Marco looked questioningly at Alex.
"Alex, what's happening to me?" Edward Newgate asked, puzzled. "When I first started eating them, I definitely felt those old wounds healing! But by the time I got to around the twentieth bean, I couldn't feel anything anymore!"
"Hirahira~rahaha! That means you've hit saturation, Pops!" Alex explained calmly. "These are still just the basic-grade Senzu Beans, after all. For someone riddled with chronic injuries like you, once you consume a certain amount, their effectiveness plateaus!"
Hearing this, both Whitebeard and Marco had a moment of understanding. Ah, so that was it!
"Alright, I understand now!" Alex continued, smoothly transitioning. "While we're on the subject, could you help me track down these materials?" He produced another list from within his clothes, already prepared, and handed it to Marco. "These are the ingredients needed to create intermediate and top-tier Senzu Beans!"
This move cut off whatever Marco had been about to ask. Ecstatic joy flooded Marco's face as he eagerly took the new list, his eyes scanning it intently.
"Are any of those materials going to be difficult to find?" Alex asked, noticing Marco's prolonged silence.
"They look quite rare," Marco admitted, "but it shouldn't be a problem, yoi! I can tap into some of our contacts in the Underworld to gather them!" With that, Marco excused himself from the cabin, and moments later, his fiery wings carried him swiftly away from the Moby Dick, heading towards distant shores.
"So, Alex, my boy," Whitebeard asked, his curiosity piqued, "how effective are these intermediate and top-tier beans?"
"Hirahira~rahaha! Specifically? It varies from person to person," Alex explained earnestly. "For someone with a constitution like yours, Pops, a single top-tier bean should be enough to fix everything! For most people's old injuries, as long as they haven't lost limbs or aren't knocking on death's door, one intermediate Senzu Bean will do the trick. And for fresh wounds and the like? The basic ones are perfectly fine!"
Whitebeard gazed at the confident young man before him, his already high regard for Alex rising even further. Forget Alex's earlier condition about prioritizing his safety even over Whitebeard's own life – Newgate now fully grasped Alex's immense importance! Protecting him was absolutely, unequivocally necessary!
After two days of non-stop production by the dedicated Senzu Bean factory team, virtually every fighter in the Whitebeard Pirates, from the division commanders down to the newest recruits, carried a personal pouch brimming with the little green beans.
The effects became starkly apparent during their next clash with Kaido's Beast Pirates. The Animal Kingdom crew watched in utter disbelief as Whitebeard pirates, who had just been blasted by cannon fire and sent flying, seemingly knocked senseless, would pop something in their mouths. Moments later, when the Beast Pirates charged in to finish them off, they found their opponents back on their feet, full of vigor, ready for round two as if nothing had happened!
Caught completely off guard by this inexplicable resilience, the Beast Pirates suffered several crushing defeats in quick succession.
It didn't take long for King the Wildfire, Kaido's lead Calamity, to notice the abnormally low success rate in recent skirmishes against Whitebeard's forces. There was an unwritten rule in major pirate clashes: fighters generally engaged opponents of a similar rank. Higher-ranked combatants typically wouldn't interfere in lower-level brawls, even if present. While the Whitebeard Pirates had vast numbers, the basic strength levels between the rank-and-file of the two Yonko crews weren't drastically different. Usually, victory and defeat were evenly split in these skirmishes. This consistent string of Whitebeard victories was unprecedented.
"Lord King, this is one of the men from the last engagement with Whitebeard's crew," a subordinate announced, gesturing as several others carried in a figure wrapped head-to-toe in bandages, like a mummy. Only his eyes and mouth were visible.
"Can he still speak?" King asked, his brow furrowing at the severity of the man's injuries.
"Y-Yes... Lord King..." the bandaged pirate rasped weakly. "I... I remembered... the task... you gave me... Th-They... the Whitebeard pirates... they all seem to carry... a pouch... strange medicine... Looks... looks like peas..."
"Medicine?" King frowned, perplexed. "Peas?" Could the Whitebeard Pirates be supplying their men with some kind of stimulant drug? Unlikely. Whitebeard was famous for treating his crew like family; Newgate would never resort to such despicable methods that harmed his own sons.
"Yes... medicine like... peas," the injured man confirmed, straining to recall the details. "They eat one... and even guys who were beaten down, unable to get up... suddenly they're full of energy again! Like... like nothing ever happened!" The Beast Pirate remembered his own fight vividly. His opponent had eaten one of those beans three times, getting back up again and again after being seemingly defeated, eventually overwhelming him. The memory was burned into his mind.
"What is this stuff?" King muttered, his masked face unreadable. "How can it be so miraculous?" He waved a dismissive hand, and the injured pirate was carried away for treatment.
Left alone, King pondered, brow furrowed deep in thought. He mulled it over, but no logical explanation came to mind. The reported effects were simply too extraordinary. Finally, King made a decision. He had to get his hands on this substance and analyze it himself.
The very next day, King, disguised as a common Beast Pirate grunt, inserted himself into the front lines of a territorial dispute with Whitebeard's forces. He quickly engaged a Whitebeard crewman. With a single, powerful strike, King sent the man staggering back, coughing up blood and collapsing to his knees.
Instead of pressing the attack, King deliberately held back, watching intently. Just as he'd hoped, the downed Whitebeard pirate fumbled inside his shirt, pulling out a small cloth pouch, and was just about to pop one of the contents into his mouth.
Now! In a blur of motion far exceeding that of a mere grunt, King surged forward. Before the pirate could react, King snatched the pouch right out of his hand. With a powerful beat of his dark wings, King launched himself into the air and sped back towards the Beast Pirates' territory.
Back aboard their ship, King wasted no time. He retreated to his private quarters and immediately opened the stolen pouch, spilling its contents onto his desk. He stared curiously. The pouch was filled with small, green, pea-like objects. He picked one up, examining it closely. It was odorless, tasteless, giving no clue to its composition or power. King the Wildfire narrowed his eyes, the mystery only deepening.