ONE PIECE: THE GREAT VOYAGE

Hearing this, the woman's eyes widened instantly.

"You mean it's possible that the Heavenly King, Caesar, did this?"

"What kind of human could do such a thing?"

During their discussion, their thoughts gradually drifted away.

After all, everything they speculated was based solely on scattered information from the news. In the end, they had no real conclusions, only conjecture.

Of course, the people of Amazon Lily were not the only ones discussing this.

In the palace, then-Empress Gloriosa was also analyzing the situation with her subordinates.

"At this moment, there should be no one else capable of such a feat—except that so-called Heavenly King!"

Gloriosa quickly affirmed her opinion.

"I believe so as well!"

"Caesar should be the only one with the strength to move islands like this!"

"But why is he doing it?"

Among her subordinates, a female warrior with a strong presence voiced her thoughts.

She clearly had a deeper understanding of the forces ruling the sea.

"Yes, I've heard that he's been moving islands, saving people, and expanding his domain!"

"But that island—it's full of nothing but wild beasts! What could he want with it?"

With this question lingering, Gloriosa slowly lowered her gaze, lost in deep thought.

Her subordinates, having heard this, also fell silent.

---

Meanwhile

Completely unaware of the discussions on Amazon Lily, Caesar continued his grand undertaking.

It took him a few days, but he successfully brought Ruskaina Island back to his central island. Then, without pause, he merged Ruskaina with Vermejo Island high in the sky.

Immediately, the creatures from these two distinct ecosystems clashed. Their instincts drove them to explore and conquer new territory.

The creatures of Ruskaina were incredibly strong, but those from Vermejo Island were not weak either. Many possessed unique abilities that made them formidable opponents.

Yet, Caesar still did not stop.

After completing the island fusion, he carefully collected a handful of mature IQ grass and set off toward the moon.

---

On the Moon Base

"You mean… this herb can accelerate biological evolution?"

Inside the moon base, Dr. Vegapunk stared in shock at the IQ grass in his hand.

The other scientists were equally astounded.

Though they were not all biologists, they understood the weight of the word evolution.

And accelerating evolution? That was unheard of.

Human evolution had taken tens of millions of years—what kind of concept was this?

A process far too vast to even imagine!

Yet, Caesar had just told them that this strange, delicate plant could dramatically speed up the evolution of living creatures.

For a moment, the entire scientific team was in disbelief.

"That's right, and by thousands of times," Caesar confirmed.

"This plant comes from an uninhabited island called Vermejo."

"The creatures there evolved in vastly different directions after consuming this grass!"

Hearing this, Vegapunk's interest piqued further.

"Interesting… truly fascinating!"

For the first time in a while, excitement lit up Vegapunk's face.

And the botanists and zoologists? They were even more thrilled!

This was their life's work, and they had never encountered anything this extraordinary.

Without hesitation, they demanded that Caesar take them to Vermejo Island so they could witness these rapidly evolving creatures and the mysterious IQ grass firsthand.

They couldn't wait to begin their research.

Caesar had no objections.

Apart from scientists whose expertise lay outside biology, he took all those interested to Vermejo Island.

---

Who Can Resist the Ambition of Becoming a God?

Upon arriving at Vermejo Island, the scientists were stunned.

It was a paradise for researchers.

The botanists quickly discovered that IQ grass not only accelerated evolution in organisms—it was also evolving itself.

However, the plant's own evolution was significantly slower than that of the creatures consuming it.

This made sense. Natural evolution was a slow process, and even with its strange properties, IQ grass was no exception.

The zoologists, on the other hand, were beyond excited.

Many of the island's creatures had stable genetic structures due to long-term evolution.

However, a significant portion of them did not have fixed genetic patterns.

Instead, they were constantly evolving.

This discovery presented an incredible opportunity—understanding how to stabilize human evolution.

Of course, the key issue was eliminating the IQ grass's most dangerous side effect: the uncontrollable aggression it induced in evolved creatures.

And that was exactly what Caesar intended to solve.

---

"Hahaha! This is incredible!"

"I never imagined such a miraculous plant could exist!"

"If we can extract its essence, it will be a revolutionary breakthrough!"

"A treasure rivaling even a Devil Fruit!"

"No—if we can develop an evolution serum without side effects, it would surpass any Devil Fruit! For humanity, this would be the greatest treasure of all!"

Several biologists and botanists gathered around the IQ grass, unable to contain their excitement.

The distant roars of evolved beasts only fueled their enthusiasm.

They thrived on challenges. The more mysterious and dangerous something was, the stronger their desire to understand it.

The animal researchers immediately set out to observe the evolved wildlife.

Under normal circumstances, they would have been terrified of the island's ferocious creatures.

But with Caesar present, they felt no fear.

Their only desire was to witness the effects of IQ grass with their own eyes.

On the other side of the island, Vegapunk stood silently, staring at the vibrant pink IQ grass.

Like Caesar, he was pondering the same question:

Could they remove the plant's negative effects, extract its stable compounds, and create a true evolution serum?

---

The Dream of an Immortal King

For Caesar, this research had profound implications.

First, it would allow him to evolve himself—enhancing his life force and extending his lifespan.

Currently, his lifespan was that of a regular human—perhaps a hundred years at best.

A conservative estimate would be seventy to eighty years.

With Pure Gold, he could live at least a thousand years.

But that was not enough.

Not nearly enough.

There was a vast difference between longevity and immortality.

If he could use evolution to extend his lifespan to thousands, or even tens of thousands of years—then, with Pure Gold, he could live for hundreds of thousands of years!

Even Caesar could not resist such a temptation.

For all his power, he was still human.

And no matter how far beyond ordinary mortals he had ascended, he could not suppress his desire for eternal life.

As for the Ope Ope no Mi's Immortality Surgery?

Caesar was skeptical.

He suspected that using a Devil Fruit for eternal life would come with unforeseen side effects.

Self-driven evolution, however, had no such risks.

After all, humanity had already undergone millions of years of evolution.

There was no reason to believe they could not evolve further—to become something greater.

And now, with IQ grass, this path was no longer just a theory.

Moreover, Caesar wanted his crew to live long as well.

After years of sailing together, he had formed bonds with them—even if he never admitted it.

But Pure Gold was out of the question.

It was too rare, and selfishly, he did not want anyone else to share in his immortality.

However, a perfected evolution serum?

That, he would distribute freely among his crew.

---

Caesar did not desire divinity in the way the Celestial Dragons did.

He had no interest in being a false god.

Instead, he sought to create a true lineage of gods—one born not of privilege, but of evolution.

Life, power, ambition—these were all natural desires.

And he saw no shame in pursuing them.

Why should he?

He had the means to achieve it.

And when one has the opportunity to transcend mortality itself—why would they hesitate?

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