Ben 10: Carnitrix Without Downsides?

With a resounding bang, Zack's body landed heavily on the deck of the large ship, drawing the attention of the poachers.

"Hmm? What's going on over there?"

"A monster—it's a monster covered in eyeballs!"

"We've seen plenty of aliens before, but this one's on a whole other level!"

"Idiots! What are you panicking for? He's probably with those lake monsters!"

The poachers stared at Zack (Error Eye Guy), their expressions wavering between fear and confusion.

The more timid among them visibly trembled, hesitant to approach. But the braver ones steeled themselves and raised their weapons. This group clearly had stronger nerves than your average criminals.

"I'm not sure what we did to upset you," Jonah Melville said with a strained smile, trying to keep his voice calm as he addressed Zack.

"Cut the chatter."

Zack straightened his stance, his grotesque form flexing as every eyeball embedded in his flesh turned outward in perfect unison.

"Hand over the lake monster eggs now—" he growled, voice distorted and inhuman, "—or I'll beat it out of you and take them myself."

"Then I guess there's no need for further discussion," Jonah Melville said, his lips curling into a cocky smirk as he gave a casual beckon with one finger.

Behind Zack, one of the poachers suddenly raised a tranquilizer sniper rifle and took aim.

He stared nervously at the blood-red eyeball on Zack's back, a creeping sense of dread rising in his chest.

This eyeball…

Could it see what I'm doing?

Wait—why is it glowing?!

BOOM!!

The eyeball on Zack's back flared with a blood-red light—and in an instant, a beam blasted the tranquilizer rifle to pieces! The shooter was flung backward with the explosion, crashing straight into the lake with a splash.

Every eyeball on Zack's grotesque body began shifting, observing the stunned expressions of the poachers from every angle.

"He can see… with all of them?" someone muttered in disbelief.

"Every single eyeball on that guy… provides him with 360-degree vision!" Jonah Melville gasped. "Open fire! Target the ones firing the beams!"

Clanck clanck

The poachers all raised their weapons at once, aiming directly at the glowing eyeballs on Zack's back.

But just as they were about to pull the trigger—

A blood-red glow surged across Zack's body.

And then—Every single eyeball lit up!!

Laser beams erupted from every direction, unleashing a storm of blood-red energy across the ship, raining destruction down upon the poachers in every direction.

Countless laser beams erupted from Zack's body, sweeping across the poachers in every direction like a storm of blood-red death.

"Every single eyeball—can shoot lasers?!" someone screamed.

"Stop him—now!"

One by one, the poachers panicked, frantically pulling their triggers. Desperate, they tried to suppress Zack's assault with sheer firepower.

But their bullets never reached him.

The lasers vaporized them mid-air—along with the guns that fired them.

One by one, the poachers were blasted off their feet by the relentless barrage, screaming as they were hurled into the water.

This was the terrifying power of Eye Guy's error variant.

Countless eyeballs didn't just give him omnidirectional vision—they gave him overwhelming firepower.

"A walking turret... no—a goddamn arsenal!" one poacher shouted before being blasted off the deck.

Jonah Melville clenched his jaw so hard it felt like his teeth might crack. He stared at Zack with wide, disbelieving eyes.

What kind of monster is this?

Where the hell does he get that kind of power?!

And in just a few short minutes...

Nearly no one was left standing on the ship.

"Hmm..."

Zack's figure flickered dimly, the countless eyeballs across his body now bloodshot and strained. He glanced around, scanning the wrecked deck.

"Are they all taken care of?" he muttered. "Weird… I took down a whole ship full of poachers, but I didn't get any template progress."

He sighed in mild frustration and began walking across the deck.

Eventually, he stopped in front of a large wooden crate and looked down.

"This should be where they're keeping the Kraken eggs," he mused. "If I remember right, in the original episode, it was Jonah Melville and his crew who stole from the Plumbers—triggering the lake monster's rampage."

His memory of Episode 3 wasn't as clear as the first two, but he still recalled the general plot.

"Bastard!!"

An enraged voice suddenly rang out from within the ship's cabin!

A massive robot emerged—over three meters tall, its arms outfitted with dual cannons and reinforced plating.

Jonah Melville was inside, seated at the control panel. His expression was wild with fury and desperation.

