Chapter 60: Marvel 60
As Max and his crew made their way through the desolate landscape of Punk Hazard, the stench of old experiments and traces of chemicals still lingered in the air, a reminder of the sinister work once done there. The ground crunched beneath their feet as they neared the entrance to the underground labs, concealed behind heaps of rubble and debris.
They descended into the dimly lit halls, each step echoing ominously. The labs were surprisingly intact despite the disuse, with traces of Caesar's latest experiments evident in broken vials and shattered equipment. Soon, they stumbled upon several tanks containing failed SMILE Devil Fruits. A faint hum of machinery hinted that someone was still keeping the place operational.
"Spread out," Max commanded. "Find Caesar, and bring me anything of value—Devil Fruits, research notes, you name it."
Gwen and Shiki moved ahead, scanning for any signs of life, while Enel and Bullet took to the other side of the lab. Just as Max continued forward, he spotted a glimmer of blue—a vial holding a strange, luminescent substance. He grabbed it, noting it might be Caesar's newest attempt to enhance Devil Fruits.
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway. Caesar Clown appeared, flanked by a handful of mercenaries, his usual smirk replaced with a nervous twitch as he took in the intruders.
"You! How dare you invade my laboratory!" Caesar shouted, though his voice shook slightly. "I don't know who you are, but if you came looking for Devil Fruits, I assure you, they're all failures!"
Max laughed, his tone dark. "Failures or not, you'll be handing over every fruit, every note, and every sample you have here, Caesar. And if you don't, I'll make sure the Marines get a nice little delivery with your name on it."
Caesar gulped, his mind racing as he weighed his options. "Fine… fine, I'll cooperate. Just don't—don't ruin everything I've worked for!"
Max smiled. "Good choice. Now, lead the way. I'll decide what's worth keeping."
Max didn't want to kill Caesar too early, as he wasn't sure if the artificial Dragon Fruit was actually here. "Though, it was made by Vegapunk, so it might be here," he thought, continuing to follow Caesar deeper into the revolting section of his experiments. The sight of mutated children and humans distorted to abnormal sizes to perfect the Giant serum sickened him. Max thought grimly, "Change of plans. Fruit or not, he's done for."
Recalling Caesar's reputation as a mad scientist willing to cross any line for his experiments, Max realized that leaving him alive would only bring more trouble for everyone.
Max's disgust grew with each passing step as they navigated deeper into Caesar's lab. The unsettling sights of twisted human experiments—misshapen giants, mutated children, and unnatural growths—filled the sterile, dimly-lit chambers. Each grotesque display highlighted the scientist's disregard for anything beyond his obsession with results.
"So, what exactly are you hoping to find here, hmm?" Caesar sneered, trying to regain some composure. "I'm assuming it's the artificial Devil Fruits, yes?"
Max glared, his patience wearing thin. "That's part of it," he replied coldly. "But seeing the kind of twisted work you've been up to, I'm thinking the world would be better off without you in it."
Caesar paled but forced a smile, trying to bargain. "Ah, come now! My research has potential—great potential! Imagine the power of mythical creatures under your command! Why, I could even create something for you—something... unique."
But Max had already made up his mind. Leaving Caesar alive would mean allowing him more opportunities to conduct these horrific experiments, and Max knew that even one of them was too many.
"Enough." Max's tone was final. "I don't need any more monsters, Caesar. Your work ends here."
With that, Max's aura darkened, shadowy tendrils extending toward Caesar, who stumbled back in panic. "W-wait! I'm backed by the Seven Warlords of the Sea—by Doflamingo! You can't kill me!"
"Oh, but I can," Max replied, unfazed. He reached for the artificial dragon fruit on the shelf. It was sitting alongside other failed products; however, three of them appeared unique, according to his system's scan. The first was the dragon fruit he sought, the second was a replica of the Buddha fruit, like Sengoku's, and the third was a Phoenix fruit. But this one wasn't Marco's—it was a different variant called the Crimson Phoenix.
Max frowned, contemplating. I understand Sengoku's fruit, as he might have willingly offered a sample… but how did they get Marco's blood sample?
Since there's only one Phoenix fruit in One Piece, it was natural for Max to associate it with Marco's. After all, Kaido's original dragon fruit, once a blue-green color, turned red when artificially replicated. It would make sense if Marco's blue Phoenix became crimson upon being artificially recreated, though the Buddha fruit stayed unchanged, remaining golden. This could be due to Sengoku willingly providing a sample, as much as they needed for a stable replica, whereas for Kaido and Marco, they may have collected simple, battle-acquired samples—enough for experimental attempts, but not for perfect replication.
Max thought to himself, "Well, I've gained even more than I hoped," as he collected the devil fruits. Considering how he could combine the artificial dragon fruit with others to create a powerful Black Star Dragon fruit, he grinned, satisfied.
Turning back to Caesar, who was now on his knees, panicking, he heard Caesar's desperate plea, "The Beasts Pirates are backing me! Kill me, and you're signing your own death warrant!" Max shook his head, unimpressed. Caesar's face shifted from relief to horror as a sharp black tendril pierced his chest, cleaving him nearly in half.
"Bastard…" Caesar sputtered before he fell lifelessly to the floor. Max scanned the area and quickly moved to rescue the children, determined to leave none of Caesar's twisted experiments unfinished.
As Max led a line of children out of the research facility, he noticed his crew gathered outside, carrying armfuls of artificial devil fruits. Most of them were failed experiments, but two stood out: a unique blue magma fruit and a red ice fruit, both inverted from their original versions. Yet the real surprise was a genuine devil fruit—a rare Fallen Angel of Vengeance fruit.
"Interesting," Max thought, observing the ominous fruit. "Could this devil fruit have been drawn here, resonating with the cries of these children?" He pondered whether this strange, vengeful fruit sensed the suffering in Caesar's facility and had somehow appeared as a response.
***
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