"Indeed, there's no limit to human stupidity and self-destructive behavior. I thought Kozuki Oden was the epitome of idiocy, but it seems the bar has been lowered even further."
The incident at Jurassic Park once again made Daniel Davis realize just how low people could go. While Kozuki Oden's naivety could be somewhat excused by his loyalty and lack of proper education—despite being the second-generation heir of Wano Country, Oden spent most of his life skipping formal education, indulging in petty theft, sneaking into bathhouses, and visiting brothels—the so-called animal rights activists were a different story. Most of them were college students, some even from prestigious universities, yet their thought processes were beyond Daniel's comprehension.
Daniel had no issue with animal rights activists in general. Protecting endangered species to maintain biodiversity was a noble cause. However, taking it to the extreme, without considering the consequences, was nothing short of fanaticism. When anything becomes an obsession, it loses its legitimacy, even justice. Absolute justice often masks itself as terrorism, as seen with characters like Akainu and Seryu. If Seryu were in the world of pirates and met Akainu, they would undoubtedly find common ground, and Akainu might even take her as his disciple.
The animal rights organizations in the USA were groups most people avoided. Once they targeted you, they clung like glue, impossible to shake off. Even large corporations tried their best not to provoke them. Incidents involving these organizations frequently made headlines, such as breaking into biological labs to release test animals, leading to virus leaks. These incidents happened repeatedly, yet the organizations remained unrepentant. Even when such actions resulted in casualties, the majority still praised them, ignoring the harm they caused.
These were major incidents. As for minor ones, they were too numerous to count. Complaints about slaughterhouses being inhumane, for example, were endless. Ranches and restaurants in the USA did their best to avoid these activists. If the organizations had viable solutions to these issues, it might have been different, but they offered none. Some extremists even argued that humans shouldn't eat animals at all, claiming it was too cruel.
Daniel found such arguments absurd. Humanity had come a long way to reach its current state. Were they supposed to revert to a primitive, barbaric lifestyle?
"Maybe one day, these people will start protecting zombies too," Daniel thought, a random idea popping into his head.
To be fair, the original intent of animal rights organizations was good, and most members were well-meaning, such as those who took in stray animals in cities. However, as the organizations gained fame, many opportunists joined, using the platform to further their own agendas. Over time, the organizations became what they were today.
Take the Jurassic Park incident, for example. Thanks to media coverage, public attention quickly shifted to whether dinosaurs should be protected, completely ignoring the casualties and the responsibility of the company behind the park. This was similar to how a virus leak at a biological lab was blamed on animal rights activists. If you dug deeper, you'd find many issues. For instance, how could a biological lab be so easily breached by what seemed like average college students? Where were the security measures? Or in the case of Jurassic Park, how did the supposedly reinforced glass, capable of withstanding a T-Rex's charge, shatter like regular glass?
Daniel's own biological labs were heavily fortified, with multiple layers of security to ensure no leaks could ever occur.
"Dinosaurs, though, could be useful for collecting genetic material."
The variety and number of dinosaurs in Jurassic Park were a boon for Daniel. He could use their DNA to create dinosaur-based Zoan Devil Fruits. While it was uncertain if they could reach the level of Ancient Zoans, it was still a valuable resource for his subordinates.
With Wano Country now under his control, Daniel had plans to develop it into a nation similar to Big Mom's Totto Land. His intelligence network, led by Chelsia, was not only searching for Pure Gold and other valuable information but also scouting for talented individuals to recruit, much like Orochimaru in Naruto or how Doflamingo built his empire.
Most of the people Daniel took in were half-fishmen. Their mixed heritage gave them superior physical abilities compared to regular humans. However, being hybrids, they were despised by both humans and fishmen, caught in a vicious cycle of discrimination. Humans discriminated against fishmen, fishmen discriminated against humans, and half-fishmen were ostracized by both.
Wano Country's xenophobia was severe, with non-human races like fishmen and minks facing extreme prejudice. For example, the fishman Kawamatsu had to disguise himself as a kappa. But none of this mattered to Daniel. What he wanted to do in Wano, no one could stop him. This was the privilege of power, much like how Jack, one of the Beast Pirates' top executives, was a fishman, yet no one in Wano dared to discriminate against him.
"What a tragedy."
Acting on his thoughts, Daniel quickly arrived at the Jurassic Park island via a portal. Three days had passed since the incident, and the island, aside from the remaining structures, had become a haven for dinosaurs. The aftermath was still visible—bloodstains, human remains, and torn clothing scattered across the island.
The government and various organizations were still debating how to handle the dinosaurs. Some argued that these ancient creatures posed a threat to modern society and should be eliminated. Others believed they presented a unique research opportunity and opposed their destruction. Meanwhile, animal rights activists insisted that dinosaurs, being rare in the modern world, should be protected. The debate dragged on without a clear resolution.
"Pteranodons. Speaking of which, is King's flame ability a racial trait or a Devil Fruit power?" Daniel mused as he watched a group of pteranodons soaring in the sky, reminded of King.
