With the remnants of the Rocks Pirates and the Diger Pirates crushed, the Hell Pirates finally stood alone at the top. The New World had only one ruler now.
Brook did not understand why Imu still had not moved.
But he understood something else.
This silence was not peace. It was the deep breath before the next storm.
If Uranus truly returned, Brook would need a weapon that could face it head on, again.
And Murphy's Law was a cruel teacher. If something could happen, it would.
In Brook's eyes, it was almost guaranteed that Imu would finish repairing the Uranus. And if the so called rule of boss resurrection and power ups held true, the repaired weapon might come back even worse than before.
Tech Island, Punk Hazard.
"Captain Brook, with Inu kun and the lunar technology from the First Island of the Universe, we can absolutely make the Pluton battleship move at speeds no slower than Uranus."
Vegapunk spoke rapidly, excitement and frustration tangled together. His body looked like a balloon now, and his head had swollen to more than ten meters tall, nearly rivaling a giant's height. With every new archive of knowledge he absorbed, his brain kept expanding, faster and faster.
"But energy is the wall we cannot break. We still cannot sustain Pluton in prolonged combat. We need a source that is more efficient and longer lasting."
His eyes shone.
"If we can identify Uranus's power source, or the energy core used by those ancient robots, then everything becomes simple."
Brook nodded once, then cut straight to the point.
"Pluton matters. But what about the research on multi fruit users?"
After returning from New Beehive Island, he had handed Marshall D. Tim and her two daughters over to Vegapunk without hesitation. Brook wanted the secret cracked, no matter what it took.
Vegapunk adjusted his tone, turning serious.
"As you said, Devil Fruits primarily reside within the soul. But even if you possess two souls, you cannot become a multi fruit user if your body cannot meet the requirements."
He lifted one finger.
"To hold multiple Devil Fruit abilities, you need multiple souls."
A second finger.
"And you need a body capable of supporting the strain, meaning multiple hearts and overwhelming physical strength. Without that foundation, the body collapses."
He glanced toward the secured laboratory wing.
"Heart transplants are possible with high level medical techniques. But splitting the soul, that is the part we still cannot explain."
Vegapunk exhaled slowly.
"However, Marshall D. Tim's work gave us a direction. According to her records, identical triplets were forced to parasitize and devour each other in the womb. Under extremely harsh conditions, the perfect body, Teach, was born with three hearts and three souls."
Even Vegapunk looked unsettled as he continued.
"That he survived at all is because of the purity of his D bloodline, which grants absurd vitality. And he carries the genes of Rocks himself. That combination let him endure years without rest, without his body collapsing."
Brook's eyes sharpened.
"So if I split my soul, transplant a heart, and have a strong enough body, I can become a dual fruit user?"
For the first time in a long while, a clear hope flashed across his face.
"That is the theory," Vegapunk replied, unflinching, "but we lack real experimental data. More importantly, the soul is the most mysterious thing in this world. Our team still cannot grasp it."
He spoke with rare restraint.
"Captain Brook, reaching the realm of the soul may take a very long time."
Brook's jaw tightened.
Vegapunk continued, almost clinical.
"If you want another alien like Teach, we can attempt a controlled experiment."
He paused, then delivered the requirements like a list of ingredients.
"But we need powerful D type genes. Roger's seeds have already been used up, so that part is on you. And we need a strong D type woman. That increases the success rate."
Vegapunk's voice remained steady.
"According to Tim, Teach's birth was partly accidental. She was trying to create a two soul subject. Instead, an extra embryo appeared without explanation, as if fate itself forced Teach into existence. Three souls may actually be more stable than two. That stability is likely why he survived."
Brook's expression turned strange.
"Then I'll find another way."
In his mind, thoughts spun like a storm.
Trick Roger into donating again?
And where was he supposed to find a powerful woman of the D clan?
There were D bloodlines on Cake Island, descended from the Trafalgar line, the Portgas line, even Jaguar D. Saul's line. If those were not strong enough, then what was?
They had grown up under Linlin's training, too.
But Brook remembered something else.
Back when Pluton needed activation, those children had donated a frightening amount of blood.
Did that weaken their potential?
If these D bloodlines truly were not enough, then Tim herself could serve as the mother again. Her witch costume was a lie, she was not even forty yet, and her body could still recover.
Still, that option tasted like poison.
