C192

Alabasta, which had been dry for a year, finally saw rain. 

Although the kingdom no longer faced the problem of drought and sandstorms after the defeat of Crocodile, King Cobra, determined to quickly stabilize the people's morale, gritted his teeth and asked Kain to bring rain to Alabasta a few more times.

Vivi overheard her father's plan to request additional rain from Kain, so she approached Kain in advance, sincerely hoping he would offer a more affordable price. 

Kain agreed immediately and signed a work contract with Vivi, hiring her as a princess supervisor for the project.

He planned a major renovation of Rainbase City. In addition to the people sent by Cobra, Kain might also hire a group of civilians, making Princess Vivi the ideal supervisor.

After signing the contract, Kain waited for Cobra to approach him and reluctantly gave the king a discount of three million Berries.

The lack of water had long plagued the people of Alabasta. One cannot deny that Cobra is a good king who truly cares for his people. 

Crocodile was foolish; threatening Cobra would have made obtaining Pluton more likely than successfully overthrowing the kingdom and ruling Alabasta himself.

"Your Majesty, this light rain may last for another day. As long as we follow Mr. Pent's suggestions, Alabasta will no longer face the risk of drought in the future. Are you still reviewing those transaction lists, Your Majesty?"

Igaram noticed Cobra lost in thought while holding a sheepskin scroll, so he stepped forward and shook him gently, snapping Cobra out of his daze.

"Ah, Igaram, you're here!"

Igaram, frustrated, shouted, "I've already finished my report!"

"Hahaha, don't be angry! Don't be angry! I was just thinking about these plans. If all these firearms are allocated to the Kingdom Guard, the people of Alabasta will never have to fear pirate harassment again," Cobra said.

Hearing this, Igaram poured cold water on Cobra's enthusiasm, saying, "Don't even think about it, Your Majesty. Alabasta can't afford that. No matter how much you reduce palace expenses, it's simply impossible."

Cobra playfully gave Igaram a chop on the head and said, "Don't go crushing people's dreams, you idiot!"

Despite his words, Igaram agreed with Cobra's sentiment. With such powerful firearms, even three guards proficient in using assault rifles could pose a threat to Pell and Chaka. 

Alabasta had a standing army of 600,000, and protecting the people had always been Cobra's top priority. 

After witnessing the power of Kain's weapons, Cobra was undeniably tempted. A hundred soldiers armed with guns could unleash a hail of bullets, and a hundred rockets could sink seven 10-meter pirate ships.

"There's no point in worrying about anything else now, Your Majesty. With Baroque Works no longer a threat, we just need to focus on steady development moving forward," Igaram reassured him.

Igaram tried to persuade Cobra, but asked with some concern, "But Your Majesty, what about Mr. Pent...?"

"Are you wondering if he's the next Crocodile, Igaram?" Cobra interrupted, already knowing what Igaram wanted to ask. "Don't worry. Aside from his greed for money, he doesn't seem to have any other flaws. He doesn't even care about Alabasta's most precious secret. What else could possibly attract Mr. Pent to Alabasta?"

"That's true... but Your Majesty, Alabasta is so poor. How can you sleep at night?"

"You curly-headed bastard, are you complaining about your king!?"

"You're the one saying Alabasta is poor, yet you don't work hard to make the country rich!"

Igaram and Cobra bickered playfully in the palace. The guards nearby were unfazed, as they were used to this sort of exchange. Sometimes, Cobra even got into scuffles with hooligans on the streets.

Meanwhile, Nico Robin reported to Kain about the newly formed Chamber of Commerce. "Boss, everyone has been assigned tasks. Some might not be used to it yet. After all, they've committed countless crimes before, and now they have to do legitimate business."

Most of the former Baroque Works agents were violent criminals who knew nothing but crime, so Robin had reorganized them into an intelligence division and a revenue-generating department — both aimed specifically at pirates.

Kain wasn't a good person, but he was selective about his targets for profit. In the world of pirates, civilians were at the bottom of the social ladder. 

Exploiting civilians wasn't worth it; the effort put into using violence against them rarely equaled the profits gained.

Pirates and nobles, however, were ideal targets — one used brute force, and the other exploited people through legal means.

As for the civilians, most of them had little to no money. Whatever they managed to save after being taxed repeatedly by nobles and kings often ended up stolen by pirates.

"It doesn't matter," Kain said while adjusting his experimental equipment. "If there were better options, I wouldn't use this bunch of trash. If anyone plans to defect, let me know. I happen to need more test subjects."

Kain had two ongoing research projects: first, testing whether the recovery potion and super soldier serum would work on people from the Pirate World, and second, attempting to extract Crocodile's Devil Fruit ability. 

If successful, he planned to send Crocodile's head to claim the bounty.

Both forming an intelligence network and purchasing Devil Fruits and other materials required a significant amount of Berries, and Kain needed Nico Robin to manage the finances. Offering her some benefits in return was only fair.

