One Piece: Fist of the World.

Chapter 260 The Prelude to a New Era
Marie Gioia, Between the Powers.

Rhodes had left, and the screams and wails outside gradually subsided. The holy land seemed to have returned to its original state.

In the room, the Five Elders sat on the sofa, looking at the coffee table in the middle.

The coffee table where Rhodes had sat before.

"Baquan Rhodes, as expected, he is too dangerous!"

Nasujuro Sei said in a deep voice while holding his weapon.

“I didn’t expect it to have grown to this level.”

"A guy who can monopolize the three admirals of the navy and still have the upper hand, such a guy has not appeared in the past hundreds of years."

"What secret is he hiding?"

"The new world is just handed over to him like this?"

Saint Satan held his cane tightly.

There was a gas leak in Punk Hazard, and he had just placed Vegapunk on an island deep in the New World. If, as Rhodes said, he really let the other party become the agent of the World Government in the New World, it would not be appropriate to place the Naval Science Class in the New World.

The Naval Science Class needs to be relocated.

"It can only be this way!"

"Battle Fist Rod is too powerful. Even if we don't do as he says and let him become the agent of the World Government in the New World, with his own power, I'm afraid we won't be able to keep any naval bases in the New World."

"In that case, why not give him the identity of an agent? At least in name he belongs to the power of the World Government."

"Let him fight those pirates in the New World until they are bloody. The Navy can focus on the first half of the Grand Line."

"That's right, since he wants it, let him do it well!"

"···"

The Five Elders discussed the situation one after another, as if they didn't care at all, and just gave up the power that the Navy had built up in the New World over the years.

He is just an ordinary human being with stronger power, and his life span is only a few dozen years. Even if he is arrogant, it will only be temporary.

Marshal Zhan Guo, who stayed in Marinford, was still unaware of the bad news.

As the Admiral of the Navy, during his tenure, the Navy lost its say in the second half of the Grand Line.

···
On the other side, Qiu Shui transformed into a giant pink dragon and carried Rhodes and his group back to Greenbit.

"Five celestial dragons have been captured!"

"We stole five devil fruits, as well as some other gold and silver treasures."

"All the slaves have been freed. They have successfully escaped below."

Luo summarized their gains.

The main force of this operation is still Rhodes.

Originally, Rhode brought along Luo, Kosa, Liluka, and Violet, who were either highly mobile or good at reconnaissance. They thought they were going to conduct a stealth operation, but they never expected it to be a reckless battle like this.

"Go back and wait for Peikin and the others to be sent back."

Rhodes stood on the head of the pink dragon, and could vaguely see the island of Greenbit in front of him.

The Five Elders finally agreed to his request, which means that from now on, he has completely taken over the functions of the navy in this sea area.

"A new era has begun!"

···
Three days later, Pekin and his companions returned safely to Greenbit, and Rhodes handed over the Celestial Dragons he had captured from Marijoa to CP0 to take back.

Rumors were flying all over the sea about the major events that took place in Marijoa that day, but even the World Economic News remained silent and no relevant information was leaked. In the end, only some true and false news were left circulating among the major forces.

However, what everyone could feel was that the Navy was withdrawing its power from the New World.

The number of patrolling warships has decreased significantly, and those fortresses and branch bases have become more defensive, responsible only for the small sea area where they are located.

For most pirates, this is simply a carnival!
In the past, they would have restrained their actions due to concerns about the power of the navy, but now, for some unknown reason, the navy has reduced its strength, and the pirates who had been curled up immediately stood up, and it seemed that the New World was about to fall into great chaos again.

But, it didn’t!

As the navy's strength shrank, the scale of Fist Security Company suddenly expanded, sweeping across the entire New World at an exaggerated speed. Except for the spheres of influence of Whitebeard, Kaido, and Red Hair, most other areas were all brought under the management of the security company.

During this process, there were naturally many people who opposed it, but without the leadership of the three pirate emperors, those forces could not make any waves at all.

