"Dr. Vegapunk, welcome~"
Inside the newly renovated castle aboard the Thriller Bark, which had once belonged to the Thriller Bark Pirates, Red stood in the grand hall and gave Vegapunk, whom he was meeting in person for the first time, a welcome worthy of the man.
Even though... Vegapunk's six satellites had already moved onto this island long ago.
That was right. The Thriller Bark had now been fully requisitioned by Red and handed over to Vegapunk as a place to store his research equipment and data.
In return, Red had promised Moria that he would later find him a ship he would be absolutely satisfied with as compensation.
He believed that the Ancient Weapon Pluton, buried beneath Wano Country for hundreds of years, would definitely be enough to satisfy Moria!
What's more, it was a treasure hidden in Wano Country—the very place where Moria had once suffered defeat.
The thought flashed through Red's mind, and he once again focused his gaze on the old man before him, whose head had half an apple growing out of it.
At the same time, Queen and Caesar, who had already been waiting in the hall, along with Vinsmoke Judge, who had finally accepted reality, all revealed stunned expressions.
"Wait... Vegapunk!?"
"Why are you here!?"
Queen's rough voice actually turned shrill from sheer shock.
Caesar and Judge at his sides also widened their eyes, staring in disbelief at Vegapunk as he slowly walked in through the main doors.
"Hm?" Hearing the questioning voices of his former colleagues, Vegapunk gave an innocent smile. "Didn't Lord Red tell you?"
"Starting today, I'm the captain of the Straw Hat Scientific Research Corps!"
"Sc-... Scientific Research Corps!?"
Shock flashed through the eyes of the three men once more.
They immediately looked toward Red, standing at the center of the castle, and a bold thought suddenly rose in their minds.
The research corps Vegapunk mentioned... could it be that the four of them were being brought back together to recreate MADS!?
Clap~
"All right, everyone." Red suddenly clapped his hands, pulling them out of their shock before saying with a smile:
"You're all smart people. I'm sure even without me spelling it out, you already understand what's going on."
The three former MADS researchers fell silent.
No matter how they thought about it, they never imagined that after all these decades, there would actually be a chance for them to reunite again.
"Hehe~" Red chuckled lightly, unconcerned by their expressions.
"All right. You already understand the general situation, and since you're all former colleagues, we shouldn't need to worry about any adjustment period."
"So next, I'll announce the first mission of the Straw Hat Scientific Research Corps!"
"Or rather, this is a task formed by combining two projects into one."
Whoosh!
A gigantic screen suddenly descended from the ceiling in the center of the castle.
Displayed on the screen was the figure of a young girl who resembled the Pirate Empress by eighty percent, yet whose physique and racial traits were almost identical to those of the Lunarians King belonged to.
This person was none other than one of Vegapunk's newest Pacifista creations—the Seraphim.
Her name was S-Snake.
Because Lunarian and Hancock's Lineage Factors had been fused into her during creation, this girl not only looked strikingly similar to Hancock, but even her personality and temperament were almost the same.
At the same time, due to her Lunarian Lineage Factor, she possessed the ability to move freely in any environment.
Whether in volcanic heat, frozen lands, the deep sea, or even outer space, none of it would have any effect on her body.
Of course, the mission Red intended to assign to the research corps was not to have them create even more Seraphim.
He lightly tapped his Personal Terminal, and the image on the screen instantly zoomed in, focusing on S-Snake's right arm.
Immediately afterward, scientific data provided by Vegapunk popped up on the display.
"Everyone here is a top scientist of the world. I'm sure all of you have studied the most mysterious power in this world—Devil Fruits."
"And among you, some have already achieved results."
"The topic I want all of you to explore today... is research regarding how to allow a modified human without a Devil Fruit to wield multiple Devil Fruit abilities."
"!?"
"A non-user?" "A cyborg?" "Wield multiple Devil Fruit abilities!?"
Caesar, Queen, and Judge widened their eyes, repeating Red's words in disbelief.
Why was it that they understood every single one of those words, yet once those words were put together and spoken from Red's mouth, it felt like their brainstems were burning!?
"That's right!"
Red paid no attention to their shock and simply pointed at the screen above.
"In fact, Dr. Vegapunk has already completed the cloning of both Zoan-Type and Paramecia Devil Fruit abilities."
