The wheel spun rapidly.
Under Mio's fixed gaze, its speed grew faster and faster before gradually slowing down. His heart raced with anticipation and nervous excitement as it came to a stop—finally pointing to a gene.
"Congratulations on winning the 'Indra' gene through the lottery!"
"Indra?"
Mio blinked in confusion, momentarily unsure of what gene he had drawn. But after pulling up the details, his eyes widened in surprise.
[Indra Gene: A gene originating from the Naruto world. Possesses terrifying potential, inherits the 'Sage's Eye', and is naturally opposed to the Asura bloodline.]
"Isn't this basically the Uchiha gene?" Mio murmured in his mind.
The only difference, as far as he could tell, was that the Indra gene had significantly greater potential. Compared to a regular Uchiha gene, the Indra gene guaranteed the awakening of the Sharingan, while a normal Uchiha gene might not.
"Still, this gene might not be as great as it seems…"
It wasn't that the Indra gene was weak—on the contrary, once the Sharingan awakened and evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan, or even the Eternal Mangekyō, it became terrifyingly powerful.
But the problem was a very serious one.
"How the hell do I evolve it into the Mangekyō?" Mio muttered, rubbing his chin. "Do I need to have Hawkeye cut me again?"
And even if he managed that, the Mangekyō alone wouldn't be enough. To reach the Eternal Mangekyō, he'd need the Mangekyō eyes of a close relative—a near-impossible condition for a creature created from fused genes.
(Author's Note: For this story, the power systems from Naruto do not require chakra in the One Piece world. Instead, they are fueled by physical energy. Hope you can accept this slight adjustment.)
"Forget it. Maybe I'll get a chance later. Even if I can't evolve it into the Eternal Mangekyō, having a basic Mangekyō is good enough. I'll just have to use it sparingly to avoid going blind."
As for who would inherit this new gene, Mio already had someone in mind—his little black panther.
He admired the creature and found it quite promising. Besides, there wasn't anyone else suitable at the moment, and the panther had already comprehended the "Law of the Jungle." It even seemed compatible with the Sharingan's enhanced perception and insight.
Still, Mio didn't start the cultivation process right away.
Another lottery spin was waiting for him.
He pressed the button again. The wheel began to spin. The Indra gene he'd just obtained had already been replaced with a new gene.
[Flame Man Gene]
This one rang a bell. It was from an old anime he'd seen before crossing over—Ben 10. The Flame Man was an alien completely covered in fire and could control it at will. Not bad at all.
But Mio's attention wasn't on that.
Instead, he stared at another part of the wheel.
"That Uchiha gene… it's still there. So the wheel doesn't reset completely with each draw. That means I might be able to draw a second Uchiha gene in the future. If that happens… maybe I can create a pair of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan eyes."
It was just a thought—for now. The probability was painfully low, and he'd need a ton of Devil Fruits to keep spinning.
It would be a long-term goal.
As time passed, the wheel's spinning began to slow down again.
Finally, the result appeared before Mio's eyes.
[Congratulations on winning the (Excellent) Ghoul gene!]
"Tsk, this gene…"
Mio frowned.
Ghouls weren't weak. In fact, they were quite powerful. But there was one major issue.
They ate people.
They looked human but survived solely on human flesh and blood. If he used this gene to cultivate a creature, and it inherited this trait… how would he feed it?
Would he have to start feeding it human meat? Or kill it off before it went rogue?
More importantly, what if it endangered his crew? Even if it remained loyal to Mio, there was no guarantee it would treat the others the same way.
"Is this gene going to be completely useless?"
But then something caught his attention.
"Wait, what does this '(Excellent)' mean?"
Mio blinked and quickly opened the details.
[(Excellent) Ghoul Gene: A gene from a modern urban world. Ghouls typically consume human flesh to survive and possess kagunes—unique predatory organs that grant various combat styles. The better the food consumed, the stronger the ghoul becomes. (Note: This version has been optimized to eliminate the cannibalistic flaw.)]
"Ah… So cannibalism was considered a genetic defect? And they actually optimized it?"
Relief swept over him.
He grinned and let out a breath of laughter.
Two draws, two powerful genes.
Mio was more than satisfied.
Now came the real work—cultivation.
He opened the sealed box containing the little black panther. As soon as the lid lifted, the panther inside opened its eyes. Cold, alert, and filled with vigilance, it stared directly at Mio.
It scanned the room carefully, seemingly calculating a way to escape.
"Roar~"
A low growl rumbled in its throat, a warning to Mio not to come any closer.
Its fangs were bared, and its claws extended.
"Very clever indeed," Mio said, smiling faintly. But then, his eyes sharpened, and he released a wave of his aura.
Although his aura wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, it was more than enough to suppress a mere black panther.
As expected, the moment his presence flooded the room, the little panther froze. Its tail tucked between its legs, head lowered, body trembling—it dropped flat to the ground without resistance.
Mio's smirk widened. He drew Raikiri from his waist.
"Don't worry, little guy. This won't hurt… much."
To cultivate a gene, he first had to disable the creature.
Without hesitation, Mio swung his blade. In the panther's horrified eyes, the strike landed cleanly.
A pained roar echoed from the creature's throat.
Without delay, Mio placed the panther into the cultivation chamber.
He selected the genes to be fused:
Indra Gene!
(Excellent) Ghoul Gene!
Various beast genes from creatures defeated in Little Garden.
Several human genes collected from Alabasta.
Everything was pulled into the fusion interface.
With a confident smirk, Mio pressed the Cultivate button.
A cheesy animation like those from knockoff web games popped up on the screen. Steam began to rise, accompanied by comical and mechanical sound effects.
Mio didn't mind.
He sat cross-legged beside the chamber, closed his eyes, and waited.
With anticipation growing in his heart.