Inside the research layer, Vegapunk's six clones lay scattered and incomplete on the ground, except for York, the "Greed" clone.
Beside them lay the wreckage of a giant robot.
This was Vegapunk's first Vegapunk, modeled after ancient giant robots, which he called "Humanity's Dream"!
Giant robots were a man's romance, but unfortunately, it had been violently destroyed into fragmented wreckage.
The cause of all this was naturally the "monster" before Drake.
The Five Elders, the pinnacle of power in the pirate world, their specific titles were all "Warrior God," indicating they were not merely pampered old men but top-tier powerhouses at the apex of the pyramid.
Each of these five old men was an awakened Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user. Unlike ordinary Mythical Zoans, their Devil Fruit abilities were derived from legendary demons and monsters.
Take Saturn, for example. He had transformed into a yokai found only in legends.
His lower body was that of a spider, with eight legs covered in ferocious black markings, while his upper body was human.
However, his head was that of an ox, with a hint of Saturn's features. Two sharp ox horns topped his head, and black flame-like ribbons coiled around his shoulders, making him truly resemble a demon from hell.
According to Vegapunk's theory, Devil Fruits were born from humanity's imagination of possibilities.
Generally, imagination has a root. The most prominent example is mythical beasts; most mythical beasts were created based on real animals.
Therefore, Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits are subspecies of animal-type fruits. Consequently, all Mythical Zoan fruits that have appeared so far are named "XX Fruit, Mythical Zoan, XX Form."
But the Five Elders' abilities were different; they were creatures born from humanity's most primal emotion—fear. Although they possessed animal characteristics, they were entirely distinct from other Mythical Zoans.
They were more extreme and distorted powers.
Saturn's ability was the Ox-Ghost, a yokai from the legend of the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons). A monster said to live in the sea, with the body of a spider or crab and the head of an ox.
The legendary Ox-Ghost was skilled in controlling poison and possessed the eerie ability of a malevolent gaze. Therefore, it was considered the closest yokai to a deity, revered by humans.
Devil Fruits were mere toys for the Celestial Dragons, and the fact that the Five Elders chose these five fruits for their abilities demonstrated their immense power.
Drake also felt the murky and vast power surging from the old man Saturn's body, like sludge.
Drake no longer concealed himself. He kicked away the debris blocking his path, causing Saturn, who was about to strike Vegapunk, to stop and turn his head.
"Yo, excuse me for interrupting! I have some business with Vegapunk, could you please step aside?"
Drake felt he had been quite polite, but he didn't expect the old geezer Saturn to be completely oblivious.
Saturn narrowed his eyes, and Drake suddenly felt a peculiar force fall upon him.
The Ox-Ghost was not revered for spitting venom that polluted the land and water, but for the legendary "Curse of the Ox-Ghost."
Legend had it that the Ox-Ghost would fix its malevolent gaze upon those it encountered. Those who were gazed upon would experience hallucinations of falling leaves, moving stones, bellows of oxen, and neighs of horses, and soon after, they would die suddenly with blood flowing from their seven orifices.
This was the ability of the Ox-Ghost's malevolent gaze.
Drake had previously researched Devil Fruits. Compared to magic, they leaned more towards sci-fi creations.
However, Saturn's malevolent gaze attack made Drake feel like he was experiencing a mental-type magic. It likely produced effects of illusion, intimidation, and mental shock, and its intensity was not low. It was no wonder it could directly blow the heads off Marine soldiers in the original story.
For people in the pirate world, such magical attacks could only be resisted by Haki formed from life energy. But for Drake, it was a direct hit.
A surge of magic power dispersed the energy falling upon him. Drake looked up and said, "Such important figures as the Five Elders resort to sneak attacks, do they!"
Saturn's malevolent gaze was indeed similar to mental magic. After being violently broken through by Drake, it affected his main body. His head tilted back slightly, and his gaze towards Drake was filled with coldness.
This was the first time Saturn had encountered a situation where his ability was violently broken and backfired on himself. This alone was enough to instill an unshakeable killing intent towards Drake.
Having resided at the apex of world power for so long, Saturn could not tolerate anything that posed a "threat" to him.
Simultaneously, he recognized Drake's identity and said, "So it's you, Drake, leader of the illegal organization Fairy Tail, the criminal who disrupted the Marines' plans by aiding Whitebeard."
Drake waved his hand and said, "You're mistaken. I am not the Guild Master of Fairy Tail. And 'criminal' is too harsh a word. I haven't done anything wrong."
Saturn said coldly, "Being an enemy of the World Government is the greatest evil!"
Such a radical statement didn't anger Drake. Instead, he smiled and snapped his fingers, saying, "Indeed, this line fits your character! This way, when I beat your face in later, it will be a bit more satisfying."
Saturn's ox-like face remained impassive, as if completely unfazed by Drake's provocation. Instead, he said, "You're here for Vegapunk too!"
Drake stretched his limbs and said, "Yes, Dr. Vegapunk is a genius. Something he created is very important to me, so could you please step aside?"
Before he finished speaking, Drake suddenly disappeared. The moment Saturn's staff descended, he moved closer, grabbed the prone Vegapunk, and retreated as if teleporting.
Fearing complications, Saturn had acted decisively. However, he hadn't expected Drake's reaction and speed to be even faster, snatching Vegapunk away.
Saturn pulled his hand out of the ground, his eyes fixed on Drake with even greater ferocity.
Drake stared back at Saturn, saying to Vegapunk, "We'll talk later. I need to deal with this first!"
With that, Drake waved his hand and threw Vegapunk back the way he had come. Azure Bird had already been summoned and directly caught Vegapunk, flying him out of the danger zone.
The reason Saturn had caused such a commotion, even deploying a Buster Call three times the normal scale, was to completely erase all traces of Vegapunk and Egghead.
According to York, Vegapunk's "Greed" clone, Vegapunk was researching the Poneglyphs, which were taboo to the World Government, and had already achieved significant results.
Precisely because of this, even though Vegapunk's talent and inventions were immensely important to the World Government, they had decided to eliminate him.
And now, the core of the problem, Vegapunk himself, had been taken away!
Saturn suppressed his anger, knowing that anger was useless at this moment. What needed to be done now was to kill the brat before him and capture Vegapunk for execution.
Drake also sensed Saturn's calmed emotions and couldn't help but sigh, thinking that he truly lived up to his age, at least in terms of his combat composure.
However, this was also good. Only such a strong opponent would be worthy of his attention!
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