Chapter 106: Devil Fruit Lineage Factor Modification

After conversing with everyone, Buffon led Saul and Lily to the ship's cabin. The four giant slaves rescued from the Celestial Dragons and the panda mount were still waiting there for him to deal with them.

Upon seeing Buffon and his companions, the four giants were the first to react. Sensing two of their own kind beside Buffon, they instinctively felt a sense of familiarity. Only the panda remained fast asleep, seemingly unaware of the arrival of the trio.

Buffon walked up and grabbed the collar on the neck of one of the giants. The giant said in terror, "What are you doing? This thing will explode!"

Saul offered words of comfort: "Don't worry, Captain Buffon absolutely has the strength to remove those collars for you!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Buffon, using some mysterious method, pinched the collar in his hand. With a muffled explosion, the slave collar ceased to exist. This feat stunned the other three. They had never even heard of anyone capable of removing a collar with their bare hands.

Saul knew a bit more; he was aware that those who could push their Armament Haki to the extreme could indeed remove such collars manually. He hadn't been entirely certain of the level of Buffon’s Haki before, but this display provided a clear picture of Buffon’s proficiency in Armament Haki. Had it been the Buffon of the past, he wouldn't have been so sure, but since gaining the "Flowing Sakura" technique from Snow Colt, he was entirely confident. However, he knew that beyond hardening and coating, there were two more stages he needed to master or acquire from others: projection and internal destruction.

The panda, startled awake by the explosion, looked at the group with a bewildered expression, as if asking, "Who am I, and where am I?" This creature was the one Buffon was most interested in; he was dying to know if it was the legendary "Pandaman," the strongest background character in the original series.

Buffon flashed directly in front of the panda and removed its collar in the same manner. As the explosion sounded again, the panda instinctively recoiled and then spoke in human tongue: "There are no coincidences in this world; it seems our meeting was fated!"

Hearing this tone, Buffon couldn't help but wonder if this creature, like himself, was a transmigrator.

"A Devil Fruit user?" Saul asked eagerly.

The panda nodded, transforming from its animal form into a human-like shape, though its head remained that of a panda. "I ate the Zoan-type Panda-Panda Fruit! I am Pandaman!"

Hearing this, Lily asked curiously, "That’s amazing! What’s your name? And what is your ability?"

"I am Pandaman. After eating bamboo, I can gain the strength of 3.3 million jin!" Pandaman said with pride.

"Then why were you caught by the Celestial Dragons to be used as a mount?" Lily asked again.

"I snuck into Amazon Lily to visit my sweetheart, Panda Woman, and was captured by Boa Hancock and handed over to the World Government!"

Buffon couldn't help but chuckle at the reason. For him to dare enter a country that so intensely hated men, it had to be true love. Buffon confirmed through this brief explanation that he was indeed the ultimate background character. As for how he managed to appear in so many different places, Buffon had no idea.

While listening to Lily and Pandaman chat, Buffon casually removed the slave collars from the other three giants. Having regained their freedom, the four giants were naturally grateful. With some persuasion from Lily and Saul, they successfully joined the Juventus Pirates. The reason was simple: once the World Government discovered their identities, their fate would likely be annihilation, as they were slaves brought out by Saint Karmael. Others might be able to debunk rumors, but if these giants spoke of Saint Karmael’s death, it would be undeniable. Moreover, they had been enslaved for a long time, enduring inhumane treatment—verbal abuse, whipping, trampling, and being forced to fight each other for entertainment. These warriors from Elbaf had suffered deep humiliation; several of their kin had even forced their collars off to die in protest.

Those who survived were waiting for the day they could break free from the Celestial Dragons and take revenge. Their infinite hatred for the privileged class of the Celestial Dragons aligned perfectly with Buffon's future plans. Thus, they were willing to follow Buffon to fight against the privileged class of this world.

Buffon was happy to accept them. Even someone as powerful as Big Mom wanted to build a giant army, and since Buffon intended to oppose the World Government, building his own giant army was ideal. Under Saul’s leadership, once they filled those giant corpses with shadows, a formidable force would take shape!

As for Pandaman, he didn't commit immediately but asked where Buffon was headed next. When Buffon answered "the East Blue," he agreed without hesitation. He didn't explain why, and Buffon didn't ask. With Buffon’s current strength, he had no fear even if the guy had ill intentions. As long as he wasn't a spy for the World Government, it wasn't a major issue.

After dealing with the five, Buffon handed Senbonzakura to Baggio and took Saul into the laboratory.

"Saul, do you want to possess the power of a Devil Fruit?" Buffon asked seriously. He felt that Saul had willingly sacrificed his shadow; although Buffon had treated him so there were no lasting side effects, he had still lost something. Buffon wasn't sure if his modification of lineage factors would cause Saul to lose the ability to swim again, so...

