The name Reiju uttered made Vegapunk slightly surprised. After pondering for a moment, he repeated it in a strange tone.
"Rocks!!!"
Vegapunk's reaction made Reiju feel that there was some story behind it, so she asked curiously,
"Yes, Mr. Vegapunk. Have you met Rocks?"
Reiju had only asked casually. Unexpectedly, Vegapunk answered,
"I have!"
"Oh!"
Reiju was not too surprised, since it was quite normal.
After all, judging by his age, Vegapunk's youth had coincided with the most glorious era of Rocks.
Unexpectedly, Vegapunk suddenly said in a somber tone,
"After I was taken under the control of the World Government, I saw him once..."
Reiju did not react at first, but she soon remembered what her father had said. The World Government had discovered and captured their illegal research team and Vegapunk's, supposedly around thirty-five years ago. By then, Rocks should have already died at God Valley.
Noticing Reiju's surprise, Vegapunk recalled,
"At that time, I had just been captured by the World Government. After they coerced me into agreeing to serve them, they took me to a strange place. That was where I saw Rocks. No... more precisely, Rocks' corpse..."
"!!!"
"Do you know why I have always hated the World Government? Because they have always trampled on life and souls. They wanted me to uncover the reason for Rocks' power by researching the secrets within his Lineage Factor!"
At that moment, Reiju suddenly thought of something and asked nervously,
"You didn't agree, did you?"
"I did. I was young and impetuous then, and I was extremely interested in such a rare test subject. To possess such tremendous power without relying on a Devil Fruit—I desperately wanted to uncover its secrets."
Several beads of cold sweat trickled down Reiju's forehead.
At that moment, Vegapunk revealed an even more