Sengoku's eyes widened in disbelief.
This… this was simply too outrageous!
He had told the Five Elders that producing a Warlord-class Seraphim would take at least a week. Had he… oversold it?
Natsuha, that kid… what exactly was inside that head of his? Some bottomless well of strange ideas?
But no—something didn't add up.
Hadn't Natsuha just said that it would take two days before the Seraphims could be completed?
Sengoku suddenly recalled the words Natsuha had spoken earlier.
Catching the doubt written all over Sengoku's face, Natsuha smirked knowingly and continued explaining.
"The reason I said two days, Uncle Sengoku, is because the bloodline factors inside the incubation tanks haven't fully fused with the Seraphims yet."
"Once I finish this mission and return two days later, they'll have completed the fusion on their own! I don't even have to touch a thing. By then, the Warlord-class Seraphims will come out perfectly completed!" Natsuha explained in his soft, childish voice, though there was a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
So that was it.
Automatic production… only Natsuha could dream up such a thing.
In that case, there was no need to worry about progress falling behind schedule…
Sengoku fell silent, deep in thought.
Sensing that his argument was working, Natsuha pressed harder.
"So you see, Uncle Sengoku, I don't actually have much to do for the next two days. Let me go on this trip."
"Besides… I'm not a machine. Staying in the lab too long wears my brain out. If I don't relax once in a while, mistakes happen in research…"
"And one mistake, Uncle Sengoku, could cost a hundred billion Berries in research funds." Natsuha's eyes sparkled with sly mischief as he delivered the line.
A hundred… billion?!
Sengoku gulped down a heavy swallow.
Good heavens. A single mistake from this brat would cost more than his entire lifetime's pension!
Even if the money didn't come out of his own pocket, watching it wasted like that… the thought alone made his chest ache.
With a hundred billion, they could keep research running indefinitely, or even buy ten massive battleships for the Navy…
After wrestling with himself for a long moment, Sengoku finally sighed.
"Fine… I'll allow it."
"But! I'm also responsible for your safety!"
"Besides Vice Admiral Comil, I'm giving you ten Seraphims. Take them all."
Ten Seraphims—powerful enough to overwhelm even Akainu himself. With them by his side, even if he clashed with an Emperor's crew, Natsuha would remain safe.
"…Isn't that a bit excessive?" Natsuha blinked in mock surprise.
To him, against Blackbeard in this period, three or four Seraphims would've been more than enough to crush him flat.
"Absolutely not!"
"You are far too important to the Navy. No risks are acceptable!"
Sengoku's refusal was firm.
Natsuha was tied to the Navy's very future. If not for the Five Elders' watchful eyes—who might accuse him of cheating—Sengoku would've sent an Admiral to personally guard him.
Letting him go at all was already the greatest compromise. No further negotiations. No risks.
"…Alright then," Natsuha muttered, squinting his eyes.
"When do we depart?"
"Tomorrow morning. You'll be going to Banaro Island. The Navy has a special route prepared—you won't need to coat the ship and dive beneath the sea like pirates do. Still, it'll take at least a full day to arrive." Sengoku narrowed his eyes.
"Got it."
These ten Seraphims—I'll gladly accept them!
"But don't worry, Uncle Sengoku. Tonight I'll pull an all-nighter and make another ten Seraphims. Before I leave, I'll hand them over to you. You can use them however you wish." Natsuha's tone was brimming with confidence.
Once he completed this mission, he'd gain the Cosmic Tree. When he returned, he'd also have the Warlord-class Seraphims in hand, ready to "scam" another round of funding.
Life was sweet.
In high spirits, Natsuha decided to let Sengoku enjoy playing with these ten Seraphims. After all, he'd long since noticed how itchy-fingered the Navy top brass had become, practically drooling at the thought of unleashing the Seraphims in battle.
If he took all of them away, what then? Easy.
Make more.
As long as he stayed on the World Government's side, he'd never lack funding.
Just as Natsuha had expected, Sengoku's face lit up with barely concealed excitement at his words.
"Really?"
"That's wonderful, Natsuha!"
"You all must watch over this place carefully. No one is allowed to disturb Dr. Natsuha!"
With that, Sengoku departed in a hurry, while Natsuha began his overnight grind.
By dawn, with dark circles under his eyes, he finally staggered out of his lab.
"The ten Warlord-class Seraphims are complete!" he declared triumphantly.
…
Two days later, on Banaro Island in the Grand Line
Sniper Van Augur lowered his scope with a faint smile.
"Captain, the Navy has finally arrived, just as promised."
Burgess, Doc Q, Lafitte, and the others immediately raised their own telescopes.
Sure enough, a massive Navy warship was speeding toward the island.
"Zehahaha!"
"My plan moves forward another step!"
"Prepare to welcome the Navy!" Blackbeard bellowed with laughter.
To him, the Shichibukai title was nothing but a stepping stone. His true ambition lay far beyond.
With it, he would sneak into Impel Down and recruit monstrous new allies.
In the coming war, he would seize Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi.
He would rise as one of the Four Emperors… and ultimately, as Pirate King, claiming the treasure he had always dreamed of.
As the Navy ship drew nearer, both sides could make out each other's faces.
Vice Admiral Comil narrowed his eyes, locking on to Blackbeard.
A black beard, a bloated body, chest hair peeking through, several missing teeth…
"So that's the pirate strong enough to capture Ace? That must be Blackbeard."
"…I'll admit, he looks rather vile," Comil muttered.
As a transmigrator, Natsuha already knew Blackbeard's face well enough, so he didn't react much.
But the Blackbeard Pirates, on the other hand, were utterly baffled.
"That one's Vice Admiral Comil, I've heard of him…"
"But what's with those eleven brats at his side?" Blackbeard squinted, bewildered.
Even if the Navy were short-handed, they'd never send a bunch of eight- and nine-year-old kids on a mission… right?
"Hmph. Just a Vice Admiral, and the rest are useless. Do they really think we won't snatch them away using Ace as bait?" Lafitte sneered.
"Damn Navy! We caught Ace for them, and this is how they treat us?!" Burgess roared.
"Sending children to trade with us… Captain, don't you think they deserve a little lesson?" Van Augur said coldly.
Blackbeard, of course, wasn't about to take the Navy seriously.
Worse, he took their decision to send children as an insult he would not forget.
He sat back on a boulder, took a long swig of rum, and crossed his legs.
"In light of the Navy's arrogance, I've decided—we're keeping their warship. Zehahahaha!"
"Marine Headquarters is about to go to war with Whitebeard. They'll need our help."
"I doubt they'll miss one little warship." Blackbeard declared arrogantly.
His crew burst into wild laughter around him.