"I'm finally back to life!"
Standing on the deck, Luffy roared at the sea, feeling his entire body brimming with energy. He felt that even if he encountered that giant dragon again, he could punch its lights out!
Over the past half month, under Vegapunk's intensive training, Luffy's physical strength had exploded by three to five times. It was not at all inferior to the level he had reached after two years of training before entering the New World!
However, the current Luffy had not developed skills like Second Gear or Third Gear, nor had he learned Armament or Observation Haki. Furthermore, since his strength was purely physical and his combat techniques hadn't improved, there was still a significant gap in his overall power.
Even so, with his enhanced physique, this 'base' Luffy could hold his own against a weaker Marine Vice Admiral.
Of course, with this level of strength, wanting to punch away the giant dragon created by Vegapunk was a pipe dream. Luffy was simply experiencing an illusion of grandeur due to the sudden surge in his power.
"Very good, you seem quite energetic! It looks like we can finally proceed to the second step of the experiment!"
With arms crossed, Vegapunk looked at the smug Luffy—who had clearly forgotten the pain as soon as it stopped—and a smile appeared on his face.
When choosing an experimental subject, one had to choose someone like Luffy. No matter how much you messed with him, he wouldn't suffer any psychological trauma. On the contrary, as soon as there was progress, he'd be delighted to contribute to the next step. He truly was the best kind of experimental talent!
With a husky chuckle, Nico Robin, standing beside Vegapunk, spoke in a low voice:
"Boss, I can't help but feel that what you're doing is highly suspicious of bullying an idiot."
"Exactly! Straw Hat hasn't offended the Boss, has he? No, with his personality, it's impossible for him to offend the Boss!"
Nami, wearing light clothing with her orange hair fluttering in the sea breeze, also looked puzzled.
Vegapunk shrugged:
"You're overthinking it. He might be an experimental subject now, but if suffering this little bit of hardship is all it takes to get stronger, pirates willing to be my subjects would line up from here all the way to the Grand Line!"
"The only reason I chose Luffy is because his Devil Fruit ability is very interesting. Even in the entire One Piece World, it should be considered unique!"
"Devil Fruit ability? Isn't he just a rubber-rubber fruit user? That ability shouldn't be anything special, right?"
Nami asked, somewhat confused.
The rubber-rubber fruit wasn't bad among Paramecia-types, but it certainly wasn't considered strong; it was just mediocre.
Without the fruit awakening into the Nika Fruit, it would likely only be considered an upper-middle-tier Devil Fruit.
That Luffy could fight his way to the New World was due to his own potential. While the Devil Fruit played a role, his ability to develop it to the level of Second, Third, and Fourth Gear was a manifestation of his own potential.
Of course, the Nika Fruit in the later stages was a complete 'deus ex machina'—a forced power-up. But since this was a complete One Piece World, what Luffy possessed was indeed the Nika Fruit, not a regular rubber-rubber fruit.
"In reality, what Luffy has inside him is the Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan Type Model: Nika. This Devil Fruit is something even the World Government is wary of, and its nature is quite strange... well, you can understand it as an ability similar to a Gag Manga."
Vegapunk casually explained the actual situation, causing the expressions on Nico Robin and Nami's faces to change. They didn't doubt whether the Nika Fruit Vegapunk mentioned was real; they were just surprised by its ability.
How should one describe the Nika Fruit's power? It didn't seem to have massive destructive power, but to a certain extent, it truly was like the 'do-as-you-please' power of a Gag Manga. Anyone who frequently read manga knew that the truly unbeatable abilities were always in children's or Gag Manga!
After shouting a couple of times, Luffy smugly approached Vegapunk:
"Doctor, thanks for the experiment! I feel much stronger!"
"So, where's the small boat you promised me? I'm ready to continue my voyage!"
Vegapunk glanced at Luffy and smiled:
"Straw Hat, who told you the experiment was over? This was only the first step. Next, we proceed to the second step of the experiment!"
