Hearing this rogue-like explanation, Kizaru's mouth twitched twice. Good grief. Schizophrenia can be used like this, huh? Shifting the blame so self-righteously?
"Fine then."
Kizaru didn't bother to argue with him. Anyway, as long as this guy didn't transform on the ship, it was fine. He lay back down on his chair. Watching the setting sun gradually sink below the horizon, he let out a long sigh.
Bulu bulu bulu...
Just then, the golden Den Den Mushi in his arms rang again. Kizaru answered the call with some irritation.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Admiral! This is bad!" From the other end of the line came the terrified voice of his adjutant. "We just received intelligence from Headquarters! Kaido of the Beasts... has left Onigashima! He is flying straight toward us! He said he's coming to... take Jack home!"
Snap.
The nail clippers in Kizaru's hand. This time, they truly clipped into his flesh.
Hiss—!
It hurts!
"That lunatic..." Kizaru looked at the fading sunlight on the horizon. He suddenly felt, This sunset is so red... it looks a bit like the blood I'm about to shed.
"This overtime pay. If Sengoku doesn't double it for me, I'll turn around and join the Revolutionary Army tomorrow!"
Future Island, Egghead.
Whoosh—!
A golden flash streaked across the sky, landing directly on the Special Grade landing pad at the harbor. The light dissipated, revealing a disheveled-looking Admiral Kizaru, who looked as if his body had been completely drained.
"Oh my, oh my... Finally arrived."
Kizaru rubbed his aching lower back. He casually threw the still-unconscious "Drought" Jack onto the ground like a piece of trash.
Thud!
It made a dull sound. Immediately after, Kizaru turned around. He motioned with his chin toward the middle-aged man behind him who wore half-rimmed glasses and large shorts.
"Dr. Banner, please."
Bruce Banner adjusted his glasses. Looking at this technological island that was ahead of its time, in those cloudy eyes, a spark of something called "desire for knowledge" flashed for the first time.
"Is this... the technology that is five hundred years ahead of the world?"
Just then, a rapid alarm sounded!
"Warning! Warning! High-energy biological reaction detected!"
Clack, clack, clack—!
Accompanied by the sound of mechanical operation, a large group of tall Pacifista robots armed with laser weapons marched in unison, instantly surrounding the harbor! Dark muzzles were all locked onto the seemingly harmless Banner!
"Oh~ what a scary welcoming ceremony."
Kizaru curled his lip. He pulled a golden Den Den Mushi from his coat.
"Moshi moshi? Fleet Admiral Sengoku? I've delivered the person. Uh... about this overtime pay, and the reimbursement for my suit, remember to approve them for me. Also, I want to apply for half a month... no, a month of paid leave!"
Before Sengoku could roar, the laboratory door was suddenly pushed open violently from the inside!
"Stop! Everyone stop!!!"
An old man with a massive head, wearing anti-gravity boots, rushed out like a fanatical fan. It was the world's number one scientist, Vegapunk (Stella)! His tongue was sticking out, his face full of excitement and frenzy. He didn't even care that one of his shoes had fallen off as he ran.
"Idiots! A bunch of idiots! Who told you to point guns at him?! What if you scare Dr. Banner and frighten that perfect 'work' out?! Put the guns down, quickly!"
Vegapunk rushed in front of the Pacifista and kicked one of the robots in the rear. Then, he came to a screeching halt in front of Banner. Vegapunk gesticulated wildly with excitement, like an old lecher who had just seen a peerless beauty.
"You must be Dr. Bruce Banner, right? I've read your paper! The one about the quantum entanglement of Gamma Rays and emotional fluctuations! Although the formula derivation inside was a bit crude, that core theory... is simply a stroke of genius! If the problem of energy overflow can be solved, this is absolutely a shortcut to the 'Body of God'!"
Looking at this old man with the giant head, Banner was stunned for a moment. Then, a look of being "finally understood by a kindred spirit" appeared on his face. This feeling was like finally seeing another human being in the middle of a group of monkeys who only knew how to fight and kill!
"Dr. Vegapunk." Banner reached out his hand, his tone carrying a hint of humility, but also the pride of a scientist. "You flatter me. Regarding that formula derivation... it was actually because my experimental equipment was too rudimentary. If, at the moment of Gamma Ray irradiation, an antimatter counter-flow is added..."
"Wait!" Vegapunk's eyes suddenly lit up, and he directly grabbed Banner's hand. "Antimatter counter-flow?! You mean... using the annihilation effect of positive and negative ions to neutralize that violent will?"
"Exactly." Banner nodded and picked up a stone from the ground, drawing a complex equation on the floor. "You see, if it's like this... The sequence of the Lineage Factor would undergo reorganization. That big green guy, though his strength would slightly decrease, his controllability would increase by 30%!"
Hiss—!!!
Vegapunk sucked in a breath of cold air. Staring at the equation on the ground, his eyes almost popped out.
"Brilliant! Simply brilliant! How did I not think it could be used like this?! This line of thinking completely breaks the iron law that the 'Lineage Factor' must be attached to a Devil Fruit's existence!"
Two people. One was a strange old man with a giant head. The other was a middle-aged man in large shorts. Just like that, they squatted on the ground of the harbor, oblivious to everyone else. Holding stones, they began to write and draw frantically on the ground.
The words popping out of their mouths were all terms that Kizaru couldn't understand: "Quantum collapse," "gamma singularity," "gene lock cracking," "triple helix structure"...
Beside them, Kizaru, holding the Den Den Mushi that hadn't been hung up yet, was completely frozen. The expression on his face changed from "how scary" to "how boring."
"Moshi moshi? Sengoku-san? Did you hear that? These two freaks... seem to have entered another dimension."
Sengoku, on the other end of the phone, listening to the faint sound of academic discussion, also felt a headache coming on. "Borsalino! Don't disturb them! Just stay there and guard them!"
At the harbor, the discussion between the two had reached a fever pitch.
"...So, that's where my trouble lies." Banner dropped the stone in his hand and sighed, his expression somewhat lonely. "Hulk's power is too strong. And as his anger increases, his strength has almost no upper limit. I even feel... he is gradually swallowing my consciousness. If I can't find a way to suppress him, sooner or later, the personality of Bruce Banner will completely disappear."
Having said that, Banner looked up, his eyes burning as he looked at Vegapunk.
"Dr. Vegapunk. I didn't come here to be some biological weapon for the Marines. I just want to... cure myself. Or at least, let me be able to control him."
Vegapunk stood up. He brushed the dust off his white lab coat. At this moment, he had put away his previous frenzy, his face showing the confidence and rigor belonging to a scientific giant.
"It's a deal." Vegapunk reached out a hand. "I am very interested in that life form named 'Hulk'. As long as you cooperate with my research, providing the blood, tissue samples, and transformation data I need, I promise you, I will use all the resources on this island to build the most perfect 'Gamma Suppression Device' for you!"
"Perhaps even..." Vegapunk glanced at Jack, who was lying there like a dead pig, then back at Banner. A crazy smile curled at the corners of his mouth. "We might be able to try to incorporate this power... into the 'Seraphim' project! To create the truly... strongest human!"
Banner was silent for two seconds. Then, he shook Vegapunk's hand.
"Deal."