Chapter 155: Take Them
Caelan looked at Caesar, who was drenched in sweat and growing increasingly pale, and said with a smile, "Hand over the fruit Vegapunk was researching."
"Huh? You want that one? It's just a failure!"
Hearing Caelan's words, Caesar's eyes widened in disbelief.
He knew very well that Vegapunk's Devil Fruit had been labeled a failure.
That was Vegapunk's own assessment.
"Failure? The artificial Devil Fruits you developed were all plagiarized from that "failure.'"
Caelan sneered at him.
You're still experimenting with artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruits that cause users to lose all emotions except smiling. They might even endanger your life.
And after such a steep price, the abilities granted aren't even as good as standard Zoan-types. They're far inferior to Ancient or Mythical types.
The Devil Fruit Vegapunk left behind is an almost perfect replica of Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit. The only difference is the color. Calling it a failure is absurd.
The humility of a genius isn't an excuse for others to ridicule his work.
But there was no point in explaining this to Caesar.
Caesar's twisted face flushed red with frustration. Veins bulged across his forehead as he retorted, "Plagiarism? Since when is scientific research called plagiarism? I just improved on his results! At most, I borrowed a little from him!"
Then he began rattling off phrases like "carry forward and enhance," "build on past research," and other jargon that made little sense.
This made Caelan and the others laugh. For a moment, the entire surveillance room was filled with laughter.
Compared to Caelan's calm demeanor, this was the sort of chaotic energy that seemed fitting for a top scientist.
After the laughter died down, Nami and the other women were once again stunned.
"Artificial Devil Fruits... There's actually technology like this?"
"That's a sacred treasure of the seas, something everyone desires but few ever obtain!"
"Even the most basic ones go for a hundred million Berries!"
The women looked at Caesar in disbelief.
A Devil Fruit, something that grants immense power... can it really be manufactured?
For a moment, Nami and the others felt like the world had been turned upside down.
Gion, however, wasn't all that surprised. As an admiral candidate, she was already aware that Vegapunk of the Marines' scientific division had made breakthroughs in this area.
With a serious expression, Gion understood the implications more deeply.
The mass production of artificial Devil Fruits could destabilize the entire world.
Caesar Clown was already capable of mass-producing them and had even been supplying them to Doflamingo and Kaido.
With these fruits, it was possible to form an entire army of Devil Fruit users.
An army like that would be unbelievably powerful.
What made it worse was that Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had partnered with Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, and delivered these artificial fruits to him.
She didn't even dare to imagine what someone as battle-crazed as Kaido would do with an army like that.
Fortunately, they had found Caesar early. There was still time to stop it.
"Heh, now you realize just how amazing I am, huh?"
Caesar noticed the shocked expressions of the women and felt secretly pleased.
Compared to Caelan's cold indifference, the people around him clearly understood his brilliance.
"Caesar, hand over Vegapunk's fruit."
Caelan stared at Caesar and spoke in a firm voice.
"I... I put that Devil Fruit in my lab. I can go retrieve it for you!"
Startled out of his smugness, Caesar cautiously offered.
"No need. Just tell me where it is."
Caelan immediately turned him down.
He had no intention of letting Caesar play any tricks.
"It's in Lab 302, Building A. You can monitor it from here."
Left with no other choice, Caesar told him honestly.
"Alright, got it." Caelan nodded slightly, then looked at Gion. "Go retrieve it."
"Fine, I'm on it."
Gion rolled her eyes but left anyway.
She already suspected that the Devil Fruit Caelan wanted was probably meant for Kalifa.
Did he send her so Kalifa couldn't deny it later?
"By the way, do you have any artificial Devil Fruits stored here?"
Caelan asked Caesar again.
He had no use for them himself, but they could fetch a high price.
"Yes, in the storage room on the second floor of Building B."
"There are five of them. All newly made. They haven't been handed over to Doflamingo yet."
Caesar answered truthfully.
At that moment, Monet became flustered and quickly interjected, "Those are important resources that our young master intends to trade with Kaido! If you take them, it'll bring trouble!"
