Modifying the Den Den Mushi, A Mobile Phone?

The next day, morning.

Sabaody Archipelago, headquarters of the World Economic News Paper.

After finishing breakfast, the group appeared in Brook's room. The floor was covered with all sorts of Den Den Mushi. Antonio was busily feeding them leaves and greens, caring for these adorable little snails with such tenderness that he could even communicate with them like friends.

The receivers and buttons on the Den Den Mushi were artificial additions made later, so even if these parts were damaged, the snails themselves felt no pain.

Adding specific parts allowed for faxing, and attaching specific speakers turned them into broadcast Den Den Mushi... Truly, it was a vast world with no shortage of wonders.

"Antonio, communicate with the Den Den Mushi and ask if they can possess multiple functions simultaneously—for example, having the capabilities of a Visual Den Den Mushi, a Fax Den Den Mushi, and a Projection Den Den Mushi all at once?"

As a modern man, Brook suddenly found himself missing smartphones. He wondered if these high-tech biological creatures could do more than just voice calls, perhaps even instant text or image messaging.

"Captain, the little snails say they only know the functions they were born with and are used to obeying their masters' modifications."

"Antonio, try to see if these young Den Den Mushi can learn and be modified to acquire multiple functions at the same time?"

"Captain, Den Den Mushi are very lazy. They are only willing to learn one radio frequency; having an extra function would be too exhausting. They don't get enough energy from eating leaves as it is, so they need to sleep and rest often."

So that was it. Usually, aside from the brief moments spent on calls, they were either eating or sleeping. If they were used for instant messaging and had to stay alert at all times, the poor creatures would likely work themselves to death.

The Visual Den Den Mushi in Impel Down even required an eight-shift rotation just to monitor prisoners; the workload couldn't be any higher, or they would simply drop dead.

"Tell these young Den Den Mushi that besides basic communication, if they learn visual and fax functions, they can eat whatever they want. Or, try using your Devil Fruit ability—can you help them?"

Although the ideal was far off, Brook wanted to try. However, low-energy food like leaves certainly wouldn't sustain the Den Den Mushi for long periods. If they spent two hours eating just to talk for five minutes, he would have to find them something more energy-dense.

"I understand, Captain. I will do my absolute best to carry out your orders."

Relying on the advantages of his Den Den Mushi Devil Fruit, Antonio continued to communicate amicably with the young snails, truly treating them like friends.

Brook asked Shakky if there had been any news about Treasure Tree Adam in the black market lately, hoping to stockpile some for shipbuilding, and also wanted to check the underground black market for any tech experts capable of modifying Den Den Mushi.

Leaving Antonio at the news headquarters, Brook took Shakky to the Grove 1-29 area of the Sabaody Archipelago to search for what he needed. Many pirate crews preparing to head to the New World were also there, trading specialties from various unique islands in the black market.

"Rare animals unique to Rare Animal Island, come take a look~"

"Striped animals from Long Ring Long Land, don't miss out as you pass by..."

"Precious medicine from the Winter Island of Drum Kingdom, only 500,000 Berries..."

"Mechanical dogs from the Future Kingdom of Baldimore, good enough to defeat pirates with a 5 million Berry bounty, yours for only 10 million Berries."

"Scraps of Treasure Tree Adam left behind by the ship of the New World's former hegemon, Rocks, highly commemorative and worth collecting..."

An old shipwright from a Sabaody shipyard was shouting loudly; these were items the old fox had stolen from his company to sell.

Brook curiously stepped forward to watch. Treasure Tree Adam was the strongest tree in the world of One Piece, incredibly tough and the best material for shipbuilding. However, these were indeed just scraps—small, jagged, uneven pieces—but the material they were resting on caught his eye.

"You dare bring out these scattered bits? Oh well, they might make decent trinkets. How much?"

Brook feigned a look of disdain, as if they were tasteless scraps, while his eyes secretly lingered on the Adam tree leaves that remained lush and green despite the passage of time. He wondered if Den Den Mushi would eat them; such leaves had to be precious and rich in energy.

"This customer, you have an eye for quality! Once turned into trinkets, with the added fame of Captain Rocks, they'll definitely be a hit! Only 1 million Berries, and you can take them home to craft right now!"

The old fox of a shipwright immediately began aggressively inflating the value of his goods and the customer's taste, shouting a high price.

"Go to hell! I know you—you're the old guy from the Labrador Shipyard here in Sabaody. You stole these, didn't you?"

As a well-known information broker on the Sabaody Archipelago, Shakky immediately saw through the old shipwright's act.

"You brat! If you aren't buying, don't insult me! Get lost, get lost~"

The expression on the old shipwright's face shifted instantly as he tried to shoo away the two troublemakers.

"100,000 Berries! Are you selling or not?"

Brook's cold, deep-blue eyes fixed on the old man, and the air temperature seemed to drop, making the shipwright shiver.

"You are the sole survivor of the Rumbar Pirates, 'Revenge' Brook? The popular pirate who wiped out the Poison Smoke Pirates in one go and now has an 80 million Berry bounty?"

The old shipwright pulled out the newspaper he had sold that morning along with the latest wanted poster.

'Revenge' Brook, former acting captain of the Rumbar Pirates, formerly known as 'Humming' Brook, who took down Poison Cannon Sarin—with a 56 million Berry bounty—in a single strike. His bounty had now risen to 80 million Berries.

"Lord Brook, these scraps aren't worth much, you can just take them! All I ask is for you to sign this wanted poster for me!"

The old shipwright's eyes lit up. This Brook was a star among pirates; countless pirates were his fans. Now that his bounty had surged, a signed wanted poster would surely fetch a handsome price.

"I won't take advantage of you. Here is 100,000 Berries. Do you have any more Treasure Tree Adam or scraps back at the shipyard? Even the leaves, I want them all."

After signing the poster for the old man, Brook still tossed him the money and packed up all the Adam wood scraps and leaves.

"There are no more scraps. These leaves were from the few remaining branches on the Adam wood; I've scavenged every last one."

Upon hearing this, Brook simply asked the old man to keep an eye out for any news regarding Treasure Tree Adam in the future, including the leaves, and left him a Den Den Mushi number.

"Captain Brook, why do you want these things?" Shakky asked, puzzled.

"I don't know if Den Den Mushi will eat these leaves, but I'm buying them to find out!"

Brook continued to take Shakky through the underground black market in search of scientists who could modify Den Den Mushi, but they found none. Finally, Shakky reminded him that such talent might already exist within the news agency itself.

Brook inwardly cried out at his own blunder—wasn't he holding the baby while searching for the baby?

Brook immediately rushed back to the World Economic News Paper to ask Moore Thomas to lend him some people. They truly had the high-level talent capable of installing buttons, receivers, speakers, external fax machines, and external printers for Den Den Mushi...