Chapter 39 Sleeping Ancient Town! The Legendary Sleeping Power!
A thick fog obscured everything!
Darkness, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
"The ship, Captain, what do we do?" the young crew member at the helm asked anxiously. In such dense fog, ships are most prone to accidents—running aground, colliding, or getting caught in whirlpools.
"Do nothing. Leave it to fate!"
Lister sat down to "meditate."
For a good half-hour, the fog gradually thinned. The lookout, who had been keeping watch, raised his binoculars and scanned the area.
Suddenly, he shouted excitedly, "Hey, I see an island!"
Navigators are used to such things; in the Grand Line, common sense rarely applies, and anything can happen.
The helmsman breathed a sigh of relief—seeing the island meant safety was near.
Lister opened his eyes. His "meditation" sharpened his consciousness and mind, and was extremely useful for cultivating Observation Haki.
A quiet—no, deathly still—ancient town lay ahead.
Footsteps echoed as Lister walked alone down the empty street. He did not bring the three people from the boat. He wasn't worried—they could not sail away until the full moon due to the ocean currents.
The town's buildings were tall and slender, with pointed arches leaning toward a Gothic style—mysterious and eerie.
The main street divided the town into four parts, converging at a central flowerbed. A tall, withered tree had long lost its vitality, with seven or eight fist-sized bats hanging from its branches. Sensing the approach of strangers, their scarlet eyes opened.
Finger pistol bullet!
Lister used his finger gun to shoot out air bullets, knocking down the swooping bats, and picked one up to examine it.
"Vampire bats!"
He walked north to the back mountain of the town, where dead trees formed a forest and huge rocks were scattered like ruins.
The wind blew, dry trees swayed, and eerie wails echoed. Branches bared fangs and claws like evil spirits.
Soon, Lister saw a half-collapsed church, far from the town.
Like the town, the church was eerily quiet, devoid of living people. Lister stepped over the fence and crouched down.
"Bone."
"A lot of bones," Lister exclaimed in surprise.
"The townspeople gathered at the church, but for some reason, they were all wiped out in an instant?"
Inside, Lister found stones with inscriptions, but he could not read them.
"Churches usually have underground chambers." After searching without success, Lister frowned and began looking for mechanisms.
Boom!
After pressing a stone slab, the ground cracked open, releasing a strange, rumbling sound that grew louder and louder.
"Um?"
Suddenly, one bat after another swarmed out, densely packed like dark clouds, creating a tremendous spectacle.
Lister lit the torches he had prepared; the light dispelled the darkness, and the attacking bats dared not approach.
Descending the stone steps, he arrived at a large hall with bones scattered on the ground and a circular altar in the center—a place of sacrifice.
Lister's gaze fell on a wooden box on the altar.
"Moonwalk!"
Fearing traps on the ground, Lister approached through the air, grabbed the box, and retreated to his original position.
The lock was badly rusted and broke easily. Lister took a breath and gently opened it. On the red silk sat a deep purple apple, unlike normal apples, its peel and flesh covered with spiral patterns.
Devil Fruits grant abilities to those who eat them, but the eater loses the ability to swim.
Some call it a treasure of the sea, worth over 100 million Berries; others call it the incarnation of a sea demon.
Lister grabbed the apple, put it in his mouth without hesitation, and took a bite. A major characteristic of Devil Fruits is their nauseating taste.
Lister frowned but ate it all.
The fruit disappeared instantly after entering his stomach.
Lister closed his eyes and muttered, "How strange! It's not digestion and absorption—it's integration. The fruit has merged with my body, and I can feel its incredible power."
Lister experienced a completely new power.
Zoan-type Devil Fruits are divided into three types: Normal, Ancient, and Mythical Zoan. They can be Carnivorous or Herbivorous and transform into three forms: Human, Beast, and Human-Beast.
Compared to Paramecia and Logia types, Zoan-types provide the greatest boost to human strength, speed, and vitality—ideal for close combat.
Lister had traveled to Sleeping Town on Misty Island to find the precious fruit that Barolok Redfield, who escaped Impel Down after the Marineford War, sought to regain his youth: the Bat Fruit, Mythical Zoan type, Vampire form!
Barolok Redfield, once aloof, was incredibly powerful in his youth, standing shoulder to shoulder with Roger and Whitebeard.
The book Island of Mist confirmed the existence of Sleeping Ancient Town, making it the strongest and most suitable result Lister could obtain.
Lister opened his eyes, his body suddenly growing taller to about 3 meters. His clothes tore to shreds, revealing skin as pale as a corpse.
Vampire Form—Human-Beast Type!
Power—immense power!
Lister leaped lightly into the air. With a loud bang, a hole appeared in the ground about 15 meters from the hall.
"So fast!"
Lister appeared mid-air, steadied himself, glanced at the collapsing spire, and gasped.
For the first time, he experienced a disconnect between his consciousness and his body's speed. It was as if his mind planned a step with his left foot, but his body stepped with left, then right, then left again.
Being one step ahead is genius; two steps ahead is madness.
A lack of coordination can cause tripping while walking and be fatal in combat.
"However, you can exercise."
Putting aside the problems, Lister continued experimenting.
"Storm Kick!"
Call!
An invisible air slash fell, creating a nearly 30-meter-long crack in the ground, smooth and 2 meters deep.
"Shave!"
Boom!
The church collapsed. Centered on where Lister stood, the earth cracked outward like a spider web, forming a bowl-shaped crater.
Lister raised his hand. His fingers had become slender with sharp, iron-hard claws. Even without a finger gun, he could pierce stone.
"Flying Finger Gun—Draw!"
Boom!
With a flick of his finger, a boulder exploded and shattered.
"Moonwalk!"
Bang!
Lister vanished instantly. In just three Moonwalks, he arrived at the North Coast, a kilometer away.
"It's difficult to test now, but I estimate the Sixth Form is about four times stronger than before, with room for improvement."
Lister walked under moonlight back to the south bank where the ship was moored.
"Um?"
The faint smell of blood was so strong he jumped onto the boat and immediately saw three mummified corpses lying in different places, their deaths extremely gruesome.
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End of this chapter...