As Benimaru approached the table, he picked up the Devil Fruit and searched for it in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia. When he found the exact picture, he was shocked—it was the Kageki Kageki no Mi or Amplify-Amplify Fruit.
This fruit allowed the user to amplify anything up to 10,000 times. The discovery excited Benimaru immensely. With it, he could even amplify the propulsion of his fire generation, potentially becoming faster than Kizaru. It was a power unlike any Devil Fruit he'd heard of in the original world of One Piece. The closest he'd come across was the Moa Moa no Mi, which only allowed amplification up to 100 times. But this fruit had no such limitation.
Without hesitation, Benimaru ate the Devil Fruit. He wasn't concerned about the usual weaknesses, such as seawater or Seastone, because he had consumed the Essence of Self. He remembered clearly—it made him immune to the side effects of the powers he accepted, including weaknesses to seawater, Seastone, and possibly even the effects of Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Logia.
To test it, Benimaru picked up a book and amplified its weight a thousandfold. Originally half a kilogram, it suddenly weighed half a ton.
That led him to a question: Would the effect persist after deactivating his Devil Fruit? It didn't take long to get an answer. When he deactivated his ability, the book still weighed half a ton. It appeared that amplification on non-biological objects was permanent, even after the ability was no longer active.
Benimaru looked around and started collecting the journals and books from inside the hidden room. In one drawer, he found a pair of Seastone shackles, each weighing about 100 kilograms. Curious, he put them on and attempted to use his Devil Fruit.
To his satisfaction, it worked. The Essence of Self had indeed made him immune to Seastone's effects. He then amplified the weight of the shackles by 10,000 times. Now, each wrist bore 100 tons, but for Benimaru, it was effortless.
He began experimenting with other types of amplification. He amplified his hearing by 10,000 times and was instantly able to hear the entire island, just like Superman or Homelander.
He even heard part of a conversation between the Heart Pirates:
"How brutal do you think our training will be tomorrow?" Penguin asked the others.
"I don't know," Shachi replied, "but we're getting stronger. Look at our progress—just a month ago, we could barely finish the laps. Now we can do them in under two hours."
"Yeah, I'm excited to see what's next," Shachi added.
Benimaru deactivated his ability. "Alright, that's enough eavesdropping," he thought. He realized that amplification of biological functions was not permanent—he had to actively use the Devil Fruit for that, unlike non-biological amplifications, which remained even after deactivation.
Having finished his testing, Benimaru exited the hidden room, taking everything of value with him. He promised himself he'd return tomorrow to explore the rest.
As he was leaving, he noticed something new—a serum vial on a table in one of the rooms. Oddly enough, he hadn't seen it before.
"How did I miss this? Was it hidden by some kind of mechanism? Or maybe the key that fused into my body activated or altered something in my genes…" Benimaru thought. "It's strange."
He read the label on the serum and recognized it from the journal he had read earlier. It was one of the remaining serums designed to integrate the genetic advantages of human tribes. This particular one combined the DNA of the Three-Eyed Tribe and the Shandians.
The Three-Eyed Tribe could potentially awaken the Voice of All Things, a rare ability that only Roger, Oden, Luffy, and Momonosuke had shown. He wasn't sure what the Shandian genes would offer—perhaps wings, maybe something more—but that wasn't his priority.
He used the Amplify-Amplify Fruit to strengthen the serum by 10,000 times, permanently enhancing its potency. If it worked, it wouldn't just grant him traits—it could potentially rewrite his genetics so deeply that he'd become something akin to an ancestor of both tribes.
He drank the serum.
Instantly, he collapsed.
Something began happening inside his body. Wings sprouted from his back—one black and one white—symbolizing a fusion of Lunarian and Shandian genetics. The wings grew larger by the second.
Inside his mind, where dreams and instinct met, something else stirred. His pupils split into two, resembling the eerie eyes from the latest Mummy movie. Then the dual pupils slowly merged into one, and in the center of each eye, a visible red O and X appeared—an eye pattern he already had, now intensified and glowing.
Whatever had happened… the full effects would remain unknown until Benimaru woke up.
---------------
Benimaru started preparing to leave the lab. He'd been gone for more than ten hours, and while Wolf and the kids wouldn't be too concerned. He is not comfortable being late.
He packed everything he wanted to bring with him. Just as he was about to head out, he heard a voice from a room he hadn't explored yet.
Curious, Benimaru followed the sound. It led him to what looked like an empty gym, filled with training and workout equipment. Judging by the layout, this must have been the place where the scientists had their test subjects demonstrate and refine their newly acquired abilities. Data would have been recorded here and used for further research.
Benimaru scanned the room until he found the source of the voice—a stone tablet, inscribed with detailed instructions of the seven martial arts upon which the Rokushiki techniques were based. The seventh was the fabled Life Return technique, the one that allowed users to control every aspect of their body, even hair and organs.
Next to the stone was an instruction manual, introducing the principles of Haki and explaining how to awaken and strengthen it in individuals. Benimaru read through everything quickly—it was the final piece he was missing.
After finishing, he looked at the wall and said, "Thank you."
He chuckled to himself. He probably looked crazy talking to a wall—but oddly enough, he felt as if the room was grateful, acknowledging his appreciation.
Benimaru gathered all the materials he'd collected and stepped outside.
The sunlight hit him intensely, sharper than ever. His enhanced vision made it unnecessary to rely on Haki—he could now see over ten miles with his bare eyes. His Observation Haki was also growing steadily, now covering all of Swallow Island and even stretching beyond the shoreline.
"Awesome," Benimaru thought. "It'll take some getting used to... but it's worth it."
With a confident stride, he began walking toward the training area, the designated meeting point for their next session.