Mary Geoise, The Room of Authority
Five shadows swayed slowly under the dim candlelight.
The soft glow should have brought a measure of warmth and tranquility; instead, the air was thick with suffocating rage, as if an invisible hand were tightly gripping the throats of those present, making it impossible to breathe.
"Charlotte Linlin…" The voice of Shepherd Ju Peter was filled with barely restrained fury, his fingers digging deeply into the armrest of the sofa.
As he exerted force, wood chips fell like a fine drizzle. "How dare she treat Impel Down as her own backyard?!"
The long-bearded Elder 'Marcus Mars' slammed his teacup onto the ground with a loud bang, sending porcelain shards flying in all directions.
"A Three-Devil Fruit User! This defies all reason!"
Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro wore a grim expression, his eyes as cold and piercing as frost in the dead of winter.
The scabbard clinked sharply against the floor. "We can delay no longer. Initiate the 'God-Making Project.'"
...
Future Island, Egghead
A glaring red light bathed Vegapunk's laboratory.
On the holographic screen, combat data of Big Mom wreaking havoc in Impel Down flashed incessantly, every value surpassing conventional limits.
Suddenly, the projector Den Den Mushi snapped its eyes open. The previously dim screen illuminated with the imposing figure of Saint Saturn.
A voice, carrying undeniable authority, resonated through the room.
"Doctor, it seems our 'toys' need an upgrade."
Vegapunk adjusted his goggles, the lenses reflecting a cold, digital gleam.
"Are you referring to… the fusion experiment of the Bloodline Factor and Green Blood?" He frowned, a trace of concern flashing in his eyes.
"But this research requires at least five hundred—"
"The test subjects will arrive tomorrow," Saturn interrupted, his voice resolute, leaving no room for argument.
The clanking of chains echoed from the shadows behind the snail, piercingly clear in the silent laboratory—a prelude to the turning gears of fate.
"Including thirty naval officers."
Vegapunk's fingers trembled almost imperceptibly.
Even marine officers were being sacrificed so easily...
....
The Next Day, Underground Laboratory
Under the stark white lights, three hundred death row prisoners wearing Seastone shackles stood in a long line, their eyes filled with fear and despair.
Even more chilling was the sight of the thirty elite naval soldiers at the end of the line. Their eyes were hollow.
Once the pride of the Navy, they had been reduced to sacrificial offerings. The stars on their epaulets still gleamed—a symbol of former glory, now rendered bitterly ironic.
"Commence injection of S-β mixed serum."
The voice of Shaka echoed through the speakers, reverberating through the cold laboratory with ruthless finality.
"Phase One: Bloodline Factor activation."
As the mechanical arms slowly advanced, a pale golden liquid was injected into the subjects' spines.
The fluid seemed to carry a mysterious, volatile power, triggering a terrifying transformation the moment it entered the bloodstream.
Instantly, agonized screams tore through the laboratory.
The prisoners' bodies began to convulse violently, their pain saturating the air.
The muscles of those in the front row swelled abruptly, and fish-scale-like hardened layers emerged beneath their skin.
Their forms gradually grew less human, twisting into monstrous abominations.
"Fascinating," Saturn remarked via the monitor. He leaned on his cane as he watched, a flicker of twisted curiosity in his eyes.
"The Zoan-type Bloodline Factor is overwriting the human body's fundamental structure."
Suddenly, an alarm blared from Test Chamber 7!
The shrill sound shattered the laboratory's rhythm.
Inside, a Vice Admiral's body became covered in feathers. He writhed in agony, only to explode into a bloody mist a second later.
The mist filled the chamber, staining the glass a vivid crimson.
"Stability remains insufficient," Shaka noted coldly, swiftly recording the data as though he were a machine born solely for experimentation.
"We need to incorporate Green Blood's harmonizing components."
Saturn remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "Then proceed. No matter the cost, we must obtain the perfect 'toys.'"
....
Somewhere in the New World
The blazing sun pierced through the clouds, scattering golden flecks across the shimmering sea.
Nami, transformed into a pink Dragon, gradually approached the floating islands of the Eternal Kingdom.
Bullet's gaze was instantly captivated by the scene before him, his pupils involuntarily contracting.
Dozens of islands hovered in the sky, arranged in an orderly yet scattered fashion, like a chessboard carelessly abandoned by the gods.
Waterfalls cascaded from the edges of the islands, plummeting from thousands of meters high like celestial rivers crashing down from the heavens.
Yet, as the spray soared into the air, it was abruptly intercepted by an invisible force field.
The once-turbulent water droplets instantly solidified into crystalline ice, refracting rainbows under the sunlight—a dreamlike bridge of colors, breathtakingly beautiful.
"This..." The navigational chart in Crocodile's hand seemed to lose all weight, slipping through his fingers. His voice carried a trace of unconcealed shock.
"Since when did the Grand Line have these..."
Bullet suddenly stepped forward, his bronze muscles tensing like steel. Veins bulged at his temples as he stared fixedly at the nearest floating island.
Mechanical, serpent-like metal rings coiled around its base, gears meshing with bursts of eerie blue arcs that dyed the clouds with an uncanny fluorescence.
The group descended, finally reaching the fourth floating island.
"Ron."
Bullet's voice was filled with bewilderment.
Ever since they managed to escape the Great Underwater Prison, everything they had witnessed had exceeded his imagination, reaching utterly absurd levels.
"From the moment I saw Whitebeard emitting electricity everywhere, my questions could fill the entire Calm Belt! What in the world is going on here?"
Crocodile stood silently in place.
The tip of his golden hook unconsciously scraped against the wood grain beneath his feet, his gaze tightly fixed on an ancient wooden door, as if trying to pierce through the secrets hidden behind it.
The vine carvings on the doorframe writhed slowly, and the swirling, rainbow-hued mist inside the door resembled living creatures.
Cigar ash scattered onto his leather boots, yet he remained completely unaware.
"Did we change worlds just by passing through a door?" He narrowed his eyes slightly, pupils contracting into dangerous slits.
"Another awakened Devil Fruit ability?"
Zzzzt!
A sudden thunderclap tore through the heavens.