One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 153 News of Punk Hazard, Discussion in Eghard!
"."

Inside the office, I looked at the plaque that had already been hung on the wall.

Roy was starting to have doubts about life.

What surprised him even more was that the Warring States Marshal actually agreed to the existence of the plaque.

"Although in principle, only generals can proclaim the 'justice' they bear."

"But you defeated the 'Golden Lion,' and this military achievement has not yet been recognized. Moreover, the sea is becoming increasingly unstable. It would be a good thing to let the evildoers of this sea see the flag of the Navy's 'new era' and hear the voice of the new era."

Just now, that Warring States marshal replied in this way.

“Roy, if you are not afraid of the hostility that the Twelve Constellations may generate as a result, and are willing to bear the name of ‘justice,’ then leave it behind.”

Am I afraid of the twelve constellations?
I am the zodiac sign!
Roy was both amused and exasperated, but there was nothing he could do.

Since that's what they said during the Warring States period, they figured they might as well just hang up a plaque.

Moreover—justice above the stars is actually quite fitting for him as a 'star lord'.

So, instead of that, Roy was sipping his cola while looking at some new intelligence that had been sent during his absence.

such as
The World Government is discussing and proposing a candidate to fill the vacancy left by Crocodile's death as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The preliminary candidate is Bartholomew Kuma, the "Tyrant".

The World Government's 'World Patrol' envoy has been confirmed to be a Celestial Dragon, but the specific individuals involved are unknown.

[BIGMOM's pursuit of the Rat has slowed, and many pirates and islands under his control in the New World have begun to show unusual activity.]

[Top Secret - According to reliable intelligence, he is angered by the disappearance of Neverland and therefore plans to hold this year's birthday tea party early, where he will announce a formal declaration of war against the twelve zodiac signs.]

In addition to inviting guests from past tea parties, this tea party is also said to have invited Wang Zhi, the "pirate godfather," who also has a great interest in Neverland.

Roy flipped through the intelligence in his hands—his authority meant that the intelligence he obtained would be extremely complex and important.

And without a doubt.
The addition of a new Shichibukai is a natural occurrence and nothing to be surprised about—it's just that in the original story, Kuma filled the gap left by Hanafuda, but now he has replaced Crocodile because of him.

As for the special envoy on the world tour, after confirming that the bounty for the twelve constellations was mostly backed by 'Im', the person behind the Five Elders, Roy basically understood that the special envoy was very likely a member of the Knights of God.

After all, if Im was truly so wary of the Star Lord and the Twelve Constellations, then only these powerful Celestial Dragons, who were closely associated with Im, would be qualified to carry out the cleanup mission.

As for Bigom's final reaction, it did not surprise Roy either.

Among the Four Emperors, Big Mom is the most unstable one—her personality is as willful as a child's, and she does things without considering the consequences.

She had a grudge against Zi Shu before, and her pursuit of Zi Shu and other members of the twelve constellations had never stopped.

Furthermore, her current dream island, 'Neverland,' is very likely related to the twelve zodiac signs.

Roy wouldn't be surprised by anything this Yonko does.

"A formal declaration of war."

Roy muttered to himself, but his eyes held a cold glint: "That's exactly what I wanted."

"But she is one of the Four Emperors after all. To deal with her, well, we need to get our hands on that ability first."

He muttered to himself as he continued flipping through the intelligence documents in his hand.

then
"Ok?"

His gaze then fell upon another piece of information.

However, the intelligence was not top secret; it was a special operation report provided by the warships of the detained troops.

[Report from the Detained Forces, Warship DT-G-83]

[Upon receiving a report from SSG scientist Dr. Vegapunk, this ship proceeded to Punk Hazard to detain SSG researcher Kaiser Clown, who violated security regulations and caused the recent Punk Hazard explosion. However, upon arrival at Punk Hazard, the World Government informed us that the criminal needed to be detained separately, and therefore transferred him to a World Government escort ship.]

The escort ship was sunk in the New World waters, and Caesar Cullen has escaped from prison and his whereabouts are unknown. The above is a brief summary of the intelligence.

Upon seeing this intelligence, Roy frowned.

In fact, he heard about it after returning to headquarters—during the time he went to the East China Sea to kill the Golden Lion and repair his ship on his return voyage.

A major incident has occurred within the Naval Science Special Service (SSS).

That is, SSG's chief scientist Vegapunk reported his colleague 'Caesar Clown' for conducting dangerous and illegal research, and the latter, in a fit of rage, detonated a research product.

This resulted in the complete destruction of SSG's research center, 'Punk Hazard,' turning it into a no-man's land.

Vegapunk's research base was subsequently moved to the New World, and Caesar Clown was arrested as a result, but later escaped during transport.

The report from the detaining troops at this moment explains the cause and effect of the matter.

"It's right for the World Government to detain Caesar separately. After all, he's a member of MADS and has outstanding talent in scientific research, especially in the study of lineage factors."

Knowing the plot well, Roy naturally knew that Caesar was one of only two people in the original work who could create 'artificial Devil Fruits'.

However, this leads to a problem.
"The World Government's detention ships have routes that are 'top secret' information that even the Navy's detention forces do not know."