"Robin, consider adopting a fixed appearance, then approach King Cobra for a formal identity — perhaps as a distant relative of the Nefertari family or even a commoner. As long as Cobra provides official proof of your identity, you can travel to Naval Headquarters openly and legitimately."

"Most importantly, you can discuss the Poneglyphs with King Cobra in private. If you reveal your true identity and purpose, and assure him you're not after Pluton, he'll likely agree to your request. If not… well, you could always offer him a 'viewing fee.'"

Kain took out a parchment and handed it to Nico Robin, then continued, "I'll give you a budget of 70 to 100 million Berries. King Cobra should agree to your request."

"Is it really that simple?" Nico Robin asked in disbelief. She had paid so much for the Poneglyphs in the past, yet Kain made it sound effortless.

"What's the problem? You're not after ancient weapons, nor do you pose a threat to Alabasta. Cobra just needs a reason — and you can give him that reason."

With that, Kain prepared to begin his first experiment and waved Robin away. But just before she left, he added something that piqued her interest: "If you perform well, I might even tell you the whereabouts of a few more Poneglyphs. Performance is the key."

During the previous month, the Imperius Curse ensured Crocodile's full cooperation. He obediently lay on the experimental bed, following every instruction, even drawing his own blood and cutting his flesh for Kain's research.

However, a month later, when Kain reapplied the Imperius Curse, he noticed that Crocodile's resistance was gradually growing stronger. 

Progress in the Pirate World often defied logic — Rayleigh trained Luffy for a year and a half, yet Luffy still couldn't surpass Kaido. 

Kain worried that overusing the Imperius Curse on Crocodile might inadvertently help him awaken Observation Haki.

Still, with his Devil Fruit powers suppressed, even if Crocodile awakened Observation Haki, it would be useless.

After more than four months of research, Kain had made significant progress in understanding Devil Fruit abilities. 

His background in biology, along with hands-on experience in numerous research projects, helped immensely. He also had the Red Queen record all research data meticulously.

Whenever Kain traveled to a new world, he ensured that the Red Queen's supercomputer core and all corresponding research and testing equipment came with him. 

The Red Queen had collected data from three different worlds, making its computational power formidable.

It was precisely this accumulated data that allowed Kain to achieve such rapid progress in just two months.

"The altered gene chain here can also be referred to as a 'lineage factor.' Devil Fruits essentially mutate a person's genes, though not entirely. It's more like granting them an additional genetic trait — in this case, the 'gene' needed to wield the fruit's abilities," Kain observed as he reviewed the analysis results from the Red Queen.

He hadn't expected Devil Fruits to function like this — almost like an unconscious symbiosis. After the death of a fruit user, the Devil Fruit's ability would slowly seep out of the corpse and eventually reconstitute itself elsewhere.

It was almost like a symbiote.

In addition to granting powers, the Devil Fruit's lineage factor also contained a 'shell' that made users vulnerable to seawater. 

Exposure to seastone, which contained certain key elements, caused the Devil Fruit's lineage factor to disperse, making it impossible for the user to access their abilities until it stabilized again.

In this way, the ability of a Devil Fruit cannot be used, and those with poor health may be adversely affected by the Devil Fruit's lineage factor.

"Fortunately, the negative aspects of the lineage factor can potentially be separated, which means the Devil Fruit's weakness to seawater and seastone can be eliminated. The only downside is that extracting even a single vial of Sand-Sand Fruit serum requires draining all the blood of a Devil Fruit user," Kain remarked after reviewing the plan and analysis report provided by the Red Queen.

Turning to Crocodile, Kain said with feigned sympathy, "You understand me, don't you, crocodile? After all, you believe in the survival of the fittest — the strong thrive, and the weak perish. It's tough for you... but hey, at least you kept up the act for three whole days."

Hearing this, Crocodile realized Kain had seen through him from the beginning. Enraged, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "You b*****d! You ruined my—"

Boom!

Before Crocodile could finish, Kain hit him with a Stunning Spell, rendering him unconscious. Without hesitation, Kain moved him to the test bench and began drawing his blood.

The Red Queen calculated only a 68% success rate for this experiment. If the extraction of the Sand-Sand Fruit serum failed, Kain would have no choice but to wait for the Devil Fruit to respawn elsewhere in a few years and find another user to continue his experiments.

Boom, zizizi~

The sound of the machine starting up grew louder as the laboratory lights brightened. Kain watched intently as the machine began separating the Devil Fruit's lineage factor.

Finally, the progress bar reached 100%, and a burst of cold air filled the laboratory as the machine cooled down.

"Success!"

Kain, filled with excitement, hurried to the separation chamber and carefully retrieved the vial of Sand-Sand Fruit serum, the shimmering azure liquid glowing faintly in his hand.

 Once injected, this serum would grant the powers of the Sand-Sand Fruit without the usual weaknesses to seawater and seastone.

This success was largely due to the Red Queen's invaluable contributions — though Crocodile, now little more than a withered husk, had also played an essential role.

….

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