Over the sea, a full moon quietly rose. The stars were sparse, and the silver moonlight softly spread across the night sky.
Clusters of bonfires lit up along the coast. Sanji led a few subordinates out of the forest, carrying various bizarrely shaped vegetables and fruits on their shoulders.
Allen jumped off the ship and came ashore. Seeing Sanji covered in dirt and bruises, he couldn't help but ask in confusion, "What happened? Did you get into a fight?"
"Yeah, we were attacked by a weird creature. That bastard was ridiculously fast. All the fruits and vegetables we gathered were snatched away," Sanji cursed through gritted teeth.
He recalled the strange dark shadow that had suddenly popped out to attack them while they were collecting ingredients in the forest. He had barely reacted before being sent flying by a tackle. He didn't even get a clear look at what kind of creature it was before it grabbed their gathered supplies and ran off.
He only saw that it had a long horn on its head and a pair of wings on its back, looking somewhat like a large Hercules beetle.
Hearing this, Allen couldn't help but frown.
His first thought was Heracles, a botanist living on the Boin Archipelago who wore a Hercules beetle helmet. In his memories, this was also the man who took Usopp as an apprentice and trained him for two years.
'But that was a human. What was with the wings on his back? Could he actually be a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user with a Hercules Beetle model?'
'That shouldn't be possible.'
Allen dismissed the idea in his mind.
'If it really was him, there would be absolutely no reason to attack Sanji. Stealing food is just too absurd; it's more like the behavior of a wild animal.'
'Still, for that thing to make Sanji suffer a loss, it must be pretty capable.'
A look of interest flashed in Allen's eyes.
This world was vast, and there were many creatures on the sea with strength beyond imagination. There were even some that he might not be able to defeat.
They still had to stay on the island for three days. He would just go into the forest tomorrow and take a look.
...
Before long, Sanji led the First Division to start a fire and cook.
After dinner, Allen returned to the captain's cabin. It was about time to contact Vegapunk.
This time, aside from Robin, Sanji and the others tagged along as well. They were all curious about this rumored world's greatest scientist whose mind was said to be 500 years ahead of his time.
"I bet he's definitely an eccentric, evil old man. That's how scientists in picture books always look," Sham chuckled, holding up an abstract drawing of a figure in a white lab coat with an evil smile to show everyone.
"No, no, he should look like this." Buchi snatched the drawing, scribbled over it to make the figure fat, and giggled, "Hehe, I bet he's definitely a fatty."
"I heard Vegapunk is really tall."
"He's so smart, his head must be bigger than everyone else's too."
Puru puru puru!
As they were curiously discussing, the Transponder Snail on the desk suddenly rang.
Allen walked over to the sofa, sat down, and picked up the receiver.
The Transponder Snail opened its eyes, emitting two beams of light, and spoke at the same time, "Moshi moshi! Oh, so you're Francis Allen. Could you please point the Transponder Snail at the wall?"
Allen paused in confusion, then turned the Transponder Snail. The light beams from its eyes projected an image onto the wall, causing the others to exclaim in amazement.
The projection showed a high-tech laboratory. Vegapunk, with half an apple stuck to his head, stood with his hands behind his back. His long tongue hung out as he faced the screen and said, "Oh, there we go. Nice to meet you, I am Vegapunk. Saint Saturn has already informed me about the trade."
"I've just compiled a list and the prices for the items you want. You can take a look first."
Vegapunk got straight to the point, holding up a document to the screen.
"Is this Vegapunk? Why is there an apple growing out of his head?"
"Are you an idiot, Buchi? He obviously swallowed an apple core by mistake."
"Oh, oh, so that's it. Why is he talking with his tongue sticking out?"
"Ummm... maybe he lied a lot when he was a kid. I heard that when kids lie, it grows longer."
"Huh? Isn't it the nose that grows longer?"
Buchi and Sham took turns roasting Vegapunk's appearance.
Allen and the others gave them deadpan stares, looking at the two of them like they were idiots.
'These two definitely got their heads slammed in a door when they were kids.'
Allen silently roasted them before turning back to the projection on the wall. Half of the screen showed Vegapunk's face, while the other half displayed a list of various items.
The names, effects, and prices were all clearly marked on the list.
"Devil Fruit weapon customization service... 300 million Berries for a regular Zoan type?"
"That's way too expensive! You could buy another Zoan Devil Fruit with 300 million Berries! You're just making up these prices, aren't you, you stinky old man?!"
Seeing the prices, veins popped on Nami's forehead.
"These prices aren't made up at all. Although the technology is already mature, extracting Devil Fruit factors and implanting them into objects is still a very time-consuming process."
Vegapunk's expression remained calm as he held up an index finger and explained, "After all, the creation of every Devil Fruit weapon takes my satellite a whole hour!"
"You're charging 300 million for just one hour of work?!" Nami rolled her eyes and yelled, baring her teeth in anger.
Vegapunk blinked and said shamelessly, "Of course. After all, the value of everyone's time is different. Let me tell you something, little girl. As the world's greatest scientist, I am..."
He paused, suddenly putting on a serious expression, and declared righteously, "Extremely short on research funding!"
"What does that have to do with us, you bastard?!" everyone shouted in unison.
The crew rolled their eyes and yelled at him with bared teeth.
