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Early Morning
Wilhelm woke up early and freshened up.
Her maid, Mies Olive, had already prepared breakfast with great care.
"Master Wilhelm, I worked overnight to complete the experimental base. I've also listed the remaining precision instruments and handed the list to Miss Smoothie…"
Just as Wilhelm finished enjoying breakfast, Dr. Hawkins barged in with disheveled hair, red, bloodshot eyes, and an exhausted expression. He grabbed Wilhelm in a hurry.
"The most important thing right now is manpower! I need you to get me some strong Homies soldiers!"
Wilhelm sighed helplessly. Knowing Hawkins had been up all night and was completely drained, she forced him to finish his breakfast first.
Once that was done, Wilhelm led a group—including Dr. Hawkins, Charlotte Armand, Charlotte Custard, Mies Olibe, the three Smoothie sisters, Shiryu of the Rain, Kuro the Feathered Serpent, Miyamoto Musashi, and the legendary swordsman Ryuma—to the underground mine.
This was the site Dr. Hawkins had excavated earlier to build his experimental base. It was hidden a hundred meters below the surface.
As they arrived, a series of gasps filled the air.
"Hiss—""This is… unbelievable!""Tsk tsk, I can't believe my eyes…""Completing such a massive project in just one night?""If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it!""The Munch-Munch Fruit… what an incredible ability!"
Everyone was stunned.
The once dark and chaotic mine had undergone a complete transformation.
Under the glow of giant floodlights, the underground space was bright as day. A massive, high-tech experimental base stretched before them—constructed entirely from advanced alloys, gleaming with a metallic sheen. It looked like something out of a futuristic world.
At the entrance stood a colossal alloy gate, towering ten meters high and built with the strongest Hawkins alloy. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to force it open.
Inside, the base was unimaginably vast, with large laboratories arranged in an orderly fashion.
"This base has three floors," Dr. Hawkins explained. "This is just the top level. There are two more hidden floors below. If necessary, I can use the Munch-Munch Fruit's ability to expand even further. In fact, I could dig deep enough to create a prison similar to Impel Down!"
Then, he led the group to the first-floor hall.
There, two hundred humanoid figures stood motionless, each two meters tall and brimming with a mechanical presence.
"These are robots I created using the Munch-Munch Fruit," Dr. Hawkins said to Wilhelm. "However, due to certain limitations, they don't possess true intelligence. Turning them into Homies would be more efficient, allowing them to be put to use immediately."
He then pointed toward another laboratory.
"Over there is the 'Pacifista' model you requested, Master Wilhelm. These units are equipped with Hawkins-type laser weapons and Hawkins-type Gatling guns. However, they are only semi-finished. I didn't have enough time to complete them fully, so I've only made five prototypes for now. Their combat capabilities still need to be tested."
"You'll need to inject your soul to activate them."
Inside the lab, five towering figures stood still, each about five to six meters tall. Their metallic bodies gleamed under the light, exuding an intimidating presence.
Their massive arms were embedded with layers of black gun barrels, while their mouths and abdomens housed powerful laser cannons.
Just looking at them sent chills down the spine.
"Tsk, tsk… These are pure war machines," Shiryu of the Rain murmured in amazement.
"This is unbelievable… You built all of this in just one night?" Charlotte Cinnamon marveled, running her fingers over the cold, lifeless metal.
Wilhelm felt as if she were in a dream.
She had always known that the Paramecia-type Munch-Munch Fruit was an incredible ability, but she never expected Dr. Hawkins to accomplish something this extreme. With the restrictions on resources lifted and an abundant supply of minerals at his disposal, he had taken his creations to a whole new level.
Armand and Ashura stood to the side, both smoking, unable to hide their amazement.
"Devil Fruits really surpass human wisdom and imagination," Armand muttered.
Ashura exhaled a stream of smoke, nodding. "I finally understand why you went through the trouble of bringing Dr. Hawkins out of Impel Down, Wilhelm…"
Smoothie, still in shock as she took in the sight before her, couldn't shake a strange feeling. "Is this the power born from combining technology with the Munch-Munch Fruit?"
She could already picture it.
Once these war machines were infused with souls, turning into Homies…
Their power would be unimaginable.
And these five were just the prototypes.
