As far as public announcements went, the Golden Lion Pirates had transitioned to their New Admiral, Sue, and Shiki the Golden Lion had officially retired.
The head of that crew, Sue, was a member of the Shichibukai.
Therefore, not only her direct subordinates but every Pirate Crew under her umbrella refrained from lawlessness.
Under this new regime, they were promoting a gentler form of governance quite different from what came before. Much like the Whitebeard Pirates in their heyday, they protected the powerless, extended a helping hand, and lifted people up.
Moreover, whether in terms of manpower or economic scale, they far exceeded even the level of the Whitebeard Pirates. It was said their reach rivaled that of several Government Member States combined.
Nor did they simply give. Through various enterprises, they created employment and commerce, bringing wealth and vitality even to impoverished nations, fostering growth and prosperity rather than squeezing them dry.
Because of all this, the reborn Second Generation Golden Lion Pirates had become enormously popular among ordinary citizens, accepted by the masses even more readily than the Government itself.
On the other hand, in the underworld and among pirate circles, it was all regarded as nothing more than a pose.
Once upon a time, Shiki the Golden Lion had competed fiercely with the Pirate King, Whitebeard, and Big Mom, rampaging across these seas. With the stratagems born from that brilliant mind, he had destroyed countless enemies and sown despair and tragedy wherever he went.
There was no way a man like that would quietly hand everything over to some girl and retire peacefully, no matter how strong she might be, when she lacked the years and experience to match him. Everyone believed that.
Right now, he was surely biding his time, building strength. A period of patient endurance. The calm before the storm.
And when the time came, he would reveal his true nature and make that name thunder across these seas once more.
Two contradictory images, held by citizens and pirates respectively.
Both of them were correct.
The fact that Sue and her people were conducting charity-like support and relief operations, keeping the Territory Islands peaceful, represented a genuine change in policy compared to the old Golden Lion era.
Of course, considering the scale of their governance, there was plenty of calculated pragmatism behind it. This approach was far more efficient than ruling through fear and violence. Even so, there was no one among the current upper echelons, at least not in Sue's inner circle, who took pleasure in needlessly oppressing the weak.
For Sue, naturally, but also for her daughters and close aides, the way they treated those nations, islands, and people was simply their nature. Their default. No hidden agenda, no duplicity. Just acting as they genuinely felt.
And going forward, that trust would never be betrayed. Those people would never be cast into despair.
On the other hand, the prediction that the current peace was merely a smokescreen until the Golden Lion revealed his true nature was also correct.
Shiki was currently advancing multiple plans simultaneously, with Sue and those around her properly involved.
And nearly all of those plans were the sort without a shred of moderation or a whisper of peace. Truly pirate-like schemes, pregnant with upheaval.
At the earliest, within about a year, they would be exposed to the light of day.
When that happened, a turbulent new era would begin with a ferocity unimaginable from the peaceful state of the Territory up until then.
Nearly everyone who knew the situation, Shiki included, was waiting eagerly for that moment to arrive.
Waiting eagerly, yet even today, continuing to build strength and sharpen their Fangs.
And those Fangs were being honed to a razor's edge even in a place like this.
"Yo, how's it going, Sou? How are things?"
"Oh, Boss, good work today. What brings you here all of a sudden?"
Sou, wearing a noise-canceling headset device that kept her voice within a relatively reasonable range, noticed Shiki entering the Laboratory and asked.
"Nothing much. I had some free time, so I figured I'd come check on things. Wanted to hear how the research I asked for is progressing, too."
"Is that so? Well, just a moment please."
With that, Sou paused the work she'd been doing.
The next instant, from beneath her feet, a mass of Mold proliferated with a grotesque motion like sludge bubbling up, swelling and taking shape.
Seconds later, a second Sou was standing there.
"...Hkk."
Shiki reflexively clutched his stomach and grimaced.
A source of stress that surpassed even Roger in his prime had just doubled right before his eyes. A perfectly understandable reaction. Even knowing she was a capable subordinate, his body refused to forget the damage it had endured.
Oblivious to Shiki's distress, one of the two Sous was making a request of the other.
"Could you continue the research here for me? I'm going to show Boss around."
"GOT IIIIT! LEAVE IT TO MEEEEE!"
