novelraw Chapter 24 The Possibility of a Desire-Catching Machine
Chapter 24 The Possibility of a Desire-Catching Machine
Pure gold!
After taking the backpack, Bazel only opened it a crack.
The soft golden light emanating from within shone down, instantly giving my body a very warm feeling.
It felt like returning to the womb before birth.
"Genuine product."
After hurriedly covering the gap again, Bazel handed it to Amezuki.
"Ah Shi, this is the treasure I mentioned to you before, enough to buy this entire ocean."
"It must not be allowed to appear in the public eye. Afterwards, remember to tell Olga not to mention anything related to pure gold again."
Tengetsu took several deep breaths, wrapped the black cloth bag tightly, and stuffed it into his backpack.
"I understand, Mr. Bazel!"
"I'm leaving this to you."
Since the matter was of great importance, Barzel couldn't help but ramble on a bit.
Tian Yue Shi smiled and shook his head gently, saying:
"The fact that Mr. Bazel trusts me so much means I must be a very important senior officer, right?"
A high-ranking official?
Bazel smiled, his eyes narrowed. "No, no, no, you're more than just a high-ranking official; you're my personal secretary."
"Secretary? What does that do?" Amatsuki asked curiously.
There's a saying in my hometown that goes something like this...
"The secretary will handle things when there's work to be done, otherwise... mmm!!"
Tianyue tightly covered Bazel's mouth with her right hand, her pretty face as red as a rose in May.
Feeling guilty, they kept glancing left and right, afraid that others might have overheard their conversation.
"I didn't hear you." Jhin, who had been in a "little black figure" state, left these words and turned to leave.
"It's all your fault!"
Tengetsu loosened his grip, put his hands on his hips, and glared at Bazel.
"Really, there are other people here, how could you say such a thing!"
"What kind of talk is that?"
Bazel's eyes were utterly innocent:
"When there's work to be done, the secretary does it; when there's nothing to do, the secretary rests. That's all I wanted to say, Ah Shi, what are you thinking?"
Tianyue's eyes instantly turned into beady pupils. After blinking a few times, she laughed awkwardly.
He then turned around and walked toward Olga, his hands and feet moving in unison.
"Olga, let's make a delicious lanternfish dish!"
After the two girls, one big and one small, walked away, Bazel called out to Asiye, who was about to join in the fun again.
"My name is Bazel. You can think of me as the second-in-command of the Beasts Pirates."
Ashie subconsciously introduced herself and then greeted everyone.
"You made the pure gold, right?"
A single, direct question made Asiye's expression suddenly turn serious:
"It was me, but that pure gold should be enough for your needs, right?"
"Even if you asked me to create pure gold again, I would be powerless; many of the materials have already been lost."
"No, we don't intend to use pure gold."
Bazel nodded to Jin, who was on guard not far away, and pointed to the noisy pirate subordinates nearby.
"We will not allow pure gold to exist; that thing will only bring disaster."
"Then why did you come to me?" Ashie asked, puzzled.
"Pure gold is a hybrid of desire and science," a hint of fanaticism flashed in Bazel's eyes. "Since you can make pure gold, you should be able to make what we need as well."
"A desire-capturing machine is a machine that captures desires. I want to know if you have the ability to create such a treasure that only exists in fantasy."
"Capture...desire?"
When the conversation turned to his professional field, Ashie frowned and pondered.
"What do you need that kind of thing for? Even if you could capture it, what then?"
"The Legend of Devil Fruits..."
Bazel immediately explained the story he had heard from Kaido.
"If this information is true, then as long as we can capture a large amount of human desires, we can turn them into artificial Devil Fruits."
"Artificial Devil Fruits!?"
Ashie's expression changed slightly:
"What exactly are you trying to do? That kind of thing is taboo! Even two hundred years ago, artificial fruits were products that couldn't be exposed to sunlight!"
"We will become stronger, and we will change this world!" Bazel said with unwavering confidence.
"..."
Ashie neither agreed nor immediately refused.
