Chapter 104 : Indigo!!

"Hahahahaha, hahahaha!"

Upon hearing Buggy's words, the Golden Lion erupted into laughter, his previous gloom and despondency vanishing as he regained a glimpse of the pride he once had when he sailed the seas!

Buggy observed Blackbeard, noticing how the laughter of the Golden Lion and Blackbeard seemed eerily similar. Could there be some hidden connection between them?

"Hahaha," Blackbeard chuckled with slight annoyance, adding, "If it weren't for the fact that this old man's death is imminent, I'd make sure he regretted laughing like that! He doesn't even consider his own standing and dares to laugh the same way!"

Blackbeard had picked up a lot from Buggy in recent days, and now he was applying what he had learned, creating quite a stir!

The Golden Lion paid no mind to Blackbeard's words. Instead, he focused intently on Buggy and asked, "Do you want to become the Pirate King?"

Buggy shook his head with a smile and replied, "Being the Pirate King is just a sideshow. I want to rule the entire world!"

The Golden Lion was taken aback. For a moment, he seemed to see a familiar figure in Buggy!

The Golden Lion scrutinized Buggy again, swallowed, and asked, "Kid, how old are you?"

Though unsure why the Golden Lion was asking, Buggy answered truthfully, "I'm 37 years old. Why do you ask?"

"37 years old." A hint of embarrassment flashed in the Golden Lion's eyes as he sighed, "37 years ago, I was still causing trouble, and now so much time has passed."

Buggy's eyes narrowed, realizing that the Golden Lion was referring to the events involving Roger, Garp, and the God Knights, three forces coming together to deal with Rocks!

However, Buggy chose not to bring it up; after all, Rocks had nothing to do with him!

After a while, the Golden Lion snapped back from his reminiscing, looked at Buggy, and said, "Kid, your ambition reminds me of someone from my past! To see someone like you before I die is a kind of reward for me!"

"Everything I have is here—just take whatever you want!"

The Golden Lion then glanced at Indigo in the neighboring cell and added, "Indigo, you hear that? He'll be your new boss from now on!"

Seeing this, Indigo's eyes were filled with gravity, and he nodded solemnly. "Yes!"

Buggy, not one for pretense, turned to Blackbeard and said, "Teach, I'm leaving it to you!"

"Hahahahaha, no problem!" Blackbeard laughed heartily, opening the door to his cell and heading toward the Golden Lion.

Buggy exchanged a glance with Domino, who then followed Blackbeard into the cell.

Without a word, Blackbeard summoned dark clouds of smoke to envelop Domino and the Golden Lion, starting the process of transferring the Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit!

Meanwhile, Buggy wasn't idle. He moved to the next cell, unlocked the door, and freed Indigo.

Indigo took a moment to glance at the Golden Lion wrapped in black smoke before approaching Buggy and dancing in front of him.

Buggy, looking a bit exasperated, said, "I don't understand why you're so tight-lipped, but now isn't the time for games. Tell me about the IQ!"

Indigo paused before responding, "I don't have the IQ in my possession right now. To restart IQ research, we need to go to that floating island to locate and cultivate the plants that contain it!"

Buggy inquired, "Do you know where that floating island is now?"

Indigo nodded and said, "That island fell from the sky, so the ecological environment must have been devastated. To prevent the extinction of plants containing IQ ingredients, we need to head over there as soon as possible!"

"Yes!" Buggy agreed without hesitation. "We'll head over later!" 

After a moment's pause, Buggy asked, "By the way, how far have you come in your research on IQ?"

Indigo thought for a moment and replied, "I can now make animals evolve rapidly using SIQ, with a mortality rate of no more than twenty percent!"

"But if we want these animals to evolve to harness elemental powers, the mortality rate exceeds eighty percent!"

Buggy nodded in understanding.

If these organisms consume IQ plants over a long period, they will evolve gradually and adapt slowly, minimizing risks.

However, what the Golden Lion wants is for these creatures to complete their evolution quickly, reducing adaptation time, and thus, they naturally face higher risks.

Indigo hesitated, then stopped.

Seeing this, Buggy smiled and said, "If you have any questions, feel free to ask. We're allies now!"

Indigo nodded and asked, "Lord Buggy, what did you mean when you said we were going in the wrong direction with IQ?"

Buggy smiled and asked, "Do you consider humans to be living beings?"

Indigo frowned, understanding Buggy's implication. He shook his head and said, "You want to use IQ to evolve humans. We've tried this before, but the mortality rate was 100%! None of the test subjects survived."

"Eventually, we abandoned the idea of using IQ to evolve humans!"

Buggy grinned playfully and said, "What about the wings that grew on the arms of the natives on the floating island? When the island crashed, they all flew away!"

Indigo's eyes widened in shock as he processed this information. He could hardly believe it!

Initially, he had studied the wings on the arms of the natives but had found no results. Moreover, he had been defeated and lost consciousness before the floating island crash, so he was unaware that these aborigines could actually fly. He had always thought that the wings on their arms were mere ornaments.

Indigo pondered for a moment and then asked, "Lord Buggy, are you suggesting that IQ is also beneficial for humans?"

Buggy nodded and replied, "At least IQ isn't harmful to humans! After all, those aborigines have been using IQ-enriched plants to cure madness, haven't they?"

"As for the 100 percent mortality rate in your human experiments, I believe it's because the IQ concentration you used was too high."

"Everything has its limits—even excessive oxygen can be lethal!"

"Moreover, your refined IQ was initially meant for beasts, not for humans. The human body can't handle it in the same way."

"So, I suggest you lower the IQ concentration or add some substances to neutralize its effects, like wild greens."

As Indigo listened, his eyes grew brighter with understanding. He had previously concentrated on animal experiments and hadn't given much thought to human trials, leaving him in the dark.

Now, Buggy had cleared the way for him to see a new perspective!

Indigo gazed at Buggy with intense admiration and said excitedly, "Lord Buggy, you are truly a genius! If our experiment succeeds, it will undoubtedly change the world!"