Yuri didn't just give him artificial Devil Fruits; he also assigned him a more challenging experiment.
It was to combine artificial Devil Fruits with strange cells to create even more powerful Devil Fruits. In this regard, it was somewhat similar to Vegapunk's artificial weapons or Garp's arms, but Vegapunk merely utilized the power of both, letting them work together.
What Caesar had to do was truly fuse Devil Fruits with other materials, a genuine fusion. And the materials weren't just strange cells.
This included the super-soldier serum that Vegapunk had previously replicated. In short, Yuri wanted Caesar to develop something even more powerful.
Vegapunk was indeed a genius, but he was only one person. He couldn't conduct too many studies simultaneously. The World Government also couldn't provide limitless funds for him to research everything.
Assigning some tasks to other people was also a way to alleviate some of Vegapunk's pressure.
Currently, Vegapunk's main job was researching androids. This project, if left undisturbed, would have been called the Seraphim Manufacturing Project. However, now, with the "Right Hand of God" and "Water of the Rear," the World Government had to show some respect for Christianity.
Therefore, they could no longer call the people Vegapunk created angels, simply naming the project the Android Project.
Moreover, with Genichi's interference, this project had already undergone significant changes.
The current Android Project was divided into two types. One was the modification of existing people. They couldn't be called androids but rather modified humans.
Most of these individuals couldn't gain great power in the superpower training pods but weren't complete failures. They had some strength but yearned for more power and a higher status.
So, they voluntarily joined the project, undergoing human modification by Vegapunk to become stronger.
After the modification, they would lose their former names and everything about their past. They would be reborn in machines. Vegapunk would implant various bloodline factors in them and equip their bodies with supercomputers and energy cores. Their newfound strength brought them a new life.
They no longer had names, only cold codenames.
Currently, there were eight such androids, named Android No. 1, Android No. 2, and so on, up to No. 8. The higher the number, the more powerful the android.
The other type was to create superhumans from scratch using materials like bloodline factors, Devil Fruits, and strange cells. This was the original concept for the Seraphim SSG. In fact, Adam's body was also awaiting further progress in this experiment.
Adam's true form was the brain of Gremmy, his deceased brain. Genichi needed to use it again, requiring a body, a vessel to reactivate that brain.
Therefore, he needed a powerful body, and this android project was to create Adam's perfect body.
To create such a body, Vegapunk created countless nanobots suspended in the air, collecting cells of the strong worldwide, bloodline factors of the powerful, and all their combat data. Combined with his top-tier scientific prowess, he intended to create the ultimate life form.
Vegapunk believed that once this life form appeared, it would be enough to bring peace and unity to the world.
And this life form, being a fusion of cells from all the powerful individuals, he named it Cell, named it...
Perfect Cell!
However, since it required collecting information and data from all over the world, Perfect Cell's completion would naturally take a very long time. But no matter how long it took, that day would come.
This was what Vegapunk was mainly working on lately. Human energy is naturally limited, and Genichi was very concerned about what he was doing, so some other tasks naturally had to be handed over to others.
Caesar was researching artificial Devil Fruits. Even with the extensive Vegapunk data that Yuri brought from the World Government, it would still take some time for him to achieve mass production and cultivation.
So, Kaido returned. What Kaido didn't know was that while he and Yuri were discussing the Superhuman Instrument, others were listening to their conversation besides them.
Kozuki Oden...
Strictly speaking, it was Kozuki Oden's Shadow Legion!
Kozuki Oden, after transforming into Naraka, fell into a deep sleep because he needed time to digest the immense power within him, that... very powerful power.
Mara blobs, a large amount of strange cells, combined with his own union with his shadow and the ugly emotions within him, all these factors meant Kozuki Oden needed time to reincarnate, to become Naraka.
He slept in his shadow world. However, even in this slumber, he had some consciousness to make arrangements.
This part of his consciousness was awakened by some of his worshippers in Wano Country.
Yes, although Wano Country extremely hated the Kozuki clan and Kozuki Oden, in any place, there are always people who go against the mainstream public opinion.
Thus, there was a group of people who worshipped Kozuki Oden, believing he was framed and that the current King Yuri had forcibly rewritten history. With this mindset, they worshipped Kozuki Oden and were thus influenced by his power.
Kozuki Oden's idol worship worked like this: once people started worshipping him, they would be influenced and controlled by his power, becoming increasingly fanatical. But at the same time, Kozuki Oden did indeed bring them something in return.
Kozuki Oden's dark power made people stronger, even granting them special abilities they never possessed. Therefore, they became even more fanatical, firmly believing that Kozuki Oden was not dead and that they were his loyal followers who would resurrect him!
They formed a secret society in Wano Country, aiming to be the force for Kozuki Oden upon his return. Yamato was also in such a state, but she was quickly imprisoned by Kaido and couldn't reunite with her like-minded companions.
However, their existence became an anchor, an anchor that allowed Kozuki Oden to have some connection to the outside world even as he was transforming into Naraka. Thus, he could make some arrangements, which naturally included having the Shadow Legion monitor the outside world.
And from within the shadows, the Shadow Legion could conveniently monitor Wano Country, and consequently, they learned about the Superhuman Instrument.
They believed that Yuri must not be allowed to successfully develop the Superhuman Instrument, as it would be detrimental to their master in the future. Therefore, they intended to seize this watch. If they couldn't seize it, they would destroy it!
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