Which meant he might have to hunt down Roger's crew again. And if it came to that, he would have no choice but to force the issue.
Brook's gaze hardened.
But before chasing bloodlines, he had another question, one that mattered even more.
Could his own soul be split again?
If his soul and the original Brook's soul were divided into two, would his consciousness remain? Would the power of the Yomi Fruit remain intact?
And if he needed a heart transplant, whose heart would he take?
Would his body truly endure the load of two Devil Fruits?
And if it could, which fruit should he choose?
Brook felt irritation crawl up his spine.
Damn it.
If he had some idiotic system with cheats, none of this would matter. With a system, all the drawbacks would vanish, and he could eat as many fruits as he wanted.
But he had seen the truth.
That so called system had an unknown origin, and no one knew how it killed its host and turned him into fertilizer.
Brook's eyes narrowed.
Then his thoughts snapped to another tool.
The Three Eyed Raven should be awake by now.
Let that bastard look into the future.
If the Raven could predict whether splitting his soul was dangerous, whether he would truly become a dual fruit user, then Brook could act with certainty.
Even if the Raven fell back into a deep sleep afterward, who cared?
If it could predict Brook killing Imu, then it could die in its sleep for all Brook cared. That was probably its only value.
Decision made, Brook stepped onto the Seven Star Magic Sword.
He shot into the sky with a clean, ruthless grace, heading straight for the Ice and Snow Kingdom.
Let the Three Eyed Raven test it.
Let it confirm whether splitting his soul would cost him everything, or open the path to becoming the first true multi fruit monster of this era.
As power grew, the chains grew with it.
Every move had to be calculated. Every risk had to be weighed.
Brook did not want mistakes.
If he had been penniless when he first arrived in this world, he would have gambled everything for a chance.
--------------
New World, Ice and Snow Kingdom.
In truth, the moment Brook returned from the moon, the Three Eyed Raven, Bran, had already awakened. These past few days, he had been forcing himself to eat and drink like a madman, stuffing his body with supplements just to recover.
Luckily, the old Ice Demon was still alive.
Someone kept bringing food.
Otherwise, Bran might have slept straight into the grave and been buried right alongside that stubborn old giant.
But the old Ice Demon truly did not have much time left.
He had been bedridden for over a year, teetering at the edge of death, ready to go at any moment. And once he saw Bran open his eyes again, it was as if his life had officially entered its final countdown.
"Little ghost… I did what I promised you."
The old Ice Demon's voice was slow, worn thin by age. His eyes were gray and dim, half open, half closed.
"The crisis of the Ice Giants… has been overcome."
"Don't worry."
Bran's expression was complicated, as if he had already seen how this ended.
"Dozens… even hundreds of years from now, there will still be young Ice Giants sailing the seas."
The old Ice Demon suddenly seemed to gather one last burst of strength. He sat up, and focus returned to those lifeless eyes.
"Will Brook overthrow the World Government?"
Bran froze for a heartbeat, then sighed like a man staring at a guillotine.
"I can't say that. If I do, I'll be punished again."
He pointed at himself with a bitter laugh.
"Either I fall into a deep sleep, or misfortune wraps around my neck, and I die on the spot."
Then his expression changed again, sharp and alert.
"Brook's here."
Bran turned his head toward the doorway.
"Looks like it's time to see you off."
The old Ice Demon chuckled faintly. He did not miss that twitch of fear.
"What does he want you to predict this time?"
The old giant's voice was hoarse, but amused.
"What backlash are you about to suffer?"
Bran clicked his tongue, already annoyed.
"I knew it. Following him was never going to end well."
He rubbed his temples, muttering like a man cursed.
"I wanted to guide him from the side, keep the backlash small. But this guy wants to predict this and that. Is he trying to kill me?"
He even looked like he was considering breaking his promise and running for his life.
Then a familiar laugh rolled down from the sky, loud enough to shake the snow from the rooftops.
"Yohohoho! You said it yourself. As long as I came back, you'd join me."
Brook's voice was bright and cruelly cheerful, like a blade polished to shine.
"Now it's time for you to do your job."
Brook landed, and his senses brushed the room. He could feel the old Ice Demon's fading life, thin as a candle flame.
For a moment, a thought crossed his mind.
Could he harvest the soul of a former pirate overlord?
But that felt… dirty.
