Monet herself already looked completely used to it. Even if she were eaten one day, she probably would not find it strange.
Law, on the other hand, revealed a stunned expression. For one instant, his thoughts completely jammed, and he nearly thought he was hallucinating.
"…Monet, you…"
Law knew Monet. He had spent time around her.
To be precise, the core members of the Donquixote Family had all come into contact with one another since childhood.
That was why Law understood very clearly what sort of feelings Monet held toward Doflamingo.
But the scene before his eyes overturned everything he knew.
"If I complete your plan, can I leave?"
Monet said expressionlessly, pretending the hand on her lethal weapon did not exist.
Without waiting for Ren's answer, she looked straight at Law. "Young Master lost. He is still alive now, locked inside a special prison. Unfortunately, the man I firmly believed could become the Pirate King suffered a crushing defeat.
"But I think there is still a chance. It is precisely for that chance that I am telling you these things now."
"He's still alive!"
Law's breathing grew rapid. He subconsciously tightened his grip around the iron bars in front of him, then let go and staggered back as if he had been electrocuted.
Damn it, Seastone!
"Don't waste time. I still need to go get some grapes for Sugar."
Monet maintained her expressionless look and glanced at Ren, who had already changed hand gestures several times. "If you are truly interested in this, there will be plenty of time tonight."
She was like a doll that had already accepted its fate. No matter what happened, she would no longer feel that it was unacceptable.
After all, under Ren's repeated interference, Monet could no longer bring herself to hate this man from any angle.
In most situations, as long as he was not harming Young Master, she would even think on his behalf.
This was a curse.
The tragic part was that she could no longer break free from it.
Perhaps—
This was retribution.
The retribution she deserved for her sins.
With Ren's permission, Monet left the prison. After that, Ren presented evidence such as photos and recordings.
Once Law truly confirmed that Doflamingo had indeed been defeated, and was even being held prisoner, the way he looked at Ren changed noticeably.
That look was—
Awe.
"Since you already know my past, and understand the hatred between me and him, and have even taken action because of it…
"Then answer me."
After confirming his own situation, Law asked frankly, "What do you want me to do before I can kill Doflamingo?"
"The premise of a transaction is equality, Law."
Ren flexed his hand, as if savoring the sensation for a moment, but he quickly entered work mode. "What price are you offering for your life?"
"…That is for you to decide, Ren-ya."
Law fell silent for a moment, recognizing his position.
"Your ability is extremely interesting, and at the same time, you are a genius in medicine and pharmacology.
"Amber Lead Syndrome is an incurable disease of the world, but you still managed to cure yourself in a short period of time.
"As it happens, I am researching a project—or rather, I want to obtain the results of that project. Its fundamental purpose is the talent of the Lunarian race.
"At present, I have a portion of flesh-and-blood tissue, as well as two extremely capable scientists, one of whom is proficient in cloning.
"In addition, there are several billion in research funds. After this, I will also provide high-value research materials."
Ren spread his hands. "This is my demand: a result. This is not a simple matter. I understand that very well.
"But exchanging time for your life—there is no more worthwhile trade than this, is there?"
"…Fine. But you need to guarantee my crew's safety."
"I can guarantee that."
The conversation with Law ended there, and Ren left the prison.
'Doflamingo… Once I solve this problem, I'll think carefully about how to kill you!'
Law collapsed onto the floor, clenching his fists, as though he had found the meaning of his life once more.
'Am I a little too evil? Even if the dead fall into my hands, I squeeze them dry twice over.'
As Ren departed, he thought this to himself. After all, this was basically exploiting a dead man, and doing it twice at that.
But considering Doflamingo was a rotten bastard…
Monet and the others were not worth pitying either.
At most… Law was just a little unlucky.
Mm.
Let them suffer a little. Their days would eventually get better. At worst, he would shoulder the infamy himself!
As for why the target was the Lunarian race, the events in Dressrosa had already proven the superiority of that race's natural talent.
Considering the direction of his future development, Ren, who had begun planning ahead, believed it was necessary to acquire that talent for infinite adaptation.
Of course, this was only one of his preparations. He would not put all his eggs in one basket.
After leaving the prison, Ren went to inspect Caesar and the others' situation.
Because of Robin's methods, things were still being kept within a gradually declining but acceptable range.
He was referring to Caesar and the others losing control.
At this moment, inside Punk Hazard's main base,
Ren was handling the profits. Of the 70 billion Beli delivered to him, he kept 5 billion as funds for research, the team, and other needs.
The remaining 65 billion was all recharged into the account. As for the Devil Fruits, they were prepared for the Sea Offering.
He thought for a moment and decided on his next direction.
Upgrade Cursed Blade: Thousand Edge!
In the battle during the Kuja incident, Ren had not used the Cursed Blade. During the Sabaody incident, he had used Zoro's Sandai Kitetsu instead.
That was because the original Cursed Blade: Thousand Edge had developed a slight problem.
As Ren's strength improved, and because of the path he walked, the hundred-million-level Cursed Blade had begun to fail to withstand his intensity.
Fine, to put it bluntly, when he had used Thunderflame Greatblade: Like a Dream Bubble to break Kaido's defense, the shattered blades had shown signs of deformation and melting.
