One Piece:Becoming the King of the World from the Rocks Era

"Li Yuan, so it really is you! Did you find the Explosive Rock too?" Walde asked, his expression dark.

Only he knew how much time, effort, and resources he had spent locating the Explosive Rock. Finally, after all that effort, to have someone swoop in and take half—it was infuriating. If he thought he stood a chance in a fight, he'd have attacked Li Yuan without hesitation.

"Of course, I found it," Li Yuan replied nonchalantly. "But there are two storage facilities here. I've already taken over one. You can have the other one—it's only fair.

"I don't want a fight between us to accidentally detonate the Explosive Rock and sink this entire island. You know how volatile this stuff is. Be careful during transport."

Li Yuan's tone was calm, but his words carried a warning. Walde's Momo-Momo Fruit made him incredibly explosive in battle, and even if Li Yuan could defeat him, the risk of triggering a catastrophic explosion wasn't worth it. It was better to compromise.

After all, it was thanks to Walde that Li Yuan even knew about the existence of the Explosive Rock.

"Fine!" Walde growled through gritted teeth, suppressing his anger.

In the face of mutual benefit, pride and rage had to take a backseat. This pragmatic approach was the mark of a smarter pirate, one far removed from the reckless fool Walde was in the original timeline.

Without another word, Walde stormed off toward the second storage facility. He wasn't leaving without his share of the Explosive Rock.

---

Efficient Looting

"Captain, we've finished loading everything," Nepal reported as he and the others emerged from the facility.

"Good. Give me the scrolls with the Explosive Rock, and then go back and start packing up all the equipment, documents, and other valuables," Li Yuan ordered.

The Explosive Rock was valuable, but the knowledge and tools to extract it were even more precious in the long run. With those resources, the Infinite Pirate Crew could continuously mine Explosive Rock just like the Navy.

"Understood, Captain!"

The Shadow Guards handed over the spatial scrolls containing the Explosive Rock and returned to the facility to loot the rest.

---

Navy Headquarters

"What?! Colbert Island is unresponsive?" Steel Bone Kong roared, slamming his fist on his desk.

Colbert Island was supposed to contact Navy Headquarters every 30 minutes. The lack of communication could only mean disaster. The only ones capable of such a coordinated and thorough attack were the major pirate crews of the New World.

"Send Sengoku to Colbert Island immediately to find out what happened!" Kong barked, his face contorted with fury.

The Navy had poured massive resources into Colbert Island over the years, and now it seemed like everything was lost. The mere thought made Kong's chest ache.

---

The Shadow Guards worked quickly, and within 30 minutes, the entire facility had been cleared of anything valuable.

"We're leaving," Li Yuan ordered once the looting was complete.

As for the second storage facility Walde was raiding, Li Yuan didn't care. All the critical resources—documents, tools, and data—had been stored in the first facility. The second was merely a backup.

"Ha! I've got it! Nobody can stop me now!" Walde roared with laughter, standing triumphantly at the bow of his ship as it departed Colbert Island.

Though Li Yuan had taken half of the Explosive Rock, Walde was satisfied with what he had managed to claim.

He quickly called his brother, Binjack, to share the news.

"Brother, I got the Explosive Rock, but…" Walde explained the events to Binjack.

"Good job. Now, listen carefully. Hide the Explosive Rock in multiple locations and only keep a small amount with you.

"Next, head to the Calm Belt to lay low. We need time to make plans and avoid the Navy's retaliation.

"As for Li Yuan, leave him be. Instead, leak information to the Navy. Let them know the Infinite Pirate Crew was involved. They can share some of the Navy's wrath," Binjack advised coolly.

Binjack, the brains behind Walde's operations, had been instrumental in the crew's rise. His level-headedness often compensated for Walde's impulsiveness.

"Alright, brother. I'll do as you say," Walde replied, gritting his teeth. Though he hated the idea of hiding, he knew Binjack's plan was sound.

When Sengoku arrived at Colbert Island, the devastation left him seething.

All the Navy personnel were dead, and everything of value—Explosive Rock, equipment, tools, and documents—was gone.

"Damn it all!" Sengoku roared, his frustration boiling over. He was tempted to raze the entire island in his rage.

Left with no choice, Sengoku called Steel Bone Kong to report the disaster.

"What?! Everything's gone?" Kong's voice trembled with fury. Even though he had braced for bad news, hearing the reality still felt like a knife to the gut.

Seven years of investment—wasted.

"Sengoku, you're in charge of the retaliation. I don't care what it takes, but the Walde Pirates must pay for this. If we can recover anything from them, even better," Kong ordered through gritted teeth.

"Understood, Fleet Admiral," Sengoku replied, though he knew the New World was largely beyond the Navy's reach. The best chance for retaliation would be to strike when Walde ventured into the Four Seas.

After leaving Colbert Island, Li Yuan divided the Explosive Rock into three batches, storing each on a different island in the Calm Belt. The islands were under Infinite Pirate Crew control and mostly uninhabited.

To ensure safety, Li Yuan tasked Yadina with setting up dedicated facilities on each island for the storage and eventual use of the Explosive Rock.

"Yumaz, take a look at these documents and see how we can mine Explosive Rock," Li Yuan said, handing the research papers to the scientist in his laboratory.

Yumaz, the Infinite Pirate Crew's chief scientist, eagerly examined the documents for over an hour before responding.

"Captain, the Explosive Rock is buried dozens, even hundreds, of meters beneath the seabed. Extracting it requires precise conditions, which…"

"Save the technical details. Just tell me if we can build equipment to detect and mine it," Li Yuan interrupted, handing Yumaz a container of Explosive Rock as a sample.

"With the data we've obtained, it should be possible to develop detection devices," Yumaz replied confidently. He carefully handled the sample, aware of the catastrophic consequences of even a minor mishap.

"Good. Once you've built the equipment, coordinate with Jeral to deploy the Fish-Man Fleet for exploration. Also, train a team to operate the mining equipment," Li Yuan instructed.

---

Weaponizing Explosive Rock

"Captain, have you thought about how to use the Explosive Rock?" Yumaz asked curiously.

"What do you have in mind?" Li Yuan countered.

"Well, currently, it's only useful as raw explosive material. But if we could integrate it into artillery shells, it would become a game-changer," Yumaz suggested excitedly.

"Interesting idea," Li Yuan mused. "What about timed detonations or remote-controlled explosions? Could you develop something like that?"

Yumaz's eyes lit up. "Captain, that's brilliant! If we can implement those ideas, our weaponry would surpass anything in the world!"

"Then get to work. The future of our arsenal depends on you," Li Yuan said, patting Yumaz on the shoulder.

---

Thanks to years of investment, the Infinite Pirate Crew boasted a team of capable scientists, with Yumaz at the helm. His ing

enuity and dedication had earned him the title of Chief Scientist, making him a cornerstone of the crew's technological advancements.

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