Bright had not stayed in Vegapunk's laboratory for long. After examining him and drawing a tube of blood, Vegapunk sent him back.
It was not a good thing for them to spend too much time together.
When Bright pushed open the door and left the laboratory, he found that Kizaru was gone. Only Rear Admiral Hag remained, waiting for him.
Hag said nothing and silently escorted Bright back to his cell. Naturally, Bright had nothing to say to the Rear Admiral either.
After escorting Bright all the way back to his cell and personally locking the door, Hag called over a Marine.
"Go to my room and office. Move my bed and desk here!"
From now on, he would never give that damned fishman another chance!
Bright did not yet know that there was now someone standing guard outside his cell.
But even if he had known, he would not have cared. Surveillance Den Den Mushi had already been installed inside the cell to monitor his every move. What difference would one more person outside make?
Bright sat on the edge of his bed, lost in silence.
How humiliating.
He had nearly been unable to catch his breath in front of Kizaru.
The helplessness he had felt when he was captured last time surfaced in his heart once more.
Too weak.
Still far too weak.
This world was different from his previous life.
The vast, azure Blue Sea had never been gentle. Only strength could withstand the raging storms upon it.
He had to become stronger.
At the very least, he needed the strength to stand before a monster like Kizaru and speak with his back straight.
Bright took a deep breath. Then, it was time to train.
He immediately sprang to his feet and began doing push-ups.
His body's potential needed time to develop and be drawn out, but Bright thought that active training should be able to accelerate the process as well.
Bright began to sweat profusely.
Time passed bit by bit like this. Every day, Bright did only three things: eat, sleep, and train.
Perhaps the Kaido's Bloodline factors he had fused really were starting to work. Every day, Bright could feel himself slowly growing stronger.
His strength, stamina, and defense all improved little by little.
Bright actually wanted to test his ability, but now was not the time. After all, he was constantly under Marine surveillance.
He could only focus wholeheartedly on training his body.
Other than training, the only thing Bright could consider serious business was providing Vegapunk with blood and hair whenever he ran out of materials.
Just as he had expected, Kizaru never appeared before him again, as though Bright did not exist at all.
As a true member of the Marines' core upper echelon, Kizaru had more important matters to consider.
That was naturally a good thing for Bright, but being ignored like this still felt somewhat strange.
However, while Kizaru paid Bright no mind, the Rear Admiral named Hag was constantly stationed outside his cell. Bright had been rather surprised the first time he saw the bed and desk Hag had placed outside the door.
That man gave Bright no opportunities at all. Except when they were in Vegapunk's laboratory, he followed Bright everywhere.
It sounded serious, but in reality, it was not much of an issue. Bright spent most of his time in his cell, and the only time this man truly followed behind him was on the trips to and from the laboratory.
Bright quickly grew accustomed to his presence.
Then one day, when Bright went to provide Vegapunk with blood as usual, Vegapunk told him that Kizaru had been transferred away. The base had gained a new Base Commander, also a Vice Admiral from Navy Headquarters.
Bright felt somewhat emotional. The man he had regarded with such wariness had silently departed without causing any trouble in his life.
Perhaps, in Kizaru's eyes, having a Rear Admiral watch him was already more than enough?
Bright met the new Vice Admiral once, on a day he went to Vegapunk's laboratory.
He was a man who had never appeared in the original work, around sixty or seventy years old. His hair and beard were completely white. He was probably an old Marine from the same era as Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr.
Perhaps because he truly was already old, he had no interest in Bright. Bright never saw him again after that encounter.
Everything remained peaceful, and more than four months passed like that.
Then one day, Vegapunk suddenly called Bright into the laboratory.
"Hahaha, I finally cracked it!"
Vegapunk's face was full of excitement. "Your Fishman Tribe bloodline factors are indeed far more complicated than humans'! Even I needed this much time."
Bright became somewhat excited as well. "So that means we can begin the truly crucial part now?"
"Now, you can start choosing the bloodline you want."
Vegapunk led Bright to a computer. When Bright looked at the screen, he saw it was packed with images of fish.
"From the infinitely distant past until now, every kind of fish born in the sea—every one of your ancestors, some of whom may also have been our ancestors—their forms are all here!"
Hearing Vegapunk say that, Bright said softly, "So the ancient past and the present overlap at this moment?"
"They have not overlapped yet, but soon!" Vegapunk could not suppress the smile on his face at all.
"Then, Doctor, can I choose as many kinds as I want?" Bright could not help but smile.
"Hahaha, a good idea, but the ability cannot carry too many different bloodline factors. Even if those factors come from within your own body." Vegapunk laughed. "But there is no need to make every choice yet. Pick one first. Let's test it out."
A test?
Why did that sound a little unreliable?
Bright could not help asking, "Carry? What does that mean?"
"Just think of it as me attaching the bloodline factors to the ability," Vegapunk said casually.
He could not understand it at all.
But it had to be an incredibly remarkable technology.
As Bright browsed the many fish on the screen, he asked, "But Doctor, how are you going to explain this to the government?"
Vegapunk glanced at Bright. "What, kid? Are you afraid I'll reveal this experiment to the government?"
"Don't worry. I have no intention of making trouble for myself." He stretched, nearly touching the back of his head to the floor, making Bright worry that his waist might snap. "Another project is proceeding simultaneously: the Fishman Bloodline Fusion Experiment, a plan to artificially create warriors with the power of the Fishman Tribe. The government is very interested in that."
Bright asked, "Then why not simply recruit fishman soldiers directly?"
Vegapunk straightened up and yawned. "There is no need to ask such a stupid question."
Bright could not help smiling and shaking his head. Yes, it was a stupid question.
"Doctor, I've made my choice."
Bright pointed at an image on the screen. "What about this one?"
Vegapunk leaned over and took a look. "Not bad. Simple and unadorned, but useful enough."
"Give me a week."
A week quickly passed amid Bright's anticipation.
Bright was called into Vegapunk's laboratory once again.
Then Vegapunk tossed him a somewhat familiar fruit.
"This—"
Bright stared at the fruit in his hand in astonishment.
It was fiery red, with a layered, scale-like rind.
Wasn't this the fruit he had eaten before?
"Eat it, kid."
Vegapunk smiled. "The bloodline you chose is inside this fruit."
Bright was utterly confused.
What was going on?
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