One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

"As for priority, it means that Devil Fruits are something special that transcends the user. They are more like a special rule. Intelligent beings that eat them may die, and inanimate objects that eat them will be destroyed, but the power itself is permanent. It does not disappear because of the death of the host, but is transferred and reborn."

"You gain a certain ability because that Devil Fruit ability actively chooses you, not the other way around. No matter how you acquire it, or whether you choose one of several fruits, it is the ability that chooses you. This may sound unscientific, but it is the truth."

"Your ability is not something that belongs to you forever once it has been chosen. When you die, it will disappear and go to the next host that has been chosen."

Rorschach was still puzzled: "If the ability chooses its host, then how can Teach's Dark-Dark Fruit be taken away..."

"That's why the Dark-Dark Fruit is called the most evil Devil Fruit; that's its characteristic." Vegapunk's words left Rorschach speechless.

"Now, I will use these two properties of Devil Fruits to answer the questions you raised earlier."

As Vegapunk spoke, he turned to look at an object stuck to the inner wall of a glass dome behind him.

It looked like a piece of rotten meat, but it was still wriggling, seemingly moving in a certain direction, but because it was covered by a glass cover, it could not get through and could only tremble incessantly.

This is a fragment of Barrett's body that Rorschach left behind, which he gave to Vegapunk in order to find out why Barrett was able to merge with another Devil Fruit user and become a multi-Devil Fruit user.

If Barrett can do it, then can anyone else do it? Can Rorschach do it?

if you can……

"First, there are non-living things. For example, I once fed a sword in Punk Hazard the Zoan-type Elephant-Elephant Fruit, turning it into a long sword that could transform into a white elephant. This applies to the priority of Devil Fruits."

Vegapunk said, "Devil Fruit abilities take precedence over living beings, including humans, and also over non-living things like weapons, soil, rocks, and trees. It is a special product that transcends the laws of nature, both evil and magical. Apart from the sea and Seastone, nothing can make it back down or fear."

"Even the ocean, Seastone, and the Dark-Dark Fruit cannot make other abilities disappear; they can only be suppressed."

"Therefore, whether it is a living or non-living entity, Devil Fruits have priority and can be integrated or not. Living entities only need to eat it for it to take effect, while non-living entities require some experiments to make the Devil Fruit actively integrate. Currently, only Zoan-type fruits that can communicate with consciousness can do this. The experiments involved are somewhat complicated, so I will not go into detail."

"Then Charlotte Linlin ate Garmoro and gained her Soul-Soul Fruit ability. This also applies to the priority of Devil Fruits. Garmoro was eaten, she died, and the Devil Fruit was reborn. It can choose to be reborn as a fruit or merge into another life form."

“Rorschach, your Devil Fruit has undergone an awakening process. You should know that within every Devil Fruit, there is a will, or desire. The stronger and more thoroughly it is developed, the more prominent this will becomes, ultimately influencing the user's mindset and achieving infinite harmony with the ability. This is why you always feel that a certain person should use that ability, as if they are not suitable for other abilities.”

"It can be said that the will within Carmel's Soul-Soul Fruit abandoned Carmel and chose Charlotte Linlin instead, because it believed that Charlotte Linlin was more suitable to be the host of the Soul-Soul Fruit than Carmel."

Vegapunk pointed at the writhing flesh inside the glass case and said, "And the fusion of Barrett and Teach applies both characteristics."

"Barrett is still a single user of the Paramecia-type Fusion Fruit. He only has one set of bloodline factors and one soul in his body. As for Blackbeard, he is a special race forgotten by history. He is born with three souls in one body and three sets of bloodline factors. In fact, it is equivalent to three people living in one body. You can call his race something like Cerberus."

“Rorschach, you said that you once killed Blackbeard, so a set of bloodline factors and a soul were damaged in his body, and he can only gain two abilities.”

"When Barrett and Blackbeard forcibly merged into one, they were essentially still two people, just temporarily fused together. However, Barrett developed his Fusion Fruit ability to a level stronger than Blackbeard's, and was able to use the Fusion Fruit's ability to forcibly control Blackbeard's body after it was merged into his body, in order to use his abilities."

As Vegapunk spoke, he pointed to the armor worn by Shakyamuni standing beside him, and looking at the crowd who were gradually understanding, he said:

"This is Wapol Memory Metal, a unique metal that can automatically restore itself to its original state even when damaged. It comes from Wapol, the former king of the Drum Kingdom in the Paradise Sea."

"The fusion ability that Barrett demonstrated on Soft Island is something Wapol could have done long ago. His Gluttony Fruit ability allows him to swallow other Devil Fruit users and fuse with them into one person, possessing two consciousnesses, two sets of bloodline factors, two souls, and two abilities. And his Gluttony Fruit ability is far from being fully developed. If he continues to develop it, he can definitely swallow even more Devil Fruit users and fuse with even more of them. Isn't that a different kind of multi-Devil Fruit user?"

