Vegapunk's Ambition
Vegapunk stared intently at the writhing Dark Vortex in Roy's palm, his expression freezing for a moment.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.
Roy slowly clenched his fist, and the darkness that seemed capable of devouring everything slowly dissipated, as if the air had breathed a sigh of relief and resumed its flow.
"As you can see, Teach isn't the only one in this world capable of consuming two fruits."
"...!!"
Vegapunk gasped sharply, his breath catching in his throat as if something was stuck there.
His mind went blank for a few seconds, as if a system had crashed and was unable to function.
"Dual Devil Fruit Ability User... He... He actually admitted it like that?!"
He stood frozen in place, his lips trembling slightly, his mind replaying words like "Dark-Dark Fruit" and "Dual Devil Fruit Ability," causing his thoughts to churn like waves.
But Vegapunk was, after all, a user of the Brain-Brain Fruit, and as the most intelligent brain in the world, he quickly recovered from the Impact.
In just a few seconds, his mind began to race like lightning.
He took a deep breath and turned a sharp look at Roy: "... Why are you telling me this?"
He didn't deny it, nor did he exclaim in surprise; the first thing he raised was the motive.
Roy gazed at him silently, his eyes devoid of any hint of jest, and slowly spoke:
"It was only after consuming the Dark-Dark Fruit that I truly understood... why Teach was so fixated on it."
Vegapunk frowned slightly. "Why?"
"This fruit allows one to steal the abilities of other people's Devil Fruits."
"Boom--!"
Like Thunderclap piercing the sky, those words instantly exploded in Vegapunk's mind!
His pupils contracted sharply, and he staggered backward, the color draining from his face.
"W-what?!"
For a moment, Vegapunk's brain almost overheated—not from fear, but from that familiar state of mental chaos.
His forehead was beaded with sweat, his cheeks twitched, but his eyes were brighter and more frenzied than ever before!
"If this is true, then this isn't just an anomaly among Logia Devil Fruits... this is practically God-Tier power!!"
His thoughts raced, rapidly connecting various layers of deduction and consequences:
On the military front: Build an army of superhumans to seize control of the Battlefield!
On the technological front: Research Ability Structures, recombination and combination, and create "Ability Fusion User"!
On a political level: Overthrow the Four Emperors, destroy the Celestial Dragons, and tear apart the World Government!
"This is no longer an ordinary Devil Fruit ability..."
He muttered to himself, his voice gradually trembling. "This is the power to rewrite the 'rules of the world'!!"
Under the Laboratory lights, an unprecedented seriousness appeared on Vegapunk's face, his voice low and urgent. "Roy... do you know what this means?"
"Of course I know."
That's why I came to find you.
"I need your wisdom, Vegapunk."
At that moment, the air seemed to freeze completely.
Vegapunk stared intently at the man before him, as if trying to confirm whether he truly understood the cost and risks behind this power, while Roy's silence and composure spoke volumes.
He finally spoke slowly, his tone heavy. "What do you want me to... do?"
Roy slowly pointed his finger at the unconscious Wapol on the ground. "His Devil Fruit power is— the Munch-Munch Fruit, you should know that."
Upon hearing this, Vegapunk's gaze immediately fell on Wapol. A glint Flash in his eyes, and the power of the Brain-Brain Fruit allowed him to instantly access all known and potential data about the Munch-Munch Fruit.
Devouring all things: It can consume all substances, including metals, machinery, and poisons, transforming them into part of its body or resynthesizing them into new structures;
Form Modification: It can ingest its own organs to change its appearance or body shape, achieving "reconstruction";
Ability Plunder (Unconfirmed): Theoretically, it has the potential to copy the abilities of those who consume them, but it carries extremely high risks.
His pupils contracted slightly as his mind rapidly engaged in logical calculations and probabilistic modeling.
"If only I possessed the Munch-Munch Fruit..."
"It can automatically construct equipment simply by consuming scrap heaps and junk; any rare material can be copied and synthesized..."
"This will be the ultimate intelligent weapon with even greater evolutionary potential than the 'Pacifista,' and even the 'Seraphim' currently under development!!"
Just as he was engrossed in his intense deductions, Roy's voice interrupted his thoughts once again:
"Based on your current research findings, Zoan Devil Fruits... should be able to be 'eaten' by non-living entities, right?"
Vegapunk snapped out of his daze and nodded, "Yes."
He strode to the control panel, tapped the holographic panel with his fingertip, and a three-dimensional light and shadow instantly appeared in mid-air.
Let me show you.
A uniquely shaped longsword appears in the image, its blade resembling the fangs of a ferocious beast, its entire body inlaid with metallic textures.
As the projection started, the sword twisted slightly, then suddenly transformed like a living thing—
"Roar--!"
A deep roar resounded, and the sword transformed into a massive metal war elephant, its four hooves kicking up virtual dust as it landed!
"Elephant Sword Van Funkfreed".
Vegapunk proudly introduced, "This is my experimental product, based on the Zoan 'Elephant-Elephant Fruit,' which I used to give life to cold weapons through Gene Introduction and Nanomimetic Technology."
It has been designated by the World Government as a tactical experimental weapon, capable of independently identifying friend or foe and engaging in combat.
Roy stared at the screen, his tone calm yet sharp. "And... what about the Paramecia?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a series of crazy ideas flashed through Vegapunk's mind.
His breathing became rapid, his eyes turned slightly red, and his heart pounded in his chest like a war drum!
But the next second, he suddenly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down.
When I opened my eyes again, my vision had returned to normal.
"The fusion technology for Zoan is already mature," he said. "As for Paramecia..."
He adjusted his Glasses, his tone grave. "It's not stable yet; it requires a lot of debugging and experimentation. But—"
"If you could provide a ready-made sample of Paramecia Fruit..."
His eyes gleamed with fervor, and he promised without hesitation, "Within two years, I can make it a reality."
As soon as he finished speaking, Roy did not respond immediately.
He merely glanced at Vegapunk indifferently, then raised his Right Hand.
The next moment, a dark, abyss-like vortex quietly appeared in his palm.
That was the darkness that had just vanished—
The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit has re-emerged!
The air vibrated as if it were being pulled apart, and the light in the Laboratory seemed to be swallowed up and distorted.
"A ready-made Paramecia Fruit..."
Roy suddenly swung his hand, and the Dark Vortex directly engulfed Wapol's body!
"Ugh...!!"
Despite being unconscious, Wapol's body writhed violently as he was swallowed by the dark vortex, as if he instinctively sensed a tearing sensation from the depths of his soul.
A few seconds later, Roy slowly opened his palm--
In the center of the palm, a purple fruit, its surface covered with spiral patterns, its core resembling a gaping, metallic maw, and radiating an unusual aura, slowly took shape—it was...
The Munch-Munch Fruit!
"This is the 'sample' you wanted."
Vegapunk's pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with shock and disbelief!
"You... you actually stripped away your abilities?!"
He suddenly took a step forward, almost touching the fruit, his voice trembling slightly, even carrying a hint of fanaticism:
"This isn't theory, it's not fantasy... this is empirical evidence!! It's genuine Devil Fruit Ability Extraction Technology!!"
Just as his thoughts were about to plunge into a deeper frenzy of deduction—
Roy's voice suddenly rang softly in his ear, like a cool night breeze.
"PhD..."
Do you think we... have a chance now?
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Vegapunk did not answer.
But deep within his eyes, a burning light had quietly ignited.