Taking one or two years just to build a foundation...
was leading students astray?
Standing in the corner and listening to Old Gick lecture Luffy, Rayleigh's eyes widened slightly in uncertainty.
What was that supposed to mean?
After all, his original plan had been to let Luffy build a solid foundation in all three types of Haki before sending him off into the New World.
So how had that become "leading students astray" in this old man's mouth?
"I can't agree with that."
Just as Old Gick was about to continue, a magnetic voice sounded from the corner, interrupting the lesson.
A scruffy old man in a white cloak slowly stepped into view.
"Rayleigh!!!"
Luffy shouted in delight.
Old Gick, on the other hand, did not look nearly as pleased. His eyes widened for a moment, then seemed ready to spit fire.
The little old man jumped up in fury.
"Rayleigh!!! What are you doing here?!"
"That bastard Roger came too, didn't he?! Let him come out and face me!!!"
When enemies met, their eyes naturally reddened with hatred. Old Gick bellowed in anger.
"Don't get so worked up, Gick. I came alone. Roger already went..."
A trace of reluctance and complexity flashed through Rayleigh's eyes, but quickly vanished. He smiled as he said,
"I came to help Luffy grow stronger."
"Grow stronger?"
Old Gick's expression changed at once, as if he had just thought of something from many years ago.
What the hell did that mean?!
Those damn Roger Pirates had stolen Ozz away back then, and now they still were not satisfied. Were they even going to snatch away his chance to help this brat get stronger too?!
"What a joke!!!"
"You think your teaching is better than mine, Rayleigh?!"
He grabbed Rayleigh by the collar and exploded in anger.
"Luffy needs to learn Haki steadily and systematically."
"Life-and-death combat is what gives the fastest progress!"
Neither side gave in.
Old Gick brought up Ozz as an example.
"Then tell me this. Did Ozz grow stronger through hard training, or through fighting powerful enemies?!"
Rayleigh gritted his teeth.
"That's different. A monster like Ozz, who improved so fast, was born with the natural talent to master Haki!!!"
"Do you think everyone is born a monster?!"
They argued for quite a long time in the end before finally deciding to teach together.
And they would see who the true master was when it came to making someone stronger.
...
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Two years flashed by.
Inside a heavily guarded secret laboratory base, under a long corridor of salutes, a tall cloaked figure walked slowly toward the central testing chamber.
"How are the results, Dr. Vegapunk?"
Vegapunk, who had been buried in his work, lifted his head when he heard that voice.
"So you finally came, Ozz-san."
The cloaked figure lowered his hood, revealing a handsome face wearing a warm smile.
"Sorry. I've been living a little too indulgently lately. I heard the results were very good?"
"Yes..."
Vegapunk jumped down from his stool. His head was not as huge as before now, and several satellite assistants around him were busy with their own tasks.
"That's why I wanted you to come see the results in person."
Following behind Vegapunk, Ozz took the fruit handed over by Seraphim S-Snake, smiling as he did.
He patted the head of the black-skinned, white-haired, stunning Lunarian beauty,
then casually had her crouch down and used the flame on her back to light a cigarette before entering the innermost laboratory with Vegapunk.
A massive cylindrical tank filled with fluid came into view. Inside it floated the figure of what looked like a young man.
Only that young man had the size of an Ancient Giant.
"According to the portrait you provided, we made adjustments to the Lineage Factor related to facial features. As for everything else..."
"For now, it possesses extremely powerful mastery of all three types of Haki, the Logia Dark-Dark Fruit, the unawakened Gum-Gum Fruit, and the powerful physique of the Ancient Giants."
"I considered adding Lunarian genes, but if I had, it would inevitably have black skin, white hair, wings, and flames. That would no longer match your requirements, Ozz."
Vegapunk explained.
Ozz had provided a sketch, after all. It was the appearance of an Ancient Giant, and he had wanted it recreated one-to-one.
Power aside, at the very least, the appearance had to match.
"Sounds pretty good."
Ozz nodded with a smile and looked up at that familiar face.
The resemblance to the one in his memory was over ninety-five percent.
That was the figure of a man who even made Ozz wary, someone whose strength had reached the very summit of this planet.
At the very least, Ozz knew there was no way he could release a burst of Conqueror's Haki and make Imu fall trembling to the ground in fear.
That alone was enough proof that, in Ozz's mind, Joy Boy's strength was unquestionably the ceiling.
"Oh, right. We also got a lot of inspiration from Judge regarding Lineage Factor technology."
As if suddenly remembering something, Vegapunk hesitated for a moment, then flipped through the notebook in his hand.
Sticking out his tongue, he said,
"Judge's own experiments with Lineage Factors successfully rewrote the personality traits of his children."
"If necessary, it's possible to set the personality of this experimental subject."
"For example, kind, evil, unstable..."
Deep down, Vegapunk naturally wanted to make it kind, to create a good artificial life.
He had always believed in using high technology to bring peace and a better world.
And though the title Dark Sun God sounded eerie and divine, Vegapunk knew that was only because of the abilities it possessed.
Having the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit did not necessarily make someone evil.
It was precisely because of his admiration for the name Joy Boy that he had agreed to such a dangerous experiment with Ozz in the first place.
If Ozz had insisted on creating a malicious and dangerous artificial life, there would have been little Vegapunk could do.
After all, angering Ozz or deceiving him would bring disaster far worse than a single artificial life ever could.
Fortunately, Ozz rubbed his chin and gave an answer Vegapunk could still accept.
"No need. With the Lineage Factors of Luffy and Teach, plus Shanks' unpredictable stance, who can say whether the final personality will be righteous or evil?"
"The unknown is what makes it interesting, isn't it?"
Still, Ozz firmly believed that a being whose upper limit could approach the peak of king-level strength would never stay quiet for long.
Buried in its bones would be the desire to rule.
"Let it loose for now. There's no rush for the Nika fruit awakening."
"After all, it needs time to adapt to the sea."
He laughed loudly.
"Go on."
"The Dark Sun God, Sadgeo!!!"
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