Chapter 10: Vegapunk

Arriving at the research base, the group was in front of thick, steel, blast doors.

"Damn, they're really protecting this place huh?" Tyr whistled as the doors hissed.

The hydraulics whirred and four segments of the door opened up, giving them entrance.

"Oh? What does a humble scientist like me can do for such a revered celestial dragon?" Vegapunk bowed and nearly tipped over.

"That's a huge ass head." Tyr commented and Vegapunk faceplanted on the ground.

"That's the first thing you comment on?" Hancock raised a brow at him for being rude.

"What? You ever saw a head that huge before? It's like the size of a giant." Tyr argued and they looked at Vegapunk.

They then nodded, it was weird as hell. "Ahem, I'm right here you know?" Vegapunk coughed to get their attention.

"Vegapunk, right? I'm Tyr Warcury, take care of me." Tyr offered his hand to him.

The man with the ridiculously large head was surprised, but he shook hands with him.

"Topman's son?" Vegapunk then realized and he was shocked that one of the gorosei had a son.

"Yeah, not intentionally though. Enough of that, I came here to talk to you about something." Tyr wanted to investigate Vegapunk's work.

And based on that, decide if he needed to be eliminated in the future.

"What did you come here for? I doubt that you are going to be interested in my research." Vegapunk was confused.

"Well, don't be so sure. I was the one who recommended Saturn to modify the lineage factor of normal marines so they can gain strength." Tyr revealed.

"Ooh! Fascinating, we have been too focused on devil fruits. I never thought that a young man would be the one to make use of my discovery of the lineage factor." Vegapunk was all smiles.

"Why is his tongue always out? Is he thirsty or something?" Marigold whispered to them and Sandersonia shushed her.

"Come in, come in!" Vegapunk got interested in Tyr and they went to his office.

Once they entered a more private place, Vegapunk offered them a seat.

"So? What really is your goal here? I doubt you would come out of Mary Geoise just to meet me." Vegapunk was curious.

"Do you have any regenerative medicine? I would like to perform a skin graft for my companions here." Tyr pointed at the Boa sisters.

With Vegapunk's big brain, literally. He thought of why he would want to do that as they don't really have any disfigurement or burns.

"Ohh, the hoof of the flying dragon..." Vegapunk realized and he frowned heavily.

'Hmmm, it seems this guy's either a very good actor. Or a genuinely good person.' Tyr could see the disgust on his face upon mentioning the mark of the celestial dragons they bestow upon slaves.

"Sure, we have those." Vegapunk nodded and gave his blessings to use the supplies in the research facility without question.

'I need more information though... It's too early to decide.' Tyr smiled at Vegapunk and patted the girls.

"Thank you, sir." They sincerely thanked him and Vegapunk waved them off.

"It's just medicine, not really a lot to ask." Vegapunk shrugged.

"Girls, go find us a room to stay in. I want to talk more with the doctor here." Tyr gestured that he wanted privacy.

After they left, Tyr stared right at Vegapunk and activated his haki to the maximum.

"Doctor, I'm actually here to suggest something as well." Tyr hoped he wouldn't be like Saturn who obviously wanted more power for the government.

"Go ahead, you have my interest." Vegapunk nodded at him.

"Well, if we can manipulate the lineage factor of people. Perhaps, we can also eliminate mutations in the body? Like cancer?" Tyr knew how awful the disease was.

And with no cure, everyone getting it is just waiting to die as a shriveled husk.

"How do you know that disease is based on the lineage factor of people?" Vegapunk blinked.

"Uhhh, I checked the reports of Saturn and saw that certain mutations on the lineage factor leads to the body attacking itself." Tyr lied as he breathed.

"That will certainly help a lot of people!" Vegapunk nodded with a smile.

"Other diseases might also be cured by it. Like the accursed sapphire scales." Tyr read about it.

And it was a hereditary disease. The body sprouts blue crystals and it exacerbates when natural light hits the person.

'Maybe it's a type of skin cancer in this world? Though it's much, much scarier.' Tyr hypothesized.

"I haven't checked that yet. Maybe it is caused by mutations on the lineage factor." Vegapunk went pensive.

"Can I see the research logs you have here, doctor? I want to learn more. I need to understand the lineage factor in order to contribute." Tyr wanted to see if they were having inhumane experiments.

And the research logs would definitely go in depth about their findings and methods.

"Sure, my boy! I will never refuse a fellow who wants to learn more about science!" Vegapunk stood up and led him to the laboratory.

While they were walking, Tyr probed him for more information.

"How about you, doctor? What do you want to achieve? Your magnum opus, you can say." Tyr hummed and Vegapunk thought about it for a second.

"I've always wanted my inventions to be accessible to the public. But don't you think that free energy for the whole world would be excellent!?" Vegapunk got excited.

"No island would fear the dark. Everyone receiving free energy that would power all kinds of machinery, inventions, and technology!" Vegapunk raised his hands.

"That's a lovely goal." Tyr confirmed with his haki that he was absolutely sincere about it.

"Umu! It's sad that not everyone has access to technology! More scientists will appear and more discoveries shall be unearthed if everyone, everywhere, can use technology." Vegapunk nodded sagely.

"Well, don't you agree that if slavery didn't exist. Then more human resources will perhaps strive for the pursuit of science?" Tyr suddenly asked out of the blue.

'Is this kid a narc?' Vegapunk raised a brow at him and he suddenly got suspicious.

