The first half of the Grand Line.
High above the sea, Wafer Lloyd Island, carrying a large expanse of seawater, floated quietly. A pale yellow beam of light radiated from the center of the island, reaching straight into the sky.
Marigold and Sephiroth stood side by side at the entrance of the Sky Gazing Tower, looking at the dazzling purple light emanating from the heavy door.
Marigold said with a slight surprise, "Is this Vafflod...? Why did you place this island hundreds of kilometers away from the Kingdom of God?"
"There was no other way! It's a matter of great importance.
After all, this island hides an ancient weapon called the 'light of redemption', which is a powerful weapon that can control celestial phenomena for attack. Destroying cities and nations is effortless, so the World Government has always coveted it. To be safe, I could only isolate it from the outside world…" Sephiroth said with emotion.
Influenced by the Umbrella Corporation, the Marines have also conducted research on large-caliber, ultra-long-range weapons like anti-aircraft guns in recent years, attempting to master weapons that can strike targets beyond the line of sight from a distance of ten to twenty kilometers. With top scientists like Vegapunk around, Sephiroth felt that the Marines mastering anti-aircraft guns, or even innovating upon them, would be no problem at all…
After analyzing lunar technology, the Umbrella Corporation can master rocket launchers capable of precise strikes on targets seventy kilometers away.
It's possible that as Vegapunk's research deepens, he might also gain access to related ancient technology and apply it. Technological advancement, while bringing benefits and convenience, also brings disadvantages and threats. Previously, the World Government, constrained by the lack of ultra-long-range weapons, could do nothing to Wafer Lloyd Island floating on the sea and could only monitor it. But…
It is believed that before long, Marine warships will be equipped with anti-aircraft guns, giving their fleet extremely powerful long-range strike capabilities.
Given the World Government's nature, they will likely think that since they cannot obtain the ancient weapon "light of redemption" hidden on Wafer Lloyd Island, they might as well just destroy it so no one else can get it…
At that time, it's possible that the Marines will directly receive a request from the World Government to launch a Buster Call on Vafflod, carrying out indiscriminate bombing of the island from twenty kilometers away, destroying everything on the island!
Click—! The heavy door of the Sky Gazing Tower slowly opened, revealing something strange to the eyes of the two.
One by one, gray cubic soul crystals filled this space, forming walls and corridors, while others floated quietly in mid-air.
"What is this? Through Observation Haki, I sensed a special energy on it…
So much so that this thing feels like… like…"
Before Marigold could find the right words, Sephiroth spoke first.
"It feels like crystallized human thoughts, right?"
"Yes, exactly!"
"This thing is called a soul crystal. Within the Sky Gazing Tower, it can construct any mimetic creature by absorbing a certain special energy floating in the air, as well as human thoughts…"
A confused expression appeared on Marigold's face. She asked, somewhat puzzled, "Mimetic creature… what is that?"
"Hmm! Explaining it in detail is a bit troublesome… I'll just show you directly!"
As he spoke, Sephiroth raised his right hand and lightly snapped his fingers.
Snap—!
As the sound fell, a palm-sized cubic gray soul crystal automatically flew out from within the Sky Gazing Tower and hovered in front of them.
Streaks of blue energy materialized from the void, continuously surging into the soul crystal.
The next moment, a beautiful woman, whose build and appearance were completely identical to Marigold, appeared out of thin air. Her body was wrapped in constantly leaping blue lightning.
Out of curiosity, Marigold extended her right hand and gently touched the woman's body.
She was surprised to find that her right hand passed through the other woman's body. The body was entirely constructed of lightning.
This was the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's… Elemental form!?
"Can this soul crystal even replicate the elemental form of a Logia type?"
"Yes! By absorbing my thoughts, the soul crystal constructed you as I remember you. Whether it's your build and appearance, or your Devil Fruit ability, everything has been perfectly replicated. Of course, in terms of actual combat power, limited by the Sky Gazing Tower's energy supply, it cannot compare to you…"
"This is already very impressive! Through Observation Haki, I can clearly sense just how powerful this mimetic creature in front of me is. It's at least sixty to seventy percent of my level…"
Marigold first expressed her heartfelt emotion, then she said with a surprised look, "Huh!? Wait! Doesn't this mean you can mass-produce powerful mimetic creatures through the Sky Gazing Tower?"
"Yes, you can! However, this can only be done within the Sky Gazing Tower. Once a soul crystal leaves the Sky Gazing Tower, its performance will be greatly weakened, and the further away it is, the worse the effect. When the distance is increased to a certain extent, the performance of the soul crystal will even weaken to the point where it can no longer absorb special energy. After its internal energy is completely depleted, it will stop functioning."
Marie Gold nodded in understanding, saying with a hint of regret, "I see! That's really a pity…"
But what exactly is the special energy you mentioned?"
