Grove 66, Marine Base.
Dozens of large iron crates were stacked in the open area in front of the office building, guarded by over a dozen agents in black suits. Regular Marines weren't allowed to get close.
In the center, several agents held thin manuals, opening the large iron crates one by one, checking them sequentially as if looking for anything missing.
Just then, Cross walked out of the office building, glanced at the dozens of iron crates piled in the open, and headed straight for them.
"Marine, this is a World Government secret!" an agent said expressionlessly, blocking Cross and sizing him up.
"Huh?!" Cross grinned with interest, raising a hand to tap the agent's chest. "Agent, don't forget you're still on a Marine base! Besides, your stuff was only recovered with our Marines' cooperation!"
With that, Cross directly pushed past the agent and swaggered forward.
"Marine, you're prying into World Government secrets!" The agent was annoyed and quickly stepped forward to stop Cross again. The surrounding agents also moved in, ready to stop Cross, this "unwelcome guest."
"Stop, let him pass!"
Suddenly, a voice Cross found somewhat familiar rang out, stopping the agents' movements and defusing the impending conflict.
"I wondered who it was. It's Chief Feli!" Cross saw one of the agents opposite him turn around, revealing a familiar face that he quickly recognized from his memory.*
It was the CP organization member Cross had encountered in Skoggy, the City of Sculpture, the operation chief of CP8, codenamed Table Knife.
"But…" The agent next to Cross turned his head, hesitating.
"It's fine. Count Cross is a future Marine star. There's no need to hide this level of classified information from him!" Feli smiled, handing the manual to the agent next to him, and greeted Cross warmly. "Good day, Count Cross, long time no see!"
"Good day, Chief Feli!" Cross politely returned the greeting, following noble etiquette.
"In just a few years, Count Cross's strength has grown remarkably. You even easily defeated the great pirate with a bounty of 260 million Berries. It's truly eye-opening!" Feli said with a smile.
"Spare me the flattery. After all, our previous cooperation wasn't exactly pleasant," Cross said bluntly.
"Count Cross is as direct as ever!" Feli didn't mind, still smiling. "Since Count Cross wants to know what these are, why don't you come take a look… but only if you can understand them!"
"I truly hope I can understand them!" Cross pouted, unceremoniously stepping forward to stand before three opened iron crates.
He saw that these large iron crates were filled with white papers, each bearing various designs, lines, and text.
Cross picked up a few papers and carefully examined their contents, muttering a line written on one of them: "On the Confinement and Enhancement of Free-Moving Light Waves — Vegapunk!"
The next second, he abruptly looked up at Feli in front of him, exclaiming, "…Th-These are blueprints for laser weapons?!"
"Oh—" Feli looked surprised, puzzled. "I didn't expect a monster like you to know about advanced weapon technology."
"So, everything your CP organization transported from Baltigo, the Future Country on Karakuri Island, is Vegapunk's original invention blueprints… No wonder you used so many waterproof iron crates!" Cross said, a look of understanding on his face.
"That's right. Everything we transported consists of Dr. Vegapunk's original invention blueprints, but this is only a small portion. It's mainly blueprints for genetic technology and weapon technology!" Feli didn't hide anything, explaining directly to Cross.
"I see… It seems the current situation in the sea has made the World Government a bit anxious, which is why they want to leverage Dr. Vegapunk's inventions to strengthen your CP organization's power!" Cross said with a knowing expression.
As a "top scientist whose intelligence surpasses humanity by 500 years," Dr. Vegapunk was a true genius scientist. As far as Cross knew, this man was proficient in everything from biological genetic technology related to Devil Fruits to mechanical weapon manufacturing.
Thinking of this, Cross suddenly realized that the Marines had not yet demonstrated the ability to safely traverse the Calm Belt. This meant that Vegapunk hadn't yet invented a method for Marine warships to cross the Calm Belt using Sea Stone. However, given the current situation, a method to safely cross the Calm Belt should appear before long.
So, it wouldn't be long before the Marines could freely travel to the other four seas, easily suppressing the rebellions there, and the World Government's control over the sea would become even tighter.
Additionally, this technology, "On the Confinement and Enhancement of Free-Moving Light Waves," would likely be applied to the future humanoid weapons, the Pacifistas, after Vegapunk's serious research and refinement.
"It's not just our CP organization; you Marines have a share too!" Feli corrected him with a smile.
Cross looked down at the original blueprints in his hand, remaining silent, but he knew Feli's words were true.
The future humanoid weapon, the Pacifista, was developed by Dr. Vegapunk. Its first official appearance was on the Sabaody Archipelago, under the control of the Marine Science Unit.
Its second official appearance was during the magnificent Marineford War, where it almost single-handedly changed the tide of battle, truly becoming a crucial combat force for the Marines.
This suggested that the Pacifista research project must have been put on the agenda or was already in preparation.
Thump-thump-thump… thump-thump-thump…
Just then, footsteps approached from a distance, catching Cross's attention.
Cross casually glanced over and saw Who's-Who and Jabra, both with multiple white bandages on their bodies, clearly having sustained significant injuries.
It was said that in the battle to encircle the Blood Pirates, Who's-Who and Jabra had truly endured a lot of hardship to defeat Throat Slasher Dinelli.
Even Cross had heard that Who's-Who and Jabra, in a two-on-one fight, heavily wounded Throat Slasher Dinelli at the cost of their own significant injuries. But when they were about to capture him, Dinelli committed suicide, refusing to be captured even in death.
"Hey, Chief Feli, how can a Marine pry into World Government secrets!"
Suddenly, Who's-Who noticed Cross standing in front of the pile of large iron crates, holding several blueprints taken from them, and he yelled at Feli in great displeasure.
"Count Cross has a special identity; it's no big deal!" Feli smiled as he looked at the excellent CP9 agent, explaining in a gentle tone.
In Feli's view, Cross had been promoted to Commander at such a young age, possessed monstrous strength, and was even temporarily granted the authority to manage the Marine base on the Sabaody Archipelago.
He was truly a rising star of the Marines, a future Marine big shot!
There was no need for Feli to curry favor with such a person, nor was there any need to offend him. Therefore, there was no need to hide this level of classified information from him.
Moreover, Who's-Who and Jabra understood this point.
It was just that Who's-Who still held a grudge against Cross because of that punch from before and always found him disagreeable.
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