Some people gasped in shock and disbelief.
...
BOOM!
The entire ground trembled violently. The immense Spirit Pressure was so tangible it felt like standing in the middle of a heavy downpour—everyone could clearly feel a crushing weight pressing down hard on their shoulders from above.
In an instant, more than thirty thousand people simply could not hold on for even a single second. One after another, they dropped to their knees with heavy thuds.
Countless others were forced to bend their legs, straining with every ounce of strength they had just to remain standing.
"Impossible...! What kind of power is this?!"
"Is it Conqueror's Haki? No... it's something far greater, something on an entirely different level!"
"Damn it! This pressure affects the soul itself! I can even feel my bones aching in agony..."
Sighs of shock and fear rang out across the crowd. Many people's faces turned bright red as they held their breath, too afraid to move even a single muscle.
They feared that if they so much as breathed too deeply, they would lose their strength and be unable to withstand the pressure any longer.
Out of more than one hundred thousand people, only a very small fraction remained completely steady and calm under this force.
Yet every single one of them kept themselves hidden among the crowd, choosing not to reveal themselves at such a time.
They looked up at Vladimir standing in the sky, their hearts trembling with awe.
"How terrifying... This is power on the level of a Four Emperor! Is this really the Vice Captain of Phantom?!"
"The second-in-command of this terrifying organization... Hahaha... he is nothing less than a demon king!"
"I think we'll have to be extremely careful around this Aizen from now on. Just his presence alone was enough to knock tens of thousands of people to their knees... and those weren't just ordinary weaklings either!"
Conqueror's Haki could produce similar effects, but it was never this overwhelming or domineering. Even Red-Haired Shanks couldn't reach this level.
Representatives from all the major factions spoke among themselves, their expressions grave and serious.
"Fufufufu..."
Doflamingo chuckled softly. He remained completely unfazed by the pressure, his face calm and unchanging.
"Compared to the Spirit Pressure I've faced before, this is barely a third of that strength. And yet more than thirty thousand people couldn't take it. How surprising."
He observed everything with keen interest.
High above, Vladimir stood floating in mid-air, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint blue glow appeared within his pupils.
At the same time, a soft, shimmering light began to glow around him.
In the next moment, the Spirit Pressure surged dramatically in intensity.
The shaking of the ground grew far stronger and more violent. This time, it was not just a sensation—this power actually affected the physical world itself.
Thousands more people could not bear it any longer. Sweat poured down their faces, and they collapsed weakly to the ground, looking as if their very souls were being torn apart.
"Oh? As expected of heroes and leaders from all over the world. You have proven yourselves far more capable than I expected."
Vladimir stood with his hands in his pockets, a faint smile on his face. "I'll give you all some credit—for human beings, you have done remarkably well to stay standing under this pressure."
More than sixty thousand people still remained upright!
But upon hearing his words, a large man in the crowd flew into a rage. "Don't look down on us, Aizen! Just because you can force half of us to submit with your aura, don't let your arrogance go too far!"
His words struck a chord with many others, and angry glances turned toward Vladimir.
Vladimir showed no sign of being offended. Instead, he laughed softly and said, "Arrogant? You are the one being arrogant. Do you really think you can feel proud of yourself just because you've endured only one-tenth of my full pressure?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the pressure surged once again, reaching an even greater height.
BOOM!
It felt as though the sky and earth had split apart. A deafening roar echoed inside everyone's minds.
Many people could not withstand it any longer. Blood began to flow from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and they lost consciousness instantly.
The large man who had spoken earlier looked terrified. He watched helplessly as his knees began to buckle, and finally—thud!—he fell hard to the ground.
"Damn it!!"
He was covered in cold sweat, straining with every last bit of his strength.
But in the end, he could not keep his soul stable any longer. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed completely.
Just then, all the pressure vanished instantly, as if it had never existed at all.
Everyone felt an immediate lightness in their bodies. Then they realized that in less than a minute, their clothes were soaked through with sweat, as if they had just been pulled out of the sea.
"So this is the true power of Phantom's Vice Captain?" someone murmured in fear. "Someone who stands even above the commanders... terrifyingly strong!"
In just a short while, everyone had gained a completely new understanding of Aizen.
Vladimir, however, remained calm and composed. He spoke softly: "It was a little hard to control, and I accidentally eliminated nearly seventy thousand people. But it doesn't matter. Congratulations to those who remain—you all qualify."
The number of people who passed was far less than fifty thousand—probably only around forty thousand in total.
In the very last moment, tens of thousands more had fallen.
This was all because that fool in the crowd had deliberately provoked him, causing everyone else to suffer unnecessarily.
But there was no point in worrying about those who had been eliminated now.
"Can we go in now?" a voice called out from among the crowd.
Hearing this, Vladimir's attention immediately focused on the speaker.
It was a man wearing a long cloak, deliberately hiding his face. From his voice, he sounded quite elderly—at least fifty years old.
He had remained completely relaxed throughout the entire process, making him one of the strongest present among the hundreds of thousands of people here.
"Hahaha..."
Vladimir smiled and said, "You may enter. But before you do, let me make it clear to everyone what the rules are for this auction—the rules of Phantom."
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