Gaining power is a good thing, but unfortunately, the source of that power is currently the Marines’ greatest enemy.
As long as he exists, it means the Beasts Pirates can continuously obtain Ability users.
All the unknowns, after Arceus revealed his power, automatically connected into a single network.
There are too many things within the Beasts Pirates that science and Devil Fruits cannot explain, but if Arceus is taken as the source, then everything makes sense.
[Bestowing… or creating?]
It is a common understanding on the seas that only one of the same Devil Fruit can exist. Some fruits may have very similar abilities, but they are ultimately not the same fruit.
Yet the Beasts Pirates possess multiple Ability Users. Not to mention distant examples, Falinks alone is the most direct example. Their perfectly coordinated formation ability, unless faced with an overwhelmingly powerful individual, makes them an invincible vanguard army on the battlefield.
As an undercover agent, Drake had done sufficient preparation before coming here. While he didn’t know everyone, he was very familiar with the named officers.
Among them was Mandrell. His rise was accompanied by multiple failures and miraculous escapes. In his early years, he even used an underground river to escape from Kizaru’s grasp.
Why the Beasts Pirates’ Ability Users could retreat underwater had always been a mystery, but now it was different.
Devil Fruit users fear water, but non-Devil Fruit users are a different matter.
During this process, Drake also thought of something even more terrifying. If the source of these Mythical Zoans in the Beasts Pirates is Arceus, then those strange creatures… what is their source?
Drake didn’t know how many Pokémon existed in Wano Country. Forget the exact number, he couldn’t even count the species.
And over time, that number keeps increasing, and those Pokémon themselves all possess special abilities.
A duck specializing in swordsmanship, a four-armed Machamp with extraordinary combat ability. During his years working in the mines, he had witnessed the strength of those Pokémon responsible for guarding.
Leaving aside the weaker ones, that Aggron in the mine could easily deal with pirates whose bounties had just surpassed 100 million. Not to mention the big guys like Emboar.
If the number of such Pokémon has no upper limit, then the implications become even more complex.
He had formed a hypothesis in his mind, but without seeing it with his own eyes, this hope was nothing more than self-deception.
It was like a paternity test—once it says there’s a 99.9% probability, the remaining 0.1% can basically be ignored.
Today’s situation, along with the Gyarados family possessing abilities identical to Mandrell’s, was already enough to explain many things.
“Hey, you….after transforming, you’re pretty big. Still not familiar with your ability?”
Drake suddenly felt something poking his leg. When he looked down, Carrot, who had already cancelled her ability and returned to her original form, was curiously fiddling with the rocky structure on his leg.
At this point, Drake’s Allosaurus had completely transformed into the form of a Tyrantrum. However, this was not Tyrantrum’s strongest state, since in the Pokémon world, Tyrantrum was also an ancient Pokémon that lived a hundred million years ago.
His current state was merely the result of Devon Corporation reviving a fossil.
Carrot snapped Drake out of his thoughts, but her way of addressing him made him pause.
“Y-you?”
“Yeah, isn’t your name ‘you’?”
“…”
Minks tend to think differently from ordinary people. With Delia setting a precedent, the veterans of the Beasts Pirates rarely called him by name. And since Drake hadn’t joined through normal means, for a long time he had simply been called “you.”
Later, some people on Jack’s ship who got familiar with him started calling him “Red Flag.” After all this time of having the rights to his name effectively stripped away, Drake had gradually grown numb to it.
However, the “you” still brought back some rather unpleasant memories for him.
“Silence! The ritual isn’t over yet.”
Shayna’s scepter struck the ground, and Bepo and Carrot instinctively stood at attention. During the earlier rehearsal, Shayna had left a very strict impression on them.
The scepter in Shayna’s hand rose into the air. The scepter formed from the Red Chain reverted back into chain, splitting into three parts that were taken by Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf respectively.
“The ability trial begins now!”
The power of Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf surged upward along the Red Chain. In an instant, the familiar scene from before spread outward again, and in the blink of an eye, the original venue seemed to transform into a vast lake.