The New Ice Demon Pirates were already under his banner. Reaping the soul of a heroic captain from a subordinate crew would leave a bad taste.
Brook's gaze shifted, and he spoke to the old Ice Demon instead.
"Old Ice Demon, do you still want to live?"
Brook's grin widened.
"Come with me. Fight the Five Elders. End your life gloriously on the battlefield, instead of rotting away in a sickbed."
The old Ice Demon lay back down, the fire in his eyes dimming again.
"It's useless."
His voice was empty.
"I lost my fighting spirit twenty years ago. I only wanted to preserve the Ice Giants' legacy."
He closed his eyes.
"As for fighting the Five Elders… forget it. Any Marine could kill me now."
Brook's smile did not change.
"I can save you."
He raised a hand, almost casual.
"I can use pure gold to keep you alive, then use the Age Fruit to roll your age back a bit. We've also got plenty of banned drugs that can force your strength to surge."
His laugh carried a sharp edge.
"You can at least see what the Five Elders look like up close."
Before anyone could protest, Brook crushed a pure gold ring in his palm.
The gleaming metal liquefied under his control, then sank into the old Ice Demon's flesh like heat into iron.
The old giant's body stopped bleeding life.
He was still weak, but the rapid fading slowed to a halt.
Bran stared, horrified.
"You really are a profit driven monster."
The old Ice Demon's voice came louder now, filled with anger.
"You're squeezing a dying man for value."
Brook leaned closer, eyes bright.
"Then answer me."
His tone was almost playful.
"Are you willing or not? If not, I'll dig the gold back out. After you die, maybe I'll even take your high quality soul."
Both Bran and the old Ice Demon went stiff.
They remembered exactly what Brook could do.
The room went cold for a different reason.
"You…!"
The old Ice Demon jerked upright, furious enough that a faint thread of Haki trembled out of him.
"Yohoho! Relax, relax."
Brook waved a hand, laughing like he had simply told a harmless joke.
"Look, you're already a little better, aren't you?"
He did not push further. He knew when to stop. If he truly angered this old monster into dying on the spot, it would be a waste.
The old Ice Demon snorted, two puffs of white mist blasting from his nose.
"Get out."
Brook tilted his head.
"Fine. Then will you come to my territory, or should I send someone with the Age ability to help you recover?"
The old giant shut his eyes, refusing to look at him.
"If I want to go, I'll go. If I don't, I'll die."
His voice was stubborn, but underneath it was calculation.
If they helped Brook and Brook failed, the Ice Kingdom would be punished.
The World Government did not care if pirates slaughtered each other in the New World.
But if you dared shake their rule, they would answer with extermination.
Eight hundred years was only a handful of generations for long lived giants. In the Void Century war, entire races had been erased.
Brook nodded as if he understood.
"Then I'll wait for your good news."
He did not stay.
Instead, he grabbed Bran by the collar like a troublesome cat, leapt onto Quetzalcoatl, and shot into the sky.
He did not want the old Ice Demon to notice anything else, especially the truth of his own Devil Fruit situation. That man had once ruled the seas. His mind was not simple.
Quetzalcoatl tore across the clouds, leaving the Ice and Snow Kingdom behind.
Only endless sea remained.
Bran sat stiffly on the serpent's back, glaring at Brook like a man being dragged to his execution.
"You already know what you want to ask, don't you?"
Brook's expression turned serious for once.
"This matters."
Bran's face twisted with resentment.
"Could you please stop asking questions that involve massive futures?"
He pointed at himself again, furious.
"I just woke up. Do you want me to fall asleep again? Or do you want me dead?"
Brook's eyes narrowed, calm as ice.
"Is it really that huge?"
He spoke like he was testing the edge of a blade.
"All I'm asking is whether I can become a dual fruit user in the future."
He leaned closer, voice dropping.
"When you say it's a huge undertaking, does that mean I already succeeded? Even killed Imu?"
Brook's smile sharpened.
"Or are you afraid to speak because it'll change the future?"
Bran's breathing hitched.
Brook continued, unhurried, but relentless.
"And you chose to follow me. Doesn't that mean you saw the World Government fall?"
Bran stared at him, shocked, like he was looking at a monster wearing a human face.
"You… what are you?"
His voice cracked.
"Stop asking me. Make your own decision!"
But his expression, that tiny flash of fear, gave Brook exactly what he wanted.
Confidence.
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