Ren quickly drew up a list.
Why had he wasted so many words in the first place, if not for enormous profit?
Caesar himself, along with everything related to artificial Devil Fruits, might very well create subtle interactions with the Dimensional Roulette's prizes.
For instance, the Barracks Module—Ren wanted to test whether he could substitute "powerful creatures" with research data.
Or perhaps strengthen the abilities of the Angel of Glory.
And Caesar wasn't stupid either. He had genuine talent when it came to developing dangerous things.
Vegapunk was the kind of pure, broken "BUG" existence that you simply couldn't replicate.
If Vegapunk was unattainable, then making use of Caesar might actually be a good choice.
After all, this man's favorite hobby in life was researching hazardous items.
As for that Devil Fruit…
According to what Vegapunk later revealed in the original timeline, that fruit had been made by copying Kaido.
Most likely, Vegapunk had studied Kaido back when Kaido had been captured—
And thus obtained the "Devil Fruit data" for a Zoan-type—Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Model: Azure Dragon.
The reason Vegapunk called it a failure was, at its core, simply because he was a perfectionist.
The color of the fruit was wrong, but in actual effect, it was almost no different from Kaido's.
Of course—
In the original timeline, the way Momonosuke displayed it was far too weak.
At best, you could say he had potential… on Kaido's level.
To be honest, even now Ren still didn't understand what Momonosuke's role in the story was—let alone the role of the Kozuki family.
The only explanation was: the Creator's brain worked in mysterious ways.
But—
That potential absolutely existed.
Ren recalled the combat power Kaido had demonstrated:
A user can transform into a dragon, commanding flames, lightning, wind, and more.
They can assume the mythical form of a dragon and casually trigger changes in heaven and earth.
Most attacks in dragon form are massive, wide-range strikes.
Scorching fire that reduces entire blocks of buildings to ash.
Wind blades that slice flesh apart.
A mere twist of the body can whip up violent gales.
Countless tornadoes that bring catastrophic disaster across a wide area.
A roar that becomes thunder from the heavens—control over lightning itself.
And there are the flame clouds.
By gripping the flame clouds they create in midair, they can float and move through the sky.
By using flame clouds to cover a target, they can make surrounding objects levitate.
In the Onigashima battle, Kaido lifted an entire island holding more than thirty-five thousand people—and moved it.
And in the hybrid form…
It has both the agility and speed of a human body, while retaining the diverse attacks of a dragon.
It's an exceptionally balanced combat form.
Which meant—
Right now, on Punk Hazard, there existed an extraordinarily powerful Devil Fruit.
In the original timeline, that fruit would be eaten by Momonosuke by accident.
But—
Momonosuke eats it? Does he even deserve it?! Why not have someone on my team eat it instead!
That was Ren's most honest thought.
If Momonosuke was still a kid, you could at least say, He's just a child—what can you do?
But adult Momonosuke? Completely useless.
A fruit that powerful—better to give it to someone on the team.
"I understand."
Kuma silently committed all of it to memory, then stood. "Are you leaving now?"
"We should. Before the World Government can react."
Ren rose as well, looking out over the sea, as if his gaze pierced time itself and landed on Jaya.
Kuzan's freezing had thrown the island into complete stillness.
But it wouldn't last long.
The Marine Vice Admiral would be carried away by the Marines and returned to Marine Headquarters for treatment—at least several days.
At the same time, the civilians of Jaya would thaw as well. With recovery and cleanup—
At most, it would take two days before the World Economic Journal discovered what Ren had done on Jaya, turned it into a massive headline, and spread it across the four seas.
Ren needed that window of time—to exploit the blind spot under the lamp and finish a few things.
Once those were done, he would return straight to Sky Island.
No matter who it was, they wouldn't be able to target him there.
The conversation ended. The two parted ways.
Everyone regrouped on the weather ship. Sas had barely managed to patch it up—though he wasn't entirely sure there wasn't a small chance something could still go wrong.
"Goodbye, Ren."
Kuma stood beside the weather ship and flicked his hand, launching a paw-shaped bubble that wrapped around the vessel.
Boom—!
A terrifying force erupted. The ground within a thousand-meter radius trembled instantly.
The weather ship turned into a streak of light and shot toward the sky.
Compared to the violent high-altitude currents the weather ship normally endured, Kuma's paw bubble simply cut off the outside air entirely.
Ren stood at the edge of the ship, quietly watching Kuma shrink into a tiny black dot—then vanish.
"What is it?"
Nojiko walked over, studying him.
She had always been sensitive, and she could tell Ren's mood wasn't the same as before.
"I feel like I've become worse.
Even if this succeeds and the future turns out well… evil deeds don't get erased by good outcomes."
"You regret it?"
"No."
Ren let out a long breath, his eyes calm as a deep abyss.
"I'm just reflecting. I don't regret it.
Even if time rewound, I'd make the same choice again.
Nojiko… I'm arrogant and self-centered. That's why ideals like mine can take root.
And because of that, sacrificing others for my own benefit is something I can do.
It's just that, most of the time, I don't run into dilemmas where good outcomes can't cover the ugliness of the process."
