With the information provided by the survivors, Sherwin quickly located the experimental base built within the mountain—a place that had also served as their former shelter.
This was only natural, since it was exactly where Caesar had pressed the detonation switch.
When the poison gas bombs exploded, this location had been the farthest and therefore the safest place.
"Benefactor, are you trying to find the things the scientific unit left behind back then?" Chappe said apologetically.
"Unfortunately, we could only access part of R Zone and Building C. Other areas required clearance from the scientific unit."
According to Chappe, the base was actually composed of four research facilities—A, B, C, and D—connected together.
A few of them had been imprisoned in the third research institute of Building C, so they had partial clearance there. R Zone served as a public intersection area and was open to anyone.
Because of that, they had managed to find a sliver of hope for survival on an island engulfed in poisonous mist.
But to Sherwin, clearance didn't matter at all. If an area was locked, he would just force his way through.
He had no intention of researching SAD or human gigantification anyway, so even if something got damaged, he wouldn't feel the slightest regret.
Therefore, he didn't bring a single survivor along. He only brought the two research-loving Felynes who were interested in the base items—clingy Klee Meow and shermie—as well as the lively Jinx and the recently inseparable Shirahoshi.
What followed was simple. Sherwin and the others searched through the research institutes one by one at a leisurely pace, slicing open any locked door they encountered.
Before long, inside the largest structure—Building B, the second research institute—they found the artificial Devil Fruit.
The fruit, shaped like an apple with circular patterns across its surface, was placed conspicuously in the center of an abandoned laboratory, sealed inside a glass cultivation tank.
"Is this the thing you were looking for, meow?" Haibara Meow stared curiously at the Sakura Dragon Fruit in Sherwin hand.
"This is also a Devil Fruit? Why does it look different from the others, meow?"
"That because it artificial. Vegapunk replicated it by analyzing Kaido lineage factor and copying it from him."
Sherwin, in a great mood after obtaining the Sakura Dragon Fruit, explained with a beaming smile.
"An artificial Devil Fruit?! Someone actually managed to make one, meow?!" The little kitten ears shot straight up. She pounced in front of Sherwin, stretching out her arms and hopping excitedly. "Let me see! Let me see, meow!"
(=ω=)
In Germa research on lineage factors, there had long been speculation about the possibility of replicating Devil Fruit abilities.
Sherwin had also mentioned artificial Devil Fruits to Haibara Meow before, so the little kitten had naturally attempted to study the topic.
But due to limited experimental conditions and other urgent projects demanding her attention, her progress in this field had been minimal…
To be exact—almost nonexistent.
Now that a completed sample was right in front of them, Haibara Meow naturally wanted to study it thoroughly.
"Don't mess around."
Although the kitten impatience was adorable, Sherwin didn't humor her this time.
"This thing might let us gain a new companion. I'm saving it for them to eat."
He quickly put away the Sakura Dragon Fruit and casually took out the Hunter Handbook.
Still, he made sure to soothe the puffed-cheek kitten.
"Since this thing was kept here, there must be related research data. Why don't you look for that instead?"
Sherwin pointed toward a nearby control console—an intricate-looking device packed with interfaces.
Because the base had suffered almost no damage from the explosion, the computers still held a large number of research files.
It was unclear whether Vegapunk and his team hadn't had time to delete them or simply assumed no one could enter, so they didn't bother.
Although the files were protected by various encryption measures, they didn't last long against the genius duo of Haibara Meow and Purah Meow.
Along the way, the two cats had already collected quite a lot of data.
Prompted by Sherwin reminder, Haibara Meow didn't bother biting him twice to vent her dissatisfaction.
Instead, she grabbed Purah Meow and shermie—the latter responsible for generating electricity for the machine—and hurried to the console, tapping rapidly at the controls.
After he finally settled the sly little Haibara Meow, Sherwin opened the Hunter Manual in his hands. A familiar white light flashed…
The result left him a little disappointed.
He had thought that since the Sakura Dragon Fruit was the only successfully replicated artificial Devil Fruit in the world of pirates—and a Mythical Zoan at that—it should at least grant him a full summoning ticket like a Logia.
However, what appeared before his eyes was just a No.2 shard. Its appearance wasn't unexpected: a sakura-red scale pattern.
Was it that all Mythical Zoans were treated the same as regular Zoans? Or was it because the Sakura Dragon Fruit was a knock-off, so it only provided a shard?
As far as Sherwin was concerned, he certainly hoped it was the second reason.
But judging from how stingy his cheat always behaved, the first possibility seemed far more likely.
He had been imagining whether he would summon a Wolf Meow, or a Natsu Meow… but in the end…
It wasn't enough to call it a huge disappointment. Still, it was a pity. The summoning would have to be delayed.
Sherwin glanced at the manual entry. The description of the Sakura Dragon Fruit was something he hadn't expected—
[Zoan · Fish-Fish Fruit · Mythical Model · Sakura Dragon Form (Subspecies)]
This labeling style had quite a bit of Monster Hunter flavor to it.
But… it made no mention at all that this was artificially produced. It looked like the first possibility was even more likely…
And that label even sparked a bold idea in Sherwin mind—could it be that the original Devil Fruits were also some kind of technological product?
But none of that mattered. Mythical Zoans were extremely rare, and powerful, and getting one was never easy.
As for what Devil Fruits truly were—it didn't matter to Sherwin at all. It didn't stop him from summoning his cat companions anyway.
While Sherwin was comforting himself with those thoughts, he combined the new shard with the No.1 shard from the Zoan pool.
He slid his finger across it a few times, and seeing that the background-switching function still worked normally, he stopped dwelling on it and put the shard away together with the manual.
"Are you still missing one more Zoan fruit, Sherwin-boss?"
Having stayed on the ship for some time—and having witnessed the entire process of summoning Suika Meow—Shirahoshi naturally understood the basic conditions for summoning a cat companion.
Noticing that the summoning ticket in Sherwin hand was still missing one third, she immediately leaned over and said, "Should I ask Father and Jinbe-boss to help you gather some?"
"No need," Sherwin shook his head. "Even if I get a Zoan fruit, it might not drop a shard. This thing depends entirely on luck. It better to leave it to fate."
He couldn't explain things like plot-weight to Shirahoshi, so this was all he could say.
Besides, the Research Commission no longer lacked cat companions he didn't have the same urgency he once had to summon more…
Even though the character summoned from the Sakura Dragon Fruit would probably be strong, there were already plenty of powerful cats in the Commission.
Not to mention, even if he didn't summon a new one, there was still the option of letting one of the existing cats eat the Sakura Dragon Fruit…
It was just that, considering how Hua Mei Meow and the others treated Devil Fruits, this Sakura Dragon Fruit—which couldn't exempt them from bathing—would likely be ignored.