Pudding was still held in Lloyd's arms, her expression dazed from the laser explosion moments earlier.
Lloyd, however, looked at Kuma sprawled at his feet with interest.
"So, the Seraphim has been successfully developed? But from the looks of it, it seems to be out of control."
Suddenly, a charming voice called out from behind him.
"Saint Lloyd!"
Lloyd raised an eyebrow and turned around, only to see York waving excitedly at him.
Beside her, Lilith quickly warned with a tense expression,
"Saint Lloyd, be careful!"
A rustling sound echoed across the area as Kuma slowly rose from the ground. He wiped the black stain from the corner of his mouth and looked up at Lloyd.
When he noticed the massive black wings behind Lloyd, several times larger than his own, S-Bear muttered softly,
"Same kind…?"
At that moment, Lloyd confirmed that this Seraphim Kuma's intelligence was still unstable. He released Pudding from his arms and calmly instructed her to stay behind him.
Before Lloyd could move, Kuma suddenly spoke again.
"No… fire… enemy!"
The moment he finished speaking, Kuma attacked.
His palm, empowered by the Paw-Paw Fruit ability, slammed directly into Lloyd's abdomen.
Seeing this, Dr. Vegapunk subconsciously shouted,
"It's over!"
Of course, he was referring to Kuma.
In Dr. Vegapunk's eyes, the instant Kuma attacked Lloyd, the first Seraphim he had painstakingly developed was already doomed.
The Seraphim was powerful, but stronger than a Yonko?
Impossible.
This was the very man who had personally destroyed three Yonko crews.
Yet Lloyd did not retaliate immediately.
Instead, he simply stood there, expression indifferent, looking down at Kuma as though observing a misbehaving child.
Kuma frowned slightly, confusion appearing on his face. He could not understand why the man before him had not been repelled by his ability.
Lloyd casually reached out and grabbed Kuma's arm.
Kuma's expression changed.
He immediately struggled, trying to free himself, but no matter how much strength he used, his arm refused to budge even slightly.
Seeing this scene, Lilith exclaimed in shock,
"Unbelievable! Seraphim Kuma looks like a child in his hands!"
Atlas scratched her head nearby and muttered,
"Seraphim are children to begin with…"
"..."
A faint smile appeared on Lloyd's face.
"What a naughty little Kuma."
As soon as he spoke, Lloyd casually swung his arm.
Kuma was thrown like a ragdoll, crashing heavily into the research facility behind him.
Boom!
A moment later, a laser shot out from the damaged building, heading straight toward Lloyd.
Without even glancing at it, Lloyd casually raised his hand and swatted it aside.
The laser instantly refracted into the sky, exploding into brilliant golden fireworks overhead.
The next second, Kuma burst out from the rubble like a cannonball.
His fists, coated in Armament Haki, struck relentlessly as he unleashed a dazzling barrage of attacks.
Yet Lloyd remained completely unmoved.
Standing in place, he blocked every strike effortlessly with a single hand.
Black lightning crackled from the clash of Haki, scattering violently through the air.
Dr. Vegapunk stared blankly, his mouth twitching.
"Is Saint Lloyd… playing with him?"
For once, he had guessed correctly.
Lloyd truly was playing with Kuma.
To him, this Seraphim resembled Kuma as a child. Seeing a face identical to Kuma's, along with the bloodline factor inherited from him, Lloyd naturally had no intention of seriously harming him.
Still, punishment was necessary.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes slightly.
In an instant, several deep purple gravity rings descended and wrapped around Kuma.
Kuma instinctively sensed danger and attempted to retreat.
But his body suddenly became unbearably heavy.
No matter how much force he exerted, he could not move even an inch.
Bang!
Kuma was slammed into the ground, spread out helplessly in a large crater, looking almost identical to how he had landed earlier.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The gravity rings trembled continuously.
Lloyd crouched down and gently patted Kuma's soft bear ears.
"Stop causing trouble."
As he spoke, Lloyd lightly flicked Kuma on the forehead.
Bang!
Kuma's eyes immediately turned into spirals, his head tilted sideways, and he lost consciousness.
Lloyd stood back up and said without turning around,
"Dr. Vegapunk, have someone collect him."
Only then did Dr. Vegapunk snap back to reality, as if waking from a dream.
He hurriedly called over several researchers to carry Kuma away.
As they passed Lloyd, none of them dared to raise their heads.
Lloyd glanced at the roofless research facility and said calmly,
"Dr. Vegapunk, explain what happened. How did the Seraphim go berserk?"
Dr. Vegapunk swallowed nervously and quickly jogged over.
He explained how Caesar had startled him, causing him to accidentally activate the Seraphim.
After hearing everything, Lloyd lowered his gaze toward Dr. Vegapunk's oversized apple-shaped head, a faint smirk appearing on his lips.
"What happened? Your hands shaking so much? You getting old already?"
Dr. Vegapunk awkwardly adjusted his glasses.
"I was just startled…"
Lloyd had no interest in hearing excuses.
He waved to Pudding behind him before walking toward the research facility. Pudding quickly followed after him.
The other Vegapunk satellites gathered nearby.
York looked at the still-frozen Dr. Vegapunk and angrily shouted,
"What are you standing around for? Saint Lloyd already went inside! Hurry up and entertain him!"
She crossed her arms and continued,
"If Saint Lloyd gets angry and stops funding us, who's going to pay for repairs? Do you want us all living miserable lives?"
Lilith sighed helplessly before stepping forward and pushing Dr. Vegapunk.
"Come on, let's go."
By the time Dr. Vegapunk caught up, Lloyd had already entered a laboratory filled with culture chambers.
One of the chambers had already been opened.
Inside stood a Pacifista modeled after Edward Weevil, though unlike the earlier models, this one was not wearing the World Government uniform.
Dr. Vegapunk quickly stepped forward to explain.
"Saint Lloyd, these are mass-produced Pacifistas. I didn't have enough time to activate them earlier, but even then, I doubt they could stop the Seraphim."
He sighed deeply.
"The three second-generation Pacifistas from earlier were already destroyed. Those things cost a fortune…"
Incidentally, the codename "Pacifista" had originally been chosen by Lloyd himself.
Lloyd raised a hand, cutting him off.
"Enough. I'll allocate another round of funding."
He glanced around the damaged laboratory.
"Repair the facility first."
Dr. Vegapunk instantly straightened up.
York, standing nearby, nearly jumped in excitement.
"Long live Saint Lloyd!"
Unfortunately for her, Lloyd completely ignored the flattery.
Shifting his gaze away from the Pacifista chamber, he said,
"Dr. Vegapunk, I came here this time because I want you to build a ship for me."
Dr. Vegapunk blinked in surprise.
Building a ship was hardly difficult for someone of his intellect.
"No problem, Saint Lloyd. What requirements do you have for the ship?"
Lloyd turned around, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"You only need to follow the blueprint."
He looked at Pudding.
"Pudding, give him the design plans."
Before Dr. Vegapunk could react, Pudding had already stepped forward and inserted a memory film into his massive apple-shaped head.