Suikazan Fuguki, the Modified

"Doctor, could it be that you really intend to make Suikazan Fuguki the Mizukage? Do you truly trust him that much?"

Under the operating lamp, Orochimaru wore a strange smile as he asked Vegapunk, who was performing the modification surgery.

"Heh, how could that be?" Vegapunk did not bother hiding anything from Orochimaru and answered coldly, "If I really wanted to modify him, wouldn't a single injection of Gene Modification Fluid be enough? As my assistant, have you ever actually seen me use modification surgery before?"

"So the doctor has some new idea again? Suikazan Fuguki really is pitiful! He practically rushed over to become an experiment."

Orochimaru looked as though he had expected this, though a trace of curiosity appeared in his eyes.

"It is not exactly a new idea. In fact, I have long since become fairly proficient with this procedure. It is just that the conditions are different this time, so there may be some changes."

As Vegapunk spoke, he manipulated the scalpel to slice open Suikazan Fuguki's head. The high-frequency vibrating blade was incomparably sharp, and his control over it was exquisite. He directly removed the top of Suikazan Fuguki's skull, exposing his brain.

Then, Vegapunk began operating directly on Suikazan Fuguki's brain. He cut into several areas, took a strange piece of tissue from the experimental table, and placed it inside Suikazan Fuguki's head.

That strange tissue resembled a miniature brain. The only difference was that its cerebral grooves looked like circuit boards, flickering with alternating bright and dim light as though it were breathing.

Seeing Orochimaru's curious expression, Vegapunk explained directly, "That is a Quantum Brain Interface. It connects directly to the Quantum Brain."

Orochimaru nodded thoughtfully. Though he had never seen the Quantum Brain, he had heard Vegapunk mention it before. It was Vegapunk's finest creation. At full computational capacity, its processing power could reach a galactic scale, enough to simulate the movements of all matter in an entire galaxy in the absence of life.

"Through the Quantum Brain Interface, I can directly control the other party. I have six control slots in total. Any more than that, and it would not be a matter of insufficient computing power, but of insufficient control on my part."

"This control does not turn them into puppets. It perfectly preserves all their personality and abilities while making them unconditionally alter their mindset and become my complete subordinates."

"Heh, then I should thank you, Doctor, for not directly controlling me."

At Orochimaru's words, Vegapunk shook his head. "Do not be foolish. How could anything in this world possibly be without flaws? After having a Quantum Brain Interface installed and becoming my puppet, their personality and abilities will not change, and even their intelligence will not decline. But from then on, they will lose their capacity for innovation and inspiration!"

Only then did Orochimaru understand why Vegapunk had not tried anything on him. As for Vegapunk, he sighed as he spoke, having recalled his three former assistants.

Unfortunately, he had only discovered that flaw after acting on the three of them. Later, after removing the Quantum Brain Interfaces from their heads, even though he erased that portion of their memories, the three still deduced something from the period they had lost. Before long, they had vanished without a trace.

However, that research also gave Vegapunk some suspicions. Perhaps the thing that determined human inspiration did not lie in the brain, but in the deeper realm of the soul. In the Pirate World, aside from a few Devil Fruits related to souls, observing the soul was extraordinarily difficult. But in this world, perhaps his research into souls could make some progress as well.

Although his mind was wandering, Vegapunk's control over the scalpel remained flawless. The Quantum Chip in his brain, combined with Magnetic Field Manipulation, allowed him to hum a tune while simultaneously controlling a hundred iron needles to carve ten thousand characters of scripture onto grains of rice.

Soon, once the surgery was complete, Vegapunk gave Suikazan Fuguki another injection, administering Gene Modification Fluid.

This was another new type of Gene Modification Fluid. During the previous genetic modification process, they had already experimented with Summoning Beasts from the Sage Art Holy Land and ordinary animals. This time, they were using the genes of a wild Summoning Beast.

Orochimaru had discovered a gigantic Sperm Whale at sea. Nearly a thousand meters long, this giant Summoning Beast had almost no natural enemies in the ocean. Orochimaru had only managed to drive the Sperm Whale back with great difficulty, and out of curiosity, he had collected some of its body tissue.

This was also a case of putting waste to use. The main reason was that Orochimaru had not collected the genes of any particularly powerful wild Summoning Beasts. With a shortage of samples, they naturally needed to find a better Test Subject.

After all, as the inheritor of Ryūchi Cave, Orochimaru himself had no need for wild Summoning Beasts. And although Vegapunk controlled Suikazan Fuguki, it was not as though he cared particularly much about this Test Subject.

Control slots were precious, but the people being controlled were not. With Vegapunk's methods, creating Androids even stronger than Suikazan Fuguki would only take some time.

The only reason he had controlled Suikazan Fuguki was to infiltrate Kirigakure more easily. But any Kirigakure Jonin could accomplish that, so Suikazan Fuguki was hardly valuable. Vegapunk had simply used him as experimental material while he was at it.

Very soon, the Gene Modification Fluid began to take effect. Suikazan Fuguki roared, and his body swelled dramatically once more. His already over-two-meter-tall frame shot up to four or five meters in one go, becoming brawny and broad, with a square head, a wide mouth, and blue-gray skin.

"Not bad. It seems this experiment was a success as well. There is not much difference between the genes of Summoning Beasts from the Sage Art Holy Land and those of wild Summoning Beasts."

Looking at Suikazan Fuguki standing there blankly, Vegapunk immediately drew some blood for testing. Shaking the test tube, he spoke cheerfully.

"However, there seems to be a slight difference in Chakra. Both are creatures altered by Chakra, but wild Summoning Beasts merely awaken Chakra within themselves, while creatures found in the Sage Art Holy Land absorb Natural Energy... It seems the Gene Modification Fluid made from wild Summoning Beasts mainly enhances physical strength and Chakra reserves, while that made from Summoning Beasts of the Sage Art Holy Land increases adaptability to Natural Energy."

Orochimaru, who was also examining Suikazan Fuguki's Chakra nearby, spoke up with his report.