Instead, they began to carefully consider the possibility of such a machine appearing.
"I can't answer you right now. This is the first time I've ever heard of such a magical machine. After all, I was just an alchemist before."
"I need a stable environment and a lot of equipment."
"No problem, we will meet your needs next year in terms of both environment and equipment."
Even Bazel himself was not optimistic about the possibility of the creation of a desire-capturing machine.
No matter how fantastical the world of One Piece may be, no one can say for sure whether such a Doraemon-like rule-based creation could ever appear.
But even if there's only a sliver of hope, we should give it a try.
After all, inferior artificial Devil Fruits have already appeared in the original work.
The Beasts Pirates' true fighting force and Gifters are all users who have consumed inferior artificial Devil Fruits.
The Laughing Warriors even ate artificial Devil Fruits but failed to gain their powers.
Bazel searched through his memories from before he traveled back in time.
He remembered Vegapunk once saying—
Artificial Devil Fruits are only of the Zoan type. Artificial Paramecia-type Devil Fruits require the bloodline factor of a Paramecia-type user. This blood is used to create a special blood—green blood—which grants the target the corresponding Paramecia-type ability.
If we follow this line of reasoning...
The reason why artificial Devil Fruits of the Zoan type can be created may be because they contain special energy such as animal souls or animal will.
The reason why those who failed after eating the fruit might be because the animal will contained within the fruit did not reach the threshold for its ability to take effect.
To use the simplest and most direct analogy.
A Zoan-type artificial Devil Fruit, if the animal will accounts for 90% of its content.
Then the user can perfectly acquire the ability.
If animal will accounts for 60% of the total.
Consuming them could very likely transform them into something like a true fighting force or a Gifter.
If it's below 60%...
These are entities like the Laughing Troops.
He ate an artificial Devil Fruit, which was hated by the sea, but he did not gain any power.
In other words--
Once the Desire Capture Machine can successfully capture what artificial Devil Fruits need, all that's left is to find a way to increase that ratio to 90%.
Even at the worst, 60% is still an acceptable percentage.
"You can use this time to think carefully about how to manufacture this machine."
Bazel walked with his arm around Asiye's shoulder, their expressions affectionate.
"I will instruct my pirate crew to let you and your daughter know what you need. Once we arrive in Wano Country, you will receive the scientific equipment and a stable, safe environment you desire."
"Of course, to make up for the two hundred years of separation between you and your father, if you need, I can arrange to give you a ring made of pure gold."
"No, let's forget about that kind of thing."
Ahye smiled wryly:
"I've had enough. Two hundred years is a lifespan you can't even imagine. I will never go back to that cage."
"Of course, of course, it's up to you. You can come find me anytime if you regret it later."
Patting Ahsiye on the back, Bazel called out to Babanuki:
"Babanuki, come here for a second!"
"Big brother?" Babanuki ran over quickly.
"Take this new guy to wash up, and find him a suitable set of clean clothes for the banquet tonight."
"No problem, my name is Babanuki, and I am the captain of the first division of the Beasts Pirates."
Babanuki led Ahye away, proudly displaying his self-proclaimed identity.
"If anyone bullies you in the future, just say my name, and I'll break their legs!"
Ahye turned and nodded to Bazel as a farewell, then left with Babanuki.
"Bazaar, is there any hope for that machine?"
Kaido slowly approached when Bazel was alone.
"It's unclear at the moment, but Asiye may need a suitable assistant."
He took out the cut-out newspaper from his pocket, and looking at the large head under the mohawk hairstyle on the newspaper, Bazel's lips curled up slightly.
"Perhaps we can keep an eye on this guy's movements while we're sailing."
Kaido leaned down to examine him: "Quinn? Isn't he that escaped, illegal scientist?"
"The world government won't easily offer a bounty on a scientist who was born as a jungler."
MADS was led by four people, two of whom joined the Naval Science Corps, one disappeared, and the other had a bounty placed on his head.
Bazel looked up at Kaido and said with a playful smile:
"Kaido-san, what do you think they touched that led to their bounties?"