The moment Caesar spoke, the temperature in the courtyard seemed to plummet.
Jorna and Bella were so terrified that they clung to each other while trembling uncontrollably.
"Mamamama, Caesar, you're too scary! You frightened them, hehe."
Linlin covered her mouth, giggling.
Caesar wasn't joking, though.
Regarding Blackbeard, he had already decided—either kill him outright or alter his memory, turning him into a pawn to be rooted in the New World.
"Fine, I'll just modify his memory. From now on, you three will..."
Caesar pinched his chin, pondering for a moment before continuing, "From now on, you'll be my children."
"Huh??"
Jorna and Bella widened their eyes, staring at Caesar in shock and confusion.
Linlin burst into laughter, her whole body shaking with mirth.
Caesar's face darkened.
"What's so funny, Linlin?" he asked dryly.
Linlin clutched her stomach, laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
"Mamamama, I just thought of something hilarious. Caesar, now that you have the Memory-Memory Fruit power, everyone you defeat will have their memories altered. Just imagine—soon, the entire New World... no, the entire sea will be filled with your children! Pirates, revolutionaries, marines, even the World Nobles—all one big happy family, mamamama! I can't take it! Why don't you just turn all those old-timers like Redfield and Ganzui into our kids too? That'd be so funny!"
"Uh..."
Caesar was stunned, his lips twitching.
He hadn't thought that far ahead.
But Linlin's idea... actually made a lot of sense.
Caesar stroked his chin, considering the feasibility.
"It won't work, Linlin. For weak-willed people, sure, but the strong ones—if they realize their memories don't match their surroundings, it'll cause memory confusion and mental breakdowns."
"But... Borororo! It's a great idea. I think we should try it. Hehehe, after tomorrow's meeting, I'll invite all those pirate captains for a nice little... 'chat.'"
A sinister smile crept onto Caesar's lips.
As he spoke, Caesar reached out toward Teach.
But just as his hand touched Teach's head, he paused, frowning.
"Wait... no, that's not right!"
Linlin blinked in confusion. "What's not right?"
Caesar pointed at the two floating girls, then at Teach's soul.
"I just extracted Teach's memories, but what I saw was only his—not all three of theirs. That means even though there are three souls in one body, the memory host is only Teach himself. If I alter them, only Teach's memories will change."
Linlin finally understood and frowned, gesturing at Jorna and Bella.
"So you're saying their memories remain untouched, unaffected by you. But since they're hiding in Teach's mind, if they tell the memory-altered Teach the truth, your modification will fail?"
Caesar nodded, "Exactly, that's the point. Whew, good thing I didn't directly alter his memories and send him back to the New World. Thank goodness you're here, Linlin. If you hadn't pulled out their souls, I wouldn't have thought of this. Almost wasted all that effort."
"So what do we do? Kill Teach? His combat prowess is excellent. If we just kill him, unless we can obtain the newly emerged Dark-Dark Fruit and Tremor-Tremor Fruit, it would be such a shame."
Linlin seemed reluctant to kill him.
After all, those who can grow to Teach's level are few and far between on the high seas.
Such high-tier combat power, once lost, is gone.
To cultivate another one would take decades of effort.
The Beast God Pirates have many elites, and quite a few who could become high-tier fighters.
For example, King and Yamato both have great talent and considerable strength.
But they're still a step away from the top.
And that small step is enough to block the vast majority of people on the high seas.
"Linlin, you're the master of souls. Do you have any ideas? Like separating those two out? Or sealing them away? As long as they don't affect Teach's judgment, I can proceed with the memory alteration."
Caesar asked her again.
"Separate? Seal?"
Linlin blinked, surprised by Caesar's suggestion.
Immediately, she extended her hand, grabbing Jorna's body and pulling outward.
"AHHH! No! It hurts!"
Jorna let out a piercing scream, startling her younger sister Bella, who was hiding behind her.
Bella exploded into a puff of smoke, coiling around Jorna's legs as if trying to pull her back.
Jorna's body was held by Linlin, her legs turning into thin smoke, stretching into a long, slender thread still connected to Teach's head.
"Huh? It's possible, Caesar. If you need, I can help separate these two for you. Are you sure?"
Linlin held the struggling, terrified Jorna in one hand while shadows spread over her other hand, forming the shape of scissors.
With just a snip to cut the thread connecting Jorna's feet, her soul would detach from Teach's mind.
"I'm thinking about another issue."
Caesar said with some frustration, "Teach's two abilities are split between himself and this girl. If you separate her out, wouldn't the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power disappear? Or would it follow the girl and leave Teach's body? If that happens, Teach would go from being a dual-Fruit user to two single-Fruit users."
Linlin was stunned, looking at Caesar in surprise.
She sighed, "Caesar, you... you really think far ahead. I hadn't considered that. But if that happens, wouldn't it be better? Turning one top-tier fighter into two."
"It's not that simple, Linlin. Teach's Haki and physical strength are also strong, and most importantly, his willpower." Caesar pointed at the terrified Jorna and said.
"With such a temperament, even with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power, you'll never become a true strong one. It would only waste a good Devil Fruit ability, and it's better not to separate it at all. Moreover, there's the risk of the ability disappearing. And if you do separate them, in what form would they exist? As souls, they'd probably just dissipate, right?"
"There's no need to worry about that. I can find them two bodies and turn them from souls into living humans."
"What?! Turn us into living humans?!"
At Linlin's words, Jorna who had been struggling incessantly froze in shock.
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