Upon seeing this, Roya's heart grew unbearably heavy.
The alien civilization had already revealed two formidable forms of biotechnology: the black slime, and bodily metallization — and, for now, there were no good countermeasures for either.
Especially the black slime's trait of mutating hosts into mindless monsters driven solely by slaughter — if such an outbreak were to occur on a global scale, it would undoubtedly be an apocalyptic disaster.
If top-tier Devil Fruit users like the Four Emperors of the sea or the Admirals of the Navy were to lose control simultaneously, the destruction they could cause would be beyond all measure.
The physical enhancement effect that black slime granted its hosts was far stronger than the "Sakura Poison" that the Sakura Dragon had simulated — by several orders of magnitude.
"These Devil Fruits truly are the root of all evil! They appear to grant humanity unmatched abilities, but in truth, they are constantly forcing the body to ripen, compelling it to draw upon the planet's core essence, and — at the cost of human life — convert that essence into black slime!"
"No wonder so few Devil Fruit users meet a good end! No matter how powerful they become, they are eventually drained dry by the fruit, killed by those coveting it, and the fruit is taken anew!"
Roya's mind raced, turning over possible solutions to the Devil Fruit problem.
"Right now, there are perhaps a thousand Devil Fruit users worldwide. If an outbreak were to spread, with them devouring flesh to grow stronger, it would be nearly impossible to contain."
"Since Vegapunk has already managed to create artificial fruits, he must also have a way to extract Devil Fruits from the human body."
"Once that method is verified, we must, in the name of the World Government, quickly gather these users together — by force if necessary, persuasion if possible — and remove the fruits within them. The sooner we achieve a Devil Fruit–free world, the better!"
Roya was confident that with his current influence among pirates, coupled with the rallying power of the Four Emperors and the Supernovas, convincing the pirate side would be no problem.
The Navy, as a disciplined organization, would be even easier.
For the scattered few unwilling to give up their powers, he could simply send Lucci to form a specialized hunting squad to track them down and eliminate them across the world.
But the alien civilization's other biotechnology — the metallization of bodies as seen in Im and Vegapunk — was far trickier.
The greatest concern was Roya's intuition telling him that this strange metal might be contagious.
That made him wary of probing or analyzing it with his spiritual sense, lest he risk infection.
A thought struck him — seastone.
He quickly focused his spiritual sense, continuing to delve into the Star Spirit's ancient memories.
Like a white colt flashing past a gap, another cycle of seeding and harvesting went by.
This time, there were indeed differences.
As the Star Spirit's ionized energy accumulated, the quantity and variety of recorded events increased, and primitive emotional fluctuations began to emerge.
Instinctively, it developed an intense hatred for the vast quantities of black slime parasitizing its body, constantly using lifeforms to drain its energy.
Under the influence of this hatred, certain extraordinarily powerful individuals emerged among humanity.
They refused to consume any Devil Fruit, and harbored deep loathing and aversion toward those who did.
Although each fought alone, they devoted their entire lives to hunting Devil Fruit users.
Meanwhile, in the oceans, a special substance began to form — one that made the sea itself hostile to Devil Fruit users.
From this cycle onward, Devil Fruit users began to suffer complete physical weakness upon contact with seawater, unable to use their abilities.
Seeing this, Roya felt a flicker of hope — but also a creeping sense of foreboding.
Soon enough, the pyramid descended again, completing that cycle's harvest.
The seawater infused with rejection toward Devil Fruit powers was, as always, completely absorbed and taken away.
The rains that fell afterward no longer carried the same effect.
The black and white seeds were sown once again, and life began anew.
This time, the seawater acquired its anti-Devil Fruit properties far more quickly.
And — seastone began to form!
Roya's heart sank.
He realized in a flash that this miraculous mineral, capable of suppressing black slime, was also a resource coveted by the alien civilization!
Skipping over the long ages of development and slaughter — and even over the stage where hunters naturally learned to use seastone — Roya pushed forward to the moment of the pyramid's return.
As expected, the very first thing it harvested was seastone from all over the world.
Mutated beasts shrouded in black slime charged fearlessly into every location containing seastone, seizing control of it at all costs, then delivering it into the pyramid.
To collect the seastone, the pyramid even broke precedent and descended to the surface, making it easier for its slime-enslaved servants — now nearly powerless — to transport the mineral.
It was in this memory that Roya first saw the aliens' true forms.
At a glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a skeletal frame entirely forged from a strange metal.
But the pitch-green flames burning upon that skeleton were shockingly familiar —
— identical to Vegapunk's body!
The only difference was that Vegapunk still retained a human head, whereas this being was entirely a green-flame skeleton.
Even the hollow sockets of its skull held two clusters of vivid green particles, alive with motion.
A bold hypothesis surged into Roya's mind: could these green-flame skeletons be forged from seastone?
Only seastone could suppress the mutagenic effect of black slime when it activated the spark of life.
While it would likely require layers of alien black technology to achieve such a result, there was no doubt that seastone was the foundation of it all.
The aliens' obsessive pursuit of seastone was proof enough of this.
Following that logic, the real reason they had never moved against the unruly Star Spirit was not because they were unaware of its existence —
— but because they were feigning ignorance, letting this simple-minded being work even harder to produce seastone for them!
"If that's the case… then there's a lot of room to maneuver here."
Roya finally felt his spirits lift.
But then —
In what had been only a memory, the alien green-flame skeleton suddenly turned its head — and looked directly at Roya, who should not have existed in that memory at all.
The two clusters of green particles in its empty eyes pulsed rapidly…
… and somehow, across the gulf of tens of thousands of years, they locked straight onto Roya's very soul.
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