My name is Leo. I'm a 10-year-old boy. I set out to sea to find my idol, and now a maniac is holding a gun to my head. There are three other maniacs and a beautiful but terrifying woman, and they're deciding how to "claim" my body. What should I do? I'm online waiting for help—the situation is urgent.
"My research is more important. Abyss One is completed except for the final experiment, so this subject must be mine," Caesar said, his face serious.
"You idiot Judge, your head is full of nonsense. Bloodline factors can directly cause bodily mutations. Your method of inheriting Devil Fruit powers is way too crude. Ugh," Vegapunk said, spitting several times.
"You insolent Vegapunk! Even without direct injection, you could use genetics to transmit bloodline factors through the mother to the next generation—that's far safer," Vinsmoke Judge said, wiping his face with disgust.
Vegapunk and Judge ignored Caesar muttering beside them, completely absorbed in their own arguments.
Beautiful Stussy already held a needle, lightly pricking Leo's arm: "It won't hurt, little brother. Stay still, it'll be over soon." Despite her smile, she was the most agile of them all.
"You heretic! If you don't admit this sweet soup is delicious, I'll kill you!" Queen was lost in his own world too, but his focus was exactly the kind that could cost Leo his life.
Watching this quarrel, Leo was speechless. Now, he wasn't as afraid. "Doctors, why don't you listen to my explanation… my explanation…"
Vegapunk and his associates ignored him entirely. To them, he was just experimental material. Seeing no one paying attention, Leo quietly took out the Plant Metal, dripped a few drops of his blood into the test tube, and tossed it onto the floor.
Absorbing the blood, the Plant Metal began to grow wildly. In a short time, it reached over two meters high. Its fierce branches swung wildly, instantly destroying the small lab. As the Plant Metal grew, the five people on the other side dodged. Four watched curiously, while only Vegapunk softly murmured, "Hmm."
Vegapunk looked at Leo in surprise: "Kid, where did you find this?" He clearly recognized the Plant Metal. Leo stepped back to the doorway and loudly said, "Dr. Vegapunk, I'm your fan. I found this Plant Metal by following the instructions in your notes."
Before Vegapunk could respond, Stussy interjected: "Oh? Little brother, is this why you sneaked onto Reunion Island? Vegapunk, you really have an impressive fan. At such a young age, you bypassed the guards and snuck into the lab?"
Vegapunk studied Leo carefully for a moment and said, "Kid, you're not from Baltimore. How did you get my notes?"
"Doctor, I admire you. I studied in Baltimore before and found your notes in your lab. I came all this way to find you. Please take me in—I worked really hard. Oh, and I even built the laser weapon you envisioned."
"Just that? Stussy, do you want to draw blood? You go first," Vegapunk said coldly.
"Oh! Doctor, you know me too well. I won't refuse. Little brother, I advise you to cooperate, or you'll suffer," Stussy said.
"Doctor, please, I even helped Baltimore renovate their heating system. Much better than what you left. You can't ignore someone helping your hometown, right?"
"Oh? Seems like you get along with them. Fine, come with me. Don't resist. Give me this little one," Peregrine said. Hearing this, Leo finally exhaled in relief. He hunched and followed the doctor out of that troublesome place.
Vegapunk wanted to claim the subject, and Caesar jumped to stop him, but Stussy was faster, restraining Caesar first. The others watched as the two left. Shortly after, they heard Queen ask, "Wait, wait… he hasn't said whether he likes red bean soup." Leo was speechless. Sometimes, that idiot Queen was almost cute.
…
"Before I left, I left a lot of money for Baltimore," Leo said.
Vegapunk paused. "Your idea for modifying the heating system is excellent, but if you want to study with me, don't bring it up again. You can be my assistant for now. In the future, you'll handle cleaning and errands in the lab."
"Alright, let's stop chatting. Take me to see your laser weapon."
A few days later, Leo and Vegapunk stood on the beach, examining the massive machine before them. Since Leo demonstrated the laser cannon, Vegapunk had looked down on him. Perhaps he didn't want to see such great research wasted, so he personally rebuilt the laser cannon.
