Curse Fruit User
"The World Government has probably not truly disappeared; it is merely waiting for an opportunity."
On Dream Star, facing his subordinates, Vegapunk frowned and said something like that.
It has been two months since the World Government disappeared, and even Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates have entered the New World, but the World Government is still nowhere to be found.
Most Affiliated Nation, and even the navy, have completely lost faith in the World Government and are now discussing the formation of a new government with the Revolutionary Army.
Neither Dragon, Vegapunk, nor Rayleigh believed that the World Government was truly prepared to hide forever. On the contrary, they thought the World Government was probably just waiting for the so-called great change to come!
"Maybe so. In any case, at least for the next year or two, the absence of the World Government and those Celestial Dragons is a great thing!"
Nico Robin, with a slight blush on her face, sipped her drink with a cheerful smile, seemingly quite pleased.
However, what she said makes a lot of sense. After the World Government was abolished, many Affiliated Nation and navies found that the world seemed to have become a better place.
In reality, it can only be said that the World Government itself is really too rotten. Even now, with the Revolutionary Army not yet in control and the world almost in a state of anarchy, it is still better than when the World Government was still in power.
At least the Affiliated Nation no longer need to pay any "Heavenly Tribute." Although the Navy no longer receives military funding from the World Government, many countries that rely on the Navy to resist pirates are still willing to support it, and the money and resources received are not much less than when the World Government was still in power.
The Revolutionary Army may become corrupt in the future, but at least this generation is still dedicated to the public good. Coupled with the upright members of the navy, although some chaos initially arose on the high seas, as the lives of ordinary civilians gradually improved, the number of pirates actually decreased.
Furthermore, with Vegapunk providing the Revolutionary Army with various new technologies for monitoring and controlling the entire ocean, and with Red Hair's adventure crew remaining out of the original four major pirate crews in the New World, it can be said that the pirates can no longer stir up any waves.
The Pirate World is now at peace. Without the World Government, the Navy has given up on fighting the Revolutionary Army, and the two sides have even begun to merge.
Vegapunk has eliminated the hawks and spies from the World Government who were originally part of the Navy's high command. Most of those remaining are Navy personnel who pursue their own sense of justice, and they get along very well with the Revolutionary Army.
Besides, no matter how unreliable Garp is, he is still Dragon's Pops. This naval hero has a significant influence in the entire navy, and he actually has no aversion to Dragon and the Revolutionary Army. On the contrary, he admires them quite a bit.
It's just that these things couldn't be said openly before because of the positions of the Navy and the Revolutionary Army. Now that the World Government has fallen, Garp naturally has no objection to the merger of the Navy and the Revolutionary Army.
Although the world is developing better and better, the absence of the World Government, coupled with Rayleigh's words, still left Vegapunk with some unease.
"If we really want to find the tail of the World Government, we probably have to look to the Straw Hat Pirates! Perhaps only the Final Island will hold all the answers."
Vegapunk sighed. The World Government's move was indeed making things difficult for Vegapunk, and he could only rely on Luffy, the protagonist, to find the Final Island.
Vegapunk himself wanted to find the Final Island, but even with the abilities of Dream Heart and Quantum Brain, after collecting four copies of the Red Poneglyphs, he still couldn't find Final Island whereabouts. This made him suspect that the island might also be shrouded in some kind of Devil Fruit power, requiring special people to find it.
"As for the Chakra Illusion Network in the Pirate World, it still needs Chakra to spread before it can be formed, which will probably take several more years, so it definitely won't be able to keep up with the plan..."
After much thought, Vegapunk found himself with nothing to do. He patted his head and decided to head to the Ninja World to see how it was developing and to gather data from the Chakra Illusion Network.
In a certain ethereal space, a city stands in the void, protected by a layer of golden light.
This is Mary Geoise, the holy site of the World Government that Vegapunk and his companions have been searching for but have failed to find!
At this moment, in the Void Throne room at the very center of Pangea Castle Mary Geoise, the Five Elders were kneeling on the ground, looking disheveled, not daring to lift their heads.
On the Void Throne, a mysterious figure with circumferential eyes spoke coldly:
"So, we're trapped in this city now, unable to even leave through the gate?!"
The Five Elders spoke hesitantly:
"I'm very sorry, Lord Imu... but even the God's Knights have been completely wiped out, and the enemy possesses super weapons comparable to the Three Ancient Weapons. We really have no way to deal with them..."
Imu sneered, his gaze fixed on the Five Elders. Only when the Five Elders were nearly fainting from fright did he coldly speak:
"Last time I was brought back to my senses by the attack on Mary Geoise, and this time it was Vegapunk who woke me up, and now I can only hide in a place like this..."
"It seems you have no way to deal with this scientist from the World Government!"
When he mentioned the World Government, Imu raised his voice, his sarcasm evident.
The Five Elders were silent for a moment, then one of them spoke:
"My lord, there is still one God's Knights who has not yet made a move. If he does, even Vegapunk will likely be doomed!"
Imu, seated on the Void Throne, seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking in an ethereal tone:
"It's that Curse- Devil Fruit User, isn't it... As far as I know, that kid's Curse Fruit ability should have already Awakening..."
"The Awakening Curse Fruit has the most severe side effects of all Devil Fruit. Every time a curse is used, it consumes one's lifespan. Even with the Immortality Surgery, that brat probably doesn't have much life left to live, right?!"
The Immortality Surgery is touted as being able to make people live forever, but in reality, after research by World Government, it still has its limitations.
Generally speaking, the effects of Immortality Surgery can increase the lifespan of a normal person by 20 times. In other words, people who have undergone Immortality Surgery can almost all live for more than 1,000 years.