The 13th Division of the Rod Pirates became more and more famous in battle after battle. After the pirates of the previous era were killed one after another by the captain of the Rod Pirates, the reputation of the Rod Pirates finally reached a peak.

···
Whitebeard Pirates, Moby Dick.

"My shipyard now takes on more than half of the orders from the world's governments. There is too much business to handle."

Rhodes was holding a huge wine bowl and sitting opposite Whitebeard.

"Many of the islands under your rule are very poor, right?"

"I can entrust the processing of some shipbuilding parts to the islands under your name. With these orders, they will have work to do, and if they have work to do, they can make money. If they make money, they will have a purpose in life. Only in this way can their lives get better and better."

Industries such as shipbuilding can drive a large number of upstream and downstream industries.

Especially the navy’s new warships, which use a large number of mechanical parts.

Of course, Rhodes could choose to hand over all these industries to his own businesses, but the reason he asked for so many orders from the World Government was not just for money.

What he wants is the right to speak.

Through the shipbuilding industry chain, he can bind the islands and members under Whitebeard to himself.

In this world, most people choose to go to sea because they can't make ends meet. Of course there are some who really want to cause trouble, but they don't account for a large proportion.

The islands under Whitebeard's control were indeed able to create a large number of jobs through the industries that Rod had shared with them, and life was gradually becoming more affluent.

However, they were only responsible for the processing of some unimportant parts in the shipbuilding industry, and could be said to be completely dependent on the Thomas Shipyard for survival. Once the shipyard stopped placing orders, they would return to the situation before liberation, or even be worse.

By that time, although they are still an island or force under the Whitebeard Pirates, the decision Rod makes can affect their survival. This is the right to speak that Rod wants.

"Gulala, just have someone talk to Marco and Ace about this kind of thing."

Whitebeard raised the jar of wine in his hand.

"Of course I have to discuss this matter with you in person."

Rhodes looked at Whitebeard.

"After all, correspondingly, you have to restrain your squad leaders and captains and not cause trouble unless necessary."

"Huh? Are you interfering with my family?"

Whitebeard's face turned cold and he looked at Rhodes.

"It's just a kind advice."

Rhodes picked up the wine glass in his hand and drank it all, then put it down and stood up.

"I'll have someone contact Marco about what's next."

After saying that, the giant pink dragon took off into the sky and carried Rhodes away from the Moby Dick.

Whitebeard looked in the direction where Rhodes left, took a big sip of the wine, and a complicated look flashed in his eyes.

He can no longer see through this little devil!

Just like the sea right now. But...
His eyes fell on Ace and Marco, and Whitebeard's mouth widened into a grin.

Let’s leave the next things to our reliable sons!

···
Red Hair Pirates, Red Force.

"So, who won the battle between you and Hawkeye?"

Red-haired Shanks clinked glasses with Rhodes. Both of them had bright red hair and exuded the aura of strength, but compared to Red-haired Shanks, Rhodes seemed more calm.

Shanks asked Rhodes gossipingly, and his companions around him pricked up their ears, waiting for Rhodes' answer.

"There's no winner."

Rhodes waved his hand slightly and changed the subject.

"So what do you think of my proposal? You can ask the pirate group that is attached to you to join us, and we can be responsible for the production and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the New World together."

Compared to Whitebeard, Red-Haired Shanks is more impulsive. His pirate group doesn't even have a base in the strict sense and they always wander around on the sea.

However, as the Pirate Emperor, his own strength and powerful personal charm still attracted many people to gather around him and form a huge force with him as the center.

"No problem! They will love it!"

Shanks, looking clueless, clinked glasses with Rod passionately, laughed and agreed.

"I like it too, fine wine is the best!"

Shanks raised his head to drink the wine in the glass and added another sentence.

"But on this sea, only when the sea is calm can we enjoy the wine and food in peace!"

“The little storms in the New World will not affect the mood of tasting fine wine.”

When~~
The wine glasses clinked again, and Rhodes and Shanks smiled at each other.

···
Wano Country, Onigashima.

