Below the Colosseum
Bubble~ Plop~
A room was hastily constructed adjacent to the laboratory below the arena on the instruction of the Boss behind the Colosseum.
The laboratory isn't as well equipped as a modern laboratory, but it has a very contrasting setting. Most of the instruments are according to what was available in the market, but some of them are also too modern. These were made according to Shuunya's knowledge from watching videos in his previous life.
Of course, equipment even more advanced than what Shuunya has ever seen are also available in this world, but Shuunya cannot get his hands on them yet. One of the leading reasons being, he doesn't have enough resources or manpower to reach Vegapunk's Hometown.
This laboratory has a very special purpose to Shuunya. Not only does it have the capabilities to research on many projects at the same time, the prime reason it was constructed under the Colosseum was because its main research agenda will be one of the cornerstones of his future endeavors.
That is, electricity. Electricity itself is available in the nation of Baldimore, but he can't get it now. Access to the country would solve a lot of problems for him, and he is confident that he can get that access, but he lacks time. Although the development of the company was explosive, it only existed for a year. Businesses take time.
So Shuunya decided to generate electricity by himself, or more accurately, get someone to generate it based on his Ideas.
He did succeed in making a generator too, based on what he remembers in his previous life, but he encountered a problem too. He doesn't have the fuel necessary to drive it.
He found a viable solution for it based on his memories of the anime. It's the fuel Franky uses, Coke.
So, under his suggestion, a group of scientists started to research how to use coke to generate electricity. There must be a different approach to this, but he hadn't found that yet.
They succeeded in making it work, and he wanted to use the electricity produced by the generator to light up the colosseum as a display of his invention, but he lacks any other components necessary to do so, for example tungsten.
He then realized that he was forcing all the knowledge he learned in his previous world to work in a different world. The two worlds are different, so is the structure on which they are built. They are very similar, but not the same.
But his understanding of this world is based on his understanding of his previous world, so if he wants to change whatever he had learned in his previous world, he again needs someone who is proficient in the knowledge he is familiar with, or someone from Baldimore.
So he decided to wait until he meets Vegapunk to have an exchange with him. Who knows, maybe he will meet someone else who could help him with this.
In the hastily constructed room, a transparent chamber filled with a light blue liquid is constantly under electric discharge.
Inside the chamber is the supposedly dead Shuunya, or at least his body. 'Only one scientist' is stationed inside the room, constantly monitoring the readings given by the monitors surrounding the chamber.
Above the chamber is a small transparent tube made with materials acquired from the Sky Island, capable of storing energy. It is further modified to store all kinds of energy based on it's material strength.
The small tube is filled with a colorful looking energy which was provided by Shuunya for this Grand Experiment. He did not specify what it was when he handed it to the old scientist, but just told him what to do with it.
Dr. Baum looked at his Boss who can be considered clinically dead at the moment and didn't know what else he can do to make the situation better.
He wants to help him finish this procedure more safely, but the procedure is drafted by the boss himself considering the opinions of the best scientists they currently know. There isn't anything he can add to the current plan to make it better, much worse, it might lead to unimaginable consequences.
The current situation is all because Shuunya reached a limit in his strength growth. He isn't aiming to be the strongest in the world, but his current strength is too low if he wants to change the world.
It can even be considered a miracle for Shuunya to reach his current strength considering his physique. But his current strength cannot be compared to Jinbei, or the current Kyros.
Coupled with the fact that he cannot awaken Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, forget about being a strong player, he isn't even sure he can escape if someone from the new world tries to assassinate him.
Worried about his declining rate of increase in his strength, he decided to risk all of it to uncover the secrets of his body.
He thought of all the ways he could to increase his strength. Slowly changing his genes was useful to him until now, coupled with consumption of high energy meat, and Life Return along with Predation, he reached his current strength.
He also found a way to increase his strength, in the current path he is taking, but it would require him to lose himself. He can either become someone else by changing his genes to resemble others, or become a stitch monster by mixing other's genes with his.
Although he wants to change the world, he doesn't want to lose himself in the process. Frankly, he changed a lot in the past 16 years. He isn't selfless to sacrifice his sense of self for the greater good.
