After speaking, he quickly strode toward the elevator, with the massive bear that had eaten the Munch-Munch Fruit following behind.
Karol followed the hurried Vegapunk.
They stepped into the elevator, which ascended two floors before stopping.
After verification, they entered the laboratory.
Inside were rows of tanks filled with nutrient fluid.
Within them floated lumps of flesh—and many corpses.
The flesh came from rare races' cells or biological extracts.
As for the corpses...
Many faces were disturbingly familiar...
Weevil, Mihawk, Boa Hancock...
All of them had already undergone complete mechanical transformation—turned into cyborgs.
Although Boa Hancock's reconstruction had been completed, and theoretically she could lift the petrification on those soldiers from the G-8 Branch, the time wasn't right yet...
Because there was no way to explain it.
As for Weevil—the so-called "Whitebeard Jr."—he had been completely dead by the time he arrived, so no abilities could be preserved.
However, his immensely powerful body, after being modified, had become astonishingly durable—a formidable force in itself.
...
Here, Vegapunk led Karol to the body of the "Marine Hunter" Dracule Mihawk.
After the fierce battle with Bullet, Mihawk's left arm had been severed, and all his ribs shattered—fortunately, his head remained intact.
Through Vegapunk's reconstruction, using the Munch-Munch Fruit's synthesized memory metal, he reforged Mihawk's skeletal structure and transplanted it into the corpse.
Now half his body was made of metal bones. Combined with the original brain and memory, Mihawk had been reborn as a high-intelligence swordmaster cyborg.
He possessed eighty percent of the original "Marine Hunter" Hawk Eyes Mihawk's combat power—and that strength could continue to increase.
As the artificial intelligence within him continuously analyzed, adapted, and learned, his power would gradually recover, perhaps even surpass the original one day.
Vegapunk swiftly operated the console.
The hatch of the nutrient capsule opened, and Mihawk's eyes flicked open. Expressionless, indistinguishable from a living man, he stepped out.
The giant bear that had eaten the Munch-Munch Fruit opened its mouth wide, like a massive gate.
Expressionless, Mihawk walked inside. Then Vegapunk signaled Karol to throw in the Clear-Clear Fruit as well...
Karol's lips twitched slightly—he already had an idea what was coming.
He tossed the fruit in.
Moments later, mechanical noises erupted from within the bear, followed by bursts of steam jetting from its ears.
Ding—
A crisp sound rang out, and the mechanical noise ceased.
The bear's mouth opened wide like a door—but inside, there was nothing.
Pa!
Karol's shoulder was suddenly tapped.
Every hair on his body stood on end, but then Mihawk's expressionless figure slowly appeared before him, one hand resting on Karol's shoulder.
Karol let out a long breath.
"That's terrifying, Doctor."
Vegapunk smiled.
"What do you think?"
"The corpse of a top swordsman—reborn as a pacifist."
"Now fused with the Clear-Clear Fruit's power."
"He could assassinate ninety percent of the strong men across the seas."
"Of course, it's not without flaws."
"The cyborg body moves a bit stiffly, and the Clear-Clear Fruit can't conceal footprints or minor traces. Moreover, true powerhouses have a sixth sense for danger."
"So for the real top-tier experts, he poses limited threat."
He wasn't exaggerating.
Though Mihawk hadn't reached his absolute peak before being killed by Bullet, even so, he was a being most people on the sea couldn't withstand.
Even among the Four Emperors' elite officers, many wouldn't stand a chance against him.
Karol nodded admiringly.
"That's already incredibly strong."
"True powerhouses are beyond what cyborgs can handle anyway."
"There will always be masters to deal with them."
"But if these cyborgs can be mass-produced, it would greatly reduce the casualties among mid- and lower-ranking soldiers."
Vegapunk chuckled, though a trace of concern crossed his face.
"I think so too. If mass production and cloning succeed, the pressure on the Marines would ease greatly. But... time isn't on our side. The cultivation period is too long."
The cloning technology he'd acquired from Judge required five years to produce an elite soldier.
After his own optimization, it could be shortened to about three or four years.
But those were just ordinary soldiers.
For beings of this level, the resources consumed were enormous, and the cloning time multiplied exponentially.
So one of his primary current research focuses was overcoming the growth-time limitation.
According to Sakazuki's plan, there were only a few years left before the final war. They had to develop a type of Seraph capable of reaching full maturity within two to three years.
Even after splitting himself into six clones, Vegapunk still felt pressed for time...
Karol sighed softly.
"It's already enough..."
He and Admiral Sakazuki had already simulated possible outcomes. When that day came...
Unless they could manufacture these things by the thousands or tens of thousands, they wouldn't make much difference.
The decisive factor would still be large-scale army warfare—men throwing their lives into the fray.
...
New World — Steam Pirates.
On the throne, Knock frowned as he read the report in his hand.
"Total annihilation?"
Beside him, the Steam Pirates' Chief Administrator, Bin Black, said,
"That's right. Confirmed. Not a single survivor."
"From the time we lost contact with the fleet to when our scouts arrived—barely half a day."
"Not a trace left behind."
"Only the Marines possess that level of capability."
"And not just that—the arms factories throughout the first half of the Grand Line have almost all been wiped out."
"All of them..."
Knock narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Sakazuki, huh..."
Bin Black nodded.
"Exactly. The Revolutionary Army's business line is temporarily cut off."
Knock picked up a newspaper—it carried the headline from a few days ago about the Marine schism.
"Then so be it."
"Tell our people to prepare for war at full strength."
"I've already learned a bit about the conflict within the Marines."
"Sakazuki's about to become Fleet Admiral—and with his temperament, he won't be as soft as Sengoku."
"This is a signal."
"The war between the Marines and pirates is about to begin."
Bin Black froze for a moment, then nodded and went off to give orders.
He knew his boss had certain dealings with high-ranking officials in the government—so the internal rift within the Marines was likely something he'd known for a while.
In a way, it was almost poetic irony.
Because the very target of Sakazuki's collaboration with Kaido...
Was Knock himself.
...
World Economic News Headquarters.
One of the kings of the underworld—the information emperor who controlled the world's newspapers—Morgans' domain.
As a news bird carrying surveillance footage returned to collect the next paper,
Morgans, who monitored the birds, sensed something unusual—but he remained perfectly calm...
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total