"With this, mass-producing artificial Devil Fruits is no longer a problem."
"By the way, Captain, take a look at this—it's my new invention, mechanical prosthetics!"
"It can be worn by those who have lost arms or legs, and these prosthetics can connect to the human nervous system, allowing them to be controlled directly by the brain. The prosthetic limbs will function just like a person's real limbs, responding to their movements effortlessly!"
"Even better, these prosthetics are made from the hardest metals, with various mechanisms inside that can enable functions the human body cannot achieve."
"For people who have lost limbs, wearing these prosthetics can not only restore their combat power to its peak but even enhance it beyond what they were capable of before!"
Soros presented several mechanical limbs to Li Yuan for inspection.
"Not bad. This technology could have a huge market worldwide, and even within our Infinite Pirates, there are plenty of injured members who could benefit from these mechanical arms."
Li Yuan nodded with satisfaction.
In the original story, Zephyr also had a mechanical arm after losing his original one, and it proved quite effective. Now, Soros had developed a version of the technology, and with the possibility of attaching weapons or even Seastone, along with incredibly tough metals, these mechanical limbs could greatly change a pirate's combat capabilities!
"By the way, Soros, you mentioned these mechanical limbs are connected to the human nervous system. Do you think it's possible to create a giant robot, with one person controlling it from inside? And if we could connect the robot to the human brain, could the robot then move as nimbly as a human, controlled by thought alone?"
Li Yuan's thoughts began to expand.
"Captain, the way these mechanical limbs connect to the nerves is through the nervous system of the wound, which then links to the brain!"
"If we were to connect a person's nervous system to control a robot, then the person's nerves would need to extend out to connect to the robot's operating system."
"In that case, the person inside the robot would essentially become like a vegetable, unable to move. Plus, having so many nerves connected to the robot could cause severe nerve damage if something goes wrong."
Soros explained.
"I see now, it seems I was thinking too simplistically!"
Li Yuan shook his head. If it was as Soros described, it would be better to manually operate the robot rather than trying to control it through thought.
"By the way, how is the research on the Ancient Weapons and the modifications to the Hades Battleship coming along?"
Li Yuan asked.
"Captain, the technology of the Ancient Weapons is simply mind-blowing! The level of advancement is far beyond anything modern technology can match, it's as if they were inventions from another era!"
"With my current technological level, I can barely understand the core technologies of the Ancient Weapons. Right now, I can only apply my knowledge to the non-core aspects!"
"Furthermore, many of the materials used in the Ancient Weapons... even with Caesar's help and the power of his Gura Gura no Mi, he's only able to make a small portion. There are still many core materials we can't synthesize!"
"To be honest, based on my current technical progress, it would take at least twenty years to fully decode the core technology of the Ancient Weapons. Replicating them isn't just a matter of technology; it's an issue of resources and materials."
"As for the modifications to the Hades Battleship, the structure has been fully upgraded. The power and weapon systems have been replaced with the latest and most powerful technology from the Infinite Pirates. However, when compared to the original Hades, it's still lacking in many aspects."
When Soros spoke about the Ancient Weapons, his eyes were filled with a crazy and passionate light, resembling that of a fanatic scientist. Or perhaps, Soros himself was just a fanatical scientist.
"Got it. Since the issue of energy and materials will be a problem when researching the Ancient Weapons, from now on, you should focus on both the technology and the energy problem simultaneously. After all, many of the weapons Caesar has made are facing energy supply issues!"
"As for materials, I'll talk to Caesar and ask him to enhance his Gura Gura no Mi abilities. He needs to produce the materials you require."
Li Yuan nodded.
He didn't expect Soros to fully decode the Ancient Weapons' technology right away. What mattered was that Soros believed he would be able to do so in the future.
After all, even Vegapunk from the original story couldn't fully grasp the technology of the Ancient Weapons after over twenty years. Instead, he ended up creating many things that, in Li Yuan's eyes, seemed useless.
Now, Li Yuan's goal for Soros was to focus on understanding the weapon systems and energy problems of the Ancient Weapons, aiming to solve the energy issue and recreate the Hades' weapon systems as soon as possible.
If creating new weapon systems turned out to be impossible, they could always use the original Hades, which was buried beneath Wano. With the right energy source, it could be reactivated!
