Thousand Year Dragon
Winter Island, the Drum Kingdom, Lafitte flew through the air, gazing at the island whose peaks resembled drums.
The Drum Kingdom was famous throughout the Grand Line and even the four seas, after all, it was a renowned medical power, but now it has declined.
This is Lafitte's third visit to this island. The first time was with the Night Pirates, who stole a large number of valuable medical instruments and technologies from the Drum Kingdom.
Some of these are core secrets that are not shared with outsiders.
However, the king of the Drum Kingdom was hypnotized by Lafitte at that time, so it had no impact; at most, there was some economic loss.
Less than two years later, the King of the Drum Kingdom died unexpectedly, and Prince Wapol succeeded him. All of this was, of course, Lafitte's doing in secret.
Through hypnosis, Wapol implemented a series of tyrannical acts, provoking popular resistance and even issuing the foolish order to "expel the doctor."
Most of the doctors from the medical superpower were expelled and then taken in by the Night Pirates, along with their families, beginning their wonderful lives in the Night Sea Domain.
The accumulated wealth of the Drum Kingdom over hundreds of years was thus swallowed up by the Night Pirates.
This world-renowned medical superpower thus declined, and two years ago, the inhabitants of the Drum Kingdom could no longer tolerate Wapol's tyranny, so they completely overthrew Wapol's regime and established a new king.
The successor was Dalton, the former chief of guard of the Drum Royal Family, Zoan Buffalo Devil Fruit User. Wapol, as a Roe Deer Devil Fruit User, was no match for him, and he had completely lost the support of the people.
After all, Teach took both the Munch-Munch Fruit and the Fungi-Fungi Fruit, so Wapol's strength wasn't that great.
Lafitte's target this time wasn't Drum Kingdom. Drum Kingdom's value had already been squeezed dry, and apart from the precious medicinal herbs abundant on the island, there was nothing the Night Pirates would want.
At the highest peak of the Drum Kingdom stands an ancient castle, where the island's only doctor resides. After all, Lafitte's methods are ruthless; he controls Wapol and has even expelled the island's medical apprentices.
The fact that the doctor, who would disappear over many years, was eliminated in just a few months shows that Wapol was far more brutal under Lafitte's control.
This is actually something that will happen in the Drum Kingdom in the future, only it's happening earlier than expected.
It's better to have a short, sharp pain than a long, Night Pirates.
Later, other forces, such as the World Government, may come here to gain benefits; the entire foundation has been almost completely undermined.
The castle high in the mountain, where Lafitte had already located Dr. Kureha when he came before, he couldn't believe that this woman had actually lived for 127 years.
But this is true, and she is living very well and in excellent health. Apart from her face and body, she shows no signs of aging and looks just like a young girl.
Lafitte entered the castle and immediately located Dr. Kureha's position, sneaking in unnoticed.
Dr. Kureha was sipping red wine and looking out the window at the monotonous snow scene. Having lived in the castle for years, she hadn't noticed anything strange about it.
This shows just how terrifying Lafitte's ability to lurk is; no one can use Observation Haki all the time.
It seemed about time. Dr. Kureha turned around and was immediately startled. A man had appeared in the corner without her noticing at all.
Dr. Kureha is probably quite strong, but she's only around 200-300 million Beli at most, which is far less than Lafitte's level.
However, Dr. Kureha quickly regained her composure and looked closely at Lafitte, recognizing him as a vicious Great Pirate within the Night Pirates.
The nickname "Devil Patrolman" is quite well-known; Dr. Kureha keeps track of all news from the high seas.
"What brings you here?" Since Lafitte had come to see him, she must have something to say, and he must have checked her information beforehand. "Do you want to know the secret to my eternal youth?"
Dr. Kureha has a great attitude. When she didn't know what Lafitte was doing, she even made a little joke, which was actually not a joke, but rather quite possible.
After all, there wasn't much about her that the Night Pirates would value.
"Yes, that's right." Lafitte twirled his cane, smiled and nodded, looking at Kureha. He could sense the youth and vitality in Kureha's body, which naturally indicated that she had special methods, something that even he was somewhat curious about.
Since we're here, taking this secret with us wouldn't be a bad idea; it's quite valuable.
