"Nani?! (What?!)" Vegapunk's eyes, already wide behind his spectacles, seemed to stretch impossibly further. "Not difficult to acquire? Admiral Kizaru, explain yourself! In detail!" His voice crackled with an almost frantic energy. This cannot be! his scientific mind screamed. A therapeutic agent of this magnitude... developed by a mere pirate... Its synthesis must involve extraordinarily rare, prohibitively expensive components! It simply must!
"Maaa~, well, Doctor," Kizaru drawled, scratching his cheek nonchalantly, "the rather puzzling thing is... according to our intelligence, every basic combatant in the Whitebeard Kaizokudan (Pirates) carries a pouch of these 'Senzu'. And each pouch seems to hold... well, quite a few. Hundreds, perhaps?" He recounted the reports Tsuru had gathered, detailing the widespread distribution among Whitebeard's forces.
With every word Kizaru spoke, Vegapunk's breathing grew shorter, faster, his face paling slightly. The implications hammered against the foundations of his understanding.
"Fusoro! (Impossible!)" he gasped, staggering back a step. "Shinjirarenai! (Unbelievable!) Arienai! (Impossible!)" He muttered the words like a mantra, his mind reeling. Widespread distribution meant low production cost. Low cost… for an effect that defied the very laws of biology as he knew them?! Instantaneous cellular regeneration on this scale… using common materials?! It was… it was…
This inventor... this pirate... they haven't just made a discovery, they've overturned the very principles of science! A manic grin began to spread across Vegapunk's face, a fire igniting in his eyes. He knew, with absolute certainty, that pursuing this enigma was his paramount duty as a scientist!
Snatching the handful of Senzu beans Kizaru still held, Vegapunk practically vibrated with excitement. Without another word, he spun on his heel and bolted towards his dedicated laboratory within the Marine complex, a whirlwind of pure scientific fervor.
Kizaru watched him go, a slow smile playing on his lips. "Ooooh~, how very fascinating." He remained outside the lab, patiently waiting, as was his often-underestimated style.
An entire day and night passed. Finally, the laboratory doors hissed open, and Dr. Vegapunk emerged, looking even more disheveled than usual, with dark circles under his eyes that rivaled Queen the Plague's. Yet, his eyes burned with an undimmed, perhaps even intensified, scientific obsession.
"Maaa~, Dr. Vegapunk," Kizaru greeted him smoothly, stepping forward. "While unraveling the secrets of this medicine is veeery important, you mustn't neglect your own health, you know~."
"Trifles! Irrelevant!" Vegapunk waved a dismissive hand, his voice hoarse but thrumming with energy. "Admiral Kizaru! I have successfully analyzed the basic composition of the 'Senzu'! Common herbs, trace minerals... nothing exceptionally rare! However..." His expression turned frustrated. "...regardless of the sequence, the catalysts, the environmental conditions I apply... I cannot synthesize the final compound! I can replicate the ingredients, but not the miracle!" He slapped a sheaf of detailed reports into Kizaru's hand.
"Take these initial findings to Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Vegapunk instructed. "But the research continues! I am close... I can feel it! There is a missing element, a unique process... I will uncover it! Inform me immediately if any further samples are obtained! Any scrap of information!" With that, the doors hissed shut again, leaving Kizaru alone with the preliminary, yet profoundly baffling, results.
Kizaru sighed dramatically, then pulled out his Den Den Mushi to relay the update to Sengoku. The mystery deepened.
News travels fast in the Grand Line, even faster among the ranks of the Marines. The tale of Admiral Akainu being skewered in the backside by Admiral Aokiji on the training grounds, only to be instantly healed by a mysterious green bean, quickly became the stuff of whispered legend throughout Marineford, spreading like wildfire. Even Vice Admiral Vergo, Doflamingo's deepest mole within the Kaigun (Marines), stationed on a distant island, soon caught wind of the incredible event.
Back in Dressrosa…
Doflamingo slammed his fist down onto the solid wood table, the impact shattering it into splinters. CRACK! SMASH! He had just finished another infuriating call with King.
"Doffy! Nee! What happened?!" Trebol asked anxiously, recoiling slightly from the outburst.
"Those bastards!" Doflamingo snarled, veins pulsing visibly on his temples, his usual smirk replaced by pure, unadulterated rage. "King keeps demanding Caesar! He even threatened to destroy Dressrosa if I don't hand him over! Fuffuffuffuffu! The audacity!"
