one piece: gene extraction and fusion system-Chapter 189: Brewing Storms and Giant Beasts

Seeing him, many of the pirates around instinctively stepped back. Only Saya remained firm. "Why do you think that?"

The man explained calmly, "Boss, you know as well as I do—Big Mom isn't like her other rivals, except for Kaido. The two of them used to sail under the same flag. Even though they've each formed their own pirate groups now, that doesn't mean they wouldn't consider forming an alliance again.

If they've allied, they might want to eliminate you and Pokken in one strike. If that's the case, then ambushing Amy makes perfect sense."

Saya's expression darkened further as he listened.

He responded in a low voice, "What you said isn't impossible. But regardless, that old hag Big Mom dared to kill Amy—she won't get off easy.

Spread the word. From today onward, sink any ship flying the flag of the Big Mom Pirates."

"Yes!"

The man nodded and quickly turned to carry out the order.

His name was Bessiemer, one of Saya's most trusted men. He possessed a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, but only Saya knew the exact details of his ability.

Meanwhile, Mio remained unaware of the chaos brewing on that distant island.

Aboard the Black Glory, Lilith sat cheerfully beside him and asked with a grin, "Sir, what if that Saya doesn't fall for the plan?"

"It doesn't matter," Mio replied with a shrug. "There's no loss either way—but if he takes the bait, all the better."

He stood up and dusted off his pants, smiling down at her. "Come on, help me train."

"Of course, sir. Lilith is more than happy to oblige," Lilith replied sweetly as she stood.

With a shimmer of light, the wings on her back unfurled—brilliant and radiant. She flapped them slowly, and with a burst of wind, they both moved onto the sea.

Under Lilith's careful control, a powerful tornado known as Tornado Madness whipped into existence. It spun violently, yet it remained fixed in place and didn't disturb the Black Glory.

Mio activated his Influence Fruit. A glowing aura appeared and spread out around them, enveloping the area in a field of influence. He began testing whether the tornado could be dispersed using the power of his Devil Fruit.

The Influence Fruit was incredibly powerful, but it had many restrictions.

Most notably, its energy consumption was staggering.

As he manipulated the fruit's power, Mio could feel his stamina draining rapidly.

The physical strain of using the Influence Fruit was at least double that of a typical Devil Fruit—possibly triple.

This wasn't a power ordinary people could wield.

Even sustaining the field was exhausting.

Under the Influence Field, the tornado occasionally started to disperse, but it would just as quickly reform, swirling at high speeds and churning the sea into a vortex.

Time passed as Mio continued training.

Two days went by in the blink of an eye.

Today, Mio was still practicing the Influence Fruit's abilities, but after several days of effort, he couldn't help but mutter with frustration, "This fruit is so difficult to develop... the progress is painfully slow."

That was his honest conclusion after consistent training.

The Influence Fruit was just that demanding.

Suddenly—

Bulu bulu... bulu bulu...

The sound of a Den Den Mushi ringing broke the silence.

Mio pulled it from his pocket, glanced at the caller, and narrowed his eyes before answering.

Vegapunk's voice came through immediately. "I've already identified the island and built the lab. We're almost ready to begin.

But before we proceed, I've already done some preliminary testing. Not many creatures can handle the giant gene—not even giant beasts. Only one species shows a perfect match."

Mio frowned. "What kind of creature?"

"King Kong."

Mio gave a small nod and asked, "If that's all, why tell me now?"

"I wanted to inform you first... but also, this leads to a bigger issue." Vegapunk's tone remained calm. "Even if you find King Kongs, you want to mass-produce them. That means capturing them—and raising them.

Unfortunately, I'm no animal breeder. That part is up to you."

"Tch." Mio clicked his tongue, visibly annoyed.

"You're not a breeding expert, and neither am I," he muttered.

Where the hell was he supposed to raise King Kongs?

And not just regular King Kongs—giant ones.

"Should I look for the Golden Lion?" Mio pondered aloud.

After all, the Golden Lion had researched 'IQ'—a substance capable of enlarging animals and making them more aggressive. That might be worth looking into.

Whether or not the Golden Lion agreed to cooperate, Mio could consider setting up his own research team for IQ.

"IQ would be really useful for me. I could look into it further. That way, I wouldn't have to worry about a gene shortage or creature breeding problems in the future."

Even if IQ made animals aggressive or wild, it didn't matter—he had ways to control them.

Shaking his head, Mio looked at the Den Den Mushi and spoke firmly. "Fine. I'll handle that part. Just give me the final results when it's ready."

"Understood. I'll be expecting your good news. I've got more work to do here, so we'll talk another time."

Click.

The Den Den Mushi went silent.