"Lesley, stop spending all your time in the lab. You should go out and explore occasionally. It's been a long time since you came to accompany me!"
Seeing Lesley wearing a white lab coat, Nox couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
Ever since Lesley became a researcher, she had become a homebody, not just a little, but extremely so.
Now, Nox genuinely wished Lesley would learn more from Caesar, to step out of the lab and slack off when there's nothing to do, instead of becoming a research fanatic like Yumaz.
"Husband, I understand. After this experiment, I'll take a good rest for a few months. That should be fine, right?"
Seeing that her Husband had said so, Lesley had no choice but to put down her experiment, as she had indeed not rested for a long time.
"Soros, although I've told you before, at this point, I still need to tell you again."
"Later, I will swap your mind with Vegapunk's. At that time, you will inhabit Vegapunk's body."
"And your original body will be inhabited by Vegapunk's mind. Of course, we will keep Vegapunk in a dormant state as before and preserve your body. In the future, if you wish to return your body, there will be no problem!"
"After the experiment is completed, you will have to live for a long time using Vegapunk's body."
"Now, I ask you, are you willing?"
Nox looked at Soros seriously and asked.
"Captain, my answer is still the same as before, I am willing!"
"For the Captain, for science, it's just a mere body!"
"What's more, after changing bodies, I can also gain the most powerful brain in the World. No matter how I think about it, it's a gain!"
Soros said seriously.
He had been an orphan since childhood, and it was Nox who picked him up, was willing to teach him, and allowed him to become the scientist he had always dreamed of.
Therefore, a long time ago, he had already sworn in his heart that once he achieved success in his studies, he would definitely repay the Limitless Pirates and Nox well.
Now that Nox had a request, how could he refuse!
What's more, he had no other relatives, so even changing bodies wouldn't cause him any worries.
"Very good, I didn't misjudge you. Once you possess Vegapunk's body, you will become the most powerful scientist in the World!"
Nox patted Soros's shoulder and said with satisfaction.
His Kenbunshoku Haki had been active, so he naturally knew that Soros was very loyal to him, which was the real reason Nox chose Soros.
What he valued most was loyalty. Nox would absolutely not trust or use a disloyal person.
Vegapunk, whom he had previously disliked greatly, was a good example. Since he couldn't be used by him, Nox would absolutely not allow the other party to continue living and pose a threat to him.
Then Soros consciously walked into a new nutrient capsule, lay down, closed his eyes, and was ready for the mind swap at any time.
"Athena, you can start!"
Nox nodded to Athena.
"Mind Swap!"
Athena extended her hands, made a grasping motion in the air towards Soros and Vegapunk's bodies, and then swapped them. It was completed very quickly.
"Alright!"
Athena smiled.
"Little Sister Athena, it's done already?"
Lesley asked curiously.
"Mm, actually, it doesn't need to be too complicated. Neither of them had any resistance, so the swap was successful very easily!"
Athena said.
"Soros, you can open your eyes!"
Nox said to Vegapunk's original body.
"Captain, it's done already?"
Vegapunk's body opened its eyes and asked curiously.
"It is!"
Nox confirmed with Kenbunshoku Haki that Soros was now residing in Vegapunk's body, not Vegapunk.
(Note: To distinguish them better here, Soros, who is residing in Vegapunk's body, is still called Soros.)
"Soros, your current body hasn't been exercised for several years and is very weak. Later, I will have someone help you recuperate properly, and you should fully recover in about seven days."
Lesley said.
She was fully aware of the shortcomings of this nutrient capsule.
"I understand!"
Soros replied.
"By the way, Soros, how do you feel now? I mean, how is it compared to your previous body after having Vegapunk's body?"
Nox asked with great curiosity, wanting to know if the power of the Brain-Brain Devil Fruit had been inherited by Soros.
"Captain, I feel that I am much smarter now than before. Some experimental difficulties that I couldn't figure out before, when I recall them now, I quickly understand what's going on!"
Soros replied.
"Very good, you rest well. After you recover, I will give you a vast research laboratory that belongs solely to you."
Hearing Soros's words, Nox felt relieved. With the power of the Brain-Brain Devil Fruit, Soros's future achievements might not be worse than Vegapunk's in the original story.