"How could such a ship be attacked, and Caesar escape?"

Upon thinking of this, Roy let out a cold laugh.

He knew, of course, that this incident was enough to demonstrate the deep connections within the World Government of those who seized the detention ship.

Based on subsequent plot developments, he could almost pinpoint the 'mastermind' behind this prison break.

Of course, Roy didn't care much about such petty and despicable things.

What he really cares about is...
"Now that Caesar has left Punk Hazard, that fruit should be completely forgotten."

He murmured quietly.

Yes.

He knew very well that there was a fruit in Punk Hazard's research institute that he cared about very much.

That was the only artificial Devil Fruit created by Vegapunk, which the world's most powerful scientist called a 'failure'.

But in Roy's view, this is not the case.

"Judging from the artificial Devil Fruit 'SMILE' created by Caesar in the original work, artificial Devil Fruits have some very clear flaws—at least the ones Caesar created are like that."

“But the one Vegapunk made was different.” Roy knew very well that, according to the original work, the artificial Devil Fruit that Vegapunk made was almost indistinguishable from the real Devil Fruit prototype, and could be called 'perfect'.

so.
"I'm not sure if artificial fruits can be analyzed in a fruit encyclopedia."

"But Vegapunk's one is worth a try."

At the same time, a new world.

The Eighth Research Institute of Naval Science Class.

Of course, it has now been renamed 'Aighede'.

This island, which exists in the New World and belongs to the 'World Government', was not originally a place of great concern—it was even ranked eighth in the Navy Science Institute's research institute, which meant that most of the time the island was not used for any particularly advanced research.

But now, the situation is clearly different.

At Dr. Vegapunk's request, the island will become the research institute and residence of this great scientist who is 500 years ahead of his time.

Therefore, it is only natural that this island will become 'special'.

For example, at this moment
"Buzz!"

In the heart of the island, pristine white clouds are constantly gathering.

If a knowledgeable person were to appear here, they would immediately recognize that those clouds are not ordinary clouds, but rather the 'island clouds' unique to Sky Island.

Their continuous accumulation silently illustrates what the island's owner wants to do.

He wanted to raise this ordinary island into the sky and turn it into a 'sky island'.

And apart from that.

From the island's perimeter, one can now see the entire island undergoing 'transformation'.

Exposed cables everywhere resemble the nerve endings of living organisms, and giant robotic arms are directly transforming the environment of the entire island.

"Just the renovation of the research institute is beyond my comprehension. I can't even understand how the plan could be modified in this way—hey, can someone tell me how the structure of Area B was completed?"

"Isn't that holographic projection technology? I heard three days ago that it wasn't finished yet."

"Are you an idiot? That's Dr. Vegapunk—what does it have to do with not finishing it three days ago?"

"I remember Vegapunk saying this is the factory level, and this is what it looks like. What must the research level be like?"

"Speaking of which, Dr. Vegapunk hasn't shown up for several days. Could he have come up with something amazing again?"

Looking at those busy robots constantly directing operations, the scientists in other experimental areas could only feel awe and admiration.

They are all outstanding scientists; otherwise, they wouldn't be qualified to be here.

But it is precisely because of their exceptional knowledge that they can now better understand the vast gap between them and Vegapunk.

A few minutes of flashes of inspiration from the latter might be worth more than a lifetime of research for them.

"As expected of Dr. Vegapunk."

As they marveled at this, their gazes involuntarily turned to the very center of the island.

There, there is a structure shaped like an egg.

That was the central area of ​​the island's 'research layer,' the residence of Dr. Vegapunk.

But they were naturally unaware that at this moment, inside that huge, egg-shaped research institute...

"You're saved!"

The world's greatest scientist, Dr. Vegapunk, was unexpectedly excited at this moment.

He was quite old, as evidenced by his gray hair and wrinkles, and his apple branch-shaped head and enormous tongue made him move rather slowly.

But at this moment, he was gesturing wildly as he spoke.

"You mean the Fountain of Youth?"

At this moment, he stood before a man of extremely large and robust build.

He wore a white spotted hat with two bear ears and frameless glasses.

He is 'Tyrant' Bartholomew Bear.

"That's right, the Fountain of Youth, no, this thing isn't a naturally occurring spring at all."

Vegapunk spoke excitedly.

He was holding a test tube in his hand.

Inside the test tube, the colorful liquid was clearly the famous 'Fountain of Youth' from the ocean.

Yes—for the vast majority of those in power, including kings, the Fountain of Youth was something they craved but could not obtain.

Even if someone occasionally obtained a bit of the Fountain of Youth, they would often keep it for their own use or sell it on the black market for an unbelievable price.

But Vegapunk, as the chief scientist of the World Government, always managed to get his hands on some of the Fountain of Youth.

And recently, Vegapunk has also been studying it.

Only now has he finally reached that incredible conclusion.

"It can directly increase the vitality of the user, but I believe its original effect may be quite the opposite."

"Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable! I never thought anyone could actually do something like that!"

He said so.

The bear couldn't understand these things.

But he could roughly understand what Vegapunk meant.

"You mean"

"Can the Fountain of Youth cure Bonnie?"

(End of this chapter)