Three days later.
Punk Hazard.
Sakazuki was observing various organisms inside the cultivation tanks of the laboratory.
Click-clack—
With the sound of the doorknob turning, Vegapunk pushed the door open and entered.
He looked as if he were on the verge of collapsing.
Clearly hadn't slept in days:
"Sakazuki-san."
Sakazuki looked at Vegapunk and said:
"Dr. Vegapunk."
"You're pushing yourself too hard."
Vegapunk chuckled:
"This is the first time I've encountered such miraculous material."
"I became a bit obsessed."
Sakazuki shook his head:
"Did you find anything?"
Vegapunk instantly perked up, his eyes widening a bit:
"I must say, it's truly astonishing."
"You might not believe this."
"He actually has the powers of three Devil Fruits."
"And all three are perfectly fused."
"No interference between them."
"From a biological perspective, this is simply impossible."
Sakazuki raised his eyebrows with interest:
"Oh?"
"Three Devil Fruits?"
Vegapunk nodded:
"That's right."
"Three Devil Fruits."
"Let me explain."
"To understand Devil Fruits, one must understand their relation to Lineage Factors."
"What are Lineage Factors?"
"Simply put—"
"They are a polymer in a double helix structure."
"Existing within a living organism."
"This structure permeates the entire body."
"It can be considered the blueprint of life."
"Because if one masters Lineage Factors—"
"Then it's possible to replicate, simulate, and modify on a genetic level."
"You can easily create all sorts of life forms."
"So, what is the relationship between Devil Fruits and Lineage Factors?"
"It's genetic modification of Lineage Factors."
"Devil Fruits contain a mysterious power."
"After consuming a Devil Fruit, this power begins transforming the organism on a genetic level."
"It shatters all the Lineage Factors within the organism, then reassembles them."
"Granting a variety of abilities."
"Such a level of modification is currently beyond our technology."
Sakazuki nodded. Lineage Factors, strictly speaking, were just DNA from his previous life...
The cyborgs and clones of the Vinsmoke family, for example.
Vegapunk continued:
"And now comes the most important question."
"Why does the body explode after eating multiple Devil Fruits?"
"It's because every organism possesses only one type of Lineage Factor."
Sakazuki said:
"Only one, huh..."
Vegapunk replied with a hum:
"Exactly one."
"We've conducted a large number of experiments."
"Even in identical twins, triplets, or perfectly cloned individuals—"
"The Lineage Factors inside them still show subtle differences."
"Naturally born organisms never share identical Lineage Factors."
"Even with artificial cultivation—"
"As soon as a second Lineage Factor is introduced, even if it's from a closely related twin—"
"The entire genetic chain collapses instantly."
"That's why—"
"Once a Devil Fruit is consumed, the body's Lineage Factor is fully altered."
"If a second one is consumed afterward—"
"The power of the second Devil Fruit clashes with the first."
"Causing the organism to collapse at the genetic level."
"Which is why eating two Devil Fruits results in the body going boom."
"The conflict between the two Devil Fruit powers—"
"Triggers an explosion of all Lineage Factors throughout the body, turning it into a bloody mist."
"This is the reason why no one can consume more than one Devil Fruit."
"But now we have a problem."
"The specimen you brought—"
"Actually possesses three distinct Lineage Factors."
Sakazuki let out a deliberately 'surprised' hiss:
"Three types?"
Vegapunk said excitedly:
"Yes, exactly three."
"And they all originate from the same root."
"With only subtle differences between them."
"Yet they haven't collapsed."
"It's unimaginable."
"All organisms inherit their Lineage Factors from the previous generation—meaning their mother."
"And what does this situation resemble?"
"It's like three sisters who are triplets all got pregnant with the same child at the same time."
"And there's no conflict between them."
"That's impossible."
"Even if the three mothers shared a connected womb—"
"The Lineage Factors would still conflict and destroy the organism instantly."
"Science is precise. This kind of situation should be absolutely impossible."
"And yet here it is, right before our eyes."
"It's truly..."
Sakazuki's lips twitched. Science can't explain this… but Devil Fruits can.
He thought of his previous life's theories—and the Munch-Munch Fruit's bizarre combination ability.
After all, in the original work, the user of the Munch-Munch Fruit, Wapol, swallowed two of his subordinates and directly fused them into a two-headed person...
He pondered for a moment but chose not to say it out loud. Secrets like this were best kept to himself:
"Good thing we didn't let him grow any further."
"To think he consumed three Devil Fruits."
Upon hearing this, Vegapunk shook his head:
"Even if he had grown, it wouldn't have mattered."
"This guy—"
"What a shame."
"All three Devil Fruits he consumed were Zoan-type."
"I don't know whether to call that lucky or tragic."
"To be able to consume three Devil Fruits—"
"And they all turn out to be Zoan."
"But it doesn't matter now—he's already dead."
Sakazuki nodded. Quite a miserable case indeed… but still...
"Can you determine what abilities he had?"
Vegapunk said:
"Yes."
"Because the modifications occur at the genetic level—"
"The Lineage Factors of the three types of Devil Fruits are slightly different."
"Easy to distinguish."
"Paramecia-type ability users, once dead, have Lineage Factors that resemble a normal state."
"Because most Paramecia Fruits involve minimal modification—they don't drastically change the body's structure."
"For Logia-type users, after death, the Lineage Factors become element-like—dispersing upon contact."
"Because their entire bodies are transformed, enabling elementification—so their Lineage Factors are the most fragile."
"And then there's Zoan-type users."
"Zoan Fruits cause high levels of cellular activity and durability."
"So they're the easiest to identify."
"Even long after death, if the Zoan user was powerful, their residual cells remain abnormally active."
"Although this specimen's cellular activity isn't particularly high—"
"It's still clearly identifiable as Zoan-type."
Sakazuki said:
"I see."
"And what if we try to clone him?"
Vegapunk shook his head:
"Impossible. We tried."
"The moment the embryo begins to develop—"
"The entire biological system of the embryo collapses."
"We've attempted it nearly a hundred times over the past two days—not a single success."
"That's expected, but also strange."
"The expected part is, of course, that merging multiple Lineage Factors should lead to collapse—no doubt."
"The strange part is—if it's supposed to collapse, then how did he come into existence at all?"