Rorschach understood as well.

Barrett was able to devour Teach and merge with him because of his Devil Fruit ability.

But what about Barrett's indestructible body and excessive vitality after he swallowed Titch?

Luo Xia asked the question that had been bothering him.

Vegapunk said, "That's just that Barrett developed his Devil Fruit ability to a level beyond awakening, perfectly fusing himself with the Devil Fruit power. Did he lose himself and go insane at that time?"

Luo Xia was taken aback, then nodded: "Yes, how did you know?"

“That’s it.” Vegapunk said knowingly, “You’ve seen the Impel Down jailer beasts before. Those that, after perfectly fusing with their own Devil Fruits, cannot maintain their own selves and gain near-immortal life force at the cost of losing themselves, are at a higher level of Devil Fruit awakening. Becoming a demon, a mythical beast, a god, or losing oneself and becoming a slave to desire, one can obtain near-immortal power.”

"Is this level of attainment really that difficult to achieve?" Rorschach was somewhat fascinated by the higher level of attainment that Vegapunk had mentioned, a level that was even higher than awakening.

Lilith said something similar back then.

Who wouldn't want to have an immortal body with unlimited vitality?

Think of Barrett on Soft Island; he almost single-handedly defeated three admirals.

Law's Ope Ope no Mi (Op-Op Fruit) can perform an aging-free surgery, enabling people to achieve immortality, or eternal life.

But immortality is not the same as being immortal. People who live forever only have a long lifespan, but they are not immune to being killed.

But an immortal body is different; that is true immortality.

“It’s easy in some ways, and difficult in others.” Vegapunk looked at Rorschach with a meaningful expression. “You just need to understand that it’s easy to fall into depravity, difficult to strive for progress, easy to submit, and difficult to resist. If you simply want to gain power and are willing to pay any price for it, then you will easily obtain the power of the devil. If you want to overcome yourself and the desires in your heart, then it will be difficult, but once you succeed, you will become… your own god.”

After saying that, Vegapunk clapped his hands and called to everyone, "Alright, that's enough with the Q&A. The Seraph's gestation should be complete. Let's go take a look over there."

.

.

Afterwards, Luo Xia and the others followed him to a huge laboratory.

The laboratory has a large interior space. The entrance doors are two large iron doors that appear to be made of heavy steel, but in reality, they are just projections of light using Vegapunk's three-dimensional projection technology.

Although it is a three-dimensional projection, it has the physical presence of a real steel gate.

When needed, it is a real steel gate; when not needed, it simply disappears as a wisp of light.

It's amazing technology, just like those food vending machines on the island that can turn ingredients into food.

Hibari and Tashigi's eyes widened as soon as they stepped into the laboratory.

Wow! So many pacifists!

Rorschach also looked up.

This enormous laboratory looks like a giant assembly line factory.

Huge glass capsules, resembling capsules, are fixed to winding tracks, like bullets embedded in a bullet chain.

At this moment, inside these huge glass enclosures, there are large bears that look exactly alike, their bodies covered with various tubes, immersed in some unknown liquid, their eyes closed, as if waiting to be awakened.

Lilith said, "These are the third generation of pacifists. We have made more perfect improvements on the basis of the first and second generations. The most significant change is their size. They are slightly smaller than the first two generations of pacifists, but they are more agile and faster."

"Are the Pacifistas being updated so quickly?" Rorschach asked, somewhat exasperated. "I remember the batch of Pacifistas I bought before was only the second generation, right? It's only been a few months, and they've already released the third generation?"

The masked Shakyamuni spoke in a synthesized voice: "No, it's not as fast as you think. These are just clones of the Great Bear. To become third-generation pacifists, they still need to undergo physical modifications, which will take a long time to complete."

"Oh, I see. Okay, how many are in this batch? I'll pre-order."

Rorschach's words left Vegapunk speechless.

Didn't you just buy a batch?

"Who would complain about having too many of these powerful weapons? Doctor, you don't understand. I'm a very insecure person. I want to make my G5 an impregnable fortress, the kind that even if I'm gone, the Four Emperors of the New World wouldn't be able to break through."

“The third generation incorporates many new technologies, which has significantly increased manufacturing costs. Are you sure you want to order it?” Lilith asked.

“Of course!” Luo Xia affirmed, waving his hand arrogantly, “I’ll take as many as you have, as long as your production capacity can keep up. I can even invest in you to build more production lines. I need pacifists, mechanical sea monsters, island-wide air conditioning, and Seraphim.”

"Where did you get so much money?" Lilith swallowed the question back as soon as it left her mouth. She had almost forgotten that Rorschach was a major shareholder of Morgans' Seagull Pictures, a genuinely wealthy man.

He was handsome, rich, incredibly powerful, and had immense authority, which made Lilith lament that the world was truly unjust.