A staggering difference in volume erupted through the room. Shiki's ears rang from the vicious ambush.
'...Oh, right. The one she just created doesn't have the device on, so she's just plain loud.'
"Now then, Boss, shall we get going?"
"Yeah, uh, sure. Let's go."
Don't dwell on the things that stab into your heart as damage. Forget them as quickly as possible.
Properly following the iron rule for dealing with Sou, Shiki switched gears and left the room behind.
Venerdi Sou.
She was another one of Shiki's most trusted subordinates, a veteran from the old days.
It went without saying that she came with her share of problems, and there had been a gap in between, but her technical skill and knowledge had always been a tremendous asset to the Golden Lion Pirates.
Above all, having walked alongside him as a pirate, she was someone who could cast aside unnecessary sentimentality and approach matters with cold ruthlessness.
To put it more casually, or simply: she could accept doing "bad things" as a pirate, and at the same time, she could gleefully engineer moral hazards by making full use of her own skills. She was that kind of person.
In that regard alone, she was arguably superior even to her own daughter, Sue.
Sue's temperament, her inability, or rather her unwillingness, to steel herself and act ruthlessly regardless of her position, was more reminiscent of a certain man Shiki had clashed with time and again. That old rival who had pursued and upheld his own freedom to the very end, eventually becoming known as the Pirate King.
As for Sou, who was nothing like that, well, even now she had been entrusted with research of a decidedly wicked nature under Shiki's direction, and she was carrying all of it forward without a hitch.
Some of it was being kept secret even from Sue, her own daughter and the ostensible head of the Pirate Crew.
What Shiki had come to inspect in secret today was precisely that kind of research.
"I'm sorry, Boss, but from here on, no smoking please. There's a lot of delicate experimental equipment that's sensitive to smoke and such."
"Sure."
As instructed, Shiki stubbed out his cigar in a portable ashtray (which he'd started carrying on Sue's recommendation).
Walking a bit further and passing through several heavy doors, they arrived at a room lined with rows of test tubes.
Inside the test tubes, filled with culture fluid, were human bodies. Completely unclothed. One person per tube. They were still, as if sleeping, and showed no signs of struggling to breathe despite being submerged.
And every single one of those humans had the same face.
Anyone with even a passing familiarity with science fiction would immediately grasp the meaning of this sight. Yes. Clones.
This room was one of the Clone Soldier manufacturing plants that Sou was researching under Shiki's orders.
Standing before these specimens that looked perfectly human, Shiki asked.
"How's the completion rate?"
"No problems on the Catalog specs. All units have been given uniform enhancement procedures and finished to the physical ability standards you specified. Live testing hasn't been conducted yet, but verification with prototypes has confirmed that they possess substantial combat capability."
"Give me specifics on the Catalog specs and the physical enhancements."
"By default, they possess physical abilities at the Marine Headquarters Junior Officer level, and on top of that, we've incorporated Lunarian Tribe Lineage Factor to further enhance their toughness. To prevent them from developing conspicuous external features, certain effects have been suppressed, so the enhancement range doesn't quite reach Seraphim levels. Additionally, their internal organs and nervous systems have been integrated with Plaga and Kadu, further boosting bodily functions and self-healing capabilities, while pain sensitivity and certain reflexive functions that would interfere with combat operations have been slightly dulled."
"So overall combat ability would be around Lieutenant Commander or Commander level?"
"I believe that assessment is accurate. There are plans to enhance them further from here, but that would increase costs and reduce mass-producibility, so it would need to be balanced carefully."
"I see... Well, that's plenty good as clone specs go. How long does it take to grow one of these to this stage?"
"About two days. At maximum speed, they can be brought to a combat-ready stage in approximately six hours. Of course, that requires the combined use of the Ripen-Ripen Fruit's Powers. Without it, we're talking years."
One of the Devil Fruits that Snow and the others had brought back from the future: the Ripen-Ripen Fruit.
Under Shiki's instructions, it had been fed to one of Sou's subordinates, a trusted researcher.
The Ability User of this fruit gained the power to "ripen" anything they touched.
When used on living things like humans, animals, or plants, they would "mature," growing rapidly before one's eyes. On the other hand, when used on non-living objects, they would over-ripen, rot, and crumble away.
