Marionette - [One Piece]

2

3rd pov

"Pfft--"

"Dahahahhahaha-!!"

"-Nyahahahhahaha!!"

The two burst out laughing, Benn just sighed at them shaking his head. The others look dumbfounded.

"Come on! Don't scare us like that!!"
They exclaimed with sharp teeth at the two laughing individuals.

"--hahaha!... Sorry... Sorry... But to answer your question let me explain it to you. Oh and we're far from the same as minks.

For starters, A Chimera Ant's life starts from an egg, which the Queen hangs from the ceiling of her shelter. When it hatches a Chimera Ant will emerge in a full adult form ready to work for the Queen. Chimera Ant queens possess an entirely unique method of reproduction known as Phagogenesis a term meaning reproduction through devouring. By eating other creatures, a Chimera Ant queen can impart the characteristics of ingested creatures onto the next generation of Chimera Ants it gives birth to. She can produce up to five Ants with one meal.

To take advantage of the genes of a particular species, Chimera Ants have been known to feed until the fodder species is driven to extinction in its ecosystem. Humans are known to be extremely nutritious fodder for Chimera Ant queens. Each generation of Chimera Ants is profoundly different from the one that preceded it, and even individual Ants from the same generation exhibit profound genetic differences, which are expressed by their unique appearance: a fodder species/Ant hybrid, the former component depending on the queen's diet. Genes from multiple species can be mixed in the same Ant. Regardless of their non-insect genes, many of them retain arthropod legs.

Thanks to the unique method of reproduction of the species, Chimera Ant soldiers often inherit advantageous traits of the fodder species the queen fed on. Should the prey in question be humans, the resulting Ants will be more intelligent than ones born from wild animals to different extents, stronger, have the ability to talk, learn and operate machinery such as firearms, and even the potential to use nen. Conversely, some of the more primitive ones are capable of feeling aura without seeing it. Higher-ranked soldier Ants are born with the ability to see the aura." Y/N explained to them.

"Woah..."

"That a lot to take in."

"I know right. And to think we humans are known to be extremely nutritious food for their queen... Sends shivers down my spine." The others shudder at the thought.

"I got a question Y/N - chan."

"Hmm. Sure, what is it?"

"How about the king? You also mention soldiers earlier, how does your colony work?" One of the members questioned, curious about how does Chimera Ants status work? Is it by strength; the stronger they get, the higher their rank? Or once they're born they already had a purpose.

"Ooh, that well. A Chimera Ant colony is organized into a military-like chain of command. At the top of the hierarchy is the Queen, who hunts on her own until she produces a sufficient amount of soldiers to procure food in her stead. In the meanwhile, she keeps moving until she finds a suitable location to build a nest, after which she spawns hordes of Construction Ants, where she remains until her death.

She produces a King at regular intervals, who leave the nest to mate with a female of another species to breed the next generation's Queen. Right below the Queen and King in the hierarchy are the Royal Guards (Immediate Guard Force), a handful of elite soldiers. Initially tasked with protecting the Queen, they are assigned to the King after his birth and leave the nest with him. A Queen's appetite increases while she prepares to give birth to the Royal Guards, at which point she stops spawning Soldiers, and peaks while she is pregnant with the King. Soldier Ants are organized in three ranks, their number is inversely proportional to their degree of strength and authority: directly under the Royal Guards, and, after the King's birth, the Queen, is the Squadron Leaders each in command of a group of Officers (Chief Soldier), who in turn have authority over Peons (Combat Soldier) and Drudges (Chores Soldier). Nya." Y/N finishes explaining.

"Woah. That's a lot to take in. So in other words, first, the royal family, then the royal guards, squadron leaders, officers, peons, and last drudges, right?"

"Nya! Correct!"

"Hm... How about you Y/N - chan? Where do you belong? And how about Nen?" Asked Shanks to the h/c Neko.

"Oh that... It's a secret and it's complicated to explain." Replied Y/N giggling at the end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~🦋💜🦋~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm sorry for the wait🤧 been busy with school.
😔This whole chapter is just an explanation about the Chimera Ants.
But the next one will be back at the story😁

Thank you for the reads, comments, and votes💕
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter😊😶💞

~~~~~~~~~~~~~🦋💜🦋~~~~~~~~~~~~~