Arceus's Pirate Journey

Chapter 847: Chapter 846: CP9 Falls for the Trap

It’s nothing good, but Queen’s title sure sounds better than his.

It’s just the way it is. Queen’s current status is that of a pirate, and he’s a well-known one, with plenty of adjectives to his name. But Caesar’s identity is not something that can be publicly mentioned.

”Don’t mind that. You should be glad you don’t have a flashy name to brag about, otherwise you’d make a fool of yourself.”

”That’s something I should be saying to you! Gas Lasso!”

The duel had already begun when the announcer introduced both parties.

Caesar chose to attack first, releasing a large amount of gas from his body that gradually coagulated into a solid lasso that flew towards Queen.

Once the lasso hit Queen, it enveloped him in a mass of gas, restricting his movements.

This cloud formed by the Gas Lasso was highly toxic, and inhaling it could easily lead to unconsciousness or death.

”Fwohohoho, is that all you’ve got? Your name is so lame... what?!”

Queen used to counter this move by putting on a gas mask — creating one was no problem for him. But this time, he actually inhaled the gas and even disdainfully exhaled a breath.

”I told you, did you think it was still like the old days? This level of gas toxicity is useless.”

The gas of Galar Weezing was much more toxic than Caesar’s. With the help of Alola Muk and Galar Weezing, he had developed a great deal of antibodies.

Even without a special antidote made from Pecha Berries, it wouldn’t be easy to poison him. Magellan would be frustrated just seeing Queen.

”Bastard, stop looking down on people! Gas Castanets!”

Two specially made castanets were thrown by Caesar towards Queen, and the moment they touched the arena, they exploded violently.

”Boom!”

Most of the ring turned into a sea of flames. Caesar had stored his regular gas in there, and upon detonation, it became a powerful bomb.

But it was still useless. Queen’s wings flapped behind him, quickly dispersing the smoke and dust. Queen stood there unharmed, not considering the explosion a threat at all.

”No... impossible!”

”It’s not impossible. You’re way too outdated. You’ll never know what I’ve been through all these years or the source of my Haki. You wouldn’t understand.”

At that moment, Queen suddenly understood why Kaidou liked to take hits directly — he could dodge, but didn’t.

Watching an enemy realize their attacks are pointless and can’t even penetrate your defense feels amazing.

”I’ve already let you strike first, so don’t say I’m bullying you.”

His bulky figure was suddenly right in front of Caesar, a massive arm coated with Haki pounding towards Caesar.

”Don’t think being a Logia-type makes you invincible! Pray to the banana of doom!”

Haki caught Caesar’s form, followed by a one-sided beating. Even the commentator was at a loss for words.

Plain and simple, without any technique, after taking two of Caesar’s moves, Queen grabbed Caesar, pinned him to the ground, and vented his pent-up frustrations.

The vast gap in strength made the duel uninteresting to watch. Even Doflamingo didn’t know how to comment.

Although he was still in the King’s Highland, Violet’s memory-sharing ability allowed Doflamingo to indirectly see everything.

Doflamingo knew Caesar wasn’t much of a fighter but didn’t expect such a severe beating. Even with the restraint, he was easily overwhelmed.

Beating up Caesar was the last condition, and after this, Queen representing the Hundred Beasts reached some trade agreements with Doflamingo.

Soon after, Caesar returned to Punk Hazard, which he had blown up before, but there were still some labs left.

There were three laboratories in total; only two were blown up, and the remaining one could be quickly restored to production.

After returning, Caesar used his abilities to purify the island’s air and found prisoners who had been struggling to survive there.

Due to the toxic gas, their bodies were severely damaged. He provided assistive devices to those unable to walk and enlisted them as his subordinates.

In the following months, Artificial Fruit continuously produced, and after being supplemented by Arceus, they reached the Hundred Beasts’ lower echelons, reigniting their spirit and causing a work overtime craze.

Meanwhile, Caesar fell into confusion. The ones he sold could all become normal abilities, but the ones he kept were all problematic.

At this point, he still couldn’t believe Queen had the capability.

His strength had indeed increased significantly, but it didn’t mean his brain improved accordingly. While suspecting the Hundred Beasts had secrets, he also started to think that maybe it was just a matter of luck.

Simultaneously, Queen’s blame-shifting plan began to take effect, indirectly causing harm to some people.

He advertised using the Hundred Beasts’ Artificial Fruit Ability Users so the other forces at sea could see these people, then let Doflamingo sell SMILEs at normal prices. Thanks to the Hundred Beasts’ advertising, people fell for it.

...

”Nero, this is an artificial Devil Fruit. If you eat it, there’s a chance you’ll gain an ability, but you might also end up as a failure who can only laugh without any power. What do you think?”

At the CP9 headquarters, Spandam, who had become a leader of CP9, was holding an artificial fruit.

The Zoan-type Fruit was quite fitting for the CP Organization. Spandam had heard some rumors and spent 20 million Belly of his own money to buy it back.

He intended to try it on the CP9 candidate in front of him. The Nero before him could only use four of the Rokushiki skills, and hadn’t officially completed his special training yet — perfect for gambling on the fruit’s success rate.

If it succeeded, it would be great. Even if it failed, he was just a reserve member who had a hard time becoming regular anyway, so Spandam wouldn’t think it’s a loss.

Regular members were different; wasting them like this was unacceptable.

”Like Rob Lucci?”

”Something like that, but with slight differences.”

After some thought, Nero didn’t refuse the fruit and chose to take a gamble, though the outcome was...

He won the gamble and indeed gained an ability, but it was completely different from what he had imagined.