Was Caesar dangerous?
Of course he was extremely dangerous. But his danger didn't lie in his personal combat strength. To be honest, his fighting ability was mediocre at best. Whether it was Finn or Borsalino, as long as Caesar appeared before them, either could end him with a single finger.
Therefore, Caesar's danger lay not in his strength, but in his scientific brilliance. While it might not be comparable to Vegapunk, the world's top scientist who was said to be "five hundred years ahead of the world," there was no doubt that Caesar was also an exceptional scientist.
Once his talents were controlled by malice and allowed to act recklessly, the disasters he could create would definitely far exceed the threats posed by ordinary pirates.
Look at what happened. Punk Hazard, which ordinary pirates couldn't even locate, had been destroyed by him in a moment of chaos.
That was why Finn ordered Vice Admiral Yamakaji to have the Intelligence Department quickly find this source of disaster and bring him to justice.
Of course, Finn didn't intend to kill Caesar.
He also maintained the Marines' interests. It would be wasteful to kill someone like Caesar. Let him serve a few years in prison, clear his record, and then he could continue contributing to the Marines. How perfect was that?
"Yes, Admiral." Vice Admiral Yamakaji responded quickly.
"Hmm... Let me think. Keep an eye on Doflamingo, Big Mom, and Kaido. Caesar's personal strength can't support his scientific research path, so if he wants to continue, he must rely on someone who can bring him resources. Oh, yes, and Smoker... Forget it, I'll notify Doflamingo and Smoker myself. As for Charlotte Linlin and Kaido, your Intelligence Department should try to monitor them." Finn ordered.
"Understood, Admiral." Vice Admiral Yamakaji responded again.
"Well, is there anything else interesting? By the way, please help me stoke the flames with the Fleet Admiral. Tell him that bastard Borsalino always causes problems and obviously isn't suitable to be a Marine Admiral. If he really can't handle it, let Gion try, hahahaha." Finn laughed.
Vice Admiral Yamakaji on the other end of the Den Den Mushi said with a helpless expression, "Admiral, how can a Vice Admiral like me get involved in this kind of thing? Why don't you tell the Fleet Admiral yourself?"
Of course, Yamakaji also knew Finn was just joking.
But he also knew that if there really was an opportunity, Admiral Finn would definitely choose to push Gion to the top.
"How boring." Finn complained.
Vice Admiral Yamakaji then said, "There's nothing else to report."
"Alright, since there's nothing else, I'll hang up." Finn responded and disconnected the Den Den Mushi.
"It really is a turbulent time..." Vergo sighed from the side.
Of course he'd heard the entire conversation.
Finn glanced at Vergo, picked up a piece of watermelon and took a bite. "Go contact Doflamingo. Tell him if Caesar really finds him and wants to cooperate, he should capture him and send him to Marineford."
"Yes, Admiral." Vergo replied. He set down his watermelon, took out his Den Den Mushi, and went to contact Doflamingo.
Finn turned his head and glanced at Hina, who was lighting a new cigarette. He cursed, "Smoke, smoke, smoke. You're so addicted all day long."
Hina looked at Finn with an aggrieved expression, then reluctantly put away her cigarette.
"Contact Smoker, same instructions." Finn ordered.
"I know." Hina responded with obvious grievance in her voice.
Finn set down his watermelon and glanced across the street at a gambling house.
All of Carnival City was a place of entertainment, so naturally there were gambling establishments here.
However, it was obvious the gambling house not far away was the lowest-end type, filled with the poorest gamblers who had little money but loved to play.
Generally, decent wealthy people and nobles would never even glance at such a gambling house.
They all wanted to visit high-end casinos, preferably with VIP rooms.
Finn only took a casual look, but coincidentally, at the same moment, a gust of sea breeze blew past, lifting the curtain of the gambling house and allowing him to glimpse inside.
"Hmm?" Finn was stunned.
Then he stood and walked toward the gambling house.
Hina and Vergo both saw Finn's actions, but they were busy with their tasks and didn't chase after him. They just watched Finn enter the gambling house.
There was nothing particularly surprising about this. Although Finn didn't have a gambling habit, it was normal for him to relax and play a few games occasionally.
Inside the gambling house, Finn was immediately enveloped by noisy sounds.
A tall, somewhat stocky figure sat at the gambling table right in front of the entrance, his back to the door.
He wore a lavender ronin's outfit, with a shikomizue hanging at his waist. He was excitedly throwing chips from his pocket onto the table, shouting enthusiastically, "Big! Bet big!"
Finn didn't alert the man. Instead, he walked around to the other side of the gambling table and finally saw the guy's face clearly.
Issho!
It was definitely him. Although he looked somewhat younger, there wasn't much difference from what Finn remembered. The only thing that surprised Finn was that this guy's eyes were blinking. He wasn't blind at all!
A long time ago, after Finn had eaten the Press-Press Fruit, he'd often wondered what would happen to Issho.
Would losing the Press-Press Fruit change his fate?
