Not sweet, with a texture like a glass marble. Queen already knew what it was.
It was his Rumble Ball Q3.0. He only had one thing on him with that kind of texture, and as for how both he and Wolff knew what a glass marble tasted like, that was a question for the people involved.
But that wasn't the point right now. That thing was a failed experiment of his, not a total failure, just something with very little strategic value, so he hadn't thrown it away.
But he had gotten too excited just now and accidentally grabbed the wrong bag.
In theory, that thing definitely wouldn't be fatal, but the fact that he accidentally gave it to children to eat, and right in front of Yamato at that, Queen broke into a cold sweat. He reached out toward Meowna and Wolff, trying to get it out of their mouths before they swallowed it.
Queen's reaction was ultimately too late. The Rumble Ball Q3.0 was designed to take effect quickly in battle, so it wasn't like a slow-release tablet that needed time to kick in.
It was meant to activate the moment it was crunched. That was Queen's original intent when creating it, and it seemed he had succeeded.
"Uncle Queen, what did you give them? It's not poisonous, right?"
As she spoke, Yamato had already picked up the Rotom, intending to contact a doctor and Arceus, along with Zeraora and Setsuna.
This wasn't retaliation. If children ate something harmful, that was a serious issue. Notifying family, doctors, and decision-makers was a perfectly reasonable step.
"It's not poison, definitely not poison! Put the phone down first. Few Pokémon Center doctors are better than me. It's just that this is an experimental version of the Rumble Ball I modified. It can make people irritable and aggressive. Basically, it's a powerful stimulant. They should be fine."
"There's no antidote?"
"This isn't poison! Who makes an antidote for something like this? Are all you Marines weird?"
Even though Kuzan had technically joined their group, and even if he hadn't, he wouldn't have been hostile to children without bounties. In fact, he even asked a couple of questions in concern.
But Queen wasn't in the mood to answer. He wanted there to be an antidote, but Rumble Ball Q3.0 wasn't a poison at its core, so there wasn't an antidote.
Detoxification Berries could remove poison, but they were useless against stimulant-type drugs like this.
"Hey, you two, are you feeling anything weird? If you feel unwell, say something right away. This is just an accident; it should be easy to fix."
Meowna and Wolff didn't say anything, but when they lifted their heads again, both of their eyes had turned blood red. They were letting out low growls, and powerful electric currents had begun to surge across their bodies.
"No way… this thing has that effect on Minks?!"
Red eyes, beastly growls, electricity; when these signs appeared in Minks, there was only one result: Sulong.
As the Minks' ultimate move, Sulong gave them terrifying power, allowing them to break past their limits for a short time. Normally, Minks could only enter this state by looking at a full moon.
But now the Minks had Moon Stones. With the Moon Stones provided by Arceus, they had gained the ability to enter Sulong form at will, even without the full moon.
Aside from those methods, drugs are also an option.
In the original timeline, during the battle between Law and Blackbeard, when Law was defeated, Bepo entered Sulong during the daytime by taking the drug given to him by Chopper.
Using the power of Sulong, he escaped with Law from Blackbeard. Although the drug had side effects, Bepo had no other choice in that situation.
The Rumble Ball Q3.0 made by Queen is different from the drug Chopper gave to Bepo, but by sheer coincidence, they had the same effect.
Meowna and Wolff's bodies began to change, their white fur growing longer, while Kuzan's gaze toward Queen returned to its previous wary state.
[As expected, this guy really is a problem. So this is how the Minks are able to enter Sulong during the day.]
There was still some degree of information sharing between the World Government and the Marines, so Kuzan knew that the Minks had gained the ability to enter Sulong during the day, but he didn't know where that ability came from. Now Queen had given him the answer.
He had personally witnessed these two Mink children enter Sulong only after eating the candy given by Queen. There was no way Kuzan would believe Queen had nothing to do with it.
Thanks to Arceus' friendly support, Queen had just cleared his name in Kuzan's mind regarding the issue of creating giant biological weapons, but not even a minute later, he had firmly pinned the blame for the Minks' daytime Sulong on himself.
And just like when he activated a Devil Fruit with Natural Gift right in front of Akainu, this was another massive blame that was nailed down tight, impossible to shake off.
But right now, Queen wasn't in the mood to worry about blame or not.