"Uh-huh-huh-huh, you actually came here in person!"

Kaido raised his head and drank a jar of wine in gulps, then looked at Rhodes who was sitting opposite him.

"What's so important that requires you to come here in person?"

"Of course it's big business!"

Rhodes waved his hand, and Bonis, who was following him, pushed a small box in front of Kaido.

"what is this?"

Kaido looked at Rhodes in confusion.

All transactions between the two parties were coordinated through their subordinates, and there were very few things that could alarm either of them.

"open to take a look!"

Rhodes gestured with his hand.

Kaido opened the small box in front of him with a little confusion.

Inside the box, there were ten strange-looking fruits.

"Devil Fruit?"

A trace of doubt arose in Kaido's heart.

If it was just a devil fruit, Rhodes wouldn't need to go there in person.

"etc···"

Kaido suddenly came to his senses and stared at the strange-looking devil fruits in the box in front of him.

These devil fruits look almost identical!
This should have been impossible.

Because there are no two identical devil fruits in the world, each devil fruit should look unique.

Although these devil fruits in front of us look slightly different, their general shapes and patterns are almost exactly the same.

"Artificial Devil Fruit!"

Facing Kaido's inquiring eyes, Rhodes replied calmly.

"hiss--!"

Even Kaido was shocked and gasped.

"Based on our latest research technology, we have created an artificial devil fruit!"

"Anyone who eats this Devil Fruit will gain Devil Fruit abilities, but with current technology, we can only create Animal-type Devil Fruits, and the success rate is not 100%. There is a certain chance that someone who eats a Devil Fruit will fail, and not only will they not be able to gain Devil Fruit abilities, they will also lose certain emotions."

Different from the original timeline.

Rhodes obtained the artificial devil fruit technology given by Vegapunk himself, and also had Caesar Clown and Vinsmoke Judge, two genius scientists second only to Vegapunk. With the two of them working together, they quickly developed the technology of artificial animal devil fruits.

Not only that, after obtaining the islands of Golden Lion, the relevant bloodline factors also had a stable source. Most of the animals he raised were ancient species and possessed better qualities. The artificial devil fruits made by extracting their bloodline factors were stronger than the original artificial devil fruits!
And because of Vinsmoke Judge's involvement, the side effects changed from making people laugh constantly to losing certain emotions.

"awesome!"

Kaido automatically ignored the second half of Rod's sentence. Only a few words remained in his mind.

[Artificial Devil Fruit], [Zootopia], [Zootopia Ability User Corps]!
With this artificial animal-type devil fruit that can be mass-produced, his plan to form a corps of animal-type ability users can be implemented more quickly!
"Bring ten men here!"

Following Kaido's instructions, ten members of the Beasts Pirates were soon brought up and ate the artificial devil fruit under Kaido's command.

Soon, under the gaze of Kaido and Rod, the bodies of three of them changed and automatically turned into half-beast forms, while the remaining seven people did not seem to have any changes, and it was unknown which part of their emotions they had lost.

“30% success rate, great!!”

Kaido looked at the three new ability users with joy.

"How much can this artificial devil fruit produce!"

Kaido looked at Rhodes with burning eyes.

"I can give you 100 every month."

"100!"

Kaido's face lit up with joy.

If he can guarantee a 30% success rate, that means he can have 30 more animal-type users every month, which means 360 in a year. If he adds some normal Devil Fruits, he can soon form a legion composed entirely of animal-type Devil Fruit users!
"what would you like!"

"Seastone! I want all kinds of processed seastone."

"make a deal!"

Kaido and Rod high-fived each other, both of them looked very satisfied.

Kaido seemed to have seen the successful formation of his own army of people with special abilities, and that he would use this power to sweep the world.

As for Rhodes, seastone is a very valuable strategic item.

besides···
Feeling the souls of the ten people in front of him, and feeling the faint connection between them and himself, the smile on Rhodes' face became brighter.

This artificial devil fruit contains more than just bloodline factor technology!

(End of this chapter)