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Departing Kilauea, he set a course for Drum Island.
Dalton, Jeston, and the other high-ranking officials of the island were waiting at the ice-free port, along with a contingent of the royal guard.
Chopper, Bonney, and Anaguma were there as well.
Dorry stood like a silent guardian.
A crowd of curious onlookers lined the shore.
The life on Drum Island was simple. Although the new king had instituted mandatory military service, it wasn't an everyday affair.
But the day of the king's return from a long voyage was a special occasion.
When the Empress, flying its black dragon flag, appeared on the horizon, the crowd erupted in cheers.
"They're... so enthusiastic," Robin murmured. In the past, wherever she went, she had been met with fear and betrayal. She wasn't used to being welcomed.
"King Jin?" she asked, having just learned his full title.
"Achoo! It's cold!" Wolf, wearing a pair of goggles, stood in front of Bepo and Shachi.
Yes. He was the self-proclaimed genius inventor, the old man who had saved Law and given him a new reason to live.
Jin had "invited" him to come along during his travels. Not to use him as leverage against Law, but because his inventive genius was real. His creations were often flawed, but his ideas were far ahead of their time.
In addition to the Polar Tang, he had also built an airplane.
It had crashed, and he had nearly died, but his creativity was exactly what Jin needed.
He had the carrier.
Now he needed the carrier planes.
He needed Wolf to perfect the design, the details, so that he could synthesize it with the Munch-Munch Fruit.
As for whether he was willing to come...
Wolf lived as a recluse in his small town. After Law and the others had left, he was even more lonely...
And could he really have refused?
A king's prerogative.
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In the castle where Dr. Kureha lived, a grand medical conference was underway.
Dr. Kureha, Judge, and Law were all gathered to consult on Bonney's case.
It was called a consultation, but it was mostly Dr. Kureha talking. She was the lead physician, and she had a firm grasp on the overall direction of the treatment.
She spoke at length with Judge, fascinated by his Lineage Factor technology. She believed that if it could be integrated into the medical field, it would revolutionize traditional medicine.
Law's Op-Op Fruit also piqued her interest.
"Years ago, I sailed the seas in search of that fruit myself," she said. "But it seems it has chosen you."
With the Op-Op Fruit, she had no worries about the success of Bonney's surgery.
Kuma watched over Bonney. He seemed calm, but inside, he was a nervous wreck.
Bonney was too. She had believed that she would be cured by her tenth birthday, but who wouldn't want to be freed from their illness sooner?
Jin gave the medical text from Crocus to Dr. Kureha.
"Crocus?" she said, a hint of a smile in her voice. "From the Twin Capes... is that little crybaby still around?"
If Crocus knew that in Dr. Kureha's eyes, he was still a "little crybaby," he would probably be overjoyed.
Jin mused.
Drum Island was a small nation, but its medical technology was advanced. That was all thanks to Dr. Kureha.
Jin had done all he could for Bonney's treatment. Now, it was up to the professionals.
Unfortunately, the demonic carrier's "repair" function only worked on external injuries. It was useless against diseases. Otherwise, this would have all been much simpler.
While Bonney was being treated, Jin stayed on Drum Island, handling administrative affairs, training his Haki, and developing his fruit abilities.
He successfully synthesized a Kar98k and its ammunition with the Munch-Munch Fruit, and Ai could now replicate them with the carrier. Aside from the raw materials, producing 1,000 rifles or 100,000 rounds of ammunition consumed one soul crystal.
Next was artillery.
From what Jin could gather, the cannons in the world of One Piece were mostly smoothbore, solid-shot cannons. The Marines were beginning to use explosive shells, but they were still all spherical.
Jin, however, knew that the future of artillery, just like rifles, lay in armor-piercing rounds.
His research into firearms was a calculated move.
Yes, individual combat strength was paramount in the world of One Piece. A single powerful individual could destroy an island.
But most people were still just ordinary people.
The threat of guns and cannons was still very real. Otherwise, the Marines wouldn't equip all their soldiers with firearms.
And the reason most pirates used swords?
It wasn't that they didn't want to use guns. It was that firearms required a complete logistical support system, something most pirate crews simply didn't have.
But Jin did. As a king, he had territory, a population, and resources. He could build an army to maintain his rule and defend against foreign threats.
The world of pirates was not just a world of the strong.
And rifle rounds and armor-piercing shells, with their greatly increased penetrating power, velocity, and accuracy, would be a much greater threat to even the strongest of individuals.
Whitebeard had taken over two hundred cannonballs at Marineford. Could he have taken two hundred depleted uranium rounds?
Even with Haki... once it's exhausted, you're still just flesh and blood.
True strength in the world of One Piece was a combination of systematic warfare and powerful individuals. Even Luffy had formed a Grand Fleet and had the support of the Revolutionary Army. He wasn't just the Straw Hat crew.
"I'm short on talent," Jin sighed. "If I had a proper system in place, I wouldn't have to do all this research myself. I could just set the direction and let my people handle it. Like with the Bounty Hunter's Guild... Crocodile is taking care of that."
"And the ads I placed in the newspaper... only a few responses, and they were all con artists."
Finding a job was hard.
Hiring was hard.
It was a two-way street, and both ends were blocked.
But it wasn't all bad news.
The militia's special training was showing results.
The situation in Hannabal Island had stabilized, and it was beginning to prosper.
On Asuka Island, the upgrade to the Marine base was complete, just waiting for Hina to take command.
Everything was moving in the right direction.
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