"My husbands generous indeed," Kasha said with a simile, "But if you send fruits to Guilliman, the other Primarchs will inevitably hear about it. What do you plan to do then?"
Sometimes, that was simply how people were. You could not show favoritism without the risk of offending someone.
"I don't know them well," Axis replied, "I haven't even had a formal meeting with more than half of them."
Aside from a brief encounter with Horus and Rogal Dorn, the only Primarch he was familiar with was his adoptive father, Russ, Magnus, Lion and Karl. He had met with Jaghatai Khan, but it had been as fleeting as the others. Since he barely knew them, why should he be expected to send them gifts?
"This could be a good way to get to know them," Kasha suggested, "By doing this, you can leave a generous first impression on the other Primarchs. Besides, you have over five hundred of these Spirit Tree Fruits. That's a huge quantity, and we can continue to grow more in the future, so it's not as if they are priceless."
If they had only possessed a handful, she would never have considered giving such treasures away.
At most, she would have given one to the Emperor and one to Russ, keeping the rest for themselves.
But with the sustainable supply, they could afford to be magnanimous. In any case, the fruit was destined to be used to strengthen his entire legion. The other Primarchs would discover its existence eventually.
Keeping it a secret might foster ill will from some of them toward Axis. While he might not care, it was still something to consider.
"Alright," Axis said with a nod, "We'll send two to Guilliman and one to each of the other Primarchs as an introductory gift."
A dozen or so Spirit Tree Fruits were an acceptable cost.
As soon as he found a suitable planet for cultivation, he could harvest hundreds more.
As for whether giving the fruit to the traitor Primarchs would empower the enemy, Axis was completely unconcerned. He could handle them with one hand. Even if their strength increased after eating the fruit, he could still defeat them with a single hand.
Axis's current power was second only to the Emperor at his full strength. However, in the entire Imperium, the only ones who truly knew the extent of his combat prowess were the Emperor, Malcador the Sigillite, Kasha, and Lion El'Jonson.
Axis was an ace the Emperor kept hidden.
"That's the right way to think," Kasha said. "Sometimes you can't be too stingy. A little generosity will benefit you."
"Yeah, yeah. Big sister looking out for her sibling," Axis smiled.
With their overall constitution doubled and the addition of the Golden Transformation, his legion's combat effectiveness would utterly eclipse that of a standard Firstborn Astartes.
A single one of his warriors could easily take on ten of their counterparts from other legions. Until the Primaris Marines appeared, no other legion could stand against the sons of Axis.
"Axis, I actually think you should hold off on strengthening your gene-sons with the fruit for a while," Kasha said, her eyes gleaming with cunning. "It would be best if the other Primarchs didn't see their true strength. The Golden Transformation is enough for now. Or perhaps you could dilute the potion further. Instead of doubling their power, just enhance them by thirty or forty percent, similar to the effect of increasing their Ki."
"Why? If we have something good, shouldn't we use it immediately?" Axis asked. As a Saiyan, he had no fondness for holding back. If the other Primarchs grew envious or resentful, that was their problem.
"We can set a trap for them," Kasha explained, "We already know that half of the Primarchs will betray Father, so we can make preparations in advance. The strengthening effect of the Spirit Tree Fruit is incredibly fast. An entire legion can be enhanced in just a few days. Once that happens, their power will completely overwhelm that of a normal Marine.
"Just imagine it. When the traitor legions arrive, and your sons appear, powerful than ever, crushing the other legions. What kind of scene will that be? They would never dream that the gap between Space Marines could be so vast."
Theoretically, strengthening the entire legion would require a thousand fruits, with even more needed for future recruits.
Since they did not have enough at the moment, it was better to slow the process down.
They could first focus on cultivation, accumulating a sufficient supply of the fruits to be used whenever needed.
If they had a surplus, they could even use it to enhance the forces of the other loyalist legions. The look on the faces of the traitor Primarchs and Astartes would surely be a sight to behold.
Axis nodded in thought.
It would indeed be a decisive, overwhelming battle. And if he revealed their full strength too early, the traitors would undoubtedly prepare for it.
Although he could crush them himself, the galaxy was vast.
There were places where his sons would have to fight on their own, and while Saiyans were powerful, he did not possess the ability to instantly teleport across the universe.
Goku had that skill, but he did not. Moreover, Goku needed to lock onto a target's Ki to use Instant Transmission, and in this universe, aside from himself and the Saibamen, no one else possessed Ki.
"You're right," Axis agreed.
"Then we'll dilute it further. We will aim to strengthen the entire legion with about two hundred fruits."
A few days later, using an Astropath sent by the Emperor, Axis formally dispatched a psychic message to Macragge, the heart of the 500 Worlds of Ultramar.
He requested the assistance of personnel skilled in civil administration. Macragge responded immediately upon receiving the missive.
The Primarch Roboute Guilliman was not on the planet, as he was currently engaged in the Great Crusade. The matter would be reported to him to await his orders.
Several days after that, Axis received a reply from Guilliman himself. Macragge could prepare two hundred administrative experts.
After a period of training, they would be dispatched within a year to help Axis manage the development of Nuceria.
At the same time, Axis began working with the tech-priests and Archmagos sent by the Adeptus Mechanicus to rebuild Nuceria.
They started construction on his own fortress-monastery and a starport capable of docking large ships.
He also began to catalogue and absorb some of the local Dark Age of Technology artifacts.
The first he acquired was the Butcher's Nails.
'These devices could be implanted into the brains of slave-gladiators, purging all emotions except for pure, unadulterated rage. The device was useless to Axis, a purely detrimental creation whose only purpose was to inflict torture for the sake of cruel amusement.
