Devil Fruits were idealistic powers operating "within a limited logical framework." Sephiroth had already gained some understanding of that while developing his fruit.
In a sense, it really was the blessing of Gork and Mork-the power of WAAAGH.
Outwardly calm and composed, he led his two subordinates out of the royal castle.
When he saw Sugar, he had nearly turned into lightning and launched himself onto a satellite.
That was the Hobby-Hobby Fruit. Surely there had to be a limit to how absurd things could get-Don't overthink Devil Fruits.JPG
He knew himself well enough: he really wasn't "brave" enough. On top of that, he simply couldn't stomach the hardship of deliberately training. He wondered whether he would ever awaken Armament Haki at this rate... As for Conqueror's Haki, was that down to fate? Oda had said it was determined at birth.
In his previous life, he had been neither an elite soldier nor a martial arts master. He hadn't suffered much in this life, either, and he didn't want to.
Sometimes he wondered why he couldn't be like those "ordinary transmigrators" in the novels he had read before. Before crossing over, their approach to summer homework had been one pen, one night, one miracle, one corpse. After crossing over, they suddenly became supremely disciplined powerhouses who greeted the sun at four in the morning.
His determination really was lacking-Stay determined.JPG
...Sephiroth had expected the Hobby-Hobby Fruit's completely made-up nonsense of an ability. He hadn't intended to understand it using his previous life's way of thinking anyway. It wasn't as if this world had only one unreasonable Devil Fruit.
The Glint-Glint Fruit had been a little more surprising.
While talking to Heavenly Yaksha, Sephiroth's Mantra had detected Viola hiding in the attic right from the start.
Perhaps she thought Sephiroth didn't know her fruit's ability. She hadn't made any particular effort to conceal herself and had simply been reading in the attic.
Interestingly, ordinary probing with Sephiroth's Mantra hadn't detected the Glint-Glint Fruit activating at all. Instead, the emotional reception enabled by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's brainwave detection had picked up a feeling of "watching" from her.
So Sephiroth had chosen to "tell the truth," while using electromagnetic interference to scramble the brainwave signals he naturally emitted. He didn't know how effective that had been.
His development of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had been heavily influenced by knowledge from his previous life.
In the "original," Enel had used electrical heat to smelt gold on the spot, and lightning to attract gold. As for electromagnetic waves being layered onto Mantra, its behavior suggested something similar, but there had never been official confirmation.
Since Enel could use electrical heat and electromagnetism, electricity's various effects couldn't exist in isolation; they belonged to a complete physical system. Therefore, other electrical effects should exist too-or at least, Sephiroth took that for granted.
Strictly speaking, however unscientific or hand-waved a setting might be, it had to follow some underlying logic, with certain "exceptions" added on top.
The four fundamental forces, for instance, were unlikely to be casually altered. Doing so would erase "the basis for matter's existence." At most, some "exception" could influence that "underlying logic" and produce supernatural phenomena.
Unless it was a gag series or aimed at small children, even a super-powered setting needed some reasoning-even crooked reasoning.
(From a broader narrative perspective, most works wouldn't seriously dissect "supernatural questions." Even professional outfits like Marvel, DC, and GW couldn't provide "entirely scientific" explanations.)
Sephiroth felt his extended applications of electricity far surpassed Enel's. But one problem kept eluding him: he couldn't use "Thunder God Form."
Thunder God Form was an elemental state Enel used to become a gigantic lightning giant.
Sephiroth could also turn into his element, but he could only retain his normal human shape or become a completely amorphous mass of plasma. He lacked that intermediate, elemental-creature-like form. Even if he forced a transformation, he only became plasma with a rough outline-no facial features or details.
Only after unlocking the Logic Module in Lunar Technology and delving deeply into his own thinking had he understood the reason to some extent.
Knowledge from his previous life hadn't merely brought benefits. It had also created a kind of "barrier of knowledge."
Subconsciously, he believed lightning's "shape" was primarily influenced by weather and terrain. Even if he insisted on "sculpting a person," it would merely be constrained by a magnetic field to some degree.
That was why Devil Fruits were so idealistic.
Once he understood this, Sephiroth finally thought of a way to create his own Thunder God Form-something he could genuinely accept from the heart, on a psychological level.
His Observation Haki still registered nothing, but the miniature signal receiver Sephiroth had left inside the castle continued transmitting the electromagnetic waves of "watching." He acted perfectly composed, though his strides were slightly longer than usual. Only after he left the castle did the watching stop.
Marveling at the Devil Fruit's seemingly fabricated effects, he led his subordinates toward the outskirts. The three now walked along a rural road, with villages and farmland on this side. The population was sparse, with occasional fields and settlements in sight.
As soon as he arrived in this "Toy Kingdom," he had used Mantra to memorize the differences between the toy people and ordinary humans on the streets.
