Chapter 165 — Weapon Development Day
S.C. 1511 — Early April
Hidden Island — Lower Workshop
The workshop smelled of metal, oil, and burning charcoal.
Ren tightened a bolt on the weapon frame, fingers moving with steady precision.
Today wasn't about experiments.
Today was about building the tools that would decide life or death one day.
Beside him, Zemo sat wearing protective goggles Ren made for him.
(They were unnecessary but Zemo insisted.)
Kiro stretched his arms, ready for a long day of testing.
Ren finally lifted his head.
"All right. Let's begin."
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1. The Bolt-Action Rifle v1
Laid neatly on the table were metal parts:
KEA-reinforced barrel
Recoil dampener
Precision trigger
Rifled grooves
Simple iron sight
Ren assembled the pieces with practiced rhythm.
Click.
Slide.
Lock.
The rifle snapped together with a clean metallic ring.
Kiro whistled softly.
"This already looks dangerous."
Luffy, peeking from behind a crate, gasped.
"IS IT A BOOM-STICK?!"
"No," Ren corrected. "It's a precision tool."
"…Boom-precision-stick?" Luffy tried.
Ren ignored that.
He inserted the KEA-core bullet and stepped to the open firing window aimed at the forest wall of hardened test-blocks.
"Ear protection," Ren warned.
Luffy stuffed leaves in his ears.
Zemo barked twice—ready.
Ren steadied his breath.
CRACK—!
The sound echoed across the island.
The bullet drilled cleanly through all three test-blocks.
Kiro stared.
"That… went straight through everything."
Ren nodded.
"Good. Accuracy next."
Zemo wagged his tail.
Luffy yelled, "DO IT AGAIN!"
---
2. Revolver v1 — Close-Range Defense
Ren placed the next weapon on the table.
Six-shot chamber
KEA-alloy frame
Short barrel
Shock-resistant hammer
Simple. Reliable.
East Blue would never expect something like this.
Kiro picked it up carefully.
"It's heavier than it looks."
"It has stopping power," Ren said. "Try to hit the wooden plate."
Kiro aimed—
BANG!
The plate shattered.
Zemo jumped two feet in the air.
Luffy rolled backward laughing.
Ren made notes:
Recoil slightly high
Grip needs rubber wrap
Cylinder rotation smooth
He moved on.
---
3. KEA Grenade v1 (Low Power)
Ren held up a small metal sphere.
"This is not for throwing around. Understand?"
Luffy nodded seriously.
(Which meant nothing.)
Inside the grenade:
a small KEA fragment
shrapnel pellets
simple ignition fuse
Not meant to destroy houses—
just to disable armed intruders or beasts.
Ren placed it in a small dirt pit.
Everyone backed up.
He tugged the fuse wire gently and stepped away.
BOOM—!
A hollow explosion vibrated through the ground, peppering the nearby tree bark with shallow dents.
Kiro blinked.
"That would definitely stop someone."
Luffy clapped.
"DO IT AGAIN!!"
Zemo barked in agreement.
Ren shook his head.
"…No."
---
4. KEA Armor Patches
Ren unfurled a set of flexible, metallic squares.
Each roughly palm-sized.
Thin but dense.
Kiro touched one.
"It's warm."
"It absorbs kinetic energy," Ren explained.
"Wear them under clothes. Chest. Ribs. Spine."
He placed one over a wooden dummy chest.
Kiro fired a revolver round at it.
CLANG—!
The bullet flattened against the patch, barely leaving a dent.
Kiro raised his brows.
"These could save lives."
"Exactly," Ren said, securing one on his own shirt.
Luffy requested ten for "pirate fashion reasons."
Zemo nudged a patch, wanting one for his armor vest.
Ren sighed and strapped it on him.
---
5. Subordinates' Combat Test
The three subordinates arrived carrying wooden clubs.
"Boss, we're ready," one said.
Ren handed them padded armor and training batons.
"Today is about reaction, movement, and weapon synergy."
He gave Kiro the bolt-action rifle (unloaded),
One subordinate the revolver (fake rounds),
Another a wooden sword,
And the last a spear.
Ren tapped his foot.
"Begin."
What followed was controlled chaos:
Kiro took long-distance positions
Two subordinates rushed Ren
One circled behind
Luffy cheered loudly
Zemo barked commands (unhelpfully)
Ren moved through them calmly:
dodging
redirecting
touching wrists to disarm
lightly tapping pressure points
No power show.
Just technique.
After five minutes, every subordinate was on the ground groaning.
One raised a hand weakly.
"We… lost."
Ren wrote notes.
"Stances unstable.
Footwork slow.
Delay between thought and swing too long."
Kiro nodded.
"We'll improve."
Zemo barked proudly at their defeat.
Luffy yelled,
"YOU GUYS ARE SO WEAK! I COULD BEAT YOU WITH A SPOON!"
Ren pinched the bridge of his nose.
---
6. Evening Weapon Polishing
As the sun lowered, Ren sat with Kiro outside the workshop.
Weapons cooling beside them.
Subordinates resting.
Luffy asleep on Zemo's stomach.
Kiro exhaled deeply.
"Ren… these weapons… this level of strength…
Are we preparing for an enemy?"
Ren didn't answer immediately.
He tightened a bolt on the rifle's sight.
"We're preparing for possibilities…
before possibilities prepare for us."
Kiro nodded slowly.
Zemo opened one eye and huffed in agreement.
Ren set down the rifle and whispered:
"Tomorrow… we refine accuracy."
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End of Chapter 165