"Devil Fruit?"
Look at the four strange fruits in this small box.
Whitebeard froze for a moment:
"That's not right! Devil Fruits don't look like this! Rob kid, are you trying to play tricks on me~?"
Hearing Whitebeard's words, the corner of Rob's mouth turned up, and he looked up at Whitebeard.
He spoke directly:
"Do I seem like that kind of boring person? As you can see—these four are indeed Devil Fruits! They're just special Devil Fruits, and these four special Devil Fruits are what I want to trade with you!"
Whitebeard watched Rob unimpressed, waiting for his next words.
In his life, Whitebeard has seen quite a few Devil Fruits and their powers. With his experience, how could he be so moved by just four Devil Fruits?
"The reason why I say these four Devil Fruits are special is simple - because I made them all!"
Rob looked at Whitebeard and explained how he mastered the artificial Devil Fruit technology:
"Through research, as long as I can get the blood of the original ability user, I can extract the blood factor from their blood. With the help of the blood factor, I can perfectly replicate the exact same artificial Devil Fruit!"
"These four Devil Fruits, two of which are the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Coyote, and Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Tiger. The other two belong to Kaido's subordinates, 'Conflagration' King and 'Drought' Jack!"
Hearing Rob's words, Whitebeard and Marco's eyes were full of shock as they looked at the four Devil Fruits lying quietly in the box.
After a few seconds, Whitebeard came to his senses and shifted his gaze from the four artificial Devil Fruits to Rob himself.
Needless to say, at this moment, Whitebeard already knew the reason why Rob came directly to him.
"Gurarara——"
Whitebeard burst out laughing, and after a while, he spoke again:
"I understand what you mean! I also know where you got such technology from!"
Whitebeard's face was full of determination:
"I heard before that on the other side of the World Government, that genius scientist named Vegapunk conducted research on man-made Devil Fruits, but later it was reported that it failed!"
"But now it seems he didn't fail completely! It's just that there should be some difficulties in this kind of technology that he hasn't been able to break through, so it doesn't matter!"
"After you fought me before, you disappeared for more than a year. You must have gone to find Vegapunk, and then obtained this flawed man-made Devil Fruit technology from him!"
"And after making it, you're trying to take me for a fool, using four defective Devil Fruits to obtain the blood of my sons to extract the bloodline factor, right?"
Snap—
Rob snapped his fingers, grinning:
"As expected of a legendary figure of the older generation! As expected of an overlord who has ruled the seas for many years, your information is indeed very well-informed! That's right—as you said, I did learn this technology from Vegapunk during the year I disappeared!"
"It's just that you're wrong in some places! Vegapunk successfully developed this technology. It's just because of some special reasons that he gave up on the technology of man-made Devil Fruits!"
"After I learned this technology, I improved and perfected it. Now, the artificial Devil Fruit technology has fully matured. The artificial Devil Fruits I make are no different from the original ones!"
While speaking, Rob picked up a common Devil Fruit:
"I guarantee that the artificial Devil Fruits I make are no different from the original ones! This ordinary one is the deposit I give you. You can find your crew, or an ordinary person, to try it out!"
Rob smiled as he continued:
"Let's talk about some other matters! You must be very clear in your heart what kind of turmoil the next era will bring! You are already old, and your sons are not young either!"
"As you said—no one can be invincible forever! How long can you guarantee that you will live? Can you guarantee that you will always protect your sons?"
"No! Maybe you can still protect them for five or ten years, but you will eventually grow old and die! When that time comes, if the Whitebeard Pirates do not have enough strength, they will face annihilation!"
Clap, clap—
Tossing the faux Devil Fruit up and down, Rob's smile widened:
"Devil Fruits are undoubtedly a good way to improve your sons' self-preservation ability! But the original Devil Fruits are very rare; you can't just find them anywhere!"
"And the artificial Devil Fruits I make are no different from the originals! Just eat one, and you can gain powerful strength in the shortest time. With your guidance, your sons will grow even faster!"
"Even if you die in the future, even if they can't keep the title of 'Four Emperors' you earned, and all the inheritance you left behind, at least they will have enough ability to protect themselves!"
Whoosh—
Rob threw the Devil Fruit directly to Whitebeard, his expression serious:
"To be honest—the Whitebeard Pirates are indeed numerous, and with your presence, they are the most powerful of the 'Four Emperors,' but your body has already begun to weaken!"
"But without you, the Whitebeard Pirates are the biggest targets! The other 'Four Emperors' and the Marines all want to wipe out your sons' ships!"
"I understand your pride in being a captain and a father, and I understand the arrogance in your heart! After all, you are Whitebeard! But in my opinion—arrogance and pride are secondary. The most important thing is your sons and your crew!"
"As a captain and a father, you should think carefully about your sons and subordinates! Whitebeard!"
Hearing Rob's stream of words, Whitebeard was silent for a while, not knowing what to say.
If anyone else, even Kaido or Charlotte Linlin, who used to be on the same crew, came to say these words to Whitebeard, he wouldn't have shown a good face.
Not to mention the now-young Shanks.
Even if Shanks in the future came to teach him, Whitebeard wouldn't give him any face!
But Rob is different—
In Whitebeard's mind, as a young man who had already defeated him head-on, Rob's words carried weight. And most importantly, Rob represented the "new era"!
To a certain extent, the future and the turmoil of the "new era" will be influenced by Rob's ideas and actions. Therefore, Rob is speaking to Whitebeard from a position of complete equality.
Rob's words weight is very heavy!
More importantly, Rob's words "Family is the most important!" and "As a captain and a father, you should think carefully about your sons and subordinates!" struck a chord with Whitebeard.
For a while, Whitebeard's eyes were calm. Rob didn't bother him, and Marco waited for his order. After thinking for more than a minute, Whitebeard came back to his senses.
"Marco!"
Whitebeard looked at Marco and handed him the man-made Devil Fruit.
"Go and let your first team eat this man-made Devil Fruit!"
Hearing Whitebeard's words, Marco took the faux Devil Fruit and was taken aback:
"Father, don't you need someone to test it first?"
He looked directly at Rob, who was sitting calmly at the moment.
Whitebeard began:
"No need! Lets give him a chance and trust this guy for a while! If something goes wrong, I'll show him what it means to face a 'raging Whitebeard!'"
Although his body might not allow it, Whitebeard was confident that, in a desperate state, he could still unleash a strength that could make Rob pay dearly.
Rob didn't respond to Whitebeard's words. It's just an old man's bravado, what should he care about?
After hearing Whitebeard, Marco glanced at Rob, and then left with the artificial Devil Fruit.
Soon, ten minutes passed. Marco returned with an incredulous look on his face.
"Dad, there's no problem with the man-made Devil Fruit, and my subordinate has indeed acquired abilities! There are no other issues... It really feels the same as an original Devil Fruit!"
From Marco's expression, Whitebeard already knew the answer, but he was just verifying it now.
After Whitebeard got the confirmation, Rob had a smile on his face:
"It seems you've got the answer you wanted! So, do you want to make a deal with me, Whitebeard? Including the one already eaten, I have a total of four man-made Devil Fruits here, and two rare Zoan ancient species! If you're interested, I can trade them for the blood of you, Marco, Jozu, and Blamenco!"
After a brief pause, Rob continued:
"Of course—"
"You could also choose to make a deal with Vegapunk, but I can guarantee that the artificial Devil Fruits he makes are not as perfect as mine, and will have certain flaws and limitations!"
"Besides, Vegapunk is closely watched by the World Government. You might not be able to get what you want, and you may even have to pay more for it than I'm asking!"
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