"Ahem..."
Vegapunk stroked his white mustache, completely unfazed by their condemnation, and continued, "It's a rare opportunity, so I have to take advantage of it to earn more research funds. 300 million Berries for a regular Zoan, 1 billion Berries for an Ancient Type, and 3 billion Berries for a Mythical Type. These are the prices for customized Devil Fruit weapons."
Sanji frowned. "Why are the Ancient and Mythical Types so much more expensive? Is the technical difficulty higher?"
"Not at all. Those are just the black market circulation prices for Devil Fruits. Didn't I tell you? I really need money," Vegapunk admitted with absolute self-righteousness.
Allen's eye twitched, and he couldn't help but clench his fists.
'I really want to teleport to Egghead and beat him up.'
"If it weren't for the higher-ups' orders, I wouldn't be trading with you at all. It's too dangerous for these things to fall into the hands of pirates. Weapons meant for protection being used to bring chaos and harm to people... that was never my intention when researching these technologies."
Vegapunk said seriously, "So, if you want to get your hands on them, be prepared to be fleeced for all you're worth!"
"All that buildup, and in the end, you just want to rip me off, huh," Allen said, speechless.
Vegapunk didn't hide it. He held out a hand and said bluntly, "Kuma already told me that you went to the sky islands and obtained a lot of gold. Please hand it all over to me! That money will become research funding to advance the world!"
"Now you're just straight-up asking for it. Don't be so shameless, you stinky old man."
Allen couldn't help but curse. Then, he regained his serious demeanor and said to Vegapunk, "As long as the things you offer are worth it, the price isn't an issue. I see there are quite a few Lineage Factor modification projects for different races on the list. Can you explain them in detail?"
Vegapunk retracted his hand, placed it behind his back, and said, "Lineage Factors, huh? It's very simple. This technology can modify a person's body, granting them the abilities of the corresponding race."
"Take a shark Fish-Man, for example. After undergoing the modification, an ordinary human can gain the ability to breathe underwater, the unique Fish-Man arm strength that is ten times greater than a human's, the powerful bite force of a shark Fish-Man, and so on."
"You've fought Arlong before, right? Just imagine an ordinary person undergoing the modification and instantly gaining the same strength as Arlong. It's roughly like that," Vegapunk explained.
Hearing this, the expressions of the people in the room suddenly turned grave.
"Allowing an ordinary human to possess Arlong's strength without any training... this technology sounds terrifying," Gin couldn't help but sigh.
Allen knew that such a thing wasn't as simple as it sounded. The risks of the modification, the side effects, the costs involved—all of these were difficult to estimate.
Sanji undoubtedly understood this the best. Germa 66 used Lineage Factor technology to mass-produce genetically modified soldiers, but they were emotionless killing machines that could no longer be called human.
Vegapunk's voice came through the Transponder Snail again: "So, which race's Lineage Factor do you want? I have Fish-Men, Merfolk, Longarm Tribe, Mink Tribe, Snakeneck Tribe..."
"You don't need to introduce the rest. I want the Lunarian Tribe's. Just tell me how the modification works," Allen interrupted him and stated.
He knew the other party had the Lunarian Tribe's Lineage Factor; it was used in the future Seraphim.
Moreover, he knew that Vegapunk had long mastered the modification technology. The Pacifistas, developed using Kuma as a blueprint, were a prime example.
Those were mass-produced super soldiers created by cloning bodies using the Buccaneer Tribe's Lineage Factor, combined with mechanical modifications and equipped with laser weapons.
The key point was that they could be mass-produced!
This proved that the technology in Vegapunk's hands was already extremely mature.
Of course, mass production was only technically feasible. Production time and exorbitant costs were still insurmountable problems at present.
The cost of a single Pacifista was equivalent to a battleship. Even for a behemoth like the World Government, the number they could produce was highly limited.
Hearing this, Vegapunk suddenly understood Allen's true goal. He spoke up, "Although I don't know where you learned of it, since you can name it, there's no need for me to hide it. The laboratory does indeed have the Lunarian Tribe's Lineage Factor."
"There are two methods of integration. The first is to undergo human modification at my laboratory, but the process takes a full year."
"The second is to inject a prepared serum, which can be delivered to you very quickly. However, the downside is that the Lineage Factor needs to slowly integrate within the body. It might take two or three years to fully awaken its power," Vegapunk explained.
Allen didn't think too much about it and directly chose the second option, saying, "I want to buy three doses. How long will it take to prepare?"
"Factoring in the time to prepare the serum and round-trip transportation, it should reach you in about two weeks," Vegapunk replied, then added, "Collect the blood samples of the people who will be using it. Someone will meet up with you in the next couple of days. You can hand the money over to them then."
"For one dose of serum, I'll charge you... hmmm, 3 billion Berries. This can grant a person power comparable to a Mythical Type, so the price is just right," Vegapunk mused.
"Fine. Arrange for someone to come pick it up." Allen nodded in agreement.
Seeing him agree so decisively, Vegapunk instantly regretted it and changed his tune, "Ah, I misspoke just now. It's 5 billion Berries per dose."
Allen: "Get lost."
Power Stones, reviews, and comments— really helps a lot
Want to read ahead? Get access to 50+ extra chapters on my Patreon:
👉 patreon.com/Aragai_Sama