If someone said there were fish-men inside Baroque Works…
It wouldn't be all that surprising.
But it was a blind spot—one that even Luo Lan hadn't really considered.
After all, back when he was in the East Blue, the only fish-men he'd encountered were those in Cocoyasi Village… and he'd already slaughtered all of them.
Naturally, it hadn't been a recurring problem since then.
But now? This posed a whole new issue.
How was he supposed to deal with this?
Hmm…
Got it!
Something suddenly sparked in his memory.
Luo Lan's eyes lit up sharply.
"Seras! The new toy installed on the first battleship—you said it wasn't affected by obstacles like Danaan's radar, right?"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Then installing it on Danaan shouldn't be a problem?"
"It's possible, but I haven't tested how seawater affects it yet…"
"No problem! Just test it directly on Danaan. How long will it take?"
Luo Lan cut him off immediately.
This thing was gold. If seawater didn't interfere with its performance, then unlike Danaan's radar—where they had to surface to use it—they could use it while submerged.
Even if it picked up fish and other marine life, so what?
Don't forget…
This device could also detect power levels. A grown fish-man would have a combat strength of at least twenty to thirty, given their natural advantage in raw physical power over humans.
That meant the radar could easily distinguish between fish-men… and actual fish.
"Seras, how long will it take?"
"Estimated half a month!"
"Huh? That long?"
Technically, it was just installing a copy of the same device from before. It shouldn't take that long…
"The problem is power, Captain!"
"Danaan uses a very unique energy source—I still haven't fully figured it out. The new battleships, on the other hand, run on Cola-based energy."
"So the radar from the new ship can't be directly used in Danaan without a major overhaul."
Ah. Luo Lan got it.
It really was like that.
Like trying to replace the gas tank of a gasoline car with a battery—unless you also swapped the engine, it just wouldn't work.
Same idea here.
To install the radar on Danaan, they'd have to redesign it from the ground up to match her power system.
"Fine. Half a month it is."
"Until the radar's installed, Danaan stays docked at the port."
"Hina, in the meantime, you can help test out the new battleship!"
Wait—the new ship's finished?
Hina blinked in surprise.
No one had opened the bay doors, and her only glance had been a quick Haki scan from the dock. She hadn't noticed the two massive vessels.
Now she was suddenly excited.
After all, she'd attended the original design meetings before construction started.
And those specs?
Impressive didn't even begin to describe them.
It's not just men who love big ships and big guns—Hina, for one, absolutely did.
---
The Next Day
Hina set out at first light, taking the first battleship out to sea with the crew of Dominion.
With the barren sea offering vast room to maneuver, she could go wild.
Meanwhile, Luo Lan's attention was completely captured by something else.
"Ian, are we sure?"
"Confirmed. But it's pricey—three hundred million Beli."
"Three hundred? I'd pay a billion for it!"
Luo Lan's eyes gleamed with fervent desire.
What kind of item could stir Luo Lan so much that he didn't even blink at the cost?
Seastone.
Yes—raw Seastone had surfaced on the black market recently.
And this wasn't some tiny shard—it was a whopping 27 kilograms.
To put that in perspective?
It could be forged into over a hundred pairs of Seastone handcuffs.
Granted, the raw value should be even higher than three hundred million. But there was a catch—
It was unprocessed.
Seastone was notoriously hard—so tough that only the craftsmen of Wano Country could shape it properly.
Even the World Government struggled with that.
So buying a chunk of raw Seastone without a way to work it drastically lowered its market price.
But for Luo Lan?
Not a problem.
Seras had long since cracked the code on working Seastone. He'd even made Luo Lan a few custom 13mm Seastone bullets.
A whole raw block?
Perfect.
And three hundred million?
Child's play.
Hina alone had just brought back over five hundred million in hard cash from her recent haul.
So when it came to this Seastone…
Luo Lan had to have it.
If you asked him why it was so important?
He'd give you two words:
Sky Island.
Luo Lan had only just awakened Armament Haki. Expecting to beat Enel head-on with it?
Only if that lunatic stood still and let you hit him.
Sure, maybe you could land the first punch.
But after that?
You'd either have to one-shot him—or prepare to lose.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's speed was second only to the Glint-Glint Fruit.
Trying to land hit after hit, man-to-man, wasn't gonna cut it.
As for Luffy beating Eneru in the original story…
Well, chalk that up to protagonist privilege and some serious plot-driven nerfing of Enel's intelligence and power.
Originally, Luo Lan planned to train until he could emit Armament Haki before heading to Sky Island.
But now, with this much Seastone available?
He could have Seras mass-produce Seastone bullets.
Even if his Haki wasn't ready, he'd have a solid long-range countermeasure.
And don't forget—
Shandora's golden city.
If Luo Lan could claim all that gold and liquidate it?
He could jump straight to S-Class Fortress Builder.
Three hundred million might seem steep.
But in the grand scheme?
It was a bargain.
---
"Captain, there's a complication."
"Go on."
Luo Lan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"The black market's already buzzing about the find. At least three other major powers are interested."
"The sellers don't want to offend anyone, so… they're holding an auction."
"We got an invite thanks to our billion-Berry transaction history with them over the past year."
An auction, huh?
That was new.
But it also meant the price would likely exceed three hundred million.
"What about time and location?"
"One month from now—on Volcano Island in the Grand Line."
Volcano Island?
Luo Lan had never heard of it.
Not surprising—didn't show up in the original story.
He pulled out a map and scoured it until he finally found it.
It was on the Grand Line's seventh route, the one closest to the Calm Belt near East Blue. Just three hundred or so nautical miles from the 157th Branch.
"Ian, message the black market. Tell them we'll be there."
"Yes, Captain!"