As soon as Buckingham finished speaking,
"ROAR!!"
The colossal monster known as 'Vinsmoke Weevil' let out three deafening roars at once.
Judge's eyes widened. He naturally recognized what that three-headed monster was: the new creation he and Buckingham had developed together.
"Buckingham... you lied to me?!"
Judge instantly understood what had happened. Buckingham had always claimed that the 'Life Stitch' project still needed more time before it could be completed, but it was obvious now, she had deceived him from the beginning. The monster was already finished.
"But even so... only a Vinsmoke cyborg should've been capable of controlling it..."
A terrifying possibility suddenly crossed Judge's mind. He hurriedly looked down at the monitor on his wrist. The instant he saw the readings, disbelief and fury filled his face.
But Weevil had no interest in giving him time to think.
"...Following... orders..."
"...Kill... everyone..."
It muttered mechanically as its enormous longsword swung into position. The stance it assumed was unmistakable.
"'Spear of Elbaf, Might of the Nation!'"
As the pink-haired head roared the attack's name, the legendary Giant technique exploded from the tip of the blade. The visible shockwave tore across the battlefield with enough force to pulverize everything in its path, splitting the earth open again and leaving behind another bottomless trench.
For the badly wounded Judge and his three sons, there was no way to stop it.
But,
"'Repulsion Field: Reflection Vector, Gravity Wall.'"
Tiger's calm voice echoed out.
The next instant, Judge watched the incoming 'Spear of Elbaf' suddenly collide with something invisible in midair. Its trajectory bent, and then it flew right back the way it came.
"...Huh?"
All three of Weevil's faces showed the same stunned expression. An instant later, the reflected attack slammed into him, blasting the giant away.
'BOOM!'
His massive body crashed into the ground far in the distance.
Only then did Judge notice that from within the enormous canyon behind him, the dust was quietly swept aside by an unseen force. Broken boulders floated silently into the air as Tiger slowly drifted out of the cloud of debris.
"...So. What exactly is this thing?" He looked curiously at the monster struggling to stand again.
Despite taking the reflected 'Spear of Elbaf', which had even been strengthened through vector manipulation, the monster was barely injured. Its skin had split open, but that was all. Even Tiger had never seen a body this durable.
And that wasn't all.
'Not just its body... It's a Devil Fruit user too,' Tiger thought to himself before casually raising a hand.
Judge floated through the air, dragged by an invisible force until he stopped in front of Tiger.
"Hey. You're going to die anyway, so before you do... mind explaining what this thing is?" Tiger sat down cross-legged in midair once again, asking as casually as if they were chatting over tea. "Its faces... and those techniques... Kaido, Whitebeard, and Big Mom?"
He had already pieced together much of the truth. Whether it was 'Thunder Bagua', 'Spear of Elbaf', or the appearance and weapons of the monster's three heads, the clues were impossible to miss.
Judge swallowed another mouthful of blood before answering. "...That's right. Buckingham's Life Stitch... it's an unbelievable technology. It can sew together the corpses of powerful people while preserving the remnants of their life force before it completely disappears. When combined with someone else's Lineage Factor, the revived corpse gains the physique, combat instincts, and fighting techniques of the Lineage Factor's original owner."
He struggled to catch his breath. "And... she used to be a member of the Rocks Pirates..."
Tiger immediately understood. As a former Rocks Pirate, it wasn't strange for Buckingham to have secretly collected the Lineage Factors of Kaido, Big Mom, and Whitebeard.
Judge continued between ragged breaths. "Her technology requires a large number of powerful corpses. Germa's genetic modification and cloning technology provided exactly that. This monster was created from the genetically enhanced corpses of one hundred and eight powerful warriors, combined with the Lineage Factors of those three. It possesses a body that's nearly indestructible, and vitality that's almost impossible to extinguish. I originally intended to use it to, "
Before he could finish,
'Slash!'
The gigantic three-headed, six-armed monster suddenly launched itself back into the air. In an instant, Weevil was already above Tiger and the others. Despite his enormous size, he moved with terrifying speed that completely defied his massive frame.
