Chapter 241: Dr. Vegapunk
"Welcome to Labphase, Kamiki Eiji. Do you need something from me? Just tell me, and I'll do it as long as it doesn't endanger the world."
"You're Dr. Vegapunk?"
"That's right. I am the world's most genius scientist, Dr. Vegapunk!"
Vegapunk is a relatively tall old man with slender limbs and rosy cheeks. He has an elongated head that is neatly sliced with an axis attached to support a structure resembling the top of an apple core and its leaf. Aside from his peculiar head, the other most striking feature is that his tongue is so long it reaches his thigh and always hangs out of his mouth.
"..."
When Eiji first saw Vegapunk, the figure of someone came to mind.
That figure was a German theoretical physicist considered one of the most influential scientists in history. He is famous for developing the theory of relativity, E=mc².
Eiji even thought Vegapunk might be the reincarnation of Albert Einstein, reborn into the One Piece world.
"Can we talk alone?" He asked lightly.
"There's no way I'm letting Stella be alone with a dangerous person like you! Don't even think about it, I'm not leaving."
Before Vegapunk could respond, Lilith protested loudly, while Shaka remained silent.
"Lower that Bubble Gun, Lilith. If Kamiki really wanted to hurt me, he would have infiltrated Labphase without anyone noticing. Shaka, Lilith, wait outside." Vegapunk said calmly.
"Come on, Lilith. Don't get Stella into trouble."
"Tch, you're too obedient, Shaka."
Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Lilith reluctantly followed Shaka out of the room.
"It's just the two of us now. Please state your business quickly; I'm very busy."
That wasn't a lie.
In reality, Vegapunk is super busy, with many research projects in his hands. Even after creating six clones to assist him, his workload had only slightly decreased.
Normally, he wouldn't take the time to meet someone irrelevant. Even if the World Government sent CP-0 to inspect and monitor his work, Vegapunk would leave that to Shaka and the other clones.
If not for the potential threat Eiji might pose to Egghead, Vegapunk wouldn't have met with him.
Egghead is the result of his life's work, and he wouldn't let anyone destroy it!
"Do you know the origin of Devil Fruits?" Eiji asked casually.
This was just a casual question he posed. Of course, his purpose in coming to Egghead was not to discuss this matter.
"You're asking an interesting question. Unfortunately, no one knows for sure the origin of Devil Fruits, even after all this time. However, I have my own theory. Would you like to hear it?"
"Sure. I'm interested in hearing the theory of the world's smartest man."
Eiji wasn't disappointed that Vegapunk didn't know. Throughout long history, several genius scientists were born. The fact that they failed to uncover the truth about the origins of Devil Fruits only shows that the secrets of this world are very deep.
"I believe Devil Fruits originated from the desire of someone to achieve power over the people of the world."
Putting his hands behind his back, Vegapunk took on a serious expression and acted mysteriously as he presented his theory.
"Devil Fruits are the pinnacle of that desire, granting humans the power they wish for and helping them grow and reach the next stage in human evolution. However, this evolution goes against the principles of nature and the environment, which is why the sea rejects it."
"This is why Devil Fruit users cannot swim or lose their power when exposed to seawater."
"That's just my theory. There is still no way to verify its truth."
The theory sounded very convincing, even to Eiji. Nonetheless, he wasn't interested in uncovering the origin of Devil Fruits; he was just asking casually.
"That's an interesting theory."
"So, what is your purpose in coming to see me? You didn't just come to discuss the origin of Devil Fruits, did you?" Vegapunk asked with his hands in his coat pockets.
Inside his pocket was a button that would open the door behind him.
If the other party intended to do something harmful to him, Vegapunk could summon the Seraphim in the room behind him.
The Seraphim are the strongest humans he has created and his greatest masterpiece, at least for now.
Vegapunk was confident that if the seven Seraphim worked together, even if they couldn't defeat Eiji, they could delay him and give Vegapunk time to escape from Egghead.
Of course, that was a last resort. He didn't want the worst-case scenario to occur, causing damage to Egghead.
"I heard you successfully created an artificial Devil Fruit from Kaido's Mythical Zoan Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu."
"Did you see the person who ate it?"
"Yes."
"What color was it?"
"Pink."
"That's a failure."
Upon hearing this, Vegapunk looked frustrated.
'It seems Vegapunk is a perfectionist. He considers the Devil Fruit eaten by Momonosuke on Punk Hazard a failure, even though it has powers identical to the original Mythical Zoan Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, except for the difference in color.' Eiji thought to himself.
"Are you perhaps asking me to create an artificial Devil Fruit for you?" Vegapunk directly guessed the other party's intention.
"That's right." Eiji nodded and admitted.
"Let me warn you, so far I've only succeeded in making artificial Paramecia-type Devil Fruits. Zoan types are still under research, while Logia types have made no progress at all."
"You don't need to worry, the Devil Fruit I want is a Paramecia type."
"You are already a Devil Fruit user, so you can't consume another one or you'll explode."
Basically a good person who cares about others, Vegapunk gave a friendly reminder to Eiji.
"Sometimes exceptions arise in this world. Have you ever heard of someone possessing two Devil Fruit powers?" Eiji asked with a slight smile.
"Yonko Kurohige, Marshall D. Teach. That person caused an uproar by stealing the Gura Gura no Mi from the dying Shirohige using an unknown method. Not only that, he also became a dual Devil Fruit user, wielding both the Yami Yami no Mi and the stolen Gura Gura no Mi!"
During the Summit War at Marineford, Vegapunk had also watched through a Den Den Mushi broadcasted by the Marines, so he knew about Kurohige's world-shaking actions.
"If you had a sample of Kurohige's blood or body part, could you uncover the secret of having two Devil Fruits in one body?"
"So that's it. Your goal is for me to research Kurohige's secret!"
"Bingo."
"As long as I have a sample, I might be able to uncover Kurohige's secret!"
As a scientist, Vegapunk was very intrigued by Kurohige's body. If possible, he would love to dissect it, but he knew that wasn't possible.
Now that Eiji could provide a sample, there was no way he wouldn't be excited.
"So, are you willing to help me?"
"As long as you promise not to use my research to harm the world..."
"Agreed."
"Alright, I will cooperate with you."
After pondering for a moment, Vegapunk didn't mind helping Eiji.
He had asked Edison to search for Eiji's track record. Only after learning that Eiji had never killed civilians or any other innocent people could Vegapunk conclude that Eiji wasn't an evil person like a pirate.
Moreover, he had never liked the Tenryuubito from the start. Therefore, he didn't consider Eiji a criminal just because he caused chaos in Mary Geoise.
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