Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 227 Devil Fruit Experiment

"Miss Wednesday, be careful, the other party is that pirate hunter who rejected our Baroque Works' offer to recruit him..."

"I see. So you dared to refuse our Baroque Works' invitation? Looks like we'll have to teach you a lesson!"

Mr. 9 and Princess Vivi finished their conversation, causing Uchiha Touyu to twitch his lips. Before Usopp could explain anything, the Sandai Kitetsu in his hand was already drawn.

With a whoosh, Mr. 9 felt a chill on his scalp as the crown on his head fell to the ground with a thud, splitting in two. The cut surface was perfectly smooth and symmetrical, as if it had been measured with a ruler.

Mr. 9 froze for a moment, then reached out and touched his scalp. Confirming his head hadn't been cut open, his serious expression transformed into a fawning smile.

"Um... Lord Zoro, actually I'm not very familiar with Barrot's workshop. You see... could we make peace?"

Uchiha Touya slowly sheathed the Third Generation Kitetsu and spoke calmly:

"First of all, my name is Uchiha Touyu, not Zoro, and I don't have green hair or a green bandana!!"

"Secondly, whether you are familiar with Balot Studio or not is your business, but I do think your partner looks somewhat familiar."

Companion!? Mr. 9 took a step back, walked to Princess Vivi's side, and asked in a low voice:

"Miss Wednesday, do you know this guy in front of you?"

Princess Vivi's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and her lips twitched slightly.

"How could I possibly know such a powerful expert... Haha, he probably mistook me for someone else!"

Oh no, oh no, oh no! I haven't been in the public eye much since joining Balot Studio. Could it be... that the other person has seen me before?

If this identity is exposed... then things will really be bad!

However, what she feared most came to pass. Just as Princess Vivi's smile became somewhat forced, Uchiha Touyu spoke up directly:

"Miss Wednesday? Heh, I don't know anything about Balot Studio's agents, but looking at you, you clearly resemble Princess Vivi, the heir to Alabasta and daughter of King Koza!"

"Wha...what?!"

Mr. 9 stared in disbelief, his eyes bulging and his mouth agape, as he looked at his companion.

"You...you're the princess of Alabasta!! No way! My partner is actually a real princess!"

Mr.9 often wears a crown and looks like a king. Although he seems more like a monkey in a crown, it is clear that he yearns for the status of a king or prince.

Upon suddenly hearing that his companion was actually a real princess who would become a queen in the future, Mr. 9 was completely dumbfounded.

"What a joke... How could I possibly be a princess of Alabasta? A princess wouldn't become a secret agent at Baroque Works!"

Weiwei's face was a little pale, and she forced a stiff smile before trying to explain.

"Don't be silly, little girl. I don't know why you became a spy for Baroque Works, but you wouldn't even disfigure yourself, just put on some makeup and came here to infiltrate... Hah, you really think everyone's a fool!"

"It's just that most of the agents at Balot Studio aren't very educated and don't read newspapers much. Otherwise, if they had seen your picture in the newspaper, your identity would probably have been exposed long ago!"

Princess Vivi was speechless. Disfiguring herself was nothing to men, but for a beautiful girl like Princess Vivi, it was a decision she could never make.

You have to understand that when she was preparing to infiltrate Balot Studio, she was only 14 years old. What 14-year-old girl, a junior high school student, would have the heart to ruin her own appearance?

As for the numerous flaws in joining Barrot Studio... well, there's no way around it. One of the defining characteristics of the One Piece world is that everyone's intelligence isn't very high. Not to mention Luffy, the protagonist, whose intelligence isn't much higher than a monkey's, in fact, most people in the One Piece world aren't very smart.

It wasn't just that the people at Barrot Studio were unintelligent; they failed to discover Princess Vivi's true identity for two years, with only Robin noticing something amiss.

Moreover, Princess Vivi herself wasn't very smart. A princess of a country, and one who had even been in the newspapers, directly joined the reactionary forces within the country as an undercover agent. Her only disguise was dressing like a delinquent girl, and she couldn't even dye her hair. This is hardly something a smart person would do.

