Reddy returned to the laboratory in a good mood.
To be honest, he hadn't expected Perona to take the initiative to inform on the others.
Since she had reported the information and contributed, Reddy wouldn't disappoint her. After all, both Gecko Moria and Absalom were Devil Fruit users. As long as their seastone handcuffs remained intact, these two were basically harmless.
Handing them over to Perona as a favor was a very cost-effective move.
If needed, he could always extract more blood samples from them later.
As for Rob Lucci and the others, Reddy didn't give them too much trouble either. There was no point in doing so.
After collecting genetic samples from each of them, he only left Pyo behind as a guard and strengthened the security of the prison cells.
"I need more combat power."
Reddy recalled Borsalino's light clones, his heart burning with desire.
Borsalino had made him realize the gap between himself and the Navy's highest combat strength.
Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino!
Borsalino was even the most laid-back among these three.
If he had faced the other two last time, Reddy wasn't entirely confident he could have escaped unscathed. At the very least, he would have had to pay some price.
Thinking of this, Reddy immediately took stock of the resources he had on hand.
It had been a long time since he had created new clones—specifically, high-tier combatants.
First was the Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability.
Reddy had previously created a clone based on Gecko Moria, but its genetic rating hadn't met his standards, only reaching LV12.
This clone had merely been a tool for him to implant Ryuma's shadow into his own body.
Next was Absalom's Clear-Clear Fruit ability.
This ability wasn't described in great detail in the original story, but considering that Shiryu of the Rain was able to successfully ambush Garp after obtaining it, it seemed likely that the ability could evade detection by Observation Haki.
Reddy wasn't too concerned about that.
The Clear-Clear Fruit was clearly a highly practical ability, useful for infiltration, stealth, ambushes, and other operations. Its versatility was comparable to the Door-Door Fruit.
The third gain was Perona's Ghost-Ghost Fruit ability.
To be honest, he was extremely tempted by the powerful crowd-control effect of the Negative Hollows.
Additionally, the ability to create intangible spirits immune to physical damage also had high practical value.
Creating spirits while hiding his main body in the alternate dimension formed by the Door-Door Fruit was practically invincible.
Reddy made a special note of this ability as a potential candidate for his future Devil Fruit choices.
The fourth was Blueno's Door-Door Fruit ability.
This ability had provided Reddy with tremendous assistance so far.
In terms of infiltration, escape, ambushes, and more, this ability was undoubtedly the centerpiece.
Now that Blueno had been locked up in the underground prison of the research facility, becoming an infinite genetic donor, Reddy had some ideas.
The fifth, and one Reddy valued highly, was Rob Lucci, whose genetic rating had reached LV13.
This was the first high-tier genetic donor he had captured alive and imprisoned.
Although Lucci's performance in the original story might have been somewhat lackluster, the system's genetic rating was a solid Admiral-tier evaluation.
As for Kaku and Jabra, these two had Doriki values around 2,000, so their potential wasn't exactly low either, with genetic ratings between LV11 and LV12.
But Reddy's standards had risen. His targets were now monsters like Borsalino.
This genetic rating was somewhat disappointing, though they could still serve as strong guards for the two islands.
Beyond that, Kalifa had given Reddy a new line of thought.
During the battle with Borsalino, the maid clone with a genetic rating of only LV12 was the weakest among the five combatants, yet her performance was no worse than the other four clones.
Her female appearance was a major advantage.
The world of One Piece was one where strength ruled.
There were female powerhouses in this world, such as Big Mom, and then… well, that was about it.
Compared to male powerhouses like Whitebeard, Roger, Garp, and the Navy Admirals, women were clearly at a disadvantage and were often underestimated by their opponents.
Kalifa's appearance fit this perfectly.
In the original story, if she hadn't revealed her identity, who would have guessed that Iceburg's secretary was actually a formidable fighter?
After taking stock of all the useful materials he had, Reddy immediately began production.
There was no question that Rob Lucci's genes would serve as the base material.
The rest was just following procedure.
The Shadow-Shadow Fruit, as a high-potential ability, would definitely be used to create a new clone.
The same went for the Clear-Clear Fruit.
Reddy didn't like relying on others, so he wouldn't pass up the Ghost-Ghost Fruit either.
When it came to the Door-Door Fruit, Reddy hesitated.
"Should I make tools, or main combatants?"
Previously, Reddy had gotten a bit overconfident, thinking that five clones were enough for him to do whatever he wanted, so he hadn't focused on stockpiling energy.
Now the problem arose.
After continuous experimentation, his energy reserves had dwindled to about 15 million points.
If he went all out on high-spec clones, each one would require roughly 2 million points of energy, with the exoskeleton accounting for nearly half of that cost.
Three clones would consume at least 6 million points of energy.
The remaining 9 million points weren't exactly little, but they weren't exactly abundant either.
In Reddy's vision, with Blueno as an infinite genetic donor, he could create a special unit with Door-Door Fruit abilities.
On one hand, they could serve as main combatants. On the other, they could also be used to connect Punk Hazard and the satellite island.
Thinking of this, Reddy recalled Brulee, the Mirror-Mirror Fruit user.
This ability was, in his mind, the best choice for the future transportation hub of his ideal homeland.
"Overthinking is useless right now."
Reddy shook off the distracting thoughts and refocused on how to utilize the Door-Door Fruit.
He had already made up his mind.
The number of clones with a genetic rating of LV13, including the new one about to be completed, had reached seven.
Their individual strength probably couldn't match monsters like Borsalino, but they were a cut above the Navy's elite Vice Admirals.
Given that, there was no need to obsess over main combatants. Creating a batch of tools would also be a good choice.
The genetic rating for these tool clones was set at LV12, with the initial number fixed at five.
Clones of this level had decent combat power, and more importantly, their physiques had been specially reinforced by him, allowing them to sustain prolonged ability use without issue.
In critical moments, they could also serve as combatants.
LV12 clones consumed far less energy.
On average, each clone cost about 1 million points of energy—since they weren't equipped with exoskeletons, they were cheaper.
With the remaining 6 million points of energy, Reddy spent another 2 million to create a clone based on Kalifa, with a genetic rating of LV13.
This brought the number of LV13 clones up to eight.
"Your codename is Secretary."
"Your codename is Shadow."
"Your codename is Hidden."
"Your codename is Ghost."
Once the clones were completed, Reddy assigned each of them a codename.
As for the five Door-Door Fruit clones, they were placed under Mon's command. Reddy couldn't be bothered to come up with names for them.
"Your first mission… Long Ring Long Land is just ahead. Go and bring Foxy back."