"I haven't paid all that much attention, to be honest." If any of the other patients were like Usopp, or had an item like he did, they most likely wouldn't want to spread the news of what they found either. It jut encouraged thieves. "I'm not sure everyone is willing to tell. Judging from the one I've seen, it's possible that they're somehow meant to be useful to those most likely to find them - but that could have just as easily been a fluke."

Who else in the Institute could have made such good use of a soldering iron, though? Others gathered metal so those with the ability to transform it could turn it into a weapon. They didn't need a soldering iron for that. Usopp, on the other hand, already had supplies available to use with it. An odd coincidence, if it was one.