A massive underground chamber made entirely of rock, covering an area the size of several football fields.
Aside from scattered lamps placed here and there, the underground chamber contained nothing at all.
It was clearly newly built, with no time to set up anything yet.
But even so, this place was astonishing—no one would have thought something like this could exist under government surveillance.
Vegapunk sat on the ground, playing with a mechanically modified tanuki.
This tanuki was the result of a failed biological experiment. Though its body was defective, it was unusually intelligent and loyal.
Out of loneliness, Vegapunk had personally modified its defective body.
He named it "Jack."
Its limbs, heart, and head had all been replaced with mechanical constructs, while still retaining consciousness.
But because of its genetic defects, its lifespan was destined to be short.
The strength of Devil Fruits, however, lay in their miraculous ability to alter lineage factors.
Vegapunk had never quite decided which fruit to give it, until the batch of materials delivered earlier today...
Drip!
A drop of magma fell from the ceiling and hit the ground.
Ssshh—
In an instant, it expanded and condensed into a humanoid form...
Sakazuki scanned the massive underground chamber.
His gaze fell on Vegapunk and the little tanuki.
"Not bad."
"You carved out such a huge space in a single night."
"So it ate the Stone-Stone Fruit."
He walked over, sat down, and reached out to stroke it.
Sakazuki had been on the island for several days now, and he had seen this tanuki many times.
So the tanuki didn't resist. Instead, it enjoyed the petting.
Vegapunk said with a smile:
"That's right."
"I hadn't decided which fruit to give it before."
"But this batch of material was quite good."
"The Stone-Stone Fruit's user was 'too badly injured' by you."
"And 'accidentally' died."
"The fruit couldn't be wasted."
"Giving it to Jack was the perfect choice."
"Not only is he loyal, but it also solved his genetic defect issue."
"Most of his body is already mechanically modified."
"No need to worry about stamina exhaustion."
"As long as the energy holds, he can keep using his abilities."
Sakazuki chuckled, shouldering the blame once again... but he didn't care.
"Normally, someone who just ate a Devil Fruit wouldn't be able to carve out such a massive chamber."
"He's using the ability well."
"Your biological control technology has matured, hasn't it?"
Vegapunk shook his head.
"Not exactly."
"Living beings are called living beings because they have their own instincts and consciousness."
"Most animals are inherently low in intelligence, and thus can't be fully controlled."
"Even after partial mechanical modification."
"If a weak creature eats a Devil Fruit, it can't exert much power, nor can loyalty be guaranteed."
"If a powerful creature eats one, its violent instincts make it uncontrollable—and with a Devil Fruit, that's even worse."
"Jack's high intelligence and loyalty were a complete accident of genetic mutation."
"Technically, it would be possible to use lineage factor technology to clone and reproduce him."
"But that would be too much of a sin."
"Mass-producing genetically defective creatures would simply be too cruel."
Vegapunk sighed.
"Fully mechanical modification doesn't work either."
"Then the creature becomes a machine—without life."
"A lifeless construct can only consume Zoan-type fruits."
"Because Zoan fruits carry an inherent consciousness within them."
"They can breathe life into lifeless things through that latent consciousness."
"For example, the elephant sword from before—the elephant was relatively mild-tempered."
"But honestly, that was completely unnecessary... you could just build a mechanical tiger and feed it a Tiger Fruit."
"Completely useless. A waste."
"The destructive power of transforming into an animal is less than what I could do by mounting two missiles on it."
"As for Logia and Paramecia fruits, no sign of inherent consciousness has been found so far."
Vegapunk pulled out a few nuts and fed them to the half-mechanical tanuki.
"So I could never decide which fruit to give Jack."
"Since he's the only successful half-mechanical lifeform, the best option would be a Logia or Paramecia."
"This batch of materials was delivered at just the right time."
Sakazuki narrowed his eyes.
"So, about that fruit's consciousness..."
"If it's a Mythical Zoan, then is the will within it also something divine from myth?"
Vegapunk gave a bitter smile.
"I really don't know."
"Technology just isn't advanced enough yet."
"We can't capture or analyze the consciousness within Zoan-type fruits."
"We'll need to wait a few more years."
"Besides, Mythical Zoans are far too rare."
"The only material we currently have was extracted from Kaido's cells years ago."
"Progress has been deliberately slowed these past years, but within a few years, we'll likely be able to attempt cloning fruits."
"After all, the research division isn't full of idiots."
"They have ability."
"We'll study it more when the time comes."
Sakazuki nodded.
"I see. Never mind, then."
"Let's talk business."
"Have you prepared the replacement parts for the Commander-in-Chief?"
Vegapunk pulled out a small box and handed it to Sakazuki.
Inside, fifteen metal screws were neatly arranged.
He also handed Sakazuki a device the size of a large box, with several input slots and one specifically designed for the screws.
"They're all here."
"From 1495 until now."
"A total of fifteen."
"Insert the screws into the slot, connect a display and a control panel, and you can flip through and review everything. Very simple."
"I marked each screw."
"From them, you can access every daily action of the Commander-in-Chief recorded through surveillance."
"You'll understand the government's upper-level routines and secrets."
"Unfortunately, since it was only an internal organ issue, it could only record sound. You'll have to listen for information, which is a bit troublesome."
Sakazuki let out a light grunt.
"No matter. Fifteen years' worth of audio."
"By the time we've finished listening and understanding it, everything will be nearly over anyway."
He gave a strange smile.
"The World Conference is about to be convened. Once it's over, that old man will finally step down."
Vegapunk chuckled.
"He could step down any time, but the old man can't bear to part with power."
"Even though his injuries are practically fatal, if he ruthlessly gave up all that wealth and status, he might actually live a few more years."
"But people... are always greedy."
"Once the World Conference ends, give him a little extra dosage."
"He doesn't have many years left anyway—no one will notice."
"But Kong is your old boss, isn't he?"
"You'll be up against him then."
"What do you plan to do?"
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total