"Captain Buffon, as long as it helps you and doesn't violate our original agreement, I will agree without hesitation! But where would you get a Devil Fruit?"

Buffon smiled. "Don't worry about that. I'm just experimenting; I'm not sure if it will work."

"Then let's begin!" Saul didn't ask further. His trust in Buffon was such that he didn't doubt for a second that Buffon would do anything harmful to him.

To get Saul into the tank, Buffon knocked him unconscious and had Lily use her Mini-Mini Fruit ability to shrink him. Once Saul was in the tank, Buffon pondered whose blood to use for the experiment. Given Saul’s role as a tank, defense was the primary focus, and Mr. 3’s Wax-Wax Fruit was the most suitable. If successful, the boost to Saul’s strength would be immense; a giant with innate strength plus wax armor would be even more formidable in battle.

Deciding immediately, Buffon extracted a sample of Mr. 3’s blood, used the improved techniques he had learned from Judge to isolate the Devil Fruit factors, and added them to the modification fluid. He inserted the needle into Saul and began his first human experiment on someone other than himself. "Hope it succeeds," Buffon encouraged himself, keeping watch during the long wait.

While waiting, Buffon opened his "Character Compendium" to review his recent gains. Aside from the fruit abilities he had already tallied, he went over his skill gains carefully. His highest-level skill was swordsmanship; with the experience bonuses from two Admiral-level figures, he was halfway to the level five cap of ten million experience points. Next was physical prowess, followed by medical expertise. He didn't value swordsmanship as much, but it was a great trump card. Finally, his eyesight had reached level five after the trip to Alabasta, matching the effect of the Microscope Fruit, rendering that fruit obsolete. His "Faith" skill, while not yet level five, provided a 25% experience bonus—a powerful gain.

Buffon then organized his copied fruit abilities. He separated the Gravity Fruit and the Microscope Fruit, chose to abandon the latter, and fell into deep thought. He prioritized the Stitch-Stitch Fruit as the foundation of his work, followed by the healing-capable Hormone Fruit. Then came the Shadow-Shadow and Dark-Dark fruits. He needed to manage shadows for his zombie army and ensure those who lost their shadows weren't harmed by sunlight. The synthesized Shadow Fruit was also a versatile trick. For offensive means, he relied mostly on the Flare-Flare and Paw-Paw fruits, while the Munch-Munch Fruit remained a necessary, standalone skill.

With a new plan for fruit synthesis and development in mind, Buffon dived into frantic experimentation. He didn't stop until 24 hours had passed and Saul had woken up.

"Dereshishi! I feel like I've been reborn! My body's metabolism feels like it's back to my youth!"

This was exactly what Buffon expected; enhanced recovery and strength were the basics of lineage factor modification. Buffon was more concerned about whether the Devil Fruit ability had been successfully transplanted. "How about the Devil Fruit power? Give it a try!"

Saul nodded, and in an instant, a pair of white wax gauntlets covered his hands. "Dereshishi! Isn't this the ability of that wax man? Captain Buffon, it seems I was right—there is nothing you cannot do when it comes to human modification!"

Buffon was overjoyed. This success meant he could create an army of Devil Fruit users. Once established, he would truly have the strength to challenge the World Government.

"Come, let's test for side effects." Buffon brought over a pair of Seastone handcuffs. As expected, the wax gauntlets disappeared instantly.

"It seems it's different from the elemental abilities Reiju and the others possess." Buffon asked, "Do you feel any weakness?"

Saul moved his arms and said, "No effect."

Buffon concluded that the effect was similar to his own copy ability—it couldn't be used in water. As for whether the "king cannot meet king" rule applied, he couldn't verify it yet. This required further testing.

Buffon removed the handcuffs and said, "Go try and see if you can swim."

"Dereshishi, if I turn into a stone, you must save me immediately!"

Saul walked to the deck and jumped into the sea. Seeing that Saul showed no signs of exhaustion, Buffon was relieved. Reiju stood beside him, curious. "Captain Buffon, was your experiment a success?"

Before Buffon could answer, Saul climbed back onto the deck, used his Wax-Wax Fruit ability to create a harpoon, and thrust it into a passing fish. Reiju covered her mouth, trying to hide her shock. "Is this another direction of the lineage factor secret that Father often mentioned—artificial Devil Fruits? If so..." She dared not think further. If this were true, given enough time, toppling the World Government’s rule would not be impossible.

Buffon spoke calmly, "It’s not an artificial Devil Fruit, nor is it an elemental ability like yours; it’s merely a copied power."

Recovering from her shock, Reiju smiled and asked, "Then when will my upgrade begin?"