"Wait, what do you mean by the second step?"
Luffy's face grew wary. Even a so-called rubber head would develop a conditioned reflex after being tricked for half a month. Luffy felt a chill in his heart and a bad premonition.
"You'll understand soon enough!"
With a faint smile and ignoring Luffy's wary look, Vegapunk lightly pressed a button. The Devil Fruit interference field on the ship activated immediately, and a large amount of seastone factor instantly made Luffy collapse onto the floor.
"Very good. In the previous round of experiments, your physical condition reached the standard. Next is your Haki training! It just so happens that I've prepared the top-tier Limited Tsukuyomi Genjutsu Training Pod. Go and work hard!"
"Wait... what is Haki training?...Explain it to me!"
"You'll find out soon after you enter the Training Pod! Work hard, Luffy! Unleash the potential of your Haoshoku! To make up for the lack of life-and-death pressure in the subconscious of a virtual world, I've designed hundreds of different desperate situations for you."
"I think I'll pass... Hey, hey! Help!! I don't want to do experiments anymore!"
Vegapunk threw Luffy directly into the Training Pod and closed the door. He clapped his hands, and then Luffy was seen being fixed in place. A helmet connected to many wires descended from above, with a spike inside that pierced directly into Luffy's brain.
"Very good. Beginning Chakra and mixed electromagnetic wave intervention. Limited Tsukuyomi unfolding. Training begins!"
"Time flow rate set at 1:100!"
After the settings were finalized, with the influx of electromagnetic waves and Chakra energy, Luffy's face immediately distorted into a grotesque expression. The scenarios Vegapunk set for Luffy were basically 'nine-deaths-one-life' desperate situations, occasionally interspersed with scenes of sacrifice.
For instance, characters like Ace, Sabo, Rayleigh, or his shipmates were killed by Marine Admirals or Emperors of the Sea while trying to protect Luffy, all to stimulate the eruption of the Conqueror's Haki within him.
In the middle, there was also a cultivation process to build a foundation for Armament and Observation Haki. Unlike methods like internal energy that require years of refinement, Haki mostly stems from one's own spiritual will and spirit, with a portion related to physical strength.
Since Luffy's physical strength already met the standard, even if it was just virtual Haki training, as long as his experience and spirit reached the mark, he could quickly regain it in a very short time upon returning to reality.
Ten days later, when the nutrient solution in the Training Pod drained and Luffy walked out, his eyes and spirit had completely changed.
A surging Conqueror's Haki erupted for an instant, but it was immediately retracted by Luffy—this was even more rare than the eruption itself.
Admittedly, Haoshoku is the quality of a king found in only one in a million, but for those with the aptitude, erupting is actually easy. However, those capable of retracting it on the entire sea might not even reach ten.
Being able to do this could basically be seen as a prelude to Conquerors Haki Infusion. Conqueror's Haki is incredibly violent; being able to restrain it counts as having mastered the basics.
It could be said that once the current Luffy familiarized himself with his body and Haki for a bit, he would be close to the state he was in before the final battle with Kaido.
And at this stage, Luffy's physical and mental state could basically withstand the trial of awakening a Mythical Zoan Type Devil Fruit.
The Nika Fruit is certainly at the ceiling level among Mythical Zoan Types. However, because the Human-Human Fruit comes with its own rationality buff, the mental shock after awakening is much less difficult than that of beast-type Mythical Zoan Types. As long as the basic conditions are met, there generally won't be any issues during awakening.
Of course, a lower difficulty in mental shock doesn't mean the awakening itself is easy. In fact, perhaps for balance, the Human-Human Fruit, which lacks part of the wild impulse, has the highest awakening difficulty among Devil Fruits of the same tier.
Fortunately, Vegapunk now had unique awakening techniques. The serum he extracted from Luffy's body at the beginning had already been used to create an artificial Nika Fruit. Next was the final awakening project.
