"Damn it!"
Blackbeard staggered from the blow, nearly falling over.
Filled with frustration, he just wanted to get this over with and hurry back to his own territory.
'Screw this!'
Blackbeard threw up his hands, signaling that he didn't care anymore.
Caesar, as usual, cut his hand and let the blood flow.
The washbasin was quickly filled with Caesar's fragrant blood.
Blackbeard's Adam's apple bobbed as he licked his dry lips, an inexplicable urge to drink it rising within him.
'I'm not Redfield, why would I want to drink blood? But this guy's blood contains unimaginably dense Life Force. Back on the Oro Jackson, just a little of it healed Ganzui and Shanks from near-fatal injuries. That bastard Caesar won't spare me even a drop! And now he's dragging me into doing his dirty work—worse, I can't even refuse. Damn it!'
Blackbeard greedily eyed the pool of blood, silently praying that Pudding wouldn't absorb too much, leaving some leftovers for him.
"Pudding, sit in the Lifeblood. Don't be afraid. If there's any danger, even if we have to stop the ability extraction, I'll make sure you're safe."
Caesar smiled gently, none of his usual domineering arrogance present.
A sudden warmth filled Pudding's heart, and the last traces of unease in her mind vanished.
"Yes, Papa!"
She stepped directly into the crimson pool and sat down.
Blinking in surprise, she realized the Lifeblood around her didn't reek of iron or rot—instead, it carried a refreshing fragrance that invigorated her with every breath.
Her submerged body didn't feel cold either.
Rather, it was like soaking in a hot spring, warmth radiating across her skin.
She could even sense the pure energy within the blood seeping through her pores, flowing into her body.
"Alright, let's begin, Teach!" Caesar gave Blackbeard a meaningful look.
Blackbeard scoffed but stepped forward, extending his large hand toward Pudding.
Caesar glanced subtly at Linlin, who responded with a faint smile before walking to the edge of the estate's walls.
An invisible, intangible Soul Barrier enveloped the entire manor.
This was the awakened power of Linlin's Soul-Soul Fruit—the ability to create a Soul Nullification Domain.
Any soul within this domain would be suppressed by Linlin, unable to escape easily.
Even attempting to flee into another dimension would be blocked by the Soul Barrier, trapping them within the area.
And if a person's soul was far weaker than Linlin's, she could completely dominate them, either draining their lifespan or erasing their soul outright.
The flaw of the Soul Barrier was obvious—it couldn't be sustained for long, consuming vast amounts of soul power unless Linlin had a steady supply of souls to absorb.
The larger the range, the greater the consumption.
Blackbeard, seemingly unaware, approached Pudding and spread his fingers, activating the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit!
"Dark Vortex!"
Tendrils of black mist swirled in his palm as a powerful suction force erupted, pulling Pudding toward him from within the blood pool.
"Zehahaha! This is my Dark-Dark Fruit's power—the ability to nullify all other abilities. If the target resists too little for too long, the Devil Fruit Ability within them will slowly be drawn out until I capture it completely."
Blackbeard's left hand also emitted swirling black energy, layering over the back of his right hand to amplify the Dark-Dark Fruit's absorption force.
Caesar's gaze was peculiar as he watched Blackbeard's movements, an inexplicable idea suddenly surfacing in his mind.
If he could turn Blackbeard into a converter, wouldn't he be able to freely absorb abilities and then implant them into others?
Caesar pinched his chin, his eyes darting around as he pondered the feasibility of this method.
Perhaps Judge and Queen might have a way.
He should ask them later.
Pudding was gripped by Blackbeard's massive hand, feeling a tearing pain spread through her limbs, as if her entire body was being disintegrated into particles.
Her brows furrowed, her face pale, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.
So this was what it felt like to have one's ability gradually extracted.
Every time Pudding felt she was on the verge of death, the blood around her body would provide a warm energy, bathing her in comfort and greatly alleviating the pain.
That terrifying sensation of impending death would then dissipate.
The power of her Lifeblood flowed endlessly, counteracting the dissipating Life Force caused by the extraction of her fruit's ability within her body.
This back-and-forth tug-of-war maintained Pudding's body, preventing her from perishing due to the ability extraction.
Caesar stared intently at Pudding's condition, his Observation Haki stretched to its limit.
At the slightest sign of trouble, he would immediately punch Blackbeard away to interrupt the extraction process.
As if sensing Caesar's restlessness, Blackbeard couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
The terrifying, fluctuating power emanating from Caesar beside him made him feel as if needles were pricking his back.
He knew that if he made even the slightest mistake and harmed the young girl before him, he would likely face Caesar's earth-shattering fist.
"Ugh... ah...!"
Suddenly, Pudding let out a pained moan, her petite body arching as if it were about to tear apart.
"Pudding!"
Caesar's body expanded, returning to his nine-meter-tall form.
The muscles on his right arm bulged, veins coiling around it, and ghastly bone spikes grew from the surface of his massive fist.
Caesar clenched his fist, distorting the air around it, and slowly raised his sky-piercing arm.
Sweat poured down Blackbeard's face like a waterfall from Reverse Mountain, yet this was the critical moment.
He didn't dare to speak, afraid that Pudding's fragile body might explode with a bang!
Gritting his teeth, Blackbeard exerted all his strength, causing the bandages wrapped around his chest to stain with blood as his wounds reopened.
"Raaah! Out you come!" Blackbeard suddenly roared, his right hand seemingly gripping something and yanking it outward with all his might.
Clang!
His body immediately toppled backward, landing flat on his back.
"Dark Hole!"
Blackbeard hastily activated his Dark-Dark Fruit's ability, shoving the violently fluctuating mass of energy into the dark space.
Caesar dashed forward in a flash, reaching out to support the nearly unconscious Pudding and gently placing her in the corner by the washbasin.
He patted Pudding's head and whispered, "Pudding, Pudding, are you okay? It's over now."
Pudding felt as if her soul had been momentarily ripped from her body, the sensation akin to being blown apart, dragging her into an endless abyss.
But soon, an infinite warmth filled her body, pulling her out of that hell and into the gentle embrace of a spring breeze.
Pudding opened her eyes to see Caesar looking at her worriedly.
Pudding smiled. "I'm fine, Papa."
-----------------------------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator