"Hehe, serves that fat bastard right for causing trouble every day in the research institute, getting beaten up by Lord Caesar!"
Judge looked at Queen with schadenfreude in his eyes.
Indigo was no exception.
The truth was, Queen was not only gossipy but also restless.
As qualified researchers, being able to endure loneliness and having the patience for repetitive, monotonous experiments was crucial.
But Queen, with his flighty personality, simply wasn't cut out for research work.
Not only did he disrupt experiments conducted by Indigo and others, but his big mouth also kept blabbering nonstop.
If he hadn't shown some intelligence and occasionally provided novel ideas to the team, Indigo would have long complained to Caesar.
Just look - this fat bastard had nothing better to do than modify his own head.
He actually used the blood Caesar gave Indigo to create two demon horns for himself.
He even replaced all his teeth with a mouthful of fangs.
According to Judge, Queen had been telling everyone that he might be Caesar's biological son and could potentially inherit the vast Beast God Pirates empire.
Using this gimmick, he had semi-borrowed, semi-extorted a pile of Berries from many people.
Recently obsessed with playing Beast God cards, most of the extorted Berries ended up in Doflamingo and Crocodile's pockets...
"Are you sure? Just this little thing?"
Caesar glared irritably at the cowering Queen and took the grip strength tester from him.
Queen rubbed the large bump on his forehead and mumbled, "Yes, this is freshly made. I wanted to show it to you first, Caesar-sama. If it works, I'll make a larger one that can test higher Power Level limits."
Caesar held the grip tester in his hand, looking at the connected display screen.
He applied slight pressure with his fingers.
The numbers on the display screen began jumping rapidly.
Queen's small eyes widened in shock, his mouth hanging open.
Those jumping numbers represented Power Levels!
Although some types of power couldn't be uniformly measured by Power Level standards.
For example, Law's Op-Op Fruit could flip warships and mountains.
Within his Room domain, Power Levels couldn't accurately determine his combat capability.
But for Caesar to make the Power Level skyrocket to over 80,000 just by squeezing with one hand was truly terrifying.
When Queen first completed the Power Level tester, he had tested it himself.
When he squeezed the grip tester with full strength, he could only reach just over 30,000.
Caesar continued applying force, veins bulging on his arm as terrifying power gathered.
Queen quickly reached out and shouted, "Caesar-sama, stop! This thing was just made - the Power Level testing limit is 100,000!"
As soon as he finished speaking, they saw the numbers on the display jump and settle at 99999, then stop moving.
"Hiss... What terrifyingly precise control!"
Queen stared in stunned disbelief.
If it had increased just a little more, the tester would have exceeded its bearing limit and exploded directly.
A satisfied smile finally appeared on Caesar's face as he tossed the grip strength tester to Vincent beside him.
"You give it a try."
Vincent fumbled to catch it, imitating Caesar's earlier posture.
He gripped the handles with both hands, gritting his teeth and exerting all his strength.
"Hah!"
With a loud shout, Vincent poured every ounce of his strength into the effort.
The numbers on the display screen kept jumping until they settled at their peak value.
"Not bad."
Caesar offered his evaluation.
This Vincent's strength was roughly equivalent to that of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral.
But that didn't mean he could match a Vice Admiral in combat.
Actual fighting capability needed to be measured through physical skills, Devil Fruit abilities, Haki, and mental fortitude.
Caesar didn't sense any Haki presence in Vincent, so this burly man who achieved a Power Level of 7852 through pure physical strength still had considerable room for improvement.
If he were given a suitable Devil Fruit, his Power Level would likely double or triple without issue.
Though he heard Caesar's praise, Vincent couldn't feel happy about it.
Because like Queen earlier, he had witnessed the terrifying number Caesar casually produced.
'I'm so weak. If only I were stronger, Caesar-sama would think better of me.'
Vincent cursed himself internally for being useless.
Caesar chuckled lightly: "Don't lose heart. There will be an Arena Competition held here in a couple days, and I'll set up some rewards. If you can achieve a good ranking, you might be able to obtain some precious Devil Fruit prizes."
Vincent immediately grew excited, battle intent igniting in his eyes.
"Yes! Caesar-sama, I'll give it my all!"
Caesar retrieved the grip strength tester and tossed it back to Queen.
"Take this back and make a larger one. Place it in the center of this square two days from now. The upper limit for Power Level testing must be sufficiently high—don't let it break easily from someone's casual attempt!"
After speaking, Caesar left the bustling square.
Doflamingo quietly followed him.
"Take some people to handle the Golden Ship issue. Come to my residence later for a meeting."
Caesar didn't turn back, leaving these words behind as he departed directly.
Doflamingo watched him walk away.
He looked toward the Golden Ship wreckage floating on the sea, a exaggerated grin gradually spreading across his lips.
"Somehow, seeing that smile of yours makes me want to punch you."
A hoarse voice came from behind.
Doflamingo chuckled, his fingers hooking to pull several strings as his body levitated and descended toward the Golden Ship.
"Crocodile, fufufufu, worry about yourself. Now that Bullett—your former rival—has arrived, if you fall too far behind him, you'll likely become a laughingstock."
Swirling sand followed him as they both landed on the Golden Ship.
The two touched down successively, observing the shattered landscape.
Collapsed golden structures were everywhere, the earth bulging upward not like natural hills but as if someone had torn it open.
Crocodile looked at the devastated scene before him and spoke after a moment of silence.
"Doflamingo, are you feeling pressured?"
Doflamingo raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat surprised at Crocodile.
"What pressure?"
Crocodile lit a cigar for himself, took a deep drag, and exhaled a stream of white smoke.
He pointed at the ruins before them and said.
"More and more monsters are joining us. With our current strength, we're nowhere near the top ranks here. Just those top-tier monsters alone possess despair-inducing power. Whether in talent or innate ability, we fall far short of them. If this continues, I'm afraid we'll eventually be marginalized."
Crocodile's words sent Doflamingo into deep thought.
After a long while, he suddenly laughed and strode toward the golden structure in the distance.
"Fufufufu, you make a good point! However, I won't admit defeat! Crocodile, summon the courage you had when challenging Whitebeard! We're not like those playing house little pirates. Though there are many monsters above us, I believe that one day, I'll stand among them!"
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