Hachishō Navy, Leader "Chinjao"

Put eating the Devil Fruit aside for now. The urgent matter was still solving the Pluton Battleship's energy problem.

Several days later.

Vegapunk and the others returned, and Dimon received them at the General's Mansion.

"So, after studying it for several days, did you get any results?" Dimon asked bluntly.

Caesar wore an excited expression. "Shurorororo... What a masterpiece! It's perfect! It's hard to imagine how advanced ancient technology was!"

Judge and Queen exchanged glances before answering in turn.

"It has more than just a main cannon. There's also a great deal of unimaginable technology. If you want to know, I can write a detailed inspection report."

"One thing is amazing. That battleship should be able to turn invisible—optical camouflage!"

Is that what I wanted to hear?

Dimon looked helplessly at Vegapunk.

Vegapunk scratched his head, unsure where to begin. After considering it for a moment, he finally said,

"This is only a preliminary deduction. The power furnace required to start it uses a special liquid fuel. We still have no clues about it."

"Just tell me what you need. I'll fully support your research, Doctor."

"First, we need to establish a research institute, as well as more scientists and money. Then we need to purchase some research equipment."

In short, money.

Dimon nodded. "How large does the research institute need to be?"

"It would be best to keep it far from the city. There may be dangers during the research. An explosion could even blow an entire city into the sky..."

It won't blow up several precious scientists, will it?

Dimon had no desire for Vegapunk to die in an experiment. After careful consideration, he created a bottle of Elixir of Immortality on the spot.

"As for the research institute's location... there's an outlying island about an hour's voyage south of Wano Country's main island. It's called Onigashima, and it's suitable for building a research institute."

"Also, to make sure you'll be safe even if something goes wrong during an experiment, this bottle of wine is for you."

Stussy's eyes widened as she said enviously, "Why didn't you give me a bottle back then? So stingy~"

Everyone's eyes lit up. Vegapunk accepted the Elixir of Immortality and exclaimed,

"This is the legendary wine that grants eternal youth and immortality... You're giving it to us for free?"

"Consider it payment for your hard work." Dimon smiled. "One bottle can only pour four cups. You, Judge, Queen, and Caesar—exactly four people."

The power of eternal youth and immortality!

Judge and the others looked excited, but Vegapunk's reaction was somewhat different. Compared to drinking it, he seemed more interested in studying the wine's strange properties.

Dimon guessed what he was thinking and said decisively, "Drink it in front of me. Once you're done, I'll have someone send you to Onigashima."

"All right."

Vegapunk looked reluctant. He opened the bottle and carefully poured four cups, which the four of them drank one after another.

Afterward, Dimon summoned Abel and had him escort Vegapunk and the others away.

"You're not going?"

"The research institute has to be established first. I wouldn't be able to help even if I went."

Stussy smiled softly and looped her arm through Dimon's. Then she noticed something round in his pocket.

"What's this?"

"The Paramecia-type Scent-Scent Fruit. Oh, right, I forgot to tell you—an immortal won't die after eating a second Devil Fruit. The new ability will overwrite the original one."

Dimon took out the Scent-Scent Fruit from his pocket. "Want to eat it?"

"You're giving it to me? I'm so happy~"

Stussy beamed. She did not particularly care whether she ate a Devil Fruit or not. The fact that it was a gift from her lover made her happier.

She planted a fierce kiss on Dimon's cheek, then opened her mouth and bit off a piece of the fruit.

With a frown, Stussy became an ability user.

Very soon.

Dimon sniffed the air and caught an unusual fragrance. The scent was coming from Stussy.

"You got used to your new ability so quickly?"

As he spoke, Dimon felt something subtly starting to rise.

Stussy's cheeks flushed as she said shyly, "This new ability is really interesting. Releasing a special fragrance can also trigger hormones in the opposite sex."

"You've got some nerve, using it on me!"

Dimon immediately picked Stussy up and headed for the bedroom.