And a major characteristic of this power was that the growth it caused was irreversible.
If, hypothetically, the ability were used on a small child, the child's mind would remain that of a child while the body alone grew to adulthood. And it would be a perfectly healthy adult form, with no side effects whatsoever.
Once grown, unlike Bonney's Age-Age Fruit, there was no reverting to one's original age.
By applying this, Sou had made it possible to complete clone maturation that would normally take about five years in a mere few hours to a few days.
Simply aging them to adulthood would be even faster. A matter of minutes, really.
The reason it took any time at all was that she grew them incrementally, administering medications and performing modifications at each stage, carefully observing their progress as she advanced them in small steps.
Even so, the fact that a fully optimized, combat-ready adult soldier could be produced in just two days was nothing short of terrifying.
"Are you planning to build a Clone Legion like some country out there?"
"I've got no intention of replacing the troops we put out front with these things. We're not hurting for manpower anyway. But having them available for covert operatives working behind the scenes, like CP is for the Government, that's convenient. Agents with a guaranteed minimum level of capability, no risk of betrayal, and the ability to add or replenish them on short notice. They can be given Devil Fruit Powers too, right?"
"Of course. Unlike me, though, their Plaga and Kadu functions are kept to a limited scope, so giving them multiple types of Powers would be difficult."
"That's fine. When do you plan to conduct the live testing?"
"We're testing various cognitive functions and other parameters. If there are no issues, it's scheduled for next week."
"Good. Next."
***
The next place Shiki and Sou visited was a salon-like space where several men and women were enjoying themselves.
Some were playing simple games like cards and board games, others were pulling drinks from the shelves, reading books, or chatting with one another. Everyone seemed to be having a pleasant time.
Shiki and Sou observed them through a special wall with a one-way mirror setup.
So as not to disturb them. And to observe them in their natural state.
"Health assessments are conducted once daily via Diagnosis. So far, no issues have arisen for any of them, whether physical or mental. Everyone is going about their lives like normal people, moving their bodies as if they were their own."
The way Sou phrased that made it sound as if the people before them were operating bodies that were not their own.
And in fact, that was precisely the case.
The notable characteristic of everyone in the Salon was that they all appeared young and healthy. Most looked to be in their late teens to early twenties. A few appeared to be in their late twenties, while some looked even younger, perhaps early teens.
Who could possibly imagine it? Every single person here was, in truth, far older than they appeared. The youngest were in their twenties, but some were actually in their seventies or eighties.
That they didn't look it was only natural. Their bodies actually were young.
The mechanism was straightforward.
Just like with the Clone Soldiers from before, Sou had used their Lineage Factor as a base to create Spare bodies through cloning.
Then, using Sou's Op-Op Fruit Powers, she had transferred their minds into the new bodies.
From their perspective, their minds had settled into what were essentially their bodies from their younger days without issue.
Far from rejection or even discomfort, though some adjustment had been necessary, they had obtained young, healthy bodies and were now reclaiming and savoring the time that had passed or been lost to them.
"For example, do you see the woman with green hair over there?"
"Yeah."
A green-haired woman in the corner of the room, playing billiards with several other men and women. She appeared to be around twenty. Beneath her freshness, there was something bewitching, something that seemed to invite men closer, or rather, to mock and look down on them, visible in her gestures and mannerisms.
"Her name is Miss Olive. A pirate who was imprisoned in Impel Down over twenty years ago. Her Bounty at the time was 50 million Berry. She escaped during the Summit War and came here as one of the prisoners, or rather new recruits, who followed Sue-chan. Originally she was over forty and had deteriorated significantly from the long years of prison life, but as you can see now."
"Swapped into a young body and enjoying a second youth, is that it?"
"The subjects themselves believe they underwent a rejuvenation procedure. Since we can't let word of my Op-Op Fruit Powers spread, I swapped them while they were under anesthesia, quick and easy. Of course, since the clones were used before self-awareness had formed, it was essentially a one-way transfer."
"Doesn't matter. If they're genuinely satisfied with their current bodies, there's no problem whatsoever."
Much of Sou's technology and her Powers were at a level that had to be treated as top-secret matters of the highest order.
