In the New World, on an island the Marines had secretly erased from the map.
Back when Raleigh was still serving as an Admiral, he had already begun fabricating information related to this island.
Through the passage of a long period of time, he had made the World Government believe that the island had already disappeared.
But now, a black warship was docked here.
Without anyone knowing, Christian Raleigh had left New Marineford and appeared on this island unknown to the world.
Before he even landed on the island, he had already passed through multiple layers of scanning.
Wearing a pass personally made by Vegapunk, Raleigh had the warship stop ten nautical miles away from the island.
Then he stepped through the air alone with Geppo and flew toward the island.
The instant he landed, Raleigh keenly sensed hundreds of gazes sweeping over his body.
Only after they detected the pass hanging on Raleigh's chest did those hundreds of gazes scatter back toward other areas.
Before Raleigh could even raise his foot, the ground in front of him suddenly split open, and a passage made of steel appeared before him.
Inside the passage, there was even a conveyor belt used for transporting supplies.
Raleigh silently walked to a corner inside the passage and reached out, feeling along the wall as if searching for something.
At last, he touched a barely noticeable protrusion.
His finger pressed down with slight force.
After a burst of mechanical sounds, the wall separated, revealing a silver-gray door.
This was the base elevator reserved exclusively for Vegapunk. Only Vegapunk and Raleigh knew its location, and only their authority could open it.
Click… click…
Before the silver-gray door, Raleigh entered the password Vegapunk had told him, scanned his fingerprint, and finally pressed the pass on his body against the elevator's switch before the extremely sturdy door opened.
"Welcome home, Master."
A synthetic mechanical voice rang out inside the elevator.
Then a screen on the side wall of the elevator suddenly changed into Vegapunk's image.
Behind Vegapunk were busy researchers, while Vegapunk himself looked pleasantly surprised at Raleigh's arrival.
"Raleigh, ever since I moved here, this is the first time you have come to my place."
A relaxed smile appeared at the corner of Raleigh's mouth.
"Long time no see, Doctor."
"Ever since I became Fleet Admiral, my time has been occupied far too much. Usually, I do not even have the free time to leave New Marineford."
Vegapunk's expression also became very relaxed.
"All right. I will wait for you in my laboratory."
Inside this base, aside from arranging a room for himself to rest in, Vegapunk had not designed anything like a reception room or office.
Besides, ever since he moved bases, no one had come within ten nautical miles of this place except the soldiers who transported supplies.
Since there were no visitors, there was naturally no need for those useless things.
Raleigh was the first guest this island had ever received.
As the numbers on the elevator display changed rapidly, Raleigh moved at incredible speed through the thick defensive structure made of reinforced concrete and arrived at the underground laboratory.
"Doctor, long time no see."
The moment they met, Raleigh and Vegapunk shared a big hug.
Vegapunk was also extremely excited.
From the moment the two of them had first met, they had always appreciated each other.
Raleigh's goal had never changed. He wanted to change this world, and to do that, he had to control a massive military force like the Marines.
Vegapunk's goal was to benefit all humanity, and only Raleigh allowed him to see hope for that future.
According to the latest intelligence, the Marines were occupying territory all over the world.
In other words, the shared goal of Vegapunk and Raleigh was being realized step by step.
"Raleigh, the weapon you mentioned to me last time has already started taking shape in my mind."
"It is just that it will require a huge amount of steel and top-tier craftsmen to manufacture."
The joy of reunion was quickly thrown to the back of Vegapunk's mind. He pulled Raleigh and hurried toward a laboratory.
Beyond an enormous glass wall was a field the size of three football pitches.
At this moment, the entire field looked as if it had been ravaged by some terrifying power.
There were pits everywhere, along with soil that had been violently overturned.
Vegapunk said excitedly, "I don't know how you thought of it, but you actually researched shells to this degree. At the same size, the newly developed shells are ten times more powerful than the old ones."
"I cannot even imagine how powerful the weapon you described would be if it were truly manufactured and paired with these shells."
"I think sinking an island with one shot would no longer be mere talk."
Seeing the scene before him, Raleigh also felt extremely excited.
With this, the most important part of his plan had finally been completed.
A final weapon capable of rivaling Uranus.
