"Actually, he has two remarkable abilities..."
"Hmm?"
Hearing Leon speak, everyone turned to look at him.
The little boy face was brimming with confidence.
Earlier, Sengoku hadn't interrupted because it was indeed as Akainu had said—the Navy budget was limited. Excessive funding requests required approval from the World Government.
Given that the Pacifista already demanded exorbitant costs, this so-called Seraphim human weapon likely wouldn't be much cheaper. But if, beyond its current functions, it possessed some extraordinary capabilities, perhaps it was worth taking a risk.
Sengoku turned his gaze to Leon.
The boy spoke slowly "You might not believe it, but it's true." Leon smiled.
"The first incredible thing is... he can wield dual Haki!"
"What?!" The moment these words were uttered, Sengoku and the others were visibly shaken.
"How is that possible? A man-made weapon capable of using Haki? No way..." Akainu face twisted with disbelief.
Sengoku and Garp exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other eyes.
Even Kizaru was left speechless.
Had they not seen everything earlier? Had even his own little brother been holding back?
"Leon, could you demonstrate it for us?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked softly.
"Of course!" Leon nodded readily. "Little Kizaru! First, use Armament Haki!"
"Yes." As soon as the words were spoken, dark currents suddenly surged around Little Kizaru body, swiftly enveloping him like a black armor.
"It really is Armament Haki!" Sengoku couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes wide with astonishment.
Garp was equally stunned, his jaw hanging open as if it might dislocate.
Akainu, meanwhile, was utterly dumbfounded. He never imagined a human weapon could truly wield Haki.
"There's more! Little Kizaru, prepare to use Observation Haki!"
"Yes..." Then, Leon turned to Kizaru.
"Big brother, lend a hand. Shoot a Laser Beam at him!"
"Oh? Sure." Kizaru lazily raised a finger. "Ready?"
Little Kizaru didn't respond verbally but gave a firm nod.
"Alright, here it comes!" Light flickered at Kizaru fingertip before transforming into streaks of laser beams, shooting straight at Little Kizaru.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
In the distance, Little Kizaru tilted his head slightly the moment the lasers approached.
The beams grazed past his face, exploding behind him. With rapid, precise movements, he dodged several consecutive lasers flawlessly.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of explosions erupted behind him.
"He actually dodged them!" Aokiji face was a picture of shock.
Witnessing this, Sengoku expression shifted to one of exhilaration.
If the earlier performance hadn't matched the Pacifista, the addition of dual Haki meant this Seraphim could now surpass its strength.
"This is truly astounding!" Vice Admiral Tsuru and the three Admirals were left speechless, unable to contain their amazement.
Garp, however, snapped out of his daze, his face filled with bewilderment.
"Leon, these Seraphim are essentially robots, right? How can robots cultivate haki?" Garp instinctively voiced his question.
At his words, everyone turned to look, their eyes fixed intently on Leon...
"Heh, this relates to their second amazing feature..." Leon replied with a smile. "It's because they can train!"
"What?! Robots can train?" Sengoku and the others exchanged bewildered glances.
This was the most unbelievable aspect.
Yet the Seraphim Little Kizaru before them could genuinely wield dual-colored haki.
The facts spoke for themselves—they had no choice but to believe!
"With their already considerable base strength, if they can also train autonomously, it proves their potential is immense..." Sengoku face lit up with excitement.
"Such formidable humanoid weapons—we must mass-produce them!"
"Leon, tell us! If we were to mass-produce them, what budget would we need?" Sengoku and the others turned to Leon.
Leon pondered for a moment before answering slowly.
"Roughly forty billion."
"Forty billion?!" Sengoku and the others were collectively stunned.
"Little brother, why so much?" Kizaru couldn't help but ask.
"Because, normally, one Seraphim costs one billion berries—the same as an ordinary battleship." Leon explained.
"Making ten would naturally cost ten billion. But that's just the standard version..." Leon tone shifted.
"There's also an Admiral-tier version, which costs twenty billion berries each!"
"Admiral-tier?!" Everyone stiffened in shock.
"You mean Seraphim with strength comparable to Admirals?!" Sengoku couldn't help but press, his eyes filled with disbelief.
After all, Admiral-level strength was among the pinnacle in the world—achieving such power was no easy feat!
Moreover, For humanoid weapons of this caliber, not even Vegapunk would dare confidently claim his creations could rival Admirals—let alone Leon!
"That seems unlikely. If that were true, what would be the point of us Navy Admirals?" Akainu scoffed, his face full of skepticism.
His disbelief was understandable—this was simply too outrageous.
Especially coming from an eight-year-old child!
"This..." Hearing this, Sengoku hesitated.
If they truly could match Admirals, spending twenty billion berries would be worth every penny!
But... If they fell short, the loss would be catastrophic!
Not to mention the inevitable scrutiny from the World Government's Five Elders!
Leon watched Sengoku hesitation with a knowing smile, quietly awaiting his response.
As if rejection wasn't even a concern.
In truth, The Admiral-tier version only cost ten billion berries, but Leon wanted to develop an extra one for his own protection.
With the technology he possessed... Wasn't it only fair to skim a little off the top while serving the Navy?
As for rejection?
Leon wasn't the least bit worried.
What a joke—if the Navy would casually pass up humanoid weapons of Admiral caliber, they wouldn't have kept funding Vegapunk research all these years.
"Wait, what about the other ten billion berries?" Suddenly, in the silence, Kizaru curiously spoke up.
Leon shot him a glance.
"Brother, and here I thought you were the head of the Science Division! The other ten billion is obviously for building labs and factories!"
"Ah..." Kizaru nodded in realization.
"Leon..." Sengoku emerged from his thoughts and asked in a deep voice.
"How long does it take to produce each of these Seraphim?"
Leon pondered briefly before answering, "For the standard version, one month is sufficient. But the Admiral-level version requires three months!"
Sengoku considered this... A flicker of hesitation crossed his face before he finally gritted his teeth.
"Fine! I'll allocate half a year worth of the Navy current budget for you to try this! I hope you won't disappoint me!"
At these words, Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and the three Admirals all showed expressions of shock. Because they knew, With just this sample, it would be difficult to convince the Five Elders to approve funding.
Their Fleet Admiral was gambling!
Gambling that Leon could truly invent humanoid weapons far more powerful than the Pacifista! If he lost this bet, they would face pressure and reprimands from the Five Elders!
Facing Sengoku response.
A confident smile appeared at the corner of Leon lips.
"Rest assured, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. The true Seraphim will absolutely not disappoint you!"