Because of this, depending on the individual, it was perfectly normal to prepare a cover story that differed from what had actually been done and explain that version to the subjects.
For those who had earned a certain level of trust and proven themselves, things would be handled differently, of course.
"This time we simply performed mind transfers into standard clones, but going forward, I plan to recruit more test subjects and attempt transfers into enhanced clones. Imagine: a critically wounded person, someone with a terminal illness, an old veteran forced into retirement, reborn as a combat-ready soldier in an enhanced body."
"Not bad at all. And those clones can be made in just a day or two, right? Keep the experienced mind intact while swapping the body out for a fresh one, and they're back on the battlefield. In some cases, they could even upgrade to an even stronger body. You'd end up with a Legion that never has to worry about medical discharge."
As a veteran who had been around since the days of the Pirate King, Shiki naturally had many subordinates who had followed him since that era, pledging their loyalty.
But the vast majority of them had seen their bodies and Haki decline greatly over the course of twenty years.
Many of them still thought, 'If I can still fight, I want to fight,' 'I want to be useful to the Golden Lion Pirates,' 'I want to rampage across these open seas to my heart's content,' but the cruel reality was that they couldn't.
Though that was rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
Of course, even setting aside such ideal-candidate veterans, anyone with a certain level of combat ability and loyalty could, after careful vetting, be given a somewhat enhanced body and turned into a replaceable, manufactured elite.
Then, as if suddenly remembering, Shiki added:
"Come to think of it, there were quite a few new recruits who volunteered as test subjects for body modification surgery to get stronger fast, right? Why not try it on them?"
"That's the plan. If they have so little attachment to their own bodies that they don't hesitate to undergo modification surgery, it's easier for us to just prepare a new, already-strong body, modify that, and then swap them in. The subjects would surely be satisfied too, right?"
'After all, you can only do so much by modifying a weak body,' Sou added.
"The discarded bodies can be killed off and then enhanced and modified, after which the Shadow-Shadow Fruit's Powers can turn them into Zombies for reuse. Since they're corpses, you can modify them without worrying about biological functions at all. Dr. Hogback has a real edge in that area of research. Alternatively, you could implant Plaga in them and use them as a labor force. Their intelligence drops so they'd only be good for simple tasks, but their vitality is high, so they'd have no trouble in harsh environments."
"The latter would be perfect for development work we don't want made public. I'll have my people put together a list of mines and excavation sites where operations were halted due to dust or toxic Gas issues. As for the Zombies, considering secrecy, rather than Moriah, it'd be better to have that subordinate Alice drags around, Lupupu, handle it. The possibilities just keep expanding. I'm really glad we gave you the Op-Op Fruit's Powers."
"Gave me, you say? I ate it on my own, you know."
"You're really going to say that yourself?"
'Well, I mean, that is what happened,' Shiki mentally retorted even as he said it.
Then it was Sou's turn to bring something up as if suddenly remembering.
"Oh, that reminds me. There were also some consultation requests for modification surgery for rather unusual reasons."
"Unusual reasons? Not combat enhancement?"
"Well, more like, 'while you're at it, could you do this too?' kind of thing. Think of it as an option, I suppose."
'An option? What, like adding weapon systems?' Shiki wondered, but the answer was far beyond his expectations.
"Apparently someone came to me saying, 'The truth is, I... no, she... I always wanted to be born a woman,' and asked if, while getting modified, I could remove the unnecessary parts."
"You're really dropping a bombshell in the middle of this conversation."
"They also said they'd like proper female features if possible, including the ability to bear children. And they want to be able to breastfeed because they want to raise the child themselves."
"I didn't need that follow-up."
Shiki was quietly stunned to learn that among his pirate subordinates, there was apparently someone male who was pursuing motherhood.
Who could it be? He didn't want to know. But then again, if he ran into them someday and they'd suddenly become a woman, the shock would be even worse. Maybe he should ask now after all.
"It's not impossible, but altering the sex when creating a clone is somewhat unstable when you factor in maintaining health and other considerations. So if they want a sex change, I was thinking of advising them to consult with Alice separately. Alice recently achieved Awakening and can now reverse other people's sex as well. Also, her subordinate Tantal-chan is a Horm-Horm Fruit Ability User, so Hormone-based sex changes are possible too."
