"So much time has passed… there should be some results by now, right, Dr. Vegapunk?"
Orin sat with his hands clasped under his chin, his calm yet penetrating gaze fixed on Vegapunk.
For once, Vegapunk felt what it was like to be on the receiving end of Orin's overwhelming presence.
Cold sweat formed on his face, but fortunately, the progress had been fairly smooth. So he simply led Orin directly into the lab.
Orin, well-versed in these routines, silently disabled all surveillance systems detected by his Observation Haki and followed Vegapunk into the same secret laboratory as before.
He spread his Observation Haki across the entire range, even sensing the soldiers patrolling the perimeter, the CP agents hiding in the shadows— and the likes of Kuma, Ginny, and Borsalino, all dancing the Nika dance.
Nika, huh...
Orin had no interest in "liberating the world." He had seen too many "dragon-slaying heroes who became dragons themselves." To him, history was nothing more than an endless cycle.
He only cared about the present—doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, simply because it pleased him.
That alone was enough.
If Joy Boy and Nika's overwhelming Conqueror's Haki came from their ambition and determination to change the world, Orin didn't think he was any less than them.
The difference was, he wasn't as extreme as either side—neither absolute freedom nor divine dominion appealed to him.
He sought something beyond both: to act according to his own will, above everything else.
"So… what else do we need to prepare?"
Sitting at the table, Orin watched Vegapunk scribbling on a piece of draft paper and asked directly.
"Well… if you want to perfectly recreate that Joy Boy, the materials we have now are far from enough…"
They briefly discussed the matter.
"I can understand needing the Nika Fruit and the Ancient Giant's cells, but… what do you mean by the Dark-Dark Fruit?"
Vegapunk, having studied the Ohara records, knew that Joy Boy had been a giant who ate the Nika Fruit—granting him the form of the Sun God, now commonly known as the Gum-Gum Fruit.
But when Orin placed the Dark-Dark Fruit in front of him, he couldn't make sense of it.
"You mean this? I'm not trying to create the real Joy Boy—just something very similar."
Orin weighed the Dark-Dark Fruit in his hand—what some might call the "fruit of dreams"—and thought it was a brilliant idea.
The Dark Sun God, Joy Boy.
That was the being Orin envisioned creating.
"But…"
Vegapunk's face broke out in another layer of sweat. He was both shocked by Orin's audacity and worried by the implications.
"With my current technology, I still haven't solved the problem of one person being unable to possess two Devil Fruits! If we attempt to fuse two fruit powers, the failure rate is ninety-nine percent!!!"
The idea was excellent, but practically impossible. Copying Devil Fruit abilities was feasible—take Green Blood, for instance—it allowed cyborgs to use a fruit's ability without killing the original user.
But stacking two abilities together? Impossible. No matter how powerful a creature was, possessing two Devil Fruits meant certain death.
"What if… I can obtain the blood of someone who can wield two Devil Fruit powers simultaneously?"
"Impossible!!!"
Vegapunk blurted out instinctively, still deep in thought about possible solutions. But when he looked up and saw the serious expression on Orin's face, his eyelids twitched violently.
Wait… could it be?!!
Such a human really exists?!!
"If what you're saying is true… then yes, it might be possible."
He had intended to study the Dark-Dark Fruit—this mysterious fruit spoken of only in legends—but Orin's words gave him a whole new line of thinking.
If they approached it from both angles, perhaps they could find a way to create a dual-fruit being.
After all, he was the Brain-Brain Human who ate the Nomi Nomi no Mi—the man with the strongest brain in the world!
"What about the appearance? If we lack material samples, the result might resemble the original owner of this giant's blood."
Vegapunk questioned further, knowing that such details could only be refined through experimentation.
Orin rubbed his chin. A resemblance to Loki was unacceptable. Joy Boy should look more like Luffy instead.
Then he'd collect some of the "King Luffy's" genetic material—maybe it would even react interestingly with the Nika Fruit.
Perhaps it would make awakening easier.
"I have something in mind for that. The appearance will definitely change. I'll send the materials to you later."
Vegapunk nodded, not pressing further on that point.
"One last thing—and it's the most important of all…"
After jotting down several notes, Vegapunk handed Orin the draft. It showed the outline of a massive humanoid figure, surrounded by streaks of black and red lightning.
"Conqueror's Haki," Vegapunk explained. "If the creature we create only has average Haki talent, then it'll just be a giant who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit…"
"Even a Yonko-level Haki aptitude won't be enough. To rival the real Joy Boy, it must exceed everyone alive today."
As he said that, Vegapunk's small eyes darted toward Orin.
"If you'd be willing to provide your own genetic samples, Orin, that would be ideal…"
He made no effort to hide his eagerness. True scientists were always direct when it came to their obsessions.
"Well…"
To be honest, Orin knew the concept of "bloodline factor" was real.
If the father had Conqueror's Haki, then unless the son's spirit was weak, he would almost certainly inherit it—and it wouldn't be any weaker.
If they used Orin's bloodline factor, then this artificial being's Conqueror's Haki might truly surpass all limits.
But that would make it too powerful.
He wanted to replicate Joy Boy—not create a new "father" for the world.
The real Joy Boy required twenty kings working together to defeat him. Now, only Imu remained alive.
Even a weakened version of Joy Boy would be enough for Orin's purposes. If the Haki power exceeded the limit, he might end up creating an unbeatable final boss.
Something so broken that only "Movie Luffy" could possibly handle it.
After all, this was his carefully crafted creation—
The Dark Sun God, Joy Boy!!!
"No… it doesn't have to be that accurate. I'll get you some powerful blood—at least on the level of Captain Roger or Whitebeard. That should be enough."
A "King-level" Conqueror's Haki was already sufficient. As for those at his and Rocks' level—best not to.
Even Orin himself hadn't elevated his Haki to Imu's tier yet.
Shanks, though…
He should be about the same.