Chapter 274: The Snail Ship’s Secret: A Scientist’s Gamble

“It’s just that all my research is on this ship.” He glanced around. This ship wasn’t just his lab—it held everything he owned.

This was supposed to be his chance at a comeback. Whether he could restore the Vinsmoke Family’s glory in the North Blue depended on this gamble. He never expected things to turn out like this.

His eyes betrayed his reluctance. Afraid Karl might abandon him, he desperately hoped to take the Snail Ship along. As long as he kept the ship, there was still hope.

“Is there any way to transport this ship to the New World?” The situation was out of his hands. Karl’s strength spoke for itself. For the sake of survival he had nothing left to refuse. Otherwise, back on Machinery Island, he wouldn’t have run so fast.

He cherished his life and eyed Karl cautiously. “If it’s not possible, I won’t insist. But since you came for me in person, Lord Karl, is there something you need from me?”

Hearing this, Karl didn’t answer right away. Instead, he unleashed his Observation Haki, sweeping through every inch of the ship to see what Judge had achieved. He hadn’t expected to find something truly interesting.

“So you’ve already perfected the cloning technology.”

During the scan he spotted thousands of giant capsules, each nurturing a human embryo. At first, he thought it was another cloning experiment in progress.

But after closer inspection, he realized they shared the same aura—a single unbroken lineage. It was obvious these were mass-produced clones.

The only pity was they were still in the embryo stage. He couldn’t help but wonder about their quality. If he was right, this should be the very first generation of clones.

He hadn’t expected that even after taking Vegapunk away, Judge could still replicate the clone technology so flawlessly. That’s what made him a top-tier scientist.

Far better than Quinn and Caesar. Those two could barely manage as Vegapunk’s assistants—their past research didn’t even interest Karl.

Poison gas bombs? Failed gigantification experiments? Those alone proved Quinn and Caesar’s scientific skills were leagues below Judge and Vegapunk.

“No wonder you want to take this whole ship with you.”

“Looks like your experiment’s already a success, isn’t it?”

“Hahaha, now that’s what I call good news.”

Feeling the vitality pulsing from the embryos, Karl was genuinely surprised. He’d thought Judge just improved cloning technology—not that he’d moved past the testing phase and was actually mass-producing.

Though each embryo’s life force was still weak, it was stronger than a newborn baby’s. No wonder these clones could be used to rule North Blue.

A technology in the testing phase and one in full production are two entirely different things.

That got him even more excited. Once Judge reached Cake Island, the clone tech could go straight into service. An army with titan blood was about to emerge—a perfect gift for the World Government.

“That’s no problem, don’t worry. Now that the technology’s ready, I’d take it even if you begged me not to.”

“The Fishmen will handle the ship and sail it safely to Cake Island. As for you…”

He cast a sly glance at Judge.

Karl had no intention of letting Judge slip away under his nose. It’d be better to keep him close—plus, it was a good opportunity to let two old friends reunite.

“W-what about me…?”

“You’re coming with me. And you’ll get to see an old friend while we’re at it.”

Judge replied warily, “Who’s the old friend?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Let’s go.”

…

After Karl left, the Fishmen finally arrived to take over the ship and sail it back to Cake Island, while Karl took Judge Vinsmoke and flew toward Ohara.

“Captain, how are we supposed to sail this Snail Ship home?”

“With something this big, every route’s bound to have problems.”

The one called Captain, a tiger-shark Fishman with huge eyes, studied the Snail Ship in front of him and stroked his chin. “That could be an issue.”

“We were planning to go back through the Calm Belt, but this snail’s a living creature. If the Sea Kings show up, we’ll be in deep trouble.”

“Lord Karl’s orders are to bring this ship safely back to Cake Island.”

“That’s right, Captain Vati. This won’t be easy. If we use Reverse Mountain and the Navy spots us, it’s all over.” Val scratched his head. Only the two of them really had a say here; the rest of the Fishmen had boarded the Snail Ship already.

They were checking over the ship’s defensive systems.

Before leaving, Judge had given control of the ship to Heatjaty.

Heatjaty saw the Fishmen board through the Video Transponder Snail, then stepped out from the cabin, immediately catching the crew’s attention.

But he didn’t care. He stepped forward and asked, “Excuse me, are you Karl’s subordinates?”

A swordfish Fishman answered, “Yeah. This ship belongs to us now. We’re sailing it to Cake Island in one piece. Do you know how it works?”

“Of course—I’m in charge of piloting. I know this ship inside and out.” With that, he brought the Fishman up to the controls.

They entered a large empty room. He gestured to the consoles, “Here’s the control station for the ship’s navigation.”

“Judge’s tech lets this ship climb over the Red Line.”

“No need for Reverse Mountain or the Calm Belt—there’s another way to cross.”

He showed the Fishman the various controls. There were lots of systems, but as long as you knew how to go forward, back, and climb, the ship could handle the rest.

After just a short while, the swordfish Fishman had figured out how to operate the ship. He rushed up to the deck, shouting to the captain, “Captain Vati, we’ve got nothing to worry about!”

“No need for Reverse Mountain or the Calm Belt!”

“This ship can climb straight over the Red Line!”

Vati was relieved at first—at least there was no need to agonize over the route. But the second half left him stunned. A ship that could climb over the Red Line?

He’d never even heard of a ship doing that.

He hesitated. “Are you sure that’s true?”

“This ship can really scale the Red Line?”

You couldn’t blame him for doubting—it was just so shocking. The only reason they’d made it from Cake Island to North Blue in the first place was by using Seastone on the hull, or swimming the rest of the way.

Every trip was nerve-wracking. If this ship could really cross the Red Line, its value would be on a whole different level. But then again, if it couldn’t, Lord Karl wouldn’t have ordered them to bring it back safely.

One thing was certain: Lord Karl never made losing deals. Either way, they had to get the ship to Cake Island safely.

“Quick, take me up there!” Vati hurried out of the cabin, eager to see if this so-called ship could actually climb the Red Line.

…