Whoosh—
As Vegapunk manipulated the robotic arm to place the final Mother Flame into Laboon's body, that familiar light of evolution appeared across Laboon once more.
And because of his enormous size, the radiance was exceptionally dazzling, as if it wanted to compete with the sun in the sky itself.
Unfortunately, the light came suddenly and vanished just as fast.
In almost the blink of an eye, the evolutionary glow on Laboon's body disappeared completely.
At the side, Dr. Vegapunk shut down the surrounding observation systems with lingering satisfaction.
After evolving, Laboon was not all that different from Franky. The main change was that the metallic structure on his body had become far more natural and seamless, as though he had been born that way from the very beginning.
"How was it, Doctor? Did you record everything well this time?"
Seeing Brook already step forward to speak with the evolved Laboon, Red instead went over to Vegapunk to see whether he had gained anything from the process.
As expected, Vegapunk gently shook his head.
"No. Judging from appearance alone, there's simply no way to determine the principle behind this evolution."
"However, I've already installed all kinds of data detectors inside Laboon's body. They recorded the detailed changes in his condition before and after evolution."
"Once we return to the lab and study it for a while, I hope we'll be able to reach some meaningful conclusions."
"Mm~ Understanding the laws of another world was always a fantasy to begin with. If it doesn't work out, then so be it."
Red nodded calmly, then said directly:
"Let's set evolution aside for now, Doctor. Do you remember that matter we discussed before—the spiritual world?"
"The virtual world!?"
Confusion first flashed through Vegapunk's eyes, but then his gaze sharpened in realization.
"Oh, you mean that virtual space that can be used to create games!?"
"Exactly!" Red nodded. "Now that the modification is finished, let's devote our full efforts to researching that next."
"The limitless energy of the Mother Flame, the extraordinary processing power of Punk Records, and a mental space that can be shaped freely..."
"I imagine that, for you, Doctor, this shouldn't be too difficult."
"Hmm..." Vegapunk sank into thought. "A game world where the entire world can experience joy?"
"That truly is a research direction worth putting effort into."
"Oh, right, Red. If you have time lately, let me visit your Pokémon world more often. I may get a lot of inspiration from it."
"No problem~"
Red raised his hand and made an "OK" gesture.
Then, all at once, a status panel appeared in his vision—it was none other than the status panel of the evolved Laboon.
[Pokémon: Laboon]
[Level: 66]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Lonely (+Attack, -Defense)]
[Type: Water, Steel]
[Ability: Huge Power (Strength that surpasses physical limits. Physical moves deal greater damage)]
[Moves: Rain Dance, Rolling Surf, Splishy Splash, Hydro Cannon]
[EXP: 4000/14077]
[Total Stats: 1214]
"So he didn't just gain a Steel type—his Ability changed too!?"
After comparing it to the status panel of the Laboon he remembered, Red immediately noticed the changes brought by Laboon's evolution.
His Type had changed from pure Water to Water and Steel, which did not surprise Red in the slightest.
After all, piece after piece of specially made steel alloy had been stuffed into Laboon's body, to the point that Red had begun to wonder whether Laboon now had more metal or flesh inside him.
Of course, all of those metallic materials were specially made lightweight metals, so the overall modification did not increase Laboon's weight by too much.
No matter what, Laboon was still a marine creature. There was no reason to erase his original strengths just for the sake of modification.
Beyond that, Laboon's Ability had also changed—from spiritual power that initially leaned toward the soul, into Huge Power, which leaned toward the body instead.
The effect of this Ability could not be called overwhelmingly excellent, but it greatly boosted Laboon's combat power. In a way, it fulfilled his wish to fight.
And just like Franky, Laboon's total stats had also risen—from barely over a thousand before to 1214 now.
Judging from the result, that was still notably lower than Franky's at the same level.
But the two of them focused on different things. At the same level, it was honestly difficult to say who was stronger and who was weaker.
At this point, these were all the changes brought by Laboon's evolution.
Of course, everything above was only what had changed on the status panel. The final step of the Laboon modification plan had yet to be completed.
"Looks like your condition has fully recovered."
Walking up in front of Laboon and seeing him warmly communicating with Brook, Red let out a soft chuckle.
And after hearing Red's voice, Laboon immediately turned his head and faced him directly, crying out with a smile:
"Kyu~!"
"Hahaha, I know, I know~"
The corners of Red's lips rose.
"Don't worry. The flying robots already went to prepare the Green Blood you need."
"They'll be here very soon!"
That's right!
