Chapter 99: The Blood of an Elf
After confirming that the members of the Big Mom Pirates were thoroughly intimidated, Kazuma Yumesaki withdrew his Reiatsu with a look of satisfaction. The spectral silhouette of the Shinigami vanished into thin air.
The pirates felt as if they had just been granted a second lease on life. When they looked at Yumesaki now, their eyes were filled with a mixture of profound respect and paralyzing dread.
This was especially true for Charlotte Linlin. At the moment the Shinigami appeared, she had felt the impact more intensely than anyone else.
As the user of the Soul-Soul Fruit, she felt as though she had momentarily lost control over her Devil Fruit ability. Every soul within her reach had trembled, seized by an instinctive, bottomless terror and a desperate urge to submit.
There was no longer any doubt in her mind—the man standing before her was her natural enemy.
Where did a monster like this even come from?
Charlotte Linlin screamed inwardly. Her gaze shifted dark and uncertain, yet she found herself nodding in compliance with Yumesaki's decision. She feared that if she didn't, her soul would be ripped from her body and subjected to unimaginable agony. As the master of the Soul-Soul Fruit, she understood better than anyone the sheer cruelty of pain inflicted upon the soul.
The others followed suit, nodding one by one to signal their submission.
Soon after, Yumesaki raised a second finger and declared: "Second order. Everyone, including Charlotte Linlin, must hand over one tube of blood."
Blood donation?
The crowd was stunned. What kind of situation was this now?
Tsunade gave a faint, knowing smile as she produced several test tubes and began drawing blood from each of them in turn.
Katakuri, unable to restrain his curiosity, finally asked, "Lord Yumesaki, what use is our blood to you?"
Yumesaki looked at him, addressing the man whose back was said to never touch the ground. "We discovered a unique physical structure that allows a person to consume two Devil Fruits."
"Through research, we have developed an injectable drug that grants anyone the ability to possess two powers."
"However, that is not our limit."
"We intend to study various specialized physical structures to refine this drug, so that those injected can consume three, four, or even more Devil Fruits."
"Your Totto Land encompasses almost every race in the world. Charlotte Linlin herself possesses a special constitution—a 'balloon of steel.' This is perfect for our research."
Upon hearing this, Charlotte Linlin's eyes flashed with an intense light. A drug that allowed someone to eat multiple Devil Fruits...
She wanted it. She wanted it desperately.
If she possessed such power, she could completely crush the other Four Emperors.
"Lord Yumesaki, if this research is successful, would we be able to enjoy its benefits as well?"
"Of course," Yumesaki nodded.
Charlotte Linlin's eyes darted around as she plotted, then she suddenly called out, "Smoothie."
"I am here, Mama," Smoothie responded immediately.
Linlin commanded, "From this moment on, you will stay by Lord Yumesaki's side. Obey his every whim. Understood?"
Charlotte Smoothie was shocked, but she dared not argue.
Linlin then turned to Yumesaki with a wide, toothy grin. "Lord Yumesaki, Smoothie is my daughter. Please allow her to stay with you to handle any minor matters you might have. In the future, if you have any orders for us, you can simply relay them through her."
Watching this scene unfold, Kaido felt his eyelid twitch. *As expected of you, Linlin. You're even using the 'beautiful woman' strategy.*
He didn't dare say it out loud, though. He could only curse her in his heart.
Then again, he, Kaido, wasn't exactly lacking a daughter of his own. Once he returned, he decided he would send that senseless daughter of his to Yumesaki's side to serve him faithfully. Whether Yumesaki would actually accept her or not was a problem Kaido didn't bother considering yet.
Yumesaki looked up at Charlotte Smoothie. She wasn't just Linlin's 14th daughter; she was one of the Three Sweet Commanders of Totto Land.
Wait—at this point in time, they were still the Four Sweet Commanders.
Yumesaki recalled that it was only after the Paramount War at Marineford that one of the Supernovas, "Mad Monk" Urouge, would enter the New World and defeat one of them, leading to that commander's removal from the ranks. Since that hadn't happened yet, Totto Land still boasted four.
Smoothie was the only woman among them and arguably one of the most beautiful of Linlin's daughters. Her most striking feature was her pair of exceptionally long legs—which were actually taller than Yumesaki's entire body.
It couldn't be helped. Yumesaki stood at 183 centimeters, while Charlotte Smoothie towered at 4.6 meters. Standing before her, Yumesaki was effectively a dwarf.
"Very well."
After a moment of consideration, Yumesaki agreed. Having a long-legged beauty following him around to serve him wasn't exactly a hardship. Why would he refuse?
Seeing this, Charlotte Linlin let out a boisterous laugh. Smoothie wasn't just a gesture of sincerity; she was a hostage placed at Yumesaki's side. The fact that he accepted her meant he had truly accepted the Big Mom Pirates' surrender.
