"No... that creature was a one-time accident. It can't be replicated, at least not for now."
Switch Dalt shot a glance at Aeridar. A man like him clearly knew exactly what Aeridar was after.
"An accident?" Aeridar raised an eyebrow. "Switch Dalt-san, mind explaining that to me?"
"Otto's genes were something I came across purely by chance. I've already used up what I had, and I haven't been able to clone it."
Switch Dalt, despite having some strength of his own, knew he couldn't possibly compare to the powerful pirate standing before him. So he didn't hide anything and began to explain in detail.
His real name was indeed Switch Dalt, a scientist renowned for his work in genetic bioengineering. Born in the North Blue, now forty-six years old, he had already made a name for himself as a prodigy by age twenty-four. He worked closely with the World Government, specializing in biological weapons research.
Fifteen years ago, during a project on a small island near the Red Line in the Grand Line, an experiment went catastrophically wrong. The failure produced a terrifyingly powerful monster. The reason it was deemed a failure wasn't because the creature was weak, but because it was uncontrollable. It rampaged wildly, destroying everything in sight, even tearing apart three CP instructors stationed on the island. Over a hundred CP agents and several thousand troops were wiped out with shocking ease, leaving countless dead or injured.
Miraculously, Switch Dalt was the only one who made it off the island alive. Though the monster was eventually put down by the World Government's top forces, the incident left too many renowned scientists dead. Unable to offer the world a suitable explanation, the government laid all the blame on Dalt—the sole survivor. Since then, he had been on the run, constantly hunted by their agents.
During his years of escape, he stumbled onto a mysterious island—massive, savage, and crawling with lethal beasts. At the heart of the island dwelled a beast unlike any he had ever seen. It was over a hundred meters long, its hide harder than steel, able to breathe fire, and possessing astounding regenerative abilities. It could fly, dive into the ocean, and even tear through Sea Kings on the seafloor with its bare claws. Dalt barely survived the two weeks he spent on that island, but came away with a priceless prize: a single strand of the creature's fur.
He returned to the North Blue and studied the genetic makeup of that hair relentlessly. Then, five years ago, he grafted its genes into Otto, a young man he had rescued. The result transformed Otto's body—immense physical strength, bestial transformations, and regenerative abilities far beyond human.
But the hair was now gone, and Dalt couldn't recreate it. That's when a new idea took hold: he sent Otto out to form a pirate crew, the Dorot Pirates, tasked with capturing powerful beasts as new experimental material. The monstrous strength of their crew came from Dalt's modifications. By Doriki standards, each enhanced member had power levels exceeding 100—essentially mass-produced super soldiers.
Eventually, Dalt outgrew the resources of the North Blue. Hidden aboard the Dorot Pirates' ship, he returned to the Grand Line in search of even more potent samples. Their journey brought them to the Sabaody Archipelago, where Aeridar captured them all in one sweeping blow, including Dalt himself.
Switch Dalt felt bitter irony, after all those years evading the World Government, he had never been caught. Yet now, here he was, defeated by Aeridar. The injustice was enough to make him want to weep.
"So that's it," Aeridar mused, eyes gleaming. "You used the genes of a sky-soaring, sea-diving apex predator."
He leaned in slightly. "Do you still remember where that mysterious island is?"
"It's in the Calm Belt," Dalt answered. "The place is swarming with massive Sea Kings. I only ended up there because of a storm, and I only made it out because another storm blew me away again."
He paused, then shot Aeridar a skeptical look. "Your strength is impressive, no doubt. But I don't think even you could take that beast down. It may not use Haki, but its size, regeneration, and those flames, strong enough to melt metal and cleave steel, make it a monster rivaling a Marine Admiral. If that island weren't so massive and sturdy, it would've been sunk long ago."
"Rivaling an Admiral?!"
Aeridar and Oliver were both stunned. Oliver, mid-sip from his bottle, nearly dropped it on the floor.
"By my estimate, yes," Dalt nodded. "Otherwise, just one strand of its fur wouldn't have produced such absurd results."
"Unbelievable," Aeridar muttered, awed. "To think such monsters exist in this world..."
"Nature is full of wonders," Dalt said, his tone suddenly fervent. "The ocean spawns Sea Kings beyond imagination, so it's only natural the sky and land would birth terrifying creatures of their own. They are nature's children... miracles forged by the world itself!"
"You're not wrong," Aeridar nodded, agreeing with surprising sincerity.
Sea Kings, after all, could reach truly monstrous proportions, some large enough to swallow islands whole. The ones summoned by the Mermaid Princess Shirahoshi, an Ancient Weapon known as Poseidon, were over 5,000 meters long. Even Aeridar wouldn't dare provoke one lightly.
So a land-dwelling creature rivaling a Marine Admiral? Not impossible at all.
The thought sent a shiver of excitement through Aeridar. A bioweapons scientist capable of mass-producing super soldiers was worth more than a dozen warships.
"Hey, Dalt." Aeridar suddenly extended a hand. "How about joining me?"
Dalt glanced him over. "Join you, huh? I'm not entirely opposed... but what reason do I have to say yes?"
"Well..." Aeridar pondered a moment. Then he smiled. "You're a wanted criminal hunted by the World Government. And I'm a Warlord of the Sea."
"True." Dalt nodded cautiously.
Aeridar tapped his own chest. "If you join my crew, I can protect you. My Warlord status shields you from the government's reach."
Dalt's eyes flickered with interest, clearly tempted, but he remained silent.
Aeridar leaned in further. "And just between us... Once I enter the New World, I plan to conquer a non-affiliated kingdom and make myself king. The World Government will have no choice but to recognize my sovereignty, and eventually, my kingdom will join the World Government as an official member state."
He set his glass down with quiet finality, eyes gleaming with ambition.
"When that time comes, you'll be my Chief Scientist. I'll have the finest laboratory built just for you—top-tier equipment, unlimited resources. Whatever you need, research subjects, experimental materials, anything, I'll make sure it's provided."
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