"I wonder if Commodore Sean might be willing to grant us asylum?"
After a long period of flight and desperation, Retes and his researchers had found it nearly impossible to trust anyone. This included the Marines. They had sought help from several Marine branches and outposts along the way, but the results had been far from pleasant.
That was until they arrived in the East Blue and met Sean.
In Retes' eyes, Sean possessed the status of a high noble. The fact that the World Government had made an unprecedented public apology—returning the seized assets of the Campbell family and providing 10 billion Belly in compensation—was telling. The World Government had even purged a large number of high-ranking officials and nobles from the Zumeida Kingdom to settle the matter.
Retes didn't believe the World Government had made such decisions on a whim; there had to be deeper, hidden reasons known only to a few. Furthermore, Sean was the only person who had extended a helping hand during their escape, going so far as to kill one of Doflamingo's executives to protect them.
If they were to find someone capable of shielding them, Sean was clearly the most suitable person they could possibly encounter.
"I can do that. My branch is actually in the process of establishing a research institute to develop a new generation of Marine weaponry. If you are willing to join, you are more than welcome."
"What? Establishing a research institute?" Retes' eyes widened in shock.
Everyone knew that scientific research was vital, but very few factions had the resources to actually sustain it. Take the member nations of the World Government, for example; most of them struggled just to scrape together the annual Heavenly Tribute, let alone invest in technology.
For a research institute to be truly successful, it required an annual investment of tens of billions of Belly. Currently, only the Marines and the Vinsmoke Family could truly afford to operate on that scale. As for people like Doflamingo or Kaido, their efforts were mere footnotes in comparison. They lacked a massive pool of researchers and the sustainable funding required for large-scale development. Relying solely on the likes of Caesar and Queen could never produce a systemic technological revolution.
However, upon reflection, Retes realized that Sean was incredibly wealthy. Between the 20 billion in returned assets and the 10 billion in compensation, he had 30 billion Belly. If he only wanted to develop conventional weaponry and invested 2 to 3 billion a year, he could easily afford it.
What Retes didn't know was that beyond the publicized 30 billion, Sean had another 10 billion in wealth acquired from Don Krieg. Even after purchasing a vast amount of equipment, armaments, and warships from Headquarters, and spending over 4 billion Belly to construct the branch fortress, Sean still had nearly 40 billion Belly in hand.
"Yes. The 16th Branch has just finished its reconstruction. However, few people know that during the process, a substantial space was built beneath the branch," Sean explained. "That space is exactly where I plan to house the research institute. Furthermore, I can promise you that all your research findings will be used in the cause of Justice!"
Sean wasn't lying just to keep Retes and his team. From the very beginning, establishing a research institute and poaching scientists from this world to improve artillery and firearms technology had been part of his plan.
After all, the firearms in this world were absurdly primitive. It wasn't that the world lacked scientific capability—Vegapunk's Pacifistas were essentially "black technology" even by the standards of Sean's previous life, and the Vinsmoke Family's clone army and raid suits were equally impressive.
So why hadn't basic firearms evolved?
Sean concluded that the "tech tree" of this world had simply grown in the wrong direction. More importantly, they lacked the correct conceptual framework.
While Sean didn't understand the intricacies of research and possessed no technical skills himself, he had the basic common sense of a modern human. He could provide the local scientists with a conceptual roadmap—directing them on how to research firearms, artillery, and ammunition.
For example, if Sean simply told Retes to engrave rifling inside the gun barrels and reshape the bullets to match modern designs, or if he explained modern feeding and firing mechanisms... Retes and his team would likely trigger a technological explosion in firearms overnight. Range and lethality would skyrocket instantly.
Sean didn't need to be a scientist; he just needed to provide the direction and the "what," leaving the "how" to Retes. In fact, Sean suspected that the scientists of this world were actually more capable than those in his previous life; they just lacked the right ideas.
Faced with Sean's enthusiastic invitation and sincere promise, Retes had nothing left to say. He agreed immediately.
Sean informed him that the institute was currently empty—just a massive, hollow underground structure. He told them to list whatever equipment they needed without worrying about the cost. In short: he had more money than he knew what to do with.
His aura of overwhelming wealth was on full display once again.
Once everything was settled, Sean began discussing his views and ideas on firearm development with Retes. The scientist was instantly floored.
Engraving rifling in the barrel? Changing bullets to a pointed shape?
As Retes visualized the changes in his mind, he asked himself if it was feasible.
The answer was... absolutely.
It was a stroke of genius.
At that moment, Retes' admiration for Sean reached a peak. He was itching to start working immediately and turn these brilliant ideas into reality. Unfortunately, they had no equipment yet, so he could only wait.
The two talked throughout the night. Despite the exhaustion of two months on the run, Retes remained in a state of high excitement.
'''
The following day, Retes and all his researchers officially joined the Marines under Sean's arrangements, becoming members of the 16th Branch.
However, as a Branch Commander, Sean did not have the authority to directly appoint officers of Lieutenant Commander rank or higher, as those required reporting to and approval from Headquarters. Since Sean didn't want to expose Retes and his team too early, he temporarily gave Retes the rank of Lieutenant, while the other researchers were all commissioned as Ensigns.
In truth, Retes didn't care about his rank. All he cared about was... when the equipment would arrive!
Meanwhile, as Sean looked over the procurement list Retes had handed him, he could only offer a wry smile.
Although he had spoken boldly at first, seeing the list and the estimated prices made him wince.
The total procurement would likely cost around 8 billion Belly, and this was merely the initial investment for the research institute.
'Well, since I've already boasted about it and I truly have a strong need for this, I can't worry about the cost now.'
Even if it ended up costing more, it had to be done! After all, he really did have the money!!
The only problem was... some of the equipment simply couldn't be purchased through conventional channels.
While he could likely acquire them through special channels if he approached Sengoku, the issue was that he would then have to explain exactly why he needed such equipment.
"Lucci, you were intelligence officers for CP9. Do you have contacts in the underworld?"
"We do. Many of our previous missions were linked to the underworld," Lucci replied.
"Good. I have a list here. I need you to procure these items through your underworld channels. I don't mind paying a premium, but it is imperative that no one finds out the buyer is the 16th Branch. Is that clear?"
"Understood!"
Taking the list, Lucci gave a sharp nod. For him, this task was elementary.
"Make it fast. The research department is waiting for them."
"Yes, Commodore!"