The Power of Fused Devil Fruits

"Please wait, Snake Princess! This man doesn't seem like someone who would lie. As for the other one, he looks like trouble at a glance. Please spare this man and punish the other one instead."

Marguerite jumped onto the central platform and looked calmly up at the dais. Her appearance left the spectators stunned. Defying the empress was a grave crime!

"Hey! What do you mean, I look like trouble? I'll give you one more chance to rephrase that!"

Jiang Lin shot Marguerite a speechless look. If his powers hadn't been restrained, he would have already charged over and given that girl a beating.

"Why do you say that?"

The empress looked down at her curiously. Her expression was perfectly calm, as though she wasn't angry at all.

"Because... because I was the one who brought this man back to the village."

Marguerite hesitated again and again before finally telling the truth.

"I see..."

The empress slowly rose from her "chair," descended the steps, and stopped before Marguerite.

"Hey, Boa Hancock! Our fight isn't over! If you've got the guts, let me go and fight me again!"

Jiang Lin didn't want to watch Marguerite turn to stone. Her words might have been a little sharp, but he knew she was a kindhearted girl.

"Mero Mero Mellow!"

The empress ignored Jiang Lin's provocation. Smiling, she used her power on her own subordinate.

"Bring Bacura here!"

With that done, the empress turned gracefully and walked back up to the dais with her head held high.

"Hey, Boa Hancock! Don't you call this a nation of warriors? What's wrong? Are you too afraid to accept my challenge?"

Jiang Lin wanted to test his new power against the empress, but she gave no response to his taunts. Only after a towering black panther leaped onto the platform did she finally speak. "Defeat it, and you'll earn the right to challenge me."

"Snake Princess!"

Thunderous cheers and delighted laughter swept through the stands.

"What's wrong with you people? Your comrade was turned to stone by that woman, and you're still laughing?"

Once freed, Luffy sent the panther flying with a punch, then glared furiously at the empress on the dais.

"No matter what I do, I'll be forgiven. Because I'm beautiful!"

Her gentle, alluring voice rang out from the dais. Gasps, shouts, and cries of support erupted all around her.

"What a crazy bunch. She's been playing them for years!"

Jiang Lin muttered the complaint under his breath. He had always liked the empress as a character, but he couldn't afford to worry about that now. Ace had less than two weeks before his execution. Jiang Lin had obtained the empress's power, so he needed to leave with Luffy as soon as possible.

"Luffy, I'll leave this to you! I'm going after the empress!"

Once his restraints were removed, Jiang Lin became a streak of yellow lightning and appeared beside the empress.

"That power..."

Below the platform, Gloriosa stared at Jiang Lin's power in shock.

"Empress, here's your power back!"

Jiang Lin flashed the empress a charming smile and unleashed Mero Mero Mellow at her.

"That was the Snake Princess's power! Who is he? What kind of terrifying ability is that?"

Gloriosa stared at Jiang Lin in disbelief. In that instant, her attention shifted decisively from Luffy to him.

"Oh, well! Looks like I can't capture your heart."

Jiang Lin shook his head helplessly. The empress's power was formidable, but without looks that made hearts race, he couldn't bring out the Love-Love Fruit's true potential.

Jiang Lin was handsome himself, but he clearly wasn't the empress's type.

"Why do you have my power?"

The empress stared at Jiang Lin in shock. Her power came from a Devil Fruit, and every Devil Fruit was unique. That meant no one else in the world should have been able to wield her ability.

"Surprised already? It's a little early for that."

Devil Fruit fusion! Fusion complete. Congratulations, host! You have obtained the Glint-Glint Fruit (enhanced by the Love-Love Fruit).

Glint-Glint Fruit (enhanced by the Love-Love Fruit) equipped!

Jiang Lin chuckled and turned into a streak of red lightning. It struck harder than his Glint-Glint Fruit power and carried a trace of the Love-Love Fruit's petrifying effect.

"Fall in love with me!"

The red lightning flashed past. Pale pink mist drifted into the empress's nostrils and instantly caught her attention. Faint pink hearts began to appear in her eyes.

The enhanced red lightning carried its own power of enchantment. Jiang Lin no longer needed an opponent to be attracted to him before he could turn them to stone. He could also petrify an opponent by striking them directly, though that would only turn the point of contact to stone, not their entire body as this could.

"Light-Speed Kick!"

While his power held the empress in a daze, Jiang Lin raised his left leg and kicked straight at her chest. She seemed not to see the swift attack at all and made no move to stop his foot.

"Never mind! I've tested the fused power. Time to give you a different seat!"

Just before his kick struck her chest, Jiang Lin lowered his leg slightly and hit the long snake beneath her instead. After sending it flying, he took its place and caught the empress in a bridal carry.

"Snake Princess!"

"Snake Princess!"

"..."

Shouts erupted all at once. The moment Jiang Lin caught the empress, everyone turned their attention from the platform to the dais. Someone now stood at the proud throne—and it wasn't Boa Hancock. It was Jiang Lin.

In Jiang Lin's arms, Boa Hancock gazed up at him through dazed eyes, her face full of infatuation.

"Wake up! Hey, wake up!"

Once Jiang Lin withdrew his Devil Fruit power, the empress quickly came to her senses. She stared at the man before her in shock.

"How dare you..."

The empress leaped angrily out of Jiang Lin's arms and immediately conjured an enormous heart.

"Slave Arrow!"

A torrent of pink arrows rained down on Jiang Lin at the empress's command.

"Don't move!"

Just as the empress launched her attack, Luffy leaped over and wrapped his arms around Boa Sandersonia's burning back. Through a gap in the fabric, a mark flickered into view amid the flames.

"That man..."

Luffy's actions etched themselves deep into the empress's mind. She knew what he was doing, and she knew exactly what that mark meant to the three sisters.

"Hey, Boa Hancock! You're fighting me, and you still dare to look away?"

A streak of pink lightning flashed past. Jiang Lin seized the empress's arms from behind and held them fast, leaving her unable to break free.

"You..."

The empress's words were filled with disgust when she spoke to Jiang Lin. When she spoke of Luffy, though, they carried a meaning she couldn't quite name.

"Oh, great. I'm about to watch you two fall for each other. Don't worry—Luffy's my brother. I won't do anything to you."

Jiang Lin chuckled and released the empress's arms. He knew what he had come for, and he wouldn't force anything else.

"You..."

The empress looked from Jiang Lin to Luffy and back again, complicated emotions showing in her eyes.

"The tournament is over. Everyone, leave the arena before the Gorgon's eyes are exposed."

At last, the empress announced her decision, her expression troubled. The spectators scattered in terror at her words, and soon only a handful of people remained in the vast arena.