The next day.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The door in the hallway was being knocked on so loudly it was shaking the walls. Inside the room, Rorschach sat up with a dark expression on his face, two heavy dark circles under his eyes, looking like a Iron-Eater from a Gantz manga.
"Who is it? It's so early. Can't a guy get some sleep?"
Heaven help him, he had only arrived in Marineford at four in the morning, chatted with Sengoku and the others until past five, and then went to sleep. Now, it wasn't even six-thirty, and someone was already knocking.
He had finally come back, and some evil person wouldn't even let him sleep in.
With his two dark circles, Rorschach's face was sullen as he yanked the door open.
Then, he froze.
Outside the door stood a large, bowl-cut-haired man in a red stomach band, his body wider than the door itself. He was holding a giant, double-bladed axe the size of a door and stood there with a silly expression, his large belly jiggling.
This chubby man's height was similar to Rorschach's, close to 2.8 meters, but his width was almost twice that of Rorschach's.
"You're... Sentomaru?"
"Yes, I am Sentomaru, captain of the Marine Science Unit and the man with the tightest lips in the world. Rear Admiral Rorschach, the old man told me to come and get you. We're going to see Dr. Vegapunk."
Barefoot and wearing a large, justice cape, Sentomaru answered Rorschach's question in a booming voice that made Rorschach's ears ring.
As soon as Rorschach heard that he was going to see Vegapunk, his displeasure immediately vanished. He smiled in surprise and walked out of the room enthusiastically, reaching out his hand to slap Sentomaru's broad shoulder in a familiar way.
"It really is you, Sentomaru. You know, I've been at headquarters for a year, and this is the first time I've met you. It's a pleasure. Come on, let's talk as we walk."
Sentomaru, with his big round face, nodded. "It's true that I rarely come to Marine Headquarters. I've been on Egghead Island in the New World all these years, protecting Dr. Vegapunk and conducting top-secret Marine research."
The moment Rorschach heard the words "top-secret research," his ears perked up.
As they walked toward the inner naval port, Rorschach looked at Sentomaru beside him and asked, "Sentomaru, can I ask what kind of top-secret research Dr. Vegapunk's team is working on? Don't get me wrong, I'm just curious. I have no intention of prying into military secrets."
"Don't waste your breath, Rear Admiral Rorschach. I won't reveal a single word about the Marine's secret research projects because I, Sentomaru, have the tightest lips in the world!"
Sentomaru kept his eyes forward, walking with large strides, shoulder-to-shoulder with Rorschach, past the crowd of Marines in the plaza.
Because of their tall stature and prominent presence, the surrounding Marine soldiers all looked at them.
Some of the Marines and officers recognized Rorschach, and their faces were filled with envy and admiration.
Rorschach was a little discouraged by Sentomaru's response, but then Sentomaru continued, "Dr. Vegapunk is currently researching how to mass-produce clone soldiers of Kuma and is performing mechanical modifications on the cloned bodies of Kuma, combining them with the old man's laser ability to create a powerful weapon of war for justice. We call it the Pacifista."
As soon as Sentomaru finished speaking, his expression froze, and he stopped walking.
He opened his mouth, lowered his voice, and looked at Rorschach seriously. "I said that on purpose. I won't say a single word about the details of the Pacifista project. Rear Admiral Rorschach, give up. Because I am the world's tightest..."
"I know, I know. Sentomaru, you're the man with the tightest lips in the world."
Rorschach cooperatively gave him a thumbs-up and continued to ask, "Did Kuma accept Dr. Vegapunk's body modification so early? How did you convince him to undergo the modification? Also, can the laser-reflecting weapon be taken out and made into a handheld firearm? Like a flintlock pistol. If it can be made into a firearm, and every Marine soldier gets one, then I don't think we need Kuma's body. Mr. Vegapunk could just mass-produce hundreds of thousands of laser guns, and we could just roll through the New World and capture the Four Emperors. "
Sentomaru's lips trembled a few times. "It's impossible. The device that can fire a laser beam needs a large energy source. Even if it could be made into a firearm, its power would be limited, or it could only fire one shot..."