After forming an alliance with Kaido and recruiting Yamato, Daniel had released King.
"Some people are actually trying to capture dinosaurs. How foolish."
The island wasn't just populated by dinosaurs; there were two fully armed teams, one on the east and one on the west, clearly aiming to capture the creatures. Dinosaurs in the modern world attracted all sorts of attention—military, biological research organizations, wealthy collectors, and even food enthusiasts.
Where there was demand, there were those willing to supply. In fact, the Jurassic Park incident was largely due to internal theft. The people behind the park weren't fools; they had invested heavily in security, hiring specialized teams to handle it. However, they underestimated human greed. A single dinosaur, even the smallest kind, could set someone up for life.
"Room, Slaughterhouse."
Daniel ignored the teams. He wasn't an animal rights activist, and his goals were somewhat similar to theirs. After observing the two groups, he used the Ope Ope no Mi to collect DNA samples from various dinosaurs on the island and then left.
"How naive."
Reading the latest news about the decision regarding the dinosaurs, Daniel couldn't help but feel exasperated. Under pressure from various parties, the final decision was to leave the dinosaurs on the island to live out their lives. Since they were clones and couldn't reproduce, they posed no threat to modern society.
The so-called experts on TV and in newspapers confidently assured the public that there would be no issues. However, recalling the young dinosaurs he had seen on the island, Daniel smirked coldly.
Technically, the experts weren't wrong. These were genuine biologists, not mere charlatans, given their ability to clone dinosaurs. However, they overlooked one crucial fact: life finds a way. Someone had indeed raised this point, arguing that life always finds a way to survive. Unfortunately, without scientific evidence, no one took it seriously. In a society that values data over speculation, such claims were dismissed.
After all, even Asgardians were just aliens.
Daniel had no intention of providing evidence to refute these claims. Even if the dinosaurs could reproduce, they wouldn't pose a significant threat to modern society.
"I thought you might want to keep a few dinosaurs as pets."
Since he was back, Daniel decided to visit the Avengers. The team had played a prominent role in the Jurassic Park incident, especially Tony Stark, who used his Iron Man suits to rescue many people. Even those trapped in the mountains due to destroyed equipment were located by the suits.
"Just some dinosaurs. I'm not interested."
Tony's response was somewhat insincere. He had initially considered keeping a few dinosaurs as pets, but after strong objections from Pepper and Natasha, he dropped the idea. Pepper argued that it was too dangerous—she had been on the island and witnessed the dinosaurs attacking humans. Natasha opposed it on the grounds that it would damage the Avengers' image.
If this were the old Tony, he wouldn't have cared about his image. If anyone had a problem, Stark Industries' legal team was more than capable of handling it. But now, he was a superhero.
"By the way, Pepper and I are getting engaged in a couple of days. Make sure you have your gifts ready," Tony quickly changed the subject, announcing his engagement to Pepper.
"Really? Congratulations!"
The news brought joy to the Avengers, who showered the couple with blessings. Pepper blushed, while Tony made it clear he expected gifts.
"Gifts, huh? Should I try that?" Daniel thought to himself.
"This is the latest model of the Iron Man suit." After a brief celebration, Daniel and Tony headed to the latter's private lab in the Avengers' base. There, Tony handed over the blueprints for his newest Mark series suit.
The Mark series had reached the 40s, about halfway to the Mark 85 used in the battle against Thanos in the original timeline.
Not every Mark model was mass-produced. Some existed solely for testing purposes, and with the addition of various anti-series suits, the numbering didn't strictly correspond to the number of models.
"This is the latest alloy." Daniel handed over a set of alloy metals. Tony shared his Iron Man suit designs with Daniel as part of their agreement.
In exchange for promising not to use the technology on Earth and providing rare alloys for Tony's experiments, the two had struck a deal.
These alloys weren't ordinary metals from other worlds but were created using the powers of the Munch-Munch Fruit. For Daniel, it was a win-win situation. First, he gained access to Tony's Iron Man suit designs, which, even if he never used them in combat, were valuable to have. Second, Tony could test the performance of these alloys. Thanks to Daniel, Tony's suits were far more advanced than they were in the original timeline, given the superior materials.
"Wait, before testing, I have an idea for your engagement gift," Daniel stopped Tony as he was about to start testing the new alloy.
"Oh? What is it?" Tony immediately put down his tools, curious. Truth be told, Tony didn't care much about the gifts themselves; it was the thought that counted.
"Let's give Jarvis a break," Daniel suggested.
"Getting mysterious, are we? Jarvis, take a rest," Tony said. Jarvis was always active in the lab, recording everything to help Tony recall details later. It was rare for something to require Jarvis to be shut down.
"Yes, sir," Jarvis replied before going into sleep mode.
"Have you ever thought about bringing your parents back to life?" Daniel asked after a moment of hesitation.
"What did you say?" Tony was stunned, his face a mix of disbelief and shock.
"I've come across a method that can resurrect people," Daniel said. Tony's greatest regret was the death of his parents.
(End of Chapter)
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