Freedom

In the not-too-distant future, the "World's Greatest Scientist" Vegapunk would discover the conditions for transferring Devil Fruit abilities, ultimately enabling even "objects" to eat a Devil Fruit and gain different powers.

Note, it's a "discovery" rather than an "invention."

A so-called "discovery" means it already existed, just that no one had yet systematically summarized it.

For that very reason, in that distant and mysterious ancient era, a certain youth smeared Devil Fruit juice all over a "sculpture," finally making that sculpture "eat" a Devil Fruit.

Aiven Lindsey, from then on, became a sculpture possessing the ability of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Oni!

In that long stretch of time, studying his own Devil Fruit ability was indeed an amusing pastime.

The development of a Devil Fruit largely depends on the imagination of the user.

Many records have proven that when the same fruit is eaten by different people, the degree and direction of development can be completely different!

Demon.

Those two words lingered in Lindsey's thoughts, eventually giving rise to the forms of the "Eight Great Demons" in his memory!

Bo Gang, Howling Wind, Zhong Su, Sky Demon, Basha, Bo Gang, Holy Lord, Moon Demon.

They represented eight different supernatural abilities!

Earth, Wind, Thunder, Sky, Water, Mountain, Fire, Moon.

The complexity of these abilities was beyond imagination.

An ordinary person, even if they spent their entire life, could never fully master them!

Fortunately, Lindsey had a little more time than an ordinary person.

A giant wave surged, and Lindsey sank to the bottom of the sea.

Bored to death, he spent that long time constantly conceptualizing his fruit ability, going through countless deductions, and ultimately extending a vast amount of "theory."

But alas, being a stone, Lindsey couldn't put it into practice.

Until today—

Lindsey was no longer submerged by seawater, and had finally obtained a "human" body.

He had so many theories he wanted to test.

First and foremost was a "urge" that surged up the moment he first set foot on the earth.

Demon Form.

Earth Demon—[Bo Gang]!

His skin was brownish-red, his body had thickened several times, looking even more robust.

Especially the two pairs of dark green demon horns growing on his head, which fully showcased the characteristics of the "Mythical Zoan"!

"Mythical Zoan..."

Crocodale sized up Lindsey at this moment, his heart churning slightly.

There were too many strange tales and wonders on this sea.

But even so, a "person" who popped out of an ancient stone tablet was a bit too bizarre.

At the same time, however, Crocodale was good at seizing opportunities.

The existence of "Aiven Lindsey" was definitely a big news that would shake this sea.

Crocodale had to seize the initiative and be the first to contact Lindsey!

So, without hesitation, Crocodale abandoned his original escape route and instead moved together with Lindsey.

"Let's go."

As a user of the Sand-Sand Fruit, Crocodale immediately elementalized his body and burrowed into the ground that Lindsey had torn open.

Lindsey also sank back into the earth, clearing the way ahead, with Crocodale following closely behind.

He carefully observed the way Lindsey used his ability.

Within the earth, Lindsey was like a fish in water; all earth and stone were fragile before him.

With his thick, reddish-brown hands, he could easily tear apart the earth and stone ahead, carving out an underground passage.

"..."

Crocodale was thinking.

Earth and sand were similar to a certain extent.

If he used the Sand-Sand Fruit's ability to its fullest, unleashing the "Erosion Cycle," draining the moisture from the surrounding soil and turning it into sand.

Then, Crocodale could also "dig" a path underground.

But he wasn't good at it, so he wouldn't do it.

A few minutes passed.

Linsey had no idea how far he had dug underground.

Crocodile only knew that the lights of the laboratory were no longer visible, and the entire underground passage was pitch black.

He could only turn his body into elemental form, becoming a pile of sand, and follow Linsey closely.

Crash!

Linsey suddenly reached out, broke the soil above them, and pushed it upward.

The sunlight from outside spilled in, shining on both their faces.

The two climbed out one after another.

Crocodile looked around and saw that the research institute on the island was already far behind them.

He was about to speak, but turned his head to see Linsey lying directly on his back on the grass beside him, breathing the fresh air deeply.

The current Punk Hazard had not yet experienced Caesar's poison gas experiments or the battle between Aokiji and Akainu, so the environment was excellent, with birds singing and flowers fragrant.

"Haha, what a thrill!"

The Earth Demon Form faded, and Linsey's body returned to that of a perfect ordinary human.

He lay on his back, laughing loudly: "The feeling of freedom is amazing!"

"..."

Crocodile watched this scene, only feeling that the other party was a little too free.

As a "sculpture," Linsey's body was comparable to the pinnacle work of a master artist, the lines of his muscles pleasing to the eye.

But as a "living person," Linsey...

Wasn't wearing clothes.

He was lying naked on the ground, almost like a perfect work of art.

But after all, it happened suddenly—where could they find clothes?

Crocodile didn't want to waste his fur coat, so he could only endure that strange feeling and let Linsey be.

So, the next step...

Woooom—!!!

As he was thinking, an alarm suddenly rang throughout the entire Punk Hazard island, and a red signal light lit up on the laboratory.

"Tch, that scumbag Caesar really dares to make a big scene..."

Crocodile frowned slightly.

Originally, he just wanted to get some leverage on Caesar to further his plans in the underworld, but because of Aiven Linsey's appearance, everything had gone off the rails!

Who would have thought that the ancient stone tablet Caesar fished out of the sea would turn into a "person"?!

With Linsey gone, Caesar could pull some tricks and directly erase his own leverage, and even threaten Crocodile in the process!

"But, it doesn't matter."

"Hehehehe..."

Crocodile laughed darkly.

A mere Caesar was nothing compared to the value of Aiven Linsey himself!

"Let's go!"

He waved to Linsey not far away and said:

"My ship is on the southwest coast. I'll take you out to sea!"

"Great!"

Linsey's eyes lit up at the words.

He had been a stone for far too long, and now that he had the chance to head out to the vast sea, he couldn't ask for more!

Using his waist strength, he performed a carp leap and sprang up from the ground.

Just as he was about to follow Crocodile, the moment he took a step, the ground suddenly began to tremble.

Crocodile was startled and asked Linsey: "Did you do that?"

"No."

Linsey shook his head, his gaze turning toward the direction the tremors came from.

Then, a deafening roar rang in both their ears!

ROAR—!!!

Linsey and Crocodile looked toward the sound, turning their eyes to the sky, and saw a massive figure breathing flames.

It was a huge red dragon, with exaggerated teeth and wings, grinning fiercely as it dove at high speed toward the two on the ground!

"Shurorororo!"

Caesar's laughter rang out as his body, formed from gas, appeared not far from the two.

He had discovered they escaped the lab and pursued them all the way here.

At the same time, he had activated one of Punk Hazard's many defense systems!

"This is an artificial lifeform created by Vegapunk—the Punk Dragon!"

"Shurorororo!"

"No need to rush off, Sand Crocodile."

Caesar sneered slyly. "How about doing me another favor and testing Vegapunk's creation?"

The new book period's readership is truly important. I beg the Lords to please flip to the latest chapter every day even if you're stockpiling chapters. Only this way can we get recommendations and continue writing!

Thank you for your support!