"Between Lupupu and all this, that grandkid of mine sure has surrounded herself with an absurdly stacked roster of weirdness. Also, you were actually giving this serious consideration, huh? You're surprisingly dutiful about the strangest things."
"Oh, and on the flip side, there was also a woman who wants to become a man."
"Huh, okay."
"And there was someone who wants to stay female but also have male 'functions.'"
"Huh."
"Then the reverse, too: a man who wants to stay male but have female 'functions.' What do you call that again? Omega-something..."
"What is going on with our Pirate Crew? Why are there so many people trying to transcend gender? Is this the age of diversity? I had absolutely no idea about any of this. I'm genuinely pretty shocked."
"The employee benefits division is apparently planning a company trip to Kamabakka Kingdom, and there's quite a lot of interest."
"We've now officially drifted into territory that has absolutely nothing to do with the research department."
"The idea was Alice's, apparently. And Sue-chan, while exasperated, mentioned she might be interested from a journalistic perspective. She said she received their hospitality at Impel Down, too."
"...I'm getting too tired for this. As long as there's no actual harm, maybe I'll just let everyone do what they want."
And with that, the whole thing devolved into a mess, and Shiki's inspection came to a (successful?) conclusion.
Cough, cough.
"Hm? What's wrong, Boss? Caught a cold?"
"Nah, it's nothing. Just choked a bit, that's all. I'm fine... cough."
"...That cough. Judging by the sound, it's coming from your lungs, not your throat. Could it be from smoking too many cigars? At your age, you might want to cut back a little."
"I told you I'm fine. How's something you enjoy gonna be bad for you?"
***
The Lab, after Shiki had left.
Sou walked briskly toward the back.
Her destination was a section she had not shown Shiki during his tour. One room within it.
When she entered, a single girl was waiting inside.
Wearing the kind of loose patient gown you'd see on someone hospitalized, sitting in a chair, waiting for Sou to arrive.
"Sorry about that. I had an unexpected visitor, so I'm running late. Now, you're 'Zwei'-chan, correct?"
"...Yes."
Not Ain of the former Neo Marines, Vice Admiral Ain.
Rather, someone who had come from even further in the future, a being who could be called "a second Ain" in terms of this era: Zwei.
During the Grand Reboot Attempt incident, she had come to know Sue and the others. After the incident, she had been sheltered by the Golden Lion Pirates for a time.
Then, some time later, after Sue had taken her to visit Zephyr's grave, she had left with the words that she wanted to see this world with her own eyes, disappearing alongside this era's Ain and Binz.
Now, by some twist of fate, she had returned here and sat before Sou.
The reason being...
"I've already heard this, but let me confirm once more just to be sure. Are you truly all right with having this body modified?"
"I don't mind. This body doesn't have much time left as it is. No matter what, if I'm going to live through the coming era and, in Sensei's place, witness the future that lies ahead, I need strength. I need life."
In the future world where Zwei had lived, there had been an endless war between humans and Seraphim.
Before that war began, Zwei's two benefactors, Zephyr and Sue, had been assassinated by S-Ibis.
In the fighting that continued afterward, Zwei had charged through battlefield after battlefield seeking to avenge Zephyr, but she had been gravely wounded and left unable to fight properly.
Her wounds had been closed, but her body was wrecked from the prolonged fighting, riddled with lasting aftereffects, and her remaining lifespan had been severely diminished.
That had already been her condition when she arrived in this era.
To put it bluntly, her body had never been in any state to fight. Not from the very beginning.
Even so, Zwei wanted to live in this era and witness what kind of future Zephyr had believed in, the future that Sue was weaving.
For that, she couldn't afford to die yet, and she needed strength to navigate this world. Strength that had already been lost.
"I see. But why did you go out of your way to contact me through roundabout channels, keeping it secret from Sue-chan?"
"...No particular reason. I just... didn't want that person to know."
The history between Zwei and Sue that predated even the Neo Marines incident.
Something she had never managed to tell, not to the very end. Remembering it now, even though she respected and was grateful to Sue, even though she wanted to see her, she also didn't want to see her, wanted to keep her distance. Disgusted with herself for feeling that way, Zwei deflected with Sou as well.
