Chapter Sixteen: Punk Hazard

As they drew close enough to see the land, Buffon swept his superhuman gaze across the island. Untouched by the ravages of the poisonous gas incident, and not yet scarred by the fiery and icy battle between Aokiji and Akainu, the island retained its original face. Behind the steel fences, coconut trees flourished in abundance.

At the dock, besides the navy warships, there were numerous other vessels disguised as merchant ships much like their own; it seemed their purposes were similar. The laborers in prison garb at the dock caught Buffon's attention.

“It seems Moria wasn’t exaggerating; perhaps I truly can find the corpses I need here!” Buffon mused, then instructed Brook behind him, “Stay inside the cabin and don’t come out, just in case.”

Brook nodded and retreated into the hold. Swiftly, Buffon wove himself a cloak and draped it over his shoulders.

It was, after all, best to keep a low profile in navy territory.

As the two ships moored, the first to “welcome” them were neither navy soldiers nor prisoners, but a group of animals, each one sporting metal modifications.

The sight instantly made Buffon realize what he was facing: these were none other than the mechanical animal legion created by Dr. Vegapunk.

“Is that you, Sentomaru? Are you here to avenge the blow that knocked you out last time?”

At that moment, the imposing figure of Bartholomew Kuma appeared at the dock. “Sentomaru, call back the mechanical legion. Don’t play such jokes on Buffon.”

After the previous incident, Kuma had formed his own opinion of Buffon’s strength. To knock out Sentomaru in an instant was not something mere medical knowledge could achieve.

Shortly after, Sentomaru appeared, axe in hand, from who knew where. Seeing Buffon, he touched the spot on his face where the scar used to be, and with a hint of provocation said, “Scars are a man’s badge of honor. You healed mine without my permission and—”

Before he could finish, Kuma interrupted. “Sentomaru, go take inventory now!”

Sentomaru, helpless before Kuma, could only obey. Even though he claimed to be the world’s strongest defender, Kuma could still send him flying with a single slap.

“Buffon, once you’ve finished the handover, be sure to take a batch of corpses with you,” Kuma said.

Buffon nodded wordlessly and followed Kuma toward Dr. Vegapunk’s laboratory.

Passing a deep pit, Buffon saw navy personnel tossing food into it. Moments later, a column of flame shot up from within.

“That’s the artificial fire dragon Vegapunk created to guard the island,” Buffon thought to himself.

Noticing Buffon’s pause, Kuma explained, “This is Ryu, an artificial creature Dr. Vegapunk created to defend the island. It can adapt to any environment.”

Buffon couldn’t help but think it a pity that, in the end, this creature would become a feast for Luffy and his crew.

They pressed on, and as they neared the laboratory, Buffon noticed a field of gravestones. His gaze lingered just a moment longer than usual, but Kuma immediately caught it.

“Professional habit?” Kuma asked.

Buffon shook his head, offering no reply.

“They’re all empty—just cenotaphs,” Kuma said. His words made Buffon instantly realize: the original corpses had likely been sewn into zombies already.

Upon entering Vegapunk’s base, Buffon immediately felt the temperature rise, much warmer than outside. With few navy personnel around, he removed his cloak.

Kuma, seeing this, remarked, “Nice cloak.”

Before he could say more, Buffon handed it over. “It’s yours.”

“Thank you,” Kuma replied, examining the cloak. “Exquisite craftsmanship.” After a pause, he continued, “The artificial fruit experiments will begin tomorrow; you should observe. Your room is in section F—someone will come to show you the way soon.

“You’re free to move about the outermost layer of the facility; there’s nothing special to note. But any area marked with a skull is a restricted zone: if you enter, even if you aren’t killed, you’ll never leave this laboratory.”

Buffon nodded and, taking Ryoma with him, began to wander. Before long, a navy escort arrived to lead them to their quarters.

The room was small, but it was a single, which surprised Buffon.

“Yohohoho, young Buffon, do you need me to stand guard?” Ryoma asked.

“No need—just do as you please.”

With that, Buffon shut the door and began pondering his plans. Moria wouldn’t have spoken without reason; he must know something, though he chose not to say it outright.

Buffon switched his ability to the Yomi Yomi Fruit and tested it—it worked, confirming that Brook was now more than ten kilometers away.

Soon, the ghost summoned by the Yomi Yomi Fruit slipped silently from Buffon’s room and attached itself to a navy officer, beginning its reconnaissance of the entire facility.

Buffon quickly discovered that navy personnel could access different areas according to their rank.

After switching between several hosts, Buffon finally managed to enter the next level—and what he saw opened his eyes. It was practically a miniature prison here!

This level was filled with pirate prisoners, and judging by their wounds and mental state, they were likely being used as test subjects for cyborg experiments.

Buffon recalled that these must all be failed products, since in the end only Kuma’s model was a success.

After Caesar’s gas explosion, Vegapunk took the staff and left for navy headquarters, sealing this place and turning it into an uninhabited island.

That meant that this moment might very well be Vegapunk’s last days here.

Venturing further, Buffon discovered a treasure trove: a cold storage room filled with all kinds of frozen corpses—human, animal, and, most numerous of all, giants.

“I’ve found the jackpot!” Buffon silently marked the location and switched hosts to enter the next level.

What he saw here was even more astounding. Besides living people suspended in various apparatus, he also saw devil fruits—one after another. Could this be the heart of the secret?

Upon seeing the massive “SAD” label on the equipment, Buffon knew: this was the core of artificial devil fruit production.

But this held little interest for him, so he continued, switching hosts to infiltrate the very core of the complex.

Inside, everything was different: no intricate machinery, no test subjects—only a single corpse and a pile of raw seastone ore.

The seastone was clearly meant for weapon development, which didn’t surprise Buffon in the least.

But the moment he saw the corpse, he grew intensely interested.

He knew this body—Corazon, or rather, Donquixote Rosinante.

The man’s titles were many: former Celestial Dragon, Doflamingo’s brother, navy undercover, and Law’s savior.

Dr. Vegapunk was absent; only a few white-coated researchers were working intently.

Just then, the facility’s alarms blared. Unsure if he’d triggered it, Buffon hastily dismissed the ghost and returned his consciousness to his own body.

Within a minute, navy soldiers knocked at his door. “Sir, there’s been an incident in the laboratory. For your safety, please relocate to a secure area.”

“An incident? Even better. The more chaos, the better my chances to act,” Buffon thought, while replying, “Of course.”

But the moment he opened the door, he saw a pale green gas beginning to fill the air.

Spotting Ryoma emerging from his own room, Buffon quickly strode over. “Go to the ship and bring the entire zombie army here! Have Brook stand guard!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the navy escort who had come to warn them collapsed.

“Looks like I’ve stumbled into a major event! The living may fear this gas, but the zombie army won’t be bothered in the slightest.”

With this thought, Buffon activated his Stitch-Stitch Fruit. In no time, dozens of cloaks appeared in his hands.

Handing the cloaks to Ryoma, Buffon took the route he’d mapped out during his reconnaissance and set off for the deepest part of the laboratory.