One Piece : Prince of Charlotte Family

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"Gulu~~~ Gulu~~~"

Half an hour later.

A skinny, unattractive middle-aged man in his thirties, looking like he hadn't eaten in years, was devouring food like a ravenous wolf. He didn't resemble a scientist at all.

Shiryu of the Rain raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "This guy… was really part of the MADS team you mentioned, Mr. Wilhelm?"

"Clatter… clatter…"

The only response came from the sound of one empty plate after another being stacked up.

Wilhelm sat quietly across from him, waiting patiently without saying a word.

The man finally let out a loud burp, clearly satisfied. "Ahhh~" He grabbed a toothpick from Johnny to clean his teeth, then turned his gaze to Wilhelm, who looked far too young.

With a grin, he laughed, "Hohohohohohoho! So, it seems you know something about the MADS organization!"

"I've heard of it," Wilhelm replied. "It was a crazy, illegal research team. They discovered the 'bloodline factor,' which is said to hold the blueprint of life itself. That discovery caught the attention of the World Government. Most of the team members ended up being recruited..."

Johnny and Shiryu's eyes widened in shock.

"Bloodline factor? Blueprint of life?" They didn't fully understand the terms, but just the phrase "blueprint of life" sounded astonishing.

And the fact that the World Government took action against them only confirmed how significant this research was.

"I didn't expect you to know about the bloodline factor," Hawkins Ain, also known as the "Mad Scientist," said with some surprise, glancing at Wilhelm. Then, with a calm shrug, he continued, "You're not wrong.

Except for Vegapunk, who was recruited by the World Government ahead of time, most of the other MADS members who managed to escape the combined siege of the CPO and Marines didn't get so lucky. As for me, I was the one who ended up being captured..."

He leaned back and spread his hands in a nonchalant manner. "You see, I refused to cooperate with the World Government from the start.

Because of that, they put a bounty on my head. I managed to stay on the run for a few years, but eventually, the CP agents tracked me down, and the Marines hauled me in."

"Like you said, the World Government recruited most of the MADS team. I guess they thought having Vegapunk, the genius scientist who's supposedly 500 years ahead of his time, was enough. They didn't need to bother with a so-called criminal like me."

"Or maybe it was a message," Hawkins added, smirking. "A warning to those scientists who were forced to join the Marine Science Unit to work for the Government—don't step out of line."

"In any case, I was thrown into Impel Down… straight into Eternal Hell."

At that, he paused.

He looked directly at Wilhelm and asked bluntly, "You rescued me on purpose because you want me to work for you, right?"

"That's correct," Wilhelm admitted without hesitation. "We need a world-class scientific mind like yours, Dr. Hawkins Ain. What do you think?"

"If you can get me out of this hellhole, then I'm in," Hawkins Ain replied decisively. He didn't seem reluctant at all, but he quickly laid out his conditions.

"But if you want me to put my mind to work, you'll need to provide a safe, stable, and well-hidden base. I can't get anything done if I'm constantly on the run."

"Also, research is expensive. You'll need to provide enough funds and resources to support me fully. Just building a top-tier laboratory costs a fortune.

"Some specialized equipment, tightly controlled by the World Government and unavailable on the open market, will require special channels to obtain—and they don't come cheap!"

Wilhelm simply smiled. "Those concerns won't be an issue. Especially in the New World, where the Big Mom Pirates reign supreme over the seas. Even the Marines think twice before starting a war in her territory."

"Big Mom Pirates?" Hawkins Ain froze for a moment, then quickly understood.

He wasn't entirely out of touch with the world. Before his imprisonment, he had heard of the Big Mom Pirates and their control over Totto Land, a pirate kingdom in the heart of the New World.

The idea of being based in such a secure and stable place, free from the pursuit of CP agents or Marines, was more than appealing.

"You're not someone who wastes time, are you?" Wilhelm remarked as he placed a peculiar fruit on the table. Its purple-black skin was covered with strange patterns, shaped somewhat like a piranha.

"Is that... a Devil Fruit?"

Hawkins Ain's eyes narrowed as he recognized the fruit. He wasn't a stranger to Devil Fruits. "You want me to eat it?"

"Exactly," Wilhelm said, nodding. "This is the Paramecia-type Munch-Munch Fruit. After eating it, you can consume anything, incorporate it into your body, or synthesize new materials. You can even swallow yourself to reshape or transform.

"Most importantly, it allows you to consume large amounts of minerals and metals to create rare, special alloys."

Wilhelm explained further, his tone calm yet firm. "This ability alone is priceless. In the right hands, it could easily build a world-class industrial empire with the sheer economic value it brings.

"Not to mention," he added with a knowing look, "with the Munch-Munch Fruit, you'll no longer need to worry about research funding or laboratory equipment. You can use the fruit's ability to craft what you need yourself.

"Your body will essentially become a mobile factory—an entirely self-sufficient, portable laboratory under your complete control."

Wilhelm had clearly put a lot of thought into this. As a former member of MADS, Hawkins Ain was an expert in groundbreaking technologies like the bloodline factor and the life blueprint.

To Wilhelm, it was obvious: this fruit was the perfect fit for Dr. Hawkins Ain.

"Hohohohoho! The Munch-Munch Fruit, huh? Hearing you explain it like that, it really does sound like the ideal power for me!"

Hawkins Ain's eyes sparkled with excitement as he stared at the fruit. His breath quickened. For a scientist with his ambitions, this was the ultimate ability.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the Munch-Munch Fruit and took a big bite.

"Ugh, disgusting!" he gagged.