Chapter 48: Chapter 48:Defeating Big-Mom!
How could it be the Shock Fruit?!
Charlotte Linlin's eyes widened in disbelief. This wasn't just a mimicry; it felt as if she were actually facing Whitebeard himself. The tremendous earthquake beneath her feet made her lose her balance, tearing a bottomless ravine into the ground. She tumbled toward the crack but managed to grab the edge of a wall at the last moment.
"Zeus!" she shouted, and in an instant, the thundercloud responded, lifting her swiftly into the sky. But as she searched for Wuma, he had vanished. Alarmed, Charlotte Linlin expanded her observation haki, quickly locating a powerful presence behind her.
She spun around, her pupils dilating as she faced a massive golden Buddha with wings. The colossal fist bore down on her with unyielding force.
"Sengoku's...?" The relentless assaults left Charlotte Linlin disoriented. In that moment of clarity, she realized the truth—Chenlong, one of the twelve earthly branches, had consumed Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit. And now, these two, Wuma and Weiyang, had acquired the powers of the Shock Fruit and Mythical Buddha Fruit respectively. They were all creations, replicas made by the master of the Hive, the scientist Edie.
"Shockwave." Weiyang's Big Buddha fist didn't need to make contact to deliver its devastating impact. The shockwave blasted Charlotte Linlin off Zeus, sending her hurtling towards the forest.
"Damn bastards!" she cursed, her voice thick with anger as she plummeted. "Two against one, how despicable!"
"I never promised a fair duel," Wuma's voice echoed from below. "Heavenly Father's orders are absolute. The mission comes first!"
Charlotte Linlin shifted her gaze downward, just in time to see Wuma standing precisely where she was about to land, his charged fist aimed directly at her. Her heart pounded—there was no escape!
Boom!
The impact was overwhelming. The moment her back connected with Wuma's fist, it felt as if time itself froze. Then, like a shattering mirror, her world fractured. Pain exploded within her as her organs shifted violently, blood gushing internally.
"Puff!" A torrent of blood spewed from her mouth. Charlotte Linlin's body was flung across the forest like a ragdoll, smashing through dozens of trees before crashing into a massive boulder.
Weiyang swiftly joined Wuma's side, both of them looking down at the fallen Yonko.
"Mission accomplished," Weiyang declared, retrieving a blood collection device as he crouched down.
"No, not yet. Heavenly Father wants her back alive. Kaido and Whitebeard have supported this research, and she cannot be absent," Wuma reminded him.
"Is that so?" Weiyang nodded, realizing the truth in Wuma's words. After collecting her blood, they both flew towards Charlotte Linlin to complete their task.
At the southern edge of the forest, near a creek, Charlotte Linlin pulled herself from the debris. Blood dripped from her mouth, fueling her fury. She hadn't been injured in years, and now these two were making a mockery of her.
But before she could react, the two figures were upon her, surrounding her from both sides.
"Mama~mama do you think you can just defeat me like this?" Charlotte Linlin scoffed, pressing her palms to her chest. "Soul Pocus!"
The power of the Soul-Soul Fruit activated, and within moments, her internal injuries vanished, as though they had never existed.
"Does that ability cost you lifespan?" Wuma inquired, observing her closely.
"Hmph, so what if it does?" Charlotte Linlin sneered. With her injuries healed, she reached into the void, and her pirate hat transformed into a massive blade.
"Ikkoku Sovereignty!" She prepared to unleash her full power, but before she could, a golden Buddha's hand descended upon her from behind, forcing her to turn and defend against the surprise attack.
Meanwhile, Wuma charged, divine fire blazing on his body. He crossed the distance in an instant, his fist vibrating with the power of the Shock Fruit, and wrapped in Armament Haki.
"This is two against one; you have no hope of winning."
Boom!
The punch landed with a burst of black lightning. The advanced Armament Haki invaded Charlotte Linlin's body, causing internal destruction.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The relentless barrage gave Charlotte Linlin no room to breathe. She was being pounded like a sandbag, struggling to cope with the unending assault.
"Dammit...!" she gasped, her voice barely more than a whisper. "What...what is your purpose?"
Weiyang ignored her, transforming back into a giant Buddha. His enormous hands came down like hammers, aiming to crush her completely.
Smack!
Charlotte Linlin, desperate, spread her hands wide, barely managing to fend off the attack. As she struggled against the overwhelming force, Wuma descended from above, delivering a crushing blow to her head.
"Earthquake!"
Crack!!
The ground split apart as the shockwave obliterated the forest within a few hundred meters. Charlotte Linlin's skull cracked audibly, and in the next moment, she lost consciousness, collapsing into the massive crater.
"Is it over?" Weiyang asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.