Although Laboon was a marine creature, his modification plan also included the same Devil Fruit ability loading system Franky had.
And because Laboon was so gigantic, with plenty of usable space and a physical body far sturdier than Franky's...
the number of Devil Fruit abilities Laboon could load was also greater than Franky's.
After extensive research by Vegapunk and the others, they ultimately determined that equipping Laboon with five Devil Fruit abilities would have absolutely no negative effect on him.
That was still only because Red had insisted on safety first. Even if it meant loading fewer Devil Fruit abilities, Laboon could not be allowed to retain any risks.
Even so, a Laboon with five Devil Fruit abilities would absolutely deserve to be called the strongest marine creature in the future!
And in order for Laboon to retain underwater combat capabilities, Red had specifically asked Vegapunk to add an extra purification blood tank to Laboon. This allowed him to relinquish the power of Devil Fruits while also discarding the negative effects that came with them.
At present, what he needed most was to raise his level as quickly as possible.
Because of that, when Red selected Devil Fruits for Laboon, he paid special attention to that point as well.
In the end, the five Paramecia Devil Fruit abilities Red selected for Laboon were: the Mini-Mini Fruit, the Float-Float Fruit, the Swim-Swim Fruit, the Wheel-Wheel Fruit, and the Strong-Strong Fruit.
Most of these five abilities did not offer major direct boosts in battle, but they greatly strengthened Laboon's adaptability.
As an island whale, he was not human, and lacking limbs would inevitably bring all kinds of inconvenience.
So the abilities Red chose were all intended, as much as possible, to reduce the impact of that limitation on Laboon.
First was the Mini-Mini Fruit. As the name implied, it allowed Laboon to shrink his body so that he could enter the Merry as well and interact with the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates.
It could be said to be the one absolutely indispensable Fruit ability in both Red's and Laboon's eyes—without question!
Combat power could be increased through other means.
But the time everyone spent together was incomparably precious.
Before, because of Laboon's huge size, there were many things he simply could not participate in.
Now, with the power of the Mini-Mini Fruit, the Straw Hat crew would never leave Laboon behind by himself again.
And after the modification, Laboon's body now also contained a flight system, allowing him to move freely above the sea surface.
Even so, Red still chose the Float-Float Fruit for him as a complementary ability.
There was no other reason.
That Fruit's power was simply so strong that not making use of it would feel like a waste.
Franky's Fruit slots were limited, so he had no choice but to discard some abilities with lower compatibility.
But Laboon, with five slots, could afford to be a little extravagant.
On top of that, Laboon's body was simply too huge and cumbersome. Even with his modified body, his aerial maneuverability was still not especially strong.
The Float-Float Fruit perfectly made up for Laboon's lack of agility in the air.
The Swim-Swim Fruit and the Wheel-Wheel Fruit followed the same logic.
The Swim-Swim Fruit, also known as the Swim Fruit, allowed the user to turn the things around them into something like water, letting them move freely through that "water."
This ability meant that Laboon, who was already a marine creature, no longer had to fear any discomfort on land, and could continue to swim across solid ground just as freely.
The Wheel-Wheel Fruit was similar.
If moving underground was more convenient under certain circumstances, Laboon could activate that Fruit ability, create wheels beneath himself, transform into a heavy tank, and mercilessly crush all enemies in his path!
It could be said that the four abilities above were all meant to ensure that once Laboon left the water's surface, he would not be restricted in any way.
Only the final ability, the Strong-Strong Fruit, provided a clear and obvious boost to Laboon's combat power.
Laboon's own tonnage + Huge Power + the Strong-Strong Fruit, topped off with a move like Body Slam...
Calling the current Laboon nuclear-level would not be an exaggeration at all.
So even though Franky's total stats exceeded Laboon's, Red did not think that meant Franky would necessarily be stronger than Laboon.
It could only be said that their focuses were completely different!
And speaking of the Strong-Strong Fruit, it was impossible not to mention its current user.
Because of the butterfly effect caused by Red's appearance, the Blackbeard Pirates had exited the stage of history far earlier than they had in the original timeline.
Jesus Burgess, the Strong-Strong Fruit user from the original plot, had long since been reduced to bones and dust.
So the Strong-Strong Fruit had not fallen into pirate hands as it originally did. Instead, it appeared among the spoils of war from one of the Revolutionary Army's liberation operations.
After learning how powerful the Fruit was, the Revolutionary Army directly handed it over to their second-in-command...
Namely, Sabo.
That's right!
