Although Aramaki had always appeared loyal, Black would not forget to push him.
Black constantly reminded Aramaki not to forget to hone his Haki and physical combat skills, but mere reminders weren't enough for such matters.
He needed to find a competitor for him, to make Aramaki work harder!
Otherwise, he might just go on a hunger strike someday.
Black always believed that neither the Mori Mori Fruit (Forest-Forest Fruit) nor Aramaki himself had been fully developed in the original story.
Because the second chapter of the Divine Scripture once mentioned, "The god of the forest dispatches demons."
Of course, this god of the forest should not refer to the Mori Mori Fruit (Forest-Forest Fruit) user from eight hundred years ago.
After all, if that were the case, Imu would become a "demon" under the "god of the forest."
So, a more reasonable speculation is that Imu is the so-called god of the forest, and the demons are Imu's subordinates, such as the Gorosei.
In this way, it seems unrelated to the Mori Mori Fruit (Forest-Forest Fruit).
But as a subordinate strongly associated with the "god of the forest," there's no reason for him to perform as poorly as in the original story.
He was scared away by a single burst of Haoshoku from Red Hair.
So Black assigned Lafitte to Aramaki, to put some pressure on him.
After leaving the Moonlight Circus Kingdom, the sanctuary continued to wander the seas like a street vagrant.
Black did not deliberately head to the island where Capone Bege was located.
What's so interesting about an island ruled by a gangster?
He planned to directly tell Aramaki Bege's location and let Aramaki make his own arrangements.
To be honest, with Capone Bege's influence in the West Blue, there was no need to take him away like Hawkins.
It would be quite good to simply subdue him and then leave him in the West Blue as an intelligence officer.
On this day, Black's card system revealed a very interesting ability card—
Zoan type, Inu Inu no Mi, Hyena Form.
That's right, it was the Devil Fruit eaten by Gerald, the Captain of the Hyena Pirates.
But it's not surprising.
The cards drawn by the system come from different eras.
And for common Zoan Devil Fruits like this, the rate at which their users are replaced is actually very fast.
The World Government and Marine don't even bother to specifically compile information on these ordinary users.
After the group of young female Slaves defeated the Hyena Pirates, those three individuals had been confined in the bottom-level cells of the sanctuary.
Black had originally planned to give them as Slaves to other Celestial Dragons as gifts when he returned to Mary Geoise.
Or throw them into the Slave gladiatorial arena for entertainment.
But now... Black, without anyone accompanying him, came alone to the lowest-level cell and looked at the extremely weakened Gerald.
In the damp bottom of the ship's hold, the only light source was a flickering oil lamp on the wall.
Black's boots stepped into a puddle in the cell, and he couldn't help but frown.
Wearing a pair of white gloves, he unlocked Gerald's Sea Stone chains.
Gerald's body slammed to the ground; he was too weak to stand up.
He spoke with difficulty:
"Saint Black, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have attacked your ship."
"I truly didn't know it was your flagship."
"Please spare me!"
"I am willing to become your Slave!"
Black playfully twirled a crimson card with a hyena pattern in his hand and chuckled:
"We'll talk about that later."
"Do you know?"
"This card can turn an ordinary person into a Hyena Fruit user..."
"And you already are one."
Gerald's pupils almost constricted to pinpricks:
"That's impossible!"
"The uniqueness of Devil Fruits is an iron wall."
"Yes, even you know it's an iron wall."
Black squatted down and brought the card closer to Gerald:
"So I'm very curious, what kind of changes will occur when the same ability appears twice on one person?"
"Wait!"
Gerald turned pale with fright, frantically twisting and trying to struggle to his feet, while begging Black for mercy:
"Saint Black, I can serve you!"
"I'm useful! My sense of smell can track any target!"
"Then what's the difference between you and a police dog?"
Black retorted casually, his hand movements not pausing at all.
"I... I..."
"This will kill me! No one can eat two Devil Fruits!"
Gerald was already babbling incoherently. Black sneered and pressed the ability card onto his head:
"What I want is experimental data, not a lackey."
"Use ability card."
As Black's words fell, the card emitted an eerie red light.
Gerald suddenly arched his body, letting out a painful howl.
Black stepped back two paces, carefully observing the changes in the other party.
Black patterns began to appear on Gerald's skin, and his muscles unnaturally swelled.
He uncontrollably transformed into his beast form, his canine teeth growing wildly, and Black viscous liquid oozing from his skin.
Before long, Gerald's screams gradually stopped, and his appearance regressed to a human-beast hybrid form.
Black mist condensed into a swirling flame cloud around Gerald, and the temperature in the cell plummeted.
The bruises he had sustained from torture were fading at a visible rate, but his new skin was an eerie grayish-white.
Gerald's body swelled and grew taller, but his proportions became unusually harmonious.
The hyena features perfectly blended with his human form, no longer having the incongruity of his previous human-beast form.
Dark red markings appeared on his body, and white steam was exhaled from his mouth and nose when he breathed.
"Is this... an awakening?"
Black's tone was mixed with seriousness, delight, and a hint of inquiry.
He pulled out the golden revolver from his pocket and fired a shot at Gerald's chest.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed in the empty bottom cabin.
The bullet hit Gerald's body, creating a hole, but it healed in an instant.
This was precisely the self-healing ability acquired by Zoan users after awakening.
Gerald's body also seemed to have regained its strength.
He got up from the ground and touched his body:
"The injuries... all healed?"
His hand pressed against the cell wall, and the ship's wooden planks grew patterns like hyena fur.
Gerald clenched his fists, a look of intoxication on his face:
"Is this the new power?"
"Now, I can even defeat an Admiral!"
Gerald instantly turned around and looked fiercely at Black:
"Now, it's my turn to experiment!"
"I hope the esteemed Celestial Dragon will give me a good time!"
Good heavens.
Does an ordinary Zoan user easily become an "enjoyment-seeker" after awakening?
And have you even seen an Admiral? And you think you can beat him.
The Marine doesn't even have an Admiral right now.
That guy iron wall is practically a CP0 in Mary Geoise.
Black's fingers twirled the golden revolver, his tone unhurried:
"Oh? So what do you want to experiment with?"
Gerald's figure instantly lunged at Black:
"Of course, to hijack you, a Celestial Dragon, and escape from this damned ship!"
"With this power I have now, I'm sure I can become the Pirate King!"
You're already hijacking a Celestial Dragon, can't your goal be a little bigger?
Black was speechless, not even knowing where to begin complaining.
As Gerald lunged closer, Black's palm, imbued with Armament Haki, Haoshoku, and Ghost Qi, landed squarely on his head.
"You have a King addiction too?"
"I'll cure you of it, no need to thank me!"
Boom!
The sanctuary shook.
Gerald was already on the ground, soundly asleep.