"Hahaha... Wait, I was only joking!"

"Too late."

They might as well call it the Viagra Fruit.

Several hours later, Dimon emerged from the bedroom and silently mocked it in his heart.

Women were merely seasoning for life. Compared to that, he was more concerned about money.

Wano Country was not a member nation of the World Government. The currency used within the country was not Berries either, but platinum, gold, and silver.

The currency was oval-shaped and could also be called koban. It was divided into large koban and small koban.

Wano Country had once been known as the Land of Gold, so naturally it used the precious metal gold as currency.

"Should I issue paper money instead?"

Dimon stroked his chin in thought, then decided against it. It would be too troublesome.

A real man should handle things simply and brutally—just raise taxes!

Let the laborers of Wano Country suffer a little.

Raising taxes alone was not enough. Udon's stone quarries also needed to expand, then recruit more stonemasons to produce more Seastone.

Finally, there was the issue of buyers.

Dimon did not want to sell to the World Government. That would be arming the enemy. The World Government would buy Seastone from him and then turn around and use it against him.

Although a large amount of Seastone entering the market would inevitably be bought up by the World Government, there was nothing he could do about that.

At the very least, he could not sell directly to the World Government.

"Who would buy Seastone in large quantities? Business is such a hassle."

Dimon felt somewhat helpless.

No wonder Kaido, in the original story, handed his weapons to Doflamingo after building numerous weapons factories in Wano Country, allowing him to act as a middleman and sell them throughout the world.

Doflamingo was quite capable. He had a talent for making money!

What Dimon lacked right now was exactly such a little brother.

"That guy is still a child now, right? He might still be a Celestial Dragon in the Holy Land..."

With that thought, Dimon prepared to make a trip to the Holy Land.

With teleportation, he had nothing to fear. If he wanted to leave, even Imu could not stop him.

He would meet Doflamingo and see whether he could snatch some Devil Fruits while he was there.

Once he made up his mind, Dimon acted. He released his Observation Haki and found Kaido's presence.

Kaido was cultivating alone on the outskirts of the Flower Capital.

Dimon found him and informed him that he was going out for a while.

Then he transformed into a demon. With a beat of his wings, he became a black streak shooting across the land and vanished beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.

New World, somewhere at sea.

A pirate ship sailed slowly across the rolling blue ocean.

On deck.

A pirate spent 100 Berries to buy a newspaper from a News Coo.

The moment he read it, he was overjoyed.

"Lord Chinjao! He's appeared! That man's news is in the newspaper!"

"What?"

The man called leader had a distinctive cone-shaped head and the nickname "Chinjao."

His bounty as a pirate was 542 million Berries!

Chinjao hurriedly snatched the newspaper away. On the front page, he saw the person he had been longing to find.

The mysterious "brewer," Dimon, had stormed Marine Headquarters alone!

The article described in detail Dimon's battle against the Fleet Admiral and Admiral Sengoku. He had fought two opponents alone, seized several Devil Fruits, and calmly departed.

No one knew who had written the article, but it praised Dimon to the heavens.

It even used baffling phrases like "the birth of a new king."

"So this happened several days ago?"

Chinjao scratched his cone-shaped head and sighed. "Finding this person really is difficult."

At that moment, the underling from before pointed at the distant sky.

"Lord Chinjao, there's another black line in the sky..."

"What black line?"

Chinjao raised his head and indeed saw a black streak cutting across the sky. He narrowed his eyes and released his Observation Haki, immediately sensing the other party's presence.

"It's a person!"

"He's coming at me!"

The black light made a sharp turn in the air and suddenly descended, hovering before the ship. The shockwave from its high-speed approach nearly overturned the pirate ship.

"Were you using Observation Haki to spy on me?"

Dimon stood in midair, surveying everyone on deck. At the sight of them, he could not help feeling surprised.

That head shape...

"You're the pillar of the Hachishō Navy, Leader Chinjao."