"Please tell me, Miss Bakkin," Whitebeard said, his voice heavy.
Miss Bakkin's expression was serious.
"The Navy's current strength is too overwhelming. With our current technological level, it would be difficult to confront them."
Hearing her words, Whitebeard's frown deepened.
Just as he was about to speak, she continued.
"So, to defeat the Navy, we must develop a third type of Devil Fruit!"
"What?!" Whitebeard was astonished. Instantly, the surrounding pirates were also stunned.
"A third Devil Fruit?"
Miss Bakkin nodded. "That's right. This is my own concept. It will build upon the second Devil Fruit, creating a technological product that allows a person to obtain a third Devil Fruit ability. Our technological capabilities are inferior to the Navy's, but perhaps here we can find another path. Using the power of three fruits as a breakthrough, we can surpass the Navy in one fell swoop!"
She turned her gaze to Whitebeard.
"Whitebeard, if you were a triple-fruit user, you probably wouldn't be weaker than their Seraphim Overlord, would you?"
Hearing this, Whitebeard nodded slightly.
"But..." Miss Bakkin's tone changed. "To develop the third Devil Fruit, we still lack many crucial materials. With our current resources, it's absolutely impossible to develop it."
"Ugh..." Just as Whitebeard was about to ask something, a pirate suddenly shouted in panic.
"Pops! Bad news! The Red Hair Pirates and the Revolutionary Army have joined forces and are heading this way!"
"What?!" Whitebeard's heart jolted.
He had just picked up his massive blade when a familiar red-haired figure approached with a smile.
"Whitebeard, don't worry. I'm not here to fight," Shanks said with a grin, waving his hand.
Hearing this, Whitebeard felt slightly relieved.
Currently, his crew was either short on numbers or severely injured.
Fighting the Red Hair Pirates alone would be incredibly difficult, let alone with the Revolutionary Army as well.
He put down his weapon.
He knew Shanks well enough; if he said he wasn't here to fight, he must have another purpose.
"Red-Hair, Dragon... it's strange to see you two together. Tell me, why have you come to see me?"
Shanks grinned and replied, "Whitebeard, we came to seek your cooperation."
"Cooperation?" Whitebeard frowned. "On what?"
"To be honest, under the increasing pressure from the Navy, our Red Hair Pirates have already allied with the Revolutionary Army," Shanks explained.
"But after the Summit War, the Navy's strength has clearly grown even stronger. We must seek cooperation with other external forces."
"In exchange for your second Devil Fruit technology," he continued, "we can offer you the materials for Seraphim development, my own lineage factor and our Seraphim development technology. What do you think?"
Hearing this, Whitebeard sneered and shook his head.
"I don't know what to make of this, Red-Hair. As you can see, if I wanted Seraphim, I could easily ally with Big Mom and Kaido, who have stronger technology. Why should I choose you? Moreover, while the Seraphim are powerful, the Navy has an entire army of them. My pirates crew, on the other hand, have many dual-fruit users. Even without an Overlord, I could still hold the upper hand. Trading your tech for mine... isn't that a bit naive?"
"You can't say that, Whitebeard," Shanks grinned. "I know you think my crew lacks scientists, but that doesn't mean my alliance lacks them."
With that, Shanks turned to Dragon.
A confident smile appeared on the revolutionary leader's face as he said, "Whitebeard, within the Revolutionary Army, we have someone who was once hailed as the world's greatest scientist... Come out, Vegapunk!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the entire Whitebeard crew was shocked.
'Vegapunk?! He's with the Revolutionary Army? How could that be?'
Just then, the figure of an old man appeared in the distance.
"Whitebeard, it's been a long time," the old man said with a smile, an apple stem sticking out of his head.
"It really is you..." Whitebeard's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart trembled.
He had seen Vegapunk many years ago, back when the scientist was the leader of his own independent research team.
"Vegapunk... I remember you used to have a huge head."
"Yes, I found it too troublesome, so I cut it off," Vegapunk replied with a laugh.
Whitebeard hesitated for a few seconds. "Weren't you with the Navy? Why did you join the Revolutionary Army?"
"That was just on the surface. Only the Navy could provide me with sufficient research funding, but in reality, Dragon and I have known each other for a long time. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is what I've brought with me." Vegapunk laughed and turned to point at a figure behind him.
This figure looked exactly like the Navy's ultimate weapon.
"The... Imperial Angel?!" Whitebeard and the others were stunned, their faces filled with shock.
