Chapitre 153: Chapter 153: Upgrade
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After finalizing his plan, Doflamingo explained to Kaido, "The 100 SMILE fruits were already produced.
"On the way from the production site to Dressrosa, they were confiscated by the G-5 base under the pretext of collecting a toll."
"Isn't it just a million Berries? You could've paid them off and moved on," Kaido remarked dismissively.
While the G-5 base commander was known to be money-hungry, he had a reputation for being reliable in business—once he collected payment, he wouldn't cause further trouble.
Even Kaido had heard of this. Doflamingo, acting troubled, replied, "That's usually the case, but the G-5 base commander is Marine Vice Admiral Byakuya. That guy has a personal vendetta against me.
When he saw that the cargo was mine, he insisted on inspecting it. During the inspection, he discovered the SMILE fruits inside."
"Since Byakuya disrupted our last deal, he knows I produce SMILE fruits to trade with you. So, he confiscated the entire ship."
"Paying him off didn't help. The worst part is that only Caesar knows how to produce the SMILE fruits, and he was on that ship, too. Byakuya took him as well."
"What did you just say?" Kaido thundered, enraged. While an Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruit was certainly more valuable than 100 SMILEs, the SMILE fruits were still important.
After all, natural Devil Fruits were scarce, but SMILEs weren't limited by supply.
Given enough time, Kaido could create an entire army of Devil Fruit users.
From a long-term perspective, having a steady supply of SMILEs was crucial for Kaido's ambitions.
Now, hearing that Doflamingo had allowed the only person capable of producing them, Caesar, to fall into Marine hands was unacceptable.
Seizing the moment, Doflamingo continued, adding fuel to the fire,
"Caesar is a wanted criminal by the World Government. If the Marines discover his identity, he could be sent to Impel Down."
Kaido wasn't stupid. He could hear the implications in Doflamingo's words. "What are you suggesting?" he asked in a low voice.
"Lord Kaido, Byakuya probably hasn't realized that Caesar is on board yet."
"If we can retrieve the ship and Caesar before he does, SMILE production can continue as planned."
"You want me to attack the Marine G-5 base?" Kaido snapped, "Do you take me for a fool, Doflamingo?"
"I refused. You've tried to get me to ambush Byakuya before. Now you're telling me he has seized the SMILE fruits and Caesar."
"Are you deliberately setting this up just to force me to kill Byakuya?"
Doflamingo, sweating nervously on the other end of the line, panicked.
Kaido wasn't wrong—Doflamingo had once thought about doing just that, hoping to provoke a conflict between Kaido and Byakuya.
But now, he no longer had the leverage to play that game.
Caesar's whereabouts were unknown, and Doflamingo didn't even know if he was alive or dead.
He had lost his only bargaining chip to keep the Beasts Pirates in check.
Under these circumstances, he couldn't afford to tell the truth. If he did, Kaido would likely kill him on the spot.
So, instead, he decided to shift all the blame onto Byakuya.
Kaido understood the importance of Caesar and wouldn't risk exposing him by sending someone to investigate.
If Kaido wanted to continue receiving SMILEs, his only option was to agree to the plan and attack the G-5 base to retrieve Caesar.
What happened after that could be dealt with later. Even if Kaido figured out the truth and came after Doflamingo later, it would be after Byakuya died.
In the worst-case scenario, Doflamingo could hide in Impel Down. He doubted Kaido would storm the prison just to kill him.
In a voice dripping with temptation, Doflamingo said, "Lord Kaido, if you retrieve Caesar, then the SMILE production technology will belong solely to the Beasts Pirates. You wouldn't have to trade with me anymore."
The proposal took Kaido aback. Indeed, even if this was Doflamingo's way of manipulating him into killing Byakuya, it was a well-thought-out scheme.
If Kaido managed to take Caesar back, he wouldn't have to spend 10 billion Berries every three months buying 100 SMILEs from Doflamingo.
With the Beasts Pirates' vast resources, they could collect the necessary materials for SMILE production much faster than Doflamingo ever could.
This would significantly speed up the creation of Kaido's Beast Army.
Considering the long-term gains, Kaido realized that attacking the Marine G-5 base, even at the risk of angering the Marines, might be worth it.
Thus, he agreed to Doflamingo's plan. Since Doflamingo had an insider among the G-5 base's upper ranks, Kaido entrusted the operation to him.
All Doflamingo needed to do was provide the time and location for the attack. Kaido had no reason to suspect Doflamingo would double-cross him now.
However, Kaido had no idea that Doflamingo was playing a risky yet cost-free game.
After hanging up the phone, Doflamingo's lips curled into a sinister smile as he thought,
Only he could turn a certain death scenario into a golden opportunity to eliminate my enemy.
One day, I'll prove who the true king is to the world. Even the Celestial Dragons who look down on me will be beneath my feet.
Meanwhile, Byakuya remained unaware that Doflamingo and the Beasts Pirates had reached an agreement to attack him.
Instead, he was lounging on the top deck of the Polar Night, sunbathing and feeling quite relaxed.
With the toll fees collected from passing ships raking in millions of Berries daily, he couldn't help but admire his genius for solving the branch's financial problems so easily.
Collecting tolls from the Yonko's crews—who else could've thought of such a brilliant idea?