"Qi."
"Qi…? What kind of Qi?"
"Hmm! If I had to make a comparison, it's very close to the concept of Qi in Traditional Chinese Medicine theory.
We live within this Qi, constantly inhaling and exhaling it, instinctively absorbing it. Some people have a high affinity for Qi, so they absorb more, making their physique strong. Those with natural superhuman strength, or even natural Armament Haki, are examples of this. Some people have a lower affinity, absorbing less Qi, and their physique appears very ordinary. Most people in this world are basically like this.
However, the body's absorption of this Qi can be increased, and the simplest method is exercise…
Both soul crystals and Devil Fruits utilize this Qi to produce various incredible powers. Or rather, Devil Fruits are actually another form of soul crystal. Their basic principles are actually the same: thoughts form the initial outline, and Qi is used to derive various abilities…"
Sephiroth gazed at the soul crystals within the tower, his eyes gradually becoming fervent and obsessive. After years of research, he finally touched upon the essence of Devil Fruits.
He was very surprised to discover that the core technology used in Devil Fruits and soul crystals, two completely different things, was actually the same…!? All their various peculiarities are manifested by means of a certain special energy in the air! This couldn't help but make Sephiroth feel that he was touching upon the true realm of God. If he could completely master the technical principles within it, then he would become a true… God!
Marigold rested her chin on her hand, a puzzled expression on her face.
"You said you wanted to bring me to Vafflod to see something, is it the soul crystal?"
Yesterday, Sephiroth had suddenly contacted her using a den den mushi, asking her to come to Sky Island if she had time, saying he wanted to show her something very impressive. So, after rearranging her work, Marigold flew to Sky Island the next day with Hancock and Sandersonia using the Interstellar Ark. Unexpectedly, Sephiroth brought her to Vafflod to see this thing called a soul crystal.
Marigold admitted that the soul crystal was indeed very impressive, but why did he bring her to see this?
"Showing you the soul crystal was just a side note…"
"What I truly wanted to show you is the "light of redemption". I want to transfer its control authority to you. Due to the transfer of the "light of redemption"'s authority, the control of this Sky Gazing Tower will also change hands accordingly," Sephiroth explained.
Hearing this, Marigold couldn't help but be slightly startled. She subconsciously refused:
"Huh!? Why…?"
I just heard you say that the "light of redemption" can easily destroy cities and nations. It should be more suitable for this weapon to be in your hands, right? My usual combat is just hunting Pirates on the high seas. I have no use for such a super weapon…"
"The "light of redemption" requires wearing a sensing helmet in the cockpit to link and communicate via brainwaves to accurately transmit commands. Therefore, this thing is too much of a hassle in my hands. With your Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability, you should be able to link and communicate without needing to wear the helmet, right?
Sephiroth brought Marie Gold to the top of the Sky Gazing Tower. While he explained, he played "light of redemption" and opened the door to the top of the tower, beginning the process of transferring authority over the Gods Breath.
After they walked up the stone steps, the two of them saw the Gods Breath quietly floating above the altar. It was made entirely of metal, with a massive body like a Sea King, and it looked like a red goldfish with a large, single eye.
"This thing... has its own will?" Marie Gold used only Observation Haki to sense the ancient weapon in front of her. She keenly discovered the anomaly.
"That's right! Like the moon robots, it has a high degree of intelligence, and its program seems to have a very high degree of independence. I tried for a long time but couldn't crack its intelligent program and modify it. The guys who made the Gods Breath should have further developed and evolved based on moon technology..."
Sephiroth walked to the side of the Gods Breath and opened the door of the cockpit. He led Marie Gold inside.
Clatter-! Clatter-!
After putting on the metal helmet used to communicate with the Gods Breath, Sephiroth's hands quickly tapped on the control panel, beginning the process of changing the operator's authority. Soon, the preparations were completed, and only then did he place the helmet on Marie Gold's head. Under Sephiroth's prompting and guidance, Marie Gold quickly gained control of the Gods Breath.
"Hmm! It is indeed communicating through brain waves... However, this guy's self-awareness seems a bit too strong." Marie Gold took off the helmet, closed her eyes, and carefully felt it for a while before speaking:
"As a tool, absolute obedience to commands is the most important thing it should do..." As she spoke, Marie Gold raised her right hand and pressed it onto the control panel. Immediately, tiny blue electric arcs erupted from her palm and quickly drilled into the core components of the Gods Breath.
The next moment.
Roar-! The Gods Breath, floating above the altar, seemed to express its anger towards Marie Gold.
It immediately let out a high-pitched sonic scream and began to twist its massive body in the air.
Rumble-!
