"Laskey, look over there!"
Meanwhile, Marta and Laskey, who were already close to the train and hidden, were also observing the situation on the battlefield. However, their gazes did not leave Amatori Biba.
However, they also paid attention to the girl dressed in red and the woman with short blonde hair, because they exuded Kabane's aura.
What Marta pointed out was the scene in which both, the girl and the woman, advanced together towards a gigantic Kabane almost three meters high that held a large blade. The latter had two Kabane stuck on his chest and back, he was clearly transitioning towards the 'core'.
"How annoying, are there also eight-foot-tall people in this world?" Laskey said coldly with an annoyed expression.
The woman with short blonde hair was obviously around 1.7 meters tall, but standing in front of the giant Kabane, she only reached up to her upper thigh.
"But whether it's the Karikatashuu or here at the Station, I haven't seen anyone taller than two meters. This must be a very special case." Marta consoled her from the side.
Next, they both witnessed the amazing coordination between the girl and the woman.
First, the woman with short blonde hair accelerated first, throwing the medium-sized musket in her hand at the head of the giant Kabane. She then avoided the blow of the latter's machete, even as the knife split the ground next to her, causing a thunderous noise and thick smoke. She without any fear, turned her back to the Kabane, then squatted down slightly and crossed her hands in front of her.
The girl dressed in red followed close behind, jumping and doing a somersault. In the process, the double pistol in her hand pierced the back of the Kabane's head. Then, he landed accurately in the hands of the short blonde haired woman.
The woman with short blonde hair pushed the girl again with her hands, the girl jumped again with the help of this force. Just in time to catch the medium-sized musket that the short-haired blonde woman had previously thrown at the Kabane's head, the girl then shot at the Kabane's head at a vertical angle in the air.
Then, with a swift movement, the woman with short blonde hair pulled out a long sword from her back. Taking advantage of the moment when the giant Kabane screamed because of the damage to her head, she pierced him with her sword through the heart.
This entire move set was fluid, displaying top-notch speed, strength, agility, reflexes, and combat experience.
Although this left the soldiers and samurai at the Station amazed, to Laskey and Marta, it seemed like an overly elaborate spectacle.
"That sword..." However, Laskey's sharp eyes noticed the strange blade in the hand of the woman with short blond hair. The blade was covered with a network of luminescent veins similar to the veins of the Kabane.
Especially the sharp edge needed to pierce the Kabane's heart and chest with a single blow caught his attention.
They have tested it before. The ordinary samurai swords in this world have no way to deal with Kabane's steel heart membrane. If they hit it hard, the former will only break.
…
Inside a cell made entirely of steel, three burly men, all around 1.8 meters, lay naked, handcuffed and chained to an iron chair. They wore seastone shackles and chains, with explosive collars around their necks.
The situation was distressing. The man on the far left was already regretting that he had agreed to leave his cell in exchange for a full meal. This caused him to beg and struggle in a state of extreme terror, making a stark contrast to the other two who remained silent.
Outside the cell, Dr. Fritz stood next to Senior Director Addison, listening to the other person's presentation. Behind them stood two scientific researchers and two men in black.
"Mike Folsom, with an original bounty of 51 million berries. He is an expert in wrestling and showed initial signs of Busoshoku Haki.
Then Senior Director Addison looked at the prisoner sitting in the middle. "Hawthorne, the original bounty is 33 million berries, is a user of the Zoan-type devil fruit Yuta Yuta no Mi, Model: Kangaroo, which allows him to transform into a kangaroo."
After a brief pause, he looked at the prisoner on the right, the only one not wearing a prisoner's uniform, and introduced him.
"Steve Gus, member of CP7, in charge of base security. Expert in the use of Tekkai. He is able to use the Seimei Kikan to a certain extent, controlling his muscles, blood vessels and blood. He was the first to test the aggressiveness of the Kabane virus."
Dr. Fritz was stunned for a moment and asked doubtfully: "Why would he do this? If he wants to gain the enhanced power of Kabane virus, he can wait until the research is mature."
"Gus's younger brother joined the De Niro family, one of the top five West Blue crime families."
"Yesterday, while escorting a batch of weapons through Reverse Mountain, he was arrested. He is now being taken to Enies Lobby to await trial."
"After receiving the news, in order to rescue his younger brother, he volunteered to become a test subject at the Biochemical Research Institute."
"He said that if he succeeded, he would continue to be loyal to the World Government. If he failed, he would not regret it. He just wanted to give his younger brother a free and peaceful life." Senior Director Addison gave a simple explanation of the ins and outs without expression.
After listening, Dr. Fritz was silent for a moment before speaking again. "I understand. I will assign him the last injection of the Kabane virus. We will see how the first two subjects react before deciding what to do."
"Thanks for your cooperation".
Dr. Fritz nodded, and then motioned to the scientific researchers waiting for instructions to start the experiment. They entered the cell carrying a small box, and the two men in black followed them.
"No, don't come closer! What are you doing? Ah! What are you doing? Stay away!"
Mike Folsom looked even more scared when he saw the people enter. No matter how much he resisted, the restraints kept him firmly attached to the chair.
The investigator ignored their insults and pleas. He pulled a blue-glowing syringe from the box and stuck it into Mike Folsom's chest as he screamed heartbreakingly.
At the same time, the two people who were about to face the same encounter turned pale when they saw this scene.
When the syringe was removed from Mike Folsom's body, the skin on his chest began to rapidly turn black and purple. The veins affected by the virus began to glow bright blue, spreading like a luminous net.
