After giving Zephyr another electric shock, Sig pulled out his thick, long Gungnir, went up to the fast-sleeping Whitey Bay, pointed the spear at his massive head, and plunged it straight in!
Sig had already discovered that Whitey Bay's mental resistance was actually quite good—essentially Devil Fruit Awakening, but with some differences.
It's just that he's stupid...
Even Big Mom, with a major mental vulnerability, couldn't withstand Sig's Dream Infiltration, let alone the simpleton!
As Gungnir pierced through, Sig entered Whitey Bay's dream.
At this moment, Weevil was dreaming—dreaming of being fast asleep in his own little room...
Sig:...
He's sleeping really well!
Furthermore, this room made Sig's eyebrows twitch—the walls were covered with posters of Whitebeard, there was a Whitebeard pillow on the bed, and newspaper clippings of Whitebeard were on the table next to it...
Of course, Sig could tell that this room wasn't a memory of a real room, but rather Whitey Bay had imagined!
For example, on the bedside table, there's a family photo of Whitebeard, Miss Buckingham, and Weevil —well, Whitebeard and Miss Buckingham are on either side making heart shapes with their arms outstretched, while Weevil is in the middle looking cute.
If such a room were actually built and photoshopped, putting everything else aside, if you put Whitebeard in it, he'd probably be stunned on the spot; Rumble-Rumble Fruit wouldn't be able to stun him...
Weevil was fast asleep, drooling and hugging a Whitebeard pillow.
[The Whitebeard part appeared naturally in the dream. Although it wasn't a real object, it was probably due to the artificial Paramecia Devil Fruit, giving it innate senses.] Sig thought to himself.
Sig walked up to the poster on the wall and felt as if the arrogant Whitebeard figure in it was really looking at him, giving him the feeling of a nun's picture.
There are no Artificial Devil Fruit Devil, just like there's no wife in a wife cake...
However, there are also some strange things, such as... Sig suspects that Weevil's admiration for Whitebeard is influenced by the will within the Artificial Devil Fruit.
In contrast, Sig felt a sense of disconnect regarding the parts related to Miss Buckingham...
[From the perspective of dream interpretation, this represents manipulation, hypnosis... Miss Buckingham made Weevil regard her as his mother through constant Psychological Suggestion, but the influence was very deep, probably from the Oldest One... He had just met Miss Buckingham when he was in a daze.] Sig looked at several photos of Miss Buckingham again.
The Rose Bishop's abilities also allowed Sig to see that Weevil and Miss Buckingham were not related by blood.
As for Whitebeard...
Although they are probably not father and son in an ethical sense, from a biological point of view, if a paternity test were conducted, Whitebeard would probably have no way to deny it!
Sig then pointed at Weevil, who was fast asleep, and Weevil stood up as if sleepwalking.
Then time and space began to flow around them...
This is Weevil's dream, where dreams and memories are like the Moon and its reflection in a lake.
Sig plans to dig out memories from Weevil's dreams that he himself may not even remember, in order to determine his condition, and... the secret of the artificial Paramecia Fruit that he cares about most!
Rewinding the memory to the Oldest One, Sig and Weevil's Astral Body arrived at a laboratory that looked very grand, but was also quite eerie.
Sig immediately began searching through all the experimental Record, but unfortunately... they were all blank—meaning that Weevil only subconsciously remembered this place, but did not know the specifics, nor had he seen these Record, so naturally they could not appear in his dream.
Meanwhile, the only experimental subject in the laboratory was immersed in a cylindrical nutrient tank, just like in all those clichéd and wicked experiments.
Sig couldn't tell that this child, who looked about the same age as Sugar, was not Weevil, but it was undoubtedly him.
Judging from Weevil's current age, this should have happened two or three years before Roger's execution.
For some reason, Weevil didn't have any earlier memories, even though he looked quite old.
Just then, a very short figure wearing a white lab coat tiptoed into the laboratory. Although she wasn't wearing makeup or sunglasses, making her look quite different from "now," Sig still recognized Miss Buckingham!
Miss Buckingham entered, her face filled with greed, and placed an Artificial Devil Fruit at the feeding port next to the nutrient tank.
As expected, like the Artificial Azure Dragon Fruit, it has concentric circle patterns, and... it's all shaped like an "apple," unlike real Devil Fruit which have cloud-like patterns and different fruit types.
At the feeding port, after a thorough blending process resembling that of a juicer, the "juice" was directly injected into Weevil's body through the tubes connected to his body!
Just then, the surrounding scene shook— Sig knew this was because Weevil was in Affliction, so even his subconscious memory was unclear.
In the dim light, Sig saw guards rush in, followed by a tall, thin man also wearing a white coat, who was scolding Miss Buckingham and directing the guards.
At the same time, an assistant who appeared to be female rushed forward and tried to operate the control panel on the side, presumably trying to undo what Miss Buckingham had just done.
As expected, Vegapunk had no interest in human experimentation with "half-finished products." Weevil was Miss Buckingham's own decision, and... it seems Miss Buckingham was once a researcher on Vegapunk's project?
This suddenly increased the old woman's value in Sig's mind.
Just then, the surrounding scenery Distortion again, and Weevil's body had swelled to a size similar to what it was now, and like a wild beast, it broke free from the nutrient tank.
The female assistant was quite skilled; she even exchanged several blows with the crazed Weevil...
However, Weevil ultimately managed to break through with Miss Buckingham.
Although Weevil's abilities at that time were far inferior to what they are now, Vegapunk had clearly taken steps to add restrictions to Artificial Devil Fruit, but they still lacked the same level of protection as the Artificial Azure Dragon Fruit.
At this moment, the shockwave emanating from Weevil's body alone was enough to send him running for his life, while the surrounding guards were either killed or injured, and various attacks could not get close to him!
At the same time, Sig had also realized...
The current "Weevil" is, in a sense, no longer the boy from back then, but rather something akin to a "Jailer Beast"—a product of that boy's Devil Fruit ability going out of control, similar to a "Devil Fruit."
This explains why, when we went back twelve years, his physical appearance didn't change much; only his abilities declined considerably.
That's why Weevil has no earlier memories; his ability to remember the Oldest One "minute" is a result of the remnants of the boy's consciousness.
From this perspective, Edward Weevil was at least more successful than those Jailer Beasts...
After all, the Jailer Beast have no human thought and need to be commanded like wild beasts, while Weevil at least has the mind of a young child.
If it were a true Devil Fruit going out of control, then what would be manifested would be the will of the "Devil Fruit."
It's just that because Artificial Devil Fruit don't have Devil in the conventional sense, or rather, the "Devil" within them are all rather dim-witted, that makes Jailer Beast Weevil seem Big Fool and even potentially exploitable...