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After learning that it was Maya who had soothed Laboon, and that she could communicate with him, Crocus enthusiastically invited them to be his guests, inside Laboon.
"The king of Drum Island?" Crocus said, surprised.
"You know the place?"
"Of course, Drum Island is famous for its medical care. I once went there to study with the doctors on the island..."
"Dr. Kureha's still around?" Crocus said. "She's got to be 136 by now. That woman really is a witch. I was about seventeen when I visited Drum Island—that was fifty-two years ago. And even back then, people were calling her a witch."
Law did some quick mental math. 'So when Crocus was seventeen, Dr. Kureha was already an eighty-year-old woman? Older than Crocus is now.'
Normally, as long as a doctor never stopped learning and researching, the older they got, the more sought-after they became.
A hundred-year-old monster like that... it was terrifying.
"There are only two ways a patient leaves her sight: cured or dead. She loves to study all sorts of strange and difficult diseases. She's a master of many medical arts. They also call her 'Doctorine'."
As they walked through a passage inside Laboon, held open by wooden planks, Law's pupils contracted.
To modify a whale, a living creature, in this way... Crocus's surgical skills were on another level.
And Jin had to wonder... was the medical science in the world of One Piece really scientific?
Building a structure inside a whale...
The flesh is weak, but the machine is strong.
After a cup of tea, Jin invited Crocus to return to Drum Island to consult on Bonney's case, but he refused.
"With Dr. Kureha there? What am I going to do, get yelled at?" Crocus said, scratching his head. "That old lady's temper... I'm almost seventy, and she'll still yell at me like I'm a kid. Who can stand that?"
...
After bidding farewell to Laboon and Crocus, Jin prepared to depart.
Though Crocus had no desire to travel to Drum Island, he did produce a medical text of his own authoring. He asked Jin to take it back to Dr. Kureha for her review.
A student's theory isn't finished until the professor has a look—a stamp of authority.
Jin promised that if the work was sound, the Winter Blossom Kingdom would handle its publication, allowing its knowledge to reach a wider audience.
Crocus waved it off dismissively, but a flicker of hope shone in his eyes.
To leave a name behind after death—a fine legacy, indeed.
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The demonic carrier set a course for Whisky Peak.
This was Baroque Works territory.
Jin had already been in communication with Crocodile. A portion of the supplies he had acquired in the North Blue would be sold in Alabasta. Furthermore, one hundred Kar98k rifles and five thousand rounds of ammunition were to be delivered to the bounty hunters of Baroque Works for field testing and evaluation.
The distribution, of course, would be left to Crocodile's discretion.
Jin had a plan for Baroque Works, a vision to transform it into something akin to the Cross Guild, but with a primary focus on bounty hunters.
A True Bounty Hunter's Guild.
The world of One Piece had no shortage of bounty hunters, but they were unorganized, mostly lone wolves.
If he could establish this guild—with a proper application process, simple evaluations, and a system of missions large and small—he could expand his own influence and scout for talent at the same time.
Crocodile saw the potential immediately.
Now that he knew the location of Pluton, his interest in Alabasta had waned. "Operation Utopia" was effectively dead. His mind was now entirely focused on how to undermine Kaido.
Building up his own forces was a logical first step.
If done right, the Bounty Hunter's Guild could become a massive organization, second only to the Marines in its reach and power.
During his travels, Jin had fleshed out the idea, drafting a business plan to guide the guild's development. It included a complete restructuring of Baroque Works, temporarily dividing it into Combat, Intelligence, and Logistics divisions, followed by a plan to partner with various nations to accept missions and recruit new members.
Jin provided the vision—Crocodile would handle the execution.
There was no one better suited for the job.
Though he had wasted twenty years, he had also spent those two decades navigating the underworld. He had a wealth of experience.
But to build something like this required capital. Fortunately, Jin's trip to the North Blue had been extremely profitable.
Bellamy's crew alone had yielded 350 million Berries—the fool had stolen the cargo payment, only for Jin to take it from him. The other pirate crews had contributed another 120 million in total.
Combined with the profits from selling Ice Mushrooms and other Grand Line specialties to the northern kingdoms, the trip had brought in nearly a billion Berries.
Germa 66, on the other hand?
Despite being a nation with considerable power, they were actually in debt. All their money went into their research—it was an expensive business. It was the same reason Vegapunk worked for the World Government—they were the only ones who could afford to fund his work.
And the Revolutionary Army? A bunch of "oppressed" idealists who were chronically underfunded. He'd heard they'd taken out more than a few loans from Du Feld...
See? You can't even start a revolution without money.
The idea of separating the four seas with the Red Line and the Calm Belts was truly brilliant. The Celestial Dragons didn't even need the Heavenly Tribute—by monopolizing the only safe trade route between the seas, they could just sit back and rake in the cash.
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After passing Whisky Peak, Jin took another route, heading for Kilauea.
He met with Captain Sherlock.
"Supplies from the North Blue?" Sherlock said, his entire demeanor changed. He was now a man of power and status, with his family restored. He had the air of a true nobleman. "Of course we'll take them."
Kilauea was rich in sulfur, a key ingredient for gunpowder. The sale of this single resource brought in a massive amount of revenue each year. The nation's finances were in much better shape than Alabasta's.
Jin was here not only to sell his goods from the North Blue, but also to meet with Mr. 3, Galdino.
"Mr. Kite," Galdino said, holding a cup of coffee. "We meet again."
Elegance never goes out of style.
"I've received word from Mr. 0. I am to cooperate with you."
All this time, Galdino had harbored suspicions about Jin's identity. He had only played along to cover up his own failure.
But then, a message had actually come from Mr. 0 himself, ordering him to assist Mr. Kite.
He's actually real!
Thank god he'd played along.
"The weapons factory here can be shut down," Jin said. "I want all the gunpowder and other materials stored inside."
He planned to mass-produce the Kar98k and its ammunition, and the factory had a large stockpile of ready-made materials, especially gunpowder.
"Huh?" Galdino was shocked.
The weapons factory was being shut down? Mr. 0 had put a lot of effort into it. Had he done something wrong?
He began to feel uneasy.
"We've found a better source," Jin said with a smile. "And the organization is being restructured. I have other plans for you."
Galdino breathed a sigh of relief.
Jin mused to himself. Crocodile actually had a good eye for talent. The members of Baroque Works were all skilled individuals. But a fish rots from the head down. Crocodile's motives were impure, and the organization's entire philosophy was flawed. He treated his agents as nothing more than disposable tools, and their talents were stifled.
It was only after they left Baroque Works, after they were tempered by the crucible of prison, that they were finally free to shine.
The platform is important.
With the restructuring into the Bounty Hunter's Guild, they would have a new purpose, a new philosophy, a new style. A fresh start.
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