"The contest has only just begun. Mana, inform everyone outside to prepare to seal off the area around Zone 1!"
The master of Box 3, the leader of the Bounty Hunters Alliance, was the first to move. As he walked out of the room, he gave orders to his daughter.
"I've already got several people under suspicion. Keep a close eye on them. Whether they're guilty or not, stop them first!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Flores Bounty Hunters Alliance numbered over a thousand members, all renowned bounty hunters. The vast majority of them had remained outside the auction venue.
Hearing her father's instructions, Mana nodded at once, took out a Den Den Mushi, and contacted the key leaders within the alliance.
Similar conversations were taking place among all the major forces. All were suspicious of one another, and every one of them was preparing to seal off the surroundings of Zone 1.
"Kaido." In Box 12, a man in a suit spoke in a low voice, "I suspect the blueprint is in the hands of someone on the third floor. Earlier, Phantom used some kind of illusion technique and completed the transaction without anyone noticing. But just before the illusion took effect, I clearly observed everyone in Box 12. After the illusion wore off, their movements and expressions were completely natural—they didn't look like they'd obtained the blueprint at all."
"Is that so?" Kaido snorted softly. "In that case, Jack, send word to the Calamities: seal off the entire Sabaody Archipelago. Don't let even a single fly escape!"
"Understood!"
Inside Box 2.
Marco shook his head. "Old Man, should we stop this? If we do nothing, a great war is bound to break out soon!"
"It's beyond stopping," Whitebeard chuckled deeply. "Gurararara... Shanks came to us last time to join forces and rein in this runaway era. But this auction has turned out far more chaotic than we imagined. We can't even talk about stopping it—if we so much as leave Zone 1, we'll be targeted instantly."
The Whitebeard Pirates were the largest force among the Four Emperors, yet even they would be marked men under these circumstances.
No one could stop it now—not even Phantom. Ambition had blinded everyone, and an earth-shattering war was inevitable.
The auction came to an end, and the bidders left one after another.
It took a full half hour before the vast auction hall was completely empty and silent.
On the fourth level, six of the ten Supreme Rulers' thrones were occupied by figures representing the powers of Starry Sky, Life, Lightning, Time & Space, Yin & Yang, and Mind. Their forms twisted and faded away into nothingness.
They were nothing but illusions. Their only purpose in appearing at the auction was to intimidate the various factions—otherwise, fighting would have broken out long ago.
And now, even if the others had the nerve, none would dare extend the fighting into Zone 1 for the time being.
"Emperor of the Sands."
The Archangel's voice rang out. The next moment, a cloud of sand and dust swirled ahead, revealing the figure of Azir, the Emperor of the Sands.
"Use the Golden Disc to keep everyone under watch. If anyone causes trouble in Zone 1, suppress them immediately."
"Consider it done."
Azir nodded, then turned and leaped down from the high platform.
"Doflamingo, come with me."
...
Meanwhile, in a corridor at the rear of the auction venue.
Nico Robin blinked, following closely behind Vladimir.
After a moment's hesitation, she couldn't help but speak up. "Lord Vladimir Gate, the bidders here possess a great number of Devil Fruits. Why don't we seize some of them?"
From what she had learned recently, there was no way Phantom would let such a perfect opportunity slip by.
Vladimir paused for a moment, glanced at the young woman, and said, "I didn't realize you had such good sense. Very well—this task is yours to handle."
"…What?!"
Robin froze. With her mediocre combat skills, trying to steal fruits was nothing short of suicide.
Vladimir continued, "The reason I'm not taking action is simple—they'll fight each other soon enough. You must understand our role in this war, as part of Phantom. We are the players in this game. How could a player step onto the board before the game has even begun?"
Nico Robin nodded thoughtfully at his words.
But beside them, Rijet's eyes flashed, and she felt a chill of fear toward Vladimir Di...
He intended to manipulate all the powers in the world like puppets. She didn't know whether the Pluton blueprint was real or fake, but she suspected it had most likely been tampered with.
As if seeing through her thoughts, Vladimir added, "Robin, take her away and keep her under close watch."
"Yes, sir!"
Once the two had left, Vladimir entered a quiet room and took out the fifteen fruits he had just acquired.
"I had five before. Add these fifteen, and that makes twenty in total."
Vladimir thought for a moment and asked, "Huan, how many fruits do I need to upgrade Aizen to 5-star?"
"Thirty-eight," the Illusion Gene replied instantly.
"Thirty-eight?" Vladimir was taken aback. "To go from 3-star all the way to 5-star? That's far more than I expected."
- To upgrade the 3-star Soul Reaper to 4-star: 12 fruits required.
- To upgrade the 4-star Soul Reaper to 5-star: 26 fruits required!
"Your power is evolving," the Illusion Gene explained. "A small child eats very little, but as they grow, their appetite increases more and more. Besides, the more you absorb the same type of mystical power, the weaker its effect becomes. If you reach 6-star as the Phantom God, it might take ten, even a dozen fruits just to unlock a new transformation. But by then, you should seek out other forms of mystical power, not limit yourself only to Devil Fruits."
Vladimir shook his head, half-amused. He missed the old days when just one fruit was enough to unlock a new form.
Still, this was exactly what he had anticipated. A single fruit contained only a limited amount of power; as his genes evolved, the cost naturally rose.
"Then I'll go up to 4-star first. Once Shadow Thief brings back the remaining seventy-five fruits, I'll push it all the way to 5-star!"
With that, Vladimir absorbed twelve Devil Fruits right then and there. He paid no attention to what kind they were, simply absorbing them all at once.
In an instant, the twelve fruits crumbled into fine dust. Immediately afterward, a massive surge of spiritual pressure began to build up.
Vladimir's physical form vanished, transforming entirely into a spiritual body.
And this time, the spiritual energy within his new form was rapidly compressing and undergoing a fundamental transformation.
It felt as though he had ascended into an entirely new dimension. That immense spiritual pressure blanketed the whole of Zone 1—yet not a single soul could sense it.
Just as beings in a two-dimensional world can never perceive those existing in three dimensions, they were completely unaware of his presence.
At the same time, the information in his mind regarding the Soul Reaper, Sōsuke Aizen, updated itself.
Tenth Transformation: Soul Reaper (Sōsuke Aizen)
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