Aeridar never underestimated science. While cultivation could strengthen a being and even evolve them into a higher life form—granting long life, immense power, and a perfect physique, like that of a god or an immortal—science could also achieve this, as the essence of both was evolution.
However, Aeridar knew that in the world of One Piece, training could make a person stronger, but it had its limits and couldn't truly evolve a person. Science, on the other hand, could. This was why Aeridar was so determined to heavily invest in biology and genetics—to achieve the evolution of life itself.
"It was an experiment on the human brain. I think it started about twelve years ago with a sleepwalking Marine Academy trainee." Doflamingo frowned as he spoke slowly. "I don't know the exact reason, but the trainee had been sleepwalking since he was a child. Although others found it odd, they didn't try to stop him, because he didn't do it often. He would just wander around outside and then come back to sleep. And since he was a good trainee, not even his parents, neighbors, or dormmates, and especially not his Marine Academy instructors, paid much attention to it."
"Until one night, he was sleepwalking and was discovered by three new trainees who had trouble sleeping. Fufufufu! Humans are just so full of curiosity and malicious intent."
As he spoke, a sneer appeared on Doflamingo's face. "Those three were bored and decided to mess with him. As a result, the trainee showed a cruel personality and immense power that was completely unlike his usual self. He killed two of them on the spot and crippled the third. Fuffuffuffu! The crippled one had all his limbs broken and his internal organs severely damaged. He died six months later."
"They had it coming," Aeridar muttered, his eyes glinting with excitement. "And then the Marines and the World Government discovered his strange condition and decided to study him, right?"
"Something like that. But first, the Marines sent him to the academy hospital and brought in a psychologist and hypnotherapist to treat him. That doctor was an amateur and thought it was just a regular case of a double personality." Doflamingo said with schadenfreude, "But the result of the treatment was that half the hospital was massacred, and two or three hundred people died."
"The situation got out of hand and attracted the attention of the World Government. A gifted trainee with a Doriki of nearly 300 displayed a power exceeding 600 Doriki under his second personality. Hmph! Of course, those guys wanted to know the secret behind it." Doflamingo said flatly, "And then, a few of the World Government's insane scientists who specialized in the human body and brain became very interested. They used the World Government's channels to get the Marine trainee and started their research."
Doflamingo was well aware of how crazy those hidden scientists in the World Government were. Human experiments and regional contamination experiments were commonplace for them. The world's continued existence of slavery wasn't just to please the Celestial Dragons, but also to provide subjects for those scientists' experiments.
"It seems that Elsa Katrina was a product of their experiments. No wonder she was like that. It's likely the Celestial Dragons were involved, which is why she would go berserk when she heard words like 'god'," Aeridar said, nodding in understanding.
"Science? Technology? Fufufufufu! What a crazy thing. Utterly inhuman. It's nothing short of that," Doflamingo said, his eyes narrowing slightly, a hint of apprehension on his face. He knew the depths of the World Government's darkness. Even the cruel and ruthless Doflamingo, who enjoyed seeing blood, felt a chill in his heart after seeing the mad experiments of the World Government's scientists. He had no desire to deal with those lunatics again.
Aeridar's eyes narrowed as he asked, "Are the experiments still going on?" He had to admit, this was the first time he had seen Doflamingo show such apprehension toward anyone.
"What, are you interested?" Doflamingo countered. Without waiting for Aeridar's answer, he continued, "However, that experiment went haywire five years ago. The main scientists and researchers involved all died, and half the lab was massacred. I heard the World Government still hasn't found the culprit."
Then, Doflamingo shrugged. "Elsa Katrina? Hmm, Katrina... I do remember a key test subject named Katrina. That must be her."
"Five years ago... four years ago... the timeline lines up," Aeridar mumbled. "So the experiment was stopped?"
"They were spending four or five hundred million Berries a year, they lost a lot of excellent researchers, and they got nothing out of it. Do you think they would continue the experiment?" Doflamingo's face held a touch of mockery, not for Aeridar, but for the World Government.
"I see..." Aeridar rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
"You're interested?" Doflamingo asked curiously.
"It's fascinating," Aeridar said, nodding. "Doffy, can you get me the research data? The original files would be best, but a copy will do if you can't."
"That would be... a little tricky," Doflamingo said, frowning slightly. He seemed hesitant. Even though the World Government had abandoned the experiment and sealed the research data, it was still a major project that had consumed a lot of resources. The research data was top secret and not something the average person could access. It was possible that once the technology matured, they would restart the experiment, and with the previous data as a reference, they could save a lot of money and materials and avoid many detours. Getting such important research data from inside the World Government would be a major hassle, even for Doflamingo.
"It's just tricky, that's all," Aeridar said with a smirk. "Five hundred million Berries! And I'll double whatever money you have to spend on this."
"Fufufufufu! You're a high-roller, all right! Add in a hundred doses of the SS drug," Doflamingo's eyes lit up, and he let out a strange laugh.
"Deal," Aeridar agreed immediately. For Aeridar, money was no object. As for the SS drug, he had already expanded his production lines and could easily afford it.
"Fufufufufu! It's always a pleasure doing business with you!" Doflamingo said with a wide grin.
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