'Major Event! Solitary Red, Patrick Redfield Joins the Beasts Pirates!'
The newspaper headline was striking, as if provoking the Marine. When this news report was placed on Kong's desk, Kong's pupils constricted, then he let out an angry roar.
"What a joke! That bastard actually joined the Beasts Pirates!"
His widening eyes were bloodshot, his fingertips clutching the newspaper turned white, and his shoulders visibly twitched.
It was clear he was trying his best to control himself.
Kong, in his fury, raged.
He let out a long sigh of resignation from his throat, his face seeming to age a dozen years in an instant.
He leaned powerlessly back in his chair.
His eyes were filled with regret and helplessness, and worry crept onto his cheeks and forehead.
The Beasts Pirates' power was immense now; though still far from the Rocks Pirates, intelligence indicated that this pirate crew had no internal strife or scheming.
Kaido, Redfield, Wald... each name carried immense weight.
Just the current frontline combat power of the Beasts Pirates was enough to make the Marine take them seriously.
He glanced out the window; outside, dark clouds rolled, and heavy leaden clouds dyed the sky into a black ocean... Redfield preferred solitude, so Kaido had a castle built on a nearby island for him, assigning over a hundred servants and attendants to look after his daily life and diet.
However, Redfield said he didn't need so many people, leaving only twenty servants to manage his daily life.
The development of the Beasts Pirates' power had already surpassed that of his previous life; Whitebeard's entire crew at this time numbered no more than twenty or thirty people.
With Kaido having a sufficient and stable source of funds, the research budget allocated to Queen and Judge each month increased by 50%.
With ample research funds, Queen, Judge, and Caesar were even more motivated.
After more than half a year of research by the three, a breakthrough was achieved in Lineage Factor, and they had begun to mass-produce clone soldiers.
"A batch of adult clone soldiers will take about five years. By integrating exoskeleton genes and super-healing genes into their embryos during gestation, powerful and absolutely loyal soldiers can be created."
Judge looked at the gene warriors whose embryos were gradually forming in the densely packed incubators of the experimental base, his eyes shining brightly.
At the same time, Judge's original battle suits also incorporated the former scientific concepts of the Germa Kingdom, featuring levitation, gliding, and shield effects, and could also be fitted with blades and firearms on the hands.
Queen, on the other hand, raised his arm, and with a clatter of gears, his body had been transformed into a killing weapon, with a flamethrower in his palm and rotating hooks for fingers.
"You're really crazy, transforming yourself into such a monstrosity," Caesar exclaimed, surprised that Queen could be so insane.
"This is the killing weapon I've pursued my entire life..."
Queen chuckled sinisterly. He had also integrated an exoskeleton into his body, making it much harder than before.
In his vision, he wanted to use all terrifying weapons one by one for body modification, transforming himself into the most terrifying killing machine.
Judge was surprised. Queen was the most insane of the three, and Queen was quick to grasp any theory. At the Peace Research Institute, he was the most knowledgeable scientist besides Vegapunk.
Although the three occasionally had verbal disputes, their pursuit of science was equally fervent.
Especially their joint research on the Giant Race's Lineage Factor, such as body size, longevity, and innate strength, which had already begun to show results.
After all, just longevity, with a lifespan three times that of humans, was enough to drive the entire world mad.
"Battle suits and Lineage Factor... they'll be ready soon. We'll intimidate North Blue and let the entire North Blue once again feel the terror of Germa 66!"
With progress made at the experimental base, Judge and Queen came to Winter Island, intending to go to the palace to meet Kaido.
Kaido was currently dead drunk and was stopped by the Beetle Three Brothers, who were with Hanafuda.
Hanafuda smiled and said, "Boss Kaido is always moody when he's drunk. Now is not the time to meet him."
Judge and Queen had naturally heard about this. Queen scrutinized Hanafuda and the Beetle Three Brothers beside him.
The three brothers varied in height, two tall and one short.
The eldest of the three brothers was named Pence, and he was a Bug-Bug Fruit, Tiger Beetle form.
He was nearly five meters tall, clad in a black godfather suit, with a key-shaped knife hanging from his neck. He was about thirty years old, with a dark complexion.
The second brother was named Pink, and he was a Bug-Bug Fruit, Hercules Beetle form.
The third brother was short, named Gin, and he was a Bug-Bug Fruit, Rhinoceros Beetle form.
Because all three brothers were Bug-Bug Fruit users, whenever a major battle occurred at sea with an enemy ship, they were accustomed to ganging up three-on-one, outnumbering their foes.
This was scorned by many pirate Captains, but the three brothers were strong and thick-skinned, instinctively believing it to be praise for them.
Even Hanafuda found the combined attacks of the three brothers a headache.
Queen licked his purplish-red lips, his long golden hair fluttering in the blizzard: "Let me draw a tube of blood from you three brothers to study the Lineage Factor of Devil Fruit beetles and how it differs from the exoskeleton of ants."
Caesar became interested, his eyes gleaming: "Speaking of which... Vegapunk researched the genes within Devil Fruits and wrote a research report titled 'On Granting Weapons Devil Fruit Abilities'... but it was never finished after he was captured by the Marine."
Judge nodded in agreement: "Perhaps with the concept of Lineage Factor, we can also artificially create Devil Fruits."
"If we can dissect a Zoan Type Devil Fruit user, we might discover something unexpected."
In recent years, due to the Beasts Pirates' influence in the Underworld, Queen and Judge had received no shortage of Devil Fruits for their Lineage Factor research.
The blatant conversation of the three made the Beetle Three Brothers sweat with embarrassment, instinctively feeling as if they were about to be scientifically dissected.
Pence's mouth twitched: "I say, isn't it a bit rude to discuss this so loudly in front of the people concerned?"
Queen, Judge, and Caesar all turned to look at Pence, each with a strange, eerie smile on their faces, making Pence's heart pound.
Hanafuda stepped in to smooth things over: "Since you're all free anyway, why don't you come to my residence for a few drinks first?"
"Haha, we were just thinking the same thing."
Queen said with a smile. Hanafuda was in charge of the Underworld business and Devil Fruit collection, and was a favorite of Kaido, so Queen's tone towards him was naturally much better.
With Hanafuda's active invitation, Judge and Caesar also did not refuse. Hanafuda's three great hunters, the Beetle Three Brothers, naturally had no power to refuse, so they all walked towards Hanafuda's residence.
💎 Power Stone Bonus: Every 100 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter
🌟 5-Star Review Bonus: Every 5 (5-Star) Reviews = +2 Extra Chapters
💬 Comment Speed-Up: If any chapter reaches +10 Comments = The Next Chapter Will Be Released Faster!
🔥 Want to Read Ahead? If you want to read advanced chapters, check out my buymeacoffee(.)com/Oyunbozan