Chapter 657: The Highest Reception
Caesar might know Vegapunk's whereabouts—this was Ian's speculation.
Based on Ian's reasoning, after the accident at Punk Hazard caused by Caesar that led to its destruction, the Marines and the World Government would certainly have come for a rescue. Since the island was no longer habitable, all the scientists in the research facility there had to be evacuated. As for Caesar, after the accident occurred, he likely didn't flee immediately; otherwise, he wouldn't have been captured in the first place before escaping from prison and becoming a wanted man.
So, during the Marine rescue operation, Caesar must have been present at the scene.
At that time, Punk Hazard Island was filled with toxic gas. Vegapunk and the other Marine scientists couldn't possibly endure such poison. The Marines had to evacuate them immediately, and such a relocation naturally wouldn't involve taking them back to Marine Headquarters. Instead, they could only be placed in another research facility under the Marine Science Unit.
Given the importance placed on Vegapunk, the Marines and the World Government wouldn't want to shuffle him around unnecessarily. So, this relocation would likely be a permanent one. Amid the panic caused by the island's accident, some scientists would certainly have asked where they were being taken. Since Caesar was there, he would have heard news about the relocation site!
Ian had suspected this earlier, which is why he tried to coax the information out of Caesar. As expected, Caesar, in his eagerness, blurted it out.
Malakaf—this should be the name of the island where the research facility is located. However, Ian guessed it would be like Punk Hazard, an island that Log Pose couldn't point to or reach. Since the Revolutionary Army had an agreement with Vegapunk to rescue him after his research was complete, they would need to know his location first.
If this information were passed to Uncle Dragon, he might be very pleased...
Of course, Ian believed that with the Revolutionary Army's intelligence network, they could probably find Vegapunk's location anyway. After all, when Vegapunk was transferred to the new facility, Uncle Kuma hadn't yet undergone his full modification and hadn't completely lost consciousness, so he might have passed information to the Revolutionary Army.
What Ian needed to do now wasn't just to extract Vegapunk's location but also to find out the details of that research base.
The only concern was whether Caesar had ever been to the Malakaf facility and knew its general layout...
Fortunately, Ian could tell from Caesar's tone that he might have some understanding; otherwise, he wouldn't have used words like "heavily guarded." So, Ian pretended to frown and asked in confusion, "Heavily guarded? I understand the Marines would send people to protect the facility, but do you think I can't break in with my strength?"
"Shurorororo!" Caesar laughed loudly. "Sir, you probably don't know this yet! Malakaf is the highest-level research facility of the Marines and the World Government. Although I've never been there, I've heard that the entrance to this facility is an undersea tunnel. You have to go through the seabed to reach it. If an enemy intrudes, the Marine Science Unit will activate emergency measures and blow up the entire tunnel. Then, anyone trying to break in will be buried at the bottom of the sea!"
Ian's heart tightened. He hadn't expected that!
But then he asked doubtfully, "What about the exit? If the entrance is blown up, the researchers inside can't just die with it. They have to get out somehow, right?"
"That, I don't know!" Caesar said with some frustration. "I once applied for a transfer to the Malakaf facility but didn't get it. I only know some basic information about it, nothing more."
"Is that so?" Ian frowned, lost in thought.
If the entrance defense was so tight, the exit couldn't be simple either. It would certainly be heavily guarded by Marines.
If Uncle Kuma was in that facility, assisting with Vegapunk's human modification experiments, he should have some knowledge of the facility's layout. But Ian guessed he probably didn't know much about the exit's situation. During his time as a Warlord, although he appeared obedient to the World Government, they likely didn't trust him completely. Under normal circumstances, if only the entrance tunnel was open, Uncle Kuma would only know about that. As for the exit, he might have been kept in the dark...
This was really troublesome...
Seeing Ian's furrowed brow, Caesar pressed on eagerly: "What do you think, Sir Ian? Like I said, kidnapping Vegapunk isn't as simple as you imagine... Well, I'd love to see someone kidnap that fool. So, would you consider cooperating with me? Just like with the Big Mom Pirates, if you can sponsor my research funds, I can conduct research entirely in the direction you desire!"
Caesar was selling himself hard. Ian's massive offer of one hundred billion Berries had completely dazzled him. He still hadn't figured out Ian's true intentions and genuinely believed Ian wanted to crack the Pacifista technology for mass production.
He didn't suspect much because, during the Battle of New Edd War, the Marines' Pacifistas had shown immense power. Used in groups, they could easily overwhelm large numbers of enemies. It was similar to how Kaido wanted to create Artificial Devil Fruits to build an ability-user army. Anyone with ambition and power would covet weapons like the Pacifista.
Ian thought for a moment and then smiled. "Alright, I'll consider it! Maybe, as you said, we can give cooperation a try!"
Caesar was overjoyed, rubbing his hands and grinning. "You have great vision! So, how much are you planning to invest first?"
Ian glanced at him, picked up a wine glass, poured two glasses, handed one to Reiju, and kept the other for himself. Then, waving his hand casually, he said, "At the very least, it has to start with tens of billions of Berries! I'm not short on cash right now! Of course, we'll talk about it after this tea party is over!"
Since Caesar had once been Vegapunk's colleague, Ian thought he might still be useful regarding Vegapunk. So, he decided to string him along for now, keeping his appetite whetted to ensure he'd take the bait later.
Hearing Ian's words, Caesar was secretly thrilled, thinking he was about to hit the jackpot!
He hadn't expected that attending the tea party on a whim would lead him to such a golden opportunity. It was as if heaven itself favored him, Caesar!
If he could also squeeze some funding from Big Mom at the tea party, combined with Ian, this major benefactor, he'd have endless money to squander—whether on developing poison gas weapons or on pleasure and entertainment!
As for the research project Ian wanted to commission, Caesar couldn't care less. This guy had even dared to cheat Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors, so why would he worry about adding Ian to the list?
So, from then on, Caesar stopped worrying about getting off the carriage. Instead, he busied himself pouring wine for Ian and Reiju, chatting about topics that interested them.
This made Ian feel like Caesar was just like the salesmen he'd encountered in his past life—good at building rapport and flattering, showing no sign of being a scientist...
Just then, a lively welcoming tune came from outside the carriage window. The three of them looked out and saw that the pig-drawn carriage had entered the castle's streets. On both sides of the road, toy soldiers were playing trumpets, and flowers with personalities swayed and sang along, welcoming Ian and his group as honored guests.
At the castle's main gate, Ian saw Katakuri and Perospero standing there, waiting for their arrival.
Perospero was Big Mom's eldest son, and Katakuri was the second son. Both were key core members of the Big Mom Pirates. Their joint appearance to welcome him was the highest reception possible, since Big Mom couldn't come out to greet guests herself.
This showed that the Big Mom Pirates placed great importance on Ian's arrival.
The pig carriage came to a sudden stop at the main gate. Ian helped Reiju out of the carriage, and Katakuri stepped forward, extending his hand to greet Ian. "We meet again, Ian!"
"Quite the grand welcome!" Ian said with a smile.
"Of course!" Perospero chuckled strangely, licking his candy cane. "Mother didn't expect that after sending you the invitation, we'd bring back so much funding. She's very pleased and ordered us to treat you well! Mother really likes you!"
For some reason, even though Ian knew Perospero's "really likes" was meant in a normal sense, he suddenly shivered, feeling a strange unease, as if something was off...