This couldn't be considered a meaningful discovery. Minks who had a Moon Stone transformation device didn't need to rely on this kind of drug to enter Sulong at all.
There was now a bigger problem: if an experienced Mink entered Sulong, there wouldn't be much of an issue. But for beginners, learning to use Sulong was a dangerous process, and usually required someone proficient in Sulong to teach them hand-in-hand.
One wrong move, and the ability could cause serious damage to the body.
Arceus could always provide backup, so nothing too serious would happen, but if it did come to that, Queen would definitely be ganged up by everyone. Even Zeraora wouldn't try to break up the beating; instead, he'd join in himself.
"I got it! Miss Yamato, freeze the two of them! That way, once the drug wears off, they should return to normal."
"I refuse."
"This isn't the time to be stubborn! This is for their own good, otherwise it'll really harm their bodies!"
Seeing that the two had fully entered Sulong form and were about to attack, Queen continued urging Yamato, but she still showed no intention of acting. With no other option, Queen turned to Kuzan.
"Hey, Kuzan, you're the user of the Ice-Ice Fruit, right? Hurry up and freeze the two of them!"
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Anything Yamato didn't want to do clearly had some problem. Among the Beasts Pirates, the most well-known Mink was Zeraora. Kuzan figured these were his kids, so he didn't want to get involved at all.
It was at that moment that Yamato finally pulled out a bell from her backpack.
"Found it. Soothing Bell. I knew Dad gave me this thing."
Yamato wouldn't just stand by and watch the two of them go berserk. If it really came down to it, she would have chosen freezing them as a last resort, but with an item, the situation was different.
As the soothing sound of the bell rang out, Meowna and Wolff, caught in Sulong frenzy, also gradually calmed down. However, the form seemed to have put a considerable strain on their minds. Both of them had now fallen asleep.
"Whew, my dear lady, next time tell me you have an item like that sooner! I was scared to death here."
"Don't worry about that, Uncle Queen. Now I'm giving you two choices. First, I tell Sister Setsuna and Zeraora about this and let them have a nice long chat with you."
Yamato spoke in a calm tone, but she spoke some dangerous words. If this incident got out, Queen would probably be used as a shooting target for several days straight.
"Ahm, ahm, then what's the second option?"
"The second one? Easy, I'll do the beating for them, and then it'll be settled."
Takeru 7.0 appeared in Yamato's hand. As she weighed her weapon, Yamato seemed to be considering where it would feel best to hit.
"I don't want to choose either! I just remembered there's still something left to do in the lab, I'm leaving first!"
Queen immediately turned to flee, but before he could get away, he found his feet frozen in place. A wave of cold had already spread from beneath Yamato's feet to his body.
"Miss, what are you trying to do?"
"Heh heh heh, shouldn't you have already guessed it, Uncle Queen? I'm starting to think that b*stard father's logic isn't entirely wrong. Sometimes, using force really can solve most problems."
"Since you didn't choose either option, I'll take it as you are choosing both. This is the payback for trying to go down with me back then!"
On his very first day of officially joining, Kuzan experienced the corporate culture of the Beasts Pirates firsthand, and he also became curious about Queen's abilities. He seemed even more mysterious than the rumors suggested.
"I suddenly remembered that after that mission, Sakazuki once complained that your Haki was insanely strong. So this is how you trained it? Must've been rough."
"Cut the sarcasm! Ow! Miss Yamato, you're being serious?! I'll fight back, you know!"
"Come on, then! We haven't sparred in a while, have we? This is a good chance for you to experience my skills!"
Kuzan silently stepped aside. Besides the fight in front of him, Camel that had turned into an Empoleon also gave him a lot to think about. But since he cherished the present moment, he didn't dwell on it here, nor did he have any intention of interfering with Yamato and Queen's battle. Instead, he went off to enjoy the hot springs of Wano Country.
This could be considered one of Wano Country's signature features. Advertisements for hot springs were everywhere along the roadside. He had just become curious about them, so it was a good time to try it out.
"Young man, are you new to the Beasts Pirates? Never seen you before."
Inside the hot spring, an old man noticed Kuzan's missing leg and asked.
"Yeah, just arrived today. I heard the hot springs here are great, so I came to check them out."
"What a pity. You're a fine young man. Your leg's been gone a while, huh? If you could still find the severed limb, it might be possible to reattach it."
