One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

Hearing the approaching footsteps outside the door, Garp touched his chest, still not mentioning the doubts in his heart. He just smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "Rorschach, what do you think of my two disciples? I'm talking about Coby and Helmeppo."

As soon as he finished speaking, the footsteps outside the door stopped abruptly, and someone outside held their breath.

“Very good, Koby is a promising talent,” Rorschach said with a smile.

"Hahaha, of course my judgment is correct. That old bastard Sengoku still doesn't believe me. How about I send the two of them to G5 with you?" Garp laughed smugly, then asked.

"The new world is too early for them right now. I think it would be better to let them train in the Paradise Sea after you pass on your true skills, old man, before they go to G5."

"Hmm, what you said makes sense. Let's do it that way. Once they graduate from basic training, I'll have them come and join you."

"No problem."

After they finished speaking, Luo Xia said goodbye and turned to leave the ward.

In the corridor, Coby and Helmeppo, carrying a large plate of food, stood respectfully and ramrod straight, loudly greeting Rorschach as he walked out.

"Lieutenant General Rorschach!"

"Okay, take good care of Vice Admiral Garp, put in two hundred times the effort to train hard, I'll be waiting for you in G5."

Rorschach smiled at them, patted Coby on the shoulder, and then left.

Koby's face flushed with excitement. "Lieutenant General Rorschach said he's waiting for us at G5, did you hear that, Helmeppo!"

"I heard more than just that!" Helmeppo glared angrily at Coby, "I also heard Lieutenant General Rorschach say that you are a promising talent! Damn it! Lieutenant General Garp asked about both of us, but Lieutenant General Rorschach only mentioned you, Coby! This is so unfair!"

"Oh? Hehe, it's my fault, sorry~"

"Can you be a little more sincere? Your smile is so wide it's practically reaching your ears!"

Chapter 698 The Secret of the Fruit

Luo Xia didn't expect that he would be stopped by the anxious Zhan Guo again after just leaving the hospital and assigned a new task.

"Rorschach! You must head to the New World immediately and find Aokiji and Akainu. Those two idiots actually made a pact to fight to the death in the New World, saying that whoever survives will become the new Fleet Admiral. It's simply... simply..."

The Warring States period was speechless for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence, clearly quite angry.

They were extremely anxious.

Having finished dealing with Garp's affairs, he hadn't slept for two days and was resting in his room.

But a phone call from the new world made Sengoku jump out of bed as if his eyebrows were on fire and rush over here.

Although he recommended Aokiji to become Fleet Admiral, in Sengoku's mind, both Aokiji and Akainu were pillars of the Marine Headquarters. The loss of either of them would undoubtedly be an unbearable and enormous loss for the Marines.

The original plan was for either Aokiji or Akainu to be promoted from admiral to fleet admiral, then the remaining two admirals would retain their original positions, and Rorschach would take over, successfully filling the vacancy for the third Grand Prize.

In this way, the Navy Headquarters' top combat power will remain at the same level. In addition, with the emergence of outstanding talents such as Enel, Law, and Hibari, the Navy's future will be brighter and stronger than in the past few decades.

However, things didn't go as planned. Sengoku never expected that Aokiji and Akainu, who had talked about fighting to the death in the meeting hall a few days ago, would actually go and fight a life-or-death battle.

Moreover, he wasn't informed when he set off, nor was he told where the duel was going.

What kind of situation is this?

Just like Garp, he does things entirely on his own whims, acting first and asking questions later. Where is the discipline that a high-ranking naval officer should have?

"A bunch of undisciplined bastards!"

As the roar of war echoed throughout Marineford, Rorschach had once again become a laborer, transforming into a colossal Qilin beast, soaring into the sky and flying towards the New World.

Sengoku didn't know the location of Akainu and Aokiji's final battle, but Rorschach had a vague guess.

Although the timeline has changed and many things have become unrecognizable, Akainu and Aokiji should, barring any unforeseen circumstances, go to Punk Hazard for a duel.

