"Hmm! Transforming humans into machines completely, this is the first time I've seen such a thing."
"Doctor, can I get a closer look?"
Just as Vegapunk was preparing, and Bartholomew Kuma was also ready, a curious voice suddenly echoed in the laboratory.
"Who?"
On the experimental bench, Bartholomew Kuma suddenly sat up, a flicker of red light flashing in his eyes as he looked to the right side of the laboratory.
He saw a figure standing by a desk on the right side of the laboratory. The figure was wearing a white shirt, beach shorts, but the same black long boots as Vegapunk, and had silver hair. An earphone with an antenna was worn on his right ear. The back of his head was bent down, observing something.
Indistinct, unfelt, as if appearing out of thin air, without the slightest trace of presence.
"Doctor, open the shield."
Although he felt no malice, Bartholomew Kuma's face remained solemn as he asked Vegapunk to open the shield. Behind his rimless glasses, his pupils, hidden beneath a white, polka-dotted hat, were fixed on the newcomer's back, not daring to relax for a moment.
In this world, there were few who could appear before him so silently, and whom he couldn't sense at all.
Well... not few, but none.
Even Dragon, even Garp, could not appear before him so silently.
And this suddenly appearing figure, he had never seen before.
"Hahaha!! Why so tense!"
Just then, the figure turned around, revealing a handsome face with a gentle smile and those characteristic azure blue pupils.
"Silver hair."
"Kouta!"
If his back had not revealed his identity, then his front did. Whether it was Vegapunk, who only cared about experiments and nothing else, or Bartholomew Kuma, a spy for the Revolutionary Army, they instantly recognized the person.
Kouta's fame had exploded in the past year, especially recently.
Ever since he set sail, he had been constantly in the news, and always on the front pages.
"Weren't you outside?"
Vegapunk asked doubtfully.
He knew what was happening outside. After all, he was the original body of the six avatars, and the avatars' experiences were recorded in the super-brain "Bank Records" he created after severing his own brain.
Although they were separated, he had the highest authority over the Super-Brain Bank Records, and only he could.
After all, it was his head.
Therefore, the experiences of the avatars were essentially his own experiences.
As long as he wished, he could instantly know anything the avatars had done from the Bank Records.
"Well! I saw something interesting and couldn't resist coming to take a look!"
Saying this, Kouta shifted his gaze from Vegapunk to Bartholomew Kuma, who had already gotten down from the experimental bench, and smiled, "Uncle Bear, I believe you've heard of me from someone!"
The only one who could call him "Kouta" was Emporio Ivankov.
"Indeed, he often mentioned you, saying you were the top genius he had ever met and that you would one day stand at the pinnacle of the world."
Bartholomew Kuma recalled Ivankov's words, then looked at Kouta, who now stood in the laboratory, exuding no presence at all, as if he didn't exist, and his eyes were filled with emotion.
"I never expected this 'future' to be so short, so short that it exceeded my imagination, and I suppose it exceeded Ivankov's imagination as well!"
Thinking of Ivankov, Kouta couldn't help but smile.
That guy was the first truly powerful person he had met in this world.
Master Koshiro was also a powerful person, but he never revealed any of his strength in front of Kouta. Every sparring match ended with a point of understanding, and most of the time was spent on swordplay.
In swordplay, how could he possibly be Koshiro's opponent?
Therefore, the first truly meaningful battle he could recall was with Ivankov.
"Alright, since you two know each other, you can catch up later. It's my experimental time now."
At this moment, Vegapunk's voice attracted Kouta's attention.
Although his personality was generally gentle, this gentleness was dependent on the time. For instance, during experiments, he absolutely hated being disturbed.
"And also!" Vegapunk said sternly to Kouta, "You still haven't said why you're here. You're not just here to catch up with Uncle Bear and reminisce about someone, are you!"
Hearing Vegapunk's words, Bartholomew Kuma also cast a doubtful gaze at Kouta.
"Haha!!" Seeing Vegapunk's displeasure, Kouta couldn't help but laugh heartily, then said, "Didn't I already say? I just overheard your interesting conversation and couldn't resist coming in to take a look."
Saying this, Kouta shifted his gaze to Bartholomew Kuma, the smile vanishing from his face. "Completely erasing a human's humanity and thoughts... I don't know what the Doctor thinks, nor what Uncle Bear thinks, but such a thing, in my opinion, is indeed a bit too cruel."
"Sometimes we can indeed sacrifice ourselves without hesitation for a certain ideal, for certain people."
"But that is when there is no other choice, and it is the most desperate decision made out of necessity."
"I can feel your ideals and determination, but this world is no longer the world it once was!"
Here, Kouta's "not the world it once was" was different from what Bartholomew Kuma and Vegapunk understood. He meant that since his arrival in this world, the people and things connected to him were about to completely deviate from their predetermined historical trajectory.
"What exactly are you trying to say? Since you know Bartholomew Kuma's situation, and you also know that he is doing this out of necessity."
Vegapunk stared at Kouta, his face full of confusion.
Strange words, a strange person, what was he trying to do? He was like a riddle, making Vegapunk slightly annoyed.
"What I want to say is, this world has completely changed because of me. Soon, I will go to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise and completely eradicate the Celestial Dragons."
Kouta's voice was not loud, but his words struck like a violent clang of bells, echoing in the minds of Bartholomew Kuma and Vegapunk, leaving them stunned for a moment.
"You, you... what did you say?"
Even with Vegapunk's composure, he stammered slightly. It was evident how shocked he was by Kouta's words.
"I said, I will go to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise soon and completely eradicate the Celestial Dragons."
Kouta spoke again, and this time it finally brought Bartholomew Kuma and Vegapunk back to clarity.
The two stared at Kouta, their expressions becoming unprecedentedly serious.
"Can you do it?"
The minds of both of them simultaneously flashed with all the news of Kouta's voyages since he set sail, as well as the true information about Kouta, known only to a select few, which they had obtained through their own connections.