The Admiral Candidate Title!
"Ugh!--"
"It still doesn't work."
Vidal frowned as he watched Noel's Colonel writhe on the ground, clutching his head, his face contorted in pain and rage, screaming desperately.
At this moment, there was only this one Wood Clone containing the 'Consciousness Seed' in the office; the others were casually eliminated by him, since only one test subject was needed.
Let me see what went wrong.
Vidal stood up from his chair and walked over, simultaneously using his ability to prevent the other party from making any movements, including showing an ugly expression of pain. The Wood Clone's original body was still wood, and it was powerless against him, Devil Fruit User of the Forest-Forest Fruit.
He squatted down, covered the Wood Clone's head with his right palm, and began to search for the 'Consciousness Seed' inside. Soon, he discovered that cracks had appeared on the surface of the seed.
"So that's how it is. It seems that a true Wood Clone won't work for the time being." Vidal sighed helplessly, then destroyed the seed in the Wood Clone's brain, freeing it from the boundless agony.
In general, his approach was not flawed: he used wood to create the clone's body, then used the abilities he gained from the Boin Archipelago to imbue it with intelligence and will, and finally used his newly upgraded Advanced Observation Haki ability to 'Knowing the Past' and infuse the memories into 'memory seeds'.
In this way, the Wood Clone, which possesses most of the original body's memories, can naturally help handle many things.
The problem is that the level of intelligence and willpower I have given myself is too low, and I am simply unable to handle or process overly complex memories and thoughts.
It's the same principle as implanting a person's thoughts and memories into the consciousness of an insect, which is why the 'Consciousness Seed' couldn't bear the weight and cracked open.
"So as long as the consciousness and intelligence given to me reach a level that can accept and process my memories, I can create a real Wood Clone!" Vidal stood up, his eyes full of excitement, because he knew that this was not impossible.
Now we're just waiting for news from Woonan. I'll call him later to urge him on. Once we find the target, I have to get there no matter how busy I am!
[Knock knock!]
Just as Vidal finished dealing with the last remaining Noel Wood Clone, there was another knock on the office door, this time more urgent than before.
"Come in."
[Bang.]
"Base Commander! This is the order from headquarters! And a newly published copy of the World Economy News Paper!" Lieutenant Isoka reported hurriedly as soon as he entered.
"No need to give me the newspaper, you've already seen it, right? Now tell me," Vidal said, taking the command document from headquarters and opening it as he stood there.
"Yes, the newspapers reported that 'Flying Admiral' 'Golden Lion' Shiki is leading his Flying Pirates in a battle against the G-3 branch, which is commanded by Vice Admiral Garp, Vice Admiral Clow, Vice Admiral Light, and Admiral Sakazuki!"
"Is that so? It seems the sea in the New World is quite lively now." Vidal just smiled after hearing this, after all, he had already expected this.
With one of the Flying Pirates' Governor 'dying' at his own hands, Shiki the Golden Lion, as a powerful figure in the crew, had to react. Regardless of his true feelings, he had to engage in a major battle with the Navy; this was a matter of attitude.
As for whether Shiki's contact with Garp will reveal that the Zangjing are not actually dead, but rather imprisoned by themselves, there's no need to worry too much about it.
He 'killed' the Zangjing in front of everyone, tens of thousands of people watched. Now you, Shiki, say the Zangjing isn't dead? He also said he personally killed the Zangjing, so why doesn't that count?
You say you have Vivre Card from the Zangjing?
Take it out and have a look!
Hey, this Vivre Card is just a blank piece of paper. What evidence is there that it belongs to the person who created the Zangjing? And if the Zangjing really isn't dead, and this is indeed Vivre Card, then why isn't it moving?
Everyone knows that Vivre Card will slowly move in the direction of the person who owns it!
Therefore, there was not much risk in Vidal secretly capturing the Zangjing, as Vivre Cards are not difficult to make.
He had previously experimented with this himself. Although the parallel space within the Door-Door Fruit could not completely sever the fundamental connection between the Vivre Card and the user, it could prevent the card from locating the user.
"Um... aren't you worried about the situation on G-3's side?" Lieutenant Isoka asked cautiously.
"Don't worry, Vice Admiral Garp is currently the strongest among the top-tier admirals. No opponent of the same level can defeat him one-on-one. Moreover, Vice Admirals Kuro and Light are both veteran Vice Admirals, and with the addition of Sakazuki, the lava man who can cause widespread destruction, they definitely have no problem contending with the Flying Pirates. Besides, 'Golden Lion' won't really fight to the death."
Seeing the worry and unease on his secretary's face, Vidal gently explained the situation in the New World to her while reviewing the contents of the command document.
Moreover, he felt that this battle would be Sakazuki's breakthrough fight, and soon everyone would understand the formidable combat power of a top-tier Logia Fruit user. Compared to the previous battle where the three of them besieged 'Red the Aloof', it was more like a rehearsal and preview before he and Borsalino stepped onto the world stage.
"Wow, I didn't expect to get this title so early, along with a bounty of nearly a billion Beli and a lot of battle merits. Not bad at all!" Vidal laughed heartily after reading the contents of the document.
He had been thinking about how the higher-ups would reward him, after all, he had personally killed two famous members of the Roger Pirates and the third-ranking figure of the Flying Pirates, 'Old Man of Time' Zangjing!
"A title? A title bestowed by headquarters?" Lieutenant Isoka asked curiously.
"Well, it's no big deal to show you. Anyway, once the next issue of the World Economy News Paper comes out, the whole ocean will know about this." Vidal casually handed the opened document to the other person, then pushed open the door and walked out of the office.
Lieutenant Isoka eagerly read the contents, then her eyes widened after a moment, her small mouth, adorned with pink lipstick, opened in surprise, and she exclaimed, "Rear Admiral Forrest Vidal has been granted the title of Admiral Candidate ahead of schedule!!"
Upon seeing the word "Admiral," her heart began to race. Although the word "candidate" was used, it was still incredibly powerful. What did "Admiral" mean?
The Marine Headquarters' top combat force!
It can command and mobilize all naval branches Four Blues and the G-system branch forces on the Grand Line, and possesses the 'Golden Den Den Mushi', granting it the terrifying power to launch a 'Buster Call' at any time without needing to notify its superiors, destroying any location and erasing everything that exists!
On the other hand, Vidal was also in a very good mood, which could be seen from the upturned corners of his mouth.
"Base Commander!"
"Base Commander!"
The First-Class Seaman guarding the prison gates inside the base immediately straightened their posture and loudly reported as soon as they saw him stride over.
"Hmm, those Fish-Man Race are inside, right?" Vidal asked, looking down.
"Yes!"
"Yes, I'm going in to see them. Open the door, and once I'm inside, don't let anyone near."
"Yes!"
With a clang, two First-Class Seaman, having received the secret order, swiftly opened the prison's iron gate, then closed it again after Vidal entered, their eyes wide open as they surveyed their surroundings.
Inside, ignoring the pleading, malicious, or fearful gazes of the pirates in the cells on either side, Vidal slowly approached the deepest cell where nineteen Fish-Man Race were imprisoned.
"Hello, let me introduce myself. I am Forrest Vidal, your savior!" Vidal said with a light smile, meeting the complicated gazes of the group of Fish-Man.
Thank you so much, Fanma Xingren, for the 2200 reward! Thank you, thank you so much, big brother!!