Hearing this, Shiki couldn't help but envision a colossal giant rampaging through the world without restraint. He asked, "You want to stop him?"
"Yes." Beltz nodded again. "Harald has essentially been deceived by the World Government, but his being tricked is a consequence of his own actions."
"He is beyond saving, so trying to make him change his mind won't work. To stop all of this, we must take Harald out after he is controlled, but before he has the chance to eat the Devil Fruit!"
"Why not now?" Shiki frowned. "Killing Harald now would save us the trouble of him being controlled later."
Beltz shook his head, rejecting Shiki's proposal. He explained:
"No. Harald is the King of Elbaf, after all. Attacking him now would be equivalent to declaring war on Elbaf itself."
"However, once Harald is controlled, he will realize he's been deceived. When we show up then, he might even actively cooperate with us to let us take him out."
Shiki realized the logic and felt a bit of admiration for Beltz. This man was truly formidable; not only did he possess immense combat power, but his mind was sharp—a rarity among pirates. And... he seemed to know everything!
Opposing Harald versus opposing Elbaf were two entirely different concepts. Elbaf was the world's strongest nation, filled with high-level combatants. Combined with Harald's own strength, conquering them was impossible. The best method was to wait until Harald recognized his own betrayal.
Beltz suggested this also because he remembered that Rocks was defeated by Garp and Roger. Harald's strength was on par with Rocks, so after being "reinforced," he should be roughly equal. Beltz and Shiki working together were certainly no less than Garp and Roger were back then!
With Shiki by his side, Beltz had total confidence in venturing into Elbaf. Furthermore, he was extremely interested in that legendary Devil Fruit passed down through the giants' royal line. It might even be suitable for himself or one of his future clones! Rocks had considered those two fruits capable of changing the world; surely they wouldn't be inferior to the Azure Dragon Fruit?
In his mind, he imagined himself with the Azure Dragon on the left and a Legend on the right—killing gods and Buddhas alike!
"The key is, how will you know when Harald is controlled?" Shiki asked.
"Don't worry, I'll know when the time comes."
Beltz smiled. He had an undercover agent in the Holy Land! With Liltotto there, he could track Harald's visits and movements at Mary Geoise, allowing them to prepare in advance. Sending Liltotto to be a Celestial Dragon was a brilliant move that provided endless benefits.
"...Then just come find me when it's time," Shiki said. "I'll be staying here for a while anyway."
"Fine. Go ahead and 'train' those newcomers. I'll head back first."
After finishing his business with Shiki, Beltz returned. He estimated Harald would be safe for the short term. Although he hadn't seen this specific part of the story's history in full, he knew Harald's incident occurred twelve years before the main plot started. Even if the World Government wasn't in a rush for manpower now, if they could take him down at any time, they wouldn't wait twenty years. He guessed they had a year or two of breathing room. In that time, he could become even stronger.
Back on Onigashima, he saw Rukia on the giant skull, eyes closed, undergoing the training for Zanpakuto Manifestation and Submission. She emitted an aura of extreme cold, looking like a human block of ice.
As he approached, Rukia opened her eyes. Beltz asked, "How is it? You look like you've found the knack for it."
Rukia nodded gratefully. "It's all thanks to your guidance. Otherwise, it might have taken decades to grasp the essence of Sode no Shirayuki."
Having read the manga, Beltz knew Rukia's sword was a temperature-control weapon. It primarily worked by lowering the user's own temperature and spreading that cold through the blade. Under extreme conditions, it could even reach Absolute Zero (0 K or −273.15∘C).
In the original series, Rukia learned the technique of "killing" her own body—halting the activity of the Reishi that composed her—to wield that power. By telling her this, Beltz gave her a clear direction. Her training in Haki helped, too. While Armament Haki wasn't useful for this (since Absolute Zero freezes every atom from the inside out), Observation Haki was vital. It sharpened her internal perception, allowing her to sense every movement in her body so she could "halt" it.
"Actually, there's an even simpler way," Beltz told her. "I've been keeping an eye out for the Chilly-Chilly Fruit or the Snow-Snow Fruit. If you could eat one of those Logias, you shouldn't have to fear the side effects of Absolute Zero."
Rukia was startled. Logia fruits were renowned as the strongest in this world. "How can I? Using such a powerful fruit on me would be a waste."
"Not at all," Beltz smiled. "I don't think anyone in this world is more suited for them than you."
At this point in time, Aokiji hadn't even joined the Navy, and Monet was nowhere to be seen, so the fruits were likely unowned. While the Chilly-Chilly Fruit was superior, Beltz felt the Snow-Snow Fruit fit the name "Sode no Shirayuki" better. The most important thing was the Logia's elemental intangibility, which would grant her immunity to extreme cold.
Beltz felt he owed Rukia. Her presence, specifically the Hogyoku inside her, made everything easier for him. He planned to eventually remove the Hogyoku, the value of which far surpassed any Devil Fruit. Giving her these benefits was a small compensation.
Seeing her look overwhelmed, Beltz patted her head. "You're a very talented person. Become strong. Only the strong can carry out their will." He paused, then corrected himself: "No, that's not quite right. It's not that only the strong can carry out their will, but that those who carry out their will are the strong. Rukia... become a strong person."
Rukia looked into his eyes and nodded heavily. "I will!"
"Keep it up. When you return to the Seireitei, you'll make your comrades and your big brother see you in a new light."
After Rukia returned to her training, Beltz went to the laboratory. The six Vegapunks—now five, after deciding not to split "Desire"—were hard at work.
"I told you your two clones won't be ready for six months," the main Vegapunk grumbled. "You're a harsh taskmaster."
"You're wrong this time," Beltz said. "I'm not here about the clones. I want to know if there's a way for long-distance communication."
"Long distance? That's just a Transponder Snail."
"No, not something easily intercepted or conspicuous. I want something smaller, more hidden, and more secure." Beltz and Liltotto used Quincy methods, but those had distance limits.
"Smaller, more secure..." Vegapunk mused. "That's not hard. Give me half a day."
Beltz then asked expectantly, "And the blood...?" He was referring to the sample from Yhwach.
"There has been progress," Vegapunk said, making Beltz's heart race. "That blood contains a 'complementary' energy. It's similar to a Devil Fruit, but while Fruit powers are stable, this power aligns perfectly with the host."
Vegapunk continued, "I've always believed Devil Fruits have a will, especially Mythical Zoans. This 'complementary power' is essentially Devil Fruit Power without a fixed form. It creates a power based on the user's will. Since you said it's the blood of a God, I can trace the source of this formless power and place it in a suitable vessel."
Beltz's eyes lit up with more excitement than ever before. "You mean you can turn the power of that blood's owner into a Devil Fruit?!"
Vegapunk nodded. "If everything goes well, it will be a Mythical Zoan."
Beltz replied almost instantly: "Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Yhwach!"
"Yhwach?" Vegapunk asked. He had never heard the name.
"You could also call it the Son of the Soul King, or the Son of God!"
Beltz was ecstatic. While Vegapunk couldn't use the blood to create a clone like he did with the Lunarians, he could replicate it as a Devil Fruit! It wouldn't be an exact 1:1 of Yhwach's full power, but it would be a top-tier fruit, perhaps more "broken" than the Azure Dragon or even the Nika Fruit. He just wondered if the fruit would carry Yhwach's flaw of being "incomplete," requiring the consumption of souls.