“What… astonishing power.”
Living in the New World, even as a princess of a nation, Vaiself had her own understanding of the world’s cruelty. She knew how directly powerful abilities could enhance strength.
After all, the strongest warrior of her kingdom had become so precisely because of possessing a Devil Fruit.
Yet compared to this transformation of space, such abilities seemed somewhat inferior.
Aside from the massive lake that had appeared out of nowhere ahead, everything else seemed unchanged, but Vaiself suddenly sensed a tremor.
“Ho, ho, ho!”
The pirates on Onigashima stomped in unison, as if welcoming some kind of carnival. Accompanied by their shouts, their footsteps grew louder and louder, eventually creating the effect of a small-scale earthquake.
Promoting martial strength remained the foundation of the Beasts Pirates. To earn respect here, the most direct way was to display one’s strength. Every batch of those who gained abilities had to fight. This had already become a tradition of the Beasts Pirates.
Shayna did not continue to maintain order. The Divine Blessing Ritual of Arceus had essentially concluded at this point. What followed was the stage where the newly Blessed Ones would prove their worth through battle.
Moreover, there were already two people she couldn’t control who had taken the lead in breaking the rules.
Boom!
They were still seated, yet their kanabo had already clashed together.
“Not bad, your vigilance is decent.”
“Hmph. The moment I sat beside you, I was already on full alert. I knew a b*stard like you would never behave, no matter the situation.”
“Worororo, this is a test for you.”
Their exchange ended almost as soon as it began, or rather, it couldn’t even be called a battle. For the two of them, this level was no more than flicking someone’s forehead.
Both Kaido and Yamato also sensed a gaze watching them, so they temporarily halted their actions.
At the same time, on the lake trial formed by the powers of Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, the battle of the Blessed Ones had already begun.
Originally, Drake had been alarmed by the appearance of the vast lake. After all, Ability Users in the Beasts Pirates were not 100% immune to water. Drake himself was an Ability User, and by his estimation, he cannot fall into the water.
Drake used Geppo to leap into the air, Carrot flew using Magnet Rise, while the absent-minded Bepo fell straight into the water.
Before the battle officially begins, Bepo always gives off a bit of a dazed impression.
“Bepo, this guy…”
In the spectator stands, Bepo’s older brother Zepo helplessly covered his face. For some reason, in everyday life, Bepo always had a very negative attitude. Sometimes even Perona’s Negative Hallows had little effect on him.
Compared to Zepo, who had ventured out into the world for years, Bepo’s temperament was far inferior.
“He’s growing too, isn’t he?”
“They’ve both been following the Duchess, yet he can’t even compare to that little girl Carrot. Speaking of which, Carrot was trained by you, right? What do you think of her?”
“She has great talent. If she had a carnivorous bloodline, she would be even stronger. Being a rabbit limits her somewhat, but with Lord’s power, bloodline is no longer a restriction.”
Unlike the Longarm Tribe and the Giants, the Minks and Fish-Men have species differences that, to some extent, determine their future direction.
Under the same conditions, the combat ability of tigers and leopards would naturally surpass that of rabbits—sharp teeth and claws give them an innate advantage.
However, Arceus’s power can ultimately break this limit, allowing a person’s future to go even further.
“You don’t need to keep worrying about Bepo. In my opinion, he’ll go farther than you, his older brother, someday.”
The surface of the lake had now been covered in ice crystals. Although he had been momentarily dazed at first, once Bepo adjusted himself, he quickly entered battle mode, and the power within his body guided him on what to do.
Even without entering Sulong, Bepo’s originally round and soft appearance became ferocious. The icy beard emitted a chilling aura, and even his teeth and claws were coated with a layer of frost. The moisture that hadn’t yet dried from his fur had turned into armor made of ice crystals.
Beartic does not fear water. As an apex predator of the northern ice fields, swimming is one of its greatest strengths. Beartic can often be seen in the northern seas filled with icebergs.
