"There's no such thing as a 'correct' path when it comes to developing a Devil Fruit."
Vegapunk's words stopped Darren cold.
He had awakened the Magnet-Magnet Fruit in the middle of a brutal fight with Saint Michael, the Commander of the Knights of God—but the price that followed had haunted him ever since. The side effects were severe enough to leave a shadow behind every time he used that power.
In the original story, awakenings—no matter the type—never came with consequences this crippling.
Darren had spent months experimenting with "Magnetic Field Rotation," forcing the backlash down to a level he could endure. But the method was still, in the end, self-taught. Unverified. A solution hammered out in the dark.
And as clever as that overalls-wearing fatso was, Queen's genius lay in viruses and bioengineering. His Devil Fruit research was limited—after all, the man hadn't even awakened his own ability.
Vegapunk's affirmation, however, swept away the last lingering doubt in Darren's heart.
The reason his awakening carried such terrifying drawbacks was simple: he was pushing it in a direction no one had ever dared to attempt.
In other words, it was an "evolution" humanity had never explored.
"But, Darren-san," Vegapunk continued, and his tone gradually grew heavier, "when one climbs higher into uncharted territory, the road is always filled with twists and thorns."
"Based on my assessment, even the method you described—stimulating the body through the movement of a low-frequency magnetic field to trigger evolutionary effects—may not completely eliminate the side effects."
"Chronic poisons remain poisons. Science likes to say, 'the dose makes the poison,' but in reality, even the smallest dose is still a toxin. Accumulation over time will inevitably burden the body. And harm it."
Darren frowned. "So you're saying the damage from Magnetic Field Rotation is unavoidable?"
Vegapunk nodded. "That is my current conclusion. The final outcome may differ, but…"
He lifted his cup, eyes thoughtful behind his glasses.
"Every evolution has a cost. And because Devil Fruits are, by nature, 'unnatural,' their evolution demands a price—resistance against nature itself."
Darren fell silent.
Stussy glanced at him, worry tightening her expression.
The "price," put simply, was the loss of lifespan.
Even Borsalino finally stopped clipping his nails and looked up.
Vegapunk considered for a moment, then said, "If you chose the other path, the risk would be far lower. It aligns more closely with the awakening direction of most Paramecia—projecting influence outward onto external objects, rather than forcibly altering your own body. That route would greatly reduce the strain on your physical form…"
"But then I wouldn't be as strong as I am now," Darren cut in smoothly.
Vegapunk blinked. Hesitated. Then replied, "Probably… not."
"Based on what I understand of the Magnet-Magnet Fruit, the external awakening path would allow you to imbue objects with polarity—positive and negative—or, at most, manipulate magnetic field intensity within a limited range…"
"Then that settles it," Darren said, and a sudden smile spread across his face. "The 'safe' path isn't for me. I'd rather be a lunatic."
Vegapunk frowned, studying him with a scientist's skepticism. "Darren-san, are you certain? Human life is lived only once. A long lifespan is the foundation of all evolution."
"Throughout history, humanity's ultimate dream has been longevity—perhaps even immortality."
"For years, I have devoted myself to that pursuit. But physical aging is inevitable. That is why I intend to separate my brain from my body someday. Flesh will wither and perish, but the mind—and knowledge—can endure."
"This way, I'll have enough time… to chase knowledge and truth."
Darren's gaze drifted to Vegapunk's astonishing, misshapen head.
That grotesque brain contained a terrifying amount of human knowledge.
"Dr. Vegapunk," Darren said, voice sincere, "I truly respect your devotion to truth and knowledge. But unlike you, I'm just an ordinary man."
A slow smile curved his lips.
"If I wanted a long life, I wouldn't have defied the Gorosei on Felsek Island in the first place."
"Life's length matters, sure." Darren's eyes sharpened. "But I have no interest in pursuing knowledge or truth."
"If I can't live each moment to the fullest…" His voice softened, then turned razor-clean. "I'd rather die than hesitate."
Darren suddenly froze mid-sentence.
Vegapunk froze as well.
Stussy stood rigid, breath caught in her throat.
Behind his sunglasses, Borsalino's expression flickered into something unusually vivid.
For a heartbeat, the world itself seemed to stop—
And then, in the next instant—
BOOM!!
A colossal, terrifying aura—vast as the sea and towering as the sky—erupted from Darren, surging outward in every direction.
The entire laboratory drowned in a dense web of black-and-crimson lightning.
Glass containers and experimental devices shattered under the pressure, bursting into fragments as white smoke billowed up in choking waves.
Modified creatures collapsed one after another, foaming at the mouth, eyes rolling back. Colossal steel beasts locked up and toppled as their circuits sparked and their heads belched smoke.
The aura didn't stop at the institute's walls. It swelled as it spread, swallowing the island in the blink of an eye.
If one could have seen Egghead from above, the sight would have been nightmarish—
Crimson-black lightning lashing through the skies. Howling winds ripping across the island. Storm clouds churning into violent spirals as the sea heaved into monstrous waves.
The world had become a living purgatory.
"Conqueror's Haki?!" Vegapunk gasped.
Before he even finished, Borsalino was already behind him, bracing him with one arm. The scientist looked seconds from collapsing under the pressure—yet his eyes remained wide, fixed on Darren as the youth's black hair whipped wildly around him.
Stussy raised an arm to shield her face, forced back step by step by the sheer force of it, disbelief written across her expression.
Borsalino's face twisted through several emotions before settling into a knowing smile.
And then—just as suddenly—
The pressure vanished.
Like a blade being sheathed, the suffocating weight lifted. The lightning disappeared. The storm-like phenomenon evaporated as if it had never existed.
In the ruined laboratory, amid debris and scattered papers, the black-haired youth stood stunned, staring at his own hands as though he still couldn't believe what had happened.
"I just can't achieve it…"
His voice came out hollow, each word slipping loose with the shock that still hadn't left his eyes—finishing the sentence he'd been unable to say a moment ago.
"…Personal Justice."
To be continued...