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"Teach-sama...!" Diamante shouted. "There are more and more of these vampires!"
"It looks like the whole town's crawling with them," Shiryu said calmly, even chuckling a little. "Teach, what should we do?"
"Zehahahahaha! We pull back for now! We'll think of something once we get out of here. Follow me!"
Blackbeard thrust his hands out, the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit erupting as he swallowed away everything in front of him to force open a path, then turned and bolted.
The Blackbeard Pirates rushed after him. But before long, an uneasy feeling crept over them. They crossed one intersection, only to quickly hit another that looked exactly the same. The surrounding buildings were all identical. Shiryu's face darkened. "What the hell is going on?!"
Baby-5's tone turned serious. "Are we lost? Why do I feel like we've been here before?"
"It's not just a feeling. We've definitely been here before." Shiryu pointed his sword at a house ahead. Deep gouges were carved into the wall. "Those sword marks are from when I cut down a vampire. Looks like this town's got us trapped."
Vasco shot, starting to panic, blurted, "How's that possible?! I remember we walked in a straight line to get here! We never turned at all! No matter how big this town is, if we go straight, we should be able to get out!"
Trebol cut in, "Could it be a Devil Fruit ability? Maybe some kinda illusion-type power, schlop."
"An illusion, huh? It's possible… but everything in front of us feels real. It doesn't look like an illusion." As he spoke, Shiryu suddenly drew and slashed. A razor-sharp blade of sword aura flew out, instantly cutting down several vampires. The sword slash kept going, lopping off the corner of a house with a crash.
Blackbeard's face had gone grim, his grin twisted. "Zehahahahaha… Illusion or not, who cares! If it is an illusion, then I'll devour it with darkness! Dark Vortex…!"
He unleashed his power. Darkness surged out, swallowing the surrounding buildings whole. In moments, everything around them had been erased, leaving behind a wide, leveled expanse.
"Alright, let's go," Blackbeard said, waving his crew forward.
Reassured by his display, the Blackbeard Pirates followed him at a run. But after about ten minutes, they found themselves back where they had started—the same empty area Blackbeard had flattened with Black Vortex. Realization hit them all at once, and an unprecedented chill ran through the crew.
Baby-5 trembled, panic in her voice. "C-could there really be ghosts in this town? Are we actually trapped in here?"
"Shut up!" Vasco shot roared. "Ghosts? Don't be stupid! There's no such thing in this world!"
Blackbeard slowly turned, scanning their surroundings, his expression deadly serious. "Just what kind of ability is this…?"
Blackbeard bared his teeth in a wide grin. "Zehahahahaha! This is becoming troublesome; we'll just have to rely on luck! My luck's always been pretty good—let's just break this completely!"
The Blackbeard Pirates immediately started tearing town apart. No matter what kind of formation it was, it had to be supported by various nodes. If they were lucky enough to destroy one or two of them, they might be able to break the illusion altogether.
Using such brutal methods, the crew not only wiped out the threat of the Vampires, they also smashed building after building, clearing their line of sight as the town was reduced to rubble.
Before long, Shiryu's sharp gaze caught something. He suddenly shouted, "Teach, something's wrong here. There seems to be a crack here."
"What?" Teach strode over and reached out, only for his hand to pass straight through the wall. He grinned. "Zehahahahaha, looks like this is it! Brothers, let's go!"
Once they found the exit, the Blackbeard Pirates filed through one after another. Very soon, Blackbeard noticed the scene around him change—he was now walking down a sloping staircase that seemed to stretch deep underground.
After descending for some time, they finally reached a fork: two tunnels, one to the left and one to the right. Seeing this, Blackbeard's grin grew even wider. "Zehahahahaha, I think I smell treasure!"
Shiryu stared at the split passage, a hint of excitement in his voice. "Two paths… In places like this, one is usually the path of life, the other the path of death. Teach, which one are you picking?"
Blackbeard eyed the two routes ahead and let out a low, sinister laugh. "Zehahahahaha, We'll take the left!"
With that, the Blackbeard Pirates headed down the left-hand path, unaware that a white‑haired figure had slipped in behind them.
Baby-5 glanced around at the surroundings, which looked like an underground city straight out of a book. She spoke solemnly, "A place like this really gives off an adventurous feeling."
"Zehahahahaha, it does! It's been a long time since I've had this feeling of hunting for treasure."
Corpses suddenly came into view up ahead, making the Blackbeard Pirates tense at once. Arrows jutted from every body, leaving no doubt as to how they'd died.
"Be careful…" Shiryu warned, his gaze shifting to the countless holes in the passage ceiling ahead. He said coldly, "See those holes up there? The arrows must've been fired from there. These poor bastards were probably just like us—figured out this town's secret and came here. They were unlucky… and died right here."
Blackbeard grinned, teeth bared. "Zehahahahaha! We really oughta thank them. If not for this, we might've walked straight into the same trap."