After two years of undercover work, all he found was nothing. Even after meeting Xiao Feng, despite his obvious characteristics, he still couldn't figure out that Xiao Feng was from Barrot Studio. It can only be said that this princess has the face of Nami, but in reality, she has the intelligence of 1.5 Luffy.

Mr. 9 scratched his head. He was one of the idiots that Uchiha Touyu had mentioned. Despite being partners with Princess Vivi for so long, he hadn't actually discovered any flaws.

"That's right, I am Princess Vivi. What exactly do you want? Are you going to report me to Baroque Works?"

Princess Vivi finally succumbed to the psychological pressure and confessed her identity. As she spoke, she took out a chain lock from her sleeve, which was her weapon.

Although she felt it was useless, the other party cleaved Mr. 9's crown in half without harming a single hair on his head. Despite the small commotion, a closer look revealed just how skillful that technique was.

His own combat strength was roughly the same as Mr. 9's; if Mr. 9 could kill him in one strike, killing him would certainly be no problem for him as well. However, he still needed to put on a good show.

After a moment of surprise, seeing Princess Vivi's wary expression, Mr. 9 also took two baseball bats and stood in front of her. People in the One Piece world may be stupid enough, but they are also really loyal. In the original work, this guy betrayed Baroque Works because of Princess Vivi, and now facing Uchiha Tou, Mr. 9 made the same choice.

"Don't worry, if I really wanted to lay a hand on you two, you wouldn't stand a chance!"

Uchiha Touyu rolled his eyes and casually unleashed a flying slash, shearing off a small section of the cliff beside him. With a thunderous crash as the cliff fell into the sea, Mr. 9 and Princess Vivi both stared in disbelief and dropped their weapons.

Obviously, compared to cutting through a crown without damaging the scalp, this more direct and violent flying slash is much more shocking. Sure enough, after seeing this flying slash, the two of them immediately calmed down.

"Alright, let's put everything else aside for now. If I'm not mistaken, you should have a log pointer, right?"

Princess Vivi nodded very obediently:

"Indeed, I have a Log Pose for Whiskey Peak... In addition, I also have a Log Pose for Alabasta and a Log Pose for Little Garden..."

"Great... Do you have the save pointer for Drum Island?"

"Uh, I don't have them on hand right now, but if we go to Alabasta, we can get most of the Log Pointers."

That's true. As one of the top powers in the Grand Line, Alabasta has the record pointers for most of the islands in the Grand Line.

Although Alabasta is currently in great turmoil, for Princess Vivi, obtaining some Log Pose would be an easy task.

"Hmm, Alabasta... Never mind, let's go to Whiskey Peak first. I remember that's the bounty hunters' lair."

"Yes, most of the bounty hunters from Baroque Works are gathered at Whiskey Peak. After all, they're pirate crews that have only just entered the Grand Line, making them relatively easy to deal with..."

Uchiha Touyu waved his hand, interrupting Princess Vivi's next words, and said:

"Alright, in that case, let's make this Baroque Studio's base our first stop!"

"I happen to need some more materials, so I can go there to get some."

"Um...may I ask you something, Mr. Feiyu? Where did you get so much information? Also, do you know the owner of Baroque Works?"

Princess Vivi doesn't know much about Uchiha Tou and hasn't dared to ask him to help Alabasta. She just wants to ask the boss of Baroque Works and also to judge Uchiha Tou's stance.

Uchiha Touya immediately saw through Princess Vivi's thoughts, and he made no attempt to hide it:

"The owner of Baroque Works is actually quite easy to guess. How many strong individuals are there in all of Alabasta? Apart from that Shichibukai, no one else is qualified to be the owner of this behind-the-scenes organization!"

Upon hearing this, Princess Vivi and Mr. 9 almost knelt down again. There was no way around it; the title of Shichibukai was just too terrifying.

