Half an hour later, Kong Tai cleaved open the laboratory door with a single slash of his sword and stepped out of the dim laboratory.
Behind him, a conflagration instantly engulfed the entire facility.
Though human progress was born from the ceaseless exploration of the unknown, Kong Tai loathed using humans for experimentation. Even if the laboratory contained many valuable experimental records, these data would not propel humanity forward. They were records of SAD, along with various viruses and weapons.
For the common folk, this was not progress, but the key to unlocking the cage of humanity's inner demons.
Therefore, after failing to find Vegapunk's data, Kong Tai did not hesitate to set the entire place ablaze.
Standing outside the door, a crimson glow appeared in Kong Tai's eyes as his Observation Haki swept across the entire research facility.
He then turned to glance back one last time at Caesar, lying amidst the inferno, a hint of mockery gracing his lips.
No matter how brilliant or well-connected one was, in the end, they would only turn to ashes.
He was no mere nobody!
As if struck by a thought, Kong Tai let out a snort of laughter.
Shaking his head, the laughter abruptly ceased, and with it, Kong Tai's figure vanished without a trace.
...
The mountains behind the research facility.
Kong Tai's silhouette silently appeared on a massive boulder.
Gazing down at the churning pool of toxic gas below, a hint of curiosity flickered in Kong Tai's eyes.
Logically, Caesar was dead, and the monstrous slime he had created from his own poisonous gas should have dissipated.
Yet, observing the continuously churning toxic gas pool, it was evident that something substantial resided within.
A crimson glow appeared in his eyes, and his spiritual energy, affixed to his Observation Haki, fell upon the toxic gas.
Indeed, within it lay a life form comparable to the Alo-My Dog.
"Has it already consumed a Devil Fruit?"
Kong Tai frowned, retracting his spiritual energy, the crimson glow in his eyes fading.
A trace of disappointment surfaced on his face.
It was a pity he hadn't found any records in Caesar's laboratory about objects consuming Devil Fruits.
The necklace that had fused with the Door-Door Fruit was a product of his forced fusion, utilizing his spatial domain and his spiritual sense to imbue it with the Devil Fruit's power.
Thus, the necklace was not an alternative life form; Kong Tai only sensed the special abilities granted by the Devil Fruit within it.
To open a door using the necklace required the user to expend their own physical stamina, unlike the My Dog, whose fired projectiles were generated by the My Dog itself.
And for the My Dog to recover was simple; a bit of dog food was usually sufficient.
Comparing the two, each had its pros and cons.
The advantage was that the artifact he had forcibly fused himself could be used by anyone. The disadvantage was that its use was extremely draining and could not be further developed.
This was unlike the My Dog.
Strictly speaking, an item like the My Dog, having consumed a Devil Fruit, could be considered a distinct life form.
Any life form, upon prolonged association with intelligent beings like humans, would naturally develop a spark of sentience. At that point, it could independently develop the potential of its Devil Fruit.
This was the case with the current My Dog.
Compared to before, the projectiles it fired were significantly more powerful than when Aro had first obtained it.
This shattered his long-held belief that once an item consumed a Devil Fruit, its abilities were fixed.
In fact, ever since obtaining the Time-Time Fruit, he had been contemplating whether to fuse it with the Zankou.
Then, with the Year-Year Blade in one hand and the Spatial Blade in the other, he would command true time and space.
Let alone Im, who was possibly an alien monster, even if he truly encountered extraterrestrials, he would be invincible.
Shaking his head, he cast these wandering thoughts aside.
There was no use in overthinking. While Devil Fruits were magical and possessed many game-breaking abilities, in his previous world, no one who read One Piece hadn't dreamed of having one someday.
Despite their severe weaknesses, who wouldn't want to be a superman instead of an ordinary person?
Unfortunately, he already possessed spatial power that surpassed any strength in this world, and it was a power without any weaknesses.
These Devil Fruits, considered legendary by many, and which he possessed multiple of, capable of easily creating powerful individuals, were somewhat redundant to him.
The Mountain King, Time, and now two more Logia-type fruits, Gas and Snow-Snow.
Each one of them would drive countless people to madness.
Yet, they currently lay gathering dust in his spatial bag.
After a moment of contemplation, Kong Tai lowered his gaze, returning his attention to the toxic gas pool.
Based on his observation, this entity currently lacked any consciousness. Although it was an alternative life form, its mind was a blank slate, like a newborn infant.
"Should I just kill it?"
Kong Tai crossed his left arm, resting his right thumb on his chin, stroking the faint stubble that had recently begun to appear.
"Better kill it then!"
Lowering his hand, Kong Tai's right hand grasped the hilt of Zankou.
Even though this creature had just been born and possessed no consciousness, and there were few people on the island, who knew what it might become in the future?
After all, it was a monster born from poisonous gas. Although the island was deserted, that did not mean the surrounding waters were.
Leaving this creature here would inevitably turn it into a true demon sooner or later.
And when Monkey D. Luffy arrived here, with him present, the Summit War might not even happen, but it would still be at least a year and a half away. Who knew how many people this creature would kill in the meantime?
Whether intentionally or not, any ordinary person who encountered it was unlikely to resist the toxic gas emanating from it.
*Zzzing—!*
A cold blade light, accompanied by the sound of metal friction, like an inverted galaxy, instantly sliced through the toxic gas pool below.
As the blade light passed, the small pool immediately ceased its churning.
*Crack—!*
A fissure, originating from beneath the giant boulder where Kong Tai stood, traversed the entire pool and extended to another large mountain ahead, before disappearing.
*Gurgle gurgle gurgle!!*
With the death of the monster beneath the pool and the appearance of the crack, the small pool instantly bubbled with a large amount of gas.
Then, the toxic liquid in the pool began to flow downwards through the crack, and soon the entire pool vanished.
At the bottom of the pool, a massive purplish-red monster, split in two, lay on either side of the fissure. Its body, like a candle in the wind, continuously dissolved.
Most of it vaporized into toxic gas, drifting in the pit, while a portion dissolved into toxic water, flowing into the crack.
Soon, it completely disappeared.
Looking up at the distant mountains, a mysterious brilliance flashed in Kong Tai's eyes.
It was time to leave.
Punk Hazard at this time was not three years later. It had not undergone the purification of an Admiral, there was no ice and fire duality, no fire dragon.
There was no Law, nor any strange pirates.
The other two laboratories had already collapsed, and even this intact laboratory contained no records of Vegapunk, let alone the other two destroyed ones.
Even if there were, he wouldn't go searching in ruins. He had the time to personally seek out Vegapunk in the latter half of the New World.
While others might not know Vegapunk's whereabouts, he himself was unsure.
When he first arrived in this world, One Piece had not progressed very far.
However, the World Economic Journal, Morgans, would certainly know.
He retracted his gaze, and his figure vanished from the spot.
Were it not for the crack that split the entire basin on the ground, it would seem as if he had never been there.