Sou, for her part, could tell she was being deflected, but she had no intention of pressing the matter.
"Understood. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Well then, let's get the surgery started right away. Could you lie down over there?"
"Thank you. But... are you really sure you don't need any payment?"
Sou had readily agreed to Zwei's request.
And inexplicably, free of charge.
It wasn't because she had been moved by Zwei's fierce resolve and determination.
Nor was it because she pitied Zwei, merely waiting for the flame of her life to gutter out.
The reason was...
"It's fine. I wanted to thank you too. And if anything, I'd say I've already received my thanks in advance."
"...?"
Zwei didn't understand what that meant, but she said nothing more and lay down on the bed.
She inhaled the anesthesia Sou had prepared, and her consciousness faded almost immediately.
***
Just a few minutes later.
Zwei's modification surgery was successfully completed. The anesthesia was still in effect, and Zwei hadn't woken yet.
Her complexion was good, and she appeared to have no complications. At the very least, there were no signs of distress while she slept.
The wounds and bruises that had covered her body were almost entirely gone. The quality of the results spoke to how seriously Sou had applied herself to the surgery.
After finishing the procedure, Sou created another clone, asked it to watch over the still-sleeping Zwei, and left the room alone.
Her destination was one corner of the Lab where she conducted her research.
Specifically, the area used for metalworking. In front of the blast furnace.
There, Sou pulled something from her pocket.
A small bottle, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand.
It looked like glass, but the texture was subtly different, suggesting a much sturdier material.
It had been painted black, likely to keep light out, making the contents invisible.
Substances and chemicals that degrade when exposed to light are surprisingly common, so painting storage containers black was fairly standard practice.
Sou stared at what she had taken from her pocket for a long moment.
To give the answer: the contents of the bottle were a Catalyst used in clone-related research.
Something Sou had accidentally created during her research recently. Its effect was the ability to bond and enhance multiple types of Lineage Factor.
And not the kind of cross-breeding between different species or different races that current technology already made possible. This was the combination of multiple individuals, multiple specimens of the same species.
Theoretically, by combining the Lineage Factor of specific individuals, one could extract only their strengths and create a chimera that fused multiple traits.
Taken to the extreme...
The beauty of Pirate Empress Boa Hancock.
The physical durability of Big Mom Charlotte Linlin.
The intellect of Devil Child Nico Robin.
The strategic vision of Marine Headquarters Great Advisor Tsuru.
The poison resistance and poison-manipulating constitution of Poison Pink Vinsmoke Reiju.
Whether it would actually succeed was another matter, but there was the possibility of creating a Superhuman that combined all of those qualities. That was the kind of substance it was.
Having been created as a complete accident, even Sou would never be able to produce it again.
After staring silently at this precious item, this critical research material, for a long moment...
She tossed it casually into the blast furnace.
The bottle burned away in an instant. Contents and all.
"Whether this leaked out in the future world, or whether someone deliberately released it and it ended up in the Government's hands, either way, having a power that absolutely no one can control emerge at that level is a hard no from even me."
Sou had already conducted several experiments using the Catalyst.
Some of them had succeeded, producing chimera-type clones that combined the superior traits of the extracted Lineage Factors. At the same time, a side effect had been identified.
The more Lineage Factors that were combined, and the more superior the source material, the stronger and more complex the clone's sense of self became.
Some specimens had begun to refuse instructions, and others had started harboring troubling thoughts, such as questioning why they should obey researchers who were inferior to them in ability.
And from Zwei, Sou had heard about a certain man-made calamity from the near future, one that had likely been born through the fusion of Lineage Factors using the Catalyst.
Created as a Weapon of the Government, it had already established a powerful sense of self before completion, and the moment it was finished, it had turned against humanity, becoming the spark that ignited the war between humans and Seraphim.
A chimera born from the fusion of countless Lineage Factors: Seraphim Queen.
"Especially when it's something that would set in motion a future where my own child dies."
The future in which that calamity was supposed to be born had just been snuffed out.
Along with the contents of that bottle, now burned, melted, and gone without a trace.
Having quietly, without anyone knowing, destroyed the future in which one catastrophe would be born, Sou simply thought, 'Well then, back to work,' returned to where she had been, and resumed her research.
To be continued...