"Weevil, how do you feel?" Bege quickly stepped forward to ask as soon as Weevil woke up.
Weevil rubbed his stomach, which was rumbling loudly. He looked aggrieved. "So hungry. Feels like I haven't eaten in days. I want meat."
"I'll have someone prepare lots and lots of meat for you right now. You'll definitely eat your fill."
"That's great, Brother!" Weevil cheered up.
Bege continued his questioning, "Weevil, do you feel anyone else's presence in your mind?"
Weevil scratched his head, then shook it. "No. Just now, I saw a very pained person in my head, and then we flew out together. I even saw you, Brother, and waved at you! Then I saw Uncle Brook finish off that pained person."
"And then?"
"Then I returned to my body, and I haven't felt that pained person since," Weevil confirmed.
Bege and the others let out a collective sigh of relief. This meant Lisen's soul had indeed been eliminated.
"Weevil, did you get the Absorb-Absorb Fruit's power?" Moria asked.
"I think so," Weevil said, uncertain. He tried punching the operating table, leaving a dent in the metal surface. Weevil's eyes lit up. He looked at Bege, overjoyed. "Brother, I really got the Absorb-Absorb Fruit! I can absorb impact!"
"Good, good, good!" Bege burst out laughing once more. Modi and the others all smiled.
"Only Oars surpasses Weevil's monstrous physique. Now that he has the Absorb-Absorb Fruit, it's like giving wings to a tiger," Modi commented.
Over the past three years, Weevil's physical abilities had improved by leaps and bounds. His strength surpassed even Dorry and Brogy. Within the entire Fire Tank Pirates, only Little Oars Jr. could definitively overpower Weevil physically. Now that Weevil had gained the Absorb-Absorb Fruit, his combat power was set to multiply exponentially, putting immense pressure on Moria and the others.
"Sam and Weevil have both successfully obtained Devil Fruit abilities. This means we've mastered the method of acquiring Devil Fruit powers! You all know what this signifies, right?" Bege looked at everyone, a grin of sheer excitement spreading across his face, followed by unrestrained laughter.
"Kishishishishi... It means we can seize other people's Devil Fruit abilities!" Moria joined in the laughter.
The others also roared with laughter, their faces alight with excitement and exhilaration. As high-ranking members of the Fire Tank Pirates, they understood the monumental significance of this breakthrough.
"Ben Kosa, Brook, now that the soul issue with the Fuse-Fuse Fruit has been resolved, I'm entrusting my Army of Devil Fruit Users, Army of Freaks, and Army of Monsters to you." Bege's eyes gleamed with intense fervor as he looked at Ben Kosa and Brook.
The Army of Devil Fruit Users, the Army of Freaks, and the Army of Monsters were part of a blueprint he had laid out previously, set to be activated once the multi-soul problem of the Fuse-Fuse Fruit was solved. Relying on Ben Kosa's Fuse-Fuse Fruit, they would seize others' Devil Fruit abilities to create an Army of Devil Fruit Users. Simultaneously, they would create an army of powerful fused freak-warriors similar to Ingram, as well as an army of fused monsters. Once these three armies reached even a modest scale, the Fire Tank Pirates would possess the capital to contend with the hegemons of the sea.
"Leave it to us!" Ben Kosa declared, full of ambition. With the soul problem solved, he could create the most terrifying monsters imaginable.
"Let's have a banquet! A banquet! To celebrate Weevil obtaining the Absorb-Absorb Fruit, and to celebrate that we will soon possess the strength to challenge the overlords of the New World!" Bege was beaming, utterly overjoyed.
"Yeah! Yeah! Banquet time!" Weevil hopped down from the operating table, cheering excitedly.
That day, the Fire Tank Pirates celebrated. Bege even, in the name of God, declared it the greatest festival in Skypiea, and the entire sky island rejoiced.
The days that followed returned to a period of calm. His men continued their arduous training, while Bege, Moria, and the others quietly descended to the blue sea in their airship to capture various ferocious beasts and Sea Kings. They didn't engage in large-scale capture of Devil Fruit users yet. Bege first had the intelligence personnel under Pops and Judge gather information on Devil Fruit users across the seas, collate this data, and then select valuable targets for capture.
Another two months passed. Bege was still training diligently on Mad Beast Island. His opponents were no longer Nightmare Beasts. After three years of grueling training, Bege had also made astonishing progress, defeating the Nightmare Beasts a year ago. Subsequently, Ben Kosa had created even more powerful monsters for Bege to hone his skills against. In three years, Bege had killed a total of ten such monsters.
The current monster Bege used for practice was one that had undergone fifteen fusions. Moreover, its multi-soul issue had been resolved, making it a truly terrifying-grade creature. The two had once fought for five days and five nights, nearly shattering the medium-sized Mad Beast Island. Within the entire Fire Tank Pirates, besides Bege, only Little Oars Jr., Moria, and other top-tier combatants could briefly clash with this monster.
On this particular day, Bege was in the midst of his "sword-polishing" when the entire Mad Beast Island began to tremble. Showers of rubble flew in all directions, and powerful shockwaves buffeted the surrounding smaller islands. Bege, deep in combat, was suddenly stopped by one of his men. Several thick Seastone spears were shot into the monster's body, instantly weakening it. Bege seized the opportunity to strike the monster to the ground.
"Hold it," Bege barked at the monster. The creature actually stopped moving. Though a fused monster, it possessed a single soul and its own intelligence. Over the past month or two, it had learned a few things. If it resisted now, those ant-like humans would probably inject something into its body, making it extremely weak. The monster sat on the ground, unmoving, its large eyes darting around.
Bege closed his eyes, his consciousness entering the castle within his body, and questioned his subordinate. "Revolutionary Army leader Dragon is on the line. He says he has urgent business with you," the man said hastily, handing over a Den Den Mushi.
Bege retrieved the Den Den Mushi from his castle. Dragon's voice came from the other end. "Bege, the Revolutionary Army is preparing to make a big move. I wonder if you'd be interested in participating."
"Let's hear it," Bege said, raising an eyebrow.
"Celestial Tribute!"
Dragon slowly uttered those two words, causing Bege's expression to turn serious. The World Government's affiliated nations were required to offer a portion of their treasures to the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, each year. This wealth was known as the Celestial Tribute.
"You want to steal the Celestial Tribute?"
"That's right. A fleet transporting Celestial Tribute is currently returning from the New World to Mary Geoise. We plan to intercept it. What do you think? If we succeed, how about we split it fifty-fifty?" Dragon said in a grave tone.