"However, that's secondary. The main thing is to obtain the secret formula for the Elixir of Immortality from you. Although it can't grant eternal life, extending lifespan would be of great use to us." Lafitte smiled slightly. "You should have this formula, after all, you can be considered the world's best doctor."
"Oh! Take it if you want it." Kureha breathed a sigh of relief. This kind of thing was useless to her. Although Lafitte seemed very friendly, she couldn't bear the consequences if she refused. She was actually under Lafitte's threat now.
"I can give you the secret recipe, but there's one key ingredient that's almost impossible to find," Kureha warned Lafitte, worried that the Night Pirates might think she was lying and come looking for trouble.
"Oh, don't worry. If you mean Dragon Bone, then we've found them— the Dragon Bone of Thousand Year Dragon."
As expected, the Night Pirates came prepared. Lafitte's words startled Kureha; she hadn't expected the Night Pirates to have even obtained the legendary Dragon Bone.
"If it's a trade, we can give you a copy of the Dragon Bone, but besides the secret formula, we also need all of your medical skills."
Kureha's medical skills are world-class, and she must have some unique methods. She might even improve the Night Pirates' medical techniques and biological research. In any case, the Night Pirates won't lose out.
Why resort to violence when you can get it peacefully?
"No problem, but I need some time to organize it." Kureha didn't refuse. It was just some medical skills; she hadn't lost anything. In comparison, the Dragon Bone, the most crucial part of the secret to immortality, was much more attractive to her. Once she obtained it, the other medicinal materials would be no problem for her at all.
The ability to extend one's lifespan is a tremendous temptation for her. The longer she lives, the more she appreciates the preciousness of time. Besides, the sea is ever-changing, and she doesn't want to miss out on anything.
The Night Pirates were a powerful force that she simply couldn't refuse.
Organizing medical texts is a troublesome task, but Kureha had already organized most of them, completing the task in just two days.
While Lafitte was at it, he made a round trip to the East Sea and brought back a frozen claw bone, still stained with blood.
Kureha immediately recognized it as the hand bone of Thousand Year Dragon; even if it was just a claw bone, it was still very large to her.
The Elixir of Immortality is not ingested, but rather absorbed by the body, much like a medicinal bath.
This piece of Dragon Bone could be used to make two Elixir of Immortality for her.
The transaction went very smoothly, and both parties were satisfied. With the things Kureha had prepared, Lafitte transformed into her beast form and flew away.
As for whether it's fake, Lafitte doesn't care, because Kureha is a smart person. If she really dared to deceive the Night Pirates, where could she run to?
On the other side of the East China Sea, on an island called Warship Island, a legendary Thousand Year Dragon lives on a mountain far from the town.
The Thousand Year Dragon is trapped in the cave, unable to move, and has now become someone else's prisoner.
Nelson stayed here, monitoring the enormous, ancient Thousand Year Dragon. The Thousand Year Dragon was utterly powerless against him; although it wasn't quite on the verge of death and its memory was failing, it was close.
He waited there, waiting for the arrival of the Night Pirates' airship. Long before the Night Pirates advertised their Night Pirates, they had already manufactured many to ensure they had enough for their own use and could quickly supply the rest of the world.
They also have their own airships, which are exclusive to the Night Pirates. Although they can't match the speed of the Flying Pirates' flying machines, their capacity is far superior.
Everyone knows the importance of the Thousand Year Dragon; its ability to extend lifespan alone is something people crave.
Even if one's lifespan is extended by ten years, it can extend one's peak period by five years.
Moreover, according to records, the Elixir of Immortality can easily allow someone to live to be 120 years old. Of course, if someone has too many old wounds like Whitebeard, the effect may be less pronounced.
The bones from a whole Thousand Year Dragon aren't that numerous; they're mostly used by the core members of the Night Pirates.
Since the absorption is done through a medicinal bath, the larger the person's body size, the more Dragon Bone is needed.
This Thousand Year Dragon is arguably the only one of its kind in the ocean; the whereabouts of the others are unknown. They are likely in the Calm Belt, or perhaps in some inaccessible and wondrous region, since some islands possess natural barriers similar to storms.
A blood-red shadow flew across the sky; Lafitte had arrived, carrying what she had obtained from Kureha.
"You're here. When will the airship arrive?" Nelson asked as soon as he saw Lafitte.