He had communicated with the Cursed Spirit about it. This would affect Thousand Edge's various properties.
The method of extremely compressing energy to form a plasma blade was still too far beyond specifications for Thousand Edge.
The correct way to use it should have been to condense it with pure inner Qi, not violently squeeze it together with energy. Thousand Edge was not made for that.
Its forger had never imagined that someone from the "Ster Kingdom" would apply energy to Cursed Blade: Thousand Edge.
It was a mismatch of specialties. So, naturally, problems had occurred.
Theoretically, the best method was to condense it with Qi.
However, Ren obviously did not possess the level of those peak experts in Assassin Wu Liuqi.
They had trained since childhood. How many years had he been practicing?
Without taking crooked shortcuts, he would not even have had the qualifications to leave that scar.
The price he paid for it was this reforging of the Cursed Blade.
The core material he chose was the Thunder Spear, which had begun to fall out of the meta. As a weapon that had followed him since the East Blue, the Thunder Spear's strength was beginning to lag behind the demands of battle.
Back on Skypiea, it could still be overlaid onto Thousand Edge to provide lightning enhancement.
When he beat up Cavendish, it could still be used as a gauntlet. Afterward, Ren had treated it as a portable lightning energy source.
But to be honest, as he gradually became more proficient in the trait of Thunder and Flame Mastery, and as that trait grew alongside Ren himself, the Thunder Spear's role became smaller and smaller.
This was an objective fact. After all, the Thunder Spear was not some especially high-level prize.
The Dimensional Roulette opened, and the screen of light refreshed.
He started with two lucky consecutive draws. While his luck was still decent, he intended to complete this round's lottery target.
The chips jumped, and the progress count on the roulette changed along with them.
One after another, streams of colored light were thrown out, then examined, decided upon, and synthesized.
In the end, they formed a cyan-purple blade of light.
Its style vaguely resembled Cursed Blade: Thousand Edge. Dark, cyan-purple patterns wound around the hilt.
The guard was still half of a demon's face, with scarlet eyes flashing within.
The blade extending downward was the straight saber commonly seen on the sea, but its color was cyan-purple, and its material…
was not matter!
.
[Heavenly Might]
[Origin: ??]
[Type: Rule Creation]
[Description: The final product synthesized from multiple items. Its fundamental purpose is that of a killing weapon, and its tailor-made design is extremely aligned with the user's needs.]
[Effect: Heavenly Might is bound by default to its holder, "Ren." When held, it activates "Bedrock," "Adaptive Transformation," and "Thunder Spirit."
Bedrock Trait — As a weapon, Heavenly Might possesses an indestructible rule property. This property originates from Minecraft's Bedrock, with multiple prizes reinforcing the concept.
Therefore, the indestructible rule property has extremely high priority. For example, it cannot be affected by the abilities of an Awakened Rust-Rust Fruit, and so on.
Adaptive Trait — Due to the holder's pursuit, Heavenly Might is capable of transforming into different forms of existence according to different changes, while always retaining its function as a "weapon."
For example, Heavenly Might can be transformed into a plasma state, gaseous state, liquid state, and so on.
Thunder Spirit Trait — When the user places it in an environment of lightning and actively awakens the thunder spirit within,
after the spirit awakens, it will gain control over the weapon and lightning, and enter a shared state with the user.
In other words, the thunder spirit's lightning constitution can be synchronized to the holder through sharing.
Note: The Bedrock Trait cannot be shared. Living beings cannot withstand the rule property of Bedrock.]
[Remark: The blazing majesty of heaven cannot be defied!]
.
Compared with the Thunder Spear's numerous abilities, as well as the various abilities of Cursed Blade: Thousand Edge, the upgraded—or rather, transformed—long saber Heavenly Might only possessed three traits. Judging from the description, it did not seem very powerful.
But for Ren, it was the best possible result.
Only by understanding the three traits together could one grasp what kind of weapon, perfectly suited to himself, he had created through synthesis.
Bedrock represented absolute indestructibility—in other words, a limitation on the level of rules.
Even if it took a direct hit from Kaido's Great Virtue: Thunder Bagua, it would not be damaged in the slightest.
That was the foundation.
Next was Adaptive Transformation. The examples included plasma state, gaseous state, liquid state, and so on, while retaining the function of a weapon.
Simply put, Ren could turn Heavenly Might into a gaseous state and spread it across an island, then slash out once and kill everyone within its coverage range at the same time.
Yes.
The word "weapon" was also a rule concept.
If he turned it into plasma and had enough ability to heat it to the level of the sun, Ren could still hold it and attack with it all the same.
There were many other ways to use it too. For instance, in an extremely short time, he could change Heavenly Might's length by altering its material state, achieving an effect similar to Kamishini no Yari.
Up to this point, it still did not seem too far beyond specifications.
However, there was still the third trait: the Thunder Spirit Trait.
At first glance, it seemed like nothing more than the ability to pull the Cursed Spirit out to fight, but in truth, what was truly important was sharing.
The Cursed Spirit revived from within the weapon. The weapon was it, and it was the weapon. At the same time, thanks to the Thunder Spear and the reinforcement of other prizes, it now possessed the power to control lightning.
According to the description, the Cursed Spirit's lightning constitution would be shared with Ren.
(End of Chapter)