They went silent for a bit. "Yes, that is objectively true." Vegapunk got a feel for him and he didn't feel eerie like Saturn.

"Then I'm glad we have an accord." Tyr handed him his hand and Vegapunk slowly shook it.

Tyr then checked the records of Vegapunk's experiments.

After a few days of sleepless nights, Vegapunk came out clean.

"I guess that proves it. Vegapunk is definitely a scientist that does not pursue science without disregarding ethics." Tyr cooked up a plan to help at least some slaves that were in Mary Geoise.

So he went to Vegapunk and asked for a private conversation.

"Doctor, you have a minute?" Tyr asked seriously and Vegapunk noticed his expression.

"Well, I can't refuse you, saint Tyr." Vegapunk followed him.

"Listen to me, doctor. How about we form a plan to save people from Mary Geoise?" Tyr locked in and Vegapunk raised a brow.

"You want to betray the city of the gods?" Vegapunk thought it was suicide.

"No, not really. We just do a little clean up duty, that's all." Tyr shrugged.

"Explain." Vegapunk squinted his eyes. "Tell Saturn that you want more experimental subjects." Tyr said plainly.

"How's that going to free more people from the grasp of the celestial dragons?" Vegapunk thought they would just enslave more people.

"Tell him it's a branch of the super soldier program. Request all the children, sick, elderly. Tell Saturn you're checking if the manipulation of lineage factor affects all kinds of people differently." Tyr squinted his eyes.

It was one of the reasons why he suggested the super soldier creation to Saturn in the first place.

Not only will the marines get stronger. He can also ask Saturn for subjects and just report them as expired. But he would instead let them free.

And Vegapunk was the perfect man for the job. He didn't have any idea how he would be able to ship people away from Mary Geoise after all.

"You... Why do this?" Vegapunk thought he was risking a lot.

"Because it's what's right. And the gorosei are grooming me. Most likely to be an agent of theirs. They will let me get away with a couple of things. And the gorosei has already invested too much on me." Tyr explained.

"Such a young boy, yet much more of a man than the majority of people I've had the displeasure of meeting." Vegapunk admired his compassion.

'Besides, I am also invaluable to the world government... And I might receive a person that can rival the greatest scientists. You may never know.' Vegapunk got reeled in.

"Alright, you have a deal. What if they try to get more results from us though?" Vegapunk was worried about that.

"Get samples from Hancock, Marigold, and Sandersonia. I assume that paramecias and basic zoans are much easier to research than other devil fruits.

Trickle in results, you're the only one who researches about the stuff. They'll believe that it is slow due to the difficulty." Tyr suggested.

"That's genius! You're correct, Saturn is trying to attempt copying my research. But he's having a hard time doing so." Vegapunk nodded in pride.

"Then, if you do manage to replicate devil fruits. Tell them it's a failure, I can only imagine what they would do with top tier devil fruits. Only copy useless ones or really basic zoans." Tyr smiled deviously.

"My boy, you sure inherited the shrewdness of the gorosei." Vegapunk hasn't even thought of the consequences of his actions.

"It's pretty simple really, I just planned this for some time now." Tyr shrugged and Vegapunk patted him on the back.

"What if they cut my funding though?" Vegapunk joined the world government for visually unlimited funding for reasearch after all.

Something that all scientists would struggle with in one point of their lives.

"I'm a celestial dragon, I'll funnel funds to you. You can give me better results and I'll extort more money from Saturn. Then you give better results so they won't just get rid of you for me." Tyr chuckled.

"Devious, absolutely devious. Tricking the world government like babies? You're a madman." Vegapunk laughed and they shook hands.

"We'll get along, you and I." Tyr smiled and Vegapunk started researching about the lineage factor of devil fruit users.

__Operating room__

Tyr set up an operating room at Vegapunk's facility and he was currently washing his hands.

"It's just a skin graft, you have the necessary tools here. Vegapunk's regenerative medicines are also top notch." Tyr breathed in and out.

"Damn, I wish I have Youtube or something. You can find almost anything there. Ohh, maybe I should tell Vegapunk about internet." Tyr tried to calm his nerves.

He then entered the operating room as he studied anatomy extensively for this very day. Not to just effectively learn where to strike people.

"Tyr..." Hancock, Marigold, and Sandersonia beamed at him when they saw him. Decked in a blue gown, ready for the operation.

"Hey girls, you ready?" Tyr was a bit nervous and they nodded.

"More than ready." Hancock was absolutely confident in him.

"We trust you with our lives." Sandersonia just laid down on the table without question.

"We believe in you, Tyr." Marigold cheered him on and he chuckled.

Breathing deeply one more time, his nervousness melted away and he smiled at them.

"After I'm done with this, you won't be slaves anymore. Just Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold." Tyr anesthetized their brands.

The trio went absolutely still and Tyr started the operation. Taking a piece of skin on their lower backs in order to replace the burn on their middle back.

Symbolizing they were the property of celestial dragons.

With his training, it only took thirty minutes for each one. And using Vegapunk's cell stimulants. Their surgical wounds quickly healed.

The anesthetics made them groggy and Tyr carried them to their room one by one.

And when they woke up in the morning, they saw Tyr setting up a mirror in front of their bed.

"Ready for the big reveal?" Tyr smiled at them and they nodded in anxiety.

Turning their backs slowly, they saw that their surgical wounds were still swollen. But it was gone, the hoof of the flying dragon wasn't there anymore.

"You're now free, I hope you decide to stay with me though." Tyr smiled at them and they cried as they hugged him tightly.

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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.