A giant cannon powerful enough to easily destroy an island.
Raleigh did not say much, because in his plan, there was still one crucial Devil Fruit that could cooperate with this weapon to produce the greatest effect.
"All right, Doctor. I am very satisfied with the weapon. Once we take over the Four Blues, we will begin manufacturing it."
Vegapunk nodded, then said, "Even if we do not have enough steel right now, we can produce the shells first. When the cannon is ready, we can use it to fire them directly."
Vegapunk spoke excitedly.
This technology was a field he had never touched before.
Before this kind of world-destroying weapon, the Pacifista and Seraphim he had once created were far inferior in destructive power.
Raleigh reached out and pressed down on the excited Vegapunk.
"Doctor, are you not afraid of blowing up the base?"
Vegapunk said confidently, "Relax. As long as the most important element is not added, the remaining materials will not react no matter how they are bombarded."
Raleigh felt relieved.
Since Vegapunk had said so, it proved that he already had full confidence in this matter.
"All right, Doctor."
"Next, let us talk about my purpose for coming here."
After being led away by Vegapunk's topic, Raleigh finally remembered the reason he had come.
Vegapunk looked at Raleigh in confusion.
"You did not come because of this weapon?"
"Then what else could you possibly need me for?"
Vegapunk looked at Raleigh in complete puzzlement.
Several black lines seemed to appear across Raleigh's face, but he had long since gotten used to Vegapunk's absurd way of thinking, so he could only speak.
"I came this time to take away several Seraphim and have them participate in the coming war against the pirates, especially the Seraphim based on Golden Lion Shiki."
Vegapunk tapped his head and asked, "The Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit?"
Raleigh nodded.
The Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit was a Devil Fruit that had been recovered long ago.
The reason it had never been used was because the other techniques of the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit were not particularly powerful.
The only move that could truly be called almost impossible to deal with was its spore bomb.
In a country without a Devil Fruit user capable of using fire, a single spore bomb would be enough to destroy the entire kingdom.
The reason no one had known its terror until now was because its previous owner, Musshuru, had been far too useless and had completely failed to develop the frightening potential of the fruit.
At the same time, Drum Kingdom had also concealed the matter in order to hide its own scandal, never publicizing it to the world.
But ever since Raleigh collected this fruit, he had never forgotten its existence.
He had sent it to Vegapunk only to use Vegapunk's technology to enhance it and speed up its cultivation.
So much time had passed, and now even Raleigh did not know just how strong this fruit had become.
Vegapunk looked at Raleigh solemnly.
"Have you already decided which area to release it in?"
Raleigh nodded.
"The Big Mom Pirates' base, Whole Cake Island."
Vegapunk rubbed his chin and sank into thought.
Naturally, he knew Charlotte Linlin's base, and he also knew what kind of people were there.
After an internal struggle, Vegapunk nodded.
"Very well. I agree with this idea."
After that, Vegapunk brought Raleigh to another laboratory.
Everywhere here were the corpses of powerful figures killed by the Marines.
They were completely different from the broken, damaged bodies that had once floated in the culture fluid. Now, under Vegapunk's hands, their bodies had already been combined with technology.
Vegapunk pointed at a tall corpse inside a culture vessel.
"This fellow's Devil Fruit ability is very strong, so I only made slight modifications to him."
At that moment, the person inside the culture vessel suddenly opened his eyes and looked expressionlessly at the two people below him, his face seeming to carry a trace of anger.
Raleigh looked at this corpse with great interest.
"Bartholomew Kuma!"
Everyone in the world thought Kuma had gone somewhere special.
Dragon, Bonney of the Sorbet Kingdom, and Queen Dowager Conney all believed Kuma was still with the Marines.
But the truth was that after Kuma left the New World, Raleigh commanded several people within the Marines to launch an encirclement against him.
By the time Kuma realized he had fallen into a Marine trap, he had already lost his chance to escape.
After a fierce struggle, Raleigh personally acted and shattered Kuma's heart, successfully bringing back both Kuma's Devil Fruit and Kuma's corpse before handing them to Vegapunk.
At this moment, Vegapunk pointed at Kuma's heart and said, "When you sent him over last time, his heart had been completely destroyed by you, so I installed a mechanically manufactured heart for him."
