"Zehahaha! Kaido, Big Mom! So this is your base?" Blackbeard laughed as he led his crew along the path.
Before him stood the two Emperors, along with Bullet, Redfield and their top scientists—Queen, Caesar, and Judge.
Hearing his footsteps, Bullet turned to look.
A look of disdain immediately crossed his face.
"Hmph, who do we have here? Just some nobody." He sneered. "With all these useless people around, surely you don't mean this guy is joining our alliance?"
"You..." Blackbeard's face twisted with rage at the blatant insult.
Though furious, he held back from attacking as he was clearly intimidated.
He had witnessed Bullet's power firsthand and knew just how terrifying he was.
"Zehahaha!" Blackbeard suddenly laughed, his expression turning arrogant.
"Bullet, want to fight?"
"Hmph, you think you're in a position to decide that?" Bullet retorted coldly.
"I think it's definitely worth a shot!" Blackbeard's eyes burned with a mad confidence, a flicker of greed passing through them.
'The Gasha-Gasha no-mi...' he thought. 'Such a powerful ability.'
"Alright, alright," Big Mom said with a laugh, stepping between them.
"I didn't bring him here to fight you, Bullet. This is our new ally, Blackbeard Teach, formerly of the Whitebeard Pirates." Big Mom and Kaido had agreed to his request to join, seeing the value in his knowledge of Whitebeard's crew and the formidable strength of his own allies.
"Enough wasting time. Let's discuss how to make a technological breakthrough," Kaido grumbled, taking a swig of liquor.
"Exactly," Big Mom fumed. "The Marines now have their advanced Seraphim, and Whitebeard has mastered the technology for a second Devil Fruit. We're far behind."
"It's an insult that the three of our scientists combined can't match that little monster in the Navy, let alone what the Whitebeard Pirates have managed to replicate!"
"Not only that," Redfield added grimly.
"according to my latest intel, Whitebeard and Red-Hair have formed an alliance. Shanks somehow acquired Seraphim technology and is said to be developing his own models. Their strength will skyrocket. In comparison, our progress is the slowest."
Hearing this, everyone's expression darkened.
"Caesar, Judge, Queen. What do you have to say?" Big Mom asked the three scientists.
They exchanged uneasy glances before stepping forward with resigned sighs.
"Big Mom," Judge admitted, "with our current technology, a breakthrough in the short term seems unlikely. Whether it's the second Devil Fruit or the advanced Seraphim... we're struggling to solve these challenges."
Kaido and Big Mom's faces grew even grimmer.
"Hehe, you guys having trouble?" Blackbeard interjected with a dark chuckle.
"Hm?" Everyone turned to him.
"Blackbeard, what do you mean?" Bullet narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"Zehahaha, I might have a better way. Interested?"
"Bullet, don't interrupt," Kaido ordered. "Let him speak."
Blackbeard ignored Bullet and smirked at Kaido.
"It's simple. Kaido, I need you to execute a Devil Fruit user for me."
The command stunned everyone.
"Why?!" they demanded.
Blackbeard only smiled mysteriously. "Just do as I say. You'll understand soon enough."
Though puzzled, Kaido complied, ordering King to capture a nearby Devil Fruit user.
Soon, King returned with an unconscious pirate—a user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Hyena.
"Perfect! Zehahaha!" Blackbeard swaggered forward. "Now, bring me someone without any abilities."
Confused but curious, Kaido called over one of his subordinates.
Blackbeard approached the unconscious pirate and, without hesitation, beheaded him on the spot.
"Now, witness the miracle!" he cackled wildly, unleashing the power of his Dark-Dark Fruit.
A deep, dark mist emanated from his hand as he grasped the severed head.
The mist enveloped the body, then dissipated moments later.
"Come here," Blackbeard said, grinning at the regular Beast Pirate member.
"Go," Kaido commanded coldly.
Trembling, the pirate approached Blackbeard.
Blackbeard's hand shot out and struck him in the chest.
"Ah... huh? I'm fine? Wait... I feel..." The Beast Pirate shuddered, and before the stunned eyes of the assembled Emperors and their crews, his body began to transform rapidly.
