Chapter 81: Den Den Mushi Business
Arriving at Queen’s lab, Kane found a Queen who was getting rounder by the day.
He was currently cursing at a petri dish.
“What? You want me to research and modify Den Den Mushi?”
Queen looked at Kane, who was shamelessly nodding in front of him. He wished he could splash the viral stock solution he had just researched onto Kane’s face.
I am a world-renowned scientist, the Plague who strikes fear into everyone in the New World.
With one move, I can create viruses that decide the life and death of thousands of people.
Now you want me to research this childish stuff?
The agricultural machinery and pollution-improving medicine I promised to research last time already ruined my reputation, you bastard!
Queen sneered, “Why don’t you go find that bastard Judge? He’s the scientist you’ve been longing for~”
Mind your image, Queen.
Kane looked at Queen, who seemed possessed by Lin Daiyu, and almost couldn’t hold back his laughter.
The truth was, Judge was simply too busy.
Researching artificial Devil Fruits and improving battle suits had already consumed all his time.
But with Queen…
He definitely couldn’t tell the truth.
Kane put on a “sincere” smile and appeased him, “Judge researches Bloodline Factors; that’s his specialty. But when it comes to biological modification technology, how can he compare to you, Mr. Queen?”
Queen snorted, his chin raised high, bragging, “That’s natural, my biological modification technology is number one in the world!”
In this regard, he had absolute confidence, even believing he was not inferior to Vegapunk.
Kane thought for a moment but decided not to interrupt Queen’s beautiful dream.
One could say that living in the same era as Vegapunk was the beautiful dream of all scientists, and also their nightmare.
Because no matter what research it was, Vegapunk could always get ahead of them with just a little effort.
The birth of the Seraphim was the most powerful proof.
That was a perfect combination of Bloodline Factors and biological modification.
During the creation of the Seraphim, Vegapunk even simultaneously researched artificial organisms and made inanimate objects eat Devil Fruits, among a series of other high-difficulty projects.
Back to the main topic.
Kane chuckled, “So I need you to get involved.”
“I refuse!”
Queen said without thinking, “I still need to research the latest generation of plague bombs. When my research results come out, this entire sea will tremble for me!”
He was still hoping that the plague bombs would help him become famous throughout the seas, with a bounty surpassing this kid Kane’s.
You’re exaggerating a bit, Queen.
Kane was speechless.
“Sigh~ I was originally thinking of letting you, Mr. Queen, earn a great merit. Since that’s the case, it seems I can only let Judge show his face in front of Mr. Kaido again.”
Kane sighed, feigning regret, “If this continues, I’m afraid the most capable scientist in Mr. Kaido’s eyes will be Judge.”
With that, he turned to leave without any hesitation, while silently counting in his mind:
“Stop right there!”
Before he could count to three, Queen shouted loudly, “What do you mean, kid? Explain yourself!”
What were his minor conflicts with Kane?
That bastard Judge stealing the limelight in front of Big Brother Kaido was the real big deal!
He was the Beasts Pirates’ number one scientist!
Indeed, it was naked hatred between peers. Kane’s face showed a knowing smile, which he instantly suppressed. He turned around and calmly said, “I’ve found a stable and huge new source of income for the Beasts Pirates: selling Den Den Mushi.”
Hearing this, Queen breathed a sigh of relief. He thought it was some major project.
“Do you know how rare wild Den Den Mushi are, kid?”
“Go on. Let Judge handle this small task; he’s suited for such chores.”
It was well known that Den Den Mushi could only be caught in the wild and were extremely rare, making artificial breeding impossible.
Kane chuckled, “Are you sure? That’s five hundred Den Den Mushi of various types.”
“Only five hundred—wait.”
Queen’s disdainful smile instantly vanished. “How many did you say? Five hundred? Did you rob several merchant ships to get them?”
Even the most common Den Den Mushi cost five hundred thousand Berries each.
Specialized black and white Den Den Mushi often cost millions and were priceless.
Queen wasn’t surprised by the business itself; mainly, no one could gather so many Den Den Mushi for sale at once.
Merchants who usually sold Den Den Mushi only had a few dozen at most, even with ample stock.
Kane wagged his index finger, smiling confidently, “They are artificially bred. This is just the first batch.”
“Did Judge make the technological breakthrough?”
Besides him, Queen couldn’t imagine from whom Kane could have obtained such a technology.
The thought of Judge getting a big face in front of Big Brother Kaido made Queen’s teeth itch with anger.
“No, don’t worry about the source for now. Just tell me if you can do it.”
“If not, I’ll find Judge. I think this kind of modification work shouldn’t be difficult.”
Kane lifted his foot as if to leave, and Queen quickly put on a smiling face and stopped him.
“Little brother, don’t be in a hurry.”
Queen chuckled as he put his arm around Kane’s shoulder, “How could that guy Judge be as knowledgeable as your big brother?”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me. I’ll make sure everything is perfectly arranged for you.”
Queen’s mind raced.
If Kane could indeed stably provide a large number of artificially bred Den Den Mushi, this would no longer be a small business!
This would be a massive market worth hundreds of billions of Berries!
The best part was that Den Den Mushi were consumables with a life cycle, requiring customers to make continuous purchases.
This credit had to be his, Queen’s.
“Excellent.”
Kane nodded in satisfaction, then changed his tone, his expression becoming serious: “But I have one condition.”
“Tell me,” Queen said, patting his chest confidently.
“I need you to research a special kind of visual Den Den Mushi.”
Kane’s eyes were burning, “Besides being able to broadcast images, it must also be able to forcibly control other Den Den Mushi worldwide to play its content.”
The technical difficulty was there, but it should be achievable.
Vegapunk had created such a Den Den Mushi, using it to broadcast some of the truth of the Void Century to the world. Queen frowned, “Do you know the technical difficulty involved?”
The problem of signal transmission wasn’t a big deal; Den Den Mushi themselves could communicate with other Den Den Mushi worldwide through their unique means of communication.
But forcible control?
“Sigh, is it really too difficult? I think Vegapunk can definitely do it.”
Kane sighed.
“Leave it to me. Just you wait and see, I’ll show you what the world’s number one scientist is!”
Queen instantly lost his rationality and took on the task enthusiastically.
At worst, he would leave a backdoor in the Den Den Mushi produced by the Beasts.
Kane left satisfied.
Next, it was off to Nine Snake Island to capture Beasts.
The next day.
The Raikougo set sail again.
However, before heading to Nine Snake Island, Kane still had a score to settle.
If he didn’t personally warn that birdman Morgans, he couldn’t imagine what other outrageous things that birdman would write.
“Set course for the Pleasure District!”
Kane commanded.
If anyone knew about that birdman Morgans’ intelligence, it had to be the Queen of Information, Stussy.
Coincidentally, Kane still held leverage over Stussy.
She had no choice but to cooperate with him.