Multiverse Share: 36 Worlds at the Same Time

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One Piece World — Somewhere in the New World…

Renzo had thrown together a makeshift lab on a remote island, and right now, Teach—aka Blackbeard —was strapped down on the operating table.

"B-Boss, I'm just weak…!"

Teach was in a complete panic. His Haki was sealed, and even his famously resilient body had been suppressed. He couldn't use an ounce of strength.

He stared at Renzo, who was casually waving a scalpel near his torso, sweat pouring from his face as he pleaded, "Please! I'm begging you! Have mercy, boss! I swear I'm just a regular guy!"

"Whatever you heard, it's all fake news! I didn't even make a name for myself in the Whitebeard Pirates—how could I possibly have the kind of special body you're talking about?!"

"If I did have it, don't you think I would've eaten a Devil Fruit ages ago to boost my strength and chances of survival?!"

For the first time in his life, Teach felt genuine fear.

The kind of fear that came with having zero control over whether you lived or died—it was terrifying.

"Relax, I'll be gentle!" Renzo said with a grin that did not reassure Teach at all.

"And drop the act. When it comes to certain things, I know you better than you know yourself. Ehehe~"

Without any hesitation, Renzo began dissecting Teach, keeping him alive with drugs throughout the procedure.

"Hmm… So it's not his body. That rules out the multiple-heart theory… and probably any other kind of special physique."

After force-feeding Teach two Zoan-type Devil Fruits, Renzo finally reached a conclusion—Teach's ability to eat multiple fruits wasn't due to some unique body trait.

It was his soul.

The guy actually had two souls in one body!

(A/N: The above is pure speculation from the author. If it gets contradicted later, blame Oda!)

...

Two souls.

Apparently, the limit of one Devil Fruit per person really is tied to the soul.

Each Devil Fruit is formed around the soul as a core called a "Devil Force"—a kind of metaphysical anchor.

Under normal circumstances, a single soul can only withstand one Devil Force around it.

More than that, and the Devil Forces clash inside the soul, causing the powers to repel each other. That conflict leads to a surge of chaotic energy that eventually causes the user to explode from the inside out.

Teach, however, has two souls, which means he can house two Devil Fruits without that conflict.

And because the two souls manage their powers separately, he's even able to keep both abilities running in tandem, each controlling a different part of his body.

But a third fruit? That'd be instant death—body explosion, no question.

"Hm… So it really does come down to soul strength and physical durability."

"My soul's already insanely strong, and my body too… I wonder if I could handle more than one Devil Fruit?"

"No… the real problem is the Devil Force conflict."

— — —

One month later...

Renzo finally showed up at the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, just as he promised, delivering Teach—now the proud but miserable eater of the Insect Zoan: Dung Beetle Form and the Human-Human Fruit: Okama Form—back to the crew.

"You bastard…!"

Marco and the others looked like they were ready to murder Renzo on the spot, rage clear on their faces.

But no one made a move.

Not a single one.

Even Whitebeard himself couldn't beat this guy. If Renzo hadn't held back at the end, the old man would've been reduced to charcoal.

Picking a fight now would be suicide.

"Heh." Renzo didn't even bother acknowledging their anger. He casually walked past them and stopped in front of Whitebeard, who was wrapped up like a mummy.

"How are you holding up, old man?" he asked, almost casually. "If you go down, the whole Whitebeard Pirates falls apart."

Truthfully, Renzo didn't have anything personal against Whitebeard. The guy had his own code, and he stuck to it. Wasn't like he went around doing evil for fun.

His crew, though? That was a different story.

"Gurarara!... cough cough..."

Whitebeard let out his iconic laugh, which quickly turned into a violent coughing fit from the effort. When he finally caught his breath, he managed a wry grin.

"You actually giving a damn about me now? That's rich," he said with a chuckle. "But don't worry. I'm not dead yet. And… thanks for holding back in the end."

"For a second there, I really thought I was done for."

"That was the closest I've ever been to death."

Not that he was afraid of dying. What weighed on him more was leaving his sons—his crew—behind.

