Seeing Caesar make contact with BIG·MOM, Sherwin immediately pricked up his ears.
The other side clearly had no intention of avoiding anyone else, so he very easily heard what Caesar was saying as he tried to solicit funding from BIG·MOM…
It was slightly different from what Sherwin had originally expected. Caesar did not bring up human gigantification at all, but was instead pitching his still-in-development project, the "Land of Death."
That made sense. Although gigantification was the "PPT" Caesar used to fool BIG·MOM, at the very beginning he probably did not yet know about BIG·MOM needs in that area.
And despite BIG·MOM brutal personality and her being known as a "born destroyer" and an "evil god," the fact that she was able to establish Totto Land with the goal of creating a "homeland where all races and tribes live together in harmony" meant that she was likely not very interested in large-scale lethal poison weapons like the "Land of Death."
Moreover, with BIG·MOM notoriously short temper, she preferred to obtain finished products directly.
Just like how she would later deal with Germa 66—killing them and seizing their technology outright—she would never consider whether they might develop something even better afterward.
If Caesar had chosen Kaido as his target instead, the chances of success would actually have been much higher. In the manga, Jack did indeed use the poison gas weapons made by Caesar to attack the Mink Tribe on Zou.
That was, of course, assuming he did not run into Queen, a former colleague from MADS.
Sure enough, things unfolded exactly as Sherwin had anticipated. BIG·MOM had absolutely no interest in the pie-in-the-sky promises Caesar was painting.
As she picked up a huge plate of desserts and poured them into her mouth, she waved her hand and said indistinctly,
"Even without that kind of weapon, my children can easily wipe out the enemy… If you don't have any other special technology, then get out of my sight and don't disturb me while I'm eating!"
Caesar expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly rubbed his hands together and said with a flattering smile,
"I possess many kinds of technology. I just don't know which area you need."
"Oh?" BIG·MOM finally showed a bit of interest. She stopped stuffing food into her mouth, lowered her head, and pondered briefly.
"I want technology that can help me find Mother."
"Well, um… I'm a scientist, not an intelligence broker…"
Even though, in his heart, Caesar had already cursed this client who completely understood nothing about technology—BIG·MOM—over and over again, he still had to keep an obedient, smiling face at this moment.
That was just how miserable Party B was during the stage of seeking investment and funding.
And what was even more tragic than those Party Bs back on Earth was that even if he successfully secured the investment, Caesar would still have to keep his head down and play the grandson, because BIG·MOM, this Party A, could take his life at any moment…
Thinking about it that way, the fact that Caesar still dared to swindle funds from the old hag even under such circumstances meant his guts were actually pretty impressive.
Sherwin smacked his lips and continued to quietly watch that guy Caesar walk straight toward his own doom.
After that, BIG·MOM successively put forward several demands that, in Caesar view, were simply impossible and deliberately making things difficult for him.
Yet he could only keep smiling apologetically and say that he was powerless…
In the end, it was BIG·MOM who lost her patience first.
"This can't be done, that can't be done…" She pressed her gloomy face right up to Caesar, murderous light flickering in her eyes.
"You're not here to mess with me, are you?"
Du Feld, who had brought Caesar over, had already hidden himself to the side early on, silently regretting why he had to meddle in the first place.
"No, no, no! How would I dare?!"
Caesar, so frightened he was about to collapse, shook his head like a rattle drum.
"Very well, I'll give you one last chance…" BIG·MOM split her mouth into a chilling grin.
"I don't care whether you use scientific technology or any other means. As long as you can bring residents of the giant race to my Totto Land, I'll forgive what you just did. But if you can't…"
"I can do it!" Under the threat to his life, Caesar immediately screamed in response.
"I can do it! I know a technique that can gigantify ordinary people, but this technology isn't mature yet. It needs funding and time for further experiments and research!"
"Mamamamama!" BIG MOM truly changed her expression like a child, bursting into laughter.
"Money and time are not a problem! As long as you can bring me the Giant race!"
So that was how the deal between Caesar and Big Mom came about…
Sherwin sighed quietly to himself. He had originally thought that if the two sides didn't reach an agreement so quickly, he could kill Caesar directly without Big Mom knowing.
Now that things had turned out this way, even though he still had to kill him, the risk of being investigated by BIG MOM afterward had increased.
"Meow?"
(=ω=)
After running out for a round and coming back with a huge pile of delicious food to share with everyone, Klee Meow tilted her head.
She looked at the Hunter, who seemed to be in a bad mood, and then at Caesar, who was wearing a delighted expression as he quoted his price to BIG MOM…
"He lying, meow. Klee can feel it, meow!"
(=ˇˇ=)σ
The little plush doll set down the snacks in her hands and pointed at Caesar with a serious face.
"Hm?" BIG MOM changed her expression once again. She looked at Caesar with a sinister gaze. "Is what she said true?"
"Of course not!" Caesar jumped up and shouted in rebuttal. "That slander! She slandering me!"
After a brief moment of panic, Caesar quickly found a point of counterattack.
"This is advanced scientific technology! What could a little kid from the Felynes know?!"
"Klee doesn't understand any meow-technology, that true…" The little plush doll put her hands on her hips and replied righteously.
"But Klee Observation Haki 'heard' you lying, meow!"
＜(=`へ=)＞
"What kind of ridiculous reason is that!" Caesar, who had some understanding of Observation Haki but not much, laughed with confidence.
"You don't seriously think BIG MOM would believe such a childish excuse, do you?"
He turned his head back smugly, only to see a face even more terrifying than before.
"Y-you, you you you… you don't actually believe what she said, do you?!"
Although Caesar knew of the existence of Haki and had even studied it for a while, his understanding was far too superficial, so he had no idea that advanced Observation Haki possessed all kinds of derivative abilities.
But a powerhouse like BIG MOM was different. Forget lie detection—her son Katakuri Observation Haki could even foresee the future! And she had also seen someone like Roger, who could read information from the Poneglyphs through the "Voice of All Things."
What more, in BIG MOM eyes, children were the least likely to lie, so she naturally leaned toward believing what Klee Meow said.
Even though he didn't know the exact reason, Caesar could tell that the current situation was unfavorable to him, so he hurriedly defended himself again.
"My 'gigantification' technology has the backing of the World Government! If Vegapunk hadn't framed me, this technology would have been successfully developed long ago!"
"'Your' gigantification technology?" Haibara Meow said unhurriedly.
"That doesn't seem right, meow. Hasn't this experiment always been led by Vegapunk? And according to the data left behind on Punk Hazard, this experiment was ultimately declared a failure and was stopped long ago, meow."
"!!!"
Caesar widened his eyes as he stared at Haibara Meow, pointing at Shirley perched atop her head and shouting in fury,
"So the ones who went to Punk Hazard before really were you! That thing is my Smiley, right?! You were lying to me earlier?! Smiley, you bastard! You actually betrayed me! If it weren't for—"
"So… what they said is all true then? You were also deceiving me just now, weren't you?"
Before he could finish speaking, BIG MOM murderous voice rang out from behind him, cutting him off. In an instant, Caesar snapped out of his rage at being toyed with by the cats…
"Th-this is bad!"
Sweat poured down his head as Caesar turned back toward BIG MOM, stammering as he made his final struggle. "P-please listen to my ex-explanation…"
However, what answered him was—
"Life… or… Truth?!"