"Yes," Vegapunk said. "This is my replica of the Navy's Yonko tier Seraphim. And let me show you its strength—it has perfectly achieved 100% of the original's strength."
"One hundred percent?!" Miss Bakkin trembled violently.
This meant that this replica was in no way inferior to the real one.
'As expected of Vegapunk', she thought, marveling inwardly.
'Although his name is now overshadowed by Leon, his technological level still far surpasses that of anyone else in the world.'
"Seraphim, show them your power!"
Following Vegapunk's command, the Seraphim immediately sprang into action, unleashing a display of its various abilities.
Whitebeard and all his subordinates watched intently.
Soon, Whitebeard felt reassured.
Just as Vegapunk had claimed, this replica's power and destructive force were in no way inferior to the Navy's genuine model.
"Truly astonishing!" Whitebeard's face showed his amazement.
Marco and the others were utterly shocked.
If they had possessed such a weapon during the war, perhaps they couldn't have countered the Overlord, but it could have easily held off the three Admirals.
The Seraphim's potential role was enormous.
"As expected of Vegapunk," Miss Bakkin sighed in admiration. "To perfectly replicate the Seraphim—I suppose even I couldn't achieve that."
But then, her face showed a hint of doubt.
"With your talent surely recreating the second Devil Fruit is only a matter of time. So why seek our cooperation?"
Her words made Whitebeard and the others nod in agreement.
It made no sense.
Everyone knew Vegapunk had numerous achievements related to Devil Fruits, from creating artificial ones to enabling objects to consume them.
If he could develop this technology himself, why collaborate with others?
For a moment, all eyes turned to Vegapunk.
Hearing this, Vegapunk sighed deeply with a bitter smile on his face.
"Do you think creating this one Seraphim is enough for me? No. My goal is to develop my own Seraphim Overlord. I refuse to believe that I can't replicate what Leon invented. I don't want to waste my effort on the second Devil Fruit—it's truly not a difficult task for me. Instead, I choose cooperation. Through our collaboration, the Revolutionary Army and the Red Hair alliance can quickly grow stronger, allowing me to focus my full attention on the Overlord. After all....." he added grimly,
"I don't have much time."
"I see ....." Whitebeard said while thinking about something.
Vegapunk didn't know what Whitebeard was thinking, nor did he care.
In truth, it wasn't just for the Revolutionary Army—it was for himself.
The World Government had tolerated him only because he still held great value.
But now, with Leon possessing greater and more advanced technology, his own death might be imminent.
He needed to arm himself as much as possible to survive what was to come.
"Alright! In that case, let's cooperate happily!" Whitebeard laughed heartily.
He then introduced his own scientists.
"This is Miss Bakkin, who is developing the second Devil Fruit, and her assistant, Franky."
Miss Bakkin and Franky quickly bowed respectfully to him.
"Let's exchange more ideas in the future," Vegapunk said, showing no arrogance, but instead appearing amiable and approachable.
"Of course," Miss Bakkin smiled. "Vegapunk, I may come to seek your advice to develop the third Devil Fruit as soon as possible."
"The third Devil Fruit?!" Shanks and Dragon were astonished, their faces immediately lighting up.
"Could it be a product that makes a user capable of wielding a third Devil Fruit ability?!"
Miss Bakkin nodded. "Yes. I wasn't very confident initially, but with Dr. Vegapunk's wisdom, we might succeed soon."
"Three fruits, can you hear that, Gurararara!" Whitebeard also laughed.
Vegapunk smiled as well. "Excellent! I'll also speed up my development of the Seraphim Overlord."
Miss Bakkin nodded but then seemed to remember something.
"Dr. Vegapunk, I have a bold idea. Can a Seraphim be combined with the third Devil Fruit? Even further, once your Overlord model is developed, how terrifying would its power be if it could wield three Devil Fruit abilities?"
Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.
Vegapunk had possessed the technology to allow objects to consume Devil Fruits for years.
A Seraphim was, after all, a humanoid weapon—an object.
Even Vegapunk was filled with excitement.
He had never considered this before.
The Seraphim he had just recreated couldn't possess multiple fruit abilities like Leon's genuine models.
But if this technology could be added... it would be like giving a tiger wings.
"Hahaha, absolutely! I was right to come here this time!" Vegapunk threw his head back and laughed.
Seeing his reaction, Whitebeard, Shanks, Dragon, and the others showed delighted expressions, their eyes burning with fervor.
A Seraphim with three Devil Fruit abilities... that could potentially surpass even Leon's originals.
Thinking of this, everyone grew excited, their hearts filled with a newfound hope for the future.
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