"Good. If you're still alive, then keep things stable out here on the sea. No need for a giant mess just because of me."

As he spoke, Renzo flicked his hand, sending two healing beams of light directly into Whitebeard's body.

"You bastard! What did you just do?!"

Marco and the others immediately lost it and charged forward.

Renzo didn't even flinch. Without looking back, he shot into the sky and flew off at high speed.

Just before disappearing over the horizon, his voice echoed back:

"By the way—turns out Teach can eat two Devil Fruits!"

"I already fed him two Zoan fruits to prove it. No need to thank me!"

"I, Uchiha Madara, have always taken pride in helping others."

With a final flash, Renzo vanished completely from the New World.

". . ."

"WHAT?!"

Gasps spread through the crew as everyone turned toward Teach in shock.

Still, most of them rushed to Whitebeard first, surrounding him in concern.

"Pops! Are you okay?!"

"Gurararara!"

To their amazement, Whitebeard suddenly let out his signature booming laugh and stood up with surprising strength, flexing his muscles and casually ripping off his bandages like they were tissue paper.

"I'm fine!" he grinned. "Actually… I feel better than I've felt in years!"

"That Madara brat really has some terrifying healing ability. What a freaking monster."

With just a flick of the wrist, Renzo had completely healed him—not just the wounds from their recent battle, but even the old injuries that had plagued him for years.

For the first time in forever, Whitebeard was back at full power.

He didn't quite know how to feel now.

Grateful? Not exactly.

But the hatred and resentment… that had faded too.

If anyone really got the short end of the stick in all this, it was Teach.

Thinking of that, Whitebeard turned and called out loudly, "Teach! Is what he said true? Did you really eat two Devil Fruits?"

"P-Pops!!"

Teach practically leapt out of his skin. He scrambled forward on hands and knees, sobbing as he clung dramatically to Whitebeard's leg like a child.

Everyone else instinctively stepped aside, creating a clear path as he wailed:

"Pops! You gotta help me! That Uchiha Madara guy—he's not even human!!"

"He experimented on me like I was some kind of lab rat! Then he force-fed me two of the most garbage Devil Fruits ever! I'm ruined! Totally ruined! Pops, you have to stand up for me! Waaaaah—!"

The kind of crying that was supposed to tug at your heartstrings...

But really? It just made people want to roll their eyes.

Marco crossed his arms and raised a brow. "Come on, Teach, is it really that bad? You got two Devil Fruits. That alone is worth, what, several billion berries?"

"And they're both Zoan types. That's not useless. Your physical strength and stamina must've gone way up."

"Who knows? Maybe you'll become some kind of martial arts prodigy. If you develop your abilities properly, you could have one hell of a future."

To be honest, ever since Uchiha Madara said Teach really had managed to eat two fruits, Marco—and quite a few others—had started watching him with wary eyes.

Because they remembered something.

Something Madara had said a month ago.

And now… it had all come true.

What really bugged them was, from everything they could tell, Teach and Madara had never met before.

And with Madara being even scarier than Whitebeard himself, did he really need to go out of his way to fake all this just to frame Teach?

Teach wasn't that important.

Plus, Renzo—aka Madara— had just healed Whitebeard—completely.

That made it really hard to keep seeing him as the bad guy.

"Yeah, that's right!" Vista chimed in, stroking his beard with a chuckle. "We believe in you, Teach!"

As a top-tier swordsman, Vista had sharp instincts. He'd never paid much attention to Teach before—maybe because Teach had hidden it well—but now?

Now, he could clearly sense the overwhelming hatred pouring off of him.

And not just toward Madara.

Most of it was aimed at them—Whitebeard, Marco, himself… all of them.

Especially after Marco and Vista had spoken, Teach's malice spiked hard.

He couldn't hide it anymore.

Whatever had happened during that month… it had twisted him.

Vista and Marco exchanged a look.

No words needed.

Something was definitely wrong with Teach.

And both of them turned toward Whitebeard in silent agreement.

.

.

.