On the deck of the Eclipse.
Shark's Samehada squirmed along his back. Dark brown mud oozed from the mechanical sea beast's seams, spreading across the deck into a thick, clinging swamp.
"Spit them out."
Shark's voice was low.
*Glub.*
Samehada answered with a muffled rumble.
Three battered figures were expelled from the mire.
Diamante. Buffalo. Baby 5.
All three were caked in mud, their faces a sickly purple, long since unconscious from suffocation.
Law stood a short distance away. His eyes flickered.
He had assumed the three would be imprisoned. But the Eclipse Pirates clearly had no interest in interrogation.
Ace stepped forward. No wasted words.
Darkness bled from his palm, a fog that swallowed light itself.
"Black Water."
The three Donquixote Family officers convulsed as one.
Then.
Ace pressed his hand down.
Three heartbeats stopped forever.
Law's pupils tightened.
Clean. Efficient. No hesitation.
The instant their breath ceased, the darkness behind Ace surged violently. It dragged the fading Devil Fruit essence out before it could scatter. Beside the rail, Buggy already had a basket of ordinary fruit ready.
"Right here, right here! Hand-picked by yours truly! Plump and round, perfect for a reincarnation!"
Inside the darkness, three twisted streams of power were forced down into the fruit.
Three surfaces bloomed with eerie spiral markings.
The Hira Hira no Mi.
The Guru Guru no Mi.
The Buki Buki no Mi.
Buggy's eyes lit up.
"Success! Captain, so many Devil Fruits, who gets them? A happy problem, really!"
Ace reached out and picked up the one with the metallic sheen.
The Buki Buki no Mi.
"Wyper."
At the edge of the deck, the Shandian war chief snapped his head up.
"Lord Ace."
Ace tossed the newly reborn fruit, its surface a labyrinth of metallic spirals, straight at him.
Wyper caught it on reflex. His whole body went rigid.
"The Buki Buki no Mi," Ace said flatly. "Eat it, and your body becomes a weapon. Blades, guns, cannons, bazookas. Even more complex mechanical armaments. The more weapon schematics you understand, the more you can become."
Wyper's eyes contracted.
A Devil Fruit. The treasure the world called a miracle of the sea. Tossed into his hands like it was nothing.
Before he could speak, Ace picked up a sealed vial.
"The Limit Breaker Serum."
"The effect is simple. It forcibly raises the ceiling of your body's natural talent. Bones, muscles, senses, recovery. All of it pushed through a single threshold of extreme reconstruction."
Ace met Wyper's eyes. His tone was casual. The danger in it was unmistakable.
"But the process is pure agony. The kind that makes you want to rip your own bones out of your body. And the serum demands an enormous amount of energy. Once you drink it, you keep eating. Constantly. Your body needs fuel for the evolution. If you pass out from the pain, or if the energy runs dry, the evolution stops."
The deck went still.
The Heart Pirates looked pale.
Bepo swallowed audibly. "Is... is this actually a reward?"
No one answered him.
Ace kept his gaze on Wyper.
"You've guarded Apayaado well these past six months. The God's Guard patrols, supply lines, training. No screw-ups. And I hear you've already brushed up against the threshold of Armament Haki. To unlock that on your own, in a sky island... that tells me you haven't been slacking."
Ace grinned.
"So. This is your reward."
Wyper stared down at the fruit and the serum in his hands.
His grip tightened.
Shandian warriors were never afraid of pain.
What they feared was being too weak to protect their home.
Before today, he could only rely on a Burn Bazooka and Reject Dials, throwing his own body away like a disposable weapon.
Now Ace was laying a more dangerous, far more brutal path at his feet.
Wyper didn't hesitate.
He dropped to one knee and slammed his right fist against his chest.
"I'll guard Apayaado with this life."
"Save the pretty words." Ace laughed. "Eat it. Then prove you deserve it."
Wyper rose. He bit into the Buki Buki no Mi first. The indescribably foul taste made the veins in his temple bulge, but he chewed and swallowed every last piece. Then he twisted open the vial and drank the Limit Breaker Serum in one go.
The next second.
*"GAAAAAHHHH!"*
Wyper crashed to his knees on the deck.
Bones crackled. Muscles seized. Veins rose under his skin like burning red vines.
It wasn't ordinary pain. It was the sensation of his body being dismantled and reforged while he was still alive inside it.
Chopper scrambled over, shouting, "Food! Big Sis, get the high-calorie stuff! Don't let his energy drop!"
Leonora was already ready. She hauled out a massive platter of grilled sky fish and cloud-rice balls from the galley and slammed it down in front of him. "Eat. As much as you can."
She folded her arms, her slit pupils narrowing with approval.
Wyper's jaw clenched. His hands shook as he grabbed the meat and tore into it like a starving animal.
The pain.
It was overwhelming.
He did not pass out.
Every time the agony threatened to swallow his mind, he forced down another mouthful.
Bones reshaping.
Muscles tearing.
His senses felt like they were being carved open with a blade.
But Wyper's eyes never lost their focus.
Law watched in silence.
He understood now. The Eclipse Pirates' version of "getting stronger" was never just a light phrase. It was built from raw suffering, iron will, and monstrous training. Piled one on top of the other until it held.
After what felt like an eternity, Wyper threw his head back and let out a ragged, guttural roar.
His right arm twisted, stretched, and warped.
Flesh, bone, and the newborn Devil Fruit power fused into a single black cannon barrel.
*BOOM!*
A blazing shell screamed from the muzzle and vaporized a chunk of cloud rock in the distance.
Wyper stared at his own arm.
Then he reached back, unstrapped the Burn Bazooka he had carried for years, and set it down on the deck.
From today onward, he was the weapon.
Ace nodded.
"Good. But the Buki Buki no Mi isn't about just flailing around with a few blades and cannons."
He turned toward Jeno.
"Jeno."
Jeno's eyes were already blazing like searchlights.
"BWHAHAHA! Leave it to me, Captain!"
Ace looked back at Wyper.
"Next stop: Jeno. Rifles, artillery, missiles, machine guns, jet thrusters, laser cannons. You learn every modern weapon schematic there is. The more your brain understands a weapon, the more your body can become it. And you've already touched Haki. Don't waste that head start."
Ace pointed toward the distant修罗 training islands.
"Starting today, you join Urouge and Shark's group. You train exactly the way they train. Physique. Armament. Close-quarters combat. I want all of it crushed into you until you can't stand."
Wyper got to his feet. His arm slowly reverted to its human form. Residual tremors from the serum still wracked his body, but the grin that split his face was feral.
"Understood."
Ace smiled.
"Good. Now go, new weapons man."
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