Chapter 125: When the Enemy Suspects You Have a Deadly Weapon, You Better Actually Have One
"How... how do you know such a thing?"
"That doesn't matter. Even if we know where Pluton is, it's not easy to drive it. Whether the energy source from back then still remains is an unknown.
Moreover, to bring that thing out, we would have to destroy the outer walls of the entire Wano Country. I'm not sure exactly how much the World Government knows about this, but doing that would definitely attract their attention.
Compared to that, if I give you sufficient resources, how long would it take you to build a Pluton?"
"Your Majesty, you overestimate my abilities. This thing... with the current national strength of Fish-man Island, I'm afraid it can't be done.
To truly make this battleship reappear in the world requires too many things.
If we could find those missing shipwrights from the legendary shipwright teams, the success rate would increase significantly. Right now... at most, I can extract and apply a portion of its technology."
Tom shook his head. This wasn't a puzzle toy where you could just follow the diagram and get everything done. If they had the technology and materials from hundreds of years ago, that would indeed be the case, but too much time had passed, and many things had changed.
Some islands that were rich in crucial materials back then had now even become ruins in the deep sea.
"Pick out some parts that are difficult to research but won't reveal that it's an Ancient Weapon. I'll find relevant researchers to take a look at it."
Other things were manageable, but regarding scientific research... Fish-man Island truly lacked capability in that area. They still had to rely on outsourcing to solve some problems, but this required covering up certain things.
"Also, do you plan to return to Fish-man Island to settle down? Although Fish-man Island doesn't currently have a large-scale shipyard, with your abilities, you could go teach at the school."
"Me? Teach? Your Majesty, you're joking. What could I teach them? I can't possibly teach all the children how to build ships."
"No, not building ships. Dismantling ships. I need you to teach them how to destroy a ship's sailing capability with the fastest speed and lowest cost."
For Nereus himself, or some highly capable executives, destroying a ship was a very simple matter. Relying on brute force to launch a water wave from underwater was enough.
Tamed Sea Beasts were also a simple method. But actually, these things didn't necessarily require them to do it; what they needed to deal with more were the opponent's powerhouses.
Swimming was something every resident of Fish-man Island could do. Aside from the extremely rare ability users, most adult residents, and even children, possessed this capability.
For them, destroying a ship was actually a relatively complex matter.
Coincidentally, having all Fish-man Island residents master this skill was also a necessity for Fish-man Island's development.
Living in harmony, everyone minding their own business, and developing together.
But if anyone truly harbored ill intentions towards Fish-man Island—at worst, we give this island to you, and millions of people scatter across various sea areas. The threat that would pose to sailing ships would be massive.
The number of powerhouses capable of dealing with underwater attacks was limited; distributed across the whole world, there simply wouldn't be enough. However, that was a desperate measure, a mutually assured destruction tactic, and wouldn't be used under normal circumstances.
"Your Majesty Nereus, doing this... will make us enemies of the whole world..."
"You have the order wrong, Tom. It's not that doing this will make us enemies of the whole world; it's that we will only do this if the whole world treats us as enemies.
This kind of thing is just like Ancient Weapons. We can choose not to use it, but we cannot be without it. Having a sword and not using it is different from not having a sword."
"I recommend my younger brother, Den. He is also an excellent shipwright and is fully capable of handling this task. Your Majesty Nereus, although Fish-man Island is my hometown, to me, Water 7 is my second home.
The situation there is not good either. I want to do some things for Water 7, so... I still plan to return there.
Returning to Fish-man Island this time was only to hand this thing over to you. Please forgive me."
"It's fine. Fish-man Island's development won't be confined here. You can also communicate more with the locals in Water 7.
When necessary, Fish-man Island can also provide you with assistance. This is communication between nations, which is beneficial for Fish-man Island stepping out into the world."
After this, Tom didn't stay long on Fish-man Island. After selecting a portion of the drafts, he quickly returned to Water 7.
His strength was passable in the first half of the Grand Line. Although not a combatant himself, he was still a character capable of lifting a large ship with his bare hands.
Now that the status of the Fish-man race had been corrected by the World Government, Tom's voyage was quite smooth.
Just as Nereus was preparing to send someone to find Wobigong to bring the relevant materials to him, MADS preemptively published a paper titled [The Lineage Factor].
With Vegapunk's efforts and the assistance of others, the Lineage Factor was discovered, and the name MADS resonated across the sea for the first time.
However, many people believed this was actually a dangerous research project. The things MADS researched might cause some irreversible consequences.
Exactly what kind of dangerous things the Lineage Factor would create was still unknown. Perhaps they should be ordered to stop their research.
But the World Government at this time didn't pay it much mind, simply allowing them to continue their activities.
Fish-man Island's development continued. The 57 people previously recruited by Nereus had arrived within the Ryugu Palace, beginning their "hellish" lives.
What started first was not some skill-based training, but extremely rigorous physical conditioning. Fish-man Island's top doctors and chefs were assigned by Nereus to monitor their physical conditions and formulate corresponding diets.
These people all gritted their teeth and persevered. After more than a month of physical training, they did look somewhat like warriors.
However, just when they thought their days might get easier, what greeted them was even more intense training.
The office on the Sabaody Archipelago also had a stable garrison now. Currently, Babel was stationed there as an expatriate, responsible for security and martial force.
Some of the coating mechanics accepted the Ryugu Kingdom's agreement, while more were still waiting and seeing, feeling conflicted.
One day, while the Fish-man race was conducting a routine patrol in the sea area, they discovered an unusual person.
"Captain Rachel, look, what is that?"
Following the direction her squad member pointed, Rachel saw a person swimming while holding their breath.
Swimming in the deep sea nearly 10,000 meters down, holding one's breath without the protection of a bubble film, relying solely on physical toughness—and not being a Fish-man or Merfolk? In her entire life, Rachel had only seen one person do this: Amphelite.
And today, she saw a second one.
Amphelite's race was no secret to these old trusted subordinates of Nereus. Now, Rachel even somewhat understood why this race was so easily exposed.
Because of their racial talents, they could hide in harsh environments where human traces were rare.
Correspondingly, if a living person was found in an environment where humans could hardly survive, it was eighty percent likely to be them.
"Notify His Majesty Nereus. Just say... a relative of Miss Amphelite has arrived."
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