As he spoke, Sentomaru's forehead began to sweat.
"Even if it can only fire one shot, it's still good. It could be a powerful individual weapon, like a rocket launcher. By the way, are there any other secret research projects? Like lineage factors, artificial Devil Fruits, scientific battle suits, more advanced warship engines, artificial Ancient Weapons, or giving Devil Fruits to non-living objects?"
A few minutes later, when Sentomaru and Rorschach boarded the warship, Kizaru, who had been waiting on the deck for a long time, saw a sweating Sentomaru with bloodshot eyes biting his red stomach band without a word. He fled from Rorschach as if his life depended on it and ran into the depths of the warship's hull.
A question mark slowly formed above Kizaru's head, and he looked at Rorschach in surprise.
"What's wrong with Sentomaru?"
Rorschach shrugged with a smile. "I don't know. Maybe he has a stomachache and is in a hurry to go to the bathroom."
"Is that so? He must not be wearing enough clothes. It's almost winter, and I'm thinking of wearing long johns."
Rorschach couldn't help but roll his eyes at Kizaru's words.
Are you serious?
Then, the Marines on the warship quickly lowered the sails and started the engine, heading out of the inner port. Rorschach looked at Kizaru with a hint of curiosity. "Uncle Borsalino, are we going to Egghead Island?"
Egghead Island was in the New World. It was an island that the World Government had prepared specifically for Vegapunk's Marine Science Unit, and a large number of elite Marines were stationed there year-round. Sentomaru was the captain of this science unit.
However, Kizaru slowly shook his head. "No. Vegapunk also has a small scientific research base here in Marineford, which makes it easy for him to perform body modifications on Marines who have lost their limbs."
"Cybernetic modifications and mechanical ascension? That's amazing. But I don't recall seeing any soldiers with modified bodies in Marineford."
As soon as Rorschach said this, he saw Kizaru squinting and uttering a name.
"Teacher Zephyr."
"Ah... that's right. That mechanical arm of Teacher Zephyr's seems to be a part of him. I didn't even think about him being a cyborg until you brought it up."
Rorschach and Kizaru continued to chat casually at the bow of the warship, with Rorschach keeping an eye on the ship's course.
He noticed that the warship was not leaving Marineford as he had expected. After leaving the inner port, it sailed around the island for a few hundred meters and then stopped, hugging the towering concrete wall of the island.
Then, Kizaru pulled out a small Den Den Mushi and made a call.
The next moment, to Rorschach's surprise, a low rumbling sound came from the concrete wall on the warship's left. The seemingly seamless wall developed a crack in the midst of the roaring sound.
The crack gradually widened, eventually forming a wide passage large enough for a twelve-meter-tall giant to pass through.
"I can't believe there's a secret base here."
Looking at the deep passage that had appeared, Rorschach suddenly remembered the thick, iron walls laced with Seastone that rose from the sea during the Summit War in the manga.
Is this secret base used to build those iron walls?
Rorschach's guess was not wrong.
A few minutes later, as he followed Kizaru and Sentomaru through the deep, hidden passage in the concrete wall and into the interior of Marineford, he saw that in the giant underground space beneath the island's surface, a large number of blacksmiths and workers were enthusiastically welding together massive, thick iron walls, dozens of meters long and wide.
Rather than the precise scientific instruments Rorschach had expected to see, this place looked more like a steel mill.
This made Rorschach's eager anticipation take a slight detour.
If he hadn't already known that Vegapunk looked like a withered old man who resembled Einstein, Rorschach would have imagined Vegapunk to be a brawny, muscle-bound blacksmith after seeing this scene.
