"We did it! We actually did it!!"
As flames erupted from the cracked stone, Judge and Caesar threw their arms around each other, shouting in sheer joy.
Smoothie silently massaged Doflamingo's temples.
"You alright, Doffy?"
Vergo looked at him with concern. Doflamingo's expression had eased, but even after his fight with Kaido, he hadn't looked like this.
"I'm fine. If anything, this might be a blessing in disguise for Pica."
He didn't dwell on his own condition, eyes shifting toward Pica.
It looked like he had found a shortcut to awakening someone's powers.
Boom—Boom—!
The flames rising from the cracks in Pica's stone armor blazed even higher.
The heat was so intense that both Caesar and Trebol backed away—they were flammable, after all.
Pica's dark gray stone armor turned a searing red, glowing faintly with golden light.
What had once been rock-hard began to flow like molten malt.
Crackle! Sizzle!
Drips of lava scorched holes into the ground beneath.
There was something thrilling about the transformation.
It was a signal.
Pica shifted his stiffened body and stood tall again.
The lava and flames gradually cooled, reforming his stone-like exterior.
His gaze was ancient. Steady.
"Doffy! Under your guidance, I've made it back!!"
He didn't know how long he'd been trapped in that numb, meaningless existence. But it was Doflamingo who had pulled him out.
"Welcome home, Pica."
Watching Pica's new form, Doflamingo nodded in approval.
Before he could think further, Caesar—true to his excitable nature—shouted with glee.
"OOOOH!! Just as Judge and I predicted! Not only did it work, but his original powers are still intact!"
"This is it—our synthetic Logia-type!"
Judge wasn't any calmer. Seeing Pica regain clarity and the experiment succeed, he started cheering as well.
"Shurorororo! Vegapunk, I've surpassed you!!!"
Caesar cradled his cheeks, already lost in fantasy.
"Beh heh heh heh~" Trebol chuckled darkly nearby, who knows what images dancing through his mind.
Smoothie and Vergo were a bit more composed, though their intense, curious gazes never left Pica.
"..." Doflamingo glanced at the three still-sane people around him with a touch of relief, then cut through the madness.
"That's enough for now. Pica, go rest. Tomorrow, we'll test your abilities on Summer Island. Judge, Caesar—I have some new ideas."
"Yes, Doffy!" Pica's voice rumbled from beneath his stone armor.
"New ideas?" Caesar and Judge exchanged a look.
Their minds flashed back to Doflamingo's shout from earlier...
...
The next day.
Summer Island, part of the outer ring of Tenryu Island.
Thanks to enhanced biological instincts, the mutated beasts had long since fled the center of the island.
With the exception of Rosinante, Diamante, Moria—still hauling bricks in the North Blue—and Lao G, living out retirement in Mock Town...
The core family executives—Trebol, Tesoro, Enel, and others—had all gathered to watch the upcoming test.
Pica and Vergo now stood face-to-face, equals in presence and stature.
One wore obsidian-like armor, a monster forged of volcanic rock.
The other, with a dragon's head and a human body, had a massive tail that smashed the ground into fractured lines—an aura like a demon king.
After a long, restful sleep, Doflamingo had fully recovered. He lounged lazily in the air, then announced:
"Begin! Vergo. Pica."
"Yes, Doffy!" x2
Vergo and Pica locked eyes. Years of working together meant they didn't need words.
They both opened their mouths simultaneously, throats lighting up like twin suns.
Two blazing columns of fire clashed, forming a swirling fireball where they met.
Heatwaves blasted outward in every direction. Grass withered and burned into ash. Even the solid ground began to melt.
Enel, still nursing the beating he took from Bullet yesterday, stared wide-eyed and rubbed his swollen face.
"Tesoro… he's using fire with the Stone-Stone Fruit. How the hell does that work?"
"Don't ask me! This is all the boss's doing!"
Tesoro had missed Pica's transformation and had no idea what was happening.
"Shurorororo! It's all thanks to my brilliant genius!"
Caesar proudly struck a pose as he monitored the data streaming from his devices.
"(￣▽￣\")" x2
"Hey, hey, what's with those looks?" Caesar turned into gas and hovered in front of Enel and Tesoro, blocking their unimpressed stares.
BOOM!
The fireball exploded, flames surging skyward.
Vergo had vanished from his original spot.
He reappeared in Pica's line of sight, dragon-tooth staff crackling with lightning as it swung toward Pica's head.
Clang!
Pica blocked the blow with a raised arm—but not without consequence.
Crack—Crack—!
Fine fissures spread across the obsidian surface.
A moment later, fire burst from the cracks, engulfing Vergo completely.
But with the control granted by his Azure Dragon Fruit, Vergo easily contained the flames. The attack barely fazed him.
Pica hadn't expected it to.
Instead, from the opposite side of his body, he fired another jet of flame—like a rocket's propulsion system.
It launched him forward with explosive speed.
He soared, reeled back a fist, and landed a clean punch that sent Vergo flying.
...
"Judge. Caesar. Come with me. There are things I need you to confirm."
Doflamingo turned away, satisfied. There was no need to watch the rest.
Even though Pica had awakened and mastered three forms thanks to him...
His techniques were creative, but his speed was still lacking.
He wouldn't be able to hold this state long. And with Vergo's years of battle-hardened Haki...
The outcome was already decided.
"Got it, Boss!" x2
Caesar and Judge exchanged a glance, both thinking back to yesterday.
...
In the lab.
Doflamingo recounted what he'd done—and what he had heard.
Then, thoughtfully, he said:
"So… could this be the true nature of Devil Fruits? Born from human desire? A Devil Fruit's form representing what someone once wished to become?"
"And this so-called 'devil will'—could it just be remnants of someone's obsession?"
Caesar and Judge looked at Doflamingo like he had grown horns.
Suppressing not one, but two awakening devil wills using Observation Haki? Was this guy even human?
Judge, who at least had fathered children and learned restraint, gave a thoughtful hum and continued:
"Boss… Vegapunk proposed the same idea after studying ancient texts."
Even Caesar, for once, didn't argue. He scratched his ram-like head and added,
"My idea for artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruits started by extracting Lineage Factors from animals, but...
When it comes down to it—this world...
Belief has power."
"Belief has power, huh?"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg