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A silent night passed without incident.
The Next Morning
At dawn, as usual, Boa Hancock arrived at the secluded area. However, unlike before, she didn't bring her two sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold, along.
Nearby, the giant panda Bai Long and the massive flower-patterned python Sameiro were huddled together. One was hissing, flicking its tongue, while the other bared its teeth and waved its claws in excitement.
No one knew how a panda and a snake could even communicate, let alone get along so well. But somehow, they did.
Rolling around together, they looked ridiculously happy.
Watching them, one couldn't help but be speechless.
Breakfast Time
"Shaka, it's time to eat... You should take a break!" Hancock called out as she motioned for her attendants to place the lavish breakfast on the table before dismissing them.
She instinctively moved closer to Shaka, who had already washed up and was engrossed in his work. To her surprise, she found him crafting a weapon that looked utterly bizarre—somewhere between a rolling pin and a spiked club, covered in menacing protrusions.
Intricate Buddhist scriptures and divine engravings of Buddha adorned its surface.
"Wait, weren't you making a Zen staff?" Hancock asked, confused. "This looks like a spiked club!"
This thing hardly resembled a monk's staff.
Would a compassionate Buddha really wield such a brutal weapon?
The Awakening Nirvana Staff
"This is the Awakening Nirvana Staff," Shaka explained with a serene smile. "It's just the first form of my Zen staff. For those who refuse to listen, sometimes force is necessary to quiet them down—so we can have a proper discussion afterward."
The golden spiked club spun effortlessly in his grip.
Then, before Hancock's astonished eyes—
Bzzzt!
Lightning crackled violently.
Brilliant arcs of electricity surged across the weapon's golden surface, illuminating the engraved scriptures and Avalokiteshvara's sacred images.
Yet, despite the extreme voltage coursing through it, Shaka remained completely unharmed while holding the handle.
"It can conduct electricity?!" Hancock gasped.
She could feel the sheer intensity of the charge—it was enough to make even someone as powerful as her hesitate before touching it.
"The voltage isn't quite where I want it yet, but it's good enough for now," Shaka said nonchalantly as the electric current faded, returning the weapon to its normal form.
In the future, he planned to visit Dr. Vegapunk and request a sample of Holy Mother's Flame—or better yet, steal the formula for himself. If he could integrate that energy source into the Six Paths Staff, its destructive power would reach an entirely new level.
Perhaps one day, he could even upgrade it into a weapon rivaling the Ancient Weapons of legend.
Transformation
Then, under Hancock's incredulous gaze, the spiked club shifted.
Its form stretched and transformed into an elegant monk's staff.
Golden from top to bottom, the staff gleamed with a metallic sheen. The intricate engravings of scriptures and sacred imagery glowed subtly. At its end, six golden rings clinked together softly, emitting a melodic chime with every movement.
Measuring nearly three meters long, it was just about the same height as Shaka.
"This is its initial form," Shaka explained. "I call it the Six Paths Staff, representing the cycle of reincarnation in Buddhist teachings. It has six distinct transformations—so far, I've completed two."
Next, he planned to install a laser system inside.
With the assistance of Bai Long's unique abilities, the progress was much faster than expected.
Otherwise, it would've taken him much longer to reach this stage.
The Second Transformation: Gatling Bodhisattva
A moment later, Hancock watched in stunned silence as the Six Paths Staff shifted once again.
This time, it transformed into a massive Gatling gun.
Golden in color, its sleek design was covered in engraved scriptures. Each of its six thick, black barrels was adorned with a serene image of Avalokiteshvara, sitting in a meditative pose with a compassionate expression.
The ammunition belt carried massive, rocket-sized bullets that made Hancock's eyes widen in disbelief.
The entire weapon looked less like a mere firearm and more like a work of deadly art.
And yet, it seemed to suit Shaka perfectly as he held it effortlessly in his hands.
There was an undeniable aesthetic to it—an overwhelming sense of violent beauty.
"This is the second form—Gatling Bodhisattva," Shaka declared with a grin.
He lifted the stylish weapon, then picked up one of the oversized bullets from the workbench and handed it to Hancock.
"This," he said, "is the special ammunition for Gatling Bodhisattva. It's called the Six Paths Purifying Depleted Uranium Round."
Holy Firepower.
This was no ordinary bullet.
Not only did it have extreme armor-piercing capabilities, but it was also essentially a miniature rocket, capable of exploding on impact.
When combined with Shaka's immensely powerful Armament Haki, the result was divine intervention—cleansing all evil with compassionate annihilation.
The only downside? It burned through ammunition at an absurd rate.
If not for Bai Long's ability to replicate the Swallow-Swallow Fruit, it would be a nightmare to reload.
Without that, it'd be a case of:
"Ten seconds of firepower—thirty minutes of reloading."
Or worse—
"Endless shooting bliss—followed by an ammo crisis straight from hell."
Hancock's Shock
"Gatling Bodhisattva? Six Paths Purifying Depleted Uranium Round?"
Hancock was speechless.
She weighed the heavy bullet in her palm, noticing that even it had scriptures engraved on it.
With such an exaggerated caliber, the destructive power must be unimaginable.
Then, with a simple flick of a mechanism—
The Gatling Bodhisattva folded and morphed back into its original monk's staff form.
"Its second form is... acceptable," Shaka said casually.
Spinning the Six Paths Staff with practiced ease, he demonstrated a few swift, powerful flourishes.
Then, with a solemn expression, he clasped his hands together and recited with unwavering righteousness:
"Namo Gatling Bodhisattva, Six Paths Purifying Depleted Uranium Round. Three thousand six hundred rounds per breath. Boundless mercy, delivering all beings to salvation!"
"..."
Hancock had no words.
Two days ago, she had witnessed Shaka testing a prototype Gatling gun.
To her disbelief, he had coated its bullets with Haki and unleashed a relentless hailstorm of gunfire, tearing through a mountain like it was paper—reducing it to something resembling a honeycomb.
Even the warriors of Amazon Lily, including her sisters, had watched in stunned silence, their jaws practically on the floor.
Even she, the Empress of Amazon Lily, had been left momentarily speechless.
Now, just imagining the Gatling Bodhisattva unleashing its full firepower, combined with Shaka's overwhelming Haki, sent shivers down her spine.
One burst of gunfire could likely vaporize an entire warship on the spot.
Well... that's certainly one way to purify the Six Paths.
"....."