The expression on Enel's face changed from casual indifference to seriousness.
Unwilling to give up, he increased the current input.
Whoosh!
A bolt of electricity shot out from the metal block toward Bullett beside him.
Bullett raised one hand without using Armament Haki.
A burnt smell came from Bullett's palm, but it didn't cause any serious damage.
Bullett stared at the wound on his hand. Enel withdrew his ability, walked over to Bullett's side, and gave an awkward smile.
"Bullett-kun, I didn't do it on purpose. Who knew it would act like that?"
Vegapunk took out a bottle of restorative spray from a nearby cabinet and sprayed it on Bullett's hand.
"It's fine. Just a minor injury. It'll recover soon," Bullett said.
For a wound like this, even if he hadn't sprayed any medicine on it, it would've healed after a while.
Only after seeing Bullett was fine did Enel look at Vegapunk with shining eyes and say, "Doctor, how much of this metal do you still have? I feel like it's better to use than gold. Not only can it conduct electricity, it can also amplify electric current. It's amazing. And its hardness seems to be greater than gold as well."
As the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Enel had tried many kinds of metal materials before choosing gold as his weapon.
One reason was its sufficient ductility, allowing it to change shape freely according to his wishes.
Another was that gold had good electrical conductivity.
Taken together, gold had been the best option.
But the piece of metal Vegapunk just gave him surpassed gold in overall performance.
Vegapunk smiled and opened a safe, saying, "This was originally developed for use in artificial weapons. Since you're here, take as much as you can use. I can synthesize the rest again later."
Enel wasn't greedy.
Using his ability, he cut a large piece of metal from the safe, softened it, and decorated it onto his body.
As for the gold he originally used, he handed it over to Vegapunk.
In any case, he no longer needed it.
Enel stood happily at the side with the newly obtained metal.
"Oh right, Doctor. I brought the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit that Raleigh-sama asked me to deliver."
Enel took out the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit he prepared long ago and handed it to Vegapunk.
Vegapunk pushed up his glasses.
Many possible combinations flashed through his mind, and he made up his mind to install the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit onto someone.
"I've thought of who this fruit should be installed onto. Come with me. I'll show you something different."
After taking the vertical elevator, the three returned to the original laboratory.
Vegapunk walked to the center of the control platform.
This was Enel's first time in this laboratory.
He saw figures with different appearances inside the nutrient solution, as well as some pieces of flesh and blood.
There were many familiar faces.
Most of them were corpses of powerful fighters who died in battle.
Among them were Whitebeard Edward Newgate, Golden Lion Shiki, Mihawk, and many other powerful figures killed by Raleigh and the Navy.
Most of them had already been transformed by Vegapunk using special metal to synthesize mechanical bodies, turning them into killing machines.
Although they were already dead, because their bodies still contained remnants of Devil Fruit powers, Vegapunk had used certain techniques to preserve their abilities.
Although their strength couldn't compare to when they were alive, they could still reach eighty percent of their original combat power.
And this strength wasn't fixed.
Because their bodies could be modified, in theory, they could break past their limits.
Many functions could be added to them.
Even for Golden Lion Shiki, who'd been a great swordsman, several laser cannons and similar weapons could be installed in other parts of his body.
It was just like in the original story, where after Kuma died, his Devil Fruit ability had still been modified and reproduced by Vegapunk, along with the Seraphim combat robots cloned from the genes of the Seven Warlords.
Vegapunk walked beneath Golden Lion's tank, pointed at Golden Lion's body, and said, "After my modifications, although Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit no longer has the original ability to make an entire island float into the sky, this Seraphim combat robot can still freely fly through the air."
"If the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit is embedded into Golden Lion's body, then he'll be able to appear at any place at any time and release spore bombs when all enemies are unprepared."
Bullett and Enel imagined the consequences, and both felt a chill run down their necks.
The various powers in the world had never considered the possibility of enemies coming from the sky.
That was because most people fought on the ground using their own strength.
Moonwalk could only be used briefly in short-distance combat.
No one could use Moonwalk for a long period of time.
There were only a few Devil Fruit users who possessed the ability to fly, such as Golden Lion Shiki, Marco the Phoenix, King the Wildfire, and Doflamingo, who used clouds to leap through the air.
Therefore, no one would guard against attacks from the sky.
Just imagine: on a dark and windy night, a Seraphim uses the power of the Float-Float Fruit to fly into enemy territory and release spore bombs.
No one would be able to detect it.
And after releasing them, he could flee. In this way, without anyone knowing, the majority of an entire major force could be wiped out.
A force didn't only need top-level combat power.
Many times, top-level combat power served more as deterrence.
Most of the time, it was still the middle- and lower-level fighters who were needed to seize territory.
Without the support of those people, even a few powerful individuals could only be called lone wolves.
After Vegapunk finished explaining, he didn't care what Bullett and Enel were imagining.
He tapped buttons on the control platform.
Soon, the nutrient capsule containing Golden Lion reacted. Golden Lion, whose eyes had originally been shut, suddenly opened them.
Two red lights shone from his eye sockets.
Bullett and Enel sucked in a breath of cold air.
It turned out Golden Lion's eyes had long since been modified by Vegapunk into laser weapons as well.
Expressionless, he flew out of the nutrient solution.
Vegapunk threw the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit in his hand into him, then turned and walked downward.
Originally, Devil Fruit synthesis required precise instruments to accomplish.
But now, that was no longer necessary.
Vegapunk already possessed the Munch-Munch Fruit, so naturally he could choose the fastest method.
Buzz!
With a sound, Golden Lion was sent out on the conveyor belt.
From the outside, he looked no different from before he'd gone in.
However, now he gave Bullett and Enel a horrifying feeling.
Vegapunk still seemed dissatisfied as he said, "The power of the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit's spore bombs is still a little too weak. Shiki can't be handed over for your use just yet. I need to increase the power of the spore bombs. At the same time, I need to shorten the time it takes for the spore bombs to activate."
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