Those fruits were part of a crucial deal with Kaido. If taken, her young master would be in serious danger.
"Oh." Caelan nodded casually, then turned and said, "Tashigi, Kalifa, you two go get them."
He wasn't just taking the Devil Fruits. He was taking Caesar Clown too.
"Understood."
Tashigi and Kalifa nodded and quickly left.
Are the Seven Warlords of the Sea really that powerful?
So far, Caelan had defeated Crocodile, subdued Gecko Moria, and won over Empress Hancock. Sea Knight Jinbe and Fish-Man Island had also joined his forces.
That meant four of the Seven Warlords had already been dealt with. What was one more Doflamingo?
As for Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, he was indeed a threat worthy of caution.
But since Caelan had already made up his mind, they would support him unconditionally.
"You, you people…"
Monet watched as Nami and Vivi walked off, her heart burning with anger.
These people didn't take her young master seriously at all.
She wanted to fight back for her young master's dignity, but she felt utterly powerless.
In the face of this new emperor, the young master she had always admired seemed so small and helpless.
"Tashigi, Gion, check around and see if this great scientist has any other valuable things stashed away."
Caelan instructed them again.
"Alright, we'll get on it."
Nami nodded with a serious look and left with Vivi.
It really was worth searching this base carefully. Who knows what other treasures might be hidden here?
(To be continued.)
Chapter 156: Scientists Are Not the Same
In the monitoring room, only Caelan, Monet, and Caesar were left.
Monet kept glancing cautiously at Caelan, still concerned about her young master.
Caesar Clown, meanwhile, looked at Caelan with a flattering smile, his expression full of awkward charm.
"What… what are you planning to do with me?"
Caesar rubbed his hands together, asking cautiously.
It was clear that this man didn't come here with good intentions. There was no way he came all this way just for a few Devil Fruits.
Caelan stared at Caesar and fell into thought.
This guy was indeed a top-level scientist, but his approach to research was completely wrong.
Poison gas weapons are useless against powerful enemies. They can only kill weaker targets—and even then, the collateral damage is enormous.
After their use, the surrounding environment is turned into a dead zone.
Even in war, weapons like that are useless.
After all, isn't war fought for territory and people?
If you use poison gas and kill all the people while rendering the land uninhabitable, then what's the point of fighting?
No wonder Vegapunk shut down Caesar's research. Even the World Government doesn't want to fund him anymore.
Caesar's only real value lies in the artificial Devil Fruits he developed.
But even those have serious flaws. The Marines already possess Vegapunk's high-end, perfected artificial Zoan Devil Fruit models.
Compared to that, Caesar is practically useless.
And as for Caesar's self-proclaimed scientific prowess? Also worthless.
On the Marine side, Vegapunk is researching the "Mother Flame," which looks like nuclear fusion, and he's already created Seraphim with vice admiral-level strength.
Not to mention whatever other inventions have yet to be revealed—just the value of the Pacifistas alone leaves Caesar in the dust.
Caesar's artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruits can raise a user's strength to roughly that of a rear admiral at best—and that's under ideal conditions.
They're slow to produce, expensive, and have serious side effects.
Meanwhile, Vegapunk's Pacifistas already have power comparable to the lower-tier Seven Warlords of the Sea. Just one beam attack from their mouths could probably wipe out two artificial Zoan users.
In comparison, Caesar loses instantly to Vegapunk.
"As expected of the world's number one scientist…"
Thinking about how amazing Vegapunk was, Caelan couldn't help but sigh.
That man alone is worth more than the entire Marine force, including the admirals and fleet admiral.
What an incredible talent!
I must steal him for myself one day!
"The world's number one scientist?!"
Caesar was stunned when he heard this.
He beamed with pride, his smile stretching from ear to ear as he raised his chin slightly.
"I was talking about Vegapunk. Not you."
Caelan rolled his eyes and spoke bluntly.
How can this guy be so shameless?
Compared to Vegapunk, Caesar isn't even worthy of being called a hair on his head.