"It's over," Wuma confirmed, both of them staring at the fallen Yonko with a mix of awe and exhaustion.
"This woman...she's incredibly tough," Weiyang murmured.
"She's had a monster's physique since childhood. I've heard she's been bearing children non-stop since she was 18. She's either pregnant or on the way to becoming pregnant."
"She wants to give birth to all the races of the world," Weiyang mused, recalling their earlier encounter. "Just now, she even wanted to have a Lunarian baby with me."
"Well, let's go. The mission is finally complete," Wuma said, feeling the weight of their victory. They each grabbed one of Charlotte Linlin's arms, lifting her massive body before quickly flying away from Cake Island.
But as they took off, a mirror suddenly appeared out of thin air. Brulee emerged just in time to see her mother being carried off by the two men.
Her face paled in shock. "Oh no! Mom has been taken away!"
Beehive Island, Research Institute.
Charlotte Linlin lay quietly on the ground, surrounded by the clones kneeling on one knee. Edie, seated comfortably in his boss's chair, watched the scene unfold before him.
"Lord Heavenly Father, the target has been brought back," Wuma reported.
"We arrived at Whole cake Island three days ago and discovered that this woman was planning to hold a full moon banquet for her child. We chose to act during the banquet, which is why there was a slight delay," Weiyang added.
"Thank you for your hard work," Edie responded, rising from his seat. He placed his hands in his pockets and walked over to the unconscious Charlotte Linlin, observing her condition. Her face was smeared with blood, but despite the severity of her injuries, she was snoring softly, sleeping peacefully.
"You went a bit overboard," Edie remarked with a hint of exasperation. "We were merely inviting her to the Hive as a guest; there was no need to beat her this badly."
"She was uncooperative and refused to communicate calmly, so we had no choice but to knock her out and bring her back," Wuma explained.
Edie could almost picture the scene in his mind. "Fine, take her to a guest room to rest. Let me know when she wakes up."
"Yes, Lord Heavenly Father."
The two clones quickly carried Charlotte Linlin away. With the "guest" now settled, Edie took a sample of her blood and headed to the underground laboratory. He had ambitious plans—to clone new Earthly Branches and, for the first time, create Earthly Branch-level combat power in reality. The previous five Earthly Branches were products of a system simulation, additional rewards granted by the simulation.
The next day, in Cloning Laboratory No. 0, Edie stood before three tall, specialized cloning chambers. He activated one of them. As the chamber filled with fluid, embryonic cells, combined with blood factors from both Charlotte Linlin and King, were injected into the mixture. The embryo, invisible to the naked eye, could only be observed clearly under a microscope.
The cloning process was divided into three stages:
The Embryonic Stage: Lasting one month, during which the embryo would grow to the size of a baby.
The Development Period: Spanning two years, where the body would develop inside the chamber until it reached the approximate age of ten.
The Mature Stage: Although the clone could remain in the chamber during this stage, the cost of doing so would increase exponentially. Typically, once maturity was reached, the clone was ready to leave the chamber.
Notably, the imposition of ideological loyalty stamps on clones could only be done during the embryonic stage.
"#26..." Edie murmured with a faint smile before turning and leaving the lab. Since Charlotte Linlin had yet to awaken, he moved on to another laboratory, ready to create a new ability ring.
The Paramecia-type Soul-Soul Fruit intrigued him; it was a unique fruit that dealt with the power of the soul—a realm he had never explored before. Edie couldn't wait to delve into this new area of research.
Two days later, a new ring was crafted by his own hands. He replaced the Island Fruit Ring with this brand-new Soul ability ring. Upon activation, blue blood was injected, and in an instant, Edie gained the same power as Charlotte Linlin.
"This... is the soul?" Edie whispered, his eyes alight with curiosity as he stared at his right hand. A ball of light pink material swirled around his palm. In that moment, he understood the essence of a soul. A bolt of inspiration struck him, illuminating the possibilities he had been pondering.
Excitedly, Edie stood up. "Haki and the soul... I see it now. If my guess is correct..." He paused, realizing the missing factor he had been searching for. Without a moment's hesitation, he quickly opened the system and established a new scientific research simulation project based on the conjecture in his mind.
[This Simulation Project]: "Research on the Correlation Between the Soul of the One Piece World and Haki"
[Necessary Conditions for This Simulation]: Mastery of the Power Related to the Soul
[Necessary Conditions Have Been Met]
[Simulation Begins!]
Edie had a strong feeling that if his hypothesis was correct, he was on the verge of evolution—an evolution that would propel him to a different dimension, beyond the comprehension of anyone else in this world.
"Let's See the True Essence of Haki!" he declared, a chilling determination in his voice.
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