"Seraphim?" Michael asked with interest. "Is it modeled after me?"
"That's right. Ever since I saw your heroic figure in those recorded images, I've always believed that the perfect warrior should be someone like you." Vegapunk spoke with deep admiration toward Michael.
"However, the Seraphim's appearance wasn't based on you personally, but rather on the genetic donor."
"Genetic donor?"
"Indeed. Ever since I began advancing the Seraphim research project, I've been synchronizing the research progress with the SWORD Secret Special Force." Vegapunk spoke as he laid a stack of paper documents before Michael.
"Here's a complete list of the SWORD Secret Special Force members who provided their Lineage Factors, as well as the process of extracting them."
Michael nodded. Vegapunk had clearly prepared these materials ahead of time—probably because he'd heard that Michael wasn't particularly fond of cloning technology, perhaps even disliked it.
But of course, Michael wasn't a fool.
What he detested was someone like Vinsmoke Judge, who turned clones into soulless tools.
Vegapunk's technology, on the other hand, was far beyond Judge's level.
Judging from the original story, the Seraphim created through cloning technology still retained normal human emotions. Their preferences were merely influenced by the genes of their donors.
Five members of the SWORD Secret Special Force had contributed their Lineage Factors:
Rosinante, Hawk Eyes, Crocodile, Stella, and Boa Hancock.
They could basically be regarded as the most elite among the SWORD Secret Special Force.
Vegapunk's records meticulously detailed the entire extraction process, including how the Lineage Factor's Devil Fruit abilities were separated and analyzed.
But… Michael still had a question.
Currently, this Vegapunk hadn't yet created the Pacifistas.
And in the original timeline, the Seraphim were essentially upgraded versions of the Pacifistas—possessing all of their base functions.
"In that case… wouldn't these so-called Seraphim just be clones of those people?"
"That's why we need you, Michael." Vegapunk's gaze toward him grew more and more fervent.
"Your Lineage Factor is the cornerstone of this entire project!"
"My Lineage Factor?"
Michael was momentarily speechless.
When he thought about it… that did make sense.
If his Lineage Factor served as the base, even the Pacifistas wouldn't be qualified to carry his shoes.
Still, Michael wondered—would his infinite stamina and monstrous physique be inherited through the Lineage Factor?
If that was possible...
Then the Seraphim would truly become the most terrifying weapons of war ever created.
"Also, I'm quite interested in your Devil Fruit ability as well..."
"Even though I know you mean no harm," Michael said, black lines forming on his forehead as he looked at Vegapunk, "that grin of yours is way too creepy… You really look like a mad scientist, you know?"
"You flatter me, Michael..." Vegapunk stuck out his long tongue and grinned. "In science, there's no such thing as sane!"
...
The process of extracting a Lineage Factor wasn't particularly complicated. All Michael had to do was lie inside a special machine Vegapunk had built for a short while.
Both Stella and Crocodile had undergone the same procedure before.
However, Michael's case was different—Vegapunk requested that he release his Devil Fruit powers while inside the device.
Though Michael had already inherited the Lunarian bloodline, he still hoped to gain some new insight from the true Seraphim.
"How do you feel?" Vegapunk asked eagerly as soon as Michael emerged from the device. "Any discomfort?"
"Aside from how hard it was to get my wings to fit inside, not really."
Michael stretched his neck a bit and chuckled.
"Is that so? Good."
Vegapunk nodded in relief, then turned to perform a series of complex operations that Michael couldn't make sense of at all.
Eventually, a vial containing the extracted Lineage Factor was produced.
But the moment Vegapunk obtained the vial, he suddenly froze.
"Hey, Doctor Vegapunk? What's wrong with you? Don't scare me now!" Michael waved a hand in front of Vegapunk's face, but his eyes were completely unresponsive. "Hey!"
"What happened!?" Lilith and Shaka burst into the lab. "The Punk Record just crashed!?"
The Punk Record—Vegapunk's brain itself.
After eating the Brain-Brain Fruit, Vegapunk's mind had become an infinite-capacity database. As it expanded beyond physical limits, he had separated and externalized part of it, creating the Punk Record.
It was essentially a cloud server for his mind.
The creation of his six clones had also been made possible by this ability.
And now Shaka and Lilith were saying… the Punk Record had crashed?
Michael glanced at Vegapunk, who was still holding the vial containing his Lineage Factor.
Was there something wrong with his Lineage Factor that could cause Vegapunk—the man who'd spent decades studying them—to have his brain crash?
He had no idea.
He could only watch as Shaka and Lilith scrambled to reboot the Punk Record, until finally Vegapunk returned to normal.
"Hah… hah… hah! Incredible!"
Panting heavily, Vegapunk looked at Michael with eyes full of light.
That gaze made Michael feel like some rare beast.
"Spit it out, Vegapunk," Michael said, knocking the apple-shaped antenna on Vegapunk's head.
"Don't start speaking in riddles."
"Michael, you never fail to astonish me." Vegapunk shook his head, the fervor in his eyes growing even more intense.
"Normally, an extracted Lineage Factor appears red or blue… but this is the first time I've ever seen one that's pure white—and glowing!"
As Vegapunk spoke, he held out the vial, and a soft, radiant light shimmered in the air for everyone to see.
It was also the first time Michael had seen a Lineage Factor with his own eyes. He had assumed this was how they always looked…
But after hearing Vegapunk's explanation, he took another look at his own Lineage Factor.
That gentle glow...
It looked an awful lot like his own Holy Light.
Could it be that the Mythical Zoan—Human-Human Fruit, Model: Seraphim—had already begun rewriting his very Lineage Factor itself?
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