The next second.
Sanji's figure was suddenly hurled backwards, crashing through the wall and flying out of the building with a violent crash.
"Unreasonable people, don't come near me!"
A timid, soft, and somewhat childish voice came from a puppet standing nearby.
It was clear that she was the one responsible for sending Sanji flying just now.
Seeing Sanji looking so miserable and defeated, Usopp, who had been standing to the side, patted his chest in relief. Thank goodness I didn't try that just now, he thought to himself. Sure enough, nothing involving Leo's creations is ever simple.
"Creator, Veris sends you her regards."
The puppet Willis—her movements stiff and mechanical at first—soon became more fluid and graceful as she took a few careful steps forward.
She walked up to Leo and gently pinched the hem of his skirt, performing an unusually ladylike bow.
Vivi's pupils suddenly contracted when she saw this. She immediately recalled the faint, transparent beam of light that had just emerged from her own body moments ago.
Moreover, Willis's movements were exactly the same as those her father had forced her to practice repeatedly since she was a child.
The corners of Leo's mouth lifted into an extremely satisfied smile.
It seemed that his experiment had truly succeeded.
"Hello, Willis," Leo greeted her warmly, then pointed toward Vivi with a knowing smile. "Welcome to this world. But your real controller should be that person."
"Wait a minute!" Vivi's eyes widened, startled by Leo's words. She looked directly at Willis and then back at Leo, confused and anxious. "Who is she? What does she have to do with me? Why do I feel like she looks so familiar?"
Her tone was hurried, tinged with obvious worry.
"Yes, Leo," Nami chimed in after recovering from her own shock. "Uh… what's going on here?"
The others didn't ask aloud but pricked up their ears with curiosity. Sanji, despite his disheveled and battered state—having been beaten three times today—dragged himself closer, his eyes burning with intense curiosity.
After all, who could resist wanting to know more about such a special lady… and a magical creature at that?
"How do I explain this…? Let me put it this way, Vivi, you are like her mother."
Leo carefully organized his words, preparing to say something particularly shocking.
"Ahhh!!!"
Everyone around gasped in surprise. Their eyes darted quickly between Vivi and Willis.
Vivi herself was stunned for a moment, then overwhelmed with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
What the hell! she thought. I've never even been in a relationship before—how could I possibly be a mother? How will I ever face anyone now?
But at the same time, why were this girl's movements exactly the same as the ones she had been taught? Why did she have this vague sense of familiarity? What was going on?
"What's so shocking about it?" Leo said, seeing the confusion and tension in the room. "Even though Willis was created by me, she also contains a part of Vivi."
"Um?!" Nami and the others stared wide-eyed. This news was explosive. Their gazes flickered rapidly between Vivi and Leo.
Some looked at Vivi with sympathy, others at Leo with suspicion.
Sanji's expression was more envy than anger—he looked ready to challenge Leo to a fight just to prove something.
Now Vivi wasn't just sad or angry; her eyes were red with fury as she glared at Leo.
"If you don't give a proper explanation, I'll make sure you know that Princess Vivi's teeth aren't something to mess with!" she declared fiercely.
"Um... I can explain~" Leo said awkwardly, noticing the sudden shift in atmosphere. Realizing what was going through everyone's minds, he braced himself and spoke carefully.
"Bah, scumbag!"
Nami was the first to break the silence, scoffing loudly before turning her head away.
Luffy laughed heartily, slapping his thigh. "Haha! Leo, you're hilarious."
Usopp grinned, flashing his teeth, and gave Leo a thumbs up. "That's awesome!"
"Enough!" Leo snapped, a little annoyed.
After all, after all the fighting he'd gone through with these guys, they weren't afraid of him at all anymore. Just wait—I'll get my revenge.
Once Luffy and the others quieted down, Leo began his explanation.
---
The Taboo of Creation Magic
The puppet Veris is notorious and terrifying to create. According to records, she's incredibly difficult to make, but her strength is formidable—easily capable of defeating someone like the fat guy Moria.
What makes her truly terrifying, though, is that her strength increases over time, and she can eventually be regarded as a completely new life form.
Over time, the highest level of such a creation approaches the power of legendary gods.
In particular, the records about Velis—another puppet—include detailed descriptions of her origins.
In her original form, she was a test subject created by a magician from a certain dimension, specifically designed to test the possibility of reaching divine power.
After fulfilling this purpose, she was placed in the Central Magic Academy for a long time, serving as a teaching aid to inspire novice magicians.
However, following the death of a little girl, Velis unexpectedly gained her own consciousness.
This unexpected awakening allowed the magicians who created her to discover new possibilities. Most of the magicians then gathered to perfect the manufacturing method of Velis.
They claimed to have found a way to become gods—by transferring their souls and magical power into Velis.
The irony was brutal: the plane where they lived was eventually destroyed by the gods they had created with their own hands.
The one I gave to Ajian before was a semi-finished product, but even as a semi-finished model, it could easily overpower ten Arlongs.
Leo's order to the puppet was simple: protect Kokoa West Village.
In the East Blue, where no major pirate crews existed, nothing should go wrong.
As for the finished product—Velis herself—she not only requires a backbone condensed from pure magical power but also needs someone close to the essence of the elements to personally assemble her.
These two requirements alone are enough to stump most magicians, not to mention the additional challenge of integrating human emotions into the puppets.
That this puppet was successfully produced this time was due entirely to a series of rare coincidences.
The backbone condensed by Leo's magic power fulfilled the first requirement.
Nami, who possessed a green spirit close to the essence of the elements, completed the assembly, barely meeting the second requirement.
The third point—infusing the puppet with spirituality—was the most difficult.
After Vivi finally let go of her emotional burdens, Leo extracted a portion of her ultimate emotions and endowed Velis with genuine spirituality.
All of this happened too coincidentally and beyond Leo's expectations.
If he had known it would go so smoothly, he wouldn't have let Nami bother sewing those ten dolls.
Not only was it a waste of money, but it was also useless.
At most, Leo could only make a few to give to Ajian.
The research he had been conducting day and night during this period had finally paid off.
Strictly speaking, he was the one who had created a future god.
---
"That's it," Leo concluded. "Although Willis is a puppet, there's one thing you need to remember: she's also a real living being and will slowly develop her own emotions. Don't treat her as a mere weapon."
After listening to Leo's explanation, Vivi finally realized that she had misunderstood the situation.
She lowered her head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
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