"I think… I'll still research it. An incorrect way of using something shouldn't be the reason to deny its existence. Someone will eventually put it to proper use."
"Then there's no problem. I think the same way. Some technologies are necessities for the livelihood of Fishman Island, while others exist for the peace of Fishman Island.
Doctor, you need funding, and I need technology. In truth, what we both want is peace. If this kind of energy can really bring about peace, I'd very much like to see that day as well.
But unfortunately, that kind of peace does not belong to Fishman Island for now."
Fishman Island being a member nation of the World Government was something long since settled.
The Giant Kingdom Elbaf was not a member of the World Government, but if one were to compare national strength, Elbaf was far stronger than Fishman Island. In the end, it was still a matter of overall power.
The conversation between the two lasted until the end of the break. Overall, both sides were in a fairly good mood and temporarily reached a consensus on certain topics.
Vegapunk also received a special form of compensation—a collection of information on ancient ruins compiled by Nereus, along with even a few rust-covered ancient artifacts.
To Vegapunk, these were far more valuable.
"Wobbegong, where's our sponsor?"
"Our sponsor? Boss Nereus has already left. He still has things to take care of. This time he was just passing by."
Not long after, when Judge and the others brought their carefully organized materials, intending to seek out the sponsor for investment, they discovered that the sponsor was already nowhere to be found.
They had only been thinking about how to attract the sponsor's attention and make him choose to invest in them.
They had never once considered that the sponsor had no intention of meeting them at all.
This filled Judge and others with resentment, and they immediately began muttering complaints.
[He only has eyes for Vegapunk]
[An arrogant guy who looks down on others]
Similar remarks kept popping up, and they even declared they would research a project so shocking that it would make him regret it.
If there was anyone with the strongest resentment, it would be Caesar Clown. Among the scientists on this ship, he was the most enthusiastic about living a life of debauchery.
In the original timeline, he even squandered massive amounts of research funding on such indulgences, and on Punk Hazard he would constantly summon the Girls' Ship to the island to throw parties.
"Wobbegong is still here, you know. He'll definitely come back before long. When that happens, you can try complaining to him face to face. See if the three of you together can beat a monster with a bounty close to four billion."
Buckin happened to pass by and see the trio muttering to themselves, so she casually said this.
"Four billion?!"
Hearing that bounty figure, the three who had been muttering just moments ago suddenly widened their eyes. It wasn't because they were shocked that the other party was a wanted criminal.
If they truly abided by the law, they wouldn't be on this ship in the first place. Nearly everything researched on this ship was prohibited by the World Government.
There was no need to even mention what Vegapunk researched. As for the others, they specialized in all kinds of extremely destructive weapons.
What shocked them was the four-billion bounty.
"You didn't know? Wobbegong is a Fish-Man. On this sea, someone who can take out massive amounts of money and have Fish-Men constantly talk about him. There's only one person like that."
"You mean that 'Vampire'? But didn't he disappear along with the Rocks Pirates? Ever since that mysterious incident in the West Blue, there hasn't been any news of him…"
In fact, the God Valley Incident had already ended several months ago, but during that time Nereus had been constantly traveling.
And with Rocks no longer suppressing them, pirates like Golden Lion and Whitebeard began to rise to prominence one after another. Compared to them, Nereus now seemed more like a nobody.
So much so that rumors spread across the seas claiming that Nereus, like Rocks, had died at God Valley.
After all, the flow of information across the seas was far from efficient. Newspapers were almost the only channel for island residents to obtain outside news.
Once newspapers shifted their focus to other figures, rumors were bound to arise around those who no longer appeared in papers.
However, such rumors had little impact on Nereus. He himself didn't care about such things at all.
If just a couple of sentences were enough to make someone disappear, the Celestial Dragons on the Red Line would have gone extinct long ago.
At this moment, Nereus was dealing with some utterly trivial trouble.
After handing over a few things to Wobbegong, Nereus and his group resumed their voyage. They did not immediately cross the Calm Belt, but instead followed the guidance of the Log Pose and continued sailing through the first half of the Grand Line.
During this time, they were attacked by a band of pirates whose name even Nereus's crew didn't know. Although the matter was resolved quickly, this was already the third attack since they had entered Paradise.
"So these are the pirates of the first half of the Grand Line? They've all got quite the nerve. No wonder the pirates who first arrive in the New World are all fearless."
Nanamo had always followed Nereus, but they rarely operated in the first half of the Grand Line, at most moving around the half-way point, Sabaody Archipelago.
In the New World, Nereus's flag carried overwhelming deterrent power. Aside from a few with special intentions, most people would keep their distance to avoid offending him.
By the time they reached the Sabaody Archipelago, the deterrent power of that flag began to wane. Many pirates had heard the name, yet still recklessly tried to challenge him, hoping to build their own reputation by stepping on Nereus.
Of course, such pirates usually met a miserable end.
Now that they were in the first half of the Grand Line, many pirates didn't even understand what that name represented and would launch an attack the moment they met.
This was the normal state of affairs when pirates crossed paths. Compared to "playing house" behaviors like sitting down to drink and hold banquets, swallowing up the other side was what they really wanted to do.
"This is the norm of this world. My flag can shelter you for a time, but true strength lies in yourself. Nanamo, you have outstanding talent, so…"
"So tonight, Dad, you're planning to give me some extra training and make me work harder?"
Words like these were nothing new to Nanamo. She felt that ever since she could remember, this kind of training had never stopped.
At first, it was just exercising under the pretense of play. As she gradually grew up, it turned into formal training.
So the moment Nereus opened his mouth, Nanamo already guessed what was coming next.
"You said it yourself."
"Even if I didn't say it, Dad, you would've said it anyway. I've always suspected that when you say things like this, you're using Future Vision…"
Future Vision—an ability derived after Observation Haki is trained to the peak. Unlike innate powers such as mind reading or sensing emotions, Future Vision is a level that anyone can reach through hard training.
"You'll understand once you train to that level."
"Boss! These pirates are like walking treasure chests. There's even a Devil Fruit on their ship. I've seen it in the Encyclopedia, it's the Paramecia-type Door-Door Fruit!"
Before Nereus could finish arranging the evening's training plan, the group searching for spoils brought back new information.
TN: Hey guys, I will be releasing extra chapters for every 20 power stones. (5-7 chapters.)
Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
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You can read ahead upto 25 chapters on my pa*reon.