A man in a white lab coat walked over and fastened a seastone collar around Buggy's neck.
Then, two marines opened the lid of the containment chamber, pulled Buggy out, and dragged him into the Devil Fruit Extraction Room.
One of them placed an apple on the floor.
"What are you doing? Let me go! Please, I'll give you all my treasure maps!"
A sense of foreboding surged in Buggy's heart. He screamed frantically.
But his pleas were answered only by a heavy clang—the entrance sealed shut behind him.
Darkness fell. The completely enclosed space was pitch black. Nothing could be seen.
Outside, Seras was visibly excited.
In theory, everything should work. But would it actually succeed? That would be determined now.
"Captain, everything is ready!"
"Good. Begin the procedure!"
"Yes, sir!"
Seras grinned and pressed the large round button on the console in front of him.
And then… they waited.
After a full three minutes, Seras waved his hand.
Two marines stepped forward and opened the door once again.
The next moment, everyone was stunned.
Buggy, who had been tied to the central pillar, was now riddled with bullet holes—his blood pooled across the floor.
In each corner of the room, a mounted machine gun stood. The barrels were still smoking faintly.
Clearly, it was these guns that had gunned Buggy down.
But what truly shocked everyone was the apple that had been placed earlier.
Now, strange patterns had appeared on its surface.
What else could it be… if not a Devil Fruit?
A man in a lab coat hurried into the room, took out a prepared label, and stuck it onto the newly transformed fruit.
The label read:
Paramecia-Type – Chop-Chop Fruit
That's right. They had successfully extracted Buggy's Devil Fruit.
The method was surprisingly straightforward.
First, seastone has the unique ability to suppress Devil Fruit powers.
Second, when a Devil Fruit user dies, the energy of their fruit leaves their body and seeks out a new fruit to inhabit.
So here's the idea:
Place the user in a room entirely coated in seastone dust and seal it. Leave a piece of fruit inside.
When the user dies, the energy cannot escape the room—thanks to the full seastone insulation.
That energy has no other choice but to inhabit the fruit left inside.
"We did it, Captain!"
"Excellent. I'll coordinate with Ian to transfer all the ability users detained at the branch to this lab."
"Understood!"
Seras nodded.
Luo Lan was equally excited. He could already foresee the future—
Soon, the branch would have a stockpile of Devil Fruits.
And some of them would be extremely powerful.
Take, for example…
Crocodile's Sand-Sand Fruit, a Logia-type!
"Seras, I want you to start research on removing the side effects of Devil Fruits. Also… see if it's possible for someone to consume two."
"Yes, Captain!"
Seras accepted the task loudly and confidently.
Especially since a new scientist, Xisovis, had joined them recently—someone on par with him—allowing Seras more time to focus.
"By the way, where's Kaya? I haven't seen her around lately."
Luo Lan looked around, but there was no sign of her.
"After your failed attempt to unlock your second gene-lock, Captain, Kaya locked herself inside Lab 2. She's been working nonstop trying to solve the problem."
"It's been more than half a month now."
Honestly, Seras had almost forgotten—his mind consumed with research.
Luo Lan nodded and turned, heading toward Lab 2.
That little girl… even if her health had recovered, she shouldn't be pushing herself like this.
As he walked, he couldn't help but feel concerned.
---
Inside Lab 2
Kaya looked exhausted.
But her face lit up with joy as she observed the results of her current experiment.
"I did it… I finally did it…"
"Did what?"
"Yah! Brother Luo Lan?! When did you get here?!"
His sudden voice startled her. Turning around, she saw Luo Lan smiling at her.
"Oh no! The experiment!"
"Brother Luo Lan, I've figured it out! I know why your second gene-lock didn't activate last time!"
Hearing that, Luo Lan immediately grew serious.
After all, he couldn't consume Devil Fruits, which meant he lacked supernatural abilities—a lifelong regret.
According to Seras, unlocking the second gene-lock would allow him to awaken extraordinary powers.
Unfortunately, his previous attempt had failed.
But now… had Kaya found the issue? Could he finally unlock it?
"Why did it fail?"
"It didn't!"
"…What?"
Luo Lan was stunned.
If it didn't fail, then why had nothing changed?
"Because unlocking the second gene-lock takes time!"
"How long?"
"Based on my theory, around three months. And since it's already been over a month, you should have started showing some changes."
But Kaya's expression turned a little puzzled.
Yes, it was a gradual process—not something that just flipped on at the end. So after a month, there should be some progress.
"But I haven't felt anything at all…"
Luo Lan shrugged helplessly.
"Brother Luo Lan, do you see this test tube in my hand?"
"I do."
"Try to imagine an invisible hand grabbing the test tube and bringing it to you."
"…What?"
A big question mark practically appeared over Luo Lan's head.
What nonsense was this?
"Don't overthink it. Just try it the way I described."
"…Alright."
Seeing Kaya so serious, Luo Lan didn't have the heart to say anything discouraging.
He'd just play along, like it was some game.
He stared intently at the test tube.
One minute…
Two minutes…
Three minutes…
"Kaya, nothing's happening!"
"Brother Luo Lan, you're doing it wrong!"
"…Wrong?"
"Yes! First, you have to believe you can do it. Truly believe it—deep down."
She spoke with absolute conviction.
But that was the problem…
Because deep down, Luo Lan absolutely didn't believe it was possible!
---
Currently at chapter 395 on Ko-Fi
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27