Only me, Byakuya thought smugly as he opened his system panel:
| Host: Byakuya |
| Template: One Punch Man—Saitama |
| Fusion Level: 40% |
| World Energy: 113,000 |
| Fusion Level from 40% to 41% requires 3,200 World Energy |
| Special Skills: Kinh's Engine, Telekinesis (Max), Armament Haki lv8 (Special Skill: Ryuo), Observation Haki lv8, Swordsmanship (Max), Infinite Recovery (Passive) |
| Summon: 'Testicle-less Ninja' Sonic: 1,000 points (Already summoned) |
Byakuya had accumulated a substantial amount of World Source Power, reaching six figures.
This resulted from altering two or three plot points and defeating tens of thousands of Fish-Men.
He had been saving this power to summon certain characters to clear himself of suspicions at crucial moments.
However, now that he had so much, Byakuya decided to spend some of it and increase his Fusion Rate.
Summoning characters from the One Punch Man world wasn't too costly, so he used 41,000 points to raise his Fusion Rate to 50%.
As the strengthening energy surged through his body, Byakuya felt a boundless power growing within him.
Only now did he feel he had acquired half of Saitama's strength. At the same time, the system's notification sound chimed again:
[Congratulations, host! Fusion Rate has reached 50%. You may now randomly draw a special ability from a powerful figure in the One Punch Man world.]
[Drawing complete. Congratulations, host, you have obtained the ability of S-Class Hero Terrible Tornado: Telekinesis.]
Byakuya was momentarily surprised. He hadn't expected to receive Telekinesis again.
Previously, he had most wanted to draw Tornado's telekinesis ability but got Geryuganshoop's Telekinesis instead.
While both were forms of Telekinesis, their power was vastly different. Tornado's ability was overall stronger.
However, Geryuganshoop's Telekinesis had its unique features, making both abilities valuable in their own right.
Now that he had both, Byakuya wondered how the system would handle it. Would the two powers merge, or would they be considered separate skills?
Just as he was pondering, the system chimed again:
[Ding! Due to the host's mastery of the special skill, Telekinesis, which is already at max level, Tornado's Telekinesis cannot automatically merge.]
"What? Don't tell me the system will just cancel this reward!" Byakuya thought anxiously. But the system quickly reassured him:
[You have encountered a rare event. Two options are now available for you to choose from.]
Two options? The system was showing a bit of flexibility this time.
[Option 1: You may choose one of the two telekinesis abilities. The one you abandon will be forgotten, and the one you keep will remain at max level.]
Byakuya didn't even need to look at the first option.
Losing either ability would be a waste, considering all the hard-earned World Source Power he had used to increase his Fusion Rate.
So, he immediately focused on the second option:
[Option 2: If the host wishes to retain both types of Telekinesis, you may spend 10,000 points of World Source Power to fuse them. The fused Telekinesis will combine the strengths of both abilities and become even more powerful.]
After reading the second option, Byakuya didn't hesitate and quickly chose it.
"What's a little World Source Power? I've got plenty of it."
[Fusion complete.]
[Special Skill: Extreme Telekinesis (Max Level)]
Looking at his newly upgraded skill in the system panel, Byakuya nodded in satisfaction.
Though he hadn't yet tested the power of Extreme Telekinesis, he imagined it might be impressive.
He was very pleased with the outcome of this Fusion Rate upgrade.
The next day, the Den Den Mushi that Byakuya kept close to him suddenly rang. It was a special line between him and Rob Lucci.
Whenever it rang, it meant a situation required Byakuya's decision. Byakuya answered the call.
"Hello, is there a problem?" Byakuya asked.
"Byakuya-sama, there's no issue on our end," Lucci replied.
"However, Morgans just called, asking if the Night Organization intends to attend Big Mom's upcoming tea party."
"What? An invitation to Big Mom's tea party?"
Byakuya wasn't entirely surprised that Big Mom had reached out to the Night Organization through Morgans.
After all, Morgans was the World Economy News Paper president and was certainly on Big Mom's guest list.
Given how mysterious the Night Organization was, with very few knowing anything about it, it made sense that Big Mom would find it difficult to contact them directly.
Using someone like Morgans made things easier.
Lucci continued, "Morgans mentioned that the Vinsmoke family will also attend Big Mom's tea party. It seems he has some insider information."
The last time the Night Organization acted, they got into a minor skirmish with the Vinsmoke family in the North Blue while searching for someone named Law.
It wasn't a large conflict, and the news hadn't spread widely. Only a handful of people knew about it, and Morgans was one of them.
That's why he had informed Lucci, hoping to curry favour with the Night Organization, as he wanted more juicy stories from them in the future.
"So, the Vinsmokes are attending too," Byakuya mused.
He knew about Lucci and Enel's small confrontation with the Vinsmokes while searching for Law, but he hadn't given it much thought.
The Vinsmoke family was insignificant to him, and wiping them out would be easy.
The only key figure related to the main plot was Sanji, who had already left his family and worked at a restaurant in East Blue.
After Morgans' reminder, however, Byakuya began to connect the dots in the story.
"Could it be that the Vinsmoke family feels threatened by the Night Organization and seeks an alliance with Big Mom to protect themselves?"
"Have I unwittingly advanced the storyline?" Byakuya wondered. "Will Sanji still be the groom in this marriage?"
Byakuya's curiosity was piqued, and he suddenly felt a strong urge to attend the tea party and see for himself.
Maybe this event could even net him more World Source Power.
"Tell Morgans that the Night Organization will attend the tea party," Byakuya instructed.
Lucci, however, expressed concern, "Byakuya-sama, what if the Vinsmokes and Big Mom conspire against us during the tea party?"
Lucci's worries were reasonable. It wasn't out of the question for such a plot to occur.
<End Chapter>
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