Vice Admiral Onigumo wanted that fruit.
Desperately.
If he consumed the artificial Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu (Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon), his combat power would rise to the level of an Admiral.
At least in raw destructive force.
But he wasn't naïve.
That fruit was no ordinary Devil Fruit.
It was the same ability possessed by Kaido of the Beasts — one of the Four Emperors.
Even Charlotte Linlin (Big Mom) had once claimed Kaido owed her a lifetime debt for giving him that fruit.
A lifetime favor.
That alone proved its value.
Onigumo narrowed his eyes.
"What's the price, Teach?"
Blackbeard chuckled softly beneath his hood.
"That… I can't tell you yet."
"When you learn who I truly am… you'll understand what I seek."
"I only hope that when that day comes… you won't choose to betray me."
His tone was calm.
Serious.
Almost solemn.
Then—
Without hesitation—
He tossed the fruit over.
Casual.
Indifferent.
As if it were nothing more than an apple.
Onigumo caught it instinctively.
For a brief moment, he stared at it.
Then—
He dropped to one knee.
"As long as it does not betray justice… I, Onigumo, will go through fire and hell for you… my lord."
He bit down.
The transformation was immediate.
Flame clouds — identical to Kaido's — burst outward, swirling violently.
They expanded at terrifying speed, engulfing a radius of hundreds of meters.
Within the inferno—
A massive silhouette formed.
Condensed.
Solidified.
"ROOOOAR—!!!"
A thunderous dragon's roar shook the battlefield.
From the clouds emerged—
A colossal dragon.
Pink scales shimmered like molten crystal.
Golden horns curved proudly from its skull.
A flowing golden mane danced in the wind.
It soared upward, riding flame clouds exactly as Kaido did.
For a split second—
The entire battlefield froze.
Dragon.
In this world, that word meant only one thing.
Kaido.
The strongest creature in the world.
Fear rippled through Marineford.
"Ka—Kaido?!"
"Why is Kaido here?!"
Panic spread across naval ranks.
Morale plummeted.
If the Whitebeard Pirates weren't enough—
If the Beast Pirates had also arrived—
This war was finished.
Then the dragon spoke.
"I am Vice Admiral Onigumo of the Navy!"
"This is an artificial Devil Fruit!"
The clarification barely steadied the collapsing morale.
But it was enough.
Above the battlefield—
Marco, the Phoenix, turned sharply.
Blue flames surged from his wings.
Dragon and phoenix locked eyes.
And then—
They collided.
The sky ignited.
Blue phoenix flames clashed with dragon fire.
Clouds shattered.
Flame clouds twisted violently.
Scales and feathers rained from the heavens like divine fragments.
It looked less like a war—
And more like a myth unfolding.
Dragon versus Phoenix.
Heavenly beasts battling over Marineford.
Even pirates momentarily forgot to fight.
Even Marines stared upward in awe.
Below—
Xiao watched with complicated emotion.
"…Too cool."
He couldn't help it.
Dragons.
Phoenixes.
Symbols embedded deep within five thousand years of Eastern mythology.
Even in a foreign world—
The reverence remained instinctual.
A figure appeared beside him.
"Are you insane?"
Donquixote Doflamingo.
His voice trembled — not from fear, but disbelief.
"You just handed the Azure Dragon fruit to a Marine."
"Do you have any idea how valuable that is?"
Xiao glanced at him lazily.
"Why not exchange one fruit… for an Admiral-tier subordinate?"
"Besides—valuable?"
He scoffed.
He reached into his coat.
And pulled out—
Another identical fruit.
Artificial Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu.
Perfectly replicated.
He tossed it lightly in his palm.
"If you want one… I can sell you one."
Doflamingo: "…"
Silence.
Pure silence.
The foundation of Zoan fruits lay in Lineage Factor technology.
What Dr. Vegapunk had achieved—
What Caesar Clown had imperfectly replicated—
Xiao had refined at the atomic level.
Once bloodline factors were fully decoded—
Replication became trivial.
Caesar had struggled for decades.
Xiao broke it down into nanoscopic components.
At that scale—
Complexity becomes simplicity.
Building blocks.
At present, only one limiting factor remained:
Faith.
Mythical Zoans were not merely biological templates.
They carried the world's collective imagination.
Belief shaped power.
Without sufficient "myth density" in the world—
Creation would destabilize.
But within those limits—
He could mass-produce them.
Doflamingo's jaw twitched.
He had spent fortunes funding Caesar.
Years of research.
Hundreds of millions of Beli.
And this monster—
Was mass-producing Emperor-class fruits on the battlefield.
In that moment—
Doflamingo made a decision.
When this war ended—
Caesar Clown would die.
Slowly.
Above—
Dragon and Phoenix continued their celestial clash.
Below—
The words "Artificial Devil Fruit" began spreading across the world via Den Den Mushi broadcast.
In the New World—
Pirates paused mid-battle.
Eyes widened.
Artificial fruits?
Even Kaido's power could be replicated?
That meant—
Opportunity.
Hope.
Or chaos.
In the New World, they lacked neither money nor ambition.
What they lacked—
Was power sufficient to rival the Four Emperors.
Now—
A door had opened.
And behind that door—
Was Blackbeard.
Smiling.
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