one piece: gene extraction and fusion system

Mio stayed in Dressrosa for three days and then left.

During those three days, Mio relaxed to his heart's content. Doflamingo was an expert in the art of luxury. After all, he was born a Celestial Dragon. Even though he had just ascended the throne, he had already arranged everything for indulgence and pleasure.

Three days later, Mio left.

He returned to Crow Island.

As soon as he got off the ship, Olive approached and handed him a newspaper. "Sir, there's big news in today's paper."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Mio raised an eyebrow in surprise, took the newspaper, and read it.

Then, a smile slowly appeared on his face. "Interesting. Does this mean some of the old guys are about to emerge?"

There were two pieces of news in the newspaper that caught Mio's attention.

The first one was about Zou.

A day ago, a fierce battle broke out on Zou, causing the elephant lord to make a massive commotion. According to the newspaper's investigation, the great pirate Taros had taken over and violently suppressed the region.

Mio hadn't expected Taros to act so swiftly, and with such force.

What interested him now was how Taros would make the Mink Tribe submit willingly.

The second piece of news, however, was what truly piqued Mio's interest.

In a remote area of the Grand Line, Wang Zhi—a former member of the Rocks Pirates—had resurfaced. He slaughtered an entire naval warship crew, including a vice admiral of the Navy Headquarters, and seized the warship with overwhelming strength.

"Wang Zhi..."

Mio's eyes gleamed. As a former crew member of the Rocks Pirates, Wang Zhi's strength was beyond question. After all, the Rocks Pirates were like the Roger Pirates—almost none of them were weak.

And frankly, Mio was curious to meet this man.

There was something about the name.

A Chinese name.

It was the first time since Mio arrived in this world that he'd seen a name that felt so familiar.

"Some old monsters are crawling back out. What are they after? Or did they sense something?" Mio sneered but didn't dwell on it. He tossed the newspaper aside and walked toward the castle. "Keep gathering intelligence. Report anything significant immediately."

"Yes, sir."

Olive bowed and stepped aside.

...

Inside the castle.

Mio sat upon his throne. No sooner had he settled in than a black figure swooped into the castle and landed lightly on his shoulder.

"You actually came to see me. Something on your mind?" Mio gently stroked Hei'er's feathers and asked with a small smile.

Hei'er let out a soft, disgruntled whistle, but Mio understood what he meant.

"You want more crows to live on this island?" Mio chuckled. "Do what you want. It's no big deal. You decide."

Hei'er nodded, rubbed his head against Mio's neck affectionately, then spread his wings and flew off.

Mio leaned his head on his hand, eyes flickering with thought.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His index finger tapped lightly on the throne's armrest.

Suddenly.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Footsteps echoed through the hall.

Lilith entered, climbing the stairs and presenting a Den Den Mushi to Mio. "It's from Renee."

"Huh?" Mio looked up, surprised, and took the Den Den Mushi. Renee calling? Could it be that the Operation Fruit had borne results?

But that didn't make sense.

No matter how talented someone was, it would be impossible to master the forbidden abilities of the Operation Fruit in such a short time.

Still, he answered the Den Den Mushi.

"Something up, Renee?" Mio asked.

"Sir, yes—but it's not about the Operation Fruit," Renee replied, sounding amused as if she'd guessed his thoughts.

"Then go ahead, tell me."

"I found something big on an uninhabited island in the Grand Line. Really big."

"Big, huh?" Mio's lips curled into a smile. "Now you've got my attention."

"Sir, you'll be satisfied. You've probably heard of this place before."

"What's its name?"

"The Boeing Islands," Renee replied.

Mio's mind lit up. A name nearly forgotten surged back to the front of his memory.

He did remember that place—but it had been so long.

"So that's it. Yeah, that's definitely a big one," Mio murmured.

The Boeing Islands—the training ground for Usopp in the original story—was an island made up of massive carnivorous plants called Stomach Barons. Despite being plants, they were enormous. The entire island floated on the sea like a raft. The plants on it gave off alluring aromas, and when the Stomach Baron decided to feed, it would swallow everything on its surface.

The only issue was that the Boeing Islands were in the first half of the Grand Line.

Traveling back and forth would be a hassle.

"I see. Send me the location later. I'll need to deal with some things here before I can head out," Mio said firmly.

It was perfect timing. He had no suitable creatures to cultivate right now. Storma Baron was an excellent choice—and he wasn't about to let it slip away.

Still, with his planned cooperation with Doflamingo in the New World, he couldn't leave just yet. He'd have to wait until everything was settled.

"Understood, sir. I'll keep gathering anything else of interest," Renee said.

"Thanks. I'm counting on you."

"This is my duty."

The line went dead.

Mio tossed the Den Den Mushi to Lilith and smiled faintly. This was rare good news. Between his current stock of genetic material and the devil fruits ready for gene extraction, it was only a matter of time before another powerhouse rose from the Black Crow Pirates.

And potentially an entire elite pirate crew formed beneath him.

After all, the Boeing Islands didn't have just one Stomach Baron—but several.

If he was going, he'd train them all.

Thinking about this, Mio looked at Lilith and asked, "How's the gold collection progressing?"

"The Don Quixote Family is already sending it. If nothing goes wrong during transport, we'll be able to start building the Golden Ark once it arrives," Lilith reported.

Mio grinned. "Then have Mashi get ready."