Scientists

Besides attempts to assassinate Hades, there were efforts to locate the arms production sites.

The World Government had plenty of Spy agents inside the kingdom, but the Kingdom of Kronos kept them at bay.

Countless lookouts had been posted outside the restricted zone. Anyone who approached would be spotted, and devices that detected living beings would sound the alarm.

Then the many Nether Guards and Shadow Guards hidden there would spring into action.

A standing army of three hundred thousand was also stationed in the forbidden zone.

Arms had been flowing to every corner of the world for only three years. Their influence was still largely limited to the four seas and the New World.

Even with production lines, automated output had yet to meet Hades's demands.

In three years, total production of muskets and flintlocks, long-barreled and short-barreled alike, had reached only six million.

Their impact on the world was limited. Most had gone to equip kingdom armies, leaving only around a million to reach the open seas.

That number barely made a ripple out there. The West Blue and North Blue alone, with their many gangs and rampant crime, consumed enormous quantities of arms.

These were simple weapons, easy to make, yet production had not reached even a tenth of what Hades had envisioned.

The production lines, the degree of automation, and the efficiency of the machine tools all needed constant improvement.

This was the foundation of industry, and building better machines required Kronos Kingdom to accumulate technical expertise.

The production lines had been built in the kingdom's early days and were far from perfect. Now, with experience behind them, the kingdom was preparing to replace them all.

Kronos Kingdom's focus was now on heavy industry: steelmaking, metallurgy, machinery, energy, and especially electricity.

Hades had developed the arms industry first, making it the core from which to expand into broader fields.

On these seas, nothing mattered more than having power. Everything else came second.

With a technological foundation in heavy industry, the kingdom would gradually move into light industry and sell its goods across the world.

It could not move too fast, but the prospects were vast.

Technologies such as laser cannons and electromagnetic cannons were not that difficult for a world-class Scientist like Tesla. He already knew how to make them.

Human enhancement and nutrient chambers already had a foundation to build on. Kronos Kingdom had been researching them, venturing into the fields of super soldiers and longevity.

But the kingdom still needed more knowledge of the human body and medicine. In that regard, Drum Kingdom, the "medical powerhouse," was undoubtedly the greater authority.

They had already sent people to recruit its experts.

Some would surely be unable to resist the lure of money. Offer enough, and they would come to Kronos Kingdom.

Kronos Kingdom offered a far better environment than Drum Kingdom. A rich medical tradition did not mean Drum Kingdom's people lived well.

Hades would not even rule out unlawful methods. With so many pirates and human traffickers around, there was no shortage of options.

For many things, Hades needed only to suggest a concept, and a finished product could be made within months.

The Royal Academy of Sciences also had powerful weapons still in the theoretical stage. The Oxygen Bomb would have devastating explosive force while absorbing oxygen across a wide area, creating a zone of death.

It was, in effect, two bombs packaged together: one to absorb oxygen and one to explode. Combining both effects in a single bomb would be too difficult, and there was no need.

Sea King's Wrath would emit special sound waves that resonated with Sea Kings, drawing them in and driving them into a frenzy. At sea, the result would be terrifying, indiscriminate destruction.

Naming it after the legendary Ancient Weapon Poseidon said enough about their ambitions.

This weapon was designed for the great fleets that sailed the seas, such as those of the Pirate Alliance or a Marine Buster Call.

Both weapons were meant for destruction on a vast scale. Given time, they could be built.

For now, though, the Royal Academy of Sciences was focused on missiles.

Its other proposed technologies, each with some scientific basis, included practical artificial intelligence, nanoinsect drones, military Robot units, electromagnetic railguns, and metal Storms.

They would surely be developed in the future. All that was lacking was time.

Thanks to this world's advanced technological foundations, none of it was far off. Even cola could serve as a power source.

For Hades, seeing technologies he had once known only from fantasy take shape was genuinely exciting.

Only four years had passed since the Royal Academy of Sciences was founded, yet it had grown into a vast team of Scientists and researchers.

It had produced a wealth of breakthroughs, breathing new life into every sector of the kingdom.

The kingdom was also training people with research potential and investing heavily in their development.

At the same time, it continued to seek talent of every kind from across the world and the seas.

For now, these efforts remained discreet to avoid the World Government's notice. Once the world grew more chaotic, Underworld Prison would step up its operations.

Hades had even set his sights on Vegapunk, said to possess wisdom five hundred years ahead of the world.

Hades did not know where he was now, only that he had been born in the Future Country.

The Future Country was no ordinary place. It lay in a bitterly cold region with a harsh environment and impoverished residents, yet it possessed formidable technological capabilities.

Many of the seas' most advanced products came from the Future Country. Its economy was far from weak, which was why it had been able to join the World Government Member States.

Kronos Kingdom had to send people there covertly under the guise of studying, and they could not let the Marines discover them. Otherwise, the World Government would take notice.

Karakuri Island was vast, making Vegapunk hard to find. But if he made a name for himself, he would inevitably catch the World Government's eye.

Still, obtaining the designs Vegapunk had left behind in his youth would be a prize in itself.

Hades also intended to send people aboard the vessel that would one day gather the world's greatest Scientists: MADS.

Hades had no intention of missing out on the Lineage Factor, known as the "blueprint of life."

Cloning, biological modification, even artificial life, feeding Devil Fruits to inanimate objects, and creating Artificial Devil Fruits all depended on Lineage Factor technology.

As its name suggested, mastery of the Lineage Factor could even allow one to create life.

That was the future!

He might even recruit some of the world's greatest Scientists from the organization.

With so many top Scientists gathered together, there were surely more than just Vegapunk, Queen, Judge, and Stussy, the few whose names had appeared in the original story.

The others had either gone into hiding under assumed names to escape the World Government's pursuit, or been captured or killed.

Saving even a few of them would be as good as securing Lineage Factor technology for Kronos Kingdom.