"Then... maybe we should just send Caesar-san over for now? Nee?" Trebol suggested nervously, wringing his hands.
"No!" Doflamingo snapped, his sharp eyes flashing. "Not until we know exactly what Kaido and King are planning! If I send Caesar now, mark my words, we'll never see him again!"
Just then, a tiny, specialized Den Den Mushi hidden in Doflamingo's pocket began to chirp softly. Purupurupuru...
Doflamingo glanced sharply at Trebol. The executive immediately understood, activating countermeasures to ensure the office was completely secure and soundproofed. Click. Whirr. Doflamingo answered the call.
"Vergo. Report." His voice was low and steady. This was Vergo's direct, secure line – used only for matters of utmost importance. Vergo, his loyal subordinate embedded deep within the Marines for over a decade, rarely contacted him unless it was critical.
"Young Master," Vergo's clipped voice came through. "Urgent intel. The Kaigun (Marines) have recently discovered that the Whitebeard Kaizokudan (Pirates) possess a new, heaven-defying medicine. Reports claim it can instantly revive even those on the brink of death." A pause. "That is all." Katcha. Vergo hung up, having delivered the crucial piece.
Doflamingo froze. The pieces clicked together in his cunning mind with startling clarity. Whitebeard's miracle drug... Kaido's sudden, inexplicable demand for Caesar Clown, a scientist...
"Fuffuffuffuffuffu!" A slow, chilling laugh escaped his lips. "So that's it! That's why they want my pet scientist! They want to replicate that medicine!"
He turned to Trebol, his eyes gleaming with avarice and opportunity. "Trebol! Immediately! Mobilize all our underworld networks! Scour every black market, every informant! Find anything related to items recently circulating from Whitebeard's crew! Focus on any unusual medicine! Spare no expense! Buy it immediately!"
Understanding the gravity, Trebol nodded vigorously. "Right away, Doffy! Nee!" He practically oozed out of the room to carry out the orders. As JOKER, one of the emperors of the underworld, Doflamingo's reach was vast. It didn't take long. Soon, through a chain of shadowy contacts culminating in a professional thief who'd managed a risky score, a small pouch identical to the one King had acquired landed on Doflamingo's new, albeit temporary, desk.
Doflamingo stared at the green beans, a thoughtful, calculating expression on his face. Is it truly so miraculous? Without hesitation, he picked up a nearby fruit knife and plunged it deep into his own thigh. STAB!
"DOFFY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! NEE!" Trebol shrieked, stumbling back into the room just in time to witness the act.
Ignoring the sharp pain and Trebol's panic, Doflamingo gritted his teeth and popped one of the Senzu beans into his mouth. Gulp.
A moment later… FWOOSH! The familiar green light erupted from the wound in his leg. In the span of two breaths, the bleeding stopped, the flesh knitted together, and the injury vanished completely, leaving only unblemished skin beneath the torn fabric of his trousers! Not only that, but the nagging fatigue from several sleepless nights spent plotting and managing his empire vanished instantly, replaced by a surge of vibrant energy! He felt powerful, invigorated!
"Fuffuffuffuffuffuffuffuffu!" Doflamingo threw back his head and laughed, a sound filled with manic delight and boundless ambition.
Trebol stared, mouth agape, eyes wide with utter disbelief. "D-D-Doffy... W-what... what just... Nee?!" This defied all logic!
"Now I understand why Kaido and his attack dog King were practically frothing at the mouth for Caesar!" Doflamingo declared, his grin wider and sharper than ever. "This... this was their true objective!"
He turned to Trebol, his eyes blazing with newfound purpose. "Trebol! Take these Senzu beans immediately! Deliver them personally to Caesar at Punk Hazard! Tell him to drop everything – all SMILE research, all other projects! His sole focus now is to analyze and replicate this Senzu! Understood?!" The strategic value, the sheer power contained in these little beans… Doflamingo had to possess the means to create them himself!
"Yes, Doffy! Right away!" Trebol stammered, still reeling but loyal as ever. "But... nee... what about Kaido-sama? He won't be happy..."
"Kaido?" Doflamingo waved a dismissive hand, his confidence absolute. "Leave Kaido to me. Fuffuffu... I'll handle that brute. You ensure these beans reach Caesar safely. Personally escort them. And don't rush back. Stay there, oversee the initial research. Keep me updated via Den Den Mushi. Now go!" His orders were sharp, decisive, final. A new, far more valuable game had just begun.