The Pirate Princess Becomes Queen

The afternoon after the two Shichibukai met, several bounty hunters found Vivi bleeding out pirates for divination.

"Ms. Wednesday, several of our studio colleagues have collapsed in the alley, and we don't know what to do!"

Vivi's expression was calm at first, but it quickly turned into anxiety and tension. She looked as if her father had died: "Where is he? Quick, quick! Take me there!"

Ten minutes later, several bounty hunters led her into a dark alley. They shouted and pointed ahead, then scattered and fled while Vivi was distracted.

"Where is he? Where is the injured bounty hunter?" Vivi asked the air with an innocent and naive expression.

"What an idiot! Is this all Crocodile has under his command?" Diamante, one of Doflamingo's four key subordinates and one of his important subordinates whom he had met yesterday, walked out lightly, holding a rapier.

Vivi frowned deeply: "It was you? This was all your conspiracy?"

Diamanti, dressed in brightly colored clothes, looked like some kind of indigenous chieftain. His collar and cuffs were decorated with colorful feathers. He was very proud, like a peacock: "Since you put it that way, I'll accept it!"

"Ha ha ha ha--"

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Both of them were laughing, but after a couple of laughs, Diamanti stopped. What was going on? Was the woman opposite him an idiot? Didn't she know fear?

Doflamingo gave him a long kill list. After killing the woman in front of him, there were still several other targets. He planned to kill all of Crocodile's men, and then chop off that idiot's head with one sword. He felt that he could defeat Crocodile without even his young master having to lift a finger.

Diamanti, full of confidence, drew his rapier and twirled it.

"To die by my sword is your honor."

He unleashed his killing intent to the fullest, and his former enemies were basically crushed at this moment. As the swordsmanship teacher of the Don Quixote family, he was very confident in his swordsmanship.

But today, the enemy's reaction was far beyond his expectations.

Vivi's tone was even more sinister than his: "What you said is mostly true. Dying by my sword would indeed be an honor for you. Don't worry, you'll be a very useful corpse, I guarantee it..."

A chilling wind swept through the area, and within a few words, Diamanti felt the alleyway grow eerie. The wind carried the sounds of ghostly wails and howls, their faint, nightmarish murmurs echoing in his ears. He felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down his forehead; his body's reaction was completely at odds with his own demeanor. He had been confidently spouting boastful words, yet why was his heart pounding so fast? What was he afraid of?

It was supposed to be a battle where you crushed a weak opponent, so what kind of unexpected event could happen?

Diamanti was quite confident in his abilities; his bounty had reached 99 million over ten years, and if a bounty were placed on him now, it would certainly exceed 100 million. Within the Donquixote Family, Rao G was in charge of teaching physical combat, while he was in charge of teaching swordsmanship. He didn't think he was in any danger, but he felt that the other party's abilities were a bit strange.

He sneered, "Little sparrow, it seems you do have some strength. Well then, I'll... Ouch, what the hell is this?!"

Then, Weiwei opened her arms, her eyes half-closed and half-open, and blood began to gush out from behind her bright red cloak. The blood gathered together and eventually became a seemingly endless river of blood.

The river spread and expanded in all directions. Alleys? There were no alleys anymore! The entire Expo was covered in blood in Diamanti's eyes. From the thick, foul-smelling blood, staggering figures gradually emerged. Judging from the still vaguely recognizable faces, they were all pirates who had been killed in the Expo's arena during this period.

Vivi chuckled twice: "No way, you don't really think I enjoy treating pirates, do you? This was originally a technique I prepared for Doflamingo, but who knew it was just a nobody. What a disappointment. Oh well, I'll use you as a practice subject."

"Who exactly are you!?"

"Me? I'm just the pitiful, weak, and helpless MS. Wednesday, oh ho ho ho ho—take this! Zero Type. Dead River!"

The next second, the Dead River surged forth, engulfing Diamanti.

Those pirates who had originally died in the river, but were now living dead thanks to the endless flow of blood, let out a series of silent shouts, drew their swords, and charged madly towards Diamante.

Diamante, as the swordsmanship instructor of the Don Quixote family, was quite knowledgeable.

He swung his rapier with all his might, pushing his swordsmanship to its limit. He dragged the blade to the right, severing the heads and arms of two pirates. Then, he turned sideways and kicked a pirate in the waist with all his might. With a flick of his elbow, he knocked down another pirate covered in blood.

He shouted, "It's fake! It must be my Observation Haki affecting my senses! You're hiding your identity, there's no way you could unleash a technique that covers the entire island at this time! You can't fool me!"

"You're very smart. I take back what I said about you being a pawn; that was an offense to you. However... knowing something doesn't mean you can solve it. You know there's a problem, but your brain can't overcome my Observation Haki, so all you can do is shout a few words; it's completely useless."

Before Vivi could finish speaking, Diamanti darted forward and thrust at the location he sensed Vivi was.

This sword strike was steady, accurate, and ruthless; it was an exceptional performance.

At the same moment he thrust out, he had a premonition that he had missed.

