Whir
The door of the Nutrition Pod opened, and an old man wearing the standard white coat of a researcher walked out.
He was very thin and about 6 meters tall. Taro tilted his head back, only managing to see the other's somewhat pointed and slightly protruding chin.
And that bridge of the nose, straight as if carved by a knife!
"Oh, you must be Taro. Come, have a seat!"
The powerful voice rang out again, but this time it sounded a bit more ethereal, letting Taro know this was the person's original voice.
"Dr. Vegapunk?" Taro asked tentatively.
"It's me. Sit!" The somewhat withered and thin arm pointed to a nearby seat.
At the same time, a circular metal stool rose up behind Vegapunk, and he sat down first.
"Wait a moment, I'm recording the experimental data from just now."
As he spoke, a mechanical arm extended from the equipment above, unfolding a screen. His fingers tapped rapidly and continuously on it.
Only then did Taro see Vegapunk's face clearly. He looked quite old, wearing a pair of square glasses, and his head shape was somewhat pointed, as if his chin had been installed upside down.
Although there was no beard on his chin, a long strand of hair hung down from each sideburn, and he wore a cloth hat on his head.
"Oh? Why aren't you sitting?" Vegapunk noticed Taro hadn't moved and asked, then immediately understood Taro's concerns. "Rest assured, it's just an ordinary seat."
Hearing this, Taro thought for a moment and felt that Vegapunk wouldn't lie about such a thing, so he sat down.
"Taro," Vegapunk's hands didn't stop as he asked, "Where do you come from?"
"Marine Headqua..." Taro answered subconsciously.
"No, Taro, think again!" Vegapunk interrupted him.
Taro stood up in shock, feeling a moment of terror and full of wariness.
"You... what do you mean?"
Vegapunk finally stopped his movements. He lowered his head and pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose with his palm.
"You know what I mean!"
Before Vegapunk's voice had even faded, Taro's Internal Energy surged out frantically, ready to strike at any moment.
Holy crap, this guy knows my biggest secret!
"Don't be nervous. If you don't want to answer, you don't have to!"
Vegapunk's voice was very calm. He didn't care much about Taro's overreaction and started recording data again.
"What do you know?" Taro forcibly circulated his Internal Skill to guide the restless Internal Energy back into his body.
"When you walked in here and still retained your abilities, I knew some things!"
Vegapunk said softly, "This laboratory has an Identification Light Screen that analyzes certain data."
"And your data showed: Unknown!"
"Do you know what that means?"
With that sliver of Internal Energy fluctuation, Taro's heart felt heavy. The more Vegapunk said, the more certain he was about Taro's origins. "What does it mean?"
Vegapunk leaned down, bringing himself closer to Taro, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"It means you don't belong to this world!"
After a pause, he continued, "Also, you were originally a dead man!"
Taro's heart skipped a beat. As expected, Vegapunk had discovered his secret.
His head buzzed. For a moment, he didn't know what to do. Kill Vegapunk?
"Don't be nervous!" Vegapunk chuckled. "I'm only saying this out of my professional instinct as a researcher. If I've offended you, please forgive me!"
Taro's eyes flickered. He couldn't tell if Vegapunk was friend or foe, or how much of what he said was sincere.
According to the snippets revealed in the original work, this scientist, who was 500 years ahead of the world, should be a positive character.
However, Taro was a bug in this world. He didn't know if Vegapunk would still be positive when facing a bug.
"Sigh, alright, it seems I've scared you!" Vegapunk sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm indeed not good at dealing with people!"
Taro rubbed his somewhat stiff cheeks. "I was indeed scared."
Speaking of which, he remembered something. "Come to think of it, you're not the first person to notice the abnormality of my body."
"It's just that my reaction was too intense!"
"Oh, really?" Vegapunk showed an interested expression.
"Yes, a doctor grandmother." Taro thought of Dr. Kureha.
Vegapunk's eyes lit up slightly. He gave a soft hum but didn't follow up.
The two fell into silence.
Vegapunk's fingers kept tapping. After a while, he finally finished recording. The mechanical arm retracted into the instrument.
"Taro, what is it you want to know from me?" With that part of his work finished, Vegapunk asked about the purpose of Taro's visit.
Taro thought for a while. "Originally, I wanted to ask you about Teacher Zephyr's situation."
"And now?" Vegapunk caught Taro's meaning.
"Now I want to know about Bartholomew Kuma and you..."
Before Taro could finish, Vegapunk lowered his hand, interrupting him.
"This matter is something you shouldn't ask, and I won't say!"
His expression was incredibly solemn. "Taro, I don't want to know what you're trying to do, but likewise, don't have too much curiosity about the things I'm involved in!"
Taro stiffened his neck and frowned. "So that means I get no answers to any questions, and instead, you've learned my secret?"
Vegapunk thought for a moment and sighed. "Fine, in that case, I'll tell you one of my secrets too!"
As he spoke, he tapped his temple lightly. "I, too, don't belong to this world!"
You really are a Moon Person from the One Piece world!
Taro's pupils dilated slightly, but he wasn't too surprised. The one piece fan in his previous life had more or less guessed this conclusion.
Seeing Taro's reaction, Vegapunk nodded slightly.
"You know more than I imagined! However, the judgment in your heart isn't everything I wanted to express!"
Hmm? What does that mean?
Taro frowned, carefully recalling Vegapunk's actions, demeanor, and tone, trying to find clues.
However, Vegapunk clearly didn't give Taro time to think calmly. He threw out another proposal.
"Taro, we're even for what happened before. Now, let's make a new deal."
Vegapunk's voice carried a certain inexplicable power. Taro's train of thought was instantly broken, and he responded subconsciously.
"What deal?"
Vegapunk leaned down again, this time so low that Taro could see the wrinkles on his forehead just by slightly raising his head.
"I'll tell you a piece of information you'll definitely be interested in—at least in my view, it's information you'll definitely need!"
"In exchange, you provide some of your blood for me to research!"
"What do you think of this deal?"
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