Chapter 213: Chapter 213: Devil Fruit Synergy
"The plan designed for me by the Red Queen is a bit too complex." Shin grabbed his head, closed his eyes, and looked at the various data projected on the chip.
"However, if it succeeds, two Devil Fruits can be awakened at once. This would be an amazing boost for my abilities."
Opening his eyes, Shin let out a sigh. "No choice but to study it slowly."
The plan Shin referred to was the method that the Red Queen created to awaken his devil fruits.
Many people believe that devil fruits awaken through battle, and that's both correct and incorrect. At least, when the Red Queen awakened the Book-Book fruit, there was no battle involved, and it awakened pretty quickly. This ease was because the Red Queen's use of the Book-Book fruit had surpassed a certain limit.
In other words, devil fruit development is essentially a continuous application. Once a devil fruit's limit is reached and surpassed, it will naturally awaken.
Shin had combined the power of the Dark-Dark fruit and the Swallow-Swallow fruit into one. To some extent, this was like merging the boundaries of the two fruits, which means that awakening would require a higher level—reaching more than twice the level typically needed.
The Red Queen's awakening method for Shin was as challenging as the task of transforming illusion into reality. As long as he completed it, an awakening was guaranteed.
"The devil fruit fusion plan... I can't believe such a plan could even exist. Should I say artificial intelligence's imagination surpasses human brains?"
Yes, the Red Queen arranged for Shin to use the abilities of the Swallow-Swallowfruit and the Dark-Dark fruit to compress and fuse two devil fruits into one, creating a super devil fruit with dual powers.
This sounded improbable, and Shin wondered if he was reaching too far. But he had to admit the plan thoroughly intrigued him. After all, the concept of fusing devil fruits was incredibly appealing.
Isn't devil fruit development all about creative thinking? Though the idea sounded like getting three more wishes from a magic lamp, on careful consideration, it was possible through the transformation of the Swallow-Swallow fruit and the compression and absorption ability of the Dark-Dark fruit.
Still, it wasn't easy to begin implementing it.
According to the Red Queen's plan, devil fruits of the same type were generally easiest to fuse, followed by those with similarities.
Shin happened to possess a pair of devil fruits of the same genus: the Common Species Bat-Bat Fruit and the Mythical Beast Species—Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire.
Although the Vampire fruit is a Mythical Zoan-type because both are of the same genus, the Vampire Fruit's abilities even include much of the power of the regular Bat-Bat Fruit. Therefore, it's even easier to fuse than two ordinary zoan-type devil fruits.
Despite this "easier" fruit fusion, Shin conducted hundreds of experiments without success.
Thankfully, even when an experiment failed in the dark dimension, the power of the two devil fruits couldn't escape. Otherwise, the Marines or the World Government's vault would surely have been raided by now.
"Forget it, I'll take a break for now..." Shin finally sighed. Although he had found a hint of a direction, the dismay of repeated experimental failures led him to take a breather.
After leaving the dark dimension, Shin returned to his pirate ship, looked up at the Whitebeard Pirate flag above, and touched his chin.
"Speaking of which, which division do I belong to in the Whitebeard Pirates? Ace's Second Division or Thatch's Fourth Division?"
He was musing aloud when Charlotte Pudding approached with a surprised expression.
"Captain, are you still not a captain of a Whitebeard division? The Whitebeard Pirates aren't blind, right?"
Shin rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about? I'm just not interested in that."
Shin genuinely didn't find the position of division commander compelling. Although his strength wasn't outstanding when he first joined the Whitebeard Pirates, he already had a clear path for improvement. He was confident in his future, and becoming a division commander for the Whitebeard Pirates didn't align with his vision.
So he ignored the Whitebeard Pirates' suggestions to take on the division commander role.
Additionally, Whitebeard was open-minded, so Shin didn't become a team captain, which gave him flexibility when he set off on extended trips.
"Oh," Charlotte Pudding nodded, then eagerly asked, "Captain, I've mastered the Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death Jutsu. Is there a new genjutsu you can teach me?"
Shin glanced at Pudding and replied, "You already know enough about the Sharingan to defeat enemies using genjutsu. If you can't beat them with your current jutsus, learning new ones won't help. Right now, you should focus on strengthening your body."
"After all, you are Charlotte Linlin's daughter. No matter how low your natural physical ability, you can't be that far behind. With some training, you could at least reach the level of a Marine Colonel, so you don't get knocked down before using your genjutsu."
"But it's really tiring to exercise." Pudding said weakly, "I prefer genjutsu training. If only my body could exercise on its own!"
Shin gave her a knowing look. "You said it yourself, so don't regret it."
"Huh?! What do you mean?" Pudding asked warily, watching Shin closely.
With a sly smile, Shin moved like lightning. Before Pudding could react, she felt a slight chill on the back of her head.
The dark mist receded, and Pudding, looking at Shin in confusion, suddenly felt her body move involuntarily.
"Ahhhh!? What's happening to me?"
Pudding's body didn't perform any strenuous exercises, but every muscle began to tremble violently. This was an accelerated exercise method developed by using the brain chip.
This exercise method had the advantages of high stamina consumption, comprehensive physical training, and minimized long-term injuries. However, it also came with a unique trade-off.
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