On the God's Island of Skypiea, Apayado.
With the return of the Arlong Pirates, when they saw the object being tested at the Golden Plaza, Jewelry Bonney burst into laughter in shock and excitement, leaping onto Bartholomew Kuma's face and planting kisses on him. Kuma's grin didn't fade for even a second.
"I knew the Paw-Paw Fruit was powerful, but I never imagined it could be this outrageous!!"
Even Souta Kiryuu was utterly astonished. Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit ability could actually send things back and forth between the Moon and Skypiea.
This wasn't just some bugged-out ability—this was god-tier power!
"That's amazing! Now we can go to the Moon whenever we want to play!"
Bonney was thrilled, realizing that the Moon was now essentially the territory of the Arlong Pirates—putting them ahead of the entire world.
"Even the Den Den Mushi are incredible. They can actually pick up signal fluctuations from the Moon," Dr. Vegapunk exclaimed in excitement. Although the signals had a slight delay of a few seconds, they still came through. With the invention of a signal amplifier, Vegapunk believed the issue could be drastically improved.
This discovery made Vegapunk even consider relocating his massive brain from the giant vine to the Moon itself. There, he could harness its environment to create a colossal signal transmitter capable of affecting a third of the world.
And the Moon seemed much closer than anyone had ever imagined.
Why had no one thought of landing on the Moon before?
"Whatever ideas you've got, go do them!" Souta Kiryuu laughed. He had already begun to consider the Moon his territory. Even if Skypiea were discovered in the future, they would still have a safe fallback. Their strength would only continue to grow; even if Skypiea was exposed one day, they'd have the power to resist.
Meanwhile, inside Capone Bege's castle-body, the Moon's mechanical soldiers were released to form Skypiea's twenty-four-hour patrol squad. Though not the strongest fighters, their tireless nature made them invaluable.
Vegapunk also discovered another powerful energy system in the city of Birka—an electricity-based power source capable of transforming gigantic robots into electrically powered weapons.
This excited Souta. After all, that giant robot had once stormed the Holy Land of Mary Geoise two hundred years ago and wreaked havoc. If it hadn't run out of power, it could have been another Fisher Tiger-level incident.
"Captain, the Beasts Pirates are repeatedly contacting us. When can we begin trading the artificial Devil Fruits?" Laffitte, their diplomat, had only just returned to Skypiea and was already being pressured. Clearly, Kaido was eager to witness the artificial Devil Fruits himself.
"Make them wait a little longer. I'll head to Wano Country personally when the time comes!" Souta replied thoughtfully. The item in Kozuki Sukiyaki's hands and the Smelt-Smelt Fruit user both had to be seized. Yamato, however, wasn't nearly as important.
Would Kaido really hand over his only child so easily? That man had always intended for Yamato to become Wano's shogun, ruling it entirely—and eventually seizing the ancient warship Pluton.
Kaido already knew Pluton rested in Wano. He had even dispatched Fishmen to scout its location. But Kaido hadn't revealed it yet, knowing his current forces weren't strong enough to defy the World Government. His obsession with artificial Devil Fruits was born of his desire to forge an army of ability-users, who, paired with Pluton, could finally challenge the world itself.
"Lately, the World Government has been keeping a close watch. Germa, the Golden Emperor, even underground figures like Doflamingo and the Shipping King have been targeted. Our supply chains could run into serious trouble."
Capone Bege, after receiving several Den Den Mushi updates, hurried to report to Souta. Large-scale transactions across the seas were all being monitored by the World Government. Though Bege and Kuma's abilities made smuggling resources easier, their allied forces couldn't move as freely anymore.
"Tch! Don't forget our advantage! If they won't sell to us, we'll just rob the World Government's supplies! I don't believe every fleet transporting Heavenly Tribute and resources has an admiral-level escort! And even now, a single admiral isn't enough to stop us!" Souta sneered. With his growing mastery of Conqueror's Haki infusion, he no longer feared the admirals. Even if he couldn't yet defeat one head-on, he could at least stall them long enough.
Meanwhile, Kuma, Enel, and Moria weren't idle figures either. They could assist Souta against admirals, creating openings for the crew to loot the World Government's convoys.
"Captain's dominance is unmatched!" Laffitte quickly chimed in. Without realizing it, their crew's strength had already risen to the point where they could contend with the Yonko. Facing a single admiral was no longer unthinkable.
"Notify Dragon. It's time to make a move on the Flower Country and Sang Country!" Souta grinned. With supply lines tightening, they would simply plunder two pirate-affiliated nations under the Government's banner. That way, they'd have money and resources while humiliating the World Government.
"Understood, my captain!" Laffitte's own wicked smile spread. War would soon break out again—this time targeting two West Blue nations allied to the Government. In looting them, they'd also slap the World Government in the face.
If the Celestial Dragons dared to use Sorbet Kingdom to threaten Kuma, then Souta would strike back at their vassal states.
Inside Vegapunk's laboratory—
Under the meticulous care of his robotic avatars, Thought: Edison and Wisdom: Pythagoras, four more avatars finally emerged from their incubation pods: Righteousness: Shaka, Evil: Lilith, Violence: Atlas, and Desire: York—one male and three females.
Thanks to the massive Punk Records brain network, they could instantly share memories. Within moments, they were ready to begin their work, syncing daily uploads to maintain memory integration with Vegapunk's main body.
At Souta's request, Vegapunk even installed strict failsafes into his Desire clone to prevent selfish impulses. Souta also forbade her from mingling with outsiders—she would remain confined to the lab, serving only as the caretaker for Vegapunk's daily needs.
"The Seraphim are nearly ready for deployment. You should give them names!" Vegapunk said eagerly. The Pacifistas were merely numbered PX-1 through PX-20. For instance, the Seraphim modeled after Kuma had been designated S-Kuma.
"Then let's call them the Six Paths of Souta: Deva Path, Asura Path, Naraka Path, Human Path, Preta Path, and Animal Path!" Souta declared as he looked at the six Seraphim, each resembling him slightly. Still, their brown skin, white hair, black wings, and starry pupils made them distinct.