Of course it would. He'd secretly asked Spandine to help find this man, but there had been no clues.
He hadn't expected to see Issho in this lowest-end street gambling house in Carnival City.
"Perhaps losing the Press-Press Fruit was actually good for him?" Finn murmured softly.
At least he wasn't blind.
Issho had once said he'd blinded himself because he could no longer bear to see this dirty and ugly world.
Finn didn't know exactly when he'd gone blind in the original timeline, but at least now, Issho was still being his happy gambler.
Issho didn't notice Finn. In fact, he was just an unknown nobody right now.
But not truly small. Just not famous.
People like him could be collectively called "folk masters."
There were countless masters across the seas. Not only pirates and Marines had powerful figures. Many people hadn't joined any messy organizations or forces, but in terms of personal strength, there were also many who'd reached top-tier levels.
However, Finn wasn't certain at this moment how far Issho had developed after Finn had intercepted the Press-Press Fruit.
Issho was staring at the dealer who was shaking the dice cup at the gambling table.
She was a young-looking girl with twin tails, her upper body bare except for several wrappings of white bandages around her chest. It didn't reveal anything inappropriate. On the contrary, it made her look extremely spirited and fierce.
"Place your bets! No changes!" the little girl growled, then slammed the dice cup onto the table. A wicked smile played on her lips. "Gamblers, are you ready to face your fate?"
Issho rubbed his hands together, as if looking forward to the moment when his destiny would be revealed.
At that moment, the little girl suddenly looked up and saw Finn. A hint of surprise appeared in her eyes, quickly turning to fury!
This reaction also caught Finn's attention. He instinctively turned to look at the little girl. He was confused at first, then surprise flickered in his eyes.
"I'm going to blow your head off!" the little girl roared angrily. She raised her hand and drew the revolver hanging at her thigh.
Unlike her petite figure, the revolver in her hand was obviously oversized.
Finn recognized the model. It was called a "Bull."
The muzzle alone was almost as big as a bowl, and the bullets were completely oversized. This kind of revolver shouldn't even be called a gun. It was perfectly fine to call it a hand cannon!
BANG! A gunshot rang out.
Finn reacted with extreme speed. His foot slid and the bullet grazed his head, flying past and directly hitting a gambler who'd been standing on a stool behind him watching the excitement. It left a bloody hole the size of a head in the man's chest. He died on the spot.
Issho, who'd been concentrating on waiting for the "lottery result," was shocked. What the hell? I was focusing on waiting for the outcome. Why would someone suddenly shoot?
When the gunshot sounded, everyone at the gambling table was startled. They immediately fled crying and shouting.
The shot had failed to blow Finn's head off. The little girl stood up from her stool very smoothly. With her other hand, she grabbed her other leg and pulled out another hand cannon-grade revolver of the same model. She roared, "Go to hell, Finn!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the little girl opened fire at full force. The revolvers in her hands roared, and highly lethal bullets shot toward Finn.
"Damn it, you're still alive? Violent loli Sphinx!" Finn cursed while dodging.
He was wearing casual clothes and had nothing on him. Shindokutō was left on the boat.
"I'll kill you today to avenge Boss Shiki!" Sphinx cursed angrily.
She flicked her hand and the magazine of one revolver flew out. She hooked it on her waist and reloaded with extremely practiced movements.
Sphinx. According to Marine intelligence, she'd died in the New World at the end of Sea Circle Calendar 1502.
Her previous identity had been a member of Golden Lion Shiki's crew. However, after Shiki was imprisoned, the Flying Pirates had collapsed, and each member had gone their separate ways. It was said Sphinx had clashed with the Big Mom Pirates and been killed by Charlotte Linlin.
How had she come back to life out of nowhere?!
As for why she'd shot at Finn the moment she saw him, it was because she'd had a close relationship with Shiki. It was said she was an orphan who'd been adopted by Shiki. She'd always been loyal to him. Finn had first sent Shiki to Impel Down, and later killed him with his own hands...
It would be strange if she didn't harbor hatred toward Finn!
He didn't know why she hadn't become a pirate or sought revenge on Finn over the years.
In just a few moments, the gambling house was smashed to pieces by Sphinx's high-powered hand cannon-class revolvers.
After dodging the bullets, Finn raised his hand and struck at Sphinx with a claw motion through the air.
It was a variant of the Six Powers
Five slashing wind blades flew toward Sphinx.
At that moment, Issho swung his shikomizue. A cold light flashed, directly blocking the slashes. His figure stood protectively in front of Sphinx.
Sphinx roared angrily, "You rotten gambler, help me kill this bastard!"
"Hey, Sphinx, what's wrong with you today?" Issho said with a confused expression.
It was clear the relationship between the two of them seemed quite good.
Finn was also somewhat surprised. What was going on?
At the same time, Vergo and Hina rushed in, quickly blocking Sphinx and Issho's escape routes from left and right. For a moment, the situation reached a deadlock.
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