Hearing the rapid report from Vegapunk's clone, Wisdom Pythagoras, Souta Kiryuu let a satisfied smile cross his face.
This batch of Six Paths Seraphs would far outclass the Shichibukai Seraphs of the original timeline.
Not only did they carry superior Paramecia abilities, but their bloodline factors gave them even greater potential.
Even the strongest—Hawk-Eye's Seraph—was limited, stuck with a fairly ordinary blade-based Paramecia fruit. Its ceiling was already weakened.
But Souta's own bloodline factor? Its potential was enormous, granting these Seraphs additional lineage boosts on top of their Devil Fruits.
This was a straight leap in power.
Soon after, the Seraph Kuma was matured and implanted with the very fruit that once defined him—the Paw-Paw Fruit.
As Seraph Kuma was sent away for testing, reports from the newly matured Shura Path and Human Path Seraphs came in fresh.
The Shura Path had awakened an additional toxic bloodline factor.
The Human Path awakened a lion's mane fur bloodline factor.
"My, my… so Shura Path's Weapon-Weapon Fruit can even add poison now? That means bullets and cannon fire could become toxic bombs," Souta said with delight.
Then he noticed the Human Path's appearance—long, trailing white hair, standing proudly as if in a permanent Sulong form.
"Compared to Shiki the Golden Lion, who also wielded the Float-Float Fruit, this one might one day be called the Moon-White Lion Human Path!" Souta laughed.
As for Seraph Kuma's report—it was exactly as predicted, no surprises. Unlike the Six Paths Seraphs, which kept throwing jackpots of unexpected awakenings.
Souta studied the remaining three—Hell Path, Hungry Ghost Path, and Animal Path—still undecided on which Paramecia powers to grant them.
He loved the Ope-Ope Fruit, the Barrier Fruit, the Heat-Heat Fruit, even the Swallow-Swallow Fruit. All were tempting.
Looking at the Hell Path, however, Souta considered saving it for Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit. The raw destructive power of that fruit was the only thing worthy of a "Hell Path."
After all, Souta's vision was clear—his Six Paths Seraphs would not be a functional support system like Pain's Six Paths.
No, his would be a pure destruction core, built to embody raw, overwhelming annihilation.
Soul-hunting, healing, summoning—none of that mattered here.
Souta's Six Paths would walk their own unique road: destruction for its own sake.
Still, he decided to give himself a day or two more before making the final call.
But the longer he thought, the more restless he became. Perhaps it was time to deal with Crocodile—the desert crocodile who still lingered in his custody.
Maybe after crushing that problem, his thoughts would be clearer.
If Crocodile still refused obedience, Souta would simply convert him into a Pacifista.
Or better yet, force Blackbeard Teach to recycle the Logia Sand-Sand Fruit through the Dark-Dark Fruit, ensuring the power would return to a new, more deserving user.
The Araryū Pirates no longer needed the combat strength of a former Shichibukai. Souta had no use for Crocodile's "schemes." He was already someone who lived outside the system, bending the world to his will.
Besides, Lafitte and Nico Robin were intelligent enough to handle most of the crew's strategic affairs. Crocodile would only ever be an accessory at best.
Sky Island Prison.
"Crocodile, this is your final chance. Give me your answer."
Souta's patience had run out. He had endless ways to deal with this fallen Shichibukai.
"If you want me to join, hand over Nico Robin and those traitors from Baroque Works," Crocodile spat, his eyes burning with killing intent. He would never forgive betrayal.
"Heh… your answer disappoints me." Souta's expression turned ice-cold. "Better you serve as a tool. When I find someone more worthy, your Sand-Sand Fruit will have a stronger master."
With that, Souta gave the order. Crocodile's face twisted in shock as he was dragged away toward Vegapunk's Pacifista conversion labs.
Even if his memories were rewritten and his strength weakened, Souta didn't care.
A single Crocodile could easily be replaced by one Seraph. And when he found a subordinate with higher talent, the Sand-Sand Fruit would simply change hands.
Meanwhile, in that same laboratory, Blackbeard Teach was consumed by terror. Vegapunk's clones and the science division dissected him piece by piece, while Law used his Ope-Ope Fruit to divide Blackbeard's body into fragments for study.
They were exploring the secret Souta had hinted at—the mystery of wielding multiple Devil Fruits.
"The man who never sleeps… three hearts… three separate soul-personalities. The odds of such a creature being born are almost nonexistent," said Shaka the Just and Lilith the Evil after poring over every book and record they could find.
"Years ago, World Government scientists attempted something similar—forcing those born with two hearts to eat two Devil Fruits. The result was always the same: their bodies exploded."
Lilith sneered as she recalled her research into classified government files Vegapunk once accessed.
Because Vegapunk's six clones shared his memories, every one of them knew these buried secrets.
"What about someone with one heart, but two distinct personalities?" Law asked coolly.
As the Surgeon of Death, he had long since seen through life and death. No matter how cruel the government's experiments, he never flinched.
"Personality is a conceptual thing. Maybe what you mean is split identity disorder? But whether that counts as 'two souls'—who knows?" Lilith shrugged, her smile twisted.
"Everyone knows Brook, right?" Shaka interjected. "Even though he's just bones, the power of his Revive-Revive Fruit still functions. That suggests Devil Fruit abilities don't actually reside in the heart.
And the success of Zoan-based weapons proves that Devil Fruits carry their own consciousness. They don't need flesh and blood. Hearts and organs don't matter."
"Still, only Zoan fruits can be weaponized. Artificial Zoans also develop a dual consciousness. It may be that only Zoans carry their own will, while Paramecia and Logia do not.
But after studying countless users, I'm convinced Paramecia and Logia powers do affect personality. Many users' behaviors shift drastically after eating their fruit," Shaka added, voice firm.
The evidence was undeniable—Devil Fruits influenced the soul.
They had seen it themselves: memories and pain ejected by the Paw-Paw Fruit, age itself drawn out by Bonney, Brook's literal soul wandering free.
Science could not explain these phenomena—yet they were real.
And so, the path of science fused with Devil Fruit power would forever demand deeper exploration.