"Just... a little bit short."
Shin sighed as he looked at the dead embryo in the test tube.
The combination of Lineage Factor (LF) research and human genetics wasn't going smoothly; it hadn't met Shin's expectations.
What is a Lineage Factor? It's a gene fragment hidden within living organisms that possesses incredible power.
LFs can replicate and modify life, grant inanimate objects Devil Fruit abilities, and transform individuals into super-powered beings through injections of powerful gene fragments.
Caesar, for example, extracted LFs from animals, injected these fragments into fruit, and artificially created artificial Devil Fruits from inanimate objects.
Those who ate them had a chance to absorb the LF fragments and awaken abilities.
The authentic Vegapunk's artificial Dragon Fruit was created by extracting the Devil Fruit LFs from Kaido's genes.
Vegapunk could even extract factors from Devil Fruits and inject them into weapons, imbuing the weapons with those abilities.
Judge, however, took a different path.
He analyzed human gene fragments, identifying dormant potential-special fragments that grant extraordinary abilities.
This is true for all five Vinsmoke children: Reiju's immunity to and ability to release alkaloid toxins, Ichiji's flames, Niji's electric shocks, Yonji's metal body, and even Sanji's "Diable Jambe," which resulted from awakening internal gene fragments.
The four brothers, who were directly enhanced from the embryonic stage (except for Sanji, who was interfered with by his mother's medicine before birth), completely surpassed the later-modified Reiju in overall ability and physical fitness due to the different concentration of Lineage Factors within their bodies.
So, which path would Shin take to modify his own body?
The first path was undoubtedly unreliable.
Artificial Devil Fruits created from factors within Devil Fruits were unstable.
Even Vegapunk's creations had side effects different from the original abilities when infused into human bodies.
Why didn't Shin just eat a Devil Fruit?
He was specifically worried about the significant differences between his body and the biology of the One-Piece world.
The deeper his research into Lineage Factors became, the more convinced he was that his concerns were valid.
Devil Fruits might only be awakening specific "Lineage Factors" within the human body in the One-Piece world.
At least this seems true for some Paramecia and Zoan types.
Judge's research showed he could, through controlling LFs, grant his children limited Logia-like abilities.
While they couldn't achieve full element transformation, and he didn't understand which gene fragments contained abilities like the Hobby-Hobby Fruit or Time-Time Fruit, Judge's research was already creating modified humans with fragments of multiple Devil Fruit abilities.
The existence of Devil Fruits is both mystical and scientific.
First, Devil Fruit users fear the sea not because of some "curse," but because they lose their abilities and stamina when they come into contact with a keratin particle in seawater called PYROBROIN.
This special keratin particle chemically reacts with the Devil Fruit factor, temporarily neutralizing and breaking it down.
Once the user is out of contact with the particle, the Devil Fruit factors in the body regenerate.
Users never feared the seawater itself, only this specific substance.
Scientists like Judge, through their deep research into Devil Fruits and Lineage Factors, found a high degree of commonality between the two.
However, while Lineage Factors aren't as powerful as Devil Fruit factors, they are not affected by PYROBROIN keratin particles.
Perhaps by amplifying and specializing LFs, storing them centrally in the heart, and using blood flow to saturate every cell in the body with these purified LFs, it's possible to artificially create Devil Fruit users.
Vegapunk's research even cracked the secret of how Devil Fruit abilities randomly regenerate on the ocean, though it was only a hypothesis.
When a person eats a fruit, the Devil Fruit factor is injected directly into their body, awakening the LFs.
When they die, these special Devil Fruit factors leave the body through some channel into the atmosphere, then randomly attach to a fruit, turning it into a Devil Fruit.
This explains why a fruit near a deceased user is more likely to become a Devil Fruit.
The Dark-Dark Fruit, which devours abilities, directly intercepts these LFs leaving the body and injects them into the user.
Like Caesar's artificial Devil Fruits, the high similarity of the final products suggests Vegapunk's hypothesis is likely true.
The World Government prohibited Vegapunk from continuing this research once he reached this point, but their attempts to stop him only proved he was close to the truth.
In fact, even limited to his current findings, he could create mass clones based on Bartholomew Kuma, use LF manipulation to metalize their bodies, and then give these "Pacifistas" Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit abilities.
Awakening and modifying internal LF fragments allows for the mass production of cloned Devil Fruit users.
Ordinary people in the One-Piece world can awaken Devil Fruit abilities because they, like humans in Marvel, already possess a special, awakening X-gene within them.
But for Shin, this was devastating news.
He has no LF fragments in his body.
If humans in the One-Piece world have physical abilities superior to Earth humans due to these special gene fragments, then Devil Fruits and LF modifications likely wouldn't work on Shin.
Shin experimented, using his own genes in Germa's technology and machinery to simulate pseudo-clones of Earth humans.
While he didn't clone a full adult, the experimental results were highly reliable (Judge used this method to simulate and enhance his embryonic sons).
He simulated the modifications using Judge's method for Reiju, and the result was: genetic collapse, heart burst, full-body hemorrhage, and the clones exploded.
The deaths were as gruesome as someone who had eaten two Devil Fruits.
Clearly, Shin eating a Devil Fruit would only lead to a worse outcome.
However, just as Shin was at a loss, the system provided a breakthrough idea: Mutants.
Marvel Mutants' superpowers are highly similar to One Piece humans' Devil Fruit abilities, though the latter resemble the former more.
Mutant powers come from the Celestials inserting a randomized X-gene into Marvel humans' DNA.
This recessive gene sequence, upon awakening, rapidly adapts to the body through genetic mutation, awakening the most suitable power for that individual.
He could mimic this approach, embedding a set of random, mutating Lineage Factors into his own genes, then slowly adapting and evolving his body based on the situation.
This process wouldn't be short, but it also wouldn't be excessively long, as his body was already nearing maturity.
Still, it required extensive experimentation and preparation.
Even with Judge's help, it wouldn't be a quick process.
So, he needed the system's help, translating and deciphering the fundamental genetic knowledge from the SEED human gene map.
He spent over half his earnings in the One-Piece world so far, but in return, he drastically shortened the research time, allowing him to immediately enter the experimental phase.
Before that, he needed to find several suitable and powerful Lineage Factors.
And the preparation for his own modification surgery had to be complete.
In the meantime, he didn't mind researching other interesting things, like Germa's stylish battle suits.
Using compressed, activated metal technology, the reinforced battle suit is compressed into a small container.
Anyone could use it, even unmodified individuals like Judge, though modified humans could maximize its power.
Shin figured he could find time to make a transformation battle suit for himself.
Although it's considered the culmination of Germa's science, the technology itself isn't difficult since it doesn't involve Lineage Factor integration.
He might just copy a design from a certain Power Ranger~
While he was lost in thought, the nearby Den Den Mushi rang.
He picked up the one marked with the Revolutionary Army symbol and answered it.
"We found what you were looking for."
Dragon's low voice came from the other end.
"What?" Shin's eyes lit up, and he stood up.
"How many did you find?"
"We couldn't find the Sea King you mentioned; searching for one in the vast ocean is too difficult. The raccoon dog you mentioned, too. But we found Sleepy Town, and the Devil Fruit you wanted is in our hands."
"Finally, we tracked down Festa at the Pirate Expo organizers. We brought him and everything he had to the submarine. We're waiting for you outside Sabaody Archipelago."
"Good, I'll bring my sincerity!" Shin smiled happily.
This time, he gained another leverage point to shake the world.
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