Soon, there could be more. Hundreds. Thousands.
An entire war legion.
The mere thought made her scalp tingle.
Individually, these mechanical Homies might not be overwhelmingly strong—at best, their bodies, constructed from Hawkins alloy, would grant them exceptional defense. However, their reaction speed and combat instincts might not be as refined.
But in large numbers?
A relentless, organized assault of overwhelming firepower…
Even the strongest warriors would hesitate to face such an army.
For the first time, Smoothie felt a sense of relief—relief that Wilhelm and Dr. Hawkins were allies, not enemies.
"Alright, let's get started!" Wilhelm chuckled.
A flicker of light appeared in her hand.
She reached into a special Homies Laser Cannon—a weapon that Charlotte Linlin had once infused with an immense amount of soul energy.
"Don't struggle," Wilhelm said calmly, gripping the terrified, anthropomorphic Laser Cannon. "I won't erase your existence. At most, I'll transfer most of the soul stored in you, making you weaker."
"Whoosh!"
Before their expectant and astonished eyes—Dr. Hawkins, Shiryu of the Rain, the three Smoothie sisters, Armand, Ashura, Custard, and the others—Wilhelm extracted a massive amount of soul energy.
She channeled it into the two hundred semi-finished robots.
In an instant, they came to life.
The once-lifeless machines suddenly moved, their artificial bodies gaining the spark of existence.
"Ahhhh~~~""This is amazing~~""I'm a robot~~~"
"Shut up, idiots!" Wilhelm's sharp gaze darkened.
Without hesitation, she unleashed a faint wisp of Conqueror's Haki.
A crushing pressure swept through the room, silencing the newly created Homies as they trembled and dropped to their knees.
Wilhelm gave a firm order.
"From today onward, Dr. Hawkins is your leader. You will obey his every command without question."
"Yes!!!" the Homies shouted in unison.
Dr. Hawkins wasted no time. "Then let's begin."
Wilhelm commanded the newly awakened Homies robots to begin working—some were assigned to clean the laboratory, others to move materials or test instruments.
After verifying their performance one by one, Dr. Hawkins nodded in satisfaction.
"Heh, the results are surprisingly good!" he said with a pleased grin.
Seeing this, Wilhelm moved on to the next task.
She stepped forward and began infusing souls into the five semi-finished Pacifistas.
"Whoosh—"
As the soul energy surged into them, the massive, lifeless figures—previously nothing more than metallic husks—suddenly transformed.
The five towering Pacifistas, devoid of any life force just moments ago, were now alive as Homies.
"Clank—clank—"
The cold, metallic faces began to shift, their features slowly taking on human-like expressions.
Then, in an instant—
"Whoosh!"
Wilhelm, Smoothie, Dr. Hawkins, and the others vanished from the underground base, reappearing at a secluded coastline.
This was a restricted area, one that Smoothie had designated off-limits to ordinary people.
"You want to test their combat performance?"
Smoothie smirked. "Now this is exciting."
On the golden sands, the five newly created Homies Pacifistas stood silently, their metallic bodies gleaming under the sunlight.
Despite their mechanical exteriors, their anthropomorphic faces were filled with confusion, as if they hadn't fully processed their new existence.
Wilhelm glanced at Smoothie and signaled with a nod.
"Got it…"
In a flash of lightning, Smoothie shot across the ocean's surface, standing atop the waves.
"I order you to unleash your full attacks!" Wilhelm commanded.
"Yes!"
At Wilhelm's signal, the five Homies Pacifistas sprang into action.
Some opened their large, pitch-black mouths.
Others raised their Gatling guns, locking onto Smoothie with cold precision.
"Vmmm~~~ Vmmm~~~"
A golden glow began to build.
"Da-da-da-da—"
Blinding laser beams shot out like lightning, tearing through the air at incredible speed.
"Shhhhhhh—"
Meanwhile, a dense barrage of Gatling bullets rained down in an overwhelming storm, all aimed at Smoothie as she darted across the sea.
The sheer intensity of the assault sent chills down the spines of those watching.
Even the strongest warriors would break out in a cold sweat at this relentless firepower.
"BOOM!"
Explosions erupted across the water's surface, sending powerful waves crashing in every direction.