In terms of Observation Haki's detection range, Sephiroth currently ranked at the very top of tier zero across the entire Pirate King world.
So... the single toy person's signature appearing in the countryside was rather interesting.
After examining it carefully, he found that apart from the toy person, that area contained only one weak human biomagnetic signature. It was also some distance from the nearest village.
...Excellent. A delicious little... ahem.
Shura and Ohm followed behind Sephiroth like a pair of guardians. Both felt that ever since arriving in this country, the High God's mental state had become a little strange.
Even if it didn't show on the surface, they had known the High God for over a decade, since childhood. They had witnessed his bizarre side before.
The two exchanged a glance and, in tacit agreement, removed their helmets and hung them at their waists.
-Do you know what's gotten into the High God?
Ohm began "sending signals" to Shura with his eyes.
-How would I know? Wait... I think I actually do...
Shura raised an eyebrow, remembering an experience from his youth that had affected his career prospects. The High God seemed normal in professional mode, but sometimes he was genuinely unhinged.
-The Holy Son-no, the High God's eyebrows have risen five degrees, and the corners of his mouth three degrees. By my calculations, guess what? There's definitely a little gi... up ahead.
Ohm's eyes widened.
-Fuck, I can't decipher anything that complicated-
Even eye signals had their limits!
"-Smack-smack-"
Sephiroth used his wings to smack each idiot on the back of the head.
-I can't read minds, but I can read emotions!
"What do you need such active imaginations for-"
Indeed, Sephiroth's target on this trip was Rebecca, granddaughter of Dressrosa's former king.
In terms of so-called "weight of destiny," she fell far short of Nami. Sephiroth had already spirited Nami home. Why stop at Rebecca?
Apart from the fright Sugar had given him, his greatest dissatisfaction with this visit was the absence of a standard Dressrosa plot point from the novels he had read in his previous life-Heavenly Yaksha handing over Baby 5.
Even sending her over as a spy would have done. Apparently, Doflamingo didn't know how to play along... Sooner or later, he would snatch her away. Heh heh heh-
-A sunflower field.
As they drew closer, Sephiroth and his companions entered a sea of sunflowers. It was probably about an hour past noon.
Ohm and Shura, both natives of Sky Island, weren't particularly sentimental, but this really was their first time seeing so many "big flowers"-their first time seeing sunflowers.
"What is it, Lord High God?"
Just as Ohm curiously reached out, Sephiroth smacked the back of his head again with a white wing.
"No... Although I know it's unlikely."
A sense of déjà vu from his previous life had prompted Sephiroth to act reflexively, almost as if playing out a meme.
"Are these things poisonous?"
Shura began inspecting the sunflowers cautiously.
"No... I was just worried a green-haired lady carrying a parasol might suddenly pop out and twist Ohm's head off..."
"..." × 2
Understood. The High God was having his usual episode.
"Who are you-"
A one-legged Toy Soldier appeared on a country path through the flowers. Apart from his missing leg, he looked no different from the ordinary Thunder Soldier Squad members maintaining order on the city streets.
"Kyros, right?"
None of the three was surprised by the Toy Soldier's appearance. After all, they could all use Mantra.
Sephiroth knew his identity. This soldier's real name was Kyros; he was Rebecca's father and King Riku's son-in-law. So Sephiroth greeted him first.
"-!!!"
The Toy Soldier shuddered all over, making clattering noises. By rights, Sugar's ability should have ensured that no one knew his identity. It was as though he had never existed in the first place...
Even though he had won a hundred matches in the arena and become a legendary duelist, even though he had eventually married the princess and become the king's son-in-law...
None of that nationally renowned status should have mattered. The Hobby-Hobby Fruit's unreasonable power should have erased him completely from everyone's awareness!
"Who exactly are you!?"
During Doflamingo's coup, King Riku had been held hostage at swordpoint. To save him, Kyros had cut off his own left leg, only to be accidentally touched by Sugar nearby and transformed into a one-legged Toy Soldier. Even his wife and daughter had lost their memories of him.
Sephiroth's appearance, clothes, and angel-like halo and wings certainly struck Kyros as incredible. But if there was any possibility of a threat to Rebecca, he would remain on maximum alert.
"I'm... Well, I suppose I have a little business relationship with Heavenly Yaksha. (Selling some Sky Island specialties.)"
-! (He's partnered with that usurping thief!)
"I came for your daughter..." Sephiroth thought that sounded ambiguous. Considering Viola might be watching, he couldn't make things too explicit, so he added, "I hope you understand what I mean."
"What exactly do you want!"
A few years earlier, Rebecca had nearly been abducted by human traffickers. Kyros had ignored the rules imposed on toys and dealt with them directly, becoming a toy wanted by the authorities, commonly known as the "Angry Thunder Soldier."
