Under the blue sky and white clouds.
An island was moving toward Marineford.
On the beach.
Reddy and Borsalino each lay on a beach chair under a sun umbrella, enjoying their leisure time.
Soon, a clone of Baby 5 brought two coconuts with straws already inserted.
"I'm very poor, so this is all I can offer to treat you."
Reddy picked up a coconut, took a sip of the cool, sweet coconut water, and gestured to Borsalino.
"From the beginning, you planned to ally with the World Government?"
Borsalino didn't mind, picking up a coconut and suddenly asking.
Reddy shrugged as if it were obvious. "Of course. Scientific research requires massive funding, and the World Government is an ideal partner."
"No."
Borsalino lazily relaxed his body, sipped the coconut water, and said slowly, "From the start, you just wanted to steal someone's Bloodline Factor, right?"
Reddy shrugged, smiling without answering.
Borsalino continued, "But things developed beyond your expectations. Doflamingo not only attracted the Beast Pirates but also the Big Mom Pirates."
"Even then, you still wanted to hide your identity."
"First, you stole the Bloodline Factor of Baby 5, a member of the Donquixote Family's assassins. Then you took the Bloodline Factor of Blueno, a CP9 member."
"Later, you kidnapped people from the Beast Pirates at the dock."
"You did all these things while staying hidden. Why did you step forward?"
"If you hadn't revealed yourself, no one would have known your identity."
Reddy clapped, praising with a smirk. "Vice Admiral Borsalino, your analysis is very logical. Actually, I wanted to steal the Bloodline Factor of Katakuri's sister."
He spread his hands. "Unfortunately, Katakuri is very protective of his sister. I couldn't find a chance, so I had no choice but to step forward."
Borsalino pursed his lips, believing only half of it.
Reddy put on an expression of honesty. "Actually, I revealed myself because of you."
"Me?"
Borsalino glanced sideways.
Reddy shrugged. "What do you think of the Bloodline Factor technology I've mastered?"
Borsalino thought for a moment and nodded. "Not much worse than Vegapunk's. In some ways, it's even more advanced than the technology Vegapunk has."
This was a fair assessment.
Replicating Devil Fruit abilities—Vegapunk could do it.
But Vegapunk could only replicate Zoan-type Devil Fruit abilities.
As far as he knew, Vegapunk was still working on replicating Paramecia-type Devil Fruit abilities.
But Reddy was different.
The clones that had appeared so far displayed technology that left him in awe.
The Door-Door Fruit ability!
The Weapon-Weapon Fruit ability!
Zoan-type abilities!
Even Golden Lion Shiki's Float-Float Fruit ability was perfectly replicated!
Borsalino even suspected that Reddy could already replicate flawless Logia-type Devil Fruit abilities.
If this guess was true, Reddy would be terrifying.
Reddy smiled. "What if I told you that the Bloodline Factor technology I've mastered has flaws? Would you believe me?"
Borsalino was stunned.
Such perfect Bloodline Factor technology still had flaws?
Reddy didn't continue on this topic but instead made a request. "I need to meet Vegapunk. I believe he and I can develop perfect Bloodline Factor technology."
Borsalino hesitated, then shook his head. "Vegapunk belongs to the Science Unit. I don't have the authority to let you meet him."
Just as he said this, Borsalino seemed to realize something and looked at Reddy in surprise. "You showed your strength just to get the World Government to agree to let you meet Vegapunk?"
"Correct."
Reddy shrugged. "In this world, only Vegapunk can solve my problems. In exchange, I can cooperate unconditionally with the World Government."
"I need to report this to my superiors."
Borsalino took another sip of coconut water and left the beach.
Reddy picked up his coconut, took a sip, and revealed a strange smile.
On this matter, he hadn't lied to Borsalino.
But he had only told half the truth.
In reality, the moment Borsalino appeared in Water 7, Reddy had prepared two plans.
The first was to use the uninhabited island as a hunting ground to try and steal the Mirror-Mirror Fruit ability.
The second was to use Borsalino as a stepping stone to contact Vegapunk and fix the final shortcomings of his genetic technology.
Reddy had underestimated Katakuri's protectiveness toward his sister, forcing him to choose the second plan.
Meeting Vegapunk was to develop a Devil Fruit ability that his original body could use.
After the battle on the uninhabited island, Reddy became even more aware of his weakness.
His original body was too weak!
Besides, there was another, more important reason.
He was going bankrupt!
After arriving in Water 7, he had created five clones. And to secure bargaining chips, each clone was top-tier.
Swordsmanship!
Both types of Haki!
All maxed out!
Especially the clones fused with Rob Lucci's genetic fragments, Blueno's clone, and the clones of Ulti and Page One—all had undergone modifications.
This was a massive expense.
On average, each clone consumed an astonishing 2.3 million units of energy.
And that was only because Baby 5's clone hadn't been modified.
The energy he had freeloaded from Golden Lion Shiki was now down to less than 7 million.
Developing a Devil Fruit ability usable by his original body would require countless experiments, which would be another huge expense.
There was no better partner than the World Government for this.
Marineford.
Sengoku was enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
Since Zephyr's incident, the seas had grown chaotic.
More and more pirates had set sail, straining the already overburdened Marines.
Then, the Den Den Mushi rang.
Sengoku picked it up, his expression gradually turning serious, then shifting to disbelief.
After the call ended, Sengoku remained silent for a long time before finally summoning Tsuru.
"What happened?"
The moment Tsuru entered the Fleet Admiral's office, she asked without sitting down.
Even she couldn't guess why Sengoku had called her.
Sengoku said gravely, "The World Government wants to promote Borsalino to the rank of Admiral."
"Water 7?"
Tsuru was momentarily stunned but quickly understood.
The World Government's decision wasn't entirely unexpected.
Borsalino's laziness was no secret in Marineford. In terms of pure strength, becoming an Admiral was widely expected.
But promotion to Admiral wasn't just about strength—achievements were also a major factor.
Borsalino was still slightly short of the mark.
Whether it was her, Sengoku, or even Zephyr, they all believed Kuzan was more suited to become the next Admiral.
But since Borsalino had brought back that man from Water 7, he had undoubtedly made a significant contribution, making his promotion reasonable.
Especially with the World Government's backing.
After giving Tsuru time to digest the news, Sengoku continued, "Additionally, the World Government wants Borsalino to oversee the security of the Science Unit after his promotion."
Tsuru's expression changed.
The Science Unit was no longer entirely under Marine jurisdiction. The World Government was gradually taking control of its leadership.
It wasn't that Borsalino couldn't lead the Science Unit after becoming an Admiral.
But Marineford was critically short of high-tier combatants. If Borsalino was assigned to lead the Science Unit under the World Government's orders, his duties would prioritize the World Government's will.
That would mean Marineford had essentially gained nothing.
Tsuru quickly weighed the pros and cons before shaking her head. "The World Government's orders cannot be questioned. We can only find a way to promote Kuzan to Admiral as soon as possible."
After a brief pause, Tsuru sighed. "I have a bad feeling… The man Borsalino brought back will change the world."
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