However, because the Devil Fruit User the Curse-Curse Fruit used curses multiple times, his lifespan was obviously not the same as that of other people who had undergone the Immortality Surgery.
"Don't worry, Lord Imu, Number Seven still has several hundred years left to live. Vegapunk is just an ordinary scientist. Even with some modifications, the lifespan he needs to be cursed shouldn't be too long!"
The Five Elders quickly spoke up, knowing full well that Imu wasn't lamenting the lifespan of this Curse Devil Fruit User, but rather that he felt the Devil Fruit User couldn't harm Vegapunk even if he sacrificed all his lifespan.
The lifespan deducted by the Curse Fruit not only involves the cursed person's strength, but also their lifespan, status, fortune, reputation, influence, and other aspects.
In short, the longer the cursed person lives and the higher their status, the more difficult it is to curse them, and the more price the Devil Fruit User will have to pay.
In the eyes of the Five Elders, Vegapunk may indeed have a high status, but in terms of lifespan and strength, he should not be considered too strong. With the remaining life of that Curse-Curse Devil Fruit User, it should be enough no matter what.
After listening to the Five Elders' words, Imu seemed somewhat tired and waved his hand:
"In that case, proceed with the plan and don't disappoint me again!"
"Yes, Lord Imu!"
The Five Elders left the Void Throne room with respectful expressions, and only then did they let out a long sigh of relief. At this moment, they realized that their backs were covered in cold sweat.
"Go find the Seventh God's Knight! This should be our last chance!"
Although Mary Geoise has entered the void, the city has a large supply of food and water, enough to last at least three to five years.
However, without the support of the Pirate World, this city, which was once known as the most beautiful, has obviously lost its glory. In particular, with a large number of Celestial Dragons living in the city, the extravagance and waste have made the whole city appear even more decadent.
Even these Celestial Dragons are still very dissatisfied. After all, when have these so-called Celestial Dragons ever been treated like this? They are trapped in Mary Geoise, unable to leave, and they are not even allowed to kill slaves anymore.
Mary Geoise no longer has any outsiders. If these slaves are further exploited, the entire city will definitely run into problems.
After leaving Pangea Castle, the Five Elders ignored the complaining Celestial Dragons and quickly headed to the location of the last member of the God's Knights.
Inside a somewhat eerie-looking castle, the Five Elders also spotted the last surviving God's Knights.
Unlike the other strong and imposing God's Knights, this last God's Knights had a full head of white hair, a wrinkled face, and was short in stature. He wore a black robe and looked more like an old wizard from a fairy tale than a knight.
Upon seeing the Five Elders enter, the old wizard -God's Knights sighed:
"I knew it... After all those guys failed, it was my turn in the end!"
Over the past 800 years, the World Government has encountered tough challenges, and even the God's Knights have had members perish.
But in the end, none of those opponents had any impact on the World Government. It must be said that the last God's Knights made a great contribution.
"I remember the last time it was that guy named Rocks, right? It took about 60 years of my lifespan to make him weak and exhausted, and then those two brats took advantage of him."
"I wonder who they'll be dealing with this time?"
One of the Five Elders stepped forward, took a deep breath, and produced a bounty poster:
"Braun, this time you need to curse this person!"
The wanted poster was actually a photo of Vegapunk from over a decade ago.
"He looks like an old man, and doesn't seem to have much strength, which is good..."
The Devil Fruit User nodded, then extended his hand:
"Do you have his body tissue? Blood would be best, but if that's not possible, hair will do."
The younger-looking member of the Five Elders produced a transparent bag containing several strands of hair. Braun took the hair and nodded slightly.
"Okay, leave it to me! Hopefully, this time it won't consume too much of your lifespan."
As he spoke, Braun, the God's Knights, picked up the few strands of hair and fully activated his curse ability!
A few strands of hair quickly burned away, and the wisps of smoke in the air transformed into the shape of a skull, which seemed to utter a few cackling laughs before disappearing completely.
However, the Devil Fruit User no longer cared about the consequences of activating his ability. His eyes widened, blood flowed from his seven orifices, his once clear eyes quickly became cloudy, his already short body shrank, and his full head of white hair became dry and withered, falling to the ground.
If this guy looked like a wizard at first, he now looks like a skeleton that's been dead for years and has just put on a skin!
"Uh... uh uh..."
The Devil Fruit User stretched out his hand, pointed at the Five Elders, his eyes wide open, as if he wanted to say something. Then his finger fell, and he couldn't catch his breath. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The corpse that landed on the ground quickly emitted a strong stench of death, as if it had been dead for several days. The Five Elders took a few steps back and looked at each other in dismay.
"Is... Braun dead?!"
"It's obvious... Vegapunk's strength is likely beyond our imagination!"
"This... there's still no result. Is Vegapunk dead or not? What should we do next?"
The Five Elders were filled with questions, wishing they could pull up the unseeing corpse on the ground and ask it all again.
In reality, after multiple modifications, Vegapunk's strength is indeed formidable, even surpassing the level of the Four Emperors based on his stats alone. However, the fact that he could instantly deplete the lifespan of this cursed doctor by several hundred years is definitely not due to his strength.
The most important issue is that after the Chakra was modified, Vegapunk's lifespan is comparable to that of the Otsutsuki Clan. He could easily live for thousands of years, and even surpass the lifespan increased by the Immortality Surgery in the Pirate World.
With such an extended lifespan, this Devil Fruit User naturally had no choice but to exhaust his own life.
Even after exhausting his own life, his curse ultimately failed to kill Vegapunk; at most, it caused Vegapunk considerable trouble.