"What—?!"
In less than three minutes…A desperate scream echoed.
The fruit in Wilhelm's hand suddenly turned into a pineapple. Several triangular stems and leaves sprouted from the top, and even the scaly patterns on the fruit twisted into spiral shapes.
This signaled the complete restoration of the Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Yamato no Orochi.
Now, Kurozumi Orochi, the man with eight lives, was truly impossible to kill.
Wilhelm toyed with the Mythical Zoan fruit in his hand and sneered, "A Mythical Zoan… even rarer than a Logia… and yet, it ended up in the hands of trash. What a waste of such a powerful ability.
"At the same time, he grabbed the two swords that Kurozumi Orochi had set aside.
Although Orochi was weak as the shogun of Wano, the swords he had commissioned from skilled craftsmen were far from ordinary.
They weren't on the level of Ame no Habakiri or Enma, but they were still among the second grade of Great Grade Swords."Too bad the Kurozumi clan didn't leave behind any other Devil Fruits.
But at least I can find Kozuki Oden's body… I was worried they might have completely destroyed it.""Ka—"In the next instant, Wilhelm, "Red Earl" Patrick Redfield, and Tanuki Pato vanished.
They soared into the sky, thousands of meters above the Flower Capital.
As they hovered, Finley, the flying creature carrying them, suddenly felt a weight on his back. Instead of panicking, he let out an excited cry, "Beep!""Go, Finley! Fly to the right…"Before long, they arrived at a mass grave.
There, the remains of Kozuki Oden were unearthed—his bones twisted and horrifying, reeking of decay.
After confirming the burial site, Redfield's summoned form quickly dissolved into smoke, its mission complete."Good thing I can use my soul power instead of my own stamina and lifespan… Otherwise, restoring a corpse like this would be a real problem.
"Wilhelm shrugged.
Nearby, Pato—who had transformed into Charlotte Linlin using his raccoon ability—returned from the villages, carrying a large amount of collected soul energy.
With a boom, the soul power was transferred into Wilhelm's body.
Then, "Charlotte Linlin" disappeared into smoke.
Wilhelm raised his left hand.
A ring on his finger gleamed, radiating an overwhelming, holy light.
At the same time, a strange surge of soul power gathered in his palm.
"Restore!"
A dazzling divine glow erupted.
Before their eyes, the pale, rotting bones of Kozuki Oden began regenerating at a visible speed.
Within seconds—A tall, muscular middle-aged man replaced the decayed corpse.
Oden was whole once more.
Wilhelm turned to Pato.
"Pato, create Dr. Hawkins. Have him use the Munch-Munch Fruit's ability to modify this body.""Hee hee hee~! Understood, Boss!"Pato grabbed his tail, scribbled something on a twisted leaf, and threw it forward.
Boom!
A figure appeared, bowing politely.
"Hohohoho~ Is there something I can do for you?"
Wilhelm's sharp Observation Haki scanned the surrounding villages.
He spotted the body of a villager whose soul had been taken by "Charlotte Linlin"—a rough-looking man.
Pointing at Oden's body, Wilhelm commanded, "Modify his appearance to look like this one."
"Ka-ka—""Dr. Hawkins" opened his mouth wide.
His exaggerated, enormous jaws swallowed Kozuki Oden whole.
Three minutes passed.
Then, Oden was spit out again.
His appearance had changed completely—he was now unrecognizable from his original self.
His face had become rougher, but a strong, imposing aura still lingered between his brows.
However, his body was lifeless—completely devoid of any vitality.
"Shing!"
The sharp blade Yunya was drawn from its sheath.
Without hesitation, Wilhelm stabbed it straight into the revived body, piercing through the power of the Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Yamato no Orochi.
The attack landed directly on Kozuki Oden.
"Ability transfer!"Wilhelm's eyes flashed coldly.
A faint blue light flickered within his gaze.
"Ba-dump... ba-dump..."Suddenly, a change took place.
Oden's corpse started to regain color, and his heart began to beat once more."ROAR…!!"In an instant, his scarlet, snake-like eyes snapped open—glowing eerily.
His entire body swelled at an incredible speed, transforming into a monstrous, eight-headed serpent.
With a ferocious snarl, the Yamato no Orochi lunged straight at Wilhelm, its massive jaws ready to tear him apart."BANG!!"A powerful kick struck the beast mid-air, sending the eight-headed snake flying.
"Om—"Wilhelm's eyes sharpened.
A terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward, crashing down on the Yamato no Orochi with overwhelming force.
With Cong Yunya pressed firmly against one of its massive heads, Wilhelm looked down coldly."I created you with ease… and I can just as easily destroy you.
Do you still want to defy me?"
The once-ferocious Yamato no Orochi instantly froze.
Its entire body trembled, and the bloodlust in its eyes faded, replaced by fear.
A flood of memories—memories belonging to Kozuki Oden—began to surface in its mind, merging with its consciousness.
A long silence followed.
As it digested these memories, its massive body shrank rapidly.
Finally, it knelt before Wilhelm, bowing its head to the ground in submission."I sincerely apologize. Please forgive my earlier disrespect. I was ignorant… but you are my creator. From now on, I will serve you as my lord."Influenced by Oden's memories, the creature had unknowingly adopted the mannerisms of a Wano samurai.
It even began referring to itself as "this one" in humility and addressed Wilhelm with the formal honorific "lord."Wilhelm, uninterested in correcting it, simply waved his hand.
"From today onward, you will be known as 'Miyamoto Musashi.'
"There was no need to keep calling him Kozuki Oden.
Besides, with his strength, he was worthy of the legendary swordsman's name."Yes, my lord!"Kozuki Oden—no, Miyamoto Musashi—responded respectfully."Hee hee hee~ Boss, where are we heading next?"Pato, now back in his usual tanuki form, happily asked after retrieving the transformation leaf from "Dr. Hawkins."Wilhelm glanced ahead."First, we go to Kuri Village and retrieve Kozuki Oden's swords…""After that, we head to the northern cemetery. Then finally—to Onigashima.
"He wasn't just planning to retrieve Ame no Habakiri and Enma so that Miyamoto Musashi could regain his full combat strength.
There was something else he needed to confirm.
After all, he wasn't sure if the fox known as Onimaru had already eaten the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Great Buddha at this point in time.
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