The second discovery was a form of genetic enhancement technology used by the gladiators and the guards of their former slave masters.
This technology was a relic from the Dark Age of Technology that had survived on Nuceria. By placing a gladiator or guard inside a specific machine, it would rewrite and reorganize their genetic code, granting an ordinary human strength far beyond their peers.
Axis collected a few other scattered relics from that era. The human enhancement machines could no longer be manufactured.
He selected two of the best-preserved units and handed them over to the Martian Mechanicum personnel.
The rest were given to his ship, the Solus Prime, for replication. Following this, Axis began to meet with the local gladiators on Nuceria, selecting some of the younger ones to be inducted as new recruits into his legion.
For the next three full months, Axis remained busy on Nuceria.
During this time, the Spirit Tree Fruits were delivered to the Emperor and the other Primarchs. The administrative personnel selected by Macragge also set off on their journey.
The effects of the fruit were profound.
After consuming it, the Primarchs found that old, lingering injuries were completely healed, and their physical attributes were doubled.
Nearly every Primarch sent a message of thanks to Axis, inquiring about the origins of such a fruit.
They could not help it; it was truly extraordinary, and they had rarely experienced such a thrilling surge in power.
Even the Emperor himself immediately initiated a psychic communication with Axis, eager to know the origin of this special fruit.
He, too, had been astounded by its effects.
"Axis, where did you obtain this miraculous fruit? Its effects are beyond astonishing," the Emperor conveyed, "It can double the physical constitution of a Primarch and even has an effect on me! Moreover, it is an excellent life-extending substance.
"An ordinary person who drinks even a sip of water infused with it can extend their life by several months. If one could fully absorb its essence, adding hundreds of years to their lifespan would not be a problem."
Axis had sent him three fruits.
The Emperor consumed one himself and used another for research, through which he discovered the true extent of its benefits.
It was a treasure of the highest order for prolonging life. In all his tens of thousands of years, he had never seen a divine fruit of such power.
Such a miraculous object was unheard of in the entire galaxy. If he had discovered it while creating the Primarchs, its use would have been immeasurable.
"I found it on a planet I discovered," Axis explained, "It is called the Fruit of the Tree of Might, also known as the Fruit of the Gods."
"The Fruit of the Gods, from the Tree of Might? How is it cultivated?" the Emperor asked.
Unlike the fruits sent to the Primarchs, the ones Axis gave the Emperor contained seeds.
However, without Axis's Ki to activate them, these seeds would never grow. The Emperor had clearly already attempted to plant them, but the result was predictable; without the nourishment of Ki, it was impossible.
"The conditions for growing this fruit are extremely demanding," Axis said, "In this universe, besides me, no one can cultivate it. First, it needs Ki to be activated. Second, it requires the sacrifice of an entire life-bearing planet, one brimming with vitality."
Axis revealed the details of the fruit to the Emperor, just as Kasha had advised.
He could be secretive with the other Primarchs, but not with the Emperor, for Axis currently held his complete trust.
"The sacrifice of an entire planet and the need for your Ki to activate it? Those conditions are indeed harsh," the Emperor mused, "I understand. This fruit cannot be planted lightly."
It indeed seemed strange that this fruit was related to Ki, and only Axis was capable of growing it. But the emperor wasn't about to question Axis on that.
"In the future, when we must issue an Exterminatus, I think we can use this fruit instead," Axis proposed, "Of course, if I can make the trip myself."
He intended to plant the trees on worlds targeted for extermination or on xenos worlds, doing so in secret.
Axis wanted to give the Emperor a heads-up, so that in the future, they would not need to go through the trouble of dispatching massive fleets to bombard a planet with cyclonic torpedoes.
He could just go there and plant a tree. It was safe, environmentally friendly, and, most importantly, yielded a valuable reward.
The Emperor nodded.
The boy had a point. It was indeed a very convenient method of Exterminatus.
"That is acceptable," the Emperor agreed, "However, the use of Exterminatus must be strictly controlled. We cannot use it lightly, only on worlds that are beyond salvation. While the fruit is incredibly useful for enhancing strength, the price of sacrificing a planet is too great. How many of these fruits do you currently have?"
Aside from increasing strength and physical conditioning, the fruit also contained a terrifying amount of life energy, making it a supreme life-extending medicine.
"I have over five hundred," Axis replied, then proceeded to explain Kasha's plan to use the fruit as a trump card against their future enemies.
As he listened through the psychic link, the Emperor's mind lit up.
The idea from Axis and Kasha was brilliant. A sudden, massive increase in strength would undoubtedly catch their enemies completely off guard.
Although he was not yet certain about the details of the Great Betrayal, as his psychic foresight had, for the first time, been wrong about the specifics of Angron's fall to Chaos, it was always wise to be prepared.
At the very least, he was certain of one thing, Axis was absolutely loyal. He would never do anything to betray humanity.
"I understand," the Emperor said, "Publicly, you will claim that you only found around a hundred of them in the ruins of an ancient world. I will help you craft the rest of the story."
Axis nodded in agreement.
They spoke for a while longer before Axis ended the psychic communication.
He still had to speak with the other Primarchs, many of whom were eager to ask about the special fruit.
Among them, the most concerned was Guilliman, for he had received two.
While the other Primarchs had consumed their fruit to enhance their own power, Guilliman, after his strength had doubled, immediately thought of another use for his second one.
The life essence within the fruit could extend a person's lifespan. His first thought was to use it to grant his adoptive mother a longer life.
For the specifics, he had to consult with Axis.
...
...
...
powerstones?