The short sword in An's hand was not the Supreme Great Blade; it was a Great Blade she casually took from Roger before leaving.
After all, Supreme Great Blades are still very rare; it's not so easy to get one.
Although Great Blades are also considered rare, the Roger Pirates had one stored in their warehouse for many years. This short sword was less than a meter long, with a slight curve in the blade. Its name was 'Shadow Cutter,' and it was said to be a blade capable of cutting even intangible shadows.
And now, An arrived at Pandora Island with her weapon.
As an Admiral of the Navy, she could basically move freely on this island, but she noticed through Observation Haki that there were some places here that were not even marked on the map.
She wondered what kind of research was being conducted there...
And the place marked as Pandora Room on the map didn't have its function described, and even she, as a Navy Admiral, couldn't enter.
Although Admirals were considered the 'strongest force' of the World Government, negotiating with someone like the Five Elders was a far cry. Many classified pieces of information were only known to the Fleet Admirals.
Maybe when she became a Fleet Admiral in the future, she would have more information about Maguma.
With these thoughts in mind, An quickened her pace.
Pandora Island wasn't large at all; it could even be described as small. Shortly after disembarking from the ship, she arrived at the experimental area. Under the guidance of government personnel, she quickly reached Vegapunk's laboratory.
She was surprised when she saw Vegapunk.
Because Vegapunk...
Looked a bit off from the human aesthetic. Those who knew could still tell he was human, but those who didn't might think he was a demon or something.
His head was not something a normal person could handle. It was taller than his own body, with a long tongue sticking out, very deformed.
Fortunately, Pandora Island knew Vegapunk was coming from the beginning, so the rooms here were all ultra-high and elongated versions. When An first arrived, she wondered how the rooms were so high, but now seeing Vegapunk, all the doubts were resolved.
An had seen information about Vegapunk in Navy records and knew he was a 'brain human' who ate the Brain-Brain Fruit, but she didn't expect him to look like this.
However, she wasn't one to judge by appearances. Vegapunk's abilities were recognized worldwide, and the World Government was even willing to sacrifice its face just to bring him over. This showed how capable he was.
"Hello, Dr. Vegapunk, I'm An."
After a brief moment of surprise, An steadied herself and said, "The World Government has allowed me to participate in the experiment."
"Good timing," Vegapunk said hastily, as he was drawing something on the experimental table. "I've already prepared the experiment content tailored to you."
"Wasn't it supposed to be a Devil Fruit nurturing experiment for Shadow Cutter?" An frowned. Why did it sound like there were other experiments to be done?
"That experiment has already succeeded, so there's nothing more to do." Vegapunk said, "If that's the case, there's no need for you to come all the way here. I specifically named you to come here because there's something stronger but more dangerous."
"..." An still frowned. She hadn't heard of any other experiments.
But she didn't sense any malice from Vegapunk, so she asked, "What kind of experiment will it be?"
"Come."
Vegapunk didn't answer immediately but opened a door in the room with a button. Two fruits appeared from inside, one Devil Fruit and one Monster Cell.
"Devil Fruit?" An was slightly surprised.
"That's right. Monster Cells can be fused with weapons, so why not Devil Fruits? Why can't these two be combined?" Vegapunk explained, "That's what I've been researching for years. And because there may be some problems when these two fruits are combined and merged into a weapon, a Vice Admiral-level person must assist me."
"..." An still frowned. She hadn't heard of any other experiments.
But she didn't sense any malice from Vegapunk, so she asked, "What kind of experiment will it be?"
"Come."
Vegapunk didn't answer immediately but opened a door in the room with a button. Two fruits appeared from inside, one Devil Fruit and one Monster Cell.
"Devil Fruit?" An was slightly surprised.
"That's right. Monster Cells can be fused with weapons, so why not Devil Fruits? Why can't these two be combined?" Vegapunk explained, "That's what I've been researching for years. And because there may be some problems when these two fruits are combined and merged into a weapon, a Vice Admiral-level person must assist me."
An couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder. What would happen if Devil Fruit and Monster Cells were fused into her Shadow Cutter?
Let the sword eat a Devil Fruit?!
Isn't that too absurd?
After all, a Devil Fruit is a very important treasure and resource in this world. It's too extravagant to let a sword eat it, especially when there's not enough for people to eat, only the World Government would have the financial resources and technology for this...
Other people probably wouldn't even think about this kind of boring technology.
Letting Monster Cells fuse with a weapon still made some sense, as Monster Cells could corrupt people into monsters. Letting weapons eat them could remove this corruption factor. But was there really a need for Devil Fruits?
However, since Vegapunk said so, An had no reason to object. After all, if this experiment succeeded, what would her Shadow Cutter become...?
She dared not imagine!
"What kind of danger will there be?" An walked behind Vegapunk and asked.
"You should know... Devil Fruits also have their own will, right?" Vegapunk said.
"Yeah, it seems to be the case," An nodded.
However, it is likely that it is only the Animal-type Devil Fruits that have some consciousness. However, the awakening of Devil Fruits may also be related to the will of the fruit itself. When the mind and ability are matched, the Devil Fruit will awaken.
"Devil Fruits have a certain will, and Monster Cells can quickly corrupt consciousness into demonization. Once these two fruits are mixed together and merged into an inanimate object, there will be no neutralization process for the 'demonization of Devil Fruits.'"
"Demonization of Devil Fruits?" An was surprised again. "What is that?"
"It means that your sword may develop some kind of self-awareness, and that consciousness is evil, which you need to defeat and then... control it!"
Vegapunk continued, "Just like the awakening of Devil Fruits, you need to match the abilities of the weapon with your own body and mind to achieve coordination between the two, make it obey you, and then you will gain extraordinary strength."
"... I think I understand a little bit." An's furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and she said softly,
"But what Devil Fruit is this?"
"Marshal Maguma personally selected it for you; it's the 'Superhuman-type·Bounce-Bounce Fruit.'"
"Bounce-Bounce Fruit?!" An raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, according to my estimation, after Shadow Cutter absorbs it, it will be able to contract and bounce freely!"