There wasn’t much complaint in Amphitrite’s tone. No matter what Nereus did, she would support him. After all, the changes in their lives today had all been brought about by Nereus.
The two of them having children together also carried a sense of things naturally falling into place.
“Ever since Uncle Wobbegong sent that thing back, Dad’s been fiddling with those two stones nonstop, hasn’t he?”
“Yeah. After all, they’re his ‘weapons.’ Though across the entire sea, he’s probably the only one who’d use something like that as a weapon.”
“Yaaa!!”
Feeling as though her mother and older sister were ignoring her while they talked, Chloe became a little unhappy, waving her tiny hands around in an attempt to draw their attention.
Meanwhile, at that moment, Nereus really was “bonding” with two enormous stones.
“Joy Boy left an apology letter to the Mermaid Princess on you. Your mission is to record that apology. But what practical use is an apology made only with words? Contributing something to Fishman Island would also be a pretty good choice, wouldn’t it?”
It sounded like he was talking to himself, and then Nereus turned to look at another red stone beside it.
“You carry the information to the final island. Instead of waiting here in the deep sea, being able to move around and let others see you would also be a pretty good choice, right?”
One red and one gray—these were Fishman Island’s two Poneglyphs. What material these stones were made from remained unknown even now, but one thing was certain: it was not Seastone.
As a Devil Fruit user, Nereus felt absolutely nothing when touching the two stones. If they were Seastone, that would never be the reaction.
Their indestructible nature was more like the product of some kind of ancient technology.
And now, the two stones were connected by a chain, transforming from a meteor hammer into dual hammers.
Beside them was a set of equipment that looked rather complicated.
Ever since discovering the existence of Lineage Factor back then, MADS had begun investing heavily into researching it. Based on that research, each of them had achieved considerable results.
Judge had even begun transplanting Lineage Factors, attempting to cultivate superhumans.
At the same time, under the request of their financial backer, technology allowing inanimate objects to consume Devil Fruits, with Lineage Factor as the foundation, had also made breakthroughs.
What Nereus was doing now was precisely this kind of cultivation, and the chosen Devil Fruit was naturally the third fruit brought back from God Valley.
How to determine the “whole” of an inanimate object was an extremely metaphysical matter. A firearm consisted of many separate components, yet after consuming a Devil Fruit, the entire gun would undergo transformation.
In theory, as long as the parts were assembled together, then it counted as a “complete entity.”
Now, through this chain, the two Poneglyphs had also become a unique entity.
The reason for choosing this method was also related to the final Devil Fruit.
“Wobbegong, you’d better be sure… that you’re not messing with me…”
Talking to stones was undoubtedly a strange thing overall, but as long as results could be achieved, it wasn’t entirely unacceptable.
Glancing at the hourglass nearby, the sand stored within had nearly run out. It was about the same timing Wobbegong had predicted.
As the final grain of sand fell, the two stones that had originally been lifeless now seemed to show signs of life.
Thump… thump… thump…
Heavy heartbeats echoed from within the square stone blocks. The two Poneglyphs seemed to melt as their forms began to change.
The blue-gray massive stone grew thick limbs, while the square-shaped characters transformed into something resembling the oracle script, leaving deep marks upon the rocky shell it evolved into.
At this moment, it had already transformed into a giant turtle made of stone.
Thick iron chains wrapped around the turtle’s body, while the red giant stone appeared far more agile, almost coiling around the turtle itself as it transformed into a scarlet giant serpent.
Turtle-Turtle Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Genbu.
It had to be said that the World Government truly possessed the deepest foundations. Kaido claimed to be the greatest enthusiast of Zoan-types, yet from the moment the Beasts Pirates began recruiting under Kaido, over thirty years had passed and they had obtained only two Mythical Zoans.
One of them had even been snatched from Charlotte Linlin during the events at God Valley.
Strictly speaking, the only Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit Kaido had gone through great effort to find himself was the Okuchi no Makami. Ancient Zoans, on the other hand, he had found quite a few of.
Yet Mythical Zoans were said to be even rarer than Logia-types, and the World Government could casually bring out several at once. Even after many had been stolen away, they still had enough left over to feed to weapons.
Nereus’s decision to combine Fishman Island’s two Poneglyphs in this manner was not without reason. After consulting the later-discovered encyclopedia and confirming that the remaining fruits were the Kirin and Genbu, Nereus had come up with this idea.
The best fruits to feed to inanimate objects were Zoan-types, because Zoan-types possessed the strongest self-awareness, allowing inanimate objects to become living beings.
And Genbu was particularly rare in that it possessed two separate consciousnesses.
That also created the possibility of using the two stones as separate vessels for it.
“Hiss!”
“Roar!”
“Doesn’t look like a very obedient child…”
Looking at the Devil Fruit that had now become a stone Genbu, Nereus stretched his wrists before fixing his gaze upon it.
Faint thunder crackled through the air as an almost tangible pressure surged toward the Genbu before him.
Once a weapon came to life, it had to understand who its master was. This was also something Wobbegong had written down in his notes.
Only by making it recognize its master’s identity could it be used properly.
Because of this, when Wobbegong introduced this technology, he recommended choosing docile animals instead, since they were easier to tame.
Allowing a weapon to consume a Mythical Zoan would certainly make it stronger, but it also meant it would be much harder to handle.
“Roar…”
Its thick four limbs stepped back slightly. As a newborn lifeform, it sensed the oppressive pressure from the man before it, and from the familiar aura within that Haki, it realized his identity.
Boom…
The enormous turtle legs lowered to the ground as the Genbu bowed its massive head toward Nereus, expressing submission.
“Very good. That saves a lot of trouble. Next, it’s time to test your abilities…”
Weapons could not only consume Devil Fruits, they could even achieve awakening. Just as Nereus was preparing to test the current potential of this fruit, a father and son were walking over outside the door.
They were Vander Decken VIII and his son, Vander Decken IX.
“Back in the day, your father here was one of the overlords around Fishman Island. Any humans who came close were terrified of me.
Later, I fought His Majesty Nereus for three hundred rounds. I respected his strength, and he appreciated me, so I joined under his command. This time, I’m bringing you to meet His Majesty, so you’d better perform well…”
And it was at that moment that an aura suddenly emerged from behind the door…
“Father, although I really want to believe what you’re saying, why did you suddenly kneel down?”
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