The prey they catch is frozen and stored to survive seasons when food is scarce. If they grow tired of swimming, Beartic will exhale cold air to freeze the seawater and rest on the ice.
On the ice fields, such Pokémon are known as Snow-White Demons.
In a sense, this trial lake was the most suitable battlefield for Bepo. Just as Drake found a foothold and landed, Bepo was already slashing at him with his claws.
His ice claws served as anti-slip tools; even on the icy surface, there was no sign of slipping at all.
Casting aside the worries in his mind, Drake’s body began to expand, transforming into a crimson dragon-man. No matter what, he still had to continue his mission.
He had come this far with great difficulty; he couldn’t give up now.
However, this battle was not fair to him, whether in terms of type or numbers.
As he exchanged blows with Bepo, Carrot kicked toward his head. When the number of participants was even, the duel would be a relatively fair one-on-one. But once it was an odd number, it turned into a chaotic melee.
As for how teams formed in a melee, that depended entirely on personal relationships. One couldn’t pray for fairness from the enemy on the battlefield, so such matters of luck also became part of the fight.
The difference in race caused Drake to be directly surrounded and attacked. Yet no one below felt any pity or sympathy, only a new wave of cheers erupted.
“Freezing the sea surface as a battlefield… this method looks pretty familiar, wouldn’t you say, Kuzan?”
“More or less. Though it makes my ability seem pretty useless.”
Scratching his head, Kuzan mocked his own ability.
“You’re a Logia-type, though. But then again, Mythical Zoans are indeed rarer than Logia-types.”
“Red Hair, are you telling a cold joke? If so, let me congratulate you, you’ve successfully chilled me.” [TN: Also mean lame joke, corny joke, or dry joke.]
Since their emergence, Mythical Zoans have been regarded as even rarer than Logia-types, but that statement clearly has many issues.
After all, the number of Mythical Zoan users has been steadily increasing and has long surpassed that of Logia-type users. Not to mention the Beasts Pirates’ unscientific method of granting abilities, just now, they had personally witnessed the birth of three Mythical Zoans.
Bepo’s ice and Drake’s rock were the best examples. Although Carrot did not display such exaggerated elemental traits, judging from Bepo and Drake’s cases, her ability was certainly nothing ordinary.
“I’m not joking. I’m just stating the facts. Anyway, now we finally have a clear answer as to where the Beasts Pirates’ Ability Users come from.”
“Yeah… it seems Queen’s so-called technology was just taking the blame.”
Neither Kuzan nor Shanks appeared overly shocked. After all, they had seen many grand scenes before. Moreover, Kuzan’s Camel had previously been transformed into an Empoleon, so he had already formed some guesses.
However, when Kuzan mentioned “taking the blame,” an extremely agitated voice suddenly came from behind them.
“What did you say?!”
“Queen?”
“Do you know how hard it’s been for me? Finally, someone understands this! Your Marine Intelligence Branch must be blind. Do you know how much pressure that ‘only alive’ label put on me?!”
“But weren’t you enjoying that glory?”
Just as Queen was about to complain, Yamato’s questioning voice came from behind, forcibly suppressing the emotions he had just built up.
“So that’s how it is… it seems artificial Devil Fruits are truly insignificant to them…”
Seeing all this, Doflamingo came to understand even more. Artificial Devil Fruits were, at most, an extra for the Beasts Pirates; they didn’t matter much. Even without them, they would have better substitutes.
“Fuffuffuffu, never mind. This has nothing to do with me anymore. I’m really looking forward to the moment they collide…”
Doflamingo quickly let go of the matter. Instead, Senor beside him had a glimmer of light in his eyes.
He and Lao G had also come here earlier, taking their seats in advance to arrange things for Doflamingo. Now, he saw a new hope—a hope that could completely restore his wife.
Gloriosa, who had come together with Hancock, stared blankly ahead, lost in thought. She didn’t even respond when Hancock called out to her.
“Granny Nyon, Granny Nyon! Did you hear what I said? What do you think we should do about this?”
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