Dragon's Nine Sons (Combined Chapter)

Thunder God Island, commercial district, inside a shop.

"Hello, Village Chief. I'm sorry for bringing trouble here. It may not be equal compensation, but please use this guy to make up for my mistake. His bounty is substantial, and there's also his ship and the supplies on it."

Mobius apologized to the village chief before him. Beside him lay Pizarro's corpse, along with pirate grunts who had been tightly bound and charred black.

Thunder God Island had not established a nation. The island's forces were still centered around villages. The publicly recognized village chief was effectively the chief of the entire island, little different from a king.

The village chief was a spirited old man, with sharpness still visible between his brows. After the pirates had caused trouble, someone clever had gone to fetch him.

Mobius sensed him out. This village chief was fairly capable, outstanding among ordinary people, but still far inferior to the strong fighters of the sea.

Hearing Mobius say this, even though the chief knew he was a Marine, he did not dare slight him and repeatedly refused.

"No, no, no. Those are your spoils of war, sir. How could we overstep our bounds?"

The Marines in the New World had a fairly decent reputation, at least their average standards were far above those of the Four Seas.

That was because only strength mattered here. If you were too weak, you would be beaten down.

However, the Marine branch stationed at the entrance to the New World was G-5, a notoriously vicious Marine force that was more like pirates than Marines.

Although those Marines also captured pirates, the captain had been influenced by them and was exceptionally polite toward Mobius, who also called himself a Marine.

"How should I put this...?"

Mobius scratched his head. He did not pride himself on justice, but he still had his own conscience. He had his own measure of right and wrong.

"A few days ago, I was training on Thunder God Island because of my abilities. I got a little too absorbed and ended up absorbing too much of the island's lightning."

"That's why the thunderclouds are so thin now, which led those pirates to become greedy."

"In a sense, I bear some responsibility as well. So consider everything these guys have as my compensation."

After understanding the full picture, Mobius learned that Pizarro had suddenly attacked because Thunder God Island's climate had improved. Naturally, he could not feel at ease after playing savior and simply walk away.

The village chief froze. He thought carefully for a while before finally reacting.

"You mean... because you trained here and absorbed Thunder God Island's lightning, the clouds have been thin recently?"

"Yes."

Mobius nodded and admitted it openly.

Upon hearing that, the village chief's knees went weak, and he nearly fell to the ground. The residents who had followed behind him were all dumbfounded.

Was that even something a human could say? Absorbing an island's lightning until the thunderclouds grew thin? What kind of monster was this!?

"So, take these people. After all, this happened because of me."

Mobius said in the end. Not losing himself in power was also an important lesson Old Uncle had taught him about life.

Marine admirals drank tea, read newspapers, and clocked in for work on time too, didn't they? One thing was one thing.

The village chief nodded, his expression easing.

"I understand. Thank you, sir."

"I will deal with them properly and use the proceeds to compensate that unfortunate young man and the shop."

Because Pizarro had been dealt with so quickly, there had been basically no other losses aside from the young guard at the beginning and the damaged shop.

The young guard had merely been knocked unconscious and had already received proper treatment.

"Then, sir, what will you do now...?"

Mobius stretched and smiled. "I didn't get enough sleep. I'm going to catch up on it. Village Chief, don't worry about me. Just let me rest by myself."

The village chief understood.

"We will not disturb you, sir."

"Good."

"Oh, right, Village Chief. If there's any more trouble, remember to call me."

"..."

"Certainly!"

After bidding farewell to the village chief, Mobius yawned as he found the window of the inn where he was staying and climbed in through it.

Time to catch up on sleep.

Outside, it was pitch-black. It was already late at night.

Mobius woke up, sat there blankly for a few seconds, then immediately became alert. No one had disturbed him, so he had slept very comfortably.

After emptying his mind for a moment, Mobius began considering matters.

Helping Thunder God Island's climate return to normal was the top priority.

Developing the Dark-Dark Fruit he had obtained was also a top priority.

