For the past few years, Bege had been relentlessly searching for Caesar Clown.
Originally, Ben Kosa's Fusion ability, combined with Brook's powers, could have allowed someone to perfectly possess a Devil Fruit ability, a method far superior to Caesar's artificial Devil Fruits.
However, Bege still wanted Caesar in his grasp, primarily for his research into artificial Devil Fruits.
Even though artificial Devil Fruits couldn't compare to genuine ones, they still held value. It was impossible for all of Bege's subordinates to become ability users. If artificial Devil Fruits could supplement their ranks, it would further strengthen Bege's forces.
Moreover, artificial Devil Fruits could be sold for substantial profits.
These two points were the driving reasons behind Bege's persistent hunt for Caesar.
Initially, he had only intended to bluff Doflamingo, hoping to glean some information about Caesar's whereabouts. He hadn't expected Doflamingo to actually know, which suggested Doflamingo had already established contact with Caesar.
"Godfather, why did you let Doflamingo go?" Sam asked, clearly puzzled. "Didn't you say he was a menace? Why cooperate with him? We could have just captured him and had Uncle Cosa implant a fusion bomb in him. Then he'd have no choice but to obediently sell weapons for us."
"Sam, you need to remember this," Bege said earnestly. "There's a certain kind of person in this world who is inherently unyielding, born with an indomitable pride. They would rather face death than surrender their freedom or be controlled by others. Doflamingo possesses Conqueror's Haki; he's a natural-born conqueror. He would never submit to anyone."
"Their Devil Fruit abilities are also incredibly strong," Sam added. "Especially that Pica's Stone-Stone Fruit. It's ridiculously powerful. If we had it, we could cultivate another high-ranking executive."
"Doflamingo's status as a former Celestial Dragon allows him to operate in both the light and the shadows. He can sell our weapons and gather resources for us without restraint. For us, his channels are even better than the Shipping King's. If we can utilize him, it will be immensely important. That's far more valuable than cultivating one or two more top executives," Bege explained.
What Bege truly valued was Doflamingo's former Celestial Dragon identity. He had significant influence and extensive networks in the underworld, which would enable him to sell weapons more effectively.
Furthermore, regarding resource collection, Doflamingo's background gave him access to the World Government, allowing him to procure more and better resources for Bege, making him even more resourceful than the Shipping King, Umit.
Most importantly, Bege's operations had been expanding rapidly in recent years. The share provided by the Shipping King was no longer sufficient to meet Bege's needs, and Umit hadn't significantly increased his quota. This forced Bege to consider finding new channels.
All things considered, Doflamingo was the most suitable candidate.
"He was beaten so badly by Uncle Oars this time, and he lost Caesar. Will he really cooperate with us? Won't he just be feigning compliance?" Sam was highly skeptical.
Bege chuckled. "He's an ambitious man, extraordinarily so. As long as it benefits him, he'll be even more enthusiastic than we are."
"I understand, Godfather," Sam nodded.
"Go inform Modi, Enel, and Weevil. Tell them to come here. We're moving out to grab Caesar," Bege ordered.
Sam trotted off. A day later, a small airship departed Sky Island, heading towards the first half of the Grand Line.
The airship descended to the sea. Bege ejected an object from the castle within his body. It rapidly expanded, transforming into a colossal Sea King – its upper body a giant serpent, its lower half an octopus.
It was another fusion monster.
The Sea King splashed into the ocean, thrashed for a moment, then swam to the side of the ship, lowered its head, and emitted a soft hiss.
Bege retrieved a submarine from his internal storage space. Everyone boarded it. The Sea King then swallowed the submarine whole, dived beneath the waves, and swam off into the depths.
Caesar's scientific research base was located deep on the ocean floor.
In this sea region, numerous Marine fleets disguised as merchant ships patrolled the surface. Not only that, but many submarines also patrolled underwater, acting as the eyes of the research base.
If they tried to force their way into the base, they would undoubtedly be discovered, and Caesar would most likely escape. Therefore, Bege was using this Sea King to approach the facility.
The Sea King swam towards the target sea area and then descended towards the seabed.
Below, several submarines shaped like large fish moved aimlessly – these were the Marine patrol subs.
The approaching Sea King was naturally detected by the submarines.
"Sea King sighted! Report to base! Prepare for evasive maneuvers!" The Marines inside the submarine immediately tensed. The submarine's weaponry was adequate against some large fish, but facing a Sea King was suicidal. The Marines in the vessel promptly notified the underwater base, telling them to prepare.
The Sea King moved along the seabed, seemingly without purpose, but in reality, it was searching for the research base.
In a deep trench on the ocean floor lay a moderately sized coral mound, overgrown with coral and seaweed, with many small fish swimming around it. It looked entirely ordinary on the seabed.
However, beneath this unremarkable coral mound was a considerably large base.
Inside the base's defense control room, the Marines spotted the Sea King swimming in the distance.
These Marines weren't particularly alarmed; encountering Sea Kings on the seabed wasn't unusual. They had experienced such situations many times.
"Activate repellent torpedoes immediately! Drive it away!"
A section of the rock layer beneath the coral mound suddenly split open, and a torpedo shot out. It detonated a short distance away on the seabed, releasing a layer of faint black liquid that quickly diluted into the seawater.
The water now exuded a peculiar, foul odor – a stench designed to repel Sea Kings.
As the Sea King approached, it caught a whiff of the smell in the water and recoiled with a look of disgust, instinctively wanting to leave.
"Found you," Bege, observing the seabed through the Sea King's bared teeth, had clearly registered the torpedo's explosion.
He commanded the Sea King to charge. The creature didn't hesitate, immediately rushing towards the coral mound.
"Damn it! That Sea King is coming this way! Continue firing repellent torpedoes! Get the regular torpedoes and cannons ready! If we can't drive it off, open fire and kill it! Inform the base to go to Level Two combat readiness!" The Marines in the control room tensed, quickly mobilizing.
Repellent torpedo after repellent torpedo flew out, exploding on the seabed, the dark black liquid rapidly making the nearby water incredibly foul. The Sea King ignored it all, charging headlong towards the coral mound at full speed.
Then, another barrage of torpedoes launched. This time, they weren't repellents but actual, explosive torpedoes.
They sped towards the Sea King, but just centimeters from impact, all the torpedoes stopped dead in the water, then abruptly changed direction and flew off elsewhere.
Bege had used his externalized space to intercept them.
The Sea King slammed headfirst into the coral mound. The entire structure collapsed, revealing the base hidden beneath.
"This is it! Prepare for forced entry!" The submarine shot out from the Sea King's mouth, rocketing towards the island base.
A figure burst out from the submarine – it was Modi. He drew his sword and slashed, a powerful wave of sword energy cleaving through the ocean currents, directly carving a massive fissure into the top of the base.
Swoosh! The submarine shot through the crack and into the base's interior.