Soon, the heart was invaded by the virus, and the skin on the chest could not block the blue light.
"What is this?!"
He watched in horror as a blue light climbed up the left carotid artery. The erosion speed of the virus could only be said to be neither fast nor slow, at least giving people time to observe the complete process.
"Uh-huh!!"
When blue light invaded Mike Folsom's brain, a small patch of blue light also lit up in his brain. Just like his pupils, which emitted blue light. The appearance of her was terrifying.
"Eh?" What Dr. Fritz found interesting was that the blue light in the pupils was not stable but was constantly flashing. The person's expression also changed repeatedly, sometimes demonic, sometimes distressed.
"Sure enough, what I guessed is correct. When a person's willpower is strong enough to awaken Haki, he will also have some resistance to the invasion of the brain by the Kabane virus. I just don't know if this guy can persist."
Dr. Fritz was eagerly awaiting a positive result, but unfortunately, things did not go so smoothly.
"Guaaahhh!" Mike Folsom barely lasted more than five minutes; The blue light in his pupils completely stabilized. Now, he was truly a Kabane.
The sudden burst of power caused the iron chair to creak, even cracks began to appear on it. Fortunately, the seastone chains binding her hands and feet were sturdy enough.
"His aura has become much stronger!" At this moment, one of the men in black in the cell spoke in a low voice, sharing his insight.
"Hahahaha, I knew this thing has the effect of increasing mental power!" Dr. Fritz laughed, then waved his palm and urged: "Okay, solve it and prepare for the next test."
"Yes." The man in black who spoke approached Mike Folsom and extended his right index finger. Using the Busoshoku Haki he covered his finger with a dark glow and then, in an instant, it became a flash that pierced the membrane of the Kabane's heart.
[Dang!]
Unfortunately, the attack failed to break through his defense. The man in black was not surprised by this. He continued to use the Shigan, aiming at the same position to launch continuous attacks.
Suddenly, a noise sounded as if hardened glass had been pierced, followed by a gush of hot blood from the wound. The man in black's clothes were dyed scarlet, smoking slightly. However, he didn't think anything of it, turning towards Addison and the others outside.
"Report, using the Shigan reinforced with Busoshoku Haki. I need to hit a spot five times in a row to penetrate his heart."
"Register it."
"Yes!" The research staff behind Dr. Fritz immediately took notes.
Meanwhile the research scientist in the cell took another injection from the box and walked towards Hawthorne.
Although Hawthorn was still a little nervous, he quickly regained his composure.
The researchers, accustomed to the gore and brutality of biological research, were not affected at all. Without hesitation, they stuck the needle into his chest and injected the Kabane virus.
The moment the Kabane virus invaded his body, Hawthorne's body expanded under the stimulation, transforming into his Human-Beast Form at visible speed, quickly turning into a half-human kangaroo.
Not to mention, with his transformation, the spread of the Kabane virus on his chest has been greatly slowed down. The most obvious thing is that the affected skin is not so dark and purple, but only a little red.
"The improvement in muscle strength can withstand higher temperatures, and naturally it will no longer be easily scorched by high-temperature blood vessels, but the key is whether he can preserve his consciousness."
Dr. Fritz watched Hawthorne's physical changes while thinking and explaining.
Not long after, a blue light also appeared on the chest of the kangaroo man. However, it may be due to the strength of the muscles that it failed to burn through the epidermis. Therefore, the transparent film of ordinary Kabane was not formed, and the brightness was naturally a bit dim.
Just when the light from the left carotid artery passed through his eyes and invaded the brain, the man stood there stunned. The blue light in his pupils only lasted for three seconds before returning to black.
"Succeeded?!"
Seeing this scene, Dr. Fritz, Director Addison and others outside the cell all looked happy.
"You still have a conscience, can you say something?" Inside the cell, the investigator carefully approached Hawthorne and asked him kindly, but he simply raised his head in a daze, looking around in confusion.
"Chichichichi~~"
"Huh?" Seeing the kangaroo man making strange noises towards him, the researcher looked at him confused and asked again: "Can you tell me, what is your name?"
"Chichichichi~~"
It continued in the same manner, making strange, meaningless sounds. Now, the smiles on the faces of those outside the cell faded.
"It's the sound of a kangaroo, I met them in my homeland." Suddenly, Steve Guess, who was sitting aside, said.
"It turns out to be like this" Dr. Fritz touched his chin and said in a deep voice: "I didn't expect that legend to be true."
"What legend?" Addison asked curiously.
"It is said that Zoan-type Devil Fruits are the most special, as they house another consciousness and soul. Now it seems to be true."
"You mean that Hawthorne's consciousness was invaded by the Kabane virus, leading to the awakening of the kangaroo consciousness within him, replacing the former as the body's dominant consciousness?"
"That's right, this is the only explanation." Dr. Fritz said: "I just don't know if this is a good or bad thing, but from the current performance, the Kangaroo-dominated consciousness seems to be quite docile."
"Although the luminous heart shows that his body has also been strengthened by the virus." After saying this, he ordered the investigator inside the cell: "Ron, come out first, let them untie Hawthorne's restraints."
"Yes, Professor!"
Then the men in black freed Hawthorne.
"Chichichichi~~"
Upon seeing that he was being released, Hawthorn displayed a human smile, waving his hands towards them in a gesture of gratitude.
"As expected, okay, find a place to keep it. Make sure it's not short of food and water. Check its health in a few days and then return it to Impel Down."
Dr. Fritz lost interest in Hawthorne.
"Yes!"
Soon, a man in black took away the docile kangaroo man.
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