadnought Pluton of the ancient weapons came to dock openly and proudly on the shores of Onigashima.
The pirates led by Queen began the final maintenance work on it.
The members of the Beast Pirates had no idea of the ship's true identity; they merely thought that their crew had acquired another large-scale warship.
After all, they had repaired plenty of ships over the years—one more wouldn't make a difference.
Those who truly knew the ship's identity, however, were waiting eagerly, anticipating the extent of power this legendary ancient weapon might possess.
While Uncle Queen started inspecting Pluton, Ian had already located the data on Pluton's energy source. After making a copy, he sent it to Stussy.
The woman had a secret line of contact with Vegapunk, and it had never been discovered over the years. She should be able to quietly deliver the data.
Somewhere in the first half of the Grand Line, a new base of the Navy Science Unit.
The well-camouflaged base gates slowly closed as a warship from Navy Headquarters docked at the internal port.
A man in a yellow-striped suit disembarked, immediately greeted by someone waiting on the dock.
"Yo! Uncle Kizaru! Long time no see!"
A man of average build, wearing a red vest and floral shorts, greeted Kizaru with a cheerful smile.
"Oh, Sentomaru," Seeing the man who had grown up before his eyes, Kizaru's usually inscrutable expression softened into a genuine smile. "How have you been lately?"
"No changes at all,"
Sentomaru complained a little. "Life here is way too boring—every day is the same. If it weren't for having to protect the doctor, I'd really want to join you, Uncle, in the Navy!"
"Haha,"
Kizaru said with a smile. "Once the doctor finishes his research, you can do whatever you want."
"So, how is the doctor's research progressing?"
"Shouldn't take too long, I guess."
Sentomaru walked alongside Kizaru deeper into the base, glancing back as he said, "But what exactly is the government's purpose behind this research?"
"The doctor himself is genuinely happy about it. His greatest dream in life has always been to develop cheap enough energy for everyone in the world to use safely."
"It's just that I don't know what the government plans to do with that energy."
"Let those at the top worry about that."
Kizaru smiled lightly and shared his life philosophy with Sentomaru. "Focus on the work in front of you. Overthinking won't accomplish anything, and it won't make them give us a raise either."
"Uncle Kizaru, you're still as pessimistic as ever."
Sentomaru laughed heartily.
Before long, they had reached the innermost part of the base.
Coincidentally, this was also where the door to Vegapunk's laboratory had been forcefully pushed open.
A man, whose body seemed composed of gas and floated like a ghost, stormed out, still turning to shout loudly,
"Vegapunk, you bastard! You're clearly jealous of my genius ideas! Because of your boring envy, you dared to ignore my plan! Just wait! One day, you'll regret it!"
He continued shouting and cursing, glaring sharply at Sentomaru and Kizaru as he passed by before floating away.
Kizaru sighed, "Caesar really hasn't gotten along with the doctor since forever."
Sentomaru said irritably, "Always coming up with ridiculous schemes. All he does is delay progress."
"If it weren't for him being an old friend of the doctor, he would have been kicked out long ago."
Old friend?
Kizaru smiled. That was something you would never have guessed.
The two entered Vegapunk's laboratory.
The man with the enormous head was struggling over his work at the desk.
"Doctor, the higher-ups sent me again to ask about the progress."
Kizaru raised his voice to catch the man's attention.
He knew very well just how focused the doctor could be when fully immersed in an experiment.
"Huh?"
Vegapunk looked up, a little confused. His eyes lingered on Kizaru's face for a few seconds before he reacted. "Oh! Borsalino?"
"Who else would it be?"
Kizaru smiled.
After all, he was the direct overseer of the Navy's Science Unit.
"Perfect timing!"
Vegapunk finally came fully to his senses, his excitement spilling over as he shouted, "I need more funding, more materials!"
Kizaru's eyes immediately lit up at his words. "So this means your research has made some progress?"
"It's not exactly progress," Vegapunk said, a hint of fervor in his voice, "but I do have a new hypothesis!"
"If this hypothesis is correct, then in at most four or five months, there should be results!"
"That's fantastic!"
Kizaru's expression instantly brightened, a wide grin spreading across his face. "I'll report this to the higher-ups right away!"
Even though it was just routine to check in, he figured he might deserve a bit of credit for it.
Maybe it could even lead to a raise!
Vegapunk smiled, but his gaze unconsciously flicked to a stack of documents lying on a nearby table.
Four or five months?
Who needs that long?
**********
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