With a low roar, the member of the Beast Pirates underwent a shocking transformation.
His entire body contorted into that of a ferocious hyena, baring sharp, menacing fangs while emitting low growls.
"W-what happened to me? Am I a Devil Fruit user now?!" He stared in shock at his hand, which had turned into a claw, his face filled with disbelief.
Witnessing this, Kaido, Big Mom, and the others were equally astonished.
"What is going on?!" Kaido couldn't help but ask.
"Zehahahaha! This is the incredible power of my Devil Fruit!" Blackbeard declared proudly.
"Normally, when a Devil Fruit user dies, their ability reincarnates into the nearest suitable fruit. But I can use my power to strip the ability from a recently deceased user before it leaves the body and grant it to someone else. This way, I can turn anyone into a Devil Fruit user."
Upon hearing this, Kaido and the others wore expressions of pure shock.
"Does that mean," Kaido exclaimed, his face lighting up with wild excitement.
"By hunting enough Devil Fruit users, we could create an endless army of ability users?!" He had long harbored ambitions of building an unstoppable army of Zoan users, but this... this was a path to reviving his dream on an even grander scale.
"Exactly! It's entirely possible!" Blackbeard gloated. "And unlike the Navy's second Devil Fruit experiments, this method isn't random. We can target specific abilities and grant them to the right individuals."
Thinking of this, Kaido, Big Mom, and the others were overjoyed.
"I think it's too early to celebrate," Redfield interjected, pouring cold water on their excitement.
"Don't forget how powerful the Whitebeard and Red Hair alliance is now. An army of ability users is strong, but it might not be enough to overcome a single, top-tier fighter like Whitebeard."
He was stating a hard truth: their method relied on killing users to steal their powers, but obtaining the abilities of legends like Whitebeard or an Admiral was nearly impossible, as the prerequisite was being able to kill them first.
Furthermore, the ability could only be granted to non-users; it was of no use to the powerful Devil Fruit users already in their alliance.
"That's right," Bullet nodded. "What we need most is top-tier combat power. We must become dual Devil Fruit users ourselves. Otherwise, facing Whitebeard or the Marines, our only option will be to flee."
Hearing this, Kaido and Big Mom's excitement was tempered.
"Wait!"
Just as everyone was frowning in thought, Vinsmoke Judge's eyes suddenly lit up.
"I have an idea! I have an idea!"
Instantly, all eyes turned to him.
"Although our technology isn't advanced enough to replicate a second Devil Fruit from scratch, that doesn't mean we can't alter a person's physical constitution!" Judge declared.
"Constitutions?" Kaido and the others looked puzzled.
Before they could fully grasp it, Queen and Caesar suddenly understood, their eyes shining with realization.
"He means we can modify someone's body to handle two Devil Fruits! We combine that with Blackbeard's ability, and we can perfectly create dual Devil Fruit users! We could grant everyone in this alliance a second ability!"
Hearing this, Kaido, Big Mom, Bullet, and Redfield were stunned, then their faces broke into expressions of utter amazement.
The plan actually sounded feasible.
"Hahahaha! Excellent!" Kaido laughed maniacally. "Let's do it!"
A proud smile spread across Caesar's face.
"If we're talking pure physical modification, I have my research on human gigantification. The three of us working together, building on that foundation... we could definitely enhance a body to handle three, even four Devil Fruits!"
"Three fruits... four fruits!"
At these words, Kaido and the others gasped, their breathing quickening.
They knew exactly what that implied.
Whitebeard, with only two Devil Fruit abilities, had become a monster.
If they gained the abilities of three, or even four fruits... wouldn't that surpass the former overlord, Rocks, himself?
In that moment, they could almost see the near future: themselves wielding multiple Devil Fruit abilities, crushing Whitebeard, and bringing the Navy to its knees.
The entire world would tremble and crawl at their feet.
"Alright!" Kaido and the others couldn't contain their excitement, turning to look at Blackbeard and the science team led by Judge.
"Then this grand plan is in your hands!"
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