Perhaps with Nox's support, he might even be more outstanding than Vegapunk in the original story.
"Captain, don't worry, I will recover as soon as possible and go to the laboratory to work immediately!"
Hearing Nox say that he would build a laboratory that belonged solely to him, Soros was extremely excited.
It was well known that in the Limitless Pirates, having a laboratory that belonged solely to oneself was something many scientists dreamed of.
"Husband, that's great. The thing you've been thinking about for so long is finally completed!"
After Soros left, Lesley said happily.
She knew how much her Husband valued Vegapunk, or rather, how much he valued the Brain-Brain Devil Fruit. Otherwise, he wouldn't have done so many things specifically and spent so much effort to plan for this Devil Fruit.
"It's agreed, now come back with me. You are not allowed to stay in the laboratory all the time!"
Nox said, holding Lesley's hand.
"Husband, didn't I say I would go back after I finished the experiment I'm working on?"
Seemingly knowing that Nox wanted to take her away now, Lesley immediately pouted and acted pitifully.
"No, you have to leave today, no, you have to leave now!"
Although Lesley's pouting and cuteness softened Nox's heart, Nox's attitude on the surface was firm.
He didn't even give Lesley a chance to speak, bending down and squatting slightly, he scooped Lesley up in a princess carry.
"Shakky, open the Mirror World, we're going home!"
To get home faster, Nox directly took the Mirror World, a shortcut.
"Little Sister Lesley, Husband has been missing you terribly these past few days, otherwise he wouldn't be so eager."
Shakky teased from the side.
Hearing Shakky say that, Lesley's cheeks instantly turned red, and she shyly buried her head in Nox's embrace, not daring to show her face.
Baterilla Island, South Blue:
"Roger, why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"
"How can you bear to abandon us mother and son and leave alone?"
Portgas D. Rouge looked at the newspaper in her hand, and tears fell uncontrollably.
She and Roger were so in love before, but she never expected Roger to suddenly disappear from her World. Until now, if she hadn't gotten this newspaper, she probably wouldn't have known that Roger was dead!
"Husband, this is the island. Before, you asked me to investigate Roger's whereabouts, and we found that Roger stayed on this island for a long time."
At the same time, Shakky and Nox had arrived on this secluded small island.
The Law Net's people had not monitored or contacted Roger and the people around him before, only knowing that Roger had stayed here for a long time.
Nox came here also to see if Roger was the same as in the original story, leaving his wife and child alone on this island without arranging a way out for them.
After all, in the original story, Roger handed over his wife and child to the unreliable Marine Garp, which ultimately led to Rouge using some means to keep the child in her belly for 20 months to evade the search by the Marine and the World Government.
Although she ultimately evaded the search and waited for Garp's arrival, Rouge paid the price with her life.
In Nox's opinion, Roger's irresponsible personality under his free and unrestrained demeanor was truly disgusting.
With Roger's own strength, status, and connections, it was completely possible for his wife to live safely.
Even entrusting his crew members to take care of his wife in advance would be better than leaving his wife alone here and having Garp, a Marine, take care of her!
In any case, from Nox's perspective, he absolutely did not approve of Roger's irresponsible behavior.
Nox greatly admired Rouge, so he wanted to see if Rouge was really on this island now. If she was, he would take Rouge to live in the Limitless Sea.
"Let's go, let's ask if there is a woman named Rouge here."
Nox said.
The island was not big, and the village was very small. They quickly found out Rouge's residence and went to look for her.
"Who are you?"
Rouge looked at Nox and Shakky standing at her doorstep and asked vigilantly.
"My name is Nox, Captain of the Limitless Pirates, and I'm friends with Roger. The child you are carrying in your belly should be Roger's child."
Nox looked at Rouge, whose belly was slightly but not noticeably bulging, and asked directly.
"Nox, Captain of the Limitless Pirates?"
Rouge had heard of the name Nox. He was a famous great Pirate as famous as Roger. At first, she didn't recognize Nox, but when she specifically looked at Nox, she found that his face was exactly the same as the Nox she saw in the newspaper.
"No, I don't know any Roger."
Although she recognized Nox, Rouge did not admit to knowing Roger, as she didn't know if Roger and Nox were truly friends.