"Fufufufu... the Black Star Pirates?"
"Operating in North Blue and secretly disrupting my business ventures?"
In the New World, within the Royal Palace of Dressrosa, Doflamingo frowned while flipping through a newspaper, muttering to himself with growing irritation.
Reflecting on the numerous North Blue transactions that had been disrupted or obstructed for various reasons recently, the Heavenly Yaksha felt genuinely annoyed.
Then he shook his head, reconsidering. "No, that can't be right. While that crew often does inexplicable things, they shouldn't waste time on such petty interference..."
After reviewing all available intelligence about the Black Star Pirates, Doflamingo dismissed his previous suspicions and turned his attention to other matters.
Although the small-scale business losses in North Blue wouldn't cause him serious harm, he couldn't tolerate anyone attempting to steal his cheese.
Several days later, after various arrangements were finalized, Judge immediately organized the relevant manufacturing operations.
In reality, Jerry's document had been designed by Franky based on conversations with Jerry and Iceberg, incorporating references to Pluton's underlying technology.
It wasn't necessarily as powerful as the original ancient weapon—much of it remained theoretical—but it possessed tremendous potential and would be highly compatible with Jerry's crew's abilities.
The main device was roughly divided into two components: the energy storage converter and the conversion system Jerry had mentioned.
The energy storage converter's primary function was to transform, compress, or even fuse externally generated energy—including fire, electricity, and other mechanical forces produced by Devil Fruit abilities—maintaining them in stable storage states.
Finally, this energy would be converted to the launching device, guided and shaped, then released instantaneously.
The main challenges lay in the power consumption required for conversion and compression storage, as well as the fusion of different energy types.
Additionally, the converter wasn't limited to handling single energy types—it needed to process multiple energy inputs simultaneously to ensure stable operation under various conditions.
In short, for Jerry, those major and minor problems and technical details were so complex that he couldn't figure them out even if he strained every brain cell.
However, Jerry didn't expect to understand the technology himself, nor did he demand that Germa create equipment in the most ideal state possible.
He only required several energy types—electricity, fire, and mechanical force converted from water manipulation—to be stored, transformed, and utilized effectively.
First, the Black Star Pirates possessed the relevant capabilities to generate these energies without loss.
Second, Franky had noted that fewer energy types meant smaller equipment, higher manufacturing success rates, and easier implementation. Once completed, it could be carried aboard the Black Nova for emergency situations.
Another crucial factor was that many materials needed for the converter were extremely rare, some often considered priceless.
The fact that production could proceed normally was inseparable from Judge and Skull's extensive connections and the considerable prices they'd paid to barely collect the complete materials required.
While Judge remained busy with manufacturing, Jerry's crew also stayed occupied.
Accompanied by Reiju and her brothers, they toured the Germa Kingdom, fully satisfying everyone's curiosity—especially Carrot and Bonney's endless questions.
Afterward, following agreements on specific timelines and locations, Jerry's crew borrowed a ship and continued their unfinished North Blue journey.
Two months later, they returned to the Germa Kingdom aboard their snail ship transport after visiting numerous North Blue islands and experiencing local conflicts, peaceful settlements, beautiful scenery, delicious cuisine, and other wonderful discoveries.
Below the Black Nova's deck, a previously reserved empty space was now occupied by an unfamiliar device.
As for the ship's figurehead, the original detachable cannons in the skull's outstretched arms had disappeared, replaced by two sleek barrels extending from beneath the deck and connecting to the openings.
"Well, not bad at all," Jerry observed, stroking his chin while examining the slightly modified Black Nova approvingly.
Then he turned to Judge beside him. "Have you tested it? Does everything function properly?"
"Absolutely! We eliminated all existing problems during the testing phase. We were especially careful about potential instability and explosions... Gehahaha," Judge answered confidently.
As he'd indicated, this device wasn't built exclusively for the Black Nova—he intended to construct more complex versions for his own use.
Therefore, Judge couldn't afford any carelessness. If something went wrong, he'd be the first to suffer consequences.
"Then let's give it a quick trial run. Cavendish, go charge the power core," Jerry smiled and nodded.
"Huh?" Cavendish's eyes looked confused, obviously having been lost in some pleasant daydream.
"Right away!" After hearing Deuce's explanation, Cavendish quickly snapped to attention, tucking the rose from his hand into his chest pocket before walking over to open a concealed deck hatch and dropping down below.
Shortly afterward, Cavendish returned to the deck and signaled that everything was prepared.
"I'll do it! Let me try! Please!" Skull ran to the bow excitedly, volunteering to operate the weapon.
Seeing Jerry and the others exchange glances without anyone raising objections, Skull let out an enthusiastic cry and quickly fine-tuned the targeting direction.
"Alright! Prepare to fire!" Skull aimed toward the empty ocean in the distance but was interrupted before he could act.
"Wait—let me provide a proper target to make this more impressive," Jerry said, snapping his fingers with a grin.
"BOOM!" As soon as Jerry finished speaking, thunderous sounds erupted from the distant sea.
There, a raging tsunami was rising, rolling toward the Germa Kingdom like an enormous snowball gathering momentum.
As the massive wave approached, it grew higher and higher, seeming ready to swallow everything in its path.
"What?! Stop joking around! Mr. Skull, hurry up and fire!" Judge's eyes widened as he shouted loudly at Skull, who was still scratching his head while aiming.
"Here we go! FIRE!"
As Skull roared his command, a brilliant beam of white and blue light suddenly erupted from the skull figurehead's right palm.
The energy beam streaked across the sky like a meteor, striking the surging waves within seconds.
Suddenly, dazzling light illuminated the heavens as a violent explosion accompanied by deafening thunder resonated across the ocean. A powerful shockwave came howling toward them.
After a moment, everyone released their hands that had instinctively covered their eyes and looked carefully at the results.
The tsunami that had been rising menacingly seemed frozen in time, continuing to churn strangely while remaining in place.
But compared to before, the massive wave that had stretched across the sea now featured a gaping mouth hundreds of meters wide carved clean through its center.
"This... this was only twenty percent electrical power?" Judge asked in amazement.
Everyone was impressed. While increased energy didn't necessarily mean proportional explosion range, they were extremely satisfied with these results.
After all, this device also possessed potential for fusing different energy types. The specific effects of such combinations would require further experimental verification.
Previously, Judge had only conducted gradual weak fusion experiments with different energies in private.
"Want to continue?" Skull rubbed his palms together, clearly eager for another shot.
Jerry shrugged without objection. "Do whatever you want. However, using seawater as a target won't reflect many of the weapon's capabilities."
"Ahem, well, you also need to ensure the equipment cools down properly," Judge pointed to a small indicator light beside the barrel that had shifted from green to yellow. "You can't fire continuously without intervals. Otherwise, if it overheats, it could be easily damaged."
Jerry nodded, realizing this weapon wasn't without limitations and couldn't fire indefinitely.
Even with endless energy supplies from Devil Fruit abilities, they couldn't just keep firing non-stop. Moderation was still necessary.
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