Punk Hazard.
Reddy sat in the laboratory, his attention focused on the panel in front of him, occasionally taking a sip from a cup containing a slightly golden liquid.
The clone with the abilities of the Shibo Shibo no Mi had already been created.
And he had made five of them at once.
Since they were just tools, these clones specifically designed to produce energy drinks for him did not consume too much energy.
Apart from strengthening the gene fragments related to physical attributes, they were essentially copies of Smoothie.
Although these five new tools had also consumed almost all the energy he had accumulated, the investment was well worth it.
Just one milliliter of this energy drink could replenish approximately 200 points of energy.
Of course, this energy drink also had a major drawback.
The consumption of raw materials was enormous.
A Sea King with a body length of about 100 meters could only produce roughly one liter of energy drink, equivalent to 200,000 points of energy.
Reddy also discovered an interesting phenomenon.
The larger the raw material, the higher the quality of the energy drink produced.
If it was a massive Sea King over a kilometer long, the energy drink extracted would be about twice as effective as that from ordinary Sea Kings.
Unfortunately, the current Kuja hunting fleet rarely captured Sea Kings over a kilometer in length.
After all, the cost-performance ratio was not favorable.
For the elite female warriors of Amazon Lily, hunting Sea Kings several hundred meters long was relatively easy, but hunting massive Sea Kings carried the risk of casualties.
The Kuja warriors were not foolish when it came to choosing their prey.
Thus, Reddy had only obtained about 15 liters of high-grade energy drink so far, and he had already consumed it all.
"Golden legend truly lives up to its name."
Reddy took a sip of the energy drink and gazed at the double-helix genetic chain displayed on the interface, sighing softly.
The golden gene fragments on the genetic chain were very conspicuous and hard to ignore.
However, Reddy had tried various methods and spent over a million points of energy without successfully replicating these golden gene fragments onto ordinary genes.
This little thing was like a mischievous child playing hide-and-seek.
You knew it was there, but you just couldn't find it.
"What's still missing?"
Reddy rubbed his temples and stared at the golden gene fragments, lost in thought.
Although he had already accepted the fact that these golden gene fragments were related to Conqueror's Haki, as a scientist, he wanted to find more concrete evidence to confirm this hypothesis.
In the original work, Silvers Rayleigh had once said that this power was the user's spirit.
To be honest, Reddy found this explanation too vague.
The most direct example was Crocodile's spirit. Was it lacking in presence?
Whether it was scheming to take over Alabasta or fighting against Whitebeard, Akainu, and other powerhouses during the Summit War, he never held back.
If one argued that Crocodile relied on underhanded tactics and thus lacked sufficient spirit, what about Doflamingo?
This guy was a true master of schemes.
In short, Reddy believed that Conqueror's Haki was not solely related to spirit. There must be other factors involved.
Once this speculation could be confirmed, it would be possible to achieve the widespread adoption of Conqueror's Haki.
"I need assistance."
Reddy stood up and took out a Den Den Mushi.
Soon, the call connected.
Reddy got straight to the point. "Hancock, I need you..."
"Okay!"
Reddy held the Den Den Mushi, momentarily stunned. He had barely started speaking and hadn't even finished his sentence. She didn't even know what he needed her for, so why had she agreed so quickly?
Although he didn't understand what Hancock was thinking, the outcome was good.
As the only person around him who possessed Conqueror's Haki, Hancock was an excellent test subject.
Reddy immediately summoned a door and instructed it to bring Hancock to the laboratory.
Before long, a portal opened in the laboratory, and Hancock stepped out.
The first thing Hancock noticed upon entering the laboratory was the cup of energy drink on the experimental table, and her eyes immediately filled with deep pity.
Without her around to take care of him, he was clearly suffering.
Unaware of the drama in Hancock's mind, Reddy saw her staring at the energy drink and briefly explained, "This drink is pretty good. One sip will energize you. Want to try it?"
"Wait."
Hancock turned and walked back through the door, dragging out a huge package as tall as herself, which contained fruits and large cuts of meat.
"Hancock, the main reason I called you here is for an experiment."
In this regard, Reddy was a scumbag. Having grown accustomed to high-energy drinks, he had no interest in ordinary food and immediately changed the subject.
"Wh-what kind of experiment?"
Upon hearing that Reddy needed her to assist with his experiment, Hancock instantly forgot everything else. Her cheeks flushed red, and her stammering demeanor left Reddy momentarily speechless.
"It's not some indecent experiment," Reddy muttered inwardly before quickly explaining.
When she learned that Reddy only wanted her help in researching Conqueror's Haki, Hancock was disappointed. After calming herself, she said, "I don't know how to describe it..."
Back then, she and her two younger sisters had foolishly followed the Kuja Pirates out to sea and were captured, becoming slaves of the Celestial Dragons.
In order to protect herself and her sisters, she awakened Conqueror's Haki under the abuse of the Celestial Dragons.
"At that time, the Celestial Dragons..."
Hancock trailed off and fell silent, her face showing a trace of pain.
Those were memories she had never wanted to revisit, and they had led her to rarely use Conqueror's Haki.
Because doing so would remind her of the tragic experiences she endured as a slave under the Celestial Dragons.
Normally, she would never mention this part of her past to anyone, but Reddy was different. Not only did he know about the Hoof of the Flying Dragon mark on her body, but he was also the man she admired.
"I understand. I'm sorry."
Reddy waved his hand apologetically, signaling that Hancock didn't have to recall those painful memories.
Combining the original story with Hancock's account, he once again confirmed another external factor influencing Conqueror's Haki.
Strong willpower!
This was also easy to understand.
Conqueror's Haki could be seen as a form of spiritual power.
Once a certain limit was surpassed, this intangible spiritual power would transform into something tangible.
Now, the only obstacle troubling Reddy was the scientific challenge.
Human willpower was intangible, while the gene fragments of Conqueror's Haki were a tangible existence.
How did intangible willpower activate tangible gene fragments?
Were these special gene fragments similar to Devil Fruits, resembling a unique life form?
Thinking of this, Reddy stared intently at Hancock. "I need a sample of your blood. Is that okay?"
Originally, Garp would have been the most suitable gene donor.
Unfortunately, this old man was a non-Devil Fruit user, and Seastone cuffs couldn't restrain him.
So, Reddy simply demanded a low ransom and sent this unmanageable powerhouse on his way.
The only remaining donor capable of providing gene fragments containing Conqueror's Haki was Hancock.
However, from another perspective, this situation was quite interesting.
Previously, he hadn't discovered golden gene fragments in Hancock's genes, yet she was a confirmed possessor of Conqueror's Haki.
If his speculation was correct—that the golden gene fragments were indeed related to Conqueror's Haki—then it meant Hancock's mastery of Conqueror's Haki had not yet reached the required level.
If his speculation was wrong, and the golden genes were related to something else, then all his previous efforts would have been in vain.
But Reddy didn't care.
Scientific research was all about trial and error.