"Stay away from the Kraken eggs!!" he roared.

"Oh, so now you're bringing out the big guns~ Keke~~"

Zack's back eyeballs immediately locked onto the robotic suit.

Without panic, he gently set the crate aside and stepped to the side—completely calm.

It all happened in an instant.

Bang!!

The submersible robot raised its dual cannons and fired, unleashing twin beams of deep blue energy!

Zack's back-eyes retaliated with blood-red lasers. The two forces collided midair with a thunderous crack, locking in a blinding beam struggle!

The red and blue lasers clashed—neither side giving way!

"Haha! What even are you?! You think you can steal my Kraken eggs?" Yona Meyer shouted, his face twisted in excitement.

"If one eyeball isn't enough to handle you," Zack muttered, eyes narrowing, "then how about this move, huh?"

He slowly turned around, spreading his arms wide. His body arched back into a grotesque, unnatural pose.

This angle allowed five or six of the eyeballs on his body to simultaneously lock onto the robot.

Jonah Melville's face paled. "Not good!!"

He panicked and immediately pushed the cannon power to maximum.

The submersible robot crossed its arms in front of its chest as it charged up a deep blue energy wave—

BOOM!!

Several of Zack's eyeballs simultaneously fired blood-red laser beams, converging into a storm of energy that completely overwhelmed the blue shockwave—engulfing the submersible robot in an instant.

The mech, as if made of brittle plaster, shattered into countless pieces within seconds.

Even Jonah Melville, seated inside, was blasted away with it—sent flying off the ship in a smoking heap!

"Hmph. What a bunch of clowns," Zack muttered, clearly unimpressed. "Didn't even give me any template progress. Not even as useful as those ancient beasts Dr. Animo unleashed."

Shaking his head with a tinge of disappointment, Zack walked back over to the wooden crate.

Bang!

He extended a hand and blasted the lid open from the side, revealing a secure cultivation chamber hidden inside.

Within the chamber glowed two golden Kraken eggs, softly pulsating with faint light.

Not far from the ship—

Kraken had gained the upper hand in his brawl with Ripjaws. Using its immense size and strength, the creature struck Ben's merman form repeatedly with both fists in brutal, close-range combat.

Ben didn't dodge. He gritted his teeth, eyeing the nearby paddle boats filled with civilians.

"Ugh! If I wasn't waiting for those boats to clear out…" he growled. "You'd be on a leash by now, you oversized sea slug!"

"Cree!!"

Suddenly, Kraken paused mid-swing.

Its deep blue eyes turned sharply toward the large vessel on the lake—its attention drawn to something.

On the large ship—

Zack lifted the cultivation chamber and hurled it into the lake.

"Hey, water monster—these are your eggs. I'm giving them back!"

"Creee~!"

Kraken let out a long, resonant cry as its massive form—over twenty meters long and even larger than the ship—swiftly swam over.

It gently nudged open the cultivation chamber with its snout, carefully retrieving the two glowing golden eggs.

"I already took care of the guys who stole them," Zack said, crouching at the edge of the boat with a faint smile. "So maybe don't give my friend such a hard time, yeah?"

Kraken lifted its head and stared at Zack's grotesque, eyeball-covered form.

And then—of all things—it flinched.

Visibly shuddering, the mighty lake monster tucked its head in fear and quickly turned to flee into the depths of the lake.

"..."

From the distance, Ben (still in his Ripjaws form) cupped his hands and shouted, "Thanks, Terror Eye!!"

It sounded like gratitude—but more importantly, he had casually given Zack's transformation a new name on the spot.

Ding! Host has defeated the poacher gang, destroyed Yona Meyer's submersible mech, and returned the Kraken eggs. Progress +1!

Template progress: 8/100. Apprentice Plumber skill unlocked!

Apprentice Plumber?

Zack blinked. The moment the words appeared, a flood of information surged into his mind—dozens of memories and techniques cramming themselves into place like puzzle pieces snapping together.

It took him a few seconds to fully adjust.

Languages from all over the world…

Driving skills—for cars, boats, even basic aircraft piloting.

Hand-to-hand combat techniques. Firearms handling. Tactical awareness.

All the foundational abilities required of a covert field agent—downloaded into his mind and instantly mastered.