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Chapter 4 - Chapter 4

First, Hughes had to identify the substance in the spinal fluid that could trigger rapid cellular division.

After extracting it, he named it S-drug (split) and injected it into living subjects to observe how their cells divided.

All prior experiments had been conducted in private—per his agreement with the World Government—because he needed absolute silence and zero outside interference.

However, for any live trials, Government agents had to be present on-site,

To prevent the slaves from revolting and endangering his life.

The trial took place on an open ground outside.

Hearing that Hughes was about to conduct human trials, Caesar hurried over to rubberneck.

He wanted to confirm one thing: it had been too soon—Hughes had to be bluffing.

Under everyone's gaze, as the S-drug was injected into the prisoner—

At first, nothing changed; Caesar was just about to stride up and deliver a grand round of mockery when—

"Boom!" A gold-bright bolt of lightning instantly engulfed the man's body.

It wasn't thunder falling from the sky, but lightning born from the void itself.

Even though the glare seemed bright enough to blind, not a single person looked away; every eye stayed fixed on the miracle unfolding in front of them.

As the lightning vanished, the prisoner's body began to swell in a jagged, unnatural way, while the "monster" howled in agony.

When his size hit nearly ten meters—as if reaching a threshold—

His flesh exploded with a wet crack.

Only a massive, intact skeleton remained, crashing to the ground.

Moments later, the bones creaked and popped; then, amid a chain of brittle snaps, they crumbled to ash and drifted away.

Everyone was struck speechless by the horrific spectacle.

"A miracle—this is a miracle!" one of the officials cried hoarsely, face flushed with excitement.

Some had tears in their eyes—whether from the blinding light or genuine emotion, it was hard to tell.

In all the years of giantification trials, never—never—had any scene been this "grand."

Even if the result lasted only a few minutes,

It was enough to set hearts pounding.

That lightning from nowhere—

It felt like a sign:

The taboo field of human gigantification had finally been stepped into.

"Impossible. This isn't scientific!" Caesar, hidden among the crowd, looked "excited," too—

But unlike the others' joy, their pilgrimage-like fervor,

His dilated eyes brimmed with disbelief and rattled doubt.

Beneath it all churned a boundless confusion—the kind that shakes a scientist's identity.

Hughes had actually taken that step.

Thinking of the wager from that day, Caesar felt a deep humiliation, as if Hughes were standing before him, slapping him across the face.

Unforgivable—this great genius had been played in the palm of the man's hand.

Maybe Hughes had already been running giantification trials in secret and making steady progress.

And he himself? Like some ignorant wretch, he had walked right into a trap that Hughes had carefully woven.

Hughes ordered the scattered blood and the ash of bones to be collected,

Then, surrounded by a small entourage, headed back to the lab ahead of the others.

He wanted to study how the human cells had changed under the S-drug's influence.

The agents' recorded footage, once uploaded, would be a calming tonic for the top brass—

Strengthening their resolve to keep funding the giantification project.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Caesar drifted away with slumped shoulders. A clown—pure, simple clown.

Back in his lab, after a long hesitation, he pulled out an anti-eavesdropping Den Den Mushi.

Hughes now radiated danger—

If Hughes truly completed a giant drug, then in the Navy Science Division, Caesar would forever be one rung below him. Unacceptable.

So Reinhardt had to disappear from the Science Division.

Shurororororo… surely the underworld had plenty who'd fancy a giant drug.

They wouldn't miss such a sumptuous feast.

The live trials advanced in steady order.

At first, the white mice turned giants could only last a blink in this world—

Then, with injected energy substrates, their durations in giant form stretched a little at a time.

From collapsing, paralyzed and immobile, to being able to stand and make simple motions—

Like toddlers just learning to walk, using their dull eyes to take their first crude measure of the world.

Clearly, the mindless giant technology had bared its fangs in this world.

Build on this, iterate step by step—and it would become the giant drug the world awaited.

As for a certain spy—he had already used that anti-eavesdropping Den Den Mushi to funnel every bit of progress to an emperor of the underworld.

While the World Government was basking in the joy of breakthrough,

The great pirates of the New World—like sharks scenting blood—joined hands with dark-world emperors eager to carve their share,

And launched an assault on Punk Hazard.

Of course, the island's defenses weren't for show: a large garrison of Marines and elite World Government agents.

Especially now that Hughes's giant-drug work was clearly bearing fruit—

The patrol fleets circling the island were near a Buster Call in strength.

But this attack force had come well-prepared.

At the core stood the Big Mom Pirates; to split the Government's pressure, they had teamed up with the Beasts Pirates.

Their top-line power didn't lag—it crushed.

On the Marine side, only Kizaru matched that tier; the remaining top agents were pinned by the two crews' officers, and the defense as a whole slid into disadvantage.

Endless artillery thunder rolled across the island.

Hughes knew it was time to say goodbye to this place.

There was no research to destroy; every derivation, every formula lived inside the system,

As convenient and hidden as an artificial-intelligence console.

Hughes brewed coffee in advance and waited for his "guests."

He was curious—he just didn't know which side would find him first.

(End of Chapter)

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