Watching Him Succeed Is More Painful Than My Own Failure

"By the way, Punk, you mentioned earlier that the ship's circuits are being repaired, right?"

"Yes, the circuits near your laboratory are completely scrapped, and even the ship's main power room was affected."

"The reaction after combining the Devil Fruit with the energy core was greater than I anticipated. It's a good opportunity to upgrade the circuits, but you should have them stop for now, otherwise their work will be in vain."

Oran's gaze remained fixed on Frankenstein and Caesar on the deck, but Vegapunk understood Oran's meaning. Since the previous research ultimately created Frankenstein, the power burst from Frankenstein would likely be even greater.

"I understand what you mean."

Vegapunk picked up a Den Den Mushi and issued new orders, while also signaling the surrounding researchers who were watching to retreat, clearing a wider area for combat.

With this warning, most people obediently found cover. MADS had been sailing for more than a day or two, and ordinary researchers were well aware of the destructive power these individuals on board could unleash.

Their personal strength might not be high, but the things they researched were each more deadly than the last.

Some people didn't move too far away, like Queen and Judge. While they might bicker verbally, they also knew that their abilities were vastly different from Oran and Vegapunk's.

Especially after Oran gained control of a certain amount of funds, the already unstable alliance between the three instantly shattered. Their goal shifted from confronting each other to vying for third place in the team.

Moreover, they only disliked the people, not the technology. Vegapunk and Oran's research achievements had always been among their targets for study and reference.

"Judge, do you have any comments?"

"The body size is too petite. It's a mecha-human, yet this size already limits the internal space. Oran locked the ceiling for this creation himself. If it were me, I would have made it bigger."

"Don't you think this size is the most suitable for his energy core? Besides, you can't build it yourself."

Even a jack-of-all-trades has their area of expertise. Oran's core technology was the Hex Core. No one, not even Vegapunk, could understand the energy supply method of this device except Oran.

Especially the ability to grant mechanical life high intelligence, which was a stage ahead of MADS. However, Judge did not agree with Queen's opinion.

"I think it's just to cater to his own aesthetic. Even the hair color is similar. He and Vegapunk are the same; they both have that strange obsessive-compulsive disorder."

Vegapunk was a severe perfectionist. When replicating something, even a slight difference in color would be deemed a failure. Judge and the others didn't know if this was true or not, but Vegapunk had already established this persona externally.

Oran, on the other hand, had a certain aesthetic preference, and it was an aesthetic that could change at any moment. It didn't have to be elegant or handsome; even something ugly-cute was acceptable, as long as it was presentable.

"If I find something I use ugly, how can I use it comfortably?"

This was Oran's original statement. If he created something he didn't like himself, it would definitely be the export version.

"Wait, you're defending Oran? Is there something wrong with your brain?"

"Hmph, you know, I've always been a staunch supporter of Oran. It was only because I was tricked by you guys before that I acted irrationally."

"You're really shameless for money."

"Actually... I can't accept it more that that bastard Caesar managed to get a Logia Type Devil Fruit! That scoundrel was clearly just looking for women, it would have been good enough if he didn't catch any diseases, and he actually found a fruit? By what right!"

When a rich person earns more money, most people don't have much of an emotional reaction, usually just sighing a couple of times.

But when a beggar sees another beggar next to him strike it rich, their mentality instantly becomes unbalanced.

Queen could accept that Vegapunk's technology was superior to his, and he could accept that Oran found a Devil Fruit, but this person couldn't be Caesar.

Remember, Caesar had specifically come to gloat to him before going to find Oran.

"So what are you doing now?"

"I'm sincerely praying that Caesar gets beaten up badly, only then will I feel balanced."

At this moment, Queen clasped his hands together, his posture quite devout. However, for some reason, Judge suddenly felt that what Queen said made a lot of sense, and he also joined this camp.

And on the deck, a new battle had already begun.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Frankenstein swung his war hammer with wide, powerful strokes. Each swing produced a whistling sound as it cut through the air, but this was useless against Caesar. Purely physical attacks couldn't hit a Logia Type's body.

"Shirorororo, only brute force? Oran's inventions are just like this, a shame it's a robot."

The toxicity of the gas was also an important part of Caesar's fruit ability, but Frankenstein was different from humans. Its special structure rendered the gas's toxicity completely ineffective.

"If I break you, Siderial won't have anything to say in this situation. Burning Type 'Mio Kuvas'!"

Caesar flew into the air, a fuse in his hand. The moment it touched the air, tiny sparks ignited. At the same time, a large amount of gas was sprayed towards Frankenstein under Caesar's control.

As the sparks ignited the gas, waves of flames surged towards Frankenstein, and the deck was instantly engulfed in a sea of fire.

"So what if it's a machine? I want to see how much heat your body can withstand!"

Vegapunk, not far away, put on a pair of sunglasses and observed the situation through the flames.

"Oran, it seems your invention is having trouble dealing with a Logia Type ability user."

"No, she's just analyzing the opponent's specific situation. And Punk, don't forget, Frankenstein is also an 'Ability User'. The problem with this child right now is that she's too frugal."

BOOM!

Oran's words were interrupted by the roar of thunder. The flames released by Caesar were like a fleeting bloom, instantly absorbed by Frankenstein's war hammer without a trace.

After absorbing the flames, several bolts of lightning shot out from the top of the war hammer, striking Caesar, who was floating in mid-air.

Frankenstein already possessed the ability to actively release lightning. And the Absorb-Absorb Fruit integrated into her core, besides absorbing external energy as recorded in the encyclopedia, also possessed the power of transformation.

Humans who ate it could only convert the power into physical strength, but Frankenstein could release this power in another form, without consuming its own original energy. It achieved its own unconventional "perpetual motion" through external forces.

This was Frankenstein's conclusion after its warhammer struck Caesar's body and absorbed the overflowing gas, and it was the source of Oran's "cost-effective evaluation."

She waited until Caesar had finished charging her before unleashing these lightning bolts.

Physical attacks couldn't touch Caesar's body, but lightning was different. Caesar's flame attack had used gas propulsion, preventing the flames from affecting his own body.

However, Frankenstein's lightning directly ignited his main body, turning Caesar into a fireball in an instant.

"Ah! You bastard, Void World!"

Caesar swung his arms, frantically absorbing the surrounding air and quickly creating a vacuum area devoid of oxygen, using this principle to extinguish the flames on his body.

But the pain from the recent burns caused Caesar to fall to the ground. During the time it took him to put out the fire, Frankenstein had already charged at him again. Void World had no effect on Frankenstein, who didn't need to breathe.

Looking at the warhammer swinging towards him, Caesar didn't feel afraid at first. After all, he still possessed a Logia-type body. But before the hammerhead could even touch him, a suction force appeared out of nowhere, locking his body firmly in place.

Command: Shockwave.

The Absorb-Absorb Fruit converted absorbed energy into kinetic energy and released a powerful shockwave through the Hex Core in the warhammer.

Under the influence of this power, Caesar's body entered a special high-pressure environment. The gas changed in this environment and could no longer be elementalized like ordinary gases.

BOOM!

Stripped of his elementalization, Caesar was just an ordinary person. Facing Frankenstein's heavy hammer, he was sent flying with a single blow.