It was a win-win for both sides.
Before departing, Yumesaki warned Linlin that the events of today were to remain a strict secret. Not a word was to reach anyone, especially the intelligence agents of the World Government.
Linlin patted her chest, guaranteeing that nothing would leak. Only then did Yumesaki feel at ease to leave.
Upon returning to Egghead Island, Yumesaki handed all the blood samples over to Vegapunk and the others for analysis.
Vegapunk remarked, "I would also like the Lineage Factor of the Giant Race."
"I can do that."
Yumesaki led his group back to Little Garden. He defeated Dorry the Blue Ogre and Brogy the Red Ogre, extracting enough blood from them to bring back to Vegapunk.
Afterward, Yumesaki asked, "Do you need blood from the Merfolk or the Fish-Men?"
Vegapunk shook his head. "Not for now. This is plenty. However..."
"However what? Just say it."
Vegapunk hesitated for a moment before speaking. "If possible... could you give me a little bit of Elf blood?"
The man was bold; he was actually targeting Serie.
Whether it was the Giants, the Oni, or even the two Lunarians, they were all races belonging to the world of One Piece. But Serie was a true Elf from another world entirely.
She was of a race that didn't exist in this universe. In Vegapunk's eyes, her blood held a research value that transcended this world. He craved it.
"Don't even think about it," Yumesaki refused flatly. "Are you really not afraid that a Great Mage from the age of myth will lose her temper and mince you into fish food?"
Vegapunk argued, "Isn't this for the sake of science? Who knows, we might unlock the secret to Elven longevity. Lord Yumesaki, surely you don't wish to meet an early grave yourself?"
Yumesaki stared at him. "...Seriously, who taught you to talk like that? The manipulation is laid on a bit thick."
Despite Vegapunk's flowery reasoning, Yumesaki kept his head. He wasn't willing to risk a rift in his relationship with Serie over a request like this. It wasn't necessary. Within the Multiverse, there were countless ways to achieve immortality; he didn't lack options.
He gave a firm rejection.
To Yumesaki's surprise, however, when Serie heard about the request, she voluntarily drew a tube of her own blood and handed it to Vegapunk.
Overjoyed, Vegapunk grabbed the sample and vanished into his laboratory immediately. Tobirama, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Kabuto followed close behind him.
"What was that about?"
Yumesaki looked at Serie in bewilderment, unable to understand why she would just give her blood away like that. "Aren't you afraid he'll actually make a clone of you?"
While it was unlikely Vegapunk would go that far, nothing was certain.
"If he does, I'll just kill him," Serie said, her face an unreadable mask.
A moment later, she let out a soft, weary sigh. "You know... Flamme has been dead for a thousand years."
Yumesaki gave a short "oh" of acknowledgment. He knew that much.
Serie continued, "If there had been someone back then who could have researched magic to grant longevity... would Flamme still be gone?"
Yumesaki remained silent.
"Since Flamme passed, I have seen off many disciples over these thousands of years," Serie said. "Some went peacefully. Others held my hand moments before the end and told me they didn't want to die."
"Regrettably, I do not possess magic that can grant long life. I cannot even imagine what it would be like for a human to live that long. I have simply spent my life watching my disciples leave me, one after another, with my own eyes."
Yumesaki understood. He truly did. The eight sufferings of life: birth, old age, sickness, death, being joined with what one dislikes, being separated from what one loves, not getting what one desires, and the suffering of the five clinging aggregates.
For millennia, Serie had taken many disciples, most of whom were human. These humans usually had only a century before they left her side. Thus, for thousands of years, Serie had lived in a cycle of grief, remembering the favorite spells and the faces of every student—in a way, it was its own form of torture.
If Vegapunk could truly crack the mystery of Elven longevity through her blood, perhaps her future disciples could stay with her for a long time.
"But have you considered one thing?" Yumesaki asked, looking at her. "If you truly find a way to grant long life, how will the human empires view that power? They will come to seize it."
"If you refuse them, emperors and nobles nearing the end of their lives will do anything, no matter how desperate or cruel, to take it from you. Human greed is far more terrifying than you imagine."
At that, Serie let out a soft, dry laugh. "No matter how greedy humans are, I know them better than you do. If they truly dare to raise a hand against me, I don't mind letting them taste true despair."
Did they really think she, a Great Mage who had survived since the mythical era, was some helpless relic? If she unleashed her wrath, not even the Demon Race could withstand it, let alone mere humans.
"And besides," Serie added, "taking ten thousand steps back, even if I were somehow killed... wouldn't I still have you? You would bring me back, wouldn't you?"
Yumesaki nodded solemnly. "If that day ever comes, I will bring you back."
Serie laughed, then spoke again. "Actually, it's far too early for us to be worrying about this. The secret of longevity isn't something that can be solved so easily."
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