Chiga and the other two were laughing casually, completely ignoring the old man standing before them.
Dr. Gero clenched his jaw in frustration. At last, he raised his voice.
"How about it? Let's cooperate. As long as—"
"Almighty Pull."
With a sharp buzz, Dr. Gero's body flew forward as if dragged by an invisible force. Before he could finish his sentence, Chiga's hand gripped his throat tightly.
The doctor struggled, face flushing red. He had not yet modified himself into a full android, so at this moment he was little more than a fragile old man. Any hidden mechanisms in his laboratory were useless now. Even Lapis could have crushed him with little effort, let alone Chiga.
"You—what are you doing? Do you plan to kill me?" Gero croaked out, eyes wide with fear.
"Is there another option?" Chiga replied coldly.
"Wait! I have research, secrets enough to overturn the balance of the world! They exist only in my mind—kill me and they vanish forever!"
Chiga tilted his head slightly, loosening his grip. "Your research is indeed valuable…"
He released Gero, allowing the old scientist to collapse onto the floor, coughing. Relief lit Gero's face. For a moment, he believed he had escaped death.
But Chiga merely extended a hand and pressed it against the doctor's forehead. With a single, effortless motion, he pulled.
A pale soul, fragile and flickering, was torn from Gero's body. Memories, knowledge, and designs flooded into Chiga's mind in a torrent. He dismissed the useless fragments, retaining only the data on androids.
Dr. Gero's body, now empty of its soul, became a lifeless husk. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed with a dull thud. A moment later, his corpse exploded violently into a fine red mist, leaving only two Eternal Energy Furnaces clattering to the ground.
With a gesture, Chiga summoned them into his hand.
"From this moment, your life's work belongs to me," he murmured.
The data within his mind was immense—schematics for countless android models, even early drafts of a being resembling Cell. But the most complete designs were for two siblings: Android 17 and Android 18.
The craftsmanship was astonishing. To think that an Earth scientist had created beings capable of rivaling even Super Saiyans… Chiga gave Gero a brief nod of acknowledgment in his heart before turning away.
At his side, Lazuli's unease was growing. She tugged gently at his sleeve. "Chiga… it's creepy in here. Can we leave?"
Chiga smiled faintly. "Not yet. Tell me, do you want a life without end—power great enough to shake the world itself?"
Her eyes widened. The words were eerily similar to what the twisted doctor had said moments before. Fear rushed through her, and she grabbed his hand tightly.
"Chiga, please don't scare me. You're not… changing, are you?"
Meanwhile, Lapis recalled what he had just witnessed—his brother-in-law pulling a ghostly form from Gero's body. His mind raced with speculation.
"That thing… was it a soul?" he whispered to himself. If so, and if the soul had entered Chiga… then…
His expression twisted with horror. "Could it be… Brother-in-law's been possessed?!"
The idea was absurd, yet the fear in his voice was real. Of course, Lapis couldn't know that Chiga, wielder of the Six Paths, could never be overtaken by a mortal soul. Even if he absorbed the essence of every living human on Earth, his will would remain unshaken.
Unaware of Lapis's fears, Chiga leaned closer and pressed a gentle kiss to Lazuli's forehead. His voice was calm, reassuring.
"What could possibly be wrong with me? Relax. This isn't a curse… it's an opportunity."
He explained the truth of androids to them. The knowledge seemed overwhelming, but they listened intently, nodding slowly.
At last, Lazuli asked the question weighing on her heart. "Chiga… are you a God?"
If before she could rationalize him as an extraordinary martial artist, what she had seen today shattered that belief. In her world, only gods could wield such powers.
Chiga paused, then answered plainly. "Yes, in a sense. I can be considered a god… but not one born of this Earth."
He was Ōtsutsuki, second only to the primordial gods of his own universe, far beyond the reach of mortals or even the so-called deities of Earth.
The siblings were stunned into silence.
A quiet shadow crossed Lazuli's expression. She lowered her gaze and whispered, "Then… you must also be immortal, right?"
"Yes," Chiga replied without hesitation.
Her heart trembled. She imagined the decades ahead, where her body would wither and age, while his remained untouched by time. The thought of standing beside him as nothing more than an old, fragile woman was unbearable. Her resolve hardened.
"Then, Chiga," she said firmly, her eyes locking onto his, "turn me into an android."
Her words carried no fear, only determination.
Chiga studied her in silence. Immortality surgery was well within his reach, and the transformation of a body was trivial for one wielding both the power of the Ōtsutsuki and the Ope-Ope no Mi. Unlike Gero's crude, bloody methods—filled with implanted bombs and mutilation—his way would be painless, seamless.
For most, becoming an android was a nightmare. For Lazuli, it was a path to remain by his side forever.
Chiga's lips curved into a faint smile. "Very well," he said softly, "if that is your wish, then so it shall be."
______
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