Caesar: How Did This Duct Bring Me Back Again?!

Dressrosa, the underground laboratory.

The ventilation fan whirred incessantly, the air filled with a pungent chemical smell and a rusty, fishy odor.

"Whoosh! Just a little bit more! Just a little bit more!"

Caesar Courland glared at the crookedly patterned fruit in the center of the lab bench, and in anger slammed his hand on the metal surface, making the test tubes clang loudly.

"The activity of the Lineage Factor has clearly reached the standard, so why is it still unstable?!"

He flipped through his lab notebook with a loud rustling sound, muttering under his breath, "It must be because there's not enough funding!"

"That bastard Doflamingo! If he'd allocated another 20% of the budget, this genius would have already created SMILE!"

Bang!

The laboratory's iron door was violently flung open, and an Assistant scrambled in.

"Lord Caesar! Something terrible has happened!"

"What are you yelling about! Can't you see I'm watching crucial data?!"

Caesar didn't even turn his head.

"Get out there and wait!"

"Lord Doflamingo has been captured by the Navy!"

"Ha?!"

Caesar's pen fell onto the notebook, staining it with ink.

He whirled around, his pointed hair bobbing as he spoke, "Didn't he go to take over Dressrosa?!"

"The entire family's top officials have been wiped out! I heard it was Vice Admiral Ron who personally took action!"

"Ron?!"

Caesar shuddered.

"Why did it have to be that madman?!"

"Quick! Burn all the documents!"

"Those... those registration forms for human trials..."

"I said burn it! Do you want to stay and join Doflamingo in Impel Down?!"

The Assistant had just turned to get back to work when Caesar had already transformed into a cloud of pale purple gas and "whooshed" into the exhaust pipe in the corner.

"Whoosh! Only an idiot would use the front door!"

He hurtled and darted through the pipe, flying dozens of meters in a maze, until the light of the exit was right in front of him. Overjoyed, he burst out.

The next second, the scene before me was incredibly familiar.

The lab bench, the crooked fruit, the still bewildered Assistant...

He actually floated back from the exhaust vent on the other side of the laboratory.

"Whoosh?"

Caesar hovered in mid-air, staring at the pipe he had just emerged from; the entire mass of gas froze.

"What the hell?!"

Unconvinced, he plunged back into the pipes, deliberately choosing the side paths and desperately flying away from the laboratory.

After spinning around and around, in a flash, I landed steadily back on top of the lab table.

"Who the hell turned my pipes into a maze?!"

Caesar was completely panicked.

"I'm not going to use pipes anymore!"

He suddenly transformed into a cloud of gas, smashed open the emergency exhaust valve leading to the surface, and rushed upwards along the main ventilation shaft.

With the exit right above him, Caesar was overjoyed.

"Whoosh! That's finally it—"

Click.

An Air Door suddenly opened at the exit.

Caesar plunged inside.

The next second, a door cracked open in the laboratory ceiling.

Purple gas spewed out from the door, barely coalescing into a human shape in mid-air.

Bang!

Caesar fell face-first onto the lab table.

"Ouch!"

"Which bastard--"

Keep running.

A lazy voice came from the side.

Why did you stop running?

Caesar froze, then slowly raised his head.

On the lab chair, Ron was sitting with his legs crossed, flipping through his top-secret lab report, a page filled with human experiment data between his fingers.

Luo stood by the lab bench, picked up the semi-finished SMILE Fruit, and examined it.

He glanced again at the experimental animals in the iron cage next to him.

How many experiments have you conducted with this thing?

In the corner, the Assistant had been pinned down by two Marines, his torch falling to the ground at his feet.

The stack of experimental records on the table, which were slated to be burned, was still intact, not a single page missing.

"Vice Admiral Ron!"

Caesar immediately forced a fawning smile, shrinking back hastily, "It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!"

"I'm just here to do basic research. I know nothing about any plans to seize the country or underground deals!"

"Oh?"

Ron waved the paper in his hand and glanced at him.

"So this human experiment execution plan was also written by someone while you were sleeping?"

Caesar's lips twitched violently when he saw the title.

"That's just a theoretical concept! It hasn't been implemented yet!"

"The theoretical concept also needs to clearly state the number of participants and the drug serial numbers?"

Ron turned another page, his tone flat. "There's also a registration form for missing civilians here. Would you like me to read a few names to you?"

"That cage over there is also quite 'theoretical'."

Luo added coldly from the side.

Caesar's eyes darted around, then he suddenly opened his arms wide.

"Gastanet!"

Luo suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

The surrounding oxygen is being pumped out!

"Whoosh! Now you know how powerful this genius is!"

Ron raised his hand and made a sweeping motion.

Click!

An Air Door opened beneath their feet, transporting Luo, the two Marines, and the Assistant out of the laboratory.

Where are they?!

Caesar turned his head sharply.

Suddenly, another door cracked open next to the lab bench.

Looking for me?

Ron came out of the door.

Luo and two Marines followed closely behind.

Caesar turned around in a panic, no longer caring about maintaining the Gastanet.

"Trying this kind of thing in the lab? Aren't you afraid of suffocating your own people?"

Bang!

A punch, coated in Armament Haki, struck Caesar squarely in the cheek.

"Puff!"

Caesar was sent flying, crashing into a row of reagent racks.

"Whoosh... Why do you Navy people always love to slap people in the face?!"

Luo glanced down at him, his tone flat.

"Because your face really deserves a beating."

The Marine who followed stepped forward and pulled out Seastone Handcuffs.

Caesar immediately and obediently raised his hands, higher than his head.

"I surrender! I surrender! This genius is willing to serve the Navy, doing research and technology!"

Click.

The handcuffs were locked.

Ron winked at Luo.

Luo immediately went to Caesar.

"W-What are you going to do?!"

Caesar shrank back.

"Even this genius is wearing Seastone Handcuffs!"

"ROOM."

A pale blue area unfolds.

Luo raised the Kikoku, its tip aimed at Caesar's chest.

"Scalpel."

Swish!

Caesar felt a sudden emptiness in his chest.

Looking down, I saw a square hole in my chest!

His heart, however, had been placed inside a transparent cube and ended up in Luo's hands.

Caesar's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"You took my heart out?!"

Luo weighed the cube in his hand.

Don't worry, you won't die anytime soon.

"However, you'd better behave yourself."

Caesar immediately fell silent.

The experimental data, semi-finished SMILE samples, and the lists of human trial participants were quickly sealed up by the Marines.

Blu-ray!

Ron's military-grade Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.

"Report, Vice Admiral! The Beasts Pirates' warship has been spotted in the Port!"

"The Beasts Pirates?"

Ron raised an eyebrow.

"What are Kaido's men doing here?"

Pirate King latest storyline, monster brawl!

PS: I plan to give Kuina an Ancient Zoan Fruit, whose ability will only enhance her physical strength and speed, without any fancy special abilities.

Regarding Vergo, if we were to give him Devil Fruit, which one do you think would be most suitable for him?