"Rob Lucci, eat this Devil Fruit," Saturn commanded.
Lucci and his comrades were stunned.
They had been wondering what opportunity the Five Elders were giving them, but they never expected this.
They knew Lucci was already a Devil Fruit user.
Eating a second would make him explode!
"Elders, Lucci already has a Devil Fruit! The Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Leopard!" Kaku said anxiously.
"That's right!" Jabra added hurriedly. "If he eats another, he'll die!"
Kalifa and the others quickly began to plead for Lucci's life, but Lucci himself remained silent, his expression were grim.
"I am aware," Saturn interrupted coldly, his gaze fixed on Lucci.
His tone was devoid of emotion as he repeated the command.
"Eat it."
The room fell deathly silent.
Jabra and the others gritted their teeth, a horrifying realization dawning on them.
The Five Elders wanted Lucci to die.
"Lucci..." his partners looked at him, shaking their heads in despair.
Lucci sighed internally.
It seemed he couldn't escape this fate after all.
He had to be the one to do it.
If he refused, the consequences would likely be even worse, and might even endanger Kaku and the others.
As their leader, this was his responsibility.
A flash of determination hardened his eyes.
Without a word, he picked up the strange fruit.
All he had to do was put it in his mouth.
"Lucci!" Kaku and the others cried out, shocked and horrified.
They had trained together, grown up together, and fought alongside each other for years.
Their bond was as close as brothers.
Now, they could only watch helplessly as Lucci prepared to eat a second Devil Fruit and die a gruesome death before their very eyes.
"Lucci..." Kalifa's eyes turned red with tears.
He brought the fruit to his lips and took a bite.
But the violent explosion they all expected never came.
"Huh?" Kaku and the others stared, stunned. "Strange... I thought eating a second Devil Fruit makes you explode?"
"Could the fruit be a fake?"
They were utterly confused, but a wave of relief washed over them.
Whatever was happening, Lucci was alive, and that was all that mattered.
Just then, Lucci frowned, looking down at his own body in confusion.
He reached up and tore off the bandages wrapped around his torso.
"Lucci! What are you doing?" Kaku started to say, but the words caught in his throat.
He and the others froze, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"Lucci, your... your wounds... they're gone!" Kaku stammered in shock.
The deep injuries that had left Lucci unable to stand just moments ago had completely vanished.
They had never known him to have such an abnormal healing ability, and his Zoan fruit had never shown such a power.
Not even Marco the Phoenix had a healing factor this instantaneous.
"Was that... the effect of the fruit?" Kaku wondered. "Was it not a Devil Fruit at all, but some kind of healing item disguised as one?"
"There's no need to be confused," Leon said with a knowing smile. "What he ate was a second Devil Fruit—or rather, a new invention of mine, made specifically for existing ability users. Its function is to grant them a second devil fruit power."
As soon as he spoke, the CP9 agents stared in shock.
"That... that's possible?!"
Given the presence of the Five Elders and the Marine's top command, they had no reason to doubt Leon's words.
But that only made it more shocking.
For centuries, it has been an unbreakable law of the world that one person cannot have two Devil Fruit powers.
But now, this child had invented an artificial fruit that shattered that rule.
What an incredible, terrifying child!
They looked at Lucci, their previous sadness replaced with overwhelming envy.
Under the watchful eyes of his partners, the Five Elders and the Marines, Lucci frowned and shook his head.
"I don't feel like I have a second power."
"WHAT?" Everyone was stunned.
Even the Five Elders glanced at Leon.
"Hmm?" Leon simply raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Impossible. The success rate is 100%. Sense it again, carefully."
As Lucci closed his eyes to concentrate, Jabra curiously grabbed his arm.
"I wonder if it's a Logia? Or a Paramecia... Huh?!"
Jabra suddenly realized the texture of Lucci arms felt wrong.
It wasn't flesh he was holding.
It felt like... rubber.
The next moment, he gave a small tug and Lucci's arm stretched out elastically.
"What the—?!" Everyone's eyes widened.
Blueno stepped forward and grabbed Lucci's other hand, stretching it just as easily.
"This is..." Lucci's own face was a mask of shock as he exclaimed.
"This is Straw Hat Luffy's Rubber Fruit!"
Not only was his team shocked, but the Five Elders were momentarily stunned before their faces erupted in unconcealed excitement.
'It's actually the Gum-Gum Fruit!'
Others might not have understood, but they knew the fruit's true nature.