In this way, Rorschach's destination can be directly locked in the G5 direction, instead of wandering around the New World like a headless fly.

The Kirin was taken away by Yun Que, otherwise he wouldn't have needed to use his beast form to travel again.

"Rorschach! You're so big! Even bigger than when we were in G1, and it's so much harder."

From the back of the flying behemoth, Lilith's coquettish exclamation rang out.

She knelt on a huge, mirror-like blue scale in a duck-sitting position, her eyes filled with excitement, constantly stroking the surrounding scales and mane with her hands.

Luo Xia was speechless with exasperation at her words.

The thought that this seemingly charming and sexy woman was actually an alter ego of that old geezer Vegapunk made Rorschach feel even more uneasy.

"Lilith, can't you speak properly?"

He started to complain in an annoyed tone.

"Hmph, I'm right. The size of your mythical form, the Qilin behemoth, has increased significantly compared to the G1 naval battle. It used to be less than a hundred meters long, but now it's over two hundred meters, almost the size of a small sea king."

Lilith hummed softly, stretched comfortably, and then lay down contentedly, pressing her voluptuous body against the Qilin behemoth's spacious, plaza-like back scales. After rolling around a few times, she lay sprawled out, gazing at the dazzling starry sky above.

"So beautiful," Lilith couldn't help but exclaim.

Looking at the night sky of the new world from this height, without the obstruction of thick clouds, you can see the dazzling Milky Way shining against the dark sky, as dazzling as countless gems.

She recalled the records she had seen in the ancient texts of Ohara.

It is said that in the distant past, the original owners of the ancient technologies that Vegapunk possessed came from the moon and stars hanging in the sky.

If the energy problem could be solved one day, Lilith really wants to build a spaceship and go see those twinkling stars.

Although she was not unaware that those shining stars were not actually moon-like planets, but rather burning, luminous suns.

But that's how scientific exploration works. Knowing that there are deadly dangers in the distant starry sky, scientists like her are willing to pay the price for it, flying towards those shining suns like moths to a flame.

Of course, Rorschach had no idea what Lilith was thinking at that moment.

He just felt very awkward.

Although he was large in size at the moment, his perception with Observation Haki was extremely sharp.

Lilith was rolling around on his back like she was having a blast. What did she take him for?

Do you have a soft mattress and a large bed at home?

'Stop this now, old man!'

Rorschach roared inwardly.

Of course, he didn't dare say it aloud.

Otherwise, Lilith would definitely fight him to the death.

This woman has come to see herself as an independent individual and never considers herself a clone of Vegapunk.

Rorschach noticed a strange word coming from Lilith's mouth and couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Lilith, what did you mean by mythical form just now?"

You mean mythological forms?

Lilith yawned, feeling a bit sleepy, and said lazily with her eyes half-closed, "Don't you know? Mythical Zoan species are mythical creatures created by people's imaginations. Like Kaido's Azure Dragon, Yamato's Great God, Sengoku's Great Buddha, your Kirin, and Kakei's Valhalla..."

"Wait! What's the name of Vice Admiral Kakei's Mythical Zoan ability?" Rorschach asked in surprise.

He knew that Kaji was also a Mythical Zoan type ability user, something Zephyr had mentioned unintentionally.

I just haven't had the chance to learn more about it.

Last time in G1, Kake showed his power for a moment and killed Taki. It seems that his ability cannot last.

"Varaha, the Zoan-type Ino-Ino Fruit, Mythical Zoan type, Vaaraha form. It's a mythical deity with a pig's face and a human body, capable of unleashing the black flames 'Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire' that burn souls. Its attack power is very strong, but releasing the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire requires a lot of the user's stamina. Considering that guy's physique isn't strong enough, he can't even unleash one or two tenths of Vaaraha's power. It's a real waste of a powerful Mythical Zoan ability. That ability is no weaker than the Great Buddha of the Warring States period."

"Hiss... So powerful? Burning the soul? Isn't that the nemesis of the Soul-Soul Fruit?" Rorschach gasped.

