During this period, with the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, various aspects of life became busy.
Sekken Island.
It was a very decent island, with a development level above the middle tier in the New World. Due to its proximity to a Marine branch, it had not become pirate territory. In the center of the island was a massive volcano that covered almost the entire island. The residents lived in the coastal areas at the foot of the volcano.
At this moment, Grimm was sitting in a small seaside tavern on Sekken Island, holding a newspaper and reading about recent events.
First, led by Garp, a thorough search was conducted a year after Roger disbanded his crew. It was rumored that Roger had displayed paternal emotions during his solo travels, which led the World Government to suspect… that the Pirate King had offspring.
Therefore, with the mindset of "better safe than sorry," the Navy began a large-scale manhunt. Even though it wasn't reported in the newspapers, Grimm knew how many civilian pregnant women and even newborn infants had been killed.
These damned Marines were truly demons!
Although Grimm had killed many and was also a demon, he still had his principles. He only killed soldiers or pirates who were armed and ready to die, never civilians.
"I really want to meet her, Portgas D. Rouge!" Grimm muttered to himself.
However, Grimm had no information about Rouge. Where was she? Grimm didn't know, so he had to abandon the idea.
Recently, another matter had caught Grimm's attention: a news report published two days ago.
The Navy's research department had developed something called "Seastone," hailed as a treasure that gathered the power of the sea, possessing the ability to suppress Devil Fruit users, much like seawater.
Currently, Seastone handcuffs were being mass-produced as finished products to be used for imprisoning Devil Fruit users in Impel Down.
And fortunately, the first to wear Seastone handcuffs was the Golden Lion.
One had to admit, the Navy was truly foolish, or perhaps too merciful. Instead of immediately executing a threat like the Golden Lion, their first reaction was to imprison him? Keeping him around for the New Year's feast?
However, since Seastone handcuffs had been produced, it was only a matter of time before Seastone ammunition would follow. But Vegapunk, like Luke, was an unpredictable fellow.
Speaking of Luke, Grimm remembered what Luke had told him a few days ago: the Navy had initiated the so-called "Silent City" project, planning to find a secret island to establish a "Silent City," a high-tech combat robot research and production center centered around the scientist Luke…
Thinking of this, Grimm broke into a smile. These Marines were actually serving him without even knowing it.
Just as Grimm was in high spirits, he suddenly overheard a conversation between a couple at the next table.
"Hey, did you know the Navy landed on this island this morning!"
"Huh? What happened? Was it because of pirates?"
Upon hearing this, Grimm subtly glanced in their direction. He was currently using the body of a Kingdom soldier he had killed earlier. It wasn't because he feared the Marines, but after drifting at sea for a while, he wanted to relax.
As for Yasuo, he was probably still sleeping on the deck. This guy had no common ground with him, only drinking and sleeping. Grimm was too lazy to communicate.
The couple continued, "No, they seemed to be researching the volcano overhead!"
"Researching a volcano? What's so special about a volcano?" the man asked, confused.
"I don't know. But my friend said when he passed by there, besides the Marines, there were many people in white coats, dressed like doctors. And they had some equipment set up on the volcano's summit, like they were researching something," the woman said, scratching her forehead with a finger, her expression thoughtful.
After speaking, the woman pondered for a moment and continued, "Perhaps it's because the eruption frequency of our island's volcano is much higher than others. Maybe they're researching to find a solution. Isn't that a good thing?"
The man sighed, "Compared to volcanoes, pirates are the root of chaos, aren't they? Ever since the Pirate King's last words, there have been more and more pirates in the New World. I haven't been able to go out to sea to do business for days!"
The woman smiled faintly. "It's okay. We'll just do small business on this island. I believe there won't be any danger!"
"Sigh, I guess that's the only way." The man comforted himself.
Then, the sound of chairs moving was heard. Instinctively looking to the right, they saw that the people at that table had disappeared, leaving behind a thick stack of Belly.
Grimm had once disguised himself as CP0 and infiltrated Vegapunk's research department. He knew that most of the people there wore white coats and masks. Currently, only Vegapunk's subordinates in the Navy's research department dressed like that. Luke's side already had all mechanical assistants.
In that case, infiltrating would be very simple. It was a good opportunity to see if Vegapunk had arrived.
As the woman in the small tavern had said, the Navy was indeed researching the volcano in this town, but they had set up a blockade line at the edge of the city. Behind the blockade line, quite a few onlookers had gathered.
"He's not here…"
After circling around, Grimm hid among the crowd, observing the Marines guarding the area from afar, as well as a certain number of scientists from the Navy's Scientific Research Department.
Not sensing Vegapunk's presence, Grimm couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Infiltrating Marine Headquarters wasn't too difficult, honestly. But to infiltrate the Scientific Research Department, mere disguise wouldn't suffice. The last time he infiltrated using the CP0 identity had already alerted the Navy significantly. The difficulty now was immeasurable.
However, what were the Navy's scientists researching here?
He had just contacted Luke, and the guy said, "He's not in my department. He researches science, I research weapons. You should find out for yourself! But I heard he's researching gunpowder that can increase the power of solid cannonballs. I don't know what's so great about researching that kind of thing; just ask me, I have plenty of methods…"
Grimm could only sigh helplessly. "Why are all the subordinates I summoned so individualistic!"
Seastone weapons, he wondered when they would be developed. It was necessary to find little Veggie.
After nightfall, the scientists were still fiddling with various special instruments, researching the geological features of the volcano, not extracting any substances from it for observation!
It was already past three in the morning. Even the professionally trained Marines had to fight to keep their eyelids from closing.
"Ah ha~"
A Marine on patrol yawned. A superior officer with a higher rank on his shoulder unceremoniously slapped the back of his head. "Hey, kid, what are you dozing off for? This is an order from above. If anything goes wrong, we'll both be in trouble!"
__________________
For more advance chapters visit patreon.com/bars45.
For 10$- All advance chapters.
"Schedule"
Monday - Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day
Saturday - Sunday - Off