The very next second, the corpses on the ground twitched—then, one after another, began to rise.
"T-They're moving! They're reanimated!" Diamante shouted in shock.
As the corpses stood, they opened their mouths toward the Blackbeard pirates, baring sharp fangs. Blackbeard's expression hardened. "These guys have turned into vampires…"
"In this town, it seems anyone who's killed turns into a vampire," Shiryu said grimly, drawing his sword a fraction from its sheath.
Blackbeard waved his hand with a wicked grin. "Everyone, fall back! I'll take care of this!"
"Dark Vortex…"
In an instant, a mass of black mist surged from Blackbeard's palm and spread across the floor. The vampires were quickly dragged in and swallowed by the Vortex. Still unsatisfied, Blackbeard widened its range, engulfing the mechanisms hidden in the ceiling that fired the arrows. Moments later, the seething darkness split apart on the ground, leaving a clear path ahead.
"Alright, brothers—follow me."
The Blackbeard Pirates charged forward. Passing through the gate, they found themselves in what looked like an underground military base. As soon as it registered their presence, the once-dim facility slowly lit up, lamps flaring to life one after another.
No one seemed surprised by the lights. Instead, all eyes fixed on the large object draped in a black cloth in front of them. Blackbeard gave Vasco shot a meaningful glance.
Vascoshot rushed over and yanked the cloth away. The moment it lifted, a brilliant golden glow flooded the room.
"This is gold…"
"It really is gold! And so much of it!"
The Blackbeard pirates trembled with excitement. They hurried to tear the covers off three more shrouded heaps, revealing mounds of gold bars. Altogether, it had to be dozens of tons—maybe even more.
The sheer volume left them speechless. In all their years at sea, none of them had ever seen this much gold in one place.
Blackbeard threw his head back and roared, "Zehahahahaha! We're rich, we're rich! I actually found a treasure this huge!" He sprinted forward, grabbed a few gleaming bars in both hands, and held them tight, eyes blazing with unrestrained ecstasy.
They were pirates—who among them didn't love gold?
"Teach, look!" At that moment, Shiryu called out to Blackbeard.
Blackbeard's grin stretched nearly to his ears, the thrill of striking gold lighting up his face. Following Shiryu's gaze, he spotted a skeleton slumped on a golden chair, bony fingers still locked around a gleaming golden treasure chest.
Drawn by the sight, the crew moved in. Judging from the tattered coat and rusted weapons, the skeleton had once been a pirate. Even in death, he wouldn't release that chest—and that only made everyone more curious about what was inside.
"Who is this guy?" Vasco shot asked, staring at the skeleton.
"Who knows! I'm more interested in what's in that chest," Blackbeard replied. Without another word, he ripped the golden chest from the skeleton's grip and forced it open with brute strength.
Inside lay a purple Devil Fruit, its surface covered in swirling violet patterns.
"A Devil Fruit…!" the crew yelled, their excitement bursting out all at once.
"Hey, what kind of devil fruit is that?"
"Looks like there's a blueprint in there too!"
Hearing that, Blackbeard reached back into the chest and pulled out a folded blueprint. On it was an illustration of a Devil Fruit—identical to the one he was holding.
"Zehahahahaha! My luck's through the roof!" Blackbeard roared. The blueprint clearly labeled it as a Zoan-type: Bat-Bat Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Vampire Model.
"Zehahahahaha… the Vampire Fruit! This is the Mythical Zoan I've always dreamed of!" he cackled, eyes gleaming with greed.
He was overjoyed. He had already seized the Dark-Dark Fruit, and now the Vampire Fruit as well. His only regret was failing to claim the Tremor-Tremor Fruit at Marineford—but in the end, it didn't matter. The Shadow-Shadow Fruit might lack the raw destructive force of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but its versatility far surpassed it.
With the Dark-Dark Fruit, the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, and now the Vampire Fruit in his grasp, Blackbeard was certain there would be no one left in this world who could stand against him.
Just as the crew were reveling in their discovery, a flurry of sword slashes suddenly tore through the air from behind. Baby 5, Vasco shot, Shiryu—and even Blackbeard himself—were all caught off guard and cut down in a single instant. Blood sprayed from their wounds as they collapsed to the ground.
The Devil Fruit flew from Blackbeard's hand, spinning through the air—only to be calmly caught before it could hit the floor by an aged, steady hand.
"Thank you, young men. If not for you, it would have taken me much longer to find the vampire fruit," came a weary, seasoned voice.
"Damn it…" Blackbeard growled, forcing himself to turn despite the pain lancing through his lower back. His eyes landed on a man in a red suit, draped in a red cloak, with an old, lined face—but Blackbeard recognized him immediately.
"It's you…"
"Redfield… why are you here…?"
The one who had appeared before them was indeed the legendary Red the Aloof—Patrick Redfield.
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