Next Steps

"It only took a year!!"

Thinking of that timeline, Reg could not help but feel tempted. In just one year, Wapol had gone from a penniless beggar to founding another country, and had even married Miss Universe.

That counted as a loser's comeback in a sense... even though he had inherited a country before becoming a beggar.

"Haha... Wapol Metal." Reg laughed as he said the name of the alloy.

An alloy referred to a solid product with metallic properties, formed by mixing and melting one metal with one or more other metals or nonmetals, then cooling and solidifying it.

Wapol Metal, meanwhile, referred to a metal with shape-memory properties.

Toys made from this stuff were not only lifelike; more importantly:

Smashed to pieces? No problem!

Stepped on and broken? No problem!

Accidentally tore off a doll's arm or snapped off its head?

No problem—just wait a while, and it would return to normal. It was practically every brat's dream, wasn't it?!

There were too many things humans from his previous world could accomplish... miraculous plants that could whiten skin, perfumes that could intoxicate people, and so on. It was not even limited to making money. If he put a little more thought into it, researching Devil Fruits would not be impossible either.

The problem was... Dressrosa lay in the latter half of the Grand Line, in the New World.

Going there as a Berg Pirate... heading to Fish-Man Island was basically gambling with his life, not to mention that Berg himself had chickened out during their conversation earlier.

Even if they were lucky enough to pass Fish-Man Island and reach the New World... there was no guarantee they could make it safely to Dressrosa.

Most importantly... even if they succeeded, in 1510 they would still directly clash with Doflamingo, who would come to "reclaim his country."

If that triggered a butterfly effect, it might even happen earlier... Doflamingo was no ordinary character. He was a Celestial Dragon who possessed Conqueror's Haki.

Under him were the four highest-ranking officers, all sorts of key officers, and countless subordinates... he had no shortage of powerful soldiers and generals.

Although at this point in time... the other side had only been developing in the North Blue for a year, P9 intelligence had already set its sights on them.

Before leaving the island, Colin had seriously warned him not to provoke the Donquixote Pirates, but did not dare say more... after all, they were Celestial Dragons. Even if they were "discarded" World Nobles, their privileges were not something just anyone could access.

Rubbing his temples, Reg frowned... Having decided to become strong, he would not devote too much of his attention to making money and building up a force. He could only leave those matters to someone else.

It was not right to simply let the memories in his head sit idle... they had an expiration date. The longer he delayed... the fewer things he would be able to change.

"I'll see how things go..."

After a long while, Reg looked up at the sky. As long as he could obtain the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he would not fear Doflamingo.

Before Berg fully explained his background, Reg could not completely trust him... but he could make some arrangements first and send Berg to Drum Kingdom in the first half of the Grand Line.

Berg could keep watch over the Munch-Munch Fruit while establishing some influence... Once Reg returned from Sky Island, he would pay the place a visit.

Reg was not relying solely on his familiarity with the plot and its characters. He had plenty of other ideas as well.

At this time, Wapol was only a child. Reg did not know whether he had eaten the Munch-Munch Fruit yet... but Reg knew for certain that Drum Kingdom was still a world-renowned medical powerhouse, with countless outstanding doctors on the island.

Hidden Cloud Village's Lightning Release Body Tempering from Naruto... combined with the body of this world, just what level could it be developed to?

At its core, this secret technique used chakra transformed into electric currents to stimulate every cell in the body, thereby tempering it.

After eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Reg could turn his entire body into electricity at any time, so using electric currents to stimulate his cells would not be a problem... The prerequisite was an extremely high level of medical knowledge. He did not want to blindly develop it himself and end up messing up his body.

As long as the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was combined with the doctors' superb medical skills... Reg believed he could develop a body-tempering method unique to himself.

"Two birds with one stone..."

Reg murmured, his expression turning more resolute... The arrangements he had made were highly flexible.

If he went to Sky Island and failed to obtain the Rumble-Rumble Fruit... then Berg's trip to Drum Kingdom would still be useful: seize the Munch-Munch Fruit, or kidnap Wapol after he ate it.

After accomplishing that, they could copy the path Wapol had taken... start with toys and rapidly build a massive force.

Then, relying on his numerous subordinates to search for the Devil Fruits he needed... the Flame-Flame Fruit, Dark-Dark Fruit, Barrier-Barrier Fruit, Hobby-Hobby Fruit, and other overpowered fruits. There was a broad range of options to consider.

Reg did not want to see that happen, because it would require him to handle it personally... and there were too many uncontrollable factors. He might even get drawn into struggles for power.

If he obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit... then while coming here to study medicine, he could still seize the Munch-Munch Fruit and leave it to Berg to build a force of his own.

Both of these steps could lay the groundwork for his next plans... the people's country in the New World, Thunder God Island, and even that incident that would happen next year.

Plans in this world could not remain unchanged forever... the world was "alive," changing every moment.

"This will do for now..."

Reg withdrew his Observation Haki and calculated the time... It was still early.

So Reg used Moon Walk to reach a tall rock... and began his Flexibility Technique training.

Over the past few months, the body-tempering effects brought by this martial art had become increasingly apparent... As his body became more flexible, Reg's control over it grew ever stronger.

The most direct improvement was... he had learned Iron Body and Finger Pistol.

The other four forms had improved to some extent as well... after all, the Six Powers were a powerful physical technique.

The more he developed his body, the easier it became to use the corresponding techniques, and the more powerful they became.

Another benefit concerned swimming: butterfly stroke, backstroke, freestyle, even breaststroke... Reg could use them in all sorts of variations without the slightest pressure.

Though after eating a Devil Fruit... even taking a swim in the water would become a luxury, for now it was still quite useful.

Although Reg had Berg to help detect the currents, he did not have the ape pirate crew Luffy had encountered, who could use sound waves to determine the current's direction.

The only clumsy method was... to dive beneath the sea and use his own body to sense the ocean's mysterious changes.

Though the process was grueling, Reg persevered... Aside from the first two months, when Berg had to guide his studies, he completed the rest on his own.

Before a Knock Up Stream formed, the temperature on the seafloor would rise slightly... This was because low-temperature seawater flowed into vast underwater caverns, where geothermal heat eventually created enormous steam pressure and caused an explosion.

This was not difficult for Reg, who possessed Observation Haki, to sense... The process began appearing after the previous Knock Up Stream ended.

Until the next current erupted... and then the cycle repeated.

By following the passage of time and the water temperature, heading toward the area with the highest temperature, Reg could determine its approximate range.

But that was not all... They also had to calculate where the Cumulate Cloud would appear.

Only when the Knock Up Stream overlapped with the Cumulate Cloud was there a chance of reaching Sky Island. Mont Blanc Cricket had made this very clear in his memories.

Observing the sky was no simple matter... The area around Jaya Island had island weather, complete with all four seasons.

During spring, the rainiest season... Cumulate Clouds appeared most frequently, while they were rarest in winter.

When it came to observing the sky, Reg was far inferior to Berg... He went to Mock Town and questioned many pirates who had lived there for a long time. Then, based on the information collected over the past few months, he determined that the Cumulate Cloud would overlap with the northern current when it erupted.

Reg, who had come to Jaya Island in summer, had encountered such a situation once... and then once more several months later.

And now, this was the third day the Cumulate Cloud and the Knock Up Stream would overlap... which meant tomorrow!