"Wow! What's happening!?"
Atlas was the first to shout.
The other Vegapunk clones also immediately entered a combat-ready state.
Dr. Vegapunk quickly operated a nearby experimental instrument, with Lilith assisting beside him.
"How is it, Vegapunk? Is it an external invasion!?"
Lilith looked like she would grab two machetes and charge out the moment Vegapunk nodded.
However, Dr. Vegapunk's face showed expressions of confusion, puzzlement, and then realization in quick succession.
He operated for a while longer, then turned back to the others.
"No, it's not an enemy intrusion, nor a leftover trick by the World Government."
"The vibration is coming from... underground."
'Underground?'
The clones exchanged glances, then simultaneously thought of the same answer.
'The biological laboratory!'
"Stussy! You... where's Stussy?!"
Dr. Vegapunk was about to say something to Stussy, but turning around, he only saw an empty seat.
"She rushed straight down to the biological lab just now!"
Atlas raised her hand and said.
Everyone looked at Vegapunk, waiting for his instructions.
"Let's go! We're going down together."
…
Stussy was frantic.
Even she didn't know why.
The moment the vibration came, what she associated it with wasn't any enemy, but her child still in the 'amniotic fluid'.
'Adam!'
'Adam!'
Biting her lip, Stussy couldn't wait for the elevator and leaped down the stairs directly.
In mid-air, a pair of bat wings unfolded behind her.
Stussy, a Zoan-type [Batto Batto no Mi] user.
Her transformation could be maintained at just the level of wings and fangs.
This transformation granted Stussy the ability to fly and hypnotize… provided she sank her fangs into an enemy's body.
It could be said that the enhancement from this Devil Fruit was even less than her own mastery of the Rokushiki and Haki.
But at this moment, the Batto Batto no Mi gave Stussy the ability to get to Adam's side faster.
The bat wings flapped. Ultrasonic waves, inaudible to ordinary people, bounced back and forth in the rugged, narrow space, allowing Stussy to clearly construct a 3D map of the entire passage.
Without a moment's delay, she arrived at the entrance to the biological laboratory.
Sure enough, the vibrations were coming from inside.
After iris and fingerprint scans, Stussy directly moved aside the [Akainu Repair Capsule] serving as camouflage and entered the deeper-level [True Biological Laboratory].
"Ha... ha... this is..."
Even for Stussy, after such a high-speed sprint, rapid breathing was inevitable.
But now, her gaze was entirely focused on Adam, who was glowing slightly, completely ignoring the three Seraphim in the glass incubators nearby.
The vibration was indeed coming from Adam here.
It was as if a seed had finally broken through the soil, sending out its first sprout.
Unfortunately, Stussy wasn't very familiar with the operation of the experimental machines around. After rushing over, she could only stare wide-eyed, watching Adam act as a human-shaped light bulb, unsure what to do.
Yes, at this moment, an expression no one had ever seen appeared on Stussy's face.
Even when Emperor Big Mom went on a rampage, Stussy had never been so flustered.
Even when facing death, she hadn't been so afraid.
Stussy almost uncontrollably wanted to step forward and touch the glass wall, just like before.
But as soon as she took a step closer, the crisp sound of glass shattering rang out.
Crack crack crack...
Swoosh!
A blade light struck.
After all, she was a battle-hardened female agent. Even in this situation, Stussy could still dodge the attack at the last moment.
A strand of severed blonde hair drifted to the ground, while Stussy's gaze focused on the three figures that had appeared.
The newcomers were none other than the three [Seraphim] cyborgs modeled after the Warlords.
And the one who had launched the slash was S-Hawk, who possessed the Supa Supa no Mi Green Blood device.
Slowly retracting his right leg, which had turned into a blade, S-Hawk stood shoulder to shoulder with S-Snake and S-Shark in front of Adam's incubator.
Stussy's expression was grave.
On one hand, her concern was making her anxious… Adam's abnormal condition was making it hard for her to concentrate.
On the other hand, the strength displayed by S-Hawk also far exceeded her expectations.
Even though she had diligently improved her combat ability over the years because of Naruto-
But to be fair, with her current strength, she probably couldn't defeat the three Seraphim before her.
Not to mention S-Snake, who looked almost identical to Hancock… even S-Hawk, who had just attacked, seemed faster and stronger than her.
If these three hadn't continued their attacks, Stussy might have had to retreat temporarily.
And this was another strange point Stussy noticed.
After breaking out of their containers, the three Seraphim just stood dumbly in front of Adam, showing no intention of attacking him, but not allowing anyone to approach Adam either.
This gave Stussy some conjectures.
And just then, Vegapunk and the others finally arrived.
"This... what's going on?"
Seeing the Seraphim's behavior, Vegapunk instinctively wanted to approach but was stopped by Stussy.
"Stussy, you don't need to stop me. They have—"
Vegapunk's remaining words were cut off by the scene before him.
The three Seraphim immediately assumed combat stances as Vegapunk approached, completely disregarding that Vegapunk was their creator.
"No, this isn't right. They have the [Authority Chips] inside them. How could they attack me?"
It was clear Vegapunk also found the current situation hard to accept.
"Authority Chips?"
Stussy, while standing between Vegapunk and the Seraphim, subtly glanced back.
Seeing this, Vegapunk also explained.
The so-called [Authority Chips] were control chips implanted in the Seraphim from the beginning of their creation.
Under the chip's restrictions, the Seraphim would decide whose orders to follow based on different authority levels.
In the initial settings, the Five Elders had the first priority. But now that the Five Elders were dead, they should follow the second priority, Vegapunk and the other clones, according to the order.
Vegapunk suddenly felt a somewhat hostile gaze from Stussy, then, as if realizing something, quickly added,
"Don't misunderstand, Stussy. Adam doesn't have any of those things inside him."
"His existence is the highest-level secret, unknown even to the World Government."
"And he is a free new life, your child. I wouldn't do such a thing."
Hearing this, Stussy's expression returned to normal.
Then, she apologized to Vegapunk for her earlier behavior.
"I'm sorry, Doctor, I..."
"I understand. It's fine."
Vegapunk indicated that Stussy needn't mind. On the contrary, Dr. Vegapunk was actually happier to see this maternal instinct in Stussy.
"It's just their current state..."
Vegapunk stroked his chin, observing the three Seraphim.
"Vegapunk, could they be influenced by Adam?"
Lilith suggested a possibility.
Though it seemed far-fetched, it wasn't impossible.
The clones exchanged glances and also agreed that this probability wasn't zero.
After all, Adam's very existence was a miracle, an uncertainty, something uncontrollable.
Therefore, any situation that arose was understandable.
But the current problem was: How long would this situation last? And what was happening to Adam?
Looking at Adam, whose light flickered behind the three, Vegapunk seemed to think of something and immediately began operating the instruments nearby.
Fortunately, this action didn't provoke hostility from the three Seraphim. They just gave a cold glance in this direction, then turned their heads back.
It seemed as long as no one approached Adam, they wouldn't attack.
"Indeed! That's it!"
Suddenly, Vegapunk exclaimed, and the other clones gathered to look.
"This is..."
"The laboratory's electricity is being drained. The target is—"
"Adam! He's absorbing the electricity!"
"No, what he needs is energy!"
The clones chattered noisily, but Dr. Vegapunk slapped the table and said to Lilith beside him,
"Lilith, go to the fusion furnace and bring out 'that thing'."
"Mother Flame."