"You!"
Caesar's face turned red with rage and humiliation.
A man can be defeated, but not insulted!
Caelan had just openly slapped him in the face!
Enraged, Caesar let out a cold snort and turned his head away, ignoring Caelan.
Monet, standing beside him, finally let out a breath of relief. Although Caelan clearly looked down on Caesar, at least the Donquixote Family wasn't being dismissed altogether.
"Tch, what a temper."
Seeing Caesar still acting so arrogantly, Caelan sneered and kicked him hard.
He's a prisoner. What right did he have to act tough?
Caesar rolled on the ground and scrambled back up, now covered in dust. "I'm sorry, I offended you just now."
It was clearly Caelan who had humiliated him, but Caesar still had to be the one to apologize.
If it had been anyone else, they might have chosen to fight to the death right then and there.
But Caesar wasn't that kind of person. He didn't care about dignity. He only cared about staying alive.
Even though he felt incredibly wronged, Caesar still forced a smile at Caelan. "Caelan-sama, how do you plan to deal with me?"
"I'm going to auction you off."
Caelan looked at Caesar, deep in thought.
"Auction me?! Caelan-sama, you're joking, right?!"
Caesar shrieked in disbelief, stunned beyond words.
Monet also froze on the spot, completely dumbfounded.
"I'm not joking. You'd fetch a decent price."
Caelan looked at Caesar and confirmed his intentions.
Caesar Clown's research was like chicken ribs—tasteless to eat but wasteful to discard.
Even if he were allowed to keep making Devil Fruits to sell, the profits would come in slowly and require far too much effort.
It was better to sell him off for a large sum of Berries.
Since he can mass-produce artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruits, the underground world would be very interested. Even the Revolutionary Army and the World Government might bid for him.
Sure, the World Government already has Vegapunk and more advanced technology—but they won't want to let Caesar fall into someone else's hands.
Getting more than 2 billion Berries for him shouldn't be a problem.
As for helping the enemy?
That's not even worth worrying about.
More importantly, only the Tontatta Tribe can grow the raw materials needed to produce artificial Devil Fruits.
As long as Caelan controls the Tontatta, anyone else trying to manufacture artificial Devil Fruits will still be under his thumb.
He could even become a supplier of raw materials and make some passive income.
Just thinking about it made the plan sound great!
Of course, all of this would happen after he conquered Dressrosa.
So, Doflamingo, that's one more reason for me to crush you.
Caelan's eyes hardened, as if he could already see through the walls of the lab and gaze upon Dressrosa in the distance.
At this moment, Monet and Caesar finally recovered from their shock.
"Caelan-sama, if you do this, Kaido will definitely come after you!"
Monet looked at him nervously.
She didn't really care whether Kaido would beat Caelan or not. In fact, she kind of hoped Kaido would kill the guy.
The real issue was that Caesar was a critical partner for Doflamingo and the linchpin of his cooperation with Kaido. Losing him would be disastrous.
"Let him come. I'll be waiting."
Caelan curled his lips slightly, exuding overwhelming confidence.
In the Sabaody Archipelago, Rayleigh had taught him the theory of Conqueror's Haki Entanglement and the flow of Armament Haki, Ryuo.
After training, he had already mastered Ryuo.
If Kaido came, it would be the perfect chance to experience the style of the world's strongest creature firsthand.
"So domineering…"
Monet felt her heart grow bitter as she stared blankly at Caelan.
There really was nothing she could do against a man this overbearing.
She had tried everything to shake him, but when even Kaido couldn't scare him, what more could she do?
At the same time, Caesar was starting to feel more determined. He absolutely refused to accept being sold like cargo.
If he were sold, he'd be locked away in some dark, cramped room and forced to mass-produce artificial Devil Fruits day and night.
Forget about relaxing or squandering research funds on personal indulgences. That kind of life was unthinkable.
Looking at Caelan, Caesar's fighting spirit was reignited.
He had to show Caelan his worth.
Make this short-sighted guy take back everything he said!
(To be continued.)