"Honestly, I don't know if it's just me," Stella watched the Seraphim rolling on the ground without annoyance, instead smiling gently, "but don't these little ones look more and more like Michael?"
"You know... you might be right." Crocodile examined the Seraphim cloned from her Lineage Factor and noticed that while the face mostly retained her features, there was now a faint resemblance to Michael in the eyes and brows.
"Is Michael's Lineage Factor really that extraordinary?"
"Wait, 'little ones'?" Jack's attention was caught elsewhere.
"You're calling these Seraphim with adult-height bodies 'little ones'? They just have childish personalities!"
Jack's complaints didn't interrupt Crocodile and Stella's discussion.
Instead, Vegapunk became intrigued by their observations.
"Oh? That's quite accurate. Their facial features are indeed developing some of Michael's contours after the hair color change... tsk tsk, Michael's Lineage Factor is truly remarkable." Vegapunk extended his long tongue as usual while observing the tantrum-throwing Seraphim.
"In a way, these Seraphim are now the children of Michael and the others."
"Dr. Vegapunk." Michael smiled sweetly at the scientist, though his eyes burned with murderous intent.
"Didn't I tell you not to create these ethically questionable situations?"
"It wasn't intentional..." Vegapunk chuckled teasingly, pointing at the Seraphim.
"Listen - they're calling you Mommy."
Michael slapped his own forehead.
Good heavens!
What kind of mess had he gotten himself into? If he had known the situation he'd face on Egghead Island today, he would never have come!
"Hey… you idle lot, can you save the chit-chat for later?"
Lilith, who had been tending to the Seraphim, suddenly looked up and shouted.
"The Seraphim… they're undergoing new changes!"
No sooner had Lilith spoken than wisps of pure white Holy Light and Holy Flame began to rise from the bodies of the Seraphim.
Flickering in rhythm with their wailing cries, the sight was downright eerie.
Watching this, Michael's lips twitched.
Wait a minute? Wasn't it only Paramecia-type abilities that could be extracted through Green Blood?
His was a Mythical Zoan-type—Human-Human Fruit: Seraphim model, wasn't it?
How had these Seraphim acquired his Holy Flame and Holy Light abilities?
"Michael, if I'm not mistaken, that Holy Light and Holy Flame on them… is your Devil Fruit ability, correct?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Michael nodded. "Congratulations, Dr. Vegapunk. You've just gained another research direction—replicating Mythical Zoan abilities."
"No, I'd say this is more of a burden," Vegapunk replied with a bitter smile. "Because no matter how you look at it, this seems to be a unique phenomenon tied to you specifically… Rather than researching how to replicate Mythical Zoan abilities, I'd have to study what exactly Michael is as an existence."
"Well, that's your choice to make," Michael answered before turning to Lilith. "Since you created the Seraphim, there must be a way to control and command them, right?"
"There was originally. We developed something called the 'Authority Chip' and established a hierarchy of control," Lilith explained. "Currently, the highest authority belongs only to Vegapunk and us six satellites…"
"The way you're phrasing that, there's definitely a 'but' coming."
"But… after they were infused with your Lineage Factor, the Authority Chip completely overloaded," Lilith said, her brows furrowed with curiosity.
"And just now, I tried reinstalling the Authority Chip, but… unfortunately, I couldn't."
"Couldn't?" Michael frowned. "It's just reinstalling a plug-in. Shouldn't be hard."
"It is just reinstalling a plug-in—something anyone with hands could do. But the problem is, the slot where the plug-in was supposed to go… has completely vanished," Shaka interjected.
"If the original Seraphim were 90% clone and 10% mechanical tool… then the current Seraphim are 100% clones. In other words… complete humans."
Shaka's words made even Vegapunk's expression shift dramatically.
Complete humans?
Though Vegapunk had long since perfected human cloning technology—and the cloned Stussy was not only intelligent but surpassed most natural humans—Stussy was a 100% human clone.
But the Seraphim weren't designed as clones.
They were meant to be sentient, evolving humanoid weapons.
Combining the innate talents of clones with the destructive power of machines…
But now, they've become 100% complete humans?
"So you're saying... that 10% mechanical portion was altered and transformed into human tissue by Michael's Lineage Factor?!" Vegapunk gasped in shock.
"Michael, just what kind of creature are you?! This completely defies all my understanding!"
"Even if you ask me that... I can only say I'm truly human," Michael replied with a wry smile. "Who knows what's going on with my Lineage Factor."
"If I may say, aren't you all overcomplicating this?" Jack stood to the side with an unfazed expression.
"Though I barely understand most of what you're saying, what I do grasp is... when it comes to Michael-sama, anything is possible. No matter how absurd or unbelievable, nothing's off the table."
"That's right! Father is absolutely omniscient and omnipotent!" Yamato sprang up energetically, shouting with fervor.
"Are you doubting Father?"
"That's straight-up personality cult worship, Yamato!" Stella calmly retorted.
She then turned to Dr. Vegapunk.
"Since these children are now complete humans rather than the originally conceived Seraphim... we shouldn't command them using preset methods anymore."
"You mean..."
"What Stella means is—why not just raise them as humans? Is that so difficult?" Crocodile stepped forward and picked up the Seraphim bearing her Lineage Factor.
Miraculously, the moment Crocodile made contact, she instantly calmed down, her eyes—identical to Crocodile's—fixated intently on the Marine Vice Admiral before her.
"Tell me, should I write Cobra a letter informing him that I technically have descendants now?"