"Hey, hey, Tiger!" Buckingham's voice still came from Weevil's mouth. "You want Judge dead too, don't you? So why not work together instead of stopping me? You've seen it yourself, my Life Stitch technique isn't even perfected yet, and it can already create a monster like this. If I joined forces with the Twelve Zodiac and added Germa's technology that I'll be taking from Judge... we could rule the seas!"
She sounded completely confident.
Tiger didn't even bother turning around. "Work together?"
He casually raised a finger and flicked it downward.
The instant he moved, Weevil felt an overwhelming force descend on him from every direction. The entire space around him seemed to transform into a colossal mountain, crashing down onto his body.
'BOOM!'
His gigantic body was slammed straight into the ground.
"Don't disgust me." Tiger continued pressing his fingers down lazily as the crushing gravity grew heavier, forcing Weevil deeper into the earth. "Your technology is interesting. I'll take it myself and present it to the Leader. But as for you... I think it's better if you die."
His tone remained calm from beginning to end.
Then,
"...Sigh." From deep beneath the ground where Weevil was buried, Buckingham's sigh echoed upward. "Well... I guess it can't be helped."
As she spoke, Weevil's body slowly began to move despite the overwhelming gravity and vector pressure pinning him down. The stitches along his arms stretched tight as, little by little, he forced himself back to his feet.
"...Be careful..." Judge's weak voice spoke up. "He's... my cyborg. Just like my sons, he possesses... a special ability."
Every word seemed harder for him to say. Germa's Lineage Factor modifications weren't Devil Fruit powers, but they granted abilities comparable to them. Combined with Raid Suits, they could rival genuine Devil Fruit users. Ichiji's flames, Niji's lightning, Yonji's immense strength, Reiju's poison, all of them were products of Germa's genetic engineering.
And naturally, the greatest weapon Judge and Buckingham had created together, 'Vinsmoke Weevil', was no exception.
"His Lineage Factor ability... is adaptation. And because his body is actually alive... Buckingham also fed him a Devil Fruit." Judge struggled to continue. "It's a very unusual fruit. It's..."
He never finished the sentence, nor did he need to.
Because at that moment, Tiger heard Weevil's roar rising from beneath the earth.
"'Tiger!'"
"Come... 'duel me!'"
'Buzz!'
Tiger immediately felt an invisible connection form between himself and Weevil. It was exactly what Judge had been trying to warn him about. And from the moment Tiger had first seen Weevil, he had already sensed there was something strange about him.
---
'Devil Fruit User Detected: Vinsmoke Weevil'
'Confirmed Devil Fruit: Mythical Zoan?' '(Special Zoan)'
'Human-Human Fruit, Model: Antoria "The Gladiator"'
'Analyzing...'
'Stored in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.'
### Devil Fruit Ability
Allows the user to transform into 'Antoria the Gladiator', a champion of the arena capable of challenging others to duels.
### Ability Levels
'Lv. 3'
' By calling an opponent's name, the user can issue a duel challenge.
' Once the duel begins, both combatants can only affect each other through direct physical hand-to-hand combat.
' All other forms of attack become ineffective until one side loses the ability to fight or dies.
' Unlock Cost: '1.5 billion Beli'
'Lv. 4'
' Each victory grants the user a 'Victory Transformation'.
' Every transformation increases all combat attributes.
' The more duels won consecutively, the greater the enhancement.
' The buffs last until the user's stamina is exhausted or they are defeated.
' Eternal Unlock Cost: '2.8 billion Beli'
'Lv. 5 , Devil Fruit Awakening: Grand Melee'
' The user becomes the 'Champion Gladiator', initiating a multiplayer duel.
' Gladiators fighting alongside the user receive significant boosts to all attributes.
' If the user faces multiple opponents alone, they receive an even greater increase in power.
' Eternal Unlock Cost: '7 billion Beli'
(End Of This Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.p*treon.com/darkshadow6395