His reaction was incredibly swift. He turned around on the spot to dissipate his momentum, then pulled out several cannons from his pocket and sprayed a lot of glittering paper scraps into the sky. Finally, he activated his Flutter-Flutter Fruit ability, turning the paper scraps into thorny iron balls, which he densely scattered across a vast area of ​​twenty meters around him.

Chapter 218 Prisoners

The iron balls fell densely, covering the entire surrounding space, and this time they finally located the enemy's position.

"Die! Half-moon funeral!" Diamanti raised his rapier and slashed a crescent-shaped sword aura towards the enemy.

This is his strongest attack. As a swordsman, he is usually very proud to be able to unleash such a strike.

"Good! Dead!" He could tell that the sword energy could shatter flesh, but after a second, he realized that the person he had killed was just an unknown pirate.

The sword energy sliced ​​the pirate in half from the middle. The two halves of the pirate's body groped around in the dead river for a while, and their blood acted as an adhesive. In less than three seconds, the two halves of the body were put back together and regained their fighting ability.

Vivi's voice rang out behind Diamanti: "Is this your strongest attack? It's about the same as when I first went to the East Sea."

"Die!" Diamanti staggered, turned around and swung his sword, the sensation of the blade cutting into flesh returning to him.

"Lord Diamanti... save me..." The voice that reached his ears horrified him. Was it the bounty hunter he had bribed? Hadn't these guys run away?

"It must be here!"

"Don't even think about insulting me! You're dead!"

"Come out here! Fight me fair and square!"

He swung his sword repeatedly, but he only managed to cut down pirates or the bounty hunters he had bribed. The enemy didn't take him seriously at all; they were just toying with him.

"If you're a swordsman, then come out! What kind of skill is it to hide like this!" He knew he had kicked a hornet's nest; this enemy was more than a hundred times stronger than he had anticipated! Strong was one thing, but also incredibly cunning! This was going to be fatal.

After two failed raids, he was surrounded by pirate crews. Pirates who could participate in the arena were all somewhat skilled. At this moment, every second, seven or eight swords were slashing at his body from all sides. With hundreds or thousands of pirates surrounding him, no matter how good his swordsmanship was, he couldn't stop them at this time.

His blood flowed into the Dead River, and the blood in the Dead River splashed back onto his skin. His consciousness became increasingly blurred. In three seconds at most, he would die, and after death, he would become a living dead in this river.

Will the next person I wield my sword be Lord Dover?

He didn't want this ending; he was resentful and furious, feeling his death was far too humiliating.

"...You seem to be a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user? What kind of Devil Fruit did you eat?" Vivi asked as if she had discovered something new.

Diamante didn't know the other party's intentions, but still frankly admitted: "I am a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user, the Flutter-Flutter Fruit!"

"The Fluttering Fruit? Never heard of it... It shouldn't be a powerful fruit. Fine, since you're a swordsman too, I'll give you a chance. If you survive one of my attacks, I'll spare you." Vivi's voice was ethereal, seemingly appearing in several directions at the same time.

"Alright! Let's settle this once and for all!" Diamanti knew this was her only chance. If she still had a chance to escape, she would make sure the young master was careful of this woman who was hiding her strength. If she couldn't escape... then forget about everything and wait for the young master to avenge her.

The surrounding blood quickly dissipated. The undead in the Dead River were extremely unwilling. Several pirates swung their swords forcefully, seemingly annoyed that they hadn't turned the person in front of them into an ally. However, they could not resist Vivi's will and could only disappear along with the Dead River.

From the moment Vivi released the River of Death to the moment she put it away, the process took only a dozen seconds. In those short few seconds, Diamanti fought with all his might and still suffered more than thirty knife wounds, his body covered in wounds. He was still able to breathe, partly because of his willpower and partly because the River of Death had healed him when it receded.

He gasped for breath, clenching his muscles to tighten his wound. Looking around, he realized he was back in the same dimly lit alley. Vivi was leaning against the wall, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Why are you hiding your strength? Is it for Crocodile Sand, or for Young Master Dover?" Diamanti stared intently at her.

Vivi didn't hide her sharpness this time. With just one look, Diamante felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. This look was even more terrifying than Doflamingo's.

"Why? You don't need to know too much. Make your move, I'm short on time."

"Ah—! Die!" Diamante imbued his Devil Fruit power into his rapier, assuming a charging and thrusting stance. But at the moment of attack, the ground and walls of the alleyway trembled like light, fluttering fabric in the wind. Taking advantage of Vivi's momentary lapse in balance, he thrust out his sword with a sudden, powerful strike.

"That's it? This Devil Fruit ability is just average." Vivi initially swayed a couple of times with the ground, but then realized that the swaying was completely erratic. So she activated her Devil Fruit ability, levitated in mid-air, and looked at Diamante with a mocking expression.

"Damn it! Flight ability?"

Before Diamanti could think of a solution, Vivi drew her sword.

"My turn. Come on, Sky Soaring Dragon Flash!"

