Disposal

Grand Line Era 1499, October 27.

The latest issue of the World Economic News mentioned, in a corner of its Grand Line section, that after escaping Onigashima, Gecko Moria had appeared in the Haru Kingdom, the Land of Tea in Paradise, before vanishing without a trace.

Although Morgan's News Birds could pass by Gourmet Island, Gourmet Island would never allow them to snoop around for intelligence. The island had interference beacons specifically designed to drive away birds.

These interference beacons featured radar monitoring and infrared detection, and could also emit interference electromagnetic waves and specific frequency ultrasound, making birds instinctively loathe the area.

If any birds from Gourmet Island still tried to approach despite such interference, they clearly had ulterior motives.

After Morgan's News Birds were taught a lesson several times, he placed Gourmet Island on the blacklist and no longer sent News Birds near it.

Gourmet Island itself held many secrets, so naturally it would not permit outsiders to pry into them at will.

For example, "Gourmet Cells (Base Armor)," Seastone weapons, and mass-produced Beast Soldiers—these were all things capable of affecting the balance of the world.

One had to know that Moria, who could challenge Kaido, could not even last ten minutes against a squad of Fierce Beast Camp soldiers. If not for the bizarre properties of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Moria likely would not have been able to kill even one soldier.

As for the Seastone weapon that had brought Moria down, it was Wang Gao's latest achievement. Though he still had no way to replicate natural Seastone, he had found another approach.

Since stable Seastone could not be manufactured, he made use of the fact that Seastone Factors could sublimate. High concentrations of Seastone Factors were temporarily fixed inside special containers and used as the warheads of shells, rockets, and missiles.

The modified special containers would collapse directly along with the explosion. The Seastone Factors stored within would then rapidly sublimate from an unstable solid state into gaseous molecules.

That was why Moria had been brought down immediately after destroying two rockets. Seastone rockets did not rely on explosions or shrapnel to kill their targets, but on the high concentration of Seastone Factors stored inside.

Destroying the two rockets could not stop the Seastone Factors from being released into the air. Once Moria inhaled them, his Devil Fruit Ability was immediately suppressed.

This type of Seastone weapon was highly suitable for mass production. An unprepared ability user, even a Logia, would be brought down on the spot once covered by Seastone Factors.

Moria, who had been escorted to Greenhouse City, had regained consciousness by then, but his body was firmly bound by artificial Seastone shackles.

Beelzebub swallowed a piece of cultivated Jewel Meat in one bite. Looking at the miserable Moria before him, he smiled and shook his head.

"After being defeated by Kaido, you became someone unable to face your own failure. You've already lost the right to contend for the top."

"What do you know?! A coward like you, who doesn't even dare set foot in the New World, has no right to judge me!" Moria roared hysterically.

"Oh? So you think you're very brave?" Beelzebub smiled as he swirled the wine in his glass.

Moria shouted, "If you've got the guts, take off the Seastone and fight me."

"Heh heh! What a pity."

"What's a pity?"

Beelzebub shook his head and drained the wine in his hand. "Send him to the Land of Reincarnation."

"Yes!" Pyg immediately accepted the order.

"What?" Moria's eyes widened, and panic instantly gripped him. He had thought they wanted to recruit him, which would have given him another chance to escape.

Unfortunately, Moria did not know that after killing a Fierce Beast Camp soldier, he was destined to never join the Human Reform League.

Besides, Wang Gao had no interest in so-called pirates. Moria might have treated his companions well, but as a great pirate, he certainly had committed no shortage of evil deeds.

People like him were also difficult to subdue. Wang Gao would rather cultivate his own people than trust someone like him.

Perhaps someone might ask: couldn't Base Armor influence him subtly over time? Or completely format his brain like Cook's?

The former actually had certain limitations. It could only target people with relatively weak willpower; the strong could resist Base Armor's influence.

The latter was not much different from simply killing him.

Moria had no value as an infiltrator. Was he supposed to go outside bearing the identity of a great pirate, drawing the fire of enemies and the Marines?

To the Human Reform League, Moria himself held little value. What truly mattered was the Devil Fruit on his body.

Deep underground in Greenhouse City.

A Devil Fruit Rebirth Chamber had been set up there—the "Land of Reincarnation" Beelzebub had mentioned.

The unconscious Moria was hung in the center of the rebirth chamber by Pyg, after which a layer of fructose coat covered his body.

The poison injected into Moria beforehand began to take effect.

A moment later.

A pitch-black, apple-shaped Devil Fruit fell from the fructose coat and landed on the floor, proving that Moria's life had reached its end.

Inside Greenhouse City's Underground Laboratory.

Using Skynet and biotechnology, Wang Gao directly created a clone here, then descended his consciousness into it.

Wang Gao stepped out of the life support pod that stored the clone.

Standing nearby, Beelzebub presented the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.

Wang Gao took the fruit and examined it with a smile. "So this is Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit?"

"Yes, Father God," Beelzebub replied respectfully.

Wang Gao considered it for a moment before asking, "Beelzebub, does the training camp have any suitable candidates?"

"There are twelve candidates. They are all First Batch of Training Camp Members, and they are about ready to graduate," Beelzebub answered.

The training camp was an internal institution used by the Human Reform League to cultivate talent. Every branch had one. At present, apart from the two relatively sensitive bases of Impel Down and Camel Island, the other three branch bases all had their own training camps.

The South Blue Branch was the Black Reef Archipelago Base, and its training camp was also located within the Black Reef Archipelago.

The West Blue Branch was located at the Vongola Trading Company's headquarters—Starfish Island—and the Training Camp was there as well.

The branch in the first half of the Grand Line was on Gourmet Island.

The Training Camp normally recruited only youths between the ages of eight and fifteen. Overaged members entered specialized schools such as the Martial Arts Hall, Politics Hall, Business Hall, and Technology Hall.

Within the Human Reform League, the Training Camp was equivalent to compulsory education; all youths of the appropriate age were required to attend.

Aside from the first batch of accelerated classes, the other youths had not yet reached graduation.

Wang Gao flipped through the files of the twelve Recent Graduates from the Gourmet Island Training Camp. They were all fifteen-year-old youths, with teachers' evaluations and personality traits listed in their profiles.

He quickly settled on one of them and instructed, "This one. Have him make the necessary preparations."

Beelzebub glanced at the list, then nodded. "Understood. I'll give him specialized training."

After Beelzebub left, Wang Gao was the only one remaining in the laboratory.

He did not leave. Instead, he placed the Shadow-Shadow Fruit into a device. It resembled a Life Support Pod, though its function was quite different.

Once the fruit was placed inside the chamber, a pale blue liquid was rapidly injected. Wang Gao then dropped a specially made Mecha Seed into the chamber.

The moment the Mecha Seed entered and came into contact with the pale blue liquid, it began growing rapidly before wrapping itself around the Devil Fruit.

Finally, Wang Gao pressed the switch. The device's light-wave emitter released infrared rays with a wavelength of 1,953 nanometers, shining them onto the Devil Fruit and the Mecha Seed.

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