Marco’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“How does that even make sense?” “Keep up!” Caesar hastened his steps, with Marco and Robin following close behind, pursuing the bat all the way.
Before long, after crossing a mottled stone path, a dilapidated church appeared before the trio.
The interior of the church was completely bare, lacking even a single holy statue.
The black bat hung upside down from an old chandelier whose black paint was almost completely flaked off, its head buried as it licked its wings.
Caesar scanned his surroundings, his gaze settling on the weathered murals on the wall.
He turned to Robin.
“Miss Robin, I’ll leave this to you.” Robin nodded and inspected the wall paintings.
A figure possessing bat wings was particularly striking among the images.
Though the stone wall had suffered centuries of wind and weather, chipped and cracked, one could still barely decipher the story it told.
“I see.
What Mr.
Caesar is searching for must be the legendary Vampire Fruit, yes?” “That’s right.
What does the mural say?” Caesar asked curiously.
“Nothing out of the ordinary, just the history of what once transpired here,” Robin explained.
“Because Sleeping Town was remote and small, it was constantly plagued by pirate raids—until a Devil Fruit user with the Vampire Fruit protected the people.
Because his fruit allowed him to maintain eternal youth by consuming blood, he was revered and worshipped by the locals.” As Robin spoke, her expression turned solemn.
“That was until his power of eternal youth encroached upon the domain of the gods.
A group of angels dressed in white arrived to purge the vampire…” “Angels dressed in white?
Most likely those CP0 bastards,” Marco sneered.
“Looks like even the Celestial Dragons can’t resist the temptation of eternal youth.” Robin nodded, her thoughts aligning with Marco’s.
“At the end of the story, the fruit was reborn on this island.
A priest who had once received grace from the previous user hid it away and built this church to prevent the World Government from ever finding it.” Marco looked puzzled.
“But if agents from the World Government saw this mural, wouldn’t the location be exposed immediately?” “No.
Information regarding the fruit’s whereabouts isn’t recorded directly on the surface; it’s hidden within the structure of the painting…” Robin shook her head.
“These characters are constructed using the directional flow of the painting’s lines, using a very ancient form of pictographs.
The record is extremely subtle.
Even with my knowledge of ancient scripts, I almost overlooked it.” “The words translate to: Sun and Moon, Rotation, House, Earth.
The ancients used the rotation of the sun and moon to describe the passage of time, so when translated, the meaning is: Beneath the Clock Tower.” Having uncovered the clue, the three made their way to the clock tower.
After searching for a good while, they finally found the hidden mechanism leading underground.
*Rumble…* As the mechanism was triggered, the floorboards and stone tiles groaned loudly, revealing a dark tunnel before them.
Caesar casually tossed a lighted torch into the tunnel, drawing startled glances from the two beside him.
“I’m exploring an ancient ruin—isn’t it normal to carry a torch?” Marco grinned.
“Makes sense!” “…” *The question is, where did you pull that torch out from?* Robin took a deep look at Caesar.
Gold Caesar.
Male, eighteen years old, native of Loguetown in the East Blue.
Big boss of the Caesar Group, owner of numerous industries—the cornerstone being resource extraction.
He had risen like a meteor two years ago and was dubbed by the World Economic News as “The Man Who Commands Infinite Resources.” A man like this, opting to abandon a life of luxury and risk his neck traveling to the New World in pursuit of an illusory Devil Fruit.
Though they hadn’t interacted much on this voyage, she could tell he was a man with a clear understanding of the world—and a distinct ambition.
Holding the torch aloft, Caesar stepped into the tunnel.
The flames flickered within the narrow passage, casting light on the weathered, stained walls.
The tunnel was not long, but the air was thick with a damp, musty stench, heavy with the decaying scent of forgotten time.
“With an environment like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if a skeleton jumped out at us the next second,” Marco remarked casually, blue flames dancing at his fingertips as he swaggered ahead.
Caesar didn’t reply.
His focus was entirely glued to the space ahead, his heart practically bursting with impatience.
Over the years, he had tried countless methods to break past his physical limits—herbal tonics, medicinal remedies, even paying absurd sums to hire Marine officers to teach him the Six Powers techniques and Haki…
Yet his innate physical talent was simply too poor.
Even after dumping mountains of gold and blood into it, training every day until he nearly fainted, he had only managed to learn *Sori* out of the Six Powers.
As for Haki, he hadn’t caught even a glimpse of it.
His sole consolation was unlocking a hidden system achievement for the Six Powers.
Once all six techniques were mastered, he would be rewarded with the Rokushiki Secret Technique: Return of Life.
Caesar believed that if he could master Return of Life, he might be able to shatter his ceiling.