Having finished thinking, it was time to set off!

After quickly tidying himself up, Mobius quietly left without disturbing anyone and returned to the previously deserted wilderness.

Sitting cross-legged, Mobius looked at his palm again as wisps of black smoke emerged once more.

The Dark-Dark Fruit. He had thought he would need to infiltrate the Whitebeard Pirates for years to obtain this power, but he had gotten it directly now.

The Dark-Dark Fruit was called the most vicious Devil Fruit because it could seal other Devil Fruit abilities and seize Devil Fruit powers.

It appeared no different from Seastone in effect. In fact, Seastone even came with the added effect of weakening people.

After the "version update," Haki also gained the ability to suppress Devil Fruit powers.

But the Dark-Dark Fruit's sealing was not redundant. Seastone restrained ability users, but it was ultimately an external object. Haki could suppress Devil Fruit abilities, but it could not seal Devil Fruits, much less seize their powers.

Although the Dark-Dark Fruit could not conventionally turn its user into an element, in exchange, as long as one could endure twice the pain, all damage could be absorbed.

Mobius possessed a physique that could contain unlimited Devil Fruits, while the Red Dragon Fruit had given him an exceptionally powerful body. The Dark-Dark Fruit's two major abilities were a perfect match for him.

Perhaps the Dark-Dark Fruit had been preparing for this ever since he set sail.

"Now it's time for you to be useful again."

Mobius took out two long blades. They were the products of Vegapunk's previous experiments with Triple Zoan Devil Fruits.

Since Mobius was setting out to sea, Vegapunk had given them to him as gifts as well.

As for the World Government, the doctor planned to ask for a few more Common Zoan Devil Fruits, make some replacements, and send them back.

Experiments always came with losses.

Lion Fruit, Goat Fruit, Snake Fruit, Dachshund Fruit, Alpaca Fruit, and Elephant-Elephant Fruit.

The first two Fruits had not officially appeared in the story, but related Artificial Devil Fruits existed.

The latter four had all appeared in the story. Their users were Hancock's sister, a weapon—a gun—from Baroque Works, a weapon—a cannon—from the NEO Marines, and a weapon—a sword—from CP9.

There were six Common Zoan Devil Fruits. Previously, Mobius could only watch them and use them as external tools, but now he had a means to seize them.

"Sorry, partners. I need your actual power more now."

Mobius stretched out his hand, and darkness resembling black smoke touched the blades.

The blades did not change. The instant they touched the darkness, the Devil Fruits were nullified, but they themselves did not resist.

Through the darkness's senses, Mobius clearly felt that there was something within the blade in his hand that could be extracted, just like Pizarro before.

Drawing it over with the suction of a black hole, Mobius immediately felt an energy-like yet not quite energy-like thing appear in his hand.

He had already tested whether this energy-like substance could be absorbed into his body back with Pizarro, so he did exactly that.

The Devil Fruit ability entered his body, and Mobius immediately shuddered all over.

Even though nothing had entered his mouth, a disgusting sensation spread through Mobius's mind. It seemed conceptual!

Sure enough, this was the price of power...

After reassuring himself again, Mobius continued, extracting the Devil Fruits from the blades one by one and absorbing them into his body.

Six Devil Fruits meant six bouts of disgustingness. By the end, Mobius's mind was slightly hazy.

Fortunately, the rewards were more than enough!

Retracting the darkness, Mobius put down the pair of blades, which had completely returned to normal.

Six more currents of energy existed inside his body. Not only did they not clash, they even coexisted harmoniously, as if they had finally returned home.

"Perhaps I could give this talent of mine a name. Something like... Demon's Incubator?"

Mobius chuckled to himself. For some reason, he felt that Devil Fruits liked him. This probably was not an illusion.

"Then, transform!"

His body suddenly swelled, his height leaping to four or five meters like a small mountain. A thick mane emerged around Mobius's neck, tawny fur covered his entire body, and a fairly long tail grew behind him.

Lion Fruit, human-beast form!

