165 Chapter 165: For the Boss's Word, the Subordinates Run Their Legs Off

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Before setting off, Abel, utilizing his executive privileges, had instructed the family's peripheral members to gather supplies and send them all to Roman Island. Upon his arrival there, he also planned to purchase additional local supplies. After all, sustaining a thousand people for three months was no small feat. And this was just a baseline—if they wanted to achieve higher evaluations, they had to go above and beyond, ensuring every aspect was fully considered.

For example, surviving for three months isn't just about having enough food.

What's the weather like there? Will clothing be required?

There are bound to be illnesses, so should we prepare medicines?

Another issue was the optional content of the prayer order. The Donquixote family is already involved in arms smuggling, which isn't a problem in itself. 

However, the real question was whether conventional firearms would be powerful enough. In Abel's mind, the world described in the prayer order was akin to a post-apocalyptic modern era. There was a monster called "Cabane" very similar to zombies that had swept across the globe, forcing people to close off cities and live inside to avoid any contact with the Cabane.

The places where people lived were called "stations," commonly referred to as XX Station. The vehicles responsible for the connection and transportation of goods between stations were armored vehicles known as "Hayajirō." According to the order, their station had not received a Hayajirō for a long time, likely due to an accident. Perhaps the Hayajirō was attacked by Cabane en route, causing it to be completely destroyed before arrival.

Of course, these reasons weren't important.

What was important was that although Cabane resembled zombies and would attack humans, with a bite turning them into the same monster, their weaknesses were completely different!

Zombies had to be attacked in the head to be killed, while Cabane had to be struck in the heart. If it were just that, the differences wouldn't be significant: one target is the head, the other the heart.

The problem was that Cabane's heart was encased in a membrane as hard as steel!

It was like adding a layer of defense on top of the weakness! Without penetrating this membrane, the heart could not be attacked. To put it in perspective, it's like a zombie wearing a steel helmet that doesn't interfere with its ability to bite it's just absurd!

If Abel were in the modern world at this moment, he wouldn't be worried about the power of the weapons at all, as piercing steel was no big deal. And if pushed to desperation, they could use hundreds of 'Little Boys' together, and even scatter the ashes of the Earth.

However, in the world of One Piece, the technological tree had taken its own bizarre twists. The power of firearms was inconsistent and dependent on the user, utterly unpredictable.

Therefore, Abel immediately got in touch with Vinsmoke Judge, who had already made his way to the East Blue, quickly communicated his requirements, and asked for the results of the research to be delivered as soon as possible.

Although it was somewhat a tall order, it wasn't as difficult as imagined. The simplest and most brute force solution was to sacrifice range to forcibly increase lethality.

As long as you don't shoot directly at Cabane's chest, doesn't it become a ranged weapon? Whether it's from ten meters or one meter, what does it matter!

Of course, since Vinsmoke Judge was quite far away, it might not be possible for him to arrive with the results within seven days. Therefore, Abel also made backup preparations, getting some of the family's smuggled cannons sent over as well. This should be foolproof now.

...

Five days later, on Roman Island.

"Abel, let's go out and have fun. We can leave all the affairs here to the servants," said Princess Eve, dressed in a beautiful dress, looking hopefully at the boy in front of her.

Before meeting him, she never believed that there could be such a handsome man in the world, and he seemed flawless, both in eloquence and in martial prowess.

Even though he was a pirate by name, and a senior member of the Donquixote Family, she had fallen for him at first sight.

Ever since they last parted, she feared it would be a long time before she saw Abel again.

But to her delight, happiness came so unexpectedly.

Abel looked helplessly at the beautiful princess beside him, admitting to himself that an 18-year-old girl was indeed in the most vibrant and beautiful season of life.

But they really were not from the same world.

"Weren't we just out the day before yesterday and yesterday?" he asked.

"But I still haven't..."

Brulu brulu

Brulu brulu

"Sorry, I've got an emergency. Let's do this another time."

Hearing his Den-Den Mushi ring, Abel quickly left, leaving behind a somewhat disappointed Princess Eve.

"Hello, it's me."

"The batch of weapons you rushed to make has entered the North Blue. To avoid being targeted, I've only sent one snail-powered ship for transport, with Reiju in charge. She should reach your location by tomorrow."

"Well done, proceed with caution. Doflamingo has been sending people to look for you, and if you get caught, even I won't be able to handle it easily."

"If that situation does arise, don't worry about a rescue, but make sure to destroy Reiju's body. Germa's technology cannot fall into the hands of outsiders."

"Are you instructing me on how to do my job?"

"Sorry, boss."

After ending the call, Abel felt relieved because of the good news.

He didn't know how Judge managed to accomplish the task in such short time, but as the boss, all he needed to see were the results.

If it weren't for the "Contract of Dominance" ensuring loyalty, he'd really hesitate to use someone as cold-hearted as Judge.

Poor Reiju is his daughter, yet he could speak so cruelly. It was truly disheartening.

However, there was nothing that could be done; the "Contract of Dominance" only ensured loyalty, making the dominated party absolutely obedient but doing nothing to change their nature or way of acting.

So, if there was anyone to blame, it was Judge himself for being such a heartless person.

Besides Judge, Doflamingo had also contacted him two days ago, asking what he was up to.

After all, having mobilized so many resources for the family, Doflamingo was bound to know something, but since he couldn't find anyone, he had to use the Den-Den Mushi for contact.

Abel could only claim that a mysterious buyer had approached him and requested those goods, fobbing off Doflamingo with an excuse he had thought up in advance.

This excuse, riddled with loopholes, even led Doflamingo to suspect Abel was trying to skim off some benefits for himself.

If it had been anyone else, Doflamingo might have given them a talking to.

But remembering Abel's incredible appetite and his past 'greedy' behavior, he decided to let it slide.

After all, it wasn't a big deal.

Could Doflamingo refuse if Abel asked him for money? Compared to the huge sum obtained from Du Feld, what was this small business going to rake in?

If anything, Doflamingo now trusted Abel even more.