The New World.
A Marine warship was sailing across the sea.
Reddy lay on a beach chair, his hands behind his head, enjoying a leisurely moment. He was in a very good mood.
Nearby, Borsalino was also lazily reclining on a beach chair, basking in the sunlight.
"That wasn't a man-made Devil Fruit. It was a failure."
Reddy picked up a glass of iced juice from the small table beside him and casually dismissed the idea that he had created an artificial Devil Fruit.
In his view, it truly was a failure.
The test subjects injected with the genetic serum did undergo mutations, their bodies becoming animalized. Superficially, this resembled the human-beast hybrid form of Zoan-type Devil Fruit users.
However, it couldn't be considered a man-made Devil Fruit. It was merely the insertion of animal gene fragments into human DNA.
After mutation, the test subjects experienced some enhancements in stamina, strength, and speed.
But the improvements granted by Zoan-type Devil Fruits to humans were undeniably significant.
Even an ordinary person who ate a Zoan-type Devil Fruit would at least reach the level of a Marine captain in terms of strength.
The degree of enhancement was nothing short of miraculous.
In contrast, the genetic serum Reddy had developed only improved human capabilities by about one-third at most, and the subjects couldn't control their transformations at will.
It was essentially a gimmick.
Borsalino, however, didn't share this view. "Aside from Vegapunk, your results are the closest to perfection."
Caesar's artificial Devil Fruits had severe side effects and a low success rate, which led to their rejection by the World Government.
But Reddy was different.
Reddy's genetic serum might not be perfect, but it had immense potential.
Once the inability to control transformations was overcome, it would undoubtedly be equivalent to a Zoan-type Devil Fruit.
The key was mass production.
Regarding Borsalino's optimistic outlook, Reddy simply smiled without comment.
The genetic serum had partially achieved his goals, but not entirely.
There were still significant hidden risks with this serum.
However, it was enough to convince the World Government to arrange a meeting between him and Vegapunk.
Reddy had no doubt that this matter wasn't solely driven by the World Government. The Marine Headquarters was likely involved as well.
Their goal was to expedite the mass production of perfect artificial Devil Fruits.
During the warship's journey to Egghead, Reddy listed the challenges he faced, preparing to present them to Vegapunk upon their meeting. He hoped the man with the world's greatest brain could provide feasible solutions.
A few days later, the warship arrived at Egghead.
Vegapunk had only been stationed at Egghead for about a year, but the island already bore the outline of a futuristic city.
Numerous sci-fi-inspired buildings stood tall.
What surprised Reddy even more was that Vegapunk personally came to the dock to welcome him.
Seeing that exaggeratedly large head, Reddy smirked.
Vegapunk, too, had been thoroughly fooled by his "achievements."
As the warship docked, Reddy, accompanied by Borsalino, stepped onto the pier. Vegapunk enthusiastically approached.
"Your insights into the Bloodline Factor field far surpass everyone else's, especially with that active agent."
Vegapunk was straightforward, immediately praising Reddy's ingenious application of Bloodline Factor technology in developing the active agent. He even called it a greater invention than artificial Devil Fruits.
Reddy smiled modestly.
Choosing the high-efficiency recovery serum as his entry point wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision but a deliberate strategy.
Vegapunk could be considered neutral and orderly, with a greater focus on civilian applications in his research.
For example, Egghead was originally a winter island.
Vegapunk designed and built a climate control system for the entire island, adjusting Egghead's temperature and transforming it from a winter island into one with a pleasant climate.
Additionally, Vegapunk's outstanding contributions to medicine were admirable.
The high-efficiency recovery serum had miraculous effects in treating external injuries, which undoubtedly earned points in Vegapunk's eyes.
This explained why Vegapunk personally came to the dock to welcome Reddy.
Using the high-efficiency recovery serum as his entry point, Reddy steered the conversation toward the topic of Bloodline Factors.
Vegapunk was deeply impressed and enthusiastically engaged in discussion as they walked, completely ignoring Borsalino's presence.
When the topic turned to Devil Fruits, Vegapunk proposed his hypothesis. "The essence of Devil Fruits lies in humanity's pursuit of evolutionary possibilities. This unnatural state incurs the sea's rejection, which is why Devil Fruit users cannot swim."
Reddy countered, "No, Devil Fruits should be a form of life with a certain degree of intelligence. These special lifeforms integrate into human Bloodline Factors upon entering the body, and under conscious guidance, they undergo some unknown mutation that produces miraculous effects."
"And this mutation is controllable."
"This further proves that Devil Fruits are, in fact, a special form of life."
Vegapunk didn't immediately refute this. Instead, he fell into deep thought before praising, "Your hypothesis is very interesting."
Reddy smiled mysteriously. "I have even more reasonable evidence."
Vegapunk was shocked.
He had assumed Reddy, like himself, had only proposed a hypothesis about the nature of Devil Fruits. He hadn't expected Reddy to have found reasonable evidence.
"Everything in the world emits radiation, and the sea is no exception."
The first sentence Reddy uttered sent Vegapunk into deep thought once again.
Reddy wasn't surprised by this.
In the original story, Vegapunk developed a bubble gun, a weapon that could create bubbles infused with the sea's wavelengths to suppress Devil Fruit users.
Did the sea emit radiation?
Of course it did.
Reddy believed the wavelengths emitted by the sea were a form of radiation.
This radiation could destabilize Devil Fruits, pushing their genetic chains to the brink of collapse.
With genetic chains on the verge of collapse, it would undoubtedly affect the user's body.
This explained why Devil Fruit users couldn't swim.
Delving deeper, the sea's wavelengths likely existed within a specific range.
Radiation frequencies within this range could disrupt the stability of Devil Fruits.
The closer the frequency was to its peak, the greater the impact on the user.
For example, when a Devil Fruit user fell into the sea, they would lose all strength and could only wait for death unless rescued.
In the original story, in Udon Prison, Luffy and Kid wore seastone handcuffs but still had the strength to compete.
However, for now, Reddy could only provide this most reasonable evidence, not the most definitive one.
"Your understanding of Bloodline Factors has surpassed mine."
Vegapunk didn't oppose Reddy's hypothesis. Instead, he was thrilled and immediately dragged Reddy into his laboratory.
Borsalino scratched his head, realizing he could no longer keep watch.
...
"Your hypothesis has given me new ideas."
As they walked, Vegapunk excitedly shared his new line of thinking.
It was essentially a supplement to the hypothesis about the nature of Devil Fruits.
Since Reddy had provided the most reasonable evidence, the only remaining task was to find the most definitive evidence.
Vegapunk hoped to collaborate with Reddy to prove that Devil Fruits were a special form of life.
The approach to verification was simple. If Devil Fruits were a special lifeform, they must exhibit characteristics unique to lifeforms.
Under Vegapunk's guidance, Reddy entered the Devil Fruit laboratory on the underground floor and froze in surprise.
He saw a man who shouldn't have been on Egghead.