Alonso was genuinely interested in the Sea Train project. But he was even more interested in Tom's disciple, Franky!
Fish-Man Tom's value was beyond question, but compared to him, Doflamingo appreciated Franky more.
It was not merely because Franky liked manufacturing weapons, which better suited Doflamingo's interests. Doflamingo also valued Franky's uniquely innovative inspiration.
After being grievously wounded, he had rebuilt himself into an iron man and used cola as an energy source... In Doflamingo's eyes, Franky was truly wasting his talent as a shipwright. His gift had never been in ships, but in being a true mechanical genius.
If he had been born in the Gundam World, Franky would have looked far more like a protagonist than Straw Hat! From building Gundams to piloting them, Franky could handle it all himself!
Doflamingo believed that his combat robot project would be more than enough to attract Franky.
After all, the World Government would eventually introduce the Pacifistas. Doflamingo naturally had to make preparations early.
As for the gap between Franky and Vegapunk, Doflamingo was not worried in the slightest. Vegapunk had never truly put his heart into working for the World Government. Otherwise, with his artificial Devil Fruit technology alone, the World Government should have been able to sweep across the seas.
Franky had merely picked up some blueprints Vegapunk had left behind over a decade ago, yet his self-modifications had improved enormously. Meanwhile, Vegapunk had spent ten or twenty years in the Marines' science division and had produced only a few Sea Stone warships and Pacifistas. Clearly, Vegapunk had held back more than a few tricks.
"Alright, then where are we going to find him?" Lao Cai shrugged and asked.
"Fish-Man Tom is no insignificant figure. Finding out where he is will be easy." Alonso hopped onto the dock