They had possessed it ten years ago before it was stolen during transport and eaten by a boy named Monkey D. Luffy.
The fruit's real name was the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Type, Model: Nika—the power of the legendary Sun God!
Its significance was enormous.
"To be defeated by that power, only to obtain it myself..." Lucci's face was unreadable as he spoke.
"Is this fate?"
His form then shifted, instantly transforming into his fearsome leopard state.
He slammed his fist to the ground and his entire body began to emit billowing steam.
He had activated Gear Second.
Seeing this, even Leon couldn't help but be impressed by Lucci's incredible combat talent.
"I can use both powers simultaneously..." Lucci said in amazement.
He could feel the raw power of his Zoan fruit combined with the strange properties of rubber.
The surge of dual energies made him feel immensely stronger.
If he were to face Luffy now, he was confident he could kill him instantly.
"This is incredible!" he exclaimed, his face filled with joy and excitement.
Lucci immediately dropped to one knee. "Dr. Leon, thank you for your invention! Five Elders, thank you for granting me this opportunity!"
He never imagined that his failure would lead to such a reward.
This was a gift from the heavens!
"Hmph. You have nothing to thank us for," one of the Elders snorted.
"The World Government raised you. From now on, your loyalty belongs only to us."
"Yes!" Lucci grinned, nodding emphatically.
"Then it is decided. Rob Lucci, you will serve as the new head of CP0, responsible for the protection of the Celestial Dragons," the Elder declared. "And you will be at Dr. Leon's disposal whenever he requires it. Do you understand?"
"I understand!" Lucci replied without hesitation.
Seeing his obedience, the Five Elders finally allowed themselves a smile.
Nusjuro turned to Leon, his tone now turn to warm.
"Leon, from now on, Rob Lucci is yours to command. Contact him whenever you need anything."
"Alright," Leon nodded with a smile. "I won't be polite."
*****
Meanwhile, on a floating island somewhere in the sky, a man with golden hair, two swords for legs, and a ship's rudder embedded in his head watched as the giant beasts he raised fought below.
"Jihahahaha! Excellent! Rip him apart! Oh yes..."
He was enjoying the spectacle when suddenly, the ground began to tremble.
The surrounding mountains shook violently, and boulders rained down.
"Hmm?!" The man, Shiki the Golden Lion, narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint in them.
"Who is destroying my territory?!" he roared, striding to the edge of the island.
On the shore below, he saw a tall figure standing there.
"Newgate?!" Shiki was stunned.
What was he doing here?
He also noticed a "person" standing behind Whitebeard who looked like a younger version of him, complete with white hair and a pair of black, flaming wings.
How strange, Shiki thought.
Those are the traits of a Lunarian. Is that Newgate's son with a Lunarian woman?
While Shiki was still puzzling this over, Whitebeard laughed.
"Gurararara! Shiki, long time no see!"
"Jihahaha! Newgate! What brings you to my home?" Shiki asked, his eyes drifting back to the strange figure.
"Is that your son? The resemblance is..."
"No," Whitebeard chuckled. "That's not a person. It's a living weapon."
"What?!" Shiki's eyes widened. "You're not joking, are you? A human weapon?"
"Gurarara... Son, show him."
At Whitebeard's command, the Seraphim raised its right hand.
A dazzling golden light gathered before shooting out in a powerful laser beam.
BOOM!
The beam blasted a massive crater into a distant mountaintop, sending sand and stone flying.
"What in the world?!" Shiki was stunned. "It really is a weapon! That power... it's incredible!"
"Heh. Shiki, you've been out of touch for too long if you don't even know about the world-famous Seraphim," Whitebeard said, shaking his head.
"Seraphim? What's that?" Shiki asked, having never heard the term.
"Let me show you," Whitebeard said with a pitying look. "Boy, engage him."
Over the next few minutes, Shiki watched in utter shock as the Seraphim demonstrated mastery of both Armament and Observation Haki, superb swordsmanship that echoed Whitebeard's own style, and the full range of the Marines' Six Powers techniques.
"So many skills gathered in one body," Shiki exclaimed, his face lighting up with a fanatical expression.
"And that laser... its power is extraordinary! Whitebeard, how could such technology exist in the world? How did you obtain this living weapon?!"
"Gurarara... You want to know? Then let me tell you," Whitebeard said with a grin. "The world has changed a lot since you've been gone..."
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Please read my new one piece fic : You call this a marine ?
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