"No matter what, we'll support you."
Nojiko was quiet for a moment, then turned his face toward her, serious.
"At least your evil deeds have produced the good results we want.
I'm just a shallow woman—I don't want to save the world. I only want to follow your footsteps.
Nami is the same. Maybe Vivi too.
Since that's the case, you don't need to be afraid of anything."
"…"
Ren laughed helplessly and moved her hand away.
"I'm just reflecting—confirming how I've changed. I've never wavered."
"Is that so?"
Nojiko tilted her head, but didn't say anything more.
"This time we gained a lot. Maybe you'll get a qualitative leap in the future."
Ren shifted the topic, turning it onto Nojiko.
What he meant, of course, was the artificial Devil Fruit on Punk Hazard.
Zoro didn't seem interested in Devil Fruits.
Vivi and Nami were already Devil Fruit users.
Urouge had only just joined, and the Angel of Glory was simply a military unit.
The only person who truly fit—
Was Nojiko herself.
Lightning, fire, wind… it suits Nojiko perfectly, and it matches our existing system.
It could even complement what we already have.
Although… if we're talking "suitable," it would also suit me.
But… I don't want it.
Ren made the decision silently.
To be honest, before meeting Kuma, he hadn't imagined things would develop like this.
But in terms of results, the gains were enormous.
With Kuma moving personally, Punk Hazard was almost guaranteed to be handled without incident.
From the original story, Kuma didn't seem to have any tracking device on him—otherwise he wouldn't have dared to assist the Revolutionary Army.
Which meant—
The fruit would be obtained.
Punk Hazard itself could practically be considered "delivered" into Ren's hands as a package.
And the only thing Ren had paid was last night's lottery pulls and a bit of luck.
This is the advantage of knowing the story.
Ren's gaze flickered—then he remembered the Conqueror's Haki Kuma had released earlier.
Ren himself also had Conqueror's Haki.
He had awakened it back on Jaya, when he laid out his ideals of the world to Kuzan.
He'd released it then, too—enough to make Kuzan falter for an instant.
It was weak.
But it had only just awakened.
If he wanted to turn it into real combat power—advanced Conqueror's Haki coating—
He would need to find a teacher.
Jaya Island, the second day after the freeze.
The Marine warship had long since withdrawn, taking with it the badly wounded Marines and Vice Admiral Onigumo.
The Marines also sent soldiers onto the island to investigate, and they dragged back many pirates who were still frozen.
Those pirates were stuffed into the warship as well.
As for what happened on Jaya, they attributed it to the strange, unpredictable weather of the Grand Line.
Because what else could it be?
Could it be that Admiral Kuzan came here and casually tossed out an Ice Age?
Impossible. Everyone knew how lazy that Admiral was.
And besides—if he used Ice Age, why would he freeze the Marines too?
In any case—
That was the explanation given by Marine Headquarters.
No one questioned it. They simply wrote up a rough report.
A sudden, physical cold wave froze everything. Thankfully, the Marines hadn't suffered severe losses.
The group they were supposed to capture—Ren's party—seemed to have escaped even earlier.
No civilians had died. They'd even captured a batch of pirates instead.
Additionally—
Jaya Island now had strange terrain changes.
A stone giant's half-body statue stood on the earth. Its hundreds-of-meters-tall bulk was awe-inspiring.
According to the Marines, it seemed like the work of some long-vanished pirate.
They also helped the civilians, asked about the situation, and then departed.
After that—
The civilians began clearing up what looked like ruins. Many people unexpectedly discovered large amounts of money left behind by pirates.
It gave Mock Town, long burdened by hardship, a chance to breathe.
But thanks to that—
This place became far less welcoming to pirates.
And it was at that time that Hound landed on Jaya and entered Mock Town.
"A reporter?"
The burly man guarding the entrance glanced at the thick stack of Beli Hound offered him. After hesitating, he took it and let him through.
"Don't know why you want to explore the ruins, but this is our home.
If you mess around… don't blame us if you get killed!"
He issued the warning, then allowed Hound to enter the ruins of Mock Town.
Of course they weren't going to rebuild on top of ruins.
They had chosen a new location and planned to build their new home around that stone giant.
Then they'd turn this place into a tourist attraction and escape their old, miserable lives.
It was said—
That idea came from a note the mayor saw on a piece of paper.
But no one knew who had left it behind.
"Alright, don't worry. I'm a professional."
Hound lifted the camera Den Den Mushi hanging around his neck, eyes blazing with fanatic excitement as he stepped into Mock Town's ruins.
"From Alabasta to Mock Town… I don't even know how long I've traveled.
So you were here, my treasure angel!"
The report on the Alabasta incident had allowed Hound to wash away his past humiliation.
He had become a hot, veteran employee within the World Economic Journal.
He'd even taken Employee of the Month, earning the president's enthusiastic greeting and praise.
But—
Hound knew very well: that huge story had come to him. It wasn't because he was particularly capable.
So he decided to imitate his seniors—to follow someone destined to stir up storms.
To become that person's exclusive reporter.
And that person was Ren!
(End of Chapter)