This synthesized Devil Fruit crystal was exactly what Kairos Flint had hoped for.
When he first crafted his golden finger ability, he had taken an unconventional route—and as a result, successfully synthesized the Devil Fruit ability he had envisioned.
By combining three Devil Fruit power crystals, he had created a Mythical Devil Fruit Power Crystal. Even more impressively, this crystal had the ability to absorb other ability crystals and generate stone tablets.
"This is exactly the kind of Devil Fruit ability crystal I was waiting for," Kairos muttered, eyes glowing with excitement.
He had never consumed a Devil Fruit before—not even one without side effects—simply because none had ever matched his own fighting style. He wasn't the type to recklessly consume a Devil Fruit power just for strength. But this—this was different. This crystal was tailor-made for him.
Without hesitation, Kairos swallowed the Devil Fruit ability crystal. It dissolved instantly in his mouth, and in the blink of an eye, its power flowed into him.
The energy from the crystal began to fuse with his body, and his mind quickly started assimilating the ability. This synthesized power—unique to his own skill set—was gradually being understood and absorbed.
As the absorption completed, a necklace materialized around his neck.
It was adorned with a cross-shaped wheel embedded with four glowing gems.
This was the artifact that connected to Arceus's divine essence.
Its name: Qianzhou Wrist.
Each of the four embedded gems would shift colors depending on their elemental attribute.
However, Kairos had yet to fully enter the form of the Creator God—Arceus. Until then, the artifact simply took the shape of a necklace resting at his chest.
Of course, once he chose to do so, he could enter Arceus's form at will—just like any standard Zoan-type Devil Fruit. He could freely switch between human, beast, and hybrid forms.
Most importantly, he had now fully grasped the essence of his Alpaca Fruit: Phantom Beast Species - Creation God Arceus form. He now understood how to absorb Devil Fruit crystals, create elemental slates, and even evolve himself.
His current Mythical-level Devil Fruit allowed him to create elemental slates, but those slates needed to match its rarity to evolve. For instance, in order to progress from Mythical to the next tier, he had to create ten Mythical-grade attribute slates.
That was no small feat.
"Let's start by testing the Sand-Sand Fruit," Kairos thought.
He reached into his portable space and pulled out a Legendary-grade Logia Sand-Sand Fruit crystal. Gripping it tightly, he infused it into his body in a flash, absorbing its energy in one go.
Kairos closed his eyes.
He could feel the immense power from the legendary crystal concentrating and bonding with his body, and then—
Buzz!
A glowing stone slab flew straight out of his chest, hovering in the air before him.
"The Earth Slate?" he muttered in surprise.
The slab was black, engraved with imagery of mountains, stone, and soil. Even though he had just created it, he instinctively knew what it was: an Earth Slate.
It was the first slab he had made using the power of a Legendary Sand-Sand Fruit.
Because the source crystal was only Legendary in grade, the Earth Slate it produced was also Legendary-grade.
Still, even as it floated before him, he could feel the raw elemental power coursing through it.
"Since the Sand-Sand Fruit is classified under the Earth attribute, it makes sense that it produced the Earth Slate. I wonder... if I fed it another earth-type fruit, could it be upgraded from Legendary to Epic?"
Without delay, Kairos pulled out a Legendary-grade Paramecia Stone-Stone Fruit crystal from his portable space.
He tossed it toward the floating Earth Slate.
The slab glowed and absorbed the crystal instantly.
The black surface of the Earth Slate slowly started turning gold. Three full minutes passed before the transformation was complete.
A golden slab had been born—
The Epic Earth Slate.
Its elevation in grade dramatically boosted Kairos's Earth powers. His command over the element had now reached a new height—comparable to Armament Haki, Observation Haki, or even a Supreme Swordsman. It was a power worthy of an Emperor.
"I still have a bunch of Devil Fruit ability crystals left. Might as well convert all that I can into slates," Kairos thought to himself.
From his portable space, he pulled out one crystal after another:
Legendary Logia Thunder-Thunder Fruit Crystal
→ Legendary Thunder Slate
Legendary Paramecia Thorn Fruit Crystal
→ Legendary Wood Slate
Legendary Paramecia Swift-Cut Fruit Crystal
→ Legendary Gold Slate
Legendary Paramecia Gate-Gate Fruit Crystal
→ Legendary Space Slate
Legendary Logia Snow-Snow Fruit Crystal
→ Legendary Ice Slate
Legendary Paramecia Sticky-Sticky Fruit Crystal
→ Epic Water Slate
He burned through a treasure trove of ability crystals but was rewarded with an arsenal of new elemental slates:
Epic Earth Slate
Epic Water Slate
Legendary Wood Slate
Legendary Thunder Slate
Legendary Gold Slate
Legendary Ice Slate
Legendary Space Slate
Seven slates total—two of them Epic, the rest Legendary.
And with each one, Kairos gained control over a new elemental force:
Earth, Water, Wood, Thunder, Metal, Ice, Space.
His power now covered a wide range of attributes. Combined with his already formidable strength, the addition of these elemental domains made his combat capabilities nothing short of monstrous.
"There are still some Devil Fruit ability crystals left, but I'll pause here for now," he decided.
He had six crystals remaining, but slate creation was physically taxing. Creating just these seven had drained most of his stamina.
He needed time to recover before pushing forward again.
Even synthesizing the original ability crystal for his Alpaca Fruit—Phantom Beast Creation God Arceus—had cost him three Epic body crystals. Now, only two remained in his inventory.
They were too rare to waste.
That night, Nami and Vivi indulged him—and each other—in various new "techniques" they'd been eager to test.
By the next morning, his ship's pace had noticeably slowed.
After regaining his physical strength, Kairos got back to work.
He created more slates from his remaining crystals:
Heavy Fruit + Light Fruit
→ Epic Light and Heavy Slate
Invisibility Fruit
→ Legendary Void Slate
Art Fruit
→ Legendary Illusion Slate
Explosion Fruit (first use)
→ Legendary Fire Slate
Explosion Fruit (second use)
→ Legendary Repulsion Slate
His arsenal of slates now totaled twelve.
Each one was a vital part of him—an inseparable aspect of his strength. While he could lend a slate to someone temporarily, it could be summoned back into his body at will, the bond unbreakable.
Twelve elemental powers now flowed through Kairos Flint.
He spent a full day resting.
During daylight hours, he practiced with Nami and the others, using the various slate powers in sparring to enhance his mastery and control.
And when the moon rose, he returned to more… intimate forms of training with Nami and Vivi.
Life was, in a word, satisfying.
But the peaceful days didn't last long.
Soon, his ship reached its next destination.
The Marine G-2 Branch.
"We're finally here," Kairos said, standing at the ship's bow.
"Navy... are you ready to face my wrath?!"
His gaze locked onto the approaching base—one that had prepared many "surprises" in his honor.
They had no idea what was coming.