Compared to the initial physical training experiment, Luffy's personality had undergone a slight change after this Haki training. Although he was still optimistic and airheaded, he occasionally gave off a reliable feeling, somewhat resembling his idol, Shanks.
"So next is the Devil Fruit awakening experiment? The initial experiments were all to increase the possibility of awakening the Devil Fruit, right?"
Luffy spoke calmly to Vegapunk, appearing much more mature in a short span of time.
"Huh? Are you really Straw Hat? You haven't been replaced by an impostor, have you?"
Looking at the calm Luffy, Nami's face showed astonishment. She reached out and grabbed one side of his face, then pulled hard. Luffy's entire face instantly stretched a meter or two, revealing a distorted expression.
"Wuuuuuuu!"
With that, Luffy's composure shattered. Mumbling, he finally managed to pull his face back. He could no longer maintain his calm expression and instead showed a silly grin:
"Then I'll leave it to you, Doctor. I also want to try the power of the rubber-rubber fruit's awakening!"
Having experienced so many scenarios in the Limited Tsukuyomi, Luffy had gained not only mental fortitude but also a wealth of knowledge: the three types of Haki, fruit awakening, Ancient Zoans, Mythical Zoan Types, Logias, Marine Admirals, Emperors of the Sea, the World Government... at least now, Luffy's common knowledge was mostly filled in. He naturally knew that with his original strength, wanting to become the Pirate King was no different from dreaming.
But after Vegapunk's enhancement, the current Luffy truly had the capital to compete with the top-tier players on the sea. If the Devil Fruit awakening succeeded this time, his dream of becoming the Pirate King would finally have a glimmer of real hope.
In the original story, Luffy was indeed a reckless youth when he first set out. It wasn't until he was separated from his crew by Kuma and then saw the grand scale of things during the Marineford War that he settled down for two years of basic training.
Otherwise, with the Straw Hat Pirates' strength at the time, they would likely have been wiped out before even passing Dressrosa. Doflamingo, a Shichibukai, was not as easy to deal with as the initial Crocodile or Gekko Moriah.
Now that Luffy had gained experience in the Limited Tsukuyomi space, he naturally had a certain pursuit and desire for strength. While he wasn't a martial arts fanatic like Zoro, he knew that what the Pirate King needed most was power.
His current strength was not enough!
...Lying in the coffin-like apparatus, Luffy soon fell into a state of suspended animation. The Devil Fruit power within him immediately became active and was soon sucked away by the machine's power, entering an artificial Devil Fruit above.
That was the artificial Nika Fruit. As the Devil Fruit power flowed in, the patterns on the original artificial fruit began to mutate, becoming more exquisite and changing to a light purple color. Soon, the original version of the Nika Fruit reappeared.
A moment later, the blood-red medicinal liquid in the coffin drained away. Luffy struggled a few times, pushed open the lid, and walked out. He turned his head and saw the "rubber-rubber fruit" he had originally eaten.
The current Luffy still didn't know the truth about his rubber-rubber fruit; he still thought it was just an ordinary Paramecia-type.
Given the status of the rubber-rubber fruit, awakening such a Paramecia-type might be harder than a Zoan-type, but it shouldn't be too dangerous. Luffy didn't think he couldn't handle it and simply took a big bite out of it.
Vegapunk, standing nearby, didn't offer a single word of warning. He just watched with a smile as Luffy wolfed down the rubber-rubber fruit.
Subsequently, the violent Mythical Zoan Type power erupted instantly. Luffy, whose face was originally contorted from the taste of the Devil Fruit, suddenly broke into a wide grin. Milky-white flames emerged from his body, and his hair turned into a crown of white flames.
The thumping of his heart was as loud as a beating drum. The smile on Luffy's face grew wider and wider, filled with a sense of joy, and his entire body seemed to transform into a Q-version cartoon character.
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