However, based on his current training rate, even under the most ideal conditions, it would take at least another ten years.
Ten years…
How many ten-year periods did a person get in life?
The current year was Sea Calendar 1516.
There were still four years before Luffy set sail, and one year before Ace set out.
Judging by the original plot, the next decade would undoubtedly be fraught with turmoil.
What state the world would end up in by then was completely unpredictable.
Was he supposed to just float along like the common masses, buffeted by the tides of the era?
Like hell he would!
He was a transmigrator!
Even if he didn’t aim to rule the seas, he had to at least possess enough power to control his own destiny.
Otherwise, he might as well go hang himself with a pair of silk stockings!
At the end of the tunnel stood a heavy stone door carved with a giant bat relief.
Two blood-red gems were embedded where the bat’s eyes should be, gleaming ominously under the torchlight.
Robin stepped forward to examine it closely, feeling around the edges for a while before giving the door a firm push.
Finding it unyielding, she calmly stepped back two paces.
“There’s a bar stone blocking the door from behind.
It can only be dismantled by force.
I’m not sure if there are traps inside, but my guess is probably not—it’s just a hidden chamber built by ordinary people…” “Leave it to me.
Step back a bit.” Marco stepped forward, blue flames surging around his body.
His arms morphed into pale blue fiery wings to shelter the two behind him, while his legs transformed into massive avian talons.
With a powerful kick, he drove his claw right into the stone door!
*BOOM!* With a thunderous crash, the stone door shattered and collapsed, filling the tunnel with swirling dust.
Fortunately, there were no hidden traps behind the door, only a spacious, empty stone chamber.
In the center of the chamber sat a solitary stone altar.
Resting on the altar was an exquisite wooden box.
Intricate patterns were carved into its surface, surrounded by several softly shimmering gemstones.
“Is that the Vampire Fruit?” Marco retracted his wings, staring at the central altar with curiosity in his eyes.
Caesar didn’t answer.
He casually tossed a stone beside the altar, and seeing that no traps were triggered, he hurried over to the altar and cautiously opened the wooden box.
Inside lay a strange fruit.
Its surface was covered in swirling arabesque patterns, colored a dark violet-black with a stroke of blood-red at its base.
Its heavy color scheme seemed to radiate endless power.
The moment he laid eyes on the fruit, Caesar’s heart hammered violently against his ribs.
His blood boiled, pulsing so intensely that his eardrums throbbed.
*System!
Collect the Vampire Fruit!* Grabbing the fruit in his hand, Caesar cried out with urgency in his mind.
In the next instant, the fruit in Caesar’s hand vanished into thin air.
In its place appeared a golden card the size of a playing card!
[Collected Item: Devil Fruit (Zoan Type · Bat-Bat Fruit · Mythical Zoan · Model: Vampire)] [Rarity: S] [Collection Value: SS] [Evaluation: Power and Speed are both Rank A.
Rather than a vampire, it’s more like a vampire bat.
Can you accept wings growing out of your arms?] [Achievement Unlocked: Collected a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit] [Achievement Reward: Masterpiece Upgrade] [Masterpiece Upgrade: Can be used on an item to grant it a comprehensive upgrade.] [Note: Cannot be used on the system.
Cannot grant Devil Fruit users immunity to seawater.
The Devil Fruit drowning curse is an external interference factor, requiring main quest progress to reach 30% before achieving immunity.] [Main Quest: Collect the World] [Quest Progress: 9%] “Use Masterpiece Upgrade on the Vampire Fruit!” *Buzz—* The fruit card in Caesar’s hand flashed with a brilliant light.
A moment later, an opulent gold border enveloped the card.
[Collected Item: Daylight Vampire Fruit (Zoan Type · Human-Human Fruit · Mythical Zoan · Model: Vampire)] [Evaluation: Powerful and magnificent!
Unafraid of sunlight, unafraid of mithril.
You’re even sneakier than a vampire, but Za Warudo is really off the table!] “Use the Vampire Fruit!” At Caesar’s mental command, the golden card shattered into specks of light that rushed into his body.
Because of his positioning, the two standing at the entrance of the stone chamber didn’t witness the system card.
They only saw Caesar open the treasure box containing the fruit and stand frozen in place.
Suddenly, a flash of radiance burst forth, and a pair of broad, pitch-black bat wings tore through his expensive, custom-tailored suit.
In the gloom, the man slowly turned around.
Before the joy in his blood-red eyes could fade, a subtle yet heavy pressure rolled outward, engulfing the room!
Feeling that aura—immature, yet unmistakably signifying the qualities of a true king—Marco stepped forward, placing himself in front of Robin, his eyes wide with shock.
“This is…
Conqueror’s Haki?!
Hey, hey…
are you kidding me?!”