The only way forward that he can achieve at the current period is to awaken whatever is available in his body. He isn't sure if anything is available to invoke in his body, but it doesn't hurt to give it a try.
That's what he thought when he had the Idea, but it will hurt, and very much so. It will hurt so much that Shuunya will die of pain, and his body will explode. Or atleast, that's what Al's calculations say.
So he decided to 'die' and evolve his body after his death, and resurrect in the new body. Shuunya calculated the odds for the experiment and found a way which will help this experiment be seamless, Yomi Yomi no Mi.
However, he doesn't have the fruit, and it is currently eaten by Brook. He could replicate it using Green Blood, but he doesn't know how to make one.
This leaves him to a much riskier option. Sure, he can wait until all he needs to complete the procedure successfully are available, but he doesn't have the time to do so.
The next steps are very dangerous, and he might be attacked at any time. If the popularity of the business is known to the world, he will be under the eyes of the World Government, Pirates, Nobilities and the worst of them all, Celestial Dragons.
His current plan is pretty simple too. First he will die, then his body will be forced to awaken, and finally, he will be revived. The only problem is that he doesn't know how to revive himself.
He did find someone to help him in the whole procedure, but it's more of a deal. And he cannot trust her, at all.
Dr. Baum looked at Shuunya's body being electrocuted and saw the changes that are occurring in the body. Shuunya's body is currently only partially dead. With the help of someone, he managed to keep himself alive, but unconscious.
The light blue liquid is a nutrient rich liquid that can cater to all the energy Shuunya needs during the procedure. The lightning strikes, or more accurately, electric discharge is produced by the generator present in the main laboratory.
It is used to stimulate Shuunya's dormant genes, but the process won't be easy.
Shuunya only knows of one thing in his possession that he can use to awaken his dormant genes, magicules. But he doesn't have the magicules with himself, and he cannot currently travel to the Cardinal World.
So he can only use an excruciating process to produce them on his own. He used the skill Predator, but not completely. He invoked the skill to convert his stamina to magicules, but instead of using them for the skill, with the help of Al's skillful operation, he stored it in the improved vessel.
Dr. Baum looked at the monitor which showed that the experiment had reached the critical state, and pressed the button which allowed the magicules to flow into the chamber.
The moment the magicules entered the chamber, the chamber glowed in colorful lights blinding the doctor and the people standing at the end of the room.
After the lights faded out, it revealed Shuunya inside the chamber. He looked no different from before, and Dr. Baum knows that only after Shuunya comes back alive would he be able to know whether it is a success or failure.
After the readings in the monitor returned to normal, and he is sure that the procedure is done except for the last step, he turns around to look at the women standing in the center of the group and speaks to her,
"It's now your turn."
The woman smiles wildly, looked at the white, round, foggy substance in her hand and said, "Mama~ Mama~, I don't feel like I should give back such a delicious soul"
Dr. Baum didn't say anything to her. He took a booklet from his pocket and searched for something in it. After he found what he was looking for, he read aloud,
"You will be breaking your end of the deal then. You should have found out about the navy's current movement in this country by now, and a request from me on the account of my safety can make them focus on you more than Roger
Moreover, you will also not get the information you are looking for. Isn't that the whole reason you risked the lives of your entire crew to come here?"
The women didn't show any displeasure from what the Doctor said. She used the free hand to touch the soul present in the other hand. Suddenly, her face showed hatred about something and she gave a "Tch~" sound before walking towards the chamber.
After she arrived at the front of the Chamber, she looked at the 'dead' Shuunya inside it and spotted a wide grin on her face, and slowly licked her lips.
The Doctor, seeing the scene, got goosebumps all over his body and quickly searched the book to find what to do next. After finding the answer, he said, "Don't have impure thoughts about my body. I wouldn't do it with you even if I have to die."
After saying that, he suddenly felt something and looked around. He found out that he had been moved to a place away from the chamber by the blond haired man wearing glasses who was previously standing behind the woman.
The woman herself looked towards his direction with anger, before she calmed herself and threw the soul into the chamber, and then walked back to where she was standing earlier.
Shuunya, who was floating inside the chamber, slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Feeling suffocated because of lack of air, he broke the glass and fell outside, coughing and heavily breathing.
