Chapter Fifty-Seven: Gaji’s Ingenious Plan Brings Peace to the World

Though Moria was somewhat surprised by Buffon's decision, he wasn't particularly worried. He reasoned that since Buffon had made up his mind, he must have confidence in his own plan. Besides, even if Moria wanted to stop him, there was little he could do. Buffon wouldn't listen to persuasion, and Moria couldn't defeat him in combat, so he could only accept it.

However, Moria put forward one condition: Judge had to bring his fleet into the inner sea of the Thriller Bark. That way, even if something unexpected happened to Buffon, Moria would still have contingency measures. Even if he had to sacrifice his entire zombie army, as long as Buffon survived, there would always be a chance to rise again.

Judge agreed without much thought; he had never intended to play any tricks regarding this matter. Besides, he believed that even if Moria went all out, he couldn't possibly rival the might of the Germa army.

And so, the fleet composed of more than ten giant snails majestically sailed into the inner sea. Seeing the appearance of these enormous snails, Buffon couldn't help but think of the transponder snails.

"Could these creatures actually be the result of transponder snails modified by lineage factors?" Buffon mused to himself, then followed Judge onto the ship.

Inside this fortress-like vessel, Buffon witnessed the production line of the Germa clone factory with his own eyes. At the center of the workshop stood two massive transparent tanks, surrounded by rows upon rows of man-high glass cylinders. Each cylinder contained a body, and all these clones looked exactly alike—from their height to their faces, there wasn't the slightest difference. Only the tattooed numbers on their bodies distinguished them from one another.

After passing through this enormous production floor, Judge led Buffon to his private laboratory. The equipment inside was similar to that outside, only on a much smaller scale.

Judge pointed at the transparent pool in the center, which was connected by numerous pipes, and said, "Get in."

Buffon nodded, removed his shirt, and climbed in without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing this, Judge thought silently, "Kid, don't be too confident. When the time comes, you'll have no choice."

Once Buffon lay down, Judge began inserting syringes into his body.

"We'll begin now. The process will last for twenty-four hours," Judge explained.

Buffon nodded, signaling that he was ready.

Judge then fitted a breathing mask onto Buffon's face, closed the lid of the pool, and began operating the machinery, sending various mysterious liquids into the pool and into Buffon's body.

Buffon, meanwhile, switched his Devil Fruit ability to the Dark-Dark Fruit, generating darkness to block all the needles inside his body and slowly began absorbing the potions.

He then closed his eyes, contemplating his current strength. He realized that when he'd intervened between Judge and Moria earlier, it had required almost no effort on his part.

"It seems I've already entered the ranks of the world's top fighters," he thought. Buffon then opened the "Character Compendium" to review his attributes.

His main skills—such as physique, swordsmanship, and medicine—had all reached level five. Seeing that the next level would require nearly ten million experience points, Buffon couldn't help but sigh to himself, "Even with cheats, reaching the pinnacle of this world isn't an easy feat."

However, when he noticed his medical skills at level five, he suddenly had a revelation. Now that his strength had increased, his corpse-stitching skills could be perfectly applied to medicine. With the addition of hormones and other fruit abilities, he could easily join the ranks of the world's top ship doctors.

Now, with the technology of lineage factor modification, it was like adding wings to a tiger!

Previously, all his medical endeavors were more instinctive, never the focus of his attention. Now, with this realization, he felt the career path that his "doctor" golden finger had mapped out could finally be properly developed.

Only the massive experience required for further upgrades made Buffon realize that he couldn't just stay with Moria any longer, or he'd stagnate.

Given his current strength, if he brought the Juventus and a few companions like Saul, he could set sail without fear of any force.

Saul's power had now recovered to the peak level of a Marine Vice Admiral. As for Baggio, Buffon estimated that short of an Admiral, no one could last more than ten rounds against him.

He still needed more crew, though. Despite his many eclectic skills, as captain, he couldn't handle everything personally.

As for Moria, Buffon hoped that after this incident, he would reflect and focus on improving his own strength. Otherwise, even as the so-called "King of Understanding," Buffon couldn't change his fate.

Outside the pool, Judge and Reiju were watching Buffon's body closely.

"Reiju, what kind of elemental power do you think he'll gain?" Judge asked.

"Father, who could possibly know? You seemed to use one less serum this time—aren't you worried he won't be under your control?" Reiju replied earnestly.

Judge laughed, "I think that, like you, keeping this boy's emotions intact will help him go further on the path of medicine. That benefits me more in the long run."

"My lineage factor modification technology has never had an exception. We call this the Blueprint of Life precisely because everything is within my control!" Judge's confidence and arrogance were on full display.

Reiju did not argue, but deep down, she doubted that Buffon would ever be truly obedient to her father—not because she questioned Judge's technology, but because she sensed something different about this enigmatic man.

Twenty-four hours later, Judge opened the lid of the pool on schedule and removed the syringes. Buffon withdrew the darkness, removed the breathing mask, and stepped out of the pool.

"How do you feel?" Judge asked.

Buffon said nothing. Instead, he switched to the Flame-Flame Fruit, snapped his fingers, and conjured a ball of fire at his fingertip.

"Fire, huh? That's the same as Ichi's ability!" Reiju exclaimed happily.

Buffon extinguished the flame, his voice cold, "Where's the battle suit?"

"Once the Wapol alloy arrives, I'll craft it personally for you. It will take a month," Judge answered.

Buffon nodded, then left the ship with Judge to retrieve the Wapol alloy from the laboratory.

On the way, at Moria's urging, Buffon demonstrated his flame ability, leaving everyone astonished—especially Moria and Perona, who had witnessed Ace's battles.

Buffon handed the Wapol alloy to Judge, who then asked, "Any preference for the color of your battle suit?"

"Black and white," Buffon replied without hesitation.

"Very well. Then I'll be taking this zombie with me, too," Judge said, his tone commanding.

But Buffon shook his head, replying coldly, "That wasn't part of our original agreement."

Judge was stunned. "What's going on? Could it be the lineage factor modification really didn't work on this kid?"

He quickly did the math in his head. But since Buffon had already acquired the fire element ability, the modification had clearly taken effect. Perhaps it was just a matter of time before he adapted to following orders.

After all, the other modified soldiers were either raised from childhood or were clones. Buffon, being so powerful and modified as an adult, might simply need more time to adjust.

Still, to be on the safe side, Judge decided to place someone he trusted by Buffon's side.

"Reiju, from now on you'll accompany Buffon and help him adapt to the changes in his body," Judge said, not mentioning the zombie again as if he'd never brought it up.

"As you wish, Father."