"Push out the Dx metal part... Yes, that's it..."
Sig directed the Kuma to "flick" out the metal elements that needed to be removed from the alloy block in front of him.
In order to have the best casting material for the "Blade of Spirit and Flesh", Sig used the research data on "materials science" that he shared with Vegapunk and began to experiment to find the most suitable alloy ratio as the material for the "Blade of Spirit and Flesh".
Since the goal is to forge a "Blade of Spirit and Flesh," the material's hardness, ductility, stability, and other properties are secondary. The most important factor is its adaptability to the power of corruption.
Therefore, Vegapunk's research materials can only be used as a reference; in practical application, Sig must constantly adjust them himself.
The Kuma stretched out its hand towards the alloy block in front of it, and a paw-shaped Air Bullet condensed, imprinting itself onto the alloy block...
A small, paw-shaped piece of silver metal detached from the other side of the alloy block—at this moment, Kuma used the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit to "bounce" away the substance that Sig wanted to remove.
Then Sig picked up the alloy block with his right hand, and the next moment... in the blink of an eye, Sig's right hand Distortion, and before the Kuma could see what was happening, the alloy block had already been "swallowed" by Sig's palm. Then, Sig's right forearm was covered with a metallic luster, but it did not lose its fleshy texture, as if it had become a combination of metal and flesh!
That's the effect of the "Combine-Combine Fruit"!
Others couldn't see it at this moment, but Sig could. A humanoid creature, resembling a lump of mud and seemingly constantly devouring the surrounding matter, was working beside him.
This was originally Douglas Bullet's ability, and one of the five abilities Sig used to "Grazing" when he left Impel Down —together with the previous "More-More Fruit," making a total of six Devil Fruit ability.
Once the "Shepherd" role is completed, up to seven Devil Fruit ability can Grazing. However, since Sig completed the final role-playing in Vegapunk's laboratory, the seventh ability is newly unlocked and has not yet been "Grazing".
The effect of the Combine-Combine Fruit is that it allows the user's body to freely "fuse" with inanimate objects. In the original theatrical version, Bullet was even able to fuse with an island, becoming an island-sized Titan...
After Sig's right hand "merged" with the alloy block, he picked up another gray-black metal block and then merged it into his arm as well.
Then Sig closed his eyes, clenched his fist, and carefully felt and experienced the compatibility of his right hand with the metal after they "fused" together, assessing the extent to which his corrupted abilities were compatible...
After Sig disassembled, what emerged from his arm was a single piece of alloy. Upon closer inspection, one could see subtle changes in its size and color—the small metal piece from the previous fusion had also been incorporated into it!
Sig no longer needs a furnace when forging alloys; he directly integrates the metal blocks into his body, where they then mix to form an alloy.
With the help of the Paw-Paw Fruit, Sig's progress was much faster—he kept the suitable ones and asked Kuma to "pop" them out of the rest.
Unfortunately, Sig Kuma was interrupted not long afterward.
Infinda called the Kuma away because it was time for the "Pacifista" to conduct human modification experiments again!
Right now, only Vegapunk, Infinda, and Kuma know that Sig is here in the entire research institute.
Sig now understood why it had to be Bartholomew the Kuma...
After the modification, the "Pacifista" has more than 80% of its body made up of machinery, but it needs about 20% flesh and blood to maintain the necessary "Lineage Factor," otherwise it cannot carry the ray ability of the Glint-Glint Fruit.
The "Pacifista" are essentially Robot that have used "artificial Logia Devil Fruit"!
The technology for creating Logia Devil Fruit is still not perfect. It has deteriorated considerably, making it impossible to Elementalization or even use it on humans. In fact, when Vegapunk discovered that the chances of artificial Zoan Devil Fruit going out of control were too high, he had already given up on using humans as the carriers for Artificial Devil Fruit.
However, simply creating a "Robot" and then using the "item fusion Devil Fruit" technique to inject it with an "artificial (inferior) Glint-Glint Fruit"... won't work!
It still requires the necessary flesh and blood as a vessel, so the ultimate Pacifista is Robot, but not entirely.
The core of mechanization is now basically complete, which is what we used to Sig on for energy generation...
However, how to perfectly combine mechanization with flesh and blood structure still requires many experiments.
Vegapunk's emotions can be described as absolutely rational, but rationality does not mean that he would have no bottom line for the sake of profit and loss. Regarding "human experimentation", Vegapunk has his own standards.
Human trials are essential for any research involving the human body, but each human trial is always conducted only after the technology has become relatively mature.
Although there are still some risks, it is by no means a consumable item. During the human testing phase, the artificial Zoan Devil Fruit encountered huge problems, with the test subjects going out of control one Vegapunk, Vegapunk abandoned the project and even sealed away the relatively stable "Artificial Kaido Fruit".
Using a large amount of human material to "build up" the Pacifista's ultimate success is clearly not in line with Vegapunk's ideas. Even if the World Government is willing to provide the material, Vegapunk still makes his own demands—Bartholomew Kuma!
The reason Bartholomew Kuma was chosen is because the Paw-Paw Fruit's ability is "repelling." When testing on Kuma, even if his physical functions were impaired due to excessive modifications, he could immediately "repel" the excess mechanical modifications.
Once the modification on Bartholomew Kuma is successful, Vegapunk can use this successful prototype as a template to clone countless "Pacifista".
With Bartholomew the Kuma, there's no need for a second test subject; experiments can continue until success is achieved, and it's highly efficient...
The only obstacle is that, as a "template," the World Government has repeatedly emphasized that the final product must be devoid of any individual will!
"If you continue the experiment, you will perish completely within three years," Sig warned the Kuma.
In reality, as the transformation progresses, Bartholomew Kuma's consciousness will indeed become increasingly weak. When the transformation is successful, Bartholomew Kuma, as a human, will already be dead.
But...
"I know... let's put the matter of the alloy on hold for now."
After receiving the notification, Kuma accepted the conditions and even obtained an exception to exempt the Kingdom of Sorb from the Celestial Gold.
Then, without looking back, the Kuma and Infinda left...
Both the World Government and the Navy believed that the "Kingdom of Sorb" was the reason Kuma agreed to the conditions, but they did not know that Kuma agreed not only for the "Kingdom of Sorb," but for the entire ocean—he believed in the future that Vegapunk described to him!