In Genichi's plans, Kenshin Himura and Ah Xing still needed more training before they could come out. Their talents had been limited by their original world, and in the One Piece world, they would need time to grow.
There were also the superpowered babies created by his "human-making machine." According to Genichi's estimate, the powers these babies were born with were about equal in strength to the fire breath of a demon hatchling. Basically, they were like drawing a character card worth one hundred thousand negative emotion points.
But it seemed they grew quickly, aged fast, and would likely die of old age in less than ten years. Their growth ceiling wasn't very high either…
Genichi thought this was a real pity. Otherwise, he could have mass-produced a whole army of superhumans. In the end, items drawn with one hundred thousand positive points were never going to be too broken. At the very least, they were more than enough to mass-produce foot soldiers.
When they grew older, their powers should get stronger. If he also had them train in Haki, even if they weren't fit for major battles, they'd still be useful in everyday situations.
Aside from them, the only one left was the demon hatchling. Genichi had taken four of the five Shikon Jewel shards he had just drawn and fused them into it, along with the Sheep Talisman.
The Sheep Talisman had originally been one of Shendu's powers, part of his demonic abilities. It wasn't really a main combat skill, but against weaker opponents, it could force their souls out of their bodies.
Now, the demon hatchling had arrived in Dressrosa. In the future it would be ruled by Doflamingo, but for now it was still under King Riku's line. The ruler didn't matter. What mattered was that Marine Admiral Zephyr was on his way here.
Zephyr's first mission after being promoted to Admiral was to investigate the mysterious man known as Zero, starting with the member nations of the World Government.
Dressrosa wasn't big—less than ten kilometers across. The demon hatchling stepped onto the land and headed straight for the royal palace. With four Shikon shards fused into it, its strength was at the level of a pirate worth several hundred million. In this time, in this poor country that hadn't seen war for centuries, that was already extremely powerful.
As long as…
The Marines didn't come.
Covered in a black cloak, the demon hatchling moved through the night. The people of the island, used to long peace, failed to notice the strange figure. It reached the outer walls of the palace without anyone realizing.
With an agile leap, it jumped over the wall and entered. But inside the wall lay the King's Plateau, a massive fortress few could enter. Even so, the hatchling, empowered by the Shikon shards, was beginning to rival Shendu himself.
Its body was maturing. Its powers were awakening. Slowly, it even gained Shendu's ability to fly. Though still clumsy, it was rising. And since the Dressrosa royal family had no Violet with her clairvoyance yet, no one noticed the demon under the moonlit sky.
At the gates of the palace hall, the doors were shut tight, with a squad of guards standing watch. When they saw the cloaked figure, at first they doubted their eyes. But soon they realized the truth, raised their guns, and shouted: "Who are you?! Stop right there, or we have the right to kill you!"
What they saw was a cloaked stranger walking toward the doors, his body oddly shaped, dragging something behind him. Clearly, he was up to no good. Dressrosa hadn't seen war in centuries, but being in the New World, of course they had to stay wary of pirates.
But before their words even finished, a massive wave of fire swept at them!
The flames lit up the night, and before they could react, their bodies were engulfed. The explosion roared from the gates, its shockwave blasting the guards to the ground.
The palace doors shattered under the force. Light from within spilled out, revealing the demon hatchling's form. At that instant, chaos broke out. No one had stormed the palace in centuries—this was a direct challenge to the country itself!
"Who goes there?!"
Dressrosa was a World Government member state. Attacking it was the same as challenging the Government itself, and Marines would respond. That was why almost no one ever attacked a country openly. But now came the demon hatchling, a being that didn't care about the world's rules.
Still, the country's emergency response was quick. After the sound of the explosion and the gates breaking, the guards inside were already moving. The king, the princess, and the royal family were all woken from their sleep.
Seeing the hall packed with guards, the Little Demon Dragon didn't breathe out more fire. He only stared as more and more people filled the palace—some with guns, some with swords or axes, and among them were skilled fighters. But none of them attacked right away, because they finally saw Little Demon Dragon's true form.
Under the lights, his green skin and lizard-like body were plain to see, his fangs and claws terrifying, and his blood-red eyes full of rage. None of them had ever seen such a creature before. Was he a Devil Fruit user?
Hearing their doubts, Little Demon Dragon grinned wickedly and said, "I am a demon… Well, looks like your leader finally showed up. Boring talk time is over. Hand over the Shikon Jewel shard!"
He noticed someone important walking slowly from the back of the crowd. As soon as this man appeared, the others cleared a path. He stepped forward, meeting Little Demon Dragon's eyes without fear. But after hearing Little Demon Dragon's demand, he frowned.
"The Shikon Jewel shard?"
Of course, he had heard of it—it was the hottest rumor on the seas lately. They said that if you gathered all the shards, the jewel could grant any wish. Ever since that rumor spread, the seas had boiled with chaos. Back then, he had worried whether the storm would reach Dressrosa. And now, just as he feared, trouble had arrived…
"If you came for that, you can leave. Dressrosa doesn't have the shard you're looking for."
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