The World Government Tried to Steal a Chicken but Lost the Rice

Egghead Sky Island.

David's Revenge descended from the sky, its enormous hull slowly settling at the island's edge with unbelievable stability. The moment the ship came to a stop, Dawn jumped off the deck and strode toward the laboratory.

When he pushed open the door, Vegapunk was standing as usual before the holographic projection above the workbench, handling something.

Dawn walked up to the workbench, took three Devil Fruits from his coat, and placed them on the table.

"Doctor, help me examine these. I need to know whether they've been tampered with."

He didn't trust Imu's credibility. Better safe than sorry.

Vegapunk turned around and raised an eyebrow. Without asking further questions, he swiftly hooked the fruits up to various instruments. Data cascaded across the holographic screen while complex waveforms and molecular structure models flashed alternately.

Half an hour later, Vegapunk looked up with a grave expression. Pointing at a complex energy chart on the display, he said,

"All three fruits have been injected with a special kind of energy. If eaten directly, this energy will merge into the user's nervous system along with the Devil Fruit power, causing irreversible effects. At best, it will make them emotionally unstable; at worst, they will completely lose their minds and become puppets that obey a specific command."

Dawn's gaze turned cold.

"Can it be separated?"

"Not at present."

Vegapunk shook his head regretfully.

"This energy field is bound too tightly to the Devil Fruit's power. Forcibly separating it would only destroy the fruit's core structure and render its ability useless."

It would be far too wasteful to simply give up three Mythical Zoans. Dawn fell silent for several seconds, thinking, before inspiration suddenly struck him.

"What if we only extract the part of the Devil Fruit that grants the ability? Can that