In the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, Imu wasn't playing tennis this time. Instead, he was alone in the Tree House within the Chamber of the Moon, meticulously jotting something down in a notebook, occasionally pausing to reminisce or ponder.
"By embedding Seastone into the hulls of Navy Battleships, Sea Kings would perceive the ships as part of the sea, significantly reducing the chances of detection in the Calm Belt. The technical difficulty shouldn't be too high; it should be achievable with a bit of effort. Additionally, we'll need to incorporate paddle wheels, propellers, and steam propulsion."
As he recalled these details, he wrote them down on a piece of paper. Of course, he wasn't an expert in technical knowledge, so he only noted the general ideas.
He was preparing to give a gentle push to the Navy's scientific and technological development.
The main reason was his decision to soon reveal the existence of the Stargate to the Five Elders. This would likely lead to contact with other civilizations, which inevitably brought a sense of urgency.
In the original timeline, Vegapunk would begin researching these things a few years before the main story began. But for the current World Government, that was over two decades away.
Imu couldn't wait that long.
He believed that some things indeed required long-term research and experimentation, but others could be expedited.
Currently, Navy Battleships didn't have Seastone installed in their hulls, nor did they have steam propulsion, paddle wheels, or propellers. As a result, they struggled to navigate the Calm Belt, and their speed was significantly slower.
He recalled that Momonga had escorted Empress Hancock from Amazon Lily to Impel Down in just over four days. Nowadays, it would take at least a week.
"Animal semi-mechanization—he had already achieved that in the future kingdom. After so many years, it must be quite mature by now. The question is how to utilize this technology."
"And then there's the artificial biological engineering using Lineage Factors," Imu mused as he looked through the reports on the Science Force submitted by the Five Elders. "Oh—just starting the research, huh?"
This was likely the advanced version of the cloning technology from the Germa Kingdom.
In truth, whether it was Vinsmoke Judge, Queen the Plague of the Beasts Pirates, or even the future Caesar, their biochemical technologies were essentially things Vegapunk had already mastered.
However, they had managed to innovate in their own ways. For instance, they began genetic modifications during the embryonic stage, resulting in infants with extraordinary physical abilities and superpowers.
While they lacked emotional depth, as seen with Sanji and Reiju, it seemed to be a matter of probability. Most importantly, none of them could defy Judge's orders.
"Wouldn't they make the perfect candidates for CIPHER POL? If we can master this technology, we won't need to rely on raising orphans anymore."
At this thought, Imu's eyes gleamed with interest in the Germa Kingdom and the Vinsmoke family in the North Blue.
"At this point in time, the eldest daughter, Reiju, should have just been born or is still in her mother's womb. Three years later, Ichiji, Niji, Sanji, and Yonji will be born as quadruplets on the same day."
"Let's leave them be for now. We'll wait until the four brothers are born before we make our move!"
The biggest obstacle regarding the Germa Kingdom was that it was a member state of the World Government, even one of the fifty nations eligible to participate in the Levely.
Therefore, Vinsmoke Judge cannot be casually arrested, but all the research materials, experimental equipment, and related scientific personnel he has produced can be confiscated, and Reiju and the others can also be taken away as contraband.
Because, apart from the Science Force, research on the Lineage Factor is explicitly prohibited by the World Government, making this action both reasonable and legal.
If he wants to continue his research, there's only one option: join the Science Force—or rather, the Science Academy now.
"But given this guy's ambition, it's unlikely he'll join the Science Academy and quietly become a scientist," Imu chuckled softly.
In Imu's eyes, Vinsmoke Judge was now like a hen laying eggs. Once the eggs were laid, he could take them and then lock the hen up.
Next, he turned his attention to Queen.
"The Plague Bullets aren't anything special, but the Mummy Virus and Ice Oni Virus are quite interesting. They're similar to Caesar's future Land of the Dead. If there's a chance to capture him, he could be thrown into the Biochemical Research Institute. If not, the ideas could be sent to Caesar, who could probably replicate them."
Imu noticed that the biochemical virus weapons in this world seemed to be the type that infiltrated the body from the outside. In his memory, poison gas and plagues usually started from within the body.
Of course, he wasn't entirely sure. Perhaps in his previous life, there were also viruses that infected the skin first.
"And this guy's human modification technology—if utilized properly, it could restore mobility to so many disabled people. It seems I'll have to find a way to 'invite' him back. It's such a waste for him to work for Kaido!"
As he made notes, Imu couldn't help but grumble internally.
"However, the Human Gigantification Experiment on Punk Hazard needs to be stopped. What's the point of that? If we want giant soldiers, it'd be better to capture a few giants, have them reproduce, and then train their offspring."
Mainly, he found the idea of conducting biochemical experiments on the children of natural humans unbearable. Although he wasn't a good person and valued his power and influence, he still had some basic principles.
Unless there was a serious threat to his rule, he intended to uphold those principles.
Children were one of those principles.
As for Ichiji and the others from the Vinsmoke family, in his eyes, they were more like advanced clone-modified warriors and couldn't be equated with natural humans.
"Ah, speaking of which, the giant kingdom of Elbaf needs to be dealt with. Not only are they blocking the entrances and exits of the High-Speed Sky Route, but their attitude toward the World Government has always been one of refusal to cooperate, even bordering on hostility. They're just too stubborn!"
At this thought, Imu's eyes turned cold.
Honestly, as a transmigrator, he didn't really care about the various grudges and conflicts from hundreds of years ago. As long as they were willing to cooperate and obey from now on, he was willing to let them continue to exist—and even give them some extra care.
Fish-Man Island was an example of that.
But if they absolutely refused, then he certainly couldn't leave such a ticking time bomb in his own backyard.
Once the Stargate was opened, conflicts and wars with civilizations from other worlds would be inevitable. He didn't want to be stabbed in the back by these giants.
"Either find a time to destroy them, or support a new giant king who's more aligned with the World Government!"
At this moment, Imu realized that his thoughts had wandered off-topic. Today, he needed to focus on matters of science and technology, so he pushed the thoughts about the Giant Clan back into the depths of his mind.
"Vegapunk is someone I must secure. Let me think... His lifelong goal is to ensure that the citizens of the future kingdom of Balgimoa can live in a warm environment. To achieve this, he even developed a super-sized Heating Furnace, but the project was halted due to a lack of funds and technology at the time."
"Perhaps I could provide the funds to support him in perfecting this Heating Furnace. As for the technology, he should be able to figure that out himself."
In truth, Imu felt that warming up the winter island of Balgimoa didn't necessarily have to rely solely on scientific technology. The abilities of Devil Fruits could also achieve this.
For example, sending Kizaru there to awaken his powers and disperse the island's snowstorms and dark clouds, turning it into an eternal island of light that never lacks illumination. Then, having Akainu create an active volcano, providing Balgimoa with sufficient geothermal energy, thus solving the island's ice and cold problems.
"Speaking of which, the true value of the Magma Fruit's awakening isn't in combat, but in the ability to artificially create eternal active volcanoes and geothermal energy. I remember this can be used to generate electricity!"
Imu's eyes sparkled with excitement, but he didn't notice that his thoughts had once again strayed from the topic.