Aokiji, Marco, and the others looked at Crocodile, not knowing why he was so shaken that he had turned into a pile of sand.
What kind of event could make a mastermind like Crocodile lose his composure to such an extent?
They knew the truth must be shocking!
Rocks also struggled to lift his head, a hint of doubt appearing in his eyes.
Taro's gaze swept over each of them, taking in their reactions. Then, he suddenly said something baffling to Crocodile.
"Why didn't you die?"
Aokiji and the others were bewildered. "Taro, what on earth are you talking about?"
After his initial shock, Crocodile became much calmer upon hearing Taro's question.
"Taro, you really do know a lot! What else do you know? Tell us everything!"
Taro looked at Crocodile with an expression that was somewhat... pitying.
"What Rocks just said about giving you the Suke Suke no Mi isn't quite accurate..."
"The Suke Suke no Mi wasn't given to you by him; in fact, you never even 'ate' a Devil Fruit, right?"
Seeing the pity in Taro's eyes made Crocodile furious.
However, after a moment, he lowered his head—no rage, no words, only silence.
Taro's gaze was somber.
"After your flesh and blood were devoured by that thing, you also lost... and then you directly obtained the Suke Suke no Mi ability! Your ability wasn't obtained by eating!"
"Rocks only told you that after sacrificing some flesh and blood, you would gain powerful abilities. But he didn't tell you that you would also lose something!"
"Because he didn't know either!"
Crocodile nodded expressionlessly. "Indeed, I did lose something else! How do you know all this?"
Taro sighed, his eyes fixed on Crocodile's chest.
"It was just a guess before, but now that you've said that, I'm truly certain!"
Crocodile noticed Taro's gaze. His expression darkened as he reached out and touched his chest.
Then, his chest turned into sand, and his hand reached right in, pulling out his heart!
Aokiji's and Marco's eyes twitched. Mr. 1, being the lowest-ranking person present, couldn't help but speak up.
"Mr. 0... Boss!"
Crocodile shook his head slightly and opened his hand, revealing a heart made of sand.
It wasn't a heart wrapped in sand; it was composed of sand from the inside out!
It... didn't beat!
Crocodile... had no... heart!
Everyone was stunned!
They were agape, unable to believe it!
What exactly was that thing? How could it be so evil?
"What on earth is going on?"
Before Aokiji and the others could speak, the first to question was Rocks, his expression filled with surprise.
"Impossible. The 'Implantation' core doesn't require a heart!"
Taro shook his head slightly and spoke in a low voice.
"The 'Implantation' core indeed doesn't need a heart; it doesn't even need flesh and blood!"
"It's just a set of Artificial Intelligence Programs! Programs designed to serve humanity!"
"Taro, what exactly do you know?" Aokiji's tone was grave.
ancient weapons!"
Taro uttered the term, paused, and then added,
"To be precise, uranus!"
Taro glanced at Rocks. "The 'Implantation' core you want to obtain is actually uranus, isn't it?"
"The so-called 'chance to make a fortune' that brought your crew together was controlling the production of all Devil Fruit Ability in this world!"
"You are of the d clan, so of course you know something about the ancient weapons."
"After Crocodile failed his challenge against Whitebeard, he went looking for pluton—that was clearly leaked to him by you as well!"
"However, what I can't figure out is why you told Crocodile about the ancient weapons; he must have been just a child back then!"
Rocks looked at Taro in shock and didn't speak for a long time. However, he didn't answer Taro's question.
"You... are truly terrifying!"
Taro frowned. "These are just bold guesses based on what I know!"
"Since we've come this far, we might as well be open and honest. Now, it's your turn to speak!"
"Hahahaha!"
Rocks laughed with difficulty for a while. "Taro, no matter how much you deny it, the fact remains that you and I are the same kind of person!"
"Otherwise, you couldn't possibly know so much!"
Taro didn't bother to dwell on the issue and said indifferently,
"Believe whatever you want!"
Indeed, as Rocks said, Aokiji and the others now also felt that Taro must be of the d clan!
Rocks paused, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes, and said softly,
"Two years before the God Valley Incident, I returned here! That experience led me to discover a great secret!"
As he spoke, he struggled to look up at the massive peak in the center of the island.
"That is an Origin Factory. Its complete form is the ancient weapon, uranus!"
"It possesses the ability for 'Implantation' of every Devil Fruit in this world!"
"It was built by a group of people with advanced technology to 'Implant' Devil Fruit Ability into ordinary people, with the original intention of helping humanity better transform nature and create a beautiful life."
"Possessing power beyond normal understanding does indeed inspire admiration, but even more so, it inspires awe. With someone intentionally instigating, that awe can easily turn into hatred!"
"They failed, their civilization was destroyed...! This factory also lost its function!"
"The Legacy was severed, a technological gap emerged, and the correct method of using it was naturally lost!"
"Then, a group of guys with a superficial understanding came up with a brilliant idea!"
At this point, his lips twitched into a sneer.
"They didn't understand the operation of the entire factory, but they knew some of the steps. So, they decided to just take the parts they found useful!"
"They violently removed the 'Implantation' core, thinking they could study the rest later!"
"And then, they actually managed to figure out a way to substitute the other programs!"
"Using the flesh and blood of 'Purifiers' to maintain the core's vitality!"
Hearing this, Taro felt something was wrong and shook his head.
"No, I said before, that core definitely wasn't that evil!"
"What needs flesh and blood to maintain its vitality is definitely not the 'Implantation' core!"
Taro's tone was firm. He thought for a moment and hit upon a possibility.
He looked at Crocodile with a solemn expression.
"Your heart... no, the heart is just the outward appearance!"
"You... what you lost was your life force! Am I right?"
Crocodile's expression changed, his form turning into sand again, his emotions fluctuating violently.
Taro nodded slightly at his reaction.
"No wonder you have a history with Ivankov. Your'secret' must have fallen into his hands back then, right?"
"His ability stimulates...!"
Before Taro could finish, Crocodile roared in rage,
"Enough! If you dare say it, I will definitely kill you!"
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