One Piece: Starting in God Valley as a Slave

In a restricted research area, Vegapunk carefully held a test tube filled with a vivid red liquid, shaking it gently. Nearby, a glass container housed a large purple apple submerged in solution, faint circular patterns gradually surfacing on its skin.

An instrument connected to the container displayed a rapid series of data updates, while Vegapunk, looking somewhat tense, seemed to wrestle with his thoughts. After a moment of hesitation, his resolve firmed, and he stepped toward the glass container.

But suddenly, a dark vortex materialized before him, causing Vegapunk to flinch and lose control of the test tube, which shattered on the floor. The red liquid splashed across the ground as Vegapunk's eyes widened, his pulse racing.

The vortex solidified into the figure of Carl. He gazed at Vegapunk, who seemed shaken to the core. Vegapunk's fear morphed into exasperation as he nearly choked out,

"Carl! Could you please warn me next time before you appear out of nowhere? You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days!"

Carl raised an eyebrow, his tone less than sympathetic.

"What, are you conducting another secret experiment?"

Vegapunk, realizing his slip, shook with apprehension. He hastily replied,

"No, no! You can ask Kuma or Borsalino. There's nothing here that they don't already know about!"

"Then where are they now?"

"...Uh...on a mission."

Carl sighed, rolling his eyes, thinking Kuma might as well be Borsalino's second-in-command in the Navy's 'slacking team.' Vegapunk wasn't doing any secret research, though. He glanced down at the spilled liquid on the floor, a pang of regret crossing his face.

"Saint Carl, I swear, I'm just working on artificial Devil Fruits. You know all about this research. The blood on the floor was a precious resource," he explained, voice thick with disappointment.

"Whose blood is that?"

"It's Kaido's. The last time the Navy captured him, I managed to extract a small amount. That guy's body is absurdly tough, so it took a lot of effort just to get this little bit. My prior experiments failed, and this was my last viable sample…"

Carl thought for a moment. "Kaido gets captured often enough. We can get more blood next time."

Vegapunk shook his head.

"It's not so simple. Kaido gets stronger each time, making it harder to extract his blood. Plus, I've used up rare materials in this experiment—it'll take twenty years to gather them all again!"

Carl's mind flashed to the story where Vegapunk ultimately succeeds after two decades. It seemed that, even without Carl's intervention, Vegapunk might have still failed this time around, but that the fruit might still have been successfully created if left uninterrupted.

And this particular fruit—eventually eaten by Momonosuke—appeared to be a curious case. When Vegapunk saw the "Pink Dragon" that Momonosuke transformed into, he assumed his creation was a failure, given the color difference.

To Carl, though, this artificial Fruit was an impressive feat. Dismissing a fruit as a failure solely due to color seemed rather strict, but Vegapunk's scientific rigor was part of his nature, it was almost an obsession.

Carl glanced at the drying blood and simply nodded. "Got it."

With a casual flick of his fingers, he summoned the blood from the floor, forming it into several thin threads that converged into a small, ping-pong-sized blood orb on his fingertip.

Vegapunk blinked in surprise as Carl shook the blood orb in front of him.

"Where do you want it?"

Regaining his composure, Vegapunk's eyes lit up. He pointed to a nearby device.

"There, please!"

Carl flicked his finger, sending the blood orb straight into the instrument's opening.

The solution in the glass container began to bubble, causing the purple apple to gradually turn red. The ring patterns on its surface intensified, shifting to hues of gold and orange.

Vegapunk watched with bated breath, hands clenched in anticipation. Even Carl couldn't help but feel intrigued by the transformation.

As the two watched, the apple—now clearly a Devil Fruit—cooled, its skin solidifying to a deep blood-red, adorned with golden-orange rings.

Carl was momentarily taken aback, in his memory, Momonosuke's fruit had a dark purple hue in the anime. Had he remembered incorrectly, or had the experiment taken a different turn?

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+170 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg