Standing amidst a sea of white clouds, gazing at the familiar scenery, everyone felt a sense of daze.
It was so much like Sky Island.
However, what truly caused everyone to feel dazed was the automatic elevator at the laboratory entrance, resembling a pathway to the future.
This elevator astonished Ah Hua and the others, who had never seen anything like it, while simultaneously stirring a trace of recollection in Kong Tai's eyes.
Apart from the island clouds on the ground and the many fantastical machines created through special abilities, everything else bore a strong resemblance to his past life.
"Guests, please this way," at this moment, Shakya pointed to the machines on either side of the elevator and said, "To enter the laboratory, you must first change your clothes."
He hesitated after saying this, then added, "Of course, if you don't wish to change, you don't have to."
"Change? Why wouldn't we? Free clothes, of course, we should change!"
A Luo threw away the cigarette in his hand and then, with an excited expression, stepped into the machine on the left.
Ah Tao and Ah Hua, not to be outdone, followed and entered behind him.
Gu Yina and Robin, on the other hand, went into the machine on the right.
"This is an automatic changing machine. Once you enter, the machine can automatically design clothes based on the person entering and quickly produce them for the guest to wear."
Seeing Kong Tai hesitate, Shakya stepped closer to him and explained in a low voice.
"Mm! I understand," Kong Tai nodded, then smiled at Shakya before turning and entering the machine on the left.
When everyone reappeared at the entrance, they had all transformed, now clad in clothes with a more futuristic feel, blending seamlessly with their surroundings.
Following this, everyone excitedly boarded the elevator to the laboratory with Shakya.
Passing through the gate at the end of the elevator, which appeared to be forged from steel but was merely an illusion, everyone found themselves inside the real laboratory.
"This way, please."
Shakya continued to lead the way.
Here, everything in sight was filled with a sense of technology. Upon stepping out of the passage, a vast hall appeared before their eyes.
Several robots were working in the hall, their targets being machines identical to the one Kong Tai had seen standing behind Pacifista in Dressrosa.
"Vegapunk," Shakya led everyone through the hall and into a room filled with screens. He then addressed a robot sitting in front of the screens, busy at work, with a clockwork-like ornament on its head, wearing goggles, and bearing the markings "punk-04" and a character for "knowledge" on its chest. "Has the main body not emerged yet? Guests have arrived."
"Not yet!"
Vegapunk turned and replied casually to Shakya, but his hands did not pause, still tapping away at things the others hadn't seen or understood, but which felt familiar to Kong Tai.
Looking at the pages of continuously scrolling code on Vegapunk's screen, Kong Tai felt both familiar and estranged.
Familiar because he had worked in this field in his past life, and estranged because the programming in these two worlds was fundamentally different. He could clearly see what Vegapunk was doing, but he couldn't comprehend it.
Meanwhile, in a room deep within the laboratory.
"Do you really have to go that far?"
"Kuma."
A small old man, resembling "Albert Einstein" with rosy cheeks, graying hair, a head adorned with branches like an apple tree, a large tongue protruding from his mouth and extending to his abdomen, long slender legs, wearing a white lab coat with "SSG" on the back and a floral shirt, stared intently at the colossal figure lying on the operating table.
This old man was none other than the master of this laboratory, the genius scientist, inventor, commander of the Navy's Special Science Unit, known as "the man with the world's number one brain"—
"Vegapunk."
And the person lying on the operating table before him was the prototype for the Pacifistas, the current Shichibukai, "Bartholomew Kuma."
Kuma turned his head to look at the serious Vegapunk, and a gentle smile touched his usually stern face.
He said with ease, "Doctor, you and I both know that the World Government wants obedient machines, not thinking puppets. Even if I had no thoughts, they wouldn't trust me. Only when I completely become a machine will they lower their guard and truly accept me. This is all I can do for Dragon, for the Sorbet Kingdom, for... Bonney, at this time."
He had been captured by the Marines years ago and handed over to the World Government.
Due to the implementation of the Shichibukai system and vacancies, the World Government, seeing his considerable strength, made him one of the Seven Warlords.
What began as a seemingly cooperative undercover operation, as he was originally a Revolutionary Army member, led to the World Government discovering the secret of his hidden body after he became a Shichibukai.
Indeed, he too was a special race, his body unlike that of ordinary humans.
Subsequently, the World Government demanded his cooperation with Vegapunk's experiments, all sorts of experiments.
As a human, he naturally did not want to be an experimental subject.
However, the World Government used Bonney and his country as threats, forcing him to concede.
Of course, this was one aspect; more significantly, it was to infiltrate Mary Geoise and gather more intelligence for Dragon's revolutionary cause.
However, even though he grudgingly agreed to cooperate with Vegapunk's experiments, the Five Elders still did not trust him, as was their usual way.
Thus, this experiment took place today.
Vegapunk and Dragon were old friends, so there was no need for him to hide many things from Vegapunk.
If Dragon's Revolutionary Army wasn't so impoverished, Vegapunk might not be here now but at the Revolutionary Army's base, "Baltigo."
"If you've made up your mind, I will report the experiment to the World Government."
Vegapunk looked at the man before him, a hint of admiration in his eyes.
Individuals who sacrificed themselves for the revolution always commanded deep respect.
"Once the experiment begins, there will be no turning back. You will gradually lose all your memories and eventually become a steel weapon with no independent thought."
"I know."
Kuma turned his head, gazing at the chandelier hanging above him, a hint of tenderness flickering in his eyes.
"Doctor, can I ask you for one thing?"
"Please speak."
"I wish to leave a copy of my memories with you. I feel that she will come here in the future, and she should know the truth rather than searching blindly."
Vegapunk knew who Kuma was referring to and nodded in agreement.
"Yes."
This was simple. He could separate emotions to create clones, and he could certainly remove a brain and turn it into a storage device.
Simply storing Kuma's memories now was a trivial matter.
"Then let's begin!"
Vegapunk cast a deep look at Kuma and pressed a button on the operating table.
A dome suddenly rose from the sides of the operating table, enclosing Kuma entirely.
The experiment had begun.
Would Kuma's future still unfold as before, completely turning him into a machine?
If no one interfered, history would likely continue along its original trajectory.
But...