Chapter 259: The Uses of Seastone
Looking at Deidara, who had regained his ability to move, everyone turned their eyes toward the stone in Charlotte's hand, their expressions filled with confusion.
"This is Seastone." Charlotte lifted the stone slightly. "As the name suggests, it has the same power as the sea—it can be understood as solidified seawater. Its effects are even greater than the sea itself. Not only does it render Devil Fruit users powerless, but it also temporarily prevents them from using their abilities, whether they are Paramecia, Logia, or Zoan."
The moment Charlotte finished speaking, everyone was shocked.
Especially the Devil Fruit users among his crew.
Barrett and Esdeath tensed up the most, feeling an immediate sense of unease.
Meanwhile, Caesar remained as carefree as ever.
Charlotte smirked as he noticed Barrett and Esdeath's nervous expressions.
He casually tossed the Seastone to Barrett.
Barrett caught it instinctively—and his body immediately weakened.
A sudden powerlessness washed over him.
His brows furrowed as he felt his strength draining away.
Without thinking, Barrett dropped the stone.
The moment it left his hand, his strength returned.
Seeing Barrett's exaggerated reaction, Esdeath picked up the Seastone next.
The moment her fingers touched it, she stumbled, nearly collapsing.
She steadied herself, but her face was pale from exhaustion.
Holding the Seastone took a tremendous amount of effort.
"Dad! Isn't there any way around this?" Esdeath asked, clutching the Seastone tightly despite the struggle.
Charlotte looked at her, then shook his head.
"I don't know of any definitive way to resist it," he admitted. "But I've heard rumors that if someone is strong enough, they can overcome the physical weakness caused by Seastone. However, they still won't be able to use their Devil Fruit powers. In that case, they would have to rely purely on their physical strength."
Barrett's eyes brightened at those words.
For him, pure strength was all that mattered. He had never been overly reliant on his Devil Fruit ability.
Esdeath also sighed in relief.
Although she wasn't afraid of the sea due to her Cold-Cold Fruit, which allowed her to freeze water, hearing that something could negate her power had made her uneasy.
But now, knowing it was possible to train past the weakness, she wasn't worried anymore.
Charlotte then turned toward Caesar Courant and Vinsmoke Judge.
"Caesar Courant, Judge—I'm leaving these Seastones to you. You are responsible for leading your scientific teams in researching and developing Seastone applications."
The two scientists froze for a moment, then nodded immediately.
Charlotte noticed a hint of hesitation in their expressions.
Without waiting for them to ask, he gave them a hint.
"Let me give you an idea—Seastone is also called 'the crystallization of the sea' because it releases the same energy as seawater. If we embed Seastone into the hull of a ship, wouldn't that make Sea Kings believe the ship is part of the sea? If so, we could safely navigate through the Calm Belt without worrying about Sea Kings attacking us."
Charlotte had just casually revealed an invention that would one day become Vegapunk's masterpiece.
But at this time, no one had developed such technology.
Vinsmoke Judge's eyes widened in realization.
Charlotte's ship didn't rely on wind—it ran on electricity.
So the Calm Belt's lack of wind wasn't an issue.
The real problem was the Sea Kings.
But if Sea Kings couldn't sense ships, they wouldn't attack.
That would allow ships to sail freely through the Grand Line.
Judge suddenly felt a sense of duty.
If this worked, he would go down in history as the man who changed maritime travel forever.
His scientific mind buzzed with excitement.
"Mr. Charlotte! Don't worry, I will absolutely make this happen!" Judge declared, bowing deeply.
He spoke with genuine enthusiasm.
Caesar Courant, however, looked completely uninterested.
Still, since it was Charlotte's order, he would do it—grudgingly.
Charlotte smirked.
He knew Caesar wasn't excited about it.
"Oh, and while you're at it, you should also develop weapons using Seastone. It's an incredibly hard material and naturally suppresses Devil Fruit users. It's the perfect weapon component. I'll leave that to you, Caesar Courant."
Charlotte patted Caesar Courant on the shoulder.
"Also, make me some Seastone handcuffs."
At those words, everyone froze.
Charlotte's children and Barrett all felt a chill run down their spines.
Caesar, being the most sensitive, instantly realized what his father was planning.
His face fell immediately.
After Charlotte issued his orders, Caesar Courant and Vinsmoke Judge led their scientific teams into intensive research.
They barely left the laboratory for days.
Judge, inspired by Charlotte's idea, wasted no time.
He quickly gathered Seastone containing a component called Pyrobloin and reinforced the ship's hull.
The result—
A layer of ultra-dense Seastone armor that mimicked the sea.
Charlotte tested it himself.
Even when he struck it with his sword, not even a scratch appeared.
Only by using Armament Haki could he leave a mark.
With such a strong hull, Charlotte no longer had to worry about running aground.
Meanwhile, his crew worked tirelessly to mine Seastone from the Rabbit Bowl.
Thanks to the volcanic eruption, most of Wano's inhabitants had fled.
The Seastone craftsmen, however, had survived.
That meant production could continue.
In just one month, Charlotte's crew mined nearly 10,000 tons of raw Seastone.
But after purification, only 100 tons of usable high-purity Seastone remained.
This 99% pure Seastone was so hard that even Charlotte had to use Haki to break it.
Its incredible durability left everyone speechless.
Charlotte was thrilled.
Not only was it invaluable for his weapons, but it could also be used to strengthen his ships and armor.
Meanwhile, Caesar Courant developed a variety of Seastone weapons.
The pistol on Charlotte's waist now fired Seastone bullets.
---
Read up to 20 Chapters ahead on patreon.com/Fanglin
[Please leave a 5 Star review and power stone for this novel]
*Thank you*