Genosect continued to head south, returning to Ghost Island. However, midway, Queen made a proposal to Yamato.
"Miss Yamato, how about we discuss something?"
"What is it?"
"You see, we brought 300 million Belly for this transaction, but that guy Doflamingo didn't want the money, so we saved it."
Three hundred million had been the agreed transaction amount. Ancient Zoans are rare, but their price didn't inflate excessively—just slightly higher than ordinary Zoan types. After all, most Zoan abilities rely on the user's physical strength, which is vastly different from the powerful abilities brought by Logia and Paramecia-types.
The treasures taken from the Kogia Kingdom had already been sent back to Ghost Island by Genosect ahead of time. Now, they only had this transaction sum left with them.
"So what?"
"So... how about it, Miss Yamato? We quietly split it, 150 million each. That's a significant amount of pocket money!"
Even for Queen, 150 million is a huge sum. After all, it's Doflamingo who refused the money, so even if they secretly split it, the higher-ups wouldn't care. Bringing back two Eleph-Eleph Fruits is already sufficient.
In the past, during MADS, he often made money like this. MADS always had limited research funds. Everyone had their areas of research, and each project was a money-burning venture.
To have more funds for oneself, one had to find their own means.
Now, Queen had ample research funds and didn't need to worry about money anymore. But as someone who has taken hedonism to the extreme, he still loves money.
Although the Hundred Beasts indeed ruled Wano Kuni, to prevent the economy of Wano Kuni from collapsing, all cadres had to spend money when conducting activities there.
Though he had his dividends, he couldn't resist the chance for a windfall.
But Queen was with Yamato, so he needed to find a way to persuade her.
If the plan succeeded, he'd be the biggest beneficiary, while Doflamingo would be the biggest loser. Originally, Doflamingo was supposed to use the money to establish connections, but Queen intercepted this opportunity.
Were it not for his inability to find the Plate the Hundred Beasts were searching for, he wouldn't have chosen this route. But he's just a Devil Fruit supplier, not a magic cat; he can't magically find whatever he's looking for.
Doflamingo, still in the North Sea, had no idea what was happening. However, Queen's plan didn't materialize because he hit a wall with Yamato.
"I don't want it."
"It's 150 million Belly. You could buy a lot of things."
"No, just 150 million Belly. My father would definitely be unhappy if he found out. Oh, and Uncle Queen, I'll be sure to tell him about your idea."
Queen's world began to turn grayish, with an air of decay. Yet, this wasn't a significant problem. After all, given his capabilities, neither Kaidou nor Arceus would do anything over such a trivial amount.
But a lecture and some special training were unavoidable; this was a lapse on his part. Although Yamato sometimes seemed like the naive child of a landlord, she wasn't actually foolish. Just 150 million wasn't enough to sway her.
To be precise, trying to lure her with money was impossible. The Hundred Beasts Pirate Crew is a famous warlord force in the New World, and the Hundred Beasts Fruit has already evolved into a world-class conglomerate. For her, 150 million is genuinely just pocket money.
She wouldn't do something foolish to anger her parents over such a trivial sum.
Queen started pondering how to dissuade Yamato from mentioning the matter. Silencing her was out of the question; he wouldn't even dare think of such a thing. Yet he couldn't figure out what Yamato truly desired.
Just as he was about to play the sympathy card, Yamato gave him an out.
"Not talking is negotiable, but Uncle, I remember during a battle, you said you mastered Germa's technology?"
"Of course, Judge's talent doesn't compare to mine!"
Upon hearing this, Queen was filled with confidence and immediately agreed.
"Alright, then make me one of those fun battle suits. If you can do it, I won't mention this to Father. Right, GT-6, GT-7?"
She also signaled to Genosect, lest they report it.
"Uh... I'll try my best. But Miss Yamato, you'll need to give me some time."
Recreating that battle suit isn't too hard. However, Germa's suit works thanks to their bloodline factor modification technology, making it impossible even for Judge's children to swap suits.
Arceus and Kaidou wouldn't agree to modifying Yamato with bloodline factors. Fortunately, she only wanted it as a toy. With some time, he could handle this, but it would require quite a few late nights.
Even flying back to Ghost Island would take some time, and during this period, everything at sea continued. Vegapunk was still in seclusion, researching Arceus Steel, with sometimes shocking sounds coming from his sealed lab.
"Marvelous, just marvelous. With this, memory alloys can come into perfect existence. But... what is this unknown component in the material? It's not something human hands could concoct—ancient remnants perhaps? I wish there were more..."
While Vegapunk lamented the scarcity of Arceus Steel, on the outskirts of the Hundred Beasts Territory, in Scotch's guarded area, a carriage load of Arceus Steel was being transported.
"Scotch! Arceus-sama's items have been sent from Wano Kuni!"
The original island guard captain, now the Hundred Beasts' security captain, Gable brought the items to Scotch. As the first island occupied by the Hundred Beasts Pirate Crew, Gable, who lived there, witnessed many transformations.
He witnessed its evolution from ordinary to prosperous, and his initially resistant stance towards pirate rule gradually accepted it, even joining them.
Initially, he opposed pirate rule due to prior occupiers' tyranny. But now, his mindset had changed, as the Hundred Beasts' banner brought long-lost peace amid the turmoil.
Were it not for the flag and Scotch standing guard, newly arrived pirates in the New World would cause them a lot of trouble.
"It's here."
Being a Modified Person, Scotch's tone sounded peculiar, yet joy was evident. This wagon of Arceus Steel was his reward. It's not just Arceus Steel, but steel infused with the Light of Evolution.
While Pierman's Corsola can only evolve in regional forms, excluding this special case, Scotch was the only original-form Divine Favorer among the top ten, and he's been eagerly awaiting this for a long time.