Next Bonus, 100!!
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Inside a warm, lavish room within the Punk Hazard research facility, a massive party was in full swing.
"Oh, Caesar-sama, you're so brave!"
"Hee hee hee..."
The room was a kaleidoscope of debauched lights and flowing wine, the air thick with hedonism.
A dozen scantily clad women danced, lounged seductively, or peeled fruit to feed the man at the center of it all.
"Shurorororororo..."
Caesar Clown, a beautiful young woman in each arm, basked in the royal treatment, letting out a triumphant laugh.
'That idiot Vegapunk,' Caesar thought, 'he has no idea how good I have it right now! Shurororororo!'
He bit into a grape offered by one of the women, then buried his face in her cleavage, taking a deep, long drag.
This—this was the life.
What had he been doing before? Living like a prisoner.
With Doflamingo's help, Caesar Clown had used the power of his Gas-Gas Fruit to escape from a Marine prison ship. Now, in partnership with Doffy, he had returned to this facility with three critical research objectives.
First, to produce "SAD," the raw material for Kaido's artificial Devil Fruits.
This was the easy part. It was based on the theory of Lineage Factors, something Caesar was already familiar with from his time working on Vegapunk's related experiments.
Second, for Doflamingo—and for himself—to continue the development of the weapon of mass destruction, "Land of the Dead," based on his experiments with H2S gas.
And third, for Charlotte Linlin, to research a "Gigantification Drug."
Turning humans into giants?
'Is she an idiot?' he thought. 'That's impossible!'
Caesar considered human gigantification to be an almost insurmountable task.
And so, he had simply pocketed the research funds Big Mom had given him.
Every night, he had the "Girls Ship" brought to the island and lived a life of debauchery.
The "Girls Ship," of course, was from the Pleasure Quarter controlled by Stussy. No further explanation was needed.
It was, naturally, the high-end experience. The price was not low.
And among the women, there were undoubtedly Cipher Pol agents. Caesar's research was being monitored completely.
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While Caesar was lost in his revelry, Jin was already inside.
Paramecia-type Clear-Clear Fruit!
Completely invisible.
He moved through the research facility with ease.
He wasn't here for Caesar—not yet. The artificial Devil Fruit was his first priority. The "Gigantification Drug" research hadn't even begun, so there were no captive children on the island yet.
After a thorough search, Jin found the Biscuit Room. From there, it wasn't long before he located the room where Caesar kept his failed artificial Devil Fruit experiments.
There were seven or eight of them, all different shapes and sizes.
Only one was pink—it was easy to spot.
Vegapunk had declared it a failure and thrown it away. Caesar, thinking it was a waste, had salvaged it and put it in a display case. He'd never dared to confirm if it was real or not.
How could he? The only way was to eat it.
And who would he give it to?
Himself? He'd already eaten a Devil Fruit; he wouldn't risk it.
Kaido? What if it really was a failure?
A slave? What if it was a success? That would be even worse. Once a fruit was eaten, it was gone.
The other failed experiments were the same. Too risky to use, too valuable to discard.
Jin opened the glass case, took the fruit, and sent it to his pocket dimension. As he did, he glanced at the other failed experiments...
Well, since I'm already here...
One or a dozen, what was the difference?
He decided to take them all. Even failures had their research value.
One objective down.
Jin continued his tour of the facility, searching for the cryo-chamber.
A wave of cold washed over him.
He pushed open a heavy door. Inside, from floor to ceiling, were rows upon rows of frozen bodies.
The frozen figures were massive, each one larger than the last. There was no telling how long they had been here, the bitter cold a permanent fixture of the room.
There were about a hundred of them.
They were most likely the "Numbers," the source of the giant genes for Kaido's Gifters army.
Jin's eyes narrowed. He used his Observation Haki to estimate the dimensions of the room, then activated his Munch-Munch Fruit.
A black void split the air—a gaping maw that peeled the entire inner lining of the cryo-chamber off the walls and swallowed it whole.
This would be more than enough for Judge to work with. And with these samples, Jin was confident that Judge could create an army of artificial giants even stronger than the "Gifters."
He had faith in him.
Of the scientists from the illegal research team MADS, aside from Vegapunk, who was a true all-around genius, Judge, Queen, and Caesar each had their own specialties.
Judge's was Lineage Factors and cloning technology. The Vinsmoke siblings and their clone army were his masterpieces—especially the elemental powers they wielded. Fire, lightning, poison... these were Logia-like abilities that even Vegapunk had failed to replicate.
Queen's specialty was biochemical weapons and cybernetic enhancements. The artificial viruses he used, like "Mummy" and "Ice Oni," and the modifications he had made to his own body were a testament to his skill.
And Caesar? He was a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. He was smart, he knew a little bit of everything, but he never reached the pinnacle in any one field. He was more like Vegapunk's lab assistant.
Putting aside the "Gigantification Drug" he wasn't even researching, both his SMILE fruits and his pride and joy, the "Land of the Dead," were half-baked and full of flaws.
His attitude toward science was a reflection of this: "Good enough" was his motto, unlike Vegapunk, who strove for perfection.
And in science, "good enough" is never good enough. A temporary success can easily lead to a massive disaster.
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Second objective complete.
Jin returned to the party room. Outside, guards—survivors of the original incident, now modified by Caesar—stood watch.
He first created a barrier, sealing the room. Then, he threw in a Hypno-Shroom, and everyone inside collapsed.
When Caesar awoke, he found himself bound and kidnapped. He panicked, trying to turn to gas and escape.
Two sharp punches from Jin sent stars exploding behind his eyes, and he was soon crying and begging for mercy.
He had always been a bully to the weak and a coward to the strong.
Jin didn't have to say much.
Caesar willingly handed over the formula for "SAD" and all the related experimental data.
It was the key ingredient for synthesizing SMILE fruits.
Jin smiled, satisfied. He gave Caesar a light slap on the cheek. "You've never seen me. I was never here. Understand?"
Caesar flinched, then glanced at the figure in the full-body protective suit and plague doctor mask. He nodded vigorously.
"You're dressed like that... I didn't see a thing! I must have been drunk. Nothing happened."
"Good."
Jin was about to leave when he remembered the anomaly outside the lab. "Why were you collecting the poison gas?" he asked casually.
Caesar's eyes darted around.
"Hm?" Jin's voice hardened, and Caesar, terrified, blurted out the truth.
"Joker wanted it! He took all the gas I had collected before, so I had to gather more."
"Joker?"
"You... you don't know him?"
"That's not your concern. What's he want the gas for?"
"I heard that the G-5 base is getting in his way. Joker wants to use the gas to destroy the island."
Jin's eyebrow shot up. 'Destroy G-5? Is Doffy insane?'
He thought for a moment. No, he was being pushed into a corner.
After Gion had replaced Vergo and taken command of G-5, she had brought in a new batch of Marines from various branch bases. After a year of reorganization, they were starting to look like a real fighting force.
She was choking his and Kaido's weapons smuggling route. Of course they were getting desperate.
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