"1.7 Billion Belly!"
This is the cost of building a single Super Electromagnetic Cannon!
This number is 1.7 times the cost of the Marine's strongest battleship, the "War Behemoth"! If we consider other project expenses that would occure in building the Super Electromagnetic Cannon, the cost will reach 2 Billion Belly! That's the price of two War Behemoth ships!
Caesar came to find him for this purpose. Although the power of the Super Electromagnetic Cannon is evident as with just one cannon, it can strengthen the attacking power of the Branch Base by more than a hundred times!
But leaving aside the firing rate, the accompanying reconnaissance system can only be done manually for now, using underwater feeding of territorial sea cows, and aiming it at anything is also a big problem!
Even a skilled gunner can only guarantee to hit targets within a hundred kilometers. Beyond that, it's all up to chance and luck.
It simply doesn't have any practical combat effectiveness!
As a result, Sengoku angrily halted Caesar's project on the Super Electromagnetic Cannon, and the remaining funds at the Scientific Force Base were used to manufacture Vegapunk's improved Plasma Cannon, to be used as a ground weapon in conjunction with the soon-to-be-established Aircraft Force.
"I told you earlier to consider the cost, consider the fucking cost when you built this thing!"
Rowen looked frustrated as he spoke: "Even if the firing rate and aiming are slightly worse, Fleet Admiral would have turned a blind eye to it because of the cheaper cost… but 2 Billion Belly per cannon! How can an ordinary branch afford that? Forget that, even the Headquarter would not be able to afford many of them!"
Caesar looked embarrassed when he heard Rowen's words and nodded his head in agreement.
He had indeed considered the cost issue before he began to build it and he also tried to replace expensive components with better and cheaper technologically advanced components.
But after being provoked by Vegapunk, he became obsessed with surpassing him no matter what the cost and he used whatever he had without refining the details. Even if he won the gamble, he will still lose to him in another way.
Vegapunk improved the aircraft, and once the production is sufficient, they will be deployed in various Marine Branches on a large scale.
Nowadays, the Plasma Cannon almost made ordinary artillery obsolete. However, considering that ordinary artillery still has its uses, it hasn't been completely removed from the Marine's organization.
As for his Super Electromagnetic Cannon…
There are currently only two cannons.
One cannon can be taken by Rowen to the G-10 Marine Branch at Jaya Island, and the other is installed in front of the Marineford Fortress as a strategic-level weapon.
Now, Caesar wants to conduct in-depth research on the fully developed Super Electromagnetic Cannon to simplify and reduce costs but he doesn't have any funds available to him to do that.
He wants Rowen to go to Sengoku and plead for help in his place, it would be fine even if he is only offered just a few hundred million Belly!
If that doesn't work… even a few tens of millions would do!
"You've reached such a pitiful state?" Rowen spoke as he looked at Caesar with a disdainful expression on his face, causing Caesar to blush and look away.
As one of the greatest scientists of this era, it's truly embarrassing that he can't even come up with a few tens of millions for research funding.
What's more, Caesar does have money, but he's only allowed to use it to continue his research on the third phase of the Thunder-Lightning Stimulation Device and Kizaru is constantly keeping an eye on him to make sure that he does that and not get distracted by anything else!
However, giving up on the Super Electromagnetic Cannon aligns differently from Rowen's plan. After thinking for a moment, Rowen went into the inner room and returned with a box in his hand.
"What is this…"
"There is 170 Million Belly inside. It should be enough for you for a while." Rowen said with an indifferent expression on his face.
He used to be a poor guy too.
Momousagi's gift of red coral, which he had kept aboard the Qilin, was waiting to be auctioned off when he needed money. But after the clearance of Jaya Island, Rowen found himself with more spare money.
All of the pirates' treasures were confiscated by the Marines, and only a small portion was returned to their rightful owners. The majority of the treasures were kept at the Headquarters as emergency funds…
The specific reasons are well known to everyone. If the pirates can snatch away treasures then that means that the individuals involved in it are probably long gone.
But the hidden treasures in Jaya Island's Black Market, Rowen didn't hand over a single piece.
Sengoku didn't mention it either. The benefits he received couldn't be summed up with mere money.
The 170 Million Belly is Rowen's emergency fund, while the rest was taken away by Dante and brought to the G-10 Marine Branch, where he would stay for an unknown period of time.
After all, there are currently only three Admiral positions, and even if Rowen is incredibly powerful, he is just considered a standby waiting for a replacement.
Neither the Marines nor the World Government has shown any signs of establishing a fourth Admiral position due to his presence.
"170 Million Belly!"
Caesar's eyes sparkled as he held onto the box like an octopus.
This amount was beyond his expectations!
With this funding, he had the confidence to resolve the issue of the Super Electromagnetic Cannon's excessive cost!
"Resolve the issues with the Super Electromagnetic Cannon as soon as possible, otherwise, each failure will leave a bad impression with the Fleet Admiral…"
Rowen looked somewhat pained as he watched Caesar holding the leather box. He took out a cigar, lit it, calmed his mind, and then reminded, "If you want to surpass Vegapunk, it's not just about excelling in a particular aspect, but about demonstrating reliability and value as a top scientist, just like him!"
Caesar's expression turned solemn upon hearing this, and he nodded, "I understood!"
Vegapunk wasn't just called the "Number One Scientist" or the "Genius Leading the World" simply because he discovered the Lineage Factors.
It was through numerous meticulous research endeavors, solving problems that were previously unsolvable, that he gradually proved his research capabilities.
If he was once a prisoner under the World Government, now he was their esteemed guest!
The difference in status was incomparable!
…
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