Staring at the so-called remains of Pluton before him, Kuzan (Aokiji) was utterly speechless.
His worldview had just been shattered.
Back when he served in the Navy, the warships he boarded were impressive — metal-reinforced and imposing — but never once did he imagine a fully metallic ship could actually sail.
But what shook him even more was…
—It didn't even have sails.
Which meant, it didn't rely on wind to move.
Pluton's scale was staggering — its exact length unknown, but easily several hundred meters. Under the sunlight, its metallic body shimmered coldly. The deck alone resembled a small island, and dozens of dark cannon ports lined its sides like ominous eyes.
Each cannon was massive, far surpassing anything mounted on a Marine warship.
The only thing that could compare might've been the colossal cannons once housed at Marineford Headquarters.
"Th-this is Pluton…?" Kuzan asked in disbelief.
> "What else did you think it was?"
Sabo gave him a side glance that practically screamed you uncultured rookie.
Honestly, when he had first seen Pluton, Sabo's reaction was far worse — he'd been so shaken that he slept for three days straight aboard it.
But upon learning this was only a portion of the actual Pluton, he'd become obsessed with the idea of building one himself.
That was, until Ghidorah informed him that Pluton was originally constructed by the first user of the Dark-Dark Fruit combined with the Swallow-Swallow Fruit.
After hearing that, Sabo had gone a bit crazy.
Of course, Ghidorah hadn't told him everything — like the fact that the original creator of Pluton wasn't even human, but rather a robot.
In fact, the war 800 years ago had started because the blueprints for Pluton were stolen, leading to a wave of self-righteous fools who tried to replicate it.
But Ghidorah wasn't worried about that technology. Back on Bika, the ancient tech was far more advanced.
Even the inventions of the World Government's science division were little more than leftovers from what his people had discarded.
But back to the point.
"So this is really the legendary Pluton — the one they say can destroy an island with a single shot?"
"Man, why are you still asking?"
"Tell you what: join us, and I'll take you onboard for a tour."
Sabo raised an eyebrow at him teasingly.
Kuzan gave him a look.
Do I look like someone who gets excited over ships?
"Alright. I'll join you."
He added,
"But I'm not interested in Pluton. I just think you people might really change the world — and I want to witness that."
"Heh… Whatever. I don't care about the reason — just that you've joined."
Sabo clapped him on the shoulder.
"Now get ready to work."
Kuzan was still confused by what kind of "work" he meant, but before he could ask, a tide of darkness surged out from beneath Sabo's feet.
It swept across the ground like a flood, covering the entire half of the island in seconds.
"Tch…"
Kuzan sucked in a cold breath.
His own Ice-Ice Fruit could freeze that much, sure — but the sheer visual impact of that expanding darkness felt far more terrifying.
"Swallow!"
Sabo whispered.
At his command, the darkness suddenly boiled, like a raging sea during a storm.
CRACK!
BOOM!
Boulders shattered. Trees toppled.
The entire island seemed like it was being consumed by a natural disaster.
Kuzan stared in disbelief.
Was this really the same energy he had just fought against?
Within mere minutes, half the island had already been devoured.
"This… is this even a Devil Fruit power anymore?"
He wasn't exactly a scholar, but even he knew a bit about black holes — and this was monstrous.
Before he could digest it, another colossal wave of darkness began rising behind Sabo, blotting out the sky.
It loomed until it hovered directly above Pluton's hull.
Sabo's body was drenched in sweat, his face pale as a corpse. But even in such a state, he gritted his teeth and hissed:
"Synthesize—RELEASE!"
Sabo might not be the strongest in combat with his dual fruits, but in support and logistics, he was number one, hands down.
And now, the black mass above Pluton began to rain down various materials.
Metal. Bricks. Tiles. Pipes. Beams.
Even strange tools and processed lumber.
Some useful. Some not. But for a forward base, everything could find a use.
"What the hell…"
Kuzan murmured.
He had never seen anything so surreal.
What went in were rocks, trees, and biomass.
What came out were refined materials and even bone-carved ornaments.
What the hell is this guy?
Kuzan suddenly realized — the young man beside him didn't even feel human anymore.
He felt like a walking factory, or worse… a machine.
Then a terrifying thought entered his mind:
Could he swallow Devil Fruit users too?
It sounded crazy, but after witnessing this… he wasn't so sure.
What Kuzan didn't know was that Sabo absolutely could.
The Dark-Dark Fruit naturally countered all Devil Fruits and could suck them in.
But Sabo's Swallow-Swallow Fruit took it a step further: anything he absorbed — even living beings — could be transformed into new creations, often retaining aspects of their original powers.
Sabo… had essentially become a living anomaly.
"Ugh, I'm beat…"
Sabo collapsed, exhausted, after completing the full synthesis and offloading process.
He looked like a drowned dog, completely out of energy.
"Chief Sabo!"
Just then, a birdman descended from Pluton, landing in front of him with eyes full of admiration.
Sabo's abilities and his logistical genius were no secret in the Logistics Division. In fact, most of the troops were immensely proud of him.
"Hey, Pell."
Sabo looked up and recognized the visitor — it was Pell, the former Vice Captain of the Arabasta Royal Guard.
Glancing at the now-barren island, Sabo said:
"This island's tapped. Let's move on to the next."
Then he gestured to Kuzan beside him.
"Oh, and let me introduce you — this is Aokiji Kuzan."
He deliberately avoided calling him "Aokiji," since that codename no longer suited him.
As a former representative of a World Government-affiliated nation, Pell had long known of Aokiji.
But never had he imagined that a former Admiral would end up on their side.
His respect was sincere.
"Kuzan-san, sir! I'm Pell — Captain of the 3rd Logistics Division, Bird-Bird Fruit user!"
Kuzan, still unaccustomed to all this formality, gave a vague nod.
"Ah… don't worry about titles."
He muttered, awkwardly.
And with that, Sabo led them both back toward Pluton.
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