"Ace... I'm here to save you!"
After leaving Whitebeard's shoulder, Jiang Lin threw back his head and roared toward the platform. Dense cracks spread from his hands, shattering the air around him.
"One minute has elapsed. Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Phoenix, copied successfully."
"One minute has elapsed. Tremor-Tremor Fruit copied successfully."
As Jiang Lin's overwhelming presence surged, two system messages flashed through his mind.
"That's the Tremor-Tremor Fruit! D can even copy Whitebeard's Devil Fruit power!"
"D's ability is terrifying! He can copy Devil Fruits!"
The Marine Soldiers stared at the tremors rippling from Jiang Lin's hands, their faces filled with shock and fear.
An ability that could copy Devil Fruit powers—even one as extraordinary as the Tremor-Tremor Fruit—was enough to make the whole world tremble.
"Jiang Lin... Jiang Lin... you... you really... didn't lie to me!"
On the Execution Platform, tears burst from Ace's eyes like water through a broken dam. His body shook as he looked at Jiang Lin, his gaze full of gratitude and relief.
Ace had been worried about Luffy's safety. Now that he knew Jiang Lin hadn't betrayed him, he could finally set his mind at ease. If Jiang Lin hadn't betrayed him, then Luffy had to be safe.
"Heh... I said I'd come to Marineford and get you out, and I meant it! Hang on. I'm coming to save you!"
With that, Jiang Lin switched Devil Fruit Cards and jumped off the Moby Dick.
"Multiple Devil Fruit Cards detected in host's possession. Dual-loading permission unlocked. Host may place a Devil Fruit Card in each of two Devil Fruit Loading Devices to obtain the corresponding abilities."
Just as Jiang Lin drew a Devil Fruit Card and prepared to load it, the system message appeared. The Devil Fruit Loading Device on the virtual screen before him instantly duplicated itself, leaving two identical devices in front of him.
"Dual loading? Does that mean I can use two Devil Fruit powers at once from now on?"
Jiang Lin looked at the identical devices, delight flashing across his face. Gaining this ability at such a critical moment would be a tremendous help in what came next.
"Stop him!"
The Marine Soldiers saw Jiang Lin move and immediately swung their guns toward him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A volley of gunfire erupted, and countless dark bullets hurtled toward Jiang Lin.
"Sand-Sand Fruit (enhanced by Hormone-Hormone Fruit) and Glint-Glint Fruit (enhanced by Ice-Ice Fruit, Venom-Venom Fruit, and Love-Love Fruit) loaded. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: thirty seconds."
Facing the wall of gunfire, Jiang Lin swiftly loaded two Devil Fruit Fusion Cards and charged forward with a smile.
With dual loading unlocked, Jiang Lin could clearly feel that his tolerance for Devil Fruit powers had improved.
Previously, loading a single Devil Fruit Card enhanced by three other fruits had already pushed his body to its limits.
This time, the cards in the two devices contained six kinds of Devil Fruit power, yet he felt no severe side effects or strain.
Clearly, unlocking this permission had made using Devil Fruit powers far less taxing for Jiang Lin.
"Sables of Okama Country!"
At Jiang Lin's low shout, a small sandstorm formed in his right hand and swept toward the bullets and Marine Soldiers ahead.
Jiang Lin's Sables was distinctly different from Mr. 0's. Mr. 0's filled the air with yellow sand, while Jiang Lin's carried a thick red mist. That strangely alluring mist was made of Female Hormones.
"What is this sandstorm? Why is it red? Ah... stop it!"
Deep male voices quickly turned into alluring female ones upon contact with the sandstorm.
As their voices changed, so did the hundreds of Marine Soldiers caught in the storm. When they returned to the ground, they had all become lovely young women in Marine uniforms, with shapely figures and sweet voices.
"Ah! What... what happened to me?"
The Marine Soldiers felt the new curves of their bodies and cried out in disbelief. After the transformation, their fighting spirit had vanished without a trace. In its place was true Justice—world peace!
"Haha... I can't believe it worked!"
Jiang Lin gazed at the group of young women in Marine uniforms who had appeared before him, looking thoroughly satisfied (don't get the wrong idea). Ever since acquiring the Hormone-Hormone Fruit, he had given careful thought to how he could use it.
Using it directly and becoming an okama like Ivankov clearly wasn't for Jiang Lin. But when he saw Mr. 0's Sand-Sand Fruit, it occurred to him that combining the two might produce an unexpected result.
Fast-moving sand could easily scrape the skin. Once the Female Hormones coating it entered an enemy's body through those cuts, he could change their sex without ever touching them.
"Watch out! Don't let D's sandstorm hit you... or... or you'll turn into a woman!"
The Marines' shouts drew mocking smiles from the nearby Whitebeard Pirates.
"Hahaha... Nice work, D! Turn all the Marines into women! Not only will we beat them, we might even marry into the Marines! Hahaha!"
The Whitebeard Pirates' hearty laughter left the Marine Soldiers looking furious and terrified. They didn't want to become women, much less become the Whitebeard Pirates' women.
But ordinary Marine Soldiers had no way to counter Jiang Lin's power. Dealing with him would require a Marine officer of high rank or one of the Shichibukai.
"Move aside. Let me through."
Just as the Marine Soldiers found themselves at a loss, a beautiful figure passed through their ranks and stepped onto the front line.
"Lady Boa Hancock! You're here! Thank goodness!"
The soldiers at the front excitedly cleared a path for her.
The Empress strode up to Jiang Lin in red high heels. She pointed one hand toward the ground, held her head high, and struck an imperious pose as she pointed at him.
"D! On behalf of the Shichibukai, I challenge you here and now. You shall not take another step forward! And why is that? Because I am as beautiful as a goddess!"
As the Empress's voice rang out, the words "beautiful as a goddess" seemed to carry boundless magic, echoing across the entire battlefield.