"This heart can provide him with stamina far beyond what he had before. I also modified other parts of his body. Now he is a killing machine in the truest sense."
Vegapunk spoke as if admiring the most perfect work of art he had ever created.
"I set a program in his brain. Once he loses the majority of his limbs, his mechanical heart will activate a self-destruct sequence."
"According to my calculations, even a Marine Vice Admiral skilled in speed would have great difficulty escaping such a powerful explosion."
Raleigh also nodded with satisfaction.
If not for the fact that Kuma's corpse could not be copied, he would have wanted several more Seraphim like Kuma.
That way, he would not need to sacrifice the lives of Marine officers and soldiers.
He could simply send several Seraphim over, have them self-destruct if they could not win, and directly wipe out every pirate below the Three Emperors.
Vegapunk seemed to see through Raleigh's thoughts and interrupted him.
"Do not think too much, Raleigh. Just this one Seraphim already used up the one billion berries you gave me."
"Including the materials you gave me before, I used most of them on Kuma's body."
The corner of Raleigh's mouth twitched involuntarily.
He had known it.
Scientific research burned money like flowing water.
If Vegapunk went all out, the Marines' accumulated wealth over the years might be consumed in less than a month.
Fortunately, back when Vegapunk was still with the Marines, he had once requested many rare materials from the World Government.
Otherwise, the Marines truly would not be able to support this level of consumption.
"What about the other Seraphim?"
Raleigh turned to look at the other Seraphim.
Vegapunk shook his head.
"The other Seraphim are much worse. The reason is that most of the original bodies are quite damaged, and the technology from back then cannot be compared to the current technology at all."
"For example, this corpse of Whitebeard, Edward Newgate. Although he was indeed a legendary great pirate, his corpse is severely damaged, and he already had many hidden injuries while alive. In order to allow him to fight normally, I had to modify a large number of areas to replace the damaged limbs."
"Even with the support of the new technology, he only has quasi-Admiral-level strength."
Vegapunk did not say more, but Raleigh understood in his heart that this evaluation was only possible because Whitebeard's Devil Fruit, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, was too powerful.
Without the support of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Whitebeard's corpse would only be able to reach the level of an elite Vice Admiral.
"It is fine. The Marines do not currently lack middle- and high-level combat power. What we lack is combat power capable of deciding victory in one move."
The two continued walking forward and finally stopped before the culture vessel containing Golden Lion Shiki.
Vegapunk said, "Shiki's corpse is the same as Newgate's. It is full of hidden injuries and missing parts. However, after my modifications, he has already consumed the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit. The current him possesses the power to destroy an entire kingdom in one strike."
What Vegapunk did not say was that over such a long period of time, he had tried adding many strange and highly toxic substances to feed the spores.
The current spores were dozens of times more poisonous than the spore bombs Musshuru had released back then.
With the addition of technological toxins, ordinary doctors could no longer treat it. It no longer belonged to the scope of ordinary medicine.
Just as ordinary doctors could treat certain plant toxins, they could not treat the side effects caused by various types of radiation.
Raleigh did not speak.
In truth, the moment Shiki's Seraphim opened its eyes, Raleigh's mind began issuing frantic warnings.
The Seraphim before him absolutely possessed the ability to heavily injure him, or even kill him.
Raleigh could not help admiring Vegapunk's ability.
"I need to take Shiki, as well as Newgate and Mihawk's Seraphim. Is that all right, Doctor?"
Vegapunk waved a hand.
"Aside from Shiki, who requires special equipment for transport, you can take the other two however you like."
"I am no longer interested in spending effort on these humanoid weapons. Raleigh, the research direction you gave me is what fascinates me at this stage."
Raleigh smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Had he known this would happen, he would not have exchanged ideas with Vegapunk back then.
Now Vegapunk had fallen into another extreme.
However, what they had now was already enough. In fact, the things Vegapunk was currently researching were even more valuable.
With the help of the researchers, Shiki's Seraphim was loaded into a special culture vessel two meters long and one meter in diameter.
As for Newgate and Mihawk's Seraphim, Vegapunk directly activated them and released them from their culture vessels.