The serum used to create the Green Blood for the Strong-Strong Fruit had come from Luffy's sworn second brother, Sabo.
Now among those three brothers, one was accompanying Whitebeard somewhere in retirement, one was by his little brother's father's side, plotting to seize the authority of the world, and one spent all day eating and drinking while dumping everything onto his subordinate (Red) and ignoring worldly affairs.
Three completely different roads of fate, yet all three had ultimately walked toward the lives they wanted.
...
...
"Ah, what a pity. The Doctor and the others still haven't managed to develop a method for using Devil Fruit abilities simultaneously. Otherwise, there would have been many more options."
Watching a group of robots fly around Laboon, pouring barrel after barrel of Green Blood serum into his body, Red could not help but sigh regretfully.
Even with Blackbeard's still-fresh corpse as a sample, replicating his ability to use two Devil Fruit powers at the same time without suffering any negative consequences was still no simple matter.
At the very least, with the level of technology Vegapunk and the others currently possessed, they still could not perfectly reproduce Blackbeard's miraculous body structure.
As a result, many much more practical combinations of Devil Fruit abilities had to be discarded by Red without mercy.
For example, the Green Blood of the Castle-Castle Fruit, developed from Capone Bege's blood.
If Laboon could use the Castle-Castle Fruit while also using other mobility-based Fruit abilities like the Float-Float Fruit...
then with Laboon's size, he could completely become a mobile fortress.
Load the Straw Hat Pirates and all of their fighters beneath their banner into him, and to any force in the world, that would be a devastating blow!
At that moment, Brook, standing at the side, gave a light smile upon hearing this and offered comfort:
"Forget it, Red."
"The fact that Laboon could become what he is now has already far exceeded our imagination, hasn't it?!"
"Besides, with the Float-Float Fruit's power, Laboon can still reach the level of a moving fortress."
Hearing that, Red paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"That's true."
Thus, while Red and Brook chatted, all of the Green Blood was finally injected into Laboon's body.
In the next instant, under the excited gazes of Red and Brook, Laboon's body slowly began to shrink, and the straps fixing him in place dropped onto the platform one after another.
In the end, that enormous body thousands of meters long actually became a cute little whale less than one meter in size.
"Kyu~!"
The excited Laboon immediately activated the flight system inside his body and shot into the air from the operating table using bursts of jet stream.
Thanks to the power of Pokémon evolution, the evolved Laboon felt no unfamiliarity whatsoever with his new body.
Even the flight system he was using for the very first time felt strangely natural, as though he had secretly trained with it countless times already.
Very quickly, the shrunken Laboon arrived in front of Red and Brook and gave an adorable cry.
"Kyu~!"
"Laboon!!!"
Seeing Laboon in his current form, moisture suddenly welled up in Brook's hollow eye sockets.
He stretched out his pale skeletal hand and gently stroked Laboon's head.
"The way you look now... it's just like when we first met."
"Kyu~"
Hearing those words, a ripple of emotion flashed through Laboon's eyes as memories from fifty years ago seemed to surface.
From the moment he was drawn in by the Rumbar Pirates' singing and became the pet who followed their ship, all the way to their separation at Twin Cape...
then to the past two years, after joining the Straw Hat Pirates and finally reuniting with Brook.
Everything felt like a dream.
So much so that tears suddenly poured from Laboon's eyes. Overwhelmed by grief and joy, he rammed his head into Brook.
And then...
Whoosh—!
Bang!!!
Although the Mini-Mini Fruit had changed Laboon's size, it had not changed his weight or his force.
And the current Laboon, whether in level or in status panel attributes, far surpassed Brook by a huge margin.
So after being hit by Laboon, Brook shot away like a white meteor, smashed through the wall of the dock, and fell straight into the distant sea.
Beep beep beep beep~
The ruptured wall immediately triggered the dock's alarm system.
Looking at this scene—what should have been a touching moment, yet somehow ended up so absurdly funny—Red could not help but burst out laughing.
"You two... don't tell me Luffy infected you as well?!"
As he spoke, Red waved one hand and used Hyperspace Hole to pull Brook, who had already sunk into the sea, back out.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Having swallowed a huge mouthful of seawater and nearly broken his ribs, Brook dropped weakly to one knee and began coughing violently.
Only after quite some time did his condition improve slightly.
Brook slowly raised his head and met Laboon's eyes.
Faced with Laboon's guilt-filled gaze, he suddenly grinned.
"Laboon! You've become so strong now!!!"
"Looks like from now on, I'll never have to worry about you getting hurt in battle again~"
(End of Chapter)