He went to a door at the corner of the room and went inside. He dried himself in there and put on some fresh clothes before coming outside.
The Doctor looked at Shuunya and quickly congratulated him.
"Congratulations, Boss. It seems the experiment isn't a failure. Good thing you aren't dead."
Shuunya laughed loudly, not minding the Doctor's words, clearly in a very good mood.
"Not only it isn't a failure, the experiment can even be considered a success. At Least, I feel a lot of changes in my body"
The angry woman couldn't bear it anymore and shouted, "Now that you are fine, tell me what you have promised"
"Of course I will. Little Garden."
The woman was slightly pleased with the answer, so she wasn't as angry as she was before, so she asked something she was curious about, "Why couldn't I mold your soul?"
"Who knows. Maybe I am too handsome"
"Tch~. Don't say if you don't want to. Anyway, I'll be leaving."
"Why don't you stay for a while? You can witness something good tomorrow"
The woman looked at Shuunya deeply. She isn't very clever, but she understood the underlying meaning in his words.
"Fine, I will stay. Maybe something interesting may really happen tomorrow. Anyway, what is your name again?"
"My name, huh~ . . . Well, it doesn't hurt to tell you now that we can be considered partners. It's Kin'emon"
"That name, are you from Wano? No wonder you can get something like this facility for usage. You must be close to the boss behind the new company."
"Well, you could say that. Anyway, I will ask someone to give you a good room to stay in."
"That's Good."
Dr. Baum went outside with Linlin and asked someone to arrange a good room for her. He immediately left from there. He doesn't want to stay anymore beside this crazy woman.
Feeling that Big Mom has left far enough, Rayleigh asked a question that was bugging him, "Why did you give her a fake name?"
"It's quite simple. 'Shuunya' is dead. He died in the tournament. The newspaper will report false news stating that he died while on a trip, but those who are powerful will know that he actually died in the arena.
And dying will be helpful for me. I need to do a few things in secret. Only a few will know that I didn't die, and I can trust them to keep things quiet."
". . . I see."
Shuunya planned a lot for this. After his 'death', with the help of a 'mysterious person' (himself), the ones he had trained will gradually take control of the company.
And when things are in order, Shuunya can leave it in their capable hands and take the next steps.
He realized a way to win in his game. And he made a Grand Plan for that. Although the plan will be updated as he keeps working on it, he is sure that he can get things to work in his way if he could do it well.
His next step will be implemented after all the chaos is quelled, and there is a lot of time for that, so he isn't worried about it that much. But for now, he needs to lay low.
Using a green robe to cover his body, Shuunya slowly changed his face to that of Kin'emon's using his Mimicry. Then, he went outside using a secret exit and returned to his Office.
After arranging things in order, he went to meet other 'friends' of his to start playing the role of the mysterious helper.
Shuunya knew that the current situation of the Starry Sky Conglomerate is entirely dependent on him. Although there are Stella and Beatrice, they cannot handle the important work.
Most dealers also came to do business with the company because of seeing his capabilities. So, if he wants to let them stick with himself even after his death, it is naturally impossible.
The tournament did not delay the matches because of Shuunya's 'death'. And he can take the time while the others are invested in the matches to visit the important people one by one to intimidate them.
The most important person that he needs to convince would be Umit. The rest can honestly be done by Chinjao. He doesn't need to let them suffer losses, that would cause public outrage.
He only needs to convince them to keep their trust in the person trained by Shuunya himself. If they feel that he isn't capable of it, thay can withdraw their deals.
As long as someone believes it, the rest will slowly believe it. Crowd Mentality.
Those who aren't very powerful will choose to believe the article in the newspaper. Those who are powerful will know that Shuunya 'died' in the arena rather than on a trip. The only ones who knew that Shuunya is alive are those he trusts, except for Big Mom.
But no one would tell Big Mom that the one who fought in the Ring is Shuunya, since she isn't as powerful as she was later on. And She hasn't reached her peak strength either.
So, for now, Shuunya's secret is safe. He just hopes that it will be a secret for a while.
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A/N: I wanted to do a Shounen Power-up, the kind where MC is cornered and he awakens his inner power, but as I was writing it, I realized that its better to write a reason pulled out of nowhere than a power pulled out of nowhere