The atmosphere quietly shifted in the corridor on the workshop's second floor.
Kahn pressed one hand against the railing, leaned forward, and jumped straight down from the second floor.
His body slammed into the metal floor.
The entire underground workshop shook violently, its steel framework giving off a deep metallic hum.
A fierce shock wave spread outward, sweeping all the blueprints scattered around the console into the air.
The white sheets covered in formulas fluttered wildly in the rushing air before drifting down onto the Mechanical Leviathan's shell.
Vegapunk grabbed the casing of a nearby instrument, swaying several times before barely regaining his balance.
He looked up and met Kahn's cold eyes.
The enormous brain atop Vegapunk's head suddenly began heating up rapidly.
It was a physiological response triggered when his nervous system detected a threat to his survival.
His biological senses told him that the man before him, standing over two meters tall, held an immense, densely concentrated mass of stellar energy within his body.
It was not the borrowed power over natural laws granted by a Devil Fruit.
It was a terrifying field of life energy formed by stellar energy circulating at high speed deep within his cells.
Those energy fluctuations were far deadlier than any of the Ancient Weapons Vegapunk had ever read about.
Vegapunk's lips moved, his throat dry.
Kahn strode up to Vegapunk and looked down at the old man.
"I don't care what garbage you used to build for the World Government."
Kahn's voice echoed through the spacious workshop, carrying an unquestionable force.
"Whether it's those clones or the so-called Pacifistas, they're all scrap metal in my eyes."
"Eclipse has no use for outdated reputations."
"Here, only results and absolute loyalty matter."
Vegapunk wiped the sweat from his forehead and tightened his grip on