Mobius moved around and felt a different kind of strength. Though it was not comparable to the Red Dragon Fruit, it was still a decent enhancement.

Lions were beasts of prey as well. Looking at Lucci, the Leopard Fruit user who would later declare that even the Four Emperors' second-in-command was worth killing, even a Common Zoan Devil Fruit could, after awakening, greatly enhance strength, physique, and durability.

Unfortunately, the Lion Fruit's human-beast form could not receive the Red Dragon Fruit's boost. They were independent of one another.

Only in the shared pure human form of Zoan transformations could all Zoan Fruits provide their enhancements.

There were six Zoan Fruits in total. Counting the Red Dragon and salamander Fruits from before, all eight Fruits had strengthened Mobius's human body.

Even Mobius himself did not know how strong his body had become.

Returning from his lion-man state to human form, Mobius tested the transformations of the other Zoan forms.

Goat, snake, dachshund, alpaca, elephant, and salamander. He tried them one after another.

After experiencing all the abilities, Mobius began ranking them. Overall, the elephant gave the greatest enhancement, while the salamander gave the least.

After all, those two animals had an absolute gap in innate strength.

Yet even so, the power granted by every Fruit was an enhancement.

The goat's jumping ability, the snake's constriction, the dachshund's sense of smell, the alpaca's ability to spit, and the elephant's tremendous strength along with its trunk, a third hand.

Even among Zoan Fruits, different Fruits could grant different abilities.

Having finished testing them individually, Mobius closed his eyes again and tried the multi-Fruit fusion Chimera he had seen before.

Lion, goat, and snake.

The powers of the three Devil Fruits intertwined and fused together, and a new power was born.

Mobius transformed, his body growing larger again, surpassing the simple lion human-beast form and officially breaking through eight meters.

Two heads grew from his neck, one lion's head and one goat's head. The place where his tail had been was replaced by a snake's head.

Mobius felt that his consciousness was strange now. He could simultaneously sense the perspectives and positions of all three heads, and he could shift his awareness between them.

All three heads were his, and he could use every one of them properly.

He took a step. The human-beast body moved without the slightest discomfort.

The two heads on his shoulders granted a wider field of view, while the snake head behind him could guard his rear. Mobius now had a pseudo-god's-eye, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field of vision.

The power granted by this "Chimera" fusion form was greater than that of a single component. It was even stronger than the simple sum of the three fused components.

1 + 1 + 1 > 3.

Unfortunately, Mobius could sense that this form was still incomplete. He should also be able to breathe fire.

If he obtained the Flame-Flame Fruit, he would probably unlock this form's flame power.

Mythical beasts had to possess supernatural powers to truly deserve the name.

Though people said even dogs would not eat the Flame-Flame Fruit, that was merely a joke. It was said because flame abilities were simply too widespread.

Flames were widespread precisely because they were useful. Cause and effect could not be mixed up.

Flames were an incredibly powerful fusion material. So many fantasy creatures could breathe fire.

The Red Dragon form could breathe Heat Breath, but its individual control over flames could not fuse with the Chimera form. Only entire Fruits could fuse with one another.

There was clearly no specific fused form between the Red Dragon and Chimera.

Among Zoan Devil Fruits, unless there was a form that could be fused, Mobius could not transform using multiple Zoan Fruits at once.

After experiencing it for a while, Mobius was extremely satisfied with this Chimera form.

Although the Chimera form's power could not compare to the Red Dragon form, its significance was different.

The Chimera form meant that the more Devil Fruits Mobius possessed, the more he could create fusions among different Devil Fruits, and the stronger he would become.

For a moment, Mobius began imagining the possible combinations of all kinds of fantasy creatures. Perhaps only in the future would he truly deserve the title Beasts Pirates.

Calling upon the Red Dragon Fruit's power again, it was time to try restoring the island's lightning...

Wait!

Mobius suddenly opened his eyes. As he summoned the Red Dragon Fruit's power, he felt other Devil Fruits faintly calling out to it!

