I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

He placed the Armament Haki gloves aside, and then, in a flash, a Boruto manga appeared in Higuma's hand.

He picked up a lighter from the table, lit it, and held the flame up to the Boruto manga book to heat it.

As Higuma had predicted, the comic book was completely unflammable; even the paper in contact with the flame remained at room temperature and did not get hot.

"It just won't ignite at all..."

Higuma pondered for a moment, then opened the Boruto manga in his hand and casually scanned its contents.

In a strange sense of ritual, he closed the doors and windows, then transformed himself into the appearance of Naruto Uzumaki using the Naruto card skin before starting to read the manga.

Chapter 1099 Another Me in the World

With the doors and windows closed, Higuma transformed into Naruto's appearance and began reading the Boruto manga.

"The era of ninjas is coming to an end..." This is a line from the opening of the manga.

"From now on, it's the age of pirates, isn't it?" Higuma added quietly.

"Then came the era of the great mountain bandits."

The comic book was about two hundred pages long. He casually skimmed through the Boruto comic book for half an hour, flipping through the plot and stories while making sarcastic remarks.

"Naruto and Sasuke have been nerfed ridiculously in this version..."

"Not only has their strength been reduced, but their looks have been reduced too..."

"So that's what it means for the era of ninjas to end? The era of Naruto has ended, and it's Boruto that brings it to a close."

At first, he had the urge to complain, but later he gradually fell silent, and finally he closed the comic book again.

At this moment, only one thought remained in my mind.

"Hopefully, a similar situation won't occur in One Piece in the future."

Higuma thought for a moment, then reached out and gently tore off a page from the comic book, holding it in his hand.

This comic book, apart from being non-flammable, seems to be just an ordinary comic book; the pages can be torn off at will.

"Is the material just ordinary paper? This comic book probably can't withstand too much impact..."

Higuma placed the torn-off page of the comic book under the flame of a lighter, attempting to light it.

The result was exactly the same; this ordinary, fragile piece of paper simply wouldn't ignite no matter what.

"You can increase the surface area by tearing the pages to protect against high temperatures, but the paper is just ordinary paper and can't withstand impact... In other words, this method is not very useful; it's a paper shield that will break easily. Using the whole book as a small shield is somewhat useful."

"If one possessed Armament Haki, one could strengthen their hardness by binding them with it, but unfortunately..."

Rixiong shook his head.

He carefully put away the Boruto manga and continued pondering how to approach Judge...

A few hours later, there was a knock on the door.

The sun bear reverted to its original form and unlocked the door.

Ain walked in, glanced around the room, her gaze sweeping over the drawn curtains, and looked at him with suspicion.

"Uncle Rixiong, why are you locking the door in broad daylight again, and even drawing the curtains? What are you doing in there?"

"I....."

How should he answer?

Secretly watching Boruto? Boruto isn't exactly this kind of action-packed stuff, is it?

Then, Higuma drawled out his words, adopting a mysterious and inscrutable demeanor, and said:

"As you know, I have some private matters that I don't want others to know..."

Ain paused slightly before speaking:

"Never mind, there's actually one more thing. Chief Scientist Dr. Vegapunk is coming to visit you... Would it be convenient for you to meet him?"

“Vegapunk? Bring him here.”

Higuma was slightly taken aback.

During those ten years, Vegapunk lived a very secluded life, and Higuma met with him only a handful of times.

Vegapunk's visit might be able to solve Siegfried's immediate problem.

...................

Not long after, Vegapunk walked in and nodded slightly to Higuma.

In the past ten years, Vegapunk has looked as if he has aged twenty years, which is obviously due to his frequent use of the Time Reversal Fruit's power.

The two met, closed the door, and talked privately inside the room.

"Admiral Sunkua, it's been many years." Vegapunk nodded slightly.

"I originally applied to the Navy to go to Impel Down to meet with Higuma, but the World Government rejected my application on the grounds of danger. I thought... it would be the same to see you, so I came here."

Sun Bear nodded:

"It seems that over the past decade, the world government has correctly recognized your value and is keeping a close eye on you."

"However, your lifespan is ultimately limited, so you should use the power of the Time Reversal Fruit sparingly," Higuma warned.