"And for the replication of Paramecia abilities, what was used... was Green Blood technology, refined from Lineage Factor science!"
"And what I want... is for you to develop the possibility of multiple Devil Fruit abilities on the basis of Green Blood technology."
"That is the brief overview of this project."
"As for the detailed information, Dr. Vegapunk will later transmit it to all of you through your Personal Terminals."
"So from here on out, I'll leave things in your hands, Dr. Vegapunk."
After successfully setting up the project team, Red, as its initiator, immediately handed leadership over to Vegapunk.
Professional matters should be left to professionals.
He had already granted Vegapunk and the research team sufficient authority. If needed, any materials they wanted could be custom-manufactured directly through the Munch-Munch Factory.
In addition, he had deliberately left Blackbeard's corpse to Vegapunk and informed him about the fact that Blackbeard had been able to use multiple Devil Fruit abilities through the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Whether it would help or not, it was still an exceptionally rare case in the world.
And the reason Red wanted Vegapunk and the others to develop this technology was not to create some kind of war machine like the Seraphim.
What he really wanted was simply to use Green Blood technology to give Franky and Laboon a few more combat methods.
Because of that, Laboon's modification plan had been delayed again and again.
At present, under Hogback's design, they had only dismantled the ordinary metal piping originally inside Laboon's body and replaced it with Special Alloy No. 10086, painstakingly crafted by Wapol.
Perhaps Devil Fruits really did have something like compatibility.
Ever since Wapol had resigned himself to being the Straw Hat Pirates' toolman, his attainments in materials science had advanced by leaps and bounds. Even Vegapunk had purchased special materials from him several times.
Although Laboon's strength had not changed much after receiving the new metal endoskeleton, this foundation alone would make future modification work far easier to carry out.
As for the rest...
That depended on when Vegapunk and the others could produce the results Red wanted.
Multiple Devil Fruit abilities sounded utterly absurd, but with so many prerequisites and so many resources already in place, Red believed he would soon obtain the outcome he desired.
And in order to make the research progress even more smoothly...
That very night, Red deliberately went to Vegapunk's laboratory.
"Red, you're here?"
When he saw Red arrive, Pythagoras, who was busy in the lab, skillfully brought him a cup of hot cocoa.
"Mhm~"
Red accepted the cup and asked with a smile:
"Pythagoras, what's Dr. Vegapunk up to right now? Can he come out for a bit? I need to talk to him about something."
"The main body just finished discussing the experimental progress plan with the other doctors. He's now preparing to design Laboon's core plan based on the new experimental program, and after that he needs to personally head to the alternate space to observe things for a while and work on the 'water replacement plan'..."
"If time permits, before Dr. Judge and the others gather tomorrow, the doctor also plans to map out the remodeling of Thriller Bark. And as for the research on the 'Mother Flame,' that too is already nearing its final stage..."
"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!!!"
Listening to Pythagoras recite Vegapunk's work log as if listing treasured possessions, Red immediately raised a hand to cut him off.
Then he rubbed his temples and began to reflect deeply on himself...
Was he... maybe being a bit too much of a capitalist?
He had finally caught hold of a first-rate toolman, and now he was working him to death.
What if Vegapunk collapsed before the research Red wanted was even completed?
Seeming to sense what Red was thinking, Pythagoras suddenly smiled.
"Please rest assured, Lord Red."
"With us satellites assisting the main body, the kind of situation you're imagining will not occur."
"The main body has already come out, so please speak with him directly from here. I'll get back to work."
"Thanks for your hard work." Red waved goodbye to Pythagoras.
Even though he knew these satellites all shared one brain with Vegapunk, each of them was so vividly individual that Red simply couldn't treat them as one and the same person.
As for the busy Vegapunk himself, once he came out, there was no exchange of pleasantries at all. He went straight to the point.
"What do you need from me, Lord Red!?"
"Mmm..."
Red hesitated for a brief moment, then a mysterious smile appeared on his face.
"It's nothing major. It's just that while you doctors are focused on research, if anything comes up, you'll always need a runner to summon."
"After thinking it over, there seems to be an old friend of yours who's perfectly suited for the job."
"It's just that there are still some misunderstandings between us, so I'll need you, Doctor, to speak with him personally."
As he spoke, Red suddenly snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, a figure bound in Seastone chains abruptly appeared between him and Vegapunk.
(End of Chapter)