Patches of dark thunderclouds quickly gathered towards the Gods Breath. Marie Gold's attempt to tamper with its independent will touched its reverse scale. It immediately wanted to draw lightning and bombard its interior, but under Marie Gold's electrical signal interference, it was unable to draw lightning internally or eject the cockpit inside its body for a long time.
"Hey! I feel like it's going berserk! What are you doing?"
Noticing the changes outside and the anomaly of the Gods Breath, Sephiroth immediately turned his head to look at Marie Gold beside him.
"I am trying to bypass the protection mechanism of the Gods Breath and tamper with its core instructions. For you, cracking the program through normal means may be a very tricky problem, but I am different. I can issue instructions directly to its internal hardware by manipulating electrical signals... After all, the self-awareness of the Gods Breath is, in the end, just a software program running on hardware!"
Marie Gold said calmly, her hand movements not stopping at all.
Soon, the Gods Breath, which had fallen into a berserk state, quieted down, the dark thunderclouds in the sky dispersed, and a supreme command of absolute obedience was loaded into its program by her.
"It seems you've been studying all the knowledge I taught you well!" Sephiroth said with a hint of relief.
"Hmph! Of course!" Upon hearing this, Marie Gold slightly raised her pointed chin, revealing her fair and slender neck. She smiled, displaying an expression that seemed to say, "Hurry up and praise me."
"Hmm! Marie Gold is indeed the best!" Sephiroth smiled and directly kissed her sexy, rosy lips.
After gaining control of the Gods Breath, Marie Gold immediately began to carefully study the performance of this ancient weapon...
After a while, she turned her head to look at the young man beside her and said thoughtfully:
"Sephiroth, with our current strength, plus the power of this ancient weapon, the Gods Breath, we should now be able to completely defeat the Beasts Pirates... When are you going to make your move?"
Upon hearing this, Sephiroth shook his head.
He reached out and gently stroked the woman's soft, orange-red long hair, murmuring:
"Now... is not the time. The World Government is a bit tricky; we need to wait for a suitable opportunity..."
The current Beasts Pirates, due to the annexation of the Donquixote Family and Hachinosu, have more than doubled their power and fighting strength compared to the original story, becoming the strongest pirate crew among the Four Emperors Pirate Crew in terms of military force. But... Sephiroth still had a 70% chance of annihilating the Beasts Pirates!
After all, in addition to the Umbrella Corporation's various powerful weapons, he also had quite a few high-end combatants on his side! Hancock, Yamato, Kozuki Hiyori, Marie Gold, Sandersonia...
Huh!?
How come all the people who can be considered high-end combatants in my forces are my own girls?... Sephiroth thought with some embarrassment.
However, he thought about it again. Most of his girls had good talent and had received his best resource allocation and training.
With the foundation of those few girls, plus the other girls who haven't grown up yet, it is estimated that in a few more years, they themselves can directly form a strong Emperor crew!
But... Even so, Sephiroth did not want to rashly go to war with the Beasts Pirates.
Once this war begins, the forces that Sephiroth has hidden for many years will definitely be completely exposed to the world! The Umbrella Corporation has only exposed a part of its financial resources, and it has been targeted and feared by the Gorosei everywhere. If such a powerful military force is also exposed...
Given the World Government's character, they will probably eliminate the Umbrella Corporation, this huge unstable factor, at all costs.
At that time, the Umbrella Corporation will launch an all-out war against the World Government! With the various trump cards Sephiroth currently holds, the Umbrella Corporation is already in an invincible position. But... Invincible does not necessarily mean winning! Sephiroth is plotting for the entire Pirate King planet, not simply occupying a corner and becoming king...
After all, he had already achieved this when he occupied Sky Island and became the God of Sky Island! The resources and power Sephiroth currently possesses are basically unmatched by any king in the world, except for the high and mighty Celestial Dragons. The main reason Sephiroth has been secretly accumulating strength is that he is not sure how deep the World Government's foundation is...
After all, when he died in his previous life, Pirate King had not yet been completed, and it was only serialized to the Egghead Island arc, so he did not know how many trump cards the World Government still had. Know yourself and your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles! All along, the reason Sephiroth has been able to sail smoothly in most cases is entirely due to his various information advantages, combined with his analysis of the current situation, which allows him to maximize his gains.
Now, facing the unknown hidden trump cards of the World Government, what he could do was continuously accumulate strength and hide behind the scenes, disrupting the entire world!
Only when the World Government was completely overwhelmed and gradually revealed those hidden trump cards would Sephiroth choose to enter and reap the benefits.
The Revolutionary Army, the Germa Kingdom, the Big Mom Pirates, the future Nika Luffy... all of these were chess pieces he used to disrupt the world!
I'm really becoming more and more like a behind-the-scenes villain BOSS!... Sephiroth muttered to himself.
Now, facing the unknown hidden trump cards of the World Gove...