The Red Dragon Fruit could fuse as well!

The targets were...

Lion, goat, and snake?

Why was it those three again?

Well, it seemed that in legends, lions, goats, and snakes were also high-tier, or even top-tier, materials for creating all kinds of divine and mythical beasts!

Red Dragon plus lion, the fusion was...

Calling upon the energies of the two Devil Fruits, Mobius fused them again, and a new transformation took place.

He had a lion-like body standing on all fours, with a mane growing along his back. Yet his body was covered in scales, his claws resembled dragon claws, and although he had a lion's head, his eyes and mouth were dragon-like.

Ethereal smoke and fire drifted from his body. Mobius felt heat in his throat, sneezed, and a thick stream of fiery smoke burst from his mouth.

Related information instinctively surfaced in his mind, and Mobius immediately understood.

Dragon's Nine Sons—Suanni!

Mobius suddenly understood. How could he have forgotten? Dragons were top-tier fusion material too!

Growing excited, Mobius immediately wanted to test Suanni's power.

In pure beast form, Mobius ran. His body was light and agile, faster than a cheetah, and in the blink of an eye, he had dashed over a thousand meters away.

In Suanni form, his physical strength was probably about on par with the Red Dragon's, but Suanni far surpassed the Red Dragon in movement speed on land.

The Red Dragon truly was not very suitable for moving on land.

Next came the special ability. Mobius called upon the power within him and instantly felt warmth rise in his throat.

Opening his mouth, he expelled a large amount of ethereal white smoke, almost covering his entire body before spreading outward. In the blink of an eye, it blanketed everything within a hundred meters.

Mobius opened his mouth again and breathed out a stream of flame, instantly igniting the white smoke. Flames erupted into the sky across a hundred-meter radius, then vanished in an instant.

Compared to the Red Dragon, which controlled wind, fire, lightning, and electricity, Suanni possessed the ability to breathe smoke and fire.

It was useful too, but its power had declined to a certain extent.

After observing for a while, Mobius judged that the strength of this smoke-breathing ability was roughly comparable to the Smoke-Smoke Fruit's standing among Logia Fruits.

Useful, but not very useful.

Mobilizing his energy again, Mobius carefully sensed that aside from breathing smoke and fire, the Suanni Form also had abilities that could be used on himself.

With a crack, Mobius's entire body petrified, turning grayish-black.

He closed his eyes and sensed it for a while. Its defense seemed somewhat stronger than mere flesh, and...

Mobius lightly tapped the ground and felt that he could absorb the stones underground, making his body larger, harder, and stronger.

He could even burrow into and merge with things made of stone, then control them.

Was this a stone lion?

Mobius pondered for a while. It felt somewhat like the Stone-Stone Fruit wielded by one of Doflamingo's subordinates, but compared to the Island-Island Fruit, it was a weakened version.

In summary, Suanni Form = Mythical Zoan body + breathing mist and fire + partial Stone-Stone Fruit abilities.

The Red Dragon Fruit controlled wind, fire, lightning, and thunder; the Suanni Form controlled smoke, fire, and stone.

One had Flame Clouds for flight, while the other could race extremely quickly across the ground.

However, the combination of a Mythical Zoan and a Common Zoan did not seem to produce a 1 + 1 > 2 effect. It was more like a transformation between forms.

In Suanni Form, the power Mobius wielded was not the sum of the Red Dragon Fruit and the Lion Fruit. It even seemed faintly weaker by a tiny margin.

Though it was somewhat regrettable, Mobius quickly accepted it. Having one more form was already quite good, and gaining a new power meant becoming stronger!

Dragon + lion was Suanni.

Then dragon + goat was...

Mobius's body transformed once more—goat's body, human face, eyes beneath its armpits. A fierce hunger arose in his stomach, tormenting his internal organs.

Of Dragon's Nine Sons, none became dragons. The fifth was Taotie, fond of food and drink, and thus placed upon the lids of cauldrons.

Taotie Form!