Beneath the hundreds of densely packed replicas of giant bears, in the very center of the room, were several glass chambers of varying sizes, each containing a test subject—the very object of Rorschach's journey.

"Is this the strongest human being you were talking about, the war weapon codenamed Seraph? Why do they look like children? And..." Hibari leaned closer to the glass chamber, looking at the experimental subjects inside, and said somewhat uncertainly, "And their appearance seems somewhat familiar, I feel like I've seen them somewhere before."

"Is this a bear? A smaller version of Bartholomew's bear, it doesn't look fully inflated yet," Bepo exclaimed, pointing to an experimental subject soaking in the largest glass chamber in front of him.

"Kuma?" Tashigi adjusted her glasses and carefully examined the experimental subject Bepo was pointing at. She found that its size was indeed similar to the Kuma clone in the room, both being the burly and enormous type, only its face looked softer and had a touch of childishness.

She then looked at the test subjects and counted them, finding that there were seven of them, all named Seraphim. Although some were enormous, their faces looked like those of children around eight or nine years old, somewhat resembling the giant children who had undergone the Punk Hazard experiments.

Suddenly, Tashigi seemed to realize something, her mouth slightly open in surprise, "Hibari, I know what you mean by familiarity. These children look a lot like the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"The Seven Warlords of the Sea?" Tashigi's reminder instantly brought a sense of familiarity to Hibari's mind. He nodded hurriedly, "Yes, these children look a lot like Kuma, Jinbe, and Mihawk, the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Although they have black wings on their backs and white hair, they really do look alike. Doctor, why is that? Are these test subjects clones of them?"

Vegapunk smiled and revealed the answer.

"You can think of it that way. In fact, these Seraphim are indeed clones of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, but before they were fully born, we edited and perfected their bloodline factors, adding some powerful bloodline factors from some superior races that would not cause conflict, as well as matching green blood."

"Not only that, we also implanted a large number of combat techniques and combat experience into their brains. We modified their bodies to use all the functions that pacifists can use, such as lasers. As a result, they were born with extremely powerful strength. These Seraphim are the most perfect experimental subjects that we can create with the scientific and technological capabilities we currently possess."

"We put a lot of effort into creating them, with the aim of replacing the Seven Warlords of the Sea and possessing the powerful fighting force to contend with the Four Emperors."

Vegapunk's words shocked Lark and the others.

"Can these child-like androids really replace the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

"Whether you can do it or not, why don't you experience it for yourselves?" Vegapunk smiled, stepped forward, and pressed the switch to control the glass capsule.

With a hissing sound as the steam valves opened, the seven glass chambers opened one by one, and the experimental subjects inside opened their eyes and walked out one after another, lining up in front of Luo Xia and the others.

Their eyes were star-shaped like pentagrams, their hair was white, and they each had a pair of black wings on their backs, resembling the seven veteran Shichibukai, just like when they were children. Most of them had indifferent expressions, but there were a few, like Doflamingo Jr. and Moria Jr., who acted arrogantly, grinning strangely.

Sentomaru walked up and introduced each of the seven Seraphim.

"This is S Little Bear, a clone of Big Bear, whose green blood ability is Big Bear's Paw-Paw Fruit."

"S Eagle, a clone of Hawkeye Mihawk, has the ability of the Quick-Cut Fruit."

"S. Snake Woman, a clone of the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, has the power of the Love-Love Fruit."

"S Shark, a clone of Jinbe the Knight of the Sea, has the ability of the Swim-Swim Fruit."

"S Flamingo, a clone of Doflamingo, has the String-String Fruit ability."

"S Bat, a clone of Gecko Moria, whose ability is the Shadow-Shadow Fruit."

"S Crocodile, a clone of Crocodile, has the power of the Candle-Candle Fruit."

"They're all Devil Fruit users. They seem really strong." Tashigi has now awakened Observation Haki, and at close range, she can sense the powerful aura emanating from the Seraphim.

"Let's go to the surface. Who wants to try their hand at fighting them?"

Vegapunk called out, and Seraphim immediately started walking and followed behind him.

Vegapunk and his six clones possess Level 2 authority over the experimental subjects on Egg Point Island, second only to the Five Elders, making them the supreme controllers of all the experimental subjects on the island.

Soon, the group arrived on the ground of Egg Point Island.

This place has a very comprehensive weapons testing ground, which is more than enough for war weapons such as Seraphs or Pacifistas to operate freely.

"Rorschach, do you want to try it first?" Sentomaru asked in a muffled voice as he approached Rorschach.

Luo Xia said nonchalantly, "Let Yun Que and the others try it first."

Soon, Tashigi was the first to step forward, her gaze fixed on S-Hawk, who was carrying a black sword similar to Hawkeye's Yoru on his back.

"Dr. Vegapunk, can he use a sword?"

Vegapunk nodded: "Yes, S Eagle's brain has been implanted with a large number of sword techniques. According to your swordsmen's standards, I think he should be considered a great swordsman."