"Soon, only about two hours." Lafitte glanced at his pocket watch, calculated in his mind, then turned his head, his gaze fixed on the direction of Warship Island. "Before that, to avoid our whereabouts being exposed, we still have things to take care of."
The problem to be solved is naturally the residents of Warship Island. If airships come to this island, no matter how well they hide, they will be discovered, which will not benefit them.
Even though the East China Sea is no longer considered World Government territory, the World Government certainly still has intelligence agents there.
Although the possibility of exposure was slim, they were very cautious and did not want any possibility of being exposed.
"What? Are you going to kill all the island's inhabitants?" Nelson chuckled as he looked at Lafitte. He had killed thousands, if not tens of thousands, so why would he care about these ordinary people?
However, those were all enemies, and Nelson was not one to kill indiscriminately. Moreover, the importance of the Thousand Year Dragon was simply too great; merely eliminating the inhabitants of a small island was a worthwhile gain.
"How could that be?" Lafitte shook his head. "We can just hypnotize them all and let them sleep. That way, we won't expose anything. If a few do notice, we can deal with them then. No one can escape from us."
Even killing carries the risk of exposure, since wounds and other evidence can be analyzed, so it's best to use a safer method.
Moreover, hypnosis can make someone believe something permanently, just like a Marine named Morgan in the East Blue who, after being hypnotized, firmly believed that he had killed a pirate.
Lafitte's hypnosis is even more powerful, being the world's top hypnosis technique. Combined with the power of ultrasound, the effects are even greater, making it easy for some residents to fall asleep.
"That's fine, I don't want to get my hands on the blood of ordinary people." Nelson nodded.
Lafitte, however, did not take any action. His hypnosis was not foolproof; someone might wake up soon.
He can act before the airship arrives; it won't take long anyway.
This Thousand Year Dragon is priceless, even though the Night Pirates have developed a "Super Gene Potion" that can grant people over two hundred years of lifespan, along with Pure Gold.
Because lifespan is priceless and a luxury, a single Dragon Bone could fetch billions of Beli at auction, with people willing to pay any price.
No one wants to grow old over time, especially those in power.
Soon, Lafitte took action, transforming into a blood-red shadow and flying into the town, using his abilities to hypnotize all the town's residents.
Hypnosis via ultrasound is so potent that even the strongest individuals can be affected, while ordinary people are powerless to resist. In fact, Lafitte doesn't even need to do anything.
There's no need to create any false memories or anything like that; that would be too complicated. In the end, the island's inhabitants would just treat it as a paranormal event, and it would all pass quickly.
After all, there is no evidence.
Just as they had planned, everything went very smoothly. The airship located their position, loaded the Thousand Year Dragon with one of its fingers cut off into the airship, and then flew into the sky, taking them back to the Night Sea Domain.
Besides this operation unknown to outsiders, the Night Pirates were also closely monitoring the Flying Pirates.
The upcoming shift in the world order will likely be spearheaded by the Flying Pirates.
The Flying Pirates are brewing a big plan and have kept a low profile in recent years. Not only the World Government and the Navy, but also the Night Pirates have noticed it.
After all, the Flying Pirates are the Night Pirates' biggest potential enemy, so it's natural to send spies to gather intelligence on them.
After acquiring the name of the island "Weil," Teach knew what the Flying Pirates, or rather Shiki, wanted to do.
If nothing unexpected happens, "SIQ" will still be born, and combined with those terrifying creatures, it could truly unleash terrifying destructive power.
Teach had his eye on the island of Weil, especially the peculiar plant called "IQ" that grows there, capable of stimulating the brains of animals and causing them to evolve according to their environment.
Shiki wants to use this to acquire an army of monsters with terrifying destructive power, while Teach wants to promote human evolution and conduct further research using this plant.
However, since the island is currently in the hands of the Flying Pirates, obtaining it will require waiting for Shiki's plan to be implemented.
The Flying Pirates' target is undoubtedly the World Government and the Navy. Even with a large and terrifying army of monsters, Teach doesn't believe the Flying Pirates can succeed, as there is a significant gap in their high-end combat capabilities.
Teach understood the power of the World Government, plus the formidable strength of the Navy, even better than the Flying Pirates.
Regardless, it certainly dealt a heavy blow to the World Government and navy.
It's not time for that yet. Maybe the Flying Pirates have some other trump cards up their sleeves, or they'll find allies.
503 Thousand Year Dragon