"The essence of Devil Fruits, the application of Devil Fruits combined with weapons, the principle of lineage factors... these are all good things."
On the ship, Ross sat leisurely in a chair.
Beside him, Gion was writing furiously, also recording what Vegapunk had said.
They weren't far from Vegapunk; the hearing ability of the Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire was exceptional, only slightly inferior to his ability to hear the sea.
But regardless of the method, one could easily hear all the information Vegapunk was saying.
He didn't care about this information being leaked; the only people Vegapunk could contact were Dragon or the Kingdom of Giants.
Both are enemies of the World Government, but because they don't cause much trouble at the moment, they haven't been included in the target list yet.
The leak of Vegapunk technology provides a convenient pretext to intensify the crackdown on both sides.
"Oh, and the rail technology for sea trains? Make sure to write that down, you never know when you might need it."
Ross raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
He knew that Vegapunk possessed a wide range of technologies, and that if he wasn't forced to rebel, he could even use him to achieve many technological breakthroughs.
But I'll say it again.
For a ruler without external enemies, technological development is never a necessary or urgent matter.
On the contrary, eliminating all possible threats was the first priority for rulers, which is why science and technology could not develop in the feudal era.
Technology requires intelligent people to develop, and those people usually have their own ideas, which are generally uncontrollable.
"I wrote it all down."
Gion nodded gently. Although she only recognized these characters and didn't even know what they meant when she wrote them down, she could still perfectly replicate them.
"What's the next technology? Let me hear it... Hmm, the history of how world governments rose to power? That's not something you can talk about."
Ross chuckled, unleashing a torrent of Conqueror's Haki that instantly enveloped the area where Stussy and Vegapunk were.
In an instant, the Den Den Mushi on Vegapunk wilted, and the signal was interrupted for a few seconds before returning to normal.
Dragon, on the other end of the receiver, blinked and pulled the Den Den Mushi even closer to himself.
The information he would hear later might be more valuable than the technology he had heard before.
"Dr. Vegapunk, Miss Stussy, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Ross's voice echoed across the entire coastline. He was still at the bow of the ship when he spoke, but by the time he finished speaking, he was already standing in front of Stussy.
[Stussy]
[Overall Rating: B-]
Stussy immediately became wary, and her long, white-stockinged legs swept out towards Ross.
"Bang!!"
Ross simply raised his arm, covered it with Armament Haki, and easily grabbed Stussy's calf.
"I don't like being interrupted when I'm speaking."
As soon as Ross finished speaking, he disappeared.
"Not good..."
The sense of crisis behind her startled Stussy, but before she could turn around...
Bang!!!
Stussy was struck hard in the waist, and the pain instantly spread throughout her body, as if her entire body was about to be split in two.
Cough…
Stussy collapsed into the sand. Just as she was about to get up, she heard a gust of wind whistle past her ear.
The trident of Poseidon pierced heavily into the sand, its sharp blade only 1 millimeter away from her neck.
"If you move again, I won't hesitate to kill you."
Ross spoke calmly, swiftly sitting on Stussy's body, his gaze serenely fixed on Vegapunk:
"Alright, it's time for us to have a proper talk, Dr. Vegapunk."
[Vegapunk]
[Overall Rating: S]
This is a scientist who is unarmed but has an S-level rating.
At the same time, he is also seen as an experienced mentor by Ross.
It's possible that the first S-class kill will fall to Vegapunk.
"There's no need for us to talk. You're not going to let me go today." Vegapunk said calmly.
He already knew the final outcome just from the strength Ross displayed.
No matter how many times he calculated it, he had no hope of escaping.
This is the shackle of wisdom: when the opponent possesses absolute power, even the greatest wisdom is futile.
"Why betray the World Government?" Ross suddenly asked.
"Objectively speaking, I have never betrayed the World Government; it was the World Government that abandoned me."
Vegapunk had no intention of being quiet before he died; instead, he said very seriously:
"Subjectively speaking, I don't like the World Government's style, otherwise I wouldn't have created MADS. If it weren't for the resources, I wouldn't even consider the World Government's offer."
"In other words, without loyalty, there can be no betrayal," Ross said with interest.
"That's not wrong. Let me talk to them directly."
Vegapunk's gaze fell on Ross's collar, where there was a bulge, and one look was enough to tell what was hidden inside.
"Looks like you've been discovered. I don't like this kind of environment. It would have been better to just kill you."
Ross shrugged and pulled out a Den Den Mushi (transponder snail) from his pocket to communicate with the Five Elders.
The other end of the Den Den Mushi connects to the conference table of the Five Elders.
Since dealing with Vegapunk was Jaygarcia's suggestion, he shouldn't be the one to take the blame to avoid unnecessary trouble; Vegapunk would be a perfect fit.
"The world government has treated you well, so who did you leak those technologies to?"
Saint Saturn's somber voice came through; Ross had already explained the situation when he contacted them.
"No comment, but I have backups of my technology, which will be sent to the world after my brain stops functioning."
When Vegapunk talked about technology dissemination, his face was filled with fervor and excitement.
"Stop what you're doing!"
"Madman!"
"Kill him!"
"..."
Instantly, five different voices came from the Den Den Mushi, which kept changing and almost got stuck.
"Listen to this," Vegapunk said, his eyes filled with sorrow. "It is because the World Government is composed of people like you that the world's technology cannot develop, and everyone is living a miserable life."
"Vegapunk, the technology you possess is dangerous!" Saint Topman Warcury shouted.
"But my technology has never killed a single person. On the contrary, you've made me research weapons of mass destruction, as well as clones and cyborgs. If these succeed, they will only cause more people to die in the world," Vegapunk retorted rationally.
"absurd!"
"Any action taken by the world government is correct."
"..."
Listening to the cacophony of the Five Elders, Ross tugged at his ear, a hint of disdain in his eyes.
These old fogies had broken down.
In his opinion, it wasn't that these old guys lacked ability; it was just that they'd been in that position for too long, they saw everyone as trash, and their mentality had long been problematic.
After that, both sides entered a period of inactivity.
Vegapunk emphasized the changes science brings to the world, while the Five Elders emphasized the supreme authority of the World Government.
The two sides were not on the same wavelength, so it would be a miracle if they could come up with anything.
However, Ross didn't bother to interrupt. He didn't have the strength to go toe-to-toe with the Five Elders right now, so it wasn't bad to let Vegapunk be his punching bag.
The more Vegapunk angered the Five Elders, the more it proved the correctness of his previous proposal.
If it could not be executed accurately in the end, that would be because the Five Elders were incompetent; what would it have to do with him?
"Ross, the World Government will not accept any threats. Kill Vegapunk immediately and announce to the world that anyone who dares to study the technology spread by Vegapunk will be subject to the Buster Call."
The Five Elders also realized they couldn't reach an agreement, so Saint Saturn peacefully issued an order.
I second that!
I second that!
"..."
After Saint Saturn made the proposal, the other four Elders immediately seconded it.
"Received."
Ross chuckled twice and hung up the Den Den Mushi.
A bunch of old men were talking nonsense there; if it weren't for trying to shift the blame, he would have hung up long ago.
Vegapunk was definitely going to die, but he had to extract all the value from him.
Even if Vegapunk died, it would still bring him a lot of benefits.
At least after hearing this, the person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi (transponder snail) should cause a bigger commotion.
...
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