---
**Grand Line, Achilles Island:**
"Monster, get away from me!!"
"Ah, it's the ghost child, don't come near my house!"
"A flying monster, stay away!"
"…"
A three-year-old girl, floating in the air, wearing ragged clothes and with a pitiful face, cried out.
She had hoped to ask for some food, but as soon as she appeared, she was immediately chased away by the people.
"I-I'm not a monster, I really am not…"
Perona, with tears in her eyes, retreated in fear, afraid the people might really beat her.
She had only been so hungry and eaten a strange fruit, not realizing that it would make her fly, and now she was constantly producing terrifying ghost-like apparitions from her body.
"You are a monster! Last time, you used that horrifying ghost to attack my son! He's still hiding in his room, too scared to come out! Get away from my house!"
A fat woman shouted angrily at Perona, holding a hoe.
"I—I'm so hungry... could you give me something to eat?"
Perona, her voice trembling, tried to plead.
"Get lost! Even if we're feeding the dog, we wouldn't give anything to a monster like you!"
"If you don't leave, we'll beat you up!"
The crowd, disgusted by Perona, had no intention of giving her any food!
"Please, don't hit me, I'll leave now!"
Seeing the crowd approaching with hoes and wooden sticks, Perona was so frightened that she fled, not daring to stay any longer. She had been beaten too many times in the past; even if she went hungry, she would rather not be hit.
"Waah... I'm not a monster, I really am not a monster..."
"Please, I'm so hungry... I'm so hungry!!"
After being chased away, Perona found a secluded corner and began crying bitterly. But as she cried, she felt weak, her body losing all strength, and even the ability to cry seemed to fade.
"Little sister, here, eat this, it's really tasty!"
Akame, happily eating a pastry she had bought, heard the crying and saw Perona's pitiful figure. She immediately offered the half-eaten pastry in her hand.
"Th-thank you!!"
Perona, drawn in by the scent of the pastry, immediately grabbed it and began devouring it without looking at who had given it to her.
"Here, take these too!"
Seeing how hungry and pitiful Perona looked, Akame handed over the other two pastries from her bag.
Perona, too hungry to refuse, immediately grabbed the pastries and started eating again.
"Don't choke, drink some watermelon juice!"
Seeing Perona eating too quickly, Akame handed her the half-drunk watermelon juice.
"Glug glug!!"
After eating two and a half pastries and half a cup of watermelon juice, the three-year-old Perona was finally full.
"Pretty sister, my name is Perona. Thank you for feeding me, you're a good person!"
After finishing her meal, Perona looked up at the beautiful older sister in front of her, her eyes full of gratitude.
"It's nothing. I've been hungry too, so I know how it feels. But little sister, why were you crying here? Why didn't you go home and look for your parents?"
Akame, who had once refused to train due to her father's harsh training, and had been punished with hunger, could deeply empathize with Perona's situation. She knew what it felt like to be hungry.
She had learned the hard way that hunger was one of the most terrifying feelings in the world, far worse than any training or injury.
"Waah... My parents left me a long time ago. They don't want me anymore!"
"I ate a strange fruit, and now I can fly, but everyone calls me a monster. They all hate me and hit me... and no one will share food with me anymore!!"
Upon hearing Akame's question, Perona began crying again. Maybe now that she had food in her stomach, she had the energy to cry, and the more she spoke, the more her heart broke.
Akame's heart ached as she watched Perona sob uncontrollably, her tears flowing freely.
"Little sister, don't cry. Since your parents don't want you, you can stay with your big sister. As long as I'm here, no one will dare hurt you. From now on, you'll never be hungry again."
Akame gently patted Perona's small head, comforting her.
"Is that true, big sister?"
Perona looked up with tearful eyes, asking Akame earnestly.
"Of course it's true. My name is Akame, and from now on, you're my little sister. How could I let my little sister go hungry?"
Akame smiled warmly, wiping away Perona's tears.
"Waaah, big sister, my name is Perona!!"
Hearing Akame's words, Perona grabbed her hand and cried even harder. Since being abandoned by her parents, this was the first time Perona had fel
t such warmth.
"Alright, Perona, stop crying. I'll take you for a bath!"
Once Perona's emotions calmed down, Akame picked her up and walked out of the dark corner.