Hollowfication

This time, Doflamingo brought Lofan straight to Punk Hazard without another word.

Since he had secretly gone all in, he had even more reason to act as though they were family in public.

It was also a way of telling Lofan that he was cooperating fully, holding nothing back.

Originally, Doflamingo had used his business dealings to build connections with the big players in the New World.

But now his primary partner was an Admiral!

This was practically an unprecedented feat.

Others might not have realized it yet, but Lofan was eighteen years old and already an Admiral.

What was the point of saying he was an Admiral in name only, unable to compete with the veteran Admirals?

A young general with no one under his command, utterly miserable.

He would have to pay the price for standing out so much.

Doflamingo had heard plenty of such remarks through Vergo, mostly idle gossip exchanged privately by Marines stationed around the world.

They really did make plenty of half-informed people think they could wait and see, testing the waters.

But those bastards were all incompetent fools stationed on distant islands, cut off from the center of power.

Even without any faction or affiliation, Lofan was already at Marineford, the center of Marine power, at eighteen.

Even if the Three Admirals had not relinquished their authority, they had not deliberately suppressed him either.

Marine Headquarters was openly showing its support.

Was that attitude still not clear enough? Besides, what was the Marines' symbol? A seagull!!!

An Admiral with the code name Seagull was a goddamn first in Marine history.

Never mind his strength, enough to send Kaido fleeing.

Just look at how the Marines were putting their own reputation behind him, determined to make Lofan their public face.

They were clearly building his credentials for the position of Fleet Admiral.

Someone like him started as an Admiral, with Fleet Admiral as his next step.

If Doflamingo did not place his bet before Lofan spread his wings and took flight, once he soared high into the heavens...

Did he really think he could still discuss cooperation with him like this?

By then, even if he rushed to Lofan's door, Lofan might not spare him a glance.

"This is where I've been manufacturing artificial Zoan Devil Fruits. Monet, tell Caesar to come over."

Monet was the culprit who had opened the palace, allowing the Donquixote Family to easily wipe out King Riku's army.

Doflamingo had now stationed her at Caesar's side as a spy.

She had not yet been transformed into a bird-woman.

With a slender, two-meter-tall figure and long, wavy, grass-green hair, she was a gentle beauty who made people turn to look again and again.

Lofan was only 1.9 meters tall now. He really was a head shorter than everyone wherever he went.

"Yes, Lord Doflamingo."

In private, Monet always called Doflamingo "Young Master."

Now, to conceal her identity, she quietly withdrew without any further exchange.

"Caesar Clown used to be a member of the World Government's Science Division, didn't he?

I haven't yet met Vegapunk, whom the Celestial Dragons treasure so much.

I wonder which of the two is more skilled."

Lofan was indeed extremely curious about Vegapunk.

A remarkable man who had advanced the technology tree hundreds of years ahead of his time in a fantasy world.

Lofan had long admired him and wondered what he would be like.

"Shurorororo! He's nothing but a naive fool who thinks he's noble."

Wearing a purple gas cloak and walking with his feet turned outward, the famous mad scientist appeared with dark circles under his eyes.

"You're the one who proposed the concept of soul Hollowfication? Quite a young kid!"

"Caesar!"

Every hair on Doflamingo's body suddenly stood on end, and he broke into a cold sweat from sheer fright.

He had assumed that everyone knew Lofan's name by now.

But Doflamingo had not expected that, after he relayed Lofan's ideas, Caesar would become utterly obsessed with researching them.

He had paid absolutely no attention to recent developments in the world.

"This is Admiral Lofan, the newly appointed Marine Admiral who defeated Kaido of the Beasts."

His eyes widened until they were bloodshot, and Caesar froze on the spot.

A strand of snot slowly dripped from his nostril before he sniffed it back in.

"Huh?"

An exaggerated expression of utter horror suddenly appeared on his face, and his startled cry rang through the laboratory base.

"Yes, I am Caesar Clown, currently a mere insignificant scientist.

It is an immense honor to serve you. The concept of Hollowfication you proposed has filled me with longing. Please offer me your guidance!"

The three-meter-tall man sat as stiffly as an elementary school student, then lowered his head and bowed to ask for guidance.

Honestly, aside from keeping a gentle smile on his face...

Lofan suddenly had no idea how to handle this coward who clung so desperately to life.

Doflamingo closed his eyes and adjusted his white sunglasses, gritting his back teeth as he reminded himself to endure it.

"Then, Admiral Lofan, you can talk with Caesar.

It's been quite a while since I last visited the laboratory, so I'd like to inspect the situation here."

Doflamingo found an excuse to give Lofan some privacy, but Lofan was perfectly open about it and insisted that he stay.

"Then let me explain the concept of Hollowfication to you both. First, however, you need to understand souls."

Through his conversation with Big Mom, Lofan had learned that souls in the pirate world shared the same fundamental nature and origin as those in the Soul Reaper world.

Souls themselves possessed power and could affect the World of the Living. Conqueror's Haki was the best evidence.

Once this was confirmed, Lofan could be certain that Hollowfication was feasible.

Because the soul was an important factor in determining spiritual power, as well as a crucial prerequisite for the emergence of Hollows.

What was a Hollow? A soul subjected to years upon years of anguish and torment.

Then, because of the attachments it could not relinquish, it eventually fell.

Its heart became utterly empty, turning it into an evil soul driven only by instinct.

Then what was Hollowfication?

With immense Reiatsu, a Hollow version of oneself existed within one's body.

Defeat it, and one could undergo Hollowfication.

And to place a Hollow within one's body, one only needed to use the Hōgyoku.

This was unique to Lofan, and it was also his most essential asset.

Even if the concept of Hollowfication was researched thoroughly, without the Hōgyoku, it could not be achieved.

Thus, no matter whom he cooperated with, Lofan held an absolute position.

Lofan had previously wanted to collect Soul-Type Devil Fruits with two ideas in mind.

1: If Hollowfication proved unfeasible for humans, he would use Soul-Type Devil Fruits to make Hollowfied souls devour one another.

Until they devoured and evolved into the highest class of Menos Grande, possessing self-awareness.

Then, with the Hōgyoku's help, he would give them Soul Reaper powers and recreate the Arrancar of the Espada.

This route was the most complicated and time-consuming option. It might require a very, very long period of preparation.

2: Solve the Reiatsu problem.

Spiritual power was the most basic requirement, and it worked along similar lines to Conqueror's Haki. Both were forms of powerful soul energy.

Then, could he use Soul-Type Devil Fruits...

To directly stimulate a soul into producing Conqueror's Haki, then use the same method to give it lieutenant-level Reiatsu?

At present, the most basic requirement for achieving Hollowfication had already been met.

As long as he solved the Reiatsu problem-in other words, how to turn Conqueror's Haki into something whose strength could be increased artificially...

Then Hollowfication would be child's play.

Aizen Template: 51%

Hōgyoku locked

This was the level Lofan had reached after his battle with Kaido.

He had originally thought fifty percent would be the dividing line, but now it seemed he still had quite a way to go.