After walking through a crowd of blacksmiths and workers who gave off a strong hormonal scent for seven or eight minutes and opening a heavy iron door, the steel mill-like scene finally disappeared. Rorschach finally saw the Vegapunk he had been so eager to meet.
Or, to be more precise, one-sixth of Vegapunk.
The short-haired woman in front of him, Lilith, was wearing a tight leather vest that showed off her voluptuous and visually striking figure. She was an artificial human created from one-sixth of Vegapunk's knowledge base and represented the evil side of his personality.
Lilith blinked her beautiful, large eyes, came up to Rorschach, and looked him up and down very carefully.
"So you're Rorschach, the rising star in the Marines? Hmm, I can feel the powerful strength hidden in your body. The unimaginably tough skin, the blood vessels with an astonishing flow rate, the strong muscles, and the bones. Hmm? Your bones seem unusual. Come on, I must examine your body properly."
Lilith's eyes sparkled as if she had discovered a rare treasure. A drunken blush even appeared on her face. She couldn't help but reach out with her nimble fingers to touch Rorschach's body, making Rorschach feel uneasy. He couldn't help but take two steps back and hide behind Kizaru.
Looking at the yandere-like Lilith, Rorschach's scalp tingled.
Is this really Vegapunk?
This old guy is a real pervert. This is so bizarre.
"Don't hide! Come here! I'm already eager to dissect you."
Seeing Rorschach hide, Lilith quickly took a few steps to chase him. The abundant fruits hanging on her overly curvy body jiggled intensely, which was very eye-catching.
But the thought that this beautiful, curvaceous woman was an old man was too much for Rorschach to handle.
Seeing Lilith's demonic claws reaching for him again, Rorschach quickly tugged on Kizaru's clothes. "Uncle Borsalino, stop her! I don't want to be dissected!"
Kizaru, seeing the two of them running circles around him, felt a headache coming on.
"Dr. Vegapunk, you can't dissect him. Please calm down."
"Hmph! I told you I'm Lilith, not that old fool Vegapunk. If you're not here for me to do research on, then what are you doing here? Go back to where you came from and don't interrupt my work."
Lilith was blocked by Kizaru and snorted unhappily. She turned, her plump hips swaying, and walked straight to her workbench to continue her work.
Rorschach rolled his eyes and looked at Sentomaru, spreading his hands. "What should I do? She doesn't want to talk to me, Sentomaru."
"Lilith is the evil side of Dr. Vegapunk's personality. That's just how she is. She's reckless, likes to conduct crazy scientific experiments, ignores basic moral constraints, and is very direct. You just need to tell her what you want," Sentomaru said.
"Really?"
Rorschach was skeptical.
Thinking about the plan to upgrade the Kirin and his questions about his Kirin fruit, Rorschach gritted his teeth and walked up to the busy Lilith with a stiff smile. He took out the golden stone slab he was holding.
"Dr. Lilith, I want to ask if you can help me install this ancient warship's electrical propulsion system on my warship."
"An ancient warship's electrical propulsion system?"
Lilith's hands stopped, and she turned around abruptly, looking curiously at the golden stone slab Rorschach was holding.
The golden stone slab was, of course, the blueprint for the Ark Maxim.
Lilith's eyes lit up as soon as she gave a quick glance at the drawings etched into the slab.
"This... could this be the blueprint for Pluton?"
As soon as the words "Pluton the Ancient Weapon" were spoken, the entire laboratory fell silent.
Kizaru pulled down the sunglasses on his nose and looked at Rorschach in surprise.
Sentomaru's mouth was agape. "Pluton... the Ancient Weapon blueprint?"
Seeing even Kizaru inch closer, Rorschach was stunned. "No, how could this be the blueprint for Pluton? You must be mistaken."
"No. Even if this isn't the real Pluton blueprint, it's definitely related to the Ancient Weapon. No one understands Ancient Weapons better than I do. So, where did you get this valuable blueprint?"
Lilith's eyes were fixed on Rorschach.
(End of Chapter)
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