But the presence radiating from this man-electromagnetic interference and a bioelectric disruption field-was astonishing. He also had two subordinates whose stances alone suggested great strength: the Holy Knights, who had fallen utterly silent because the High God might be having another episode.
Kyros didn't think he could win. He could only hope to create enough commotion while stalling to give Rebecca a chance to escape.
"You'd best not do anything irrational."
Sephiroth said this because the toy was shaking so badly that he wondered whether Kyros might fall apart.
"I understand, but you must guarantee my daughter's safety."
When Rebecca's mother, Scarlet, had been killed by Diamante, Kyros had brought Scarlet's body and some food back to Rebecca and told her the truth.
Although he had spent these years caring for Rebecca as a soldier and teaching her combat skills, she still wasn't mature enough to protect herself. Kyros didn't want that tragedy repeated. As long as his daughter was safe, he would do anything.
(People keep misunderstanding, so here's an added explanation! This scene was based on a "calling the police" meme. And seeking Rebecca out now was about obtaining a "claim" to Dressrosa. If that's unclear, look up what a "feudal claim" is.)
"Relax. Your daughter will be perfectly safe."
Sephiroth was a little worried Viola might report what was happening here to Doflamingo. At this distance, his Mantra could still sense her presence clearly, but reading her emotions was practically impossible.
He remembered the arguments on all kinds of social media in his previous life over whether those two had a relationship that couldn't be shown on air. The debate had only died down when Oda personally said their relationship wasn't suitable for explicit discussion in a boys' manga.
So Viola probably wouldn't harm Rebecca. But deep down, she might not be all that eager to restore the Riku royal family, either. She might already have resigned herself to her current life... Of course, if a restoration really happened, she could accept it too.
"But wait a little longer, and that might change."
Sephiroth had ample reason to say this. Rebecca's mother, Scarlet, had been killed, and Viola, her younger sister, had been powerless to do anything.
Although Dressrosa's official story currently claimed Rebecca was dead too, most ordinary people only learned her identity after she became a duelist.
But did Doflamingo truly not know? Not necessarily. He simply didn't care. How he would react upon learning the Great Angel was making contact with Rebecca, however, was another matter.
Hearing Sephiroth's words, Kyros's heart sank.
"What specific conditions do you have?"
What, you could set conditions for this? Sephiroth thought about it. Embarrassing as it was to admit, wasn't the woman's side usually the one setting conditions?
On the one hand, he was completely true to his personal tastes and desires. He had said long ago that he wouldn't conceal that side of himself.
But he had only intended to rescue this father and daughter first, then slowly develop a relationship later. He really hadn't planned to force anything. Why had her father agreed right off the bat!?
As expected of Dressrosa's strongest gladiator. What astonishing decisiveness.
Sephiroth marveled, though he also felt Rebecca deserved better. Kyros treasured his daughter so much in the story, yet he was still a political animal after all.
"I'm not some devil. (She's not old enough.) An engagement will do for now." Considering the Riku royal family's current circumstances, he added, "(After Doflamingo is overthrown and the royal family restored,) the children can take their mother's surname."
"As long as... you don't hurt her..."
Kyros's voice trembled. Faced with an enemy he couldn't fight, he had no desire to relive the tragic consequences of recklessness. But...
"Mr. Soldier~! Where are you~!"
From the other end of the road, a girl with long pink hair, wearing a blue hooded dress, came running toward them with light steps.
"She looks younger than I remember... But she's very cute."
Sephiroth looked at the girl, who could only be described as still in early adolescence, a little younger than Nami, and voiced his impression.
Kyros was already panicking. Tricking them into leaving would have been best; submitting to their demands was his last resort. He hadn't expected his daughter to run over herself. Despair filled him, and tears threatened to spill.
"...?"
Even without deliberately using his emotional perception, Sephiroth could sense the despair coming from Kyros.
"Wait. Have we misunderstood each other?"
"Pfft-" Shura couldn't hold it in.
"..."
For a moment, the scene seemed frozen. Little Rebecca also noticed the strange atmosphere. Although the angel-like young man was very handsome, she still hid behind Mr. Soldier and peeked out.
(Hahaha.) Ohm laughed silently.
"What are you laughing at?"
Sephiroth's gaze moved between the two before settling first on Shura, who had laughed aloud.
"I remembered something happy."
"What happy thing?"
"..."
The straightforward Shura had no talent for making up lies. He choked.
(Hahaha.) -Ohm.
"And what are you laughing at?"
"My dog had puppies."
Ohm invented a seemingly plausible excuse.
"Your fucking dog is male! Did you send him to Thailand for further studies!?"
Today, Sephiroth once again used both wings to give each of them the whopping smack they loved so much.
Before you continue