One Piece: Holy Light Swordmaster

In no time, Dr. Vegapunk had finished his seemingly incomprehensible scribbles, leaving Vice Admiral Wright utterly baffled.

"Done! The teleportation alert device..."

Vegapunk lifted his head from the blueprints, satisfied. "The teleportation process takes about three seconds. By adding an alert two seconds ahead, you won't be startled anymore!"

Turning around, he slapped his forehead. "Oh! Vice Admiral Wright, I didn't notice it was you earlier. My apologies, my apologies..."

"It's rare for Atama to be out, so when I work alone, I tend to tune out my surroundings..."

"Uh… No need to apologize, Doctor. I think your idea is brilliant—if more people use the system, it's definitely better to have an alert."

As the prior "sole" user of the Lightforged Beacon, Wright hadn't thought much about these details. But with more users, it was indeed necessary.

"Doctor, would it be possible to add additional features to the Lightforged Beacon?"

Vegapunk's interest was piqued. "Such as?"

"Currently, the beacon has a dialing function similar to Den Den Mushi. Could we add caller identification—or, well, a display to show the sender's number and location?"

"Additionally, a confirmation step where the recipient must approve the teleportation could enhance security. Ideally, these could be optional features, especially since the beacons are to be installed in Marine bases, where security is critical."

"Hmm… That makes sense. The novelty of spatial teleportation had us overlooking these concerns."

Vegapunk stroked his chin. "It seems we'll need to extend the testing phase, but that's not a major issue—"

"Clatter! Clatter!"

Vegapunk was interrupted by a noise. He looked toward a corner of the laboratory.

This corner stood out, appearing somewhat out of place amidst the lab's high-tech environment—it seemed to be an area for keeping a pet.

"Doctor, do you keep pets?"

Wright couldn't help but chuckle. Could the genius scientist Vegapunk also be a pet owner?

"Ah… It's something I created during my research—a byproduct of my Devil Fruit experiments," Vegapunk said, scratching his head. "It's still young, and I found it amusing, so I kept it as a pet."

"Vice Admiral Wright, come take a look!"

Vegapunk walked toward the noisy corner, with Wright following curiously behind.

A byproduct of Devil Fruit research? Vegapunk's pet—could it be…?

The corner housed a large cubic enclosure, with Vegapunk explaining that the bottom half was a temperature-controlled compartment.

The front of the enclosure was made of transparent material. The upper half contained an array of pet supplies—

An automatic feeder, water dispenser, climbing stand, running wheel, miniature mountain, pool, and a floor covered in sand...

And, of course, a cage where the source of the noise was hiding.

Vegapunk pressed a button on the enclosure. The cage, which had been clattering nonstop, opened, and out flew a peculiar creature.

Yes—flew out.

It had tiny forelimbs, a large belly, thick hind legs, and a powerful tail wagging energetically.

Its adorably ugly face was adorned with a mouth full of sharp teeth, occasionally spewing small flames. A pair of small wings flapped on its back.

"A dragon?"

Wright had encountered Kaido in his dragon form, but this "dragon" before him was clearly a very different creature.

"Yes, it's a mythical form of dragon. Its basic characteristics match the legends, but its proportions are somewhat off..."

Vegapunk looked at the clumsy red "dragon" fluttering around the enclosure with a hint of helplessness.

"When I was researching artificial Devil Fruits, one of the experimental subjects had a much better appearance than this one, though its intelligence was equally low and it was far more aggressive. That fruit was ultimately deemed a failure."

"As for this little one, I'm keeping it for now. Once I've managed to create one with at least the intelligence of a normal animal, I'll give it another go."

At that, Vegapunk clapped his hands. "Vice Admiral Wright, I heard you took on Kaido…"

"The next time you fight him, could you collect some of his blood for me? Maybe even a scale or a claw—that would be ideal!"

"Having a ready source of lineage factors would significantly increase the success rate!"

"..."

Wright was speechless. Did Vegapunk think it was so easy to take a claw from Kaido? Even getting a scale was tough…

"Dr. Vegapunk, I'll keep that in mind for any future opportunities involving Kaido…

"But earlier, you mentioned artificial Devil Fruits? And dragons?"

Wright's lips twitched. "You didn't… create a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, did you?"

"That's correct, though that particular fruit was a failed prototype left behind at a previous lab. It doesn't matter—it's a failure anyway."

Wright had a sinking feeling. "In what way was it a failure?"

"Typically, Zoan-type Devil Fruits grant the user three transformation stages: human form, hybrid form, and full beast form, with no impact on intelligence."

Vegapunk explained:

"But that fruit, theoretically, would grant the user the immense physique and regenerative power of a mythical dragon. However, possibly due to issues with the experimental subject, the user's transformation and intelligence were affected."

"Initially, the user would struggle to achieve a hybrid form, with only partial beast transformations."

"As the beastification progresses, the user's intelligence would degrade into that of a wild animal—unlike regular Zoan Fruits, which may only influence personality traits."

"At full beastification, the user would become a mindless, rampaging beast…"

"Additionally, the energy consumption for transformations is significantly higher than for standard Zoan Fruits—especially for the hybrid form."

Matching these traits to a certain figure in his mind, Wright couldn't help but blurt out:

"With a fruit this dangerous, you just… left it lying around?"

"I forgot to bring it!"

Vegapunk awkwardly emphasized, "Next time I make such a fruit, I won't repeat that mistake!"

"Alright then…"

Wright looked at the playful "dragon" and asked, "You mentioned earlier that once the Lightforged Beacon project is complete, you'll start working on a new project mandated by the higher-ups?"

At this, Vegapunk's expression dimmed, and he sighed.

"Yes. Originally, if I could continue my current research, I would have eventually succeeded in large-object teleportation and group teleportation with the beacons. That's when they'd truly shine! But…"

"The World Government has lost patience. They've ordered me to begin work on one of their forbidden projects—giant human experimentation!"

"It seems CP failed again with the giants?"

Wright snorted. Over the years, the World Government had never ceased their attempts to secure the strength of the giant race, even resorting to deceit to recruit two former members of the Giant Warrior Pirates to guard the gates of Enies Lobby.

"Ever since 'that incident,' their infiltration attempts into Elbaf have never ceased—but they've never succeeded either."

"Which is why they're now turning to you, Doctor, to create giants artificially."

Despite Vegapunk's efforts to delay, the World Government's demands were relentless.

"Still, it's fine."

Vegapunk chuckled. "Finding time for side projects amidst official work is a necessary skill for any scientist—and one I've mastered!"

"Compared to such inhumane research, the Lightforged Beacon holds far greater strategic value!"

"And because of that very value…"

Wright smiled faintly. "Doctor, while delays are possible, you must take care to protect yourself…"

"Oh? It seems Sentomaru is here. Shall we discuss the main agenda?"

"Yes… let's."

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