Not to mention that Shaco Rockall fought pirates in Alabasta for so many years, displaying his strength to the fullest. He was known as the King of the Desert, capable of easily stirring up sandstorms and annihilating an army of millions. It would be strange if these two weren't afraid.

"It's...it's actually that Shichibukai..."

"No way, Mr. Shaklockfar, hasn't he always been a hero of Alabasta?"

Mr. 9 was filled with emotion, and Princess Vivi even seemed somewhat incredulous. However, Uchiha Touyu wore a mocking expression on his face.

"Yes, a notorious pirate, a powerful Shichibukai, who spends his free time diligently solving Alabasta's problems and acting as Alabasta's hero—what do you think his motives are?"

For what? What else could it be for? Princess Vivi is, after all, a bit smarter than Luffy, and being born into royalty, she's quite wary in this regard.

"Could it be... that he wants to steal Alabasta?"

"Hmm...it's not his real purpose, but it's close enough!"

Uchiha Touyu didn't explain too much. As for Hades, the World History Text and such, it would only make things more complicated. It would be better to just assume that Princess Vivi thought Crocodile wanted to steal Alabasta.

What do you mean by "almost"? What exactly is that Shichibukai plotting? What is his true purpose? Explain yourself!

Princess Vivi had many questions in her mind, but looking at Uchiha Tou's expression, she didn't dare to ask. Now that she knew who the enemy was, all Princess Vivi needed to do was defeat him!

Hmm, after thinking about it carefully, Princess Vivi realized that it seems there is no force in Alabasta that can directly confront Shakrokfal. Oh no, we're doomed.

"Alright, enough rambling, take us to Whiskey Peak!"

Uchiha Touyu urged them on, then led the two back to the Going Merry, and together they boarded their small boat, set sail, and left Twin Gorges.

On the Going Merry, Uchiha Touyu stroked his chin, looked at the Vulture Fruit user soaking in a bucket of water, pondered for a moment, and then stretched out a hand.

He placed his palm on the head of the powerless Vulture Fruit user. Instantly, the Vulture Fruit user's eyes snapped open, his whole body trembled, and blood gushed out of his body.

The Blood Nerve's magic power formed again within Uchiha Touyu's body. However, this time Uchiha Touyu activated his own Haki and began to slowly come into contact with the Blood Nerve's magic power. Although he could still feel the pressure of the world's rules, the magic power disappeared at a rate more than ten times slower.

The domineering aura and magical power were not completely integrated; they were forcibly combined and remained distinct. However, the domineering aura seemed to have undergone some special change due to the influence of the magical power.

Uchiha Touyu had no time to pay attention to these unusual changes. After noticing that the rate at which his mana was disappearing had slowed down, all his attention was focused on the Vulture Fruit user. He finally sensed the strange soul within this user.

With a casual tug, Uchiha Touya finally pulled out the soul of the Devil Fruit user. However, the soul was divided into two parts: one part was the image of the Devil Fruit user, and the other part looked like a vulture with some strange patterns on it.

"That vulture-like soul must be a Devil Fruit... Who should I use for experiments?"

Turning his head to look around, Uchiha Touyu's gaze immediately focused on a lion that was dozing on the deck.

Lion Riki, who had been dragged onto the ship by Uchiha Hiyu, was dozing off when he suddenly felt a chill in his heart and his body trembled. He looked up and saw Uchiha Hiyu standing in front of him with a strange smile on his lips.

Lion Liki's fur stood on end, and he turned to run away, but Uchiha Tou grabbed his tail with one hand.

"Come here, little lion, today I'm going to do you a miracle! A lion and a vulture, using ordinary animal fruits to transform into a mythical beast, the Griffin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the piece of Devil Fruit soul in Uchiha Touyu's hand was slapped into Lion Riki's body.

The lion Liki let out a miserable howl, then paused for a moment, not noticing that nothing had changed about itself, and its eyes suddenly looked a bit silly.

The next moment, its majestic lion mane fell down, revealing its ugly, bald neck.

(End of this chapter)