The Possibility of Multiple Fruits

The Den Den Mushi connected, and Vegapunk's voice came through. It was intermittent at first, but gradually stabilized.

"Has the signal stabilized? Sorry, Annus. The experiment just ended, and I was too busy to see you off."

The Den Den Mushi Annus used was one of Vegapunk's research achievements, called the "Long-Distance Communication Den Den Mushi."

Den Den Mushi used biological electrical waves as a transmission medium. Each individual Den Den Mushi possessed its own unique electrical waves, but there was also a channel used for transmitting public information waves.

Following the principle that larger bodies produced stronger signals, the larger a Den Den Mushi was, the stronger the signal it released on the public channel between Den Den Mushi, making it easier to detect.

The "Long-Distance Communication Den Den Mushi" was a special mutant strain cultivated by Vegapunk based on that principle. According to Vegapunk, as long as two Long-Distance Communication Den Den Mushi were no more than half a planet apart, they could communicate.

"It's fine, Doctor. I just finished up here too," Annus said.

Vegapunk laughed. "Hahaha, that's for the best... I've already studied the latest Lineage Factor you provided. Your line of thinking was correct. The Lunarians and Skypieans truly do have a close connection. I'll contact you immediately once there is further progress..."

"Also, regarding the question you asked me before, I've given it careful thought. If you want to make a breakthrough in combat power now, I'm afraid it will be very difficult from a biological perspective.

"You have developed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to an unprecedented extent. In essence, you are simply a mass of lightning, yet you can in turn draw in and control thunderclouds, create heavenly lightning that only nature could produce, and even use lightning to influence and manipulate magnetism...

"While all of this is theoretically possible, from the perspective of an ability user, it is simply incredible. If you wish to continue developing and improving, perhaps your only options are to further strengthen your control over magnetism, or try condensing lightning to create a more powerful form of energy," Vegapunk said.

"I understand, Doctor. That's why I asked you to look into whether there was a way for me to eat more Devil Fruits," Annus said.

During his time in Water 7, Annus had discussed this matter with Vegapunk many times. As one of the world's strongest figures who had reached the pinnacle of combat power, it was already difficult for Annus to gain any substantial improvement in a short period. Or rather, it was precisely because he was so strong that any progress seemed so minuscule.

For the people living in this world, aside from training their bodies, learning more combat techniques, and accumulating battle experience, there were only two paths they could take to become stronger...

One was Haki, and the other was Devil Fruits.

The strongest fighters often possessed both. Although there were no shortage of severely specialized powerhouses, such as Roger, Garp, and Rocks, in theory, Devil Fruits still provided a tremendous enhancement to a person's strength.

No matter how strong a person who cultivated only Haki became, they could not alter the nature of objects like a Paramecia user, become natural elements themselves like a Logia user, or transform into beasts like a Zoan user.

What these Devil Fruits gave their users was not merely power, but all kinds of possibilities across broader fields.

Annus had already reached a bottleneck in his Haki training. To break through, he could only persist, but that was a slow and grinding process. It would be difficult to see results without ten years.

In comparison, for Annus, who had already developed his Fruit ability to its limit, eating more Devil Fruits and gaining abilities from other fields naturally became his first choice.

Just like Blackbeard in the original timeline. His strength had originally been only somewhat greater than Fire Fist Ace's, but after seizing Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he had leaped into the ranks of the Four Emperors. The boost that top-tier Devil Fruits provided to combat power was clear to see.

Yet across the entire world of One Piece, Blackbeard was the only exception known to have eaten multiple Devil Fruits, and the secret behind it remained unknown to this day.

The only vague clue pointed to one fact—Blackbeard's body was different from that of ordinary people.

If Annus wanted to replicate Blackbeard's path now, he would need to overcome many difficulties.

Devil Fruits could not be eaten two at a time.

Researchers on the Grand Line had once conducted experiments—the body being blown to pieces was the only outcome of eating two Devil Fruits.

To gain the formidable power of Devil Fruits, one inevitably had to pay a terrible price. Fools consumed by excessive desire would destroy themselves.

As long as one considered the price paid for eating a single Fruit, it was not difficult to imagine what kind of curse eating a second one would bring.

How could power obtained so easily possibly not inflict terrifying side effects upon its user?

Not even the Celestial Dragons, who held the secrets of the world, possessed similar technology.

However, Vegapunk did not pour cold water on Annus's proposal. On the contrary, he was extremely interested. He liked such bold ideas.

Geniuses were always like this. Only things that ordinary people considered impossible could stimulate a genius's dopamine and awaken their desire for a challenge.

Difficult problems would not stop a genius. Instead, they acted as stimulants.

"Allow me to first explain the principle... Annus.

"Devil Fruits are the possibilities of human evolution born from humanity's wishes. Such unnatural existences are hated by the sea, the mother of nature, and thus must bear punishment...

"Ability users are, in truth, people imagined by someone else, living in another dimension.

"As for the core reason why two Devil Fruits cannot be eaten, there are many theories. The most famous folk legend is the Devil Theory—

"Every person who eats a Devil Fruit becomes possessed by a devil. Anyone who eats two Devil Fruits at the same time will suffer a conflict between the devils, causing their body to explode and killing them.

"From a biological perspective, it is because Devil Fruit users undergo alterations to their Lineage Factor. When two different alteration commands take effect at once, the human body cannot endure it and explodes from the inside out.

"To successfully obtain the powers of multiple Devil Fruits, theoretically, a human would need the mental strength to suppress multiple devils, as well as a special constitution capable of withstanding the conflicts between them.

"However, no matter how I look at it, directly eating multiple Devil Fruits does not seem very realistic. A gentler method would be needed."

In the original timeline, Blackbeard had only formed the idea of betrayal after the Dark-Dark Fruit appeared. That showed that even with a special constitution, it was difficult to withstand the consequences of directly consuming a second Devil Fruit.

Hearing this, Annus finally spoke slowly. "Doctor... if I provide you with a blood sample from a so-called person with a special constitution, can you make me into someone with the same special constitution?"

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Vegapunk fell silent for a moment before answering seriously, "I can't guarantee it, but we can try. Theoretically, it is possible."