She swiftly swung her sword, slicing through the air in her path with a single wave-cutting move. With a flick of her wrist, centrifugal force pulled Diamanti to her side. She sheathed her sword and then unleashed an even faster dragon-slaying strike. The two strikes, one light and one heavy, one fast and one slow, were combined together—this was the Heavenly Dragon Flash!

A jet of blood shot into the sky, slashing Diamanti's left shoulder and right rib, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound. The five-meter-tall swordsman, dressed like a native chieftain, passed out without uttering a sound.

Fifteen minutes later, Vivi brought the unconscious Diamanti to meet up with her friends.

Killing the zombies and the undead in the Dead River directly is a bit of a waste.

Corpses have no Devil Fruit abilities or Haki. They can be used to some extent in the early stages, but when facing the Four Emperors and the Three Admirals in the later stages, the simple human wave tactic is useless. It can be said that Gecko Moria's original idea of ​​a zombie army was a dead end.

The reason Diamante was spared was because he was a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user.

During the three months that Vivi spent creating Gwyn in Wano Country, she also conducted a lot of research on her own blood and Devil Fruit abilities.

It's a well-known fact that superpowers in the One Piece world all originate from Devil Fruits.

When a Devil Fruit user dies, the Devil Fruit is reborn; the person is merely a vessel. Even if the fruit's power is developed to the awakened stage, the person remains a person, and the fruit remains a fruit. There is no possibility of fusion between the two. Kizaru can eat the Glint-Glint Fruit, and if Kizaru dies, someone else can also eat this fruit; there are no requirements regarding aptitude or bloodline.

So the question arises: after a person eats a Devil Fruit, where does the so-called demon reside? Or, to put it another way, does this demon even exist?

Chapter 219 Bloodline Factors

The scientist Vegapunk, who claimed to be 500 years ahead of the current world, proposed the concept of lineage factor. He also used Kaido's lineage factor to create an artificial Devil Fruit that would be eaten by Momonosuke in the future.

That Devil Fruit was incredibly accurate, far surpassing the deformed artificial Devil Fruit Caesar created for Doflamingo.

Vegapunk's "Pacifistas" even possess some of the abilities of Kuma and Kizaru. It can be said that in the field of Devil Fruit research, he has broken down the boundaries between traditional science and Paramecia-type and Logia-type Devil Fruit users. The lineage factor is indeed the greatest invention in the world today, without exception.

Caesar Clown's artificial Devil Fruit, Judge's cyborg soldiers, and Queen's Ice Demon are all derivatives of Vegapunk's research. In terms of practical value, they are far less important than lineage factors.

As soon as the World Government revoked the privileges of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a large fleet of naval warships marched towards their stronghold, not even sparing the world's greatest swordsman, Hawkeye Mihawk.

Hawkeye's strength is undeniable. The Navy wouldn't attack such a harmless person unless they were confident. In other words, Vegapunk's research on bloodline factors will be completed in three years, and he will begin mass production of "Pacifistas." By then, the world's greatest swordsman and the Pirate Empress could be easily overwhelmed by the sheer number of bio-soldiers. That would be terrifying.

Vivi practices swordsmanship diligently and tirelessly. Can she surpass Hawkeye?

Dozens or hundreds of pacifists swarmed her, lasers focused on her from all directions. How many times could she withstand them?

At that time, she will have to obey the World Government's order and obediently act as its dog.

She didn't want to make herself look so pathetic.

That would require her to research her own biological weapons, so that when the world government is about to overturn the table, she can stand up and go all in.

What exactly is the lineage factor? She couldn't find Vegapunk's research notes, and she figured even if she did, she wouldn't understand them.

However, Vivi combined her medical skills, Hawkins' alchemy, and her own ability to manipulate blood, persistently drawing blood and studying it. Eventually, she found a substance in the blood that could undergo a superficial fusion with Devil Fruits. Was this the bloodline factor that Vegapunk mentioned? She wasn't sure, but these substances in the blood could indeed combine with Devil Fruits and produce some kind of mutation after the user ate a Devil Fruit.

Aside from Vegapunk, the prevailing view is that the devil in a Devil Fruit resides in the human heart, and when the person dies, the devil escapes. CP9 even believes that eating two Devil Fruits will cause the devils inside the heart to fight and explode. This is the view held by intelligence agencies, not to mention ordinary people. They are completely confused and no one studies the principles behind these things; they just eat them and that's it.

Vivi knew this view was wrong; Brook was proof of that. He was just a skeleton, where would he get a heart? He didn't have one! He could take a bath, and he was weak when he needed to be. She never saw Brook suddenly fall apart while taking a bath because his Devil Fruit power was malfunctioning.

A perspective from her past life helped her find a way out: genes. Vegapunk's so-called bloodline factor must be genes.

Genes are in the blood, and naturally they are in the bones as well.

Vegapunk must have discovered the secret of genes. He found cells within genes that could combine with Devil Fruit abilities. This cunning old fox used the term "bloodline factor" to mislead everyone, fooling the world into speculating about bloodlines, while he himself was racing down the path of genes.