Chapter 175: The "Weapon" That Ate a Fruit
Amphelite's tone carried no complaints. Whatever Nereus did, she would support him. After all, her current life was a change brought about by Nereus.
The two of them having a child also felt like a natural progression.
"Ever since Uncle Wobigong sent that thing back, it seems the Old Man has been constantly fiddling with those two stones," Nanamo observed.
"Yes. After all, it is his 'weapon.' Though, in this entire sea, he's probably the only one who would use something like that as a weapon," Amphelite replied.
"Ya!!"
Seeming to feel ignored by her mother and sister during their conversation, Chloe appeared a bit unhappy, waving her two small hands to catch their attention.
Meanwhile, Nereus was indeed currently "building a bond" with the two massive stones.
"Joy Boy left an apology letter to the Mermaid Princess on you. Your mission is to record this apology, but what practical use is a verbal apology? Contributing some strength to Fish-man Island isn't a bad choice either, right?"
It seemed he was talking to himself. Then, Nereus looked at the other, red stone beside it.
"You hold the information to the final island. Compared to waiting in this deep sea, gaining the ability to move and let others see you is a much better choice, isn't it?"
One red and one gray—these were the two Poneglyphs of Fish-man Island. What exactly these two stones were made of remained a mystery, but it was certain they were not Seastone.
As a Devil Fruit user, Nereus felt absolutely no weakness when touching these two stones. If they were Seastone, the reaction wouldn't be like this.
Their indestructible nature seemed more like the product of some ancient technology.
And now, these two stones were connected by a thick chain, transforming from a meteor hammer into a pair of chained flails.
Beside them sat a set of seemingly complex equipment.
Ever since the discovery of the Lineage Factor, MADS had begun investing heavily in its research. Based on their studies of the Lineage Factor, several members had achieved significant breakthroughs.
Judge had even begun transplanting this Lineage Factor, attempting to cultivate superhuman clones.
At the same time, under the demands of their financial backers, the technology to feed Devil Fruits to inanimate objects—based on the Lineage Factor—had also seen a breakthrough.
What Nereus was doing right now was exactly this type of cultivation. And the Devil Fruit he chose was naturally the third fruit he had brought out from God Valley back then.
How to determine the "entirety" of an inanimate object was a very metaphysical matter. A firearm was made up of several components, but after eating a fruit, the entire gun would undergo a transformation.
Theoretically, as long as the pieces were assembled together, it constituted a "complete entity."
Now, these two Poneglyphs, connected by this chain, had also become a unique single entity.
The reason he chose this method was also related to this final fruit.
"Wobigong, you'd better be certain... that you aren't playing a joke on me..."
Talking to a stone was, overall, a very weird thing to do. But as long as it produced results, it wasn't unacceptable.
He glanced at the hourglass nearby. The sand inside had almost completely run out; it was just about the time Wobigong had estimated.
As the last grain of sand fell, the two originally dead stones suddenly seemed to show signs of life.
Thump... thump... thump...
A muffled heartbeat echoed from within the square stone blocks. The two Poneglyphs seemed to melt as their forms began to shift.
The gray-blue megalith grew thick, sturdy limbs. The square text on its surface seemed to morph into ancient oracle bone script, leaving deep, profound markings on the rocky carapace it had evolved into.
It had transformed into a giant tortoise made entirely of rock.
The thick iron chain coiled around the tortoise's body, while the red megalith appeared even more agile, winding around the tortoise and transforming into a massive crimson snake.
Kame Kame no Mi, Model: Genbu (Turtle-Turtle Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Black Tortoise Model).
It had to be said, the World Government truly possessed the deepest foundation of any organization. Kaido was known as the greatest enthusiast of Zoan types, but from the time he started recruiting for the Beast Pirates, over the course of more than thirty years, they only managed to acquire two Mythical Zoans.
And one of them was even snatched from Charlotte Linlin back at God Valley.
Strictly speaking, the only Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit Kaido had expended massive effort to find was the Okuchi no Makami model; though he did find quite a few Ancient Zoans.
Mythical Zoans were said to be even rarer than Logias, yet the World Government could pull out several at once. Even after having a few stolen, they were wealthy enough to feed one to a weapon.
Nereus's choice to combine Fish-man Island's two Poneglyphs in this manner wasn't without reason. After discovering a Devil Fruit encyclopedia and confirming the remaining fruits were the Kirin and Genbu, Nereus hatched this idea.
The best fruits to feed to inanimate objects were Zoans, because Zoans possessed the strongest will of their own, allowing a dead object to become a living creature.
And the Genbu was a rare entity that possessed two distinct consciousnesses.
This made it perfectly possible to use two separate stones as its vessels.
Hiss!
Roar!
"Looks like you're not a very obedient child..."
Looking at the Devil Fruit that had transformed into a rocky Genbu, Nereus rolled his wrists, his gaze locking onto the creature.
Faint thunder crackled in the air as a nearly tangible pressure surged toward the Genbu in front of him.
When a weapon comes to life, you must make it understand who the master is. This was also something Wobigong had left in his notes.
Only by making it recognize its master's identity could it be used properly.
That was why, when Wobigong presented this technology, he highly recommended choosing docile animals, making them easier to tame.
Feeding a Mythical Zoan fruit to a weapon made it incredibly powerful, but it also meant it was much harder to handle.
Roar...
The thick four legs took a step back. As a newly born life form, it felt the overwhelming oppression from the man before it. Sensing the familiar aura within that Haki, it realized the identity of the other party.
Boom...
The massive tortoise feet dropped to the ground. The Genbu lowered its enormous head, signaling its submission toward Nereus.
"Very good. This saves a lot of trouble. Next, it's time to test your abilities..."
Weapons could not only eat Devil Fruits but could even achieve Awakening. Just as Nereus prepared to test the current potential of this fruit, a father-and-son duo was walking toward the door outside.
It was none other than Vander Decken VIII and his son, Vander Decken IX.
"Back in the day, your old man was an absolute overlord around Fish-man Island. Any human who came close had to fear me!
"Later, His Majesty Nereus and I fought a fierce battle for three hundred rounds! I admired his strength, and he appreciated mine, so I joined his command! I brought you here to introduce you to His Majesty, so you'd better perform well..."
But right at that moment, a terrifying aura surged out from behind the door...
"Father, although I really want to believe what you just said... why did you suddenly drop to your knees?"
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