Chapter 558: Scientists Are Indeed All Crazy
"What the hell is going on here?"
Looking at the three Pacifista floating under Uncle Fujitora's control, unable to adjust their postures due to the loss of gravity, yet still in attack mode, causing lasers to fly everywhere, Ian was also somewhat dumbfounded.
"Ah," Fujitora sighed, leaning on his staff sword and said, "When these three Pacifista first arrived on the island, we thought you had traded them from the Marines. But after they stood up, for some reason, they started chasing Robin and trying to attack him! After I noticed something was wrong, I quickly suppressed them, but I was afraid that excessive gravity would cause internal damage, so I had to use this method to make them float."
Hearing this, Ian couldn't help but slap his forehead and said, "Ah, this is my fault! I forgot to tell you, these Pacifista weren't traded from the Marines—they were stolen!"
"No wonder!" Zoro said, folding his arms and speaking up from the side, "These Pacifista seem to be able to identify pirates with bounties. That's why we were attacked by them back on Sabaody Archipelago!"
"These... these must be the three Pacifista that the Seven Warlord Bartholomew Kuma swatted away, right? How did they end up here..." Nami exclaimed in surprise. "So, these three Pacifista are uncontrollable?"
Just as she finished speaking, Waldo's voice rang out from a distance, saying, "Not... not exactly!"
He ran over with a group of people, panting heavily, and said, "Captain, you're back?"
Ian nodded to him and asked, "From what you just said, it seems they can still be controlled?"
"Of course!" Waldo said very confidently, "Their current state is just a program set by the Marines, which is why they see all wanted criminals as targets and attack them. But this program can actually be changed!"
"Then..." Ian looked at him doubtfully and asked, "Why haven't you changed their program and turned them into our people? Can't you do it?"
"Yes," Waldo said somewhat dejectedly, "I have to admit, these Pacifista are indeed Vegapunk's masterpiece. During this time, I've been studying them and found that with my abilities, I can't replicate them at all—I can only modify them! But even modification is impossible because these Pacifista have a self-destruct program built into them!"
"Self-destruct!?" Ian was stunned. Of course, he could guess that this was the Marines' protective measure for the Pacifista, but when he actually heard the word, he couldn't help but feel frustrated and asked, "So we can't touch them at all?"
"If my guess is correct, these Pacifista have a very crucial 'lock' on them!" Waldo spread his hands and said, "It's a kind of authentication program. Without the corresponding key, you can't open this 'lock,' and you can't change the Pacifista's program. Any illegal forced modification will cause the Pacifista to self-destruct!"
Ian immediately understood. So, to modify these Pacifista, you actually needed an "administrator permission"!
The three Pacifista weren't obtained by Ian through normal means; they were forcibly taken using Uncle Kuma's Devil Fruit ability. Under such circumstances, how could there be corresponding authorization?
Ian also felt a bit troubled. If they couldn't be used for his own purposes, wouldn't these Pacifista be as useless as decorations?
Hmm!? Wait a minute!
Ian suddenly remembered that when Uncle Kuma was about to leave Sabaody Archipelago, he had given him something like a chip! Could it be that the so-called "key" was that!?
Thinking of this, Ian quickly searched through his pockets and finally found the chip from inside his hat.
"Waldo, take a look at this. Could this be the key?" Ian quickly handed it over.
"Let me see!" Waldo took the chip, held it up, examined it left and right, and then said with some surprise, "Judging by the shape, it looks very similar. When I was studying these Pacifista, I found similar interfaces on them. Before, I was wondering what those interfaces were used for..."
"Hurry, Uncle Fujitora, let one Pacifista down and try it!" Ian said excitedly, rubbing his hands together.
Fujitora nodded, released the gravity control on one Pacifista, and let it fall from the sky.
Then, the members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates around Waldo immediately swarmed forward and, with experienced hands, tied up the Pacifista with thick chains.
The Pacifista, of course, wouldn't cooperate willingly and struggled desperately. It was very strong, and the thick iron chains creaked under the strain, but it seemed unlikely to break free in a short time.
Franky stepped forward to help hold down the Pacifista. He was also a cyborg himself—well, only the front half—so he was very interested in the Pacifista.
By this time, Waldo had put on a pair of white gloves. He walked up to the bound Pacifista, took out a screwdriver, and lifted the clothes on the Pacifista's chest.
Just then, the Pacifista suddenly opened its mouth, and a flash of light appeared. Ian, already on edge, quickly pulled Waldo aside. A laser shot past where Waldo had been standing, hit the cloud ground of Skypiea, and caused an explosion.
"Sorry, sorry!" Waldo had almost been killed, but he showed no sign of nervousness. Instead, he said excitedly, "I forgot to seal its mouth just now!"
After saying that, he pulled out a roll of iron sheet and quickly wrapped it around the Pacifista's mouth several times.
Ian broke out in a cold sweat. Although he knew very well that this was a Pacifista, the problem was that the Pacifista had an identical appearance to Uncle Kuma. Watching 'Uncle Kuma' being treated like this, Ian felt a very strange feeling in his heart.
After lifting the Pacifista's clothes, Ian could see a very obvious place on its chest—a square mark. Although it was covered by skin and flesh, Waldo's screwdriver easily pried it open!
The Pacifista were modified from clones, with real skin and flesh on the outside but machinery on the inside. It had to be said, Vegapunk was truly a genius among geniuses to have developed such cyborg technology.
The opened chest was actually a cover plate. Under everyone's amazed gazes, various cables and mechanical structures were revealed inside. Waldo continued to use the screwdriver to unscrew a few internal screws, opened a protective shell, and a delicate interface appeared.
Using a pair of tweezers to clamp the chip, Waldo inserted it into the interface.
The Pacifista had been struggling non-stop, but it was only held down by everyone and couldn't get up. However, when Waldo inserted the chip, the Pacifista suddenly became quiet.
"Suc... succeeded!" Waldo saw this and couldn't help but shout in joy.
Sure enough, what Uncle Kuma had given him in the end was actually the controller for the Pacifista!
"Awesome!" Waldo said excitedly to Ian, "Now the Pacifista is in standby mode, so I can safely modify it. As long as I can change its friend-or-foe identification, it can be used by us!"
"Then I'll leave it to you!" Ian also happily patted him on the shoulder and said, "Three Pacifista are a very strong combat force!"
"But in my opinion, they're still not perfect!" Waldo began to ramble on about his ideas to Ian, saying, "I admit, Vegapunk is indeed amazing. He recreated Marine Admiral Kizaru's laser attack on the Pacifista, but these Pacifista have a fatal flaw—their mobility is insufficient. They're too heavy!"
Ian nodded. Indeed, although these Pacifista looked like Kuma, they weren't the real Kuma, so naturally, they weren't Paw-Paw Fruit users. Kuma could use his Paw-Paw Fruit ability to repel air and make his massive body teleport, but these Pacifista couldn't. They could only move by walking or jumping, which was indeed a flaw in mobility.
"Once I understand the principle behind Vegapunk's laser replication, maybe I can also replicate Uncle Fujitora's gravity control!" Waldo said with great anticipation, "Then, by modifying the Pacifista, they can freely control their own gravity and gain the ability to fly!"
Hearing this, Ian and the others widened their eyes. Could that even work!?