"So, what do you want from me?" Higuma asked.

“I’m curious about some things,” Vegapunk began.

"Regarding the so-called decisive battle on Luoshan Island where the Mountain Bandit King was defeated... and the shattered void incident ten years ago, if I'm not mistaken, it was you who used Blue and White Cat's artificial event fruit ability, right?"

“Although I abandoned the artificial Time-Time Fruit project, I’m still quite curious about its specific abilities… Also, how is it doing? I hope you can tell me these questions,” Vegapunk said.

"The cat is doing well, he's gained quite a bit of weight. He should be training on All Things Island right now."

"As for your other questions, that's a very complicated topic, and it would take a lot of talking to explain it... So let's talk about something else first."

Higuma picked up the tattered Armament Haki gloves from the table and handed them to Vegapunk.

"Vegapunk, have you heard of the combat suit technology that Judge has mastered?"

“These combat gloves are made of Wahlbo alloy. Could you help me speed up the repair process?” Higuma asked.

Vegapunk nodded.

"Of course I know about Germa's combat suits, and I've also taken notice of Wahlbo alloy, a superior metal, and applied to purchase some."

Once Wahlbo alloy enters the market, it will inevitably end up in the hands of the World Government; the only difference will be the quantity.

“But if you want me to repair these combat suit gloves…” Vegapunk shrugged.

"You're putting me in a difficult position."

"Everyone has their own expertise. The combat suit is a core technology that Judge has mastered, but it is not my area of ​​research."

"Really not going to work?" Higuma asked, somewhat disappointed.

“I know absolutely nothing about Germa suits, and I also have other important projects on my plate,” Vegapunk shook his head.

"That's a bit of a shame," Higuma said regretfully.

"I originally thought that with Dr. Vegapunk's intelligence, Judge's little gadgets should be no problem for you at all."

Vegapunk rubbed his temples; he'd made this habit ever since he met Sieg back then.

His expression remained relatively calm, but there was a hint of helplessness in his tone:

"General Higuma, I have no chance of falling for such a simple provocation."

"Is that so?" Higuma looked at Vegapunk and said sarcastically.

"The other Dr. Vegapunk from the parallel universe impressed me quite a bit with his intelligence. If it were him, speeding up the repair of the combat suit gloves would be child's play."

"...You mean another version of me in a parallel universe?"

A faint light seemed to flash in Vegapunk's eyes. He suddenly realized something, jumped up from his chair, and could no longer remain calm.

Chapter 1100 Imprisonment, Sig, Stussy 1-2

"That's right, another you in a parallel world."

Higuma smiled faintly and said in a seductive tone:

"Want to know where I went during the ten years I was missing?"

"Actually, the blue and white cat's ability cannot be considered an artificial time-time fruit; perhaps it should be called an artificial space-time fruit."

"There are no two identical fruits in the world. The Blue and White Cat's ability is not to imitate the Time-Time Fruit to travel through time to the future, but to travel to another space-time."

Vegapunk leaned forward slightly from the back of his chair, his expression becoming solemn.

He abandoned the artificial time-manipulation fruit project, but in retrospect, it can't be considered a failure...

Of course, experiments can be accidental.

Even if Vegapunk were to repeat the experiment again, he might not get the same result, even if he repeatedly saved and loaded the game.

The creation of the artificial Time-Space Fruit was an accident, and Vegapunk might not be able to replicate it.

"Tell me about parallel worlds, and about the other Vegapunk," he urged, his curiosity impossible to conceal.

"You mean the other Vegapunk..." Higuma pondered for a moment, narrowed his eyes, and continued:

"I remember it quite well. When he realized that the blue and white cat was an artificial creature you created, he said something."

Sun Bear mimicked Vegapunk's tone from the parallel universe:

"Incredible! It's unbelievable that someone in this world has mastered bloodline factor modification technology to such an inconceivable degree!"

"Ah."

Vegapunk straightened up slightly, then leaned back against the chair.

"The other me was indeed a good judge of character; not bad at all," he commented casually.

"And then Vegapunk went on to say this about you..." Higuma continued:

"This person's mastery of bloodline factor modification technology is probably hundreds of years ahead of its time. If he were to study it for a few more decades, he would almost catch up with me."