"What do you mean by 'nemesis' or 'counter-nemesis'? Whether someone is countered or countered depends entirely on the strength of the user's own power. And a person's strength is measured by many factors, including Haki, physical skills, physique, abilities, and mental strength. If you're not strong enough, even if you have a powerful ability, you won't be able to exert much of a force. Take Akainu and Aokiji, for example. Can you clearly say which of their abilities counters the other?"

Rorschach wholeheartedly agreed with Lilith's words.

There is no absolute counter to abilities. Whether an ability can create a suppressive attack depends on how strong the user's basic strength is.

For example, Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit, when applied to Ace, could be suppressed by Akainu's magma.

But if it were Whitebeard who ate the Flame-Flame Fruit, he might be able to turn Marineford into lava with a single Fire Fist.

Perhaps Whitebeard will be recognized by the world as the sun god because of this.

Luo Xia shook his head, forcibly pulling his wandering thoughts back, and continued to ask, "Ahem, let's get back to the mythical form, Lilith. What do you know about Devil Fruits and Mythical Zoan types? Please tell me more. You know, my abilities have only recently awakened, and I urgently need to learn about these things."

"Well, since you promised to give me two pure gold beans, I'll be merciful and have a proper talk with you."

Lilith scrambled off the back of the colossal Qilin, strode to its mountain-like head, and grasped its coral-like, branching horns, saying:

"As for the formation of Devil Fruits, I've told you before. They are all collections of desires that arise from the various strange and wonderful desires in the hearts of intelligent beings. You can treat the fruit as a vessel for those desires. When you obtain a fruit and eat it, the desires it carries will enter your body. This attachment of desires, well, or rather, parasitism, will depend on you. As the integration progresses, the stronger your power becomes, the stronger the erosion from desires you will suffer."

"Generally speaking, we divide the development of Devil Fruit abilities into four stages."

"They are respectively the initial mastery, skillful application, fruit awakening, and the final mythical form, or rather... demon."

When Lilith uttered the word "demon," a subtle change appeared in her expression, which Rorschach keenly noticed.

However, Luo Xia did not interrupt, but listened quietly.

"The first two stages are exactly what they sound like."

"Then comes a very important link: Devil Fruit awakening, which is also a crucial hurdle for a Devil Fruit user to make rapid progress in strength. The awakening of a Devil Fruit occurs when the ability has been developed to a very deep level, causing the parasitic desires within you to begin to completely merge with you. Once you fail to withstand this fusion process, you will become mentally unstable, lose yourself, and become a slave to your desires."

"If the awakening of a Logia-type ability fails, the user may become the natural element itself. I suspect that the reason there are so many severe weather and natural disasters in the New World is very likely because many Logia-type users failed to awaken their abilities and became the natural element itself."

Luo Xia was completely confused, feeling somewhat bewildered but also impressed.

He asked doubtfully, "If your guess is true, then after a Logia-type Devil Fruit user fails to awaken, are they considered dead or alive? If they are dead, shouldn't those natural disasters disappear? If they are alive, how can the fruit be reborn?"

"I don't know either, that's why I'm just guessing. You know the nature of Devil Fruits, they can only be reborn and transferred, they will never disappear completely."

Lilith rolled her eyes and continued talking.

"Awakening a Paramecia-type ability requires a lot of knowledge and is usually very difficult. It requires developing the ability to its fullest extent to have even a sliver of hope. Because this type of ability is so diverse, we haven't compiled any major information about awakening yet."

"Zoan-type abilities are the simplest, requiring only continuous physical development to the limit. They are the easiest to awaken, but also the easiest to fail to awaken."

"Because Zoan-type Devil Fruits contain extremely strong desires, especially Mythical Zoan-type fruits. The desires contained within them increase as the upper limit of the ability increases. In other words, the stronger your ability is, the more dangerous the struggle against the impact of that desire will be when you awaken it."

"What happens if a Mythical Beast fails to awaken?" Luo Xia asked curiously.

"Of course it will become a mythical creature, or rather, a demonic creature, right? Probably."

Lilith was somewhat unsure.