"I've always dreamed of creating a robot capable of independent thought. It could fly through the sky, dive into the ocean, defeat all enemies, and become Baltimore's guardian. Its weapon is a luminous energy cannon."
"Oh? Doctor, you've never seen a laser weapon before. How did you come up with this idea?"
"When I was a child, I was too lazy to shovel snow. I made a mobile snow plow using mirrors to reflect sunlight to melt snow. Later, I realized focusing light with a convex lens worked better, and that led to the idea of a laser weapon."
Leo was amazed. It was incredible—top scientists could find inspiration in everyday life. "Doctor, why didn't you continue this research?"
"Scientists need to eat too."
Leo: "..."
Reality hit again. Without substantial funding, scientific research couldn't proceed. "Doctor, where does MADS get research funding? Frankly, you don't look rich."
"Of course. We have investors. Have you heard of the usurer Duffield? Ambitious but incapable. He wanted to conquer the underworld with powerful technology but lacked skilled people, so he had no choice but to hire us. Honestly, we should thank him—without him, many projects couldn't happen."
An hour later, the new laser cannon was ready. Vegapunk stood at the console, aimed, and pressed the activation button. The beam focused, and a distant explosion followed.
With Vegapunk's modifications, the laser cannon no longer required Leo's Devil Fruit powers, charged faster, and had greater destructive force. On impact, the beam exploded. In short, it was far stronger than the one Leo had designed.
Leo was shocked. Pointing at the target, he asked, "This… this is absurd. Why does the same structure create something so much stronger?"
"Ha! You used scrap; how can it compare to my carefully chosen materials? You even solved my long-standing beam amplification problem. If I couldn't make a proper weapon, I'd be unworthy of being Baltimore's #1 scientist."
"..." Leo was speechless. "Doctor, can you talk normally? Why must you brag whenever you get the chance?"
After the experiment, Vegapunk lost interest in the laser weapon. Leo began his busy life as an assistant, helping with all experiments.
Besides the brilliant Vegapunk, the others specialized in one field. Although they constantly argued, they were highly interdependent, needing each other's expertise.
For example, Judge had deep knowledge in electronics but had recently obsessed over Devil Fruit research, aiming to transplant abilities into humans. This required collaboration with Vegapunk on genetics. Leo recognized the early stages of bloodline limits here. Judge also tried to steal Vegapunk's laser technology, so Leo guarded it like a thief-proof lock.
Caesar was obsessed with poison research—no wonder he would become a poison-type Devil Fruit user. Leo had witnessed his studies firsthand, and the gas seemed almost alive. Surprisingly, Caesar, despite his twisted personality, was Queen's close friend and shared top-tier poison research with him.
Queen, though comical, was cunning. Leo noticed he played both sides: close with Caesar while negotiating with Judge. He even saw Queen experimenting with new weapons in the lab. This showed his cleverness—he learned much by navigating both factions.
Lastly, Stussy. Honestly, Leo feared being alone with her; she was the most dangerous. His past-life memories revealed her full name: Baklingom Stussy, a former Rocks crew member. Her age didn't match her appearance—forty-something but looking like an eighteen-year-old. Upon seeing her research, he realized she specialized in cloning. Since then, he felt she looked at him as if she wanted to devour him.
Thus, Leo endured Stussy's harassment while learning knowledge, living a painful but fulfilling life. One day, as he tried to return to his room exhausted, Vegapunk stopped him: "Leo, come see my new toy."
Curious, Leo approached and saw a square metal box. "Doctor, what is this for?" he asked.
"Try wearing it on your back. The right side has a start button," Vegapunk said proudly, legs crossed.
Leo obediently strapped it on and pressed the button. The box shook and began to transform, enveloping him completely in under a minute.
"Whoa! It's a robot. Doctor, you understand a man's sense of romance."
"Hehe! Look in the mirror and see how cool you are," Vegapunk said, visibly pleased.
Leo looked around, then said, "It feels a bit tight, Doctor. Was this designed for your height?"
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