The Future Salamander!

The warship slowly entered the port of the G-1 Branch base. On both sides were rows of huge warships of the same size, with dozens of officers standing below to greet them.

The one at the very front should be the base commander here, Vice Admiral Edwin.

Logically speaking, Vidal was only a Rear Admiral, and there was no need for a Vice Admiral to personally wait for him in terms of rank.

But since he also holds the position of commander of the Marine Base in Sabaody, the two are actually of equal status.

To demonstrate equality and respect, Vice Admiral Edwin must come out and meet him.

"I didn't expect you to know anything about scientific research. I was actually quite surprised when I heard yesterday that Dr. Vegapunk had invited you."

At this moment, the warship had not yet docked, Sakazuki said to Vidal beside him.

"Hmm, well, I don't know if I understand it or not, but the professor thinks I do," Vidal said with a smile, spreading his hands.

"Let's go, the ship has stopped. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the Science Unit is really like!"

After the warship docked, the two men stepped off the wooden planks. Vidal and Vice Admiral Edwin exchanged a few brief greetings before following Sakazuki into the base for a tour.

This kind of thing is obviously not something the base commander should do personally; Sakazuki, as Commodore, is perfect for it, especially since the two are quite familiar with each other.

Upon entering, Vidal noticed something different from other G-system branches, such as the ubiquitous semi-mechanical animals and the futuristic facilities, with silver metal plates and lights everywhere.

"You can go in by yourself now. I think the doctor only wants to see you."

Sakazuki drove Vidal to the gate of the Science Unit and stopped him there.

"Wait until I get out, then we'll have a good drink together."

"Okay, but sake will do."

Vidal chuckled at this, patted the man on the shoulder, and walked into the building guarded by four marines.

Walking down the corridor inside the building, Vidal had a strange sense of déjà vu, as the interior design was very similar to that of Pluton in Alabasta.

The floor was made of metal, the walls of metal, and leather shoes made a clattering sound when they stepped on them. Just then, Dr. Vegapunk came to greet us from the other side of the corridor.

"Welcome, welcome! You've finally arrived. I heard you were left behind in Mary Geoise, and I even gave the Five Elders a piece of my mind."

Despite his diminutive stature, Vegapunk showed no inferiority complex in the face of the three-meter-tall Vidal.

"Come on, come on, I've solved the problem you mentioned about enabling warships to sail in the Calm Belt!"

Dr. Vegapunk did not lead him further into the base, but instead headed outwards. Vidal guessed that he was going to show him the samples.

The warship prototype will naturally be placed on the outer dock.

Sure enough, after following the doctor for a while, they arrived at a closed shipyard, where a somewhat strange-looking warship was sitting.

What makes it strange is that it has two large, one long and one short, chimneys at the back, which are very conspicuous, and huge paddle wheels on both sides. Vidal could basically figure out its working principle at a glance.

Steamship!

By using the steam from boiling water to drive the two paddle wheels on either side, it is indeed possible to eliminate the need for wind power.

However, he patiently listened to Vegapunk's excited introduction and then raised his own questions.

"So how does it boil water?"

This is the question he most wants to know, since boiling water depends on how it's boiled.

"Come, I'll take you to see it!"

Dr. Vegapunk pulled Vidal onto the warship and then quickly walked into the cabin. Once inside, Vidal saw many metal pipes attached to the walls on both sides.

Soon, the two arrived in front of a huge steel structure.

Boiler!

There were also many black stones piled up nearby.

"I see, it's just burning coal." Vidal was somewhat disappointed. He had thought he would see some kind of advanced energy technology, but it turned out to be just this.

"What, aren't you surprised?"

Vegapunk was quite surprised to see that Vidal hadn't reacted at all after he had explained the principles and effects of the boiler, and had simply been calmly looking at it.

"Well, how should I put it? Transforming the propulsion of warships from human and natural forces to mechanical forces is indeed a brilliant technology, but..."

Vidal stroked his chin, hesitating as he wondered if he should bring it up beforehand.

"Just what?"

Vegapunk asked curiously, not at all angry, but rather looking forward to Vidal coming up with more interesting ideas.

"I just think that burning coal is too troublesome. From the navy's perspective, it would greatly increase our supply costs and labor costs."

Vidal spoke slowly, one sentence at a time, because he was still thinking about what he should say and what he shouldn't say, afraid of slipping up.

"You see, if these steamships become common in the future, we'll not only have to carry large amounts of coal with us at all times, but we'll also have to assign some people to be responsible for burning the coal."

"The problem is that warships don't actually need to pass through the Calm Belt very often, so this type of ship isn't suitable for widespread deployment across the entire military. It's only suitable for developing a few special-purpose ships, which is somewhat different from my initial idea."

Vegapunk pondered these words and asked, "So what were your initial thoughts?"

"I want all warships to have the ability to cross the Calm Belt at low cost, and even increase their speed in normal sea areas. You know, don't be fooled by how big and powerful our warships are now; they are very slow, and we often have to give up because we can't catch up with pirate ships," Vidal sighed helplessly.

"This..." Vegapunk frowned.

"Have you ever thought about switching from coal, this troublesome and inefficient energy source, to a more efficient one?" Vidal already had an idea.

If we only strengthen the combat capabilities of warships, wouldn't that just increase the strength of the navy? Although the World Government also has its own ships, their scale is far from comparable to that of the navy.

Furthermore, I believe World Governments would not object to improving the efficiency of warships.

"You have an idea?" Vegapunk looked up at him expectantly.

"Hmm, what do you think about electricity? We can use electricity to heat seawater into steam, which will then power the propeller!"

Vidal certainly knew how difficult it was to boil seawater; in his previous life, warships and aircraft carriers actually used softened fresh water.

But who can blame him when the person in front of him is Vegapunk? He's not just any scientist, he's a black scientist!

"Electric water heating, an interesting idea," Dr. Vegapunk muttered to himself, his mind racing as he assessed the feasibility of the idea.

There seemed to be no problem; he was actually quite familiar with electricity.

Meanwhile, Vidal stared at the coal-fired boiler in front of him, as if he recognized the future identity of this warship.

In the theatrical film 'Adventure at the End of Death', Gaspard, Special Paramecia Soft-Soft Devil Fruit User with a bounty of 95 million Beli, sails the Salamander Gasparde, a large steam warship billowing black smoke.

Isn't that the experimental ship right in front of us?

So Gasparde is a naval officer directly under the G-1 Branch?

This guy slaughtered all the marines under his command, stole the first coal-fired steamship that was entrusted to his management, and became a pirate.

He's absolutely a complete jerk!

However, the special warships later used by the navy to pass through the Calm Belt, although they also had paddle wheels on both sides, no longer emitted black smoke from their smokestacks, presumably due to Vegapunk's improvements.

"I just don't know how old this kid is, or if he's even here now. I can ask Sakazuki about that sometime."

Wow! This book is about to reach the milestone of 300 chapters! For some reason, I feel a sense of relief that I've persevered this far. I wonder how many 100-chapter chapters my "Ryokugyu Fleet Admiral" will ultimately have. Four? Five? Or six?