He was referring to the Healing Spring on the Sacred Mountain, but that spring could only repair, it couldn't bring the dead back to life or regrow limbs. For something like that, Arceus would have to intervene personally.
A lot of elderly folks love to ramble. Seeing Kuzan's interest, the old man began telling stories about the Sacred Mountain. How those without true sincerity would be bounced off halfway, and how anyone who reached the summit would be granted a blessing, things like that.
"That magical, huh? That's really something."
"Yeah, look at me, I'm over eighty and still this healthy. All thanks to that. Back in the day, Wano Country wasn't this nice. By the way, can't you find your severed leg anymore?"
"It's gone. Probably burned to ash long ago."
"Fire, huh? What a shame."
"It's alright, I came to terms with it a long time ago. Besides, I have my own ways."
As he spoke, Kuzan used ice to recreate a prosthetic leg. But the moment he stepped back into the hot spring, the prosthetic leg vanished.
"So you're a sorcerer, huh? That really is a convenient ability."
"Grandpa, teacher said it's called a Devil Fruit user, not a sorcerer."
"It's the same, all the same. After decades, I'm just used to saying it this way."
The Beasts Pirates' school had started connecting the youth of Wano Country with the outside world. They had learned that Ryuo was called Armament Haki, and that 'sorcerers' were actually called Devil Fruit users, but the elderly still stuck to the old terms.
Even if their grandchildren corrected them, after a while they'd go right back to their old ways. Habits built over many years aren't easily changed. The fact that they no longer feared rare races from the outside world was already a huge step forward.
"But aren't you all scared? There's fighting going on outside, you know."
Even inside the hot spring, Kuzan could sense the sounds of battle from outside. That level of noise should be audible even to regular people.
"It's nothing. It's just Oni Princess and Lord Queen dueling. They both know their limits, it'll be over soon."
Kuzan chatted casually with the people in the hot spring, and only left once the battle was over. By talking with the residents, he gained a basic understanding of Wano Country. After leaving, he also gained a new appreciation of Yamato's abilities.
Being able to make someone's whole body ache without leaving any external injuries. Training a skill like that must've taken a lot of effort.
"Ah, that feels better. Uncle Queen, you're on your own now. Good luck. Kuzan's all yours, go find him a place to stay."
Stretching her limbs, Yamato felt completely refreshed. Then she put away her weapon and walked toward the women's side of the bath.
"Your daily life really is something else."
"Spare me the sarcasm. Just wait, you'll get this treatment too sooner or later. Muhahaha!"
Yamato had held back considerably, so Queen wasn't actually injured. Thinking back to Yamato's original plan, he even had enough energy to mock Kuzan a little, using it to cheer himself up a bit.
Today's events were all within his expectations. The only surprise was how delayed Yamato's revenge had been. He hadn't thought it would take this long for her to act.
"You're seriously just going to carry on like normal? Getting back to work right after getting beaten up?"
"You don't get it at all. She wasn't even going all out. This kind of pain lasts at most half a day, and honestly, it might not be a bad thing."
Queen spoke in cryptic riddles, then began arranging a place for Kuzan to stay.
Meanwhile, Meowna and Wolff had already been sent back to Kuri. Before Yamato started fighting, she had already entrusted them to the people nearby.
Once everything settled down, the two had also woken up, and Setsuna and Zeraora's Rotom had received the message.
"That b*stard Queen! How could he give the wrong thing?!"
"He probably didn't do it on purpose…"
"I know he didn't do it on purpose. Otherwise I would've gone over there and beat him up myself! Zeraora, you're not allowed to defend him this time!"
"I know. This time it really is his fault. So, what are you planning to do? Miss Yamato already gave him a beating."
"Well, since he's already been beaten, I'll just write it down in the notebook for now and save it up. That idiot ended up helping Meowna and Wolff start their Sulong awakening by accident. So maybe we should take this chance to teach them how to control Sulong properly."
Yamato's beating of Queen wasn't entirely useless. It at least cooled Setsuna's anger a bit and spared Queen from a furious husband-and-wife tag-team beating for the time being. That was also part of the reason Queen was still somewhat pleased.
There's a world of difference between holding back and going all out. After deciding to teach them Sulong, Setsuna and Zeraora started debating over who should be the teacher.
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