Chapter 256: Manufacturing Blood Servants

"This is Water 7, the largest shipbuilding base on the Grand Line!"

A somewhat battered pirate ship sailed into the port of Water 7. On the deck of the pirate ship, a young man with blonde hair and curled eyebrows, puffing on a cigarette, sighed:

"We can finally give the Going Merry a complete renovation! If it weren't for your Devil Fruit Ability, Usopp, I think our ship would have fallen apart halfway here."

"Hahahaha, that goes without saying! With my Candle-Candle Fruit ability, no matter how battered the Going Merry gets, I can always repair it!"

Usopp, who still had a few sparks on his head, stood up upon hearing this and laughed heartily. Judging by his current appearance, his progress in developing the Candle-Candle Fruit was already catching up to Mr. 3.

When the time came that there wasn't a single spark left on his head, he would have surpassed the original user's level of development for the Candle-Candle Fruit.

Mr. 3's development of the Candle-Candle Fruit was not bad, but it couldn't be considered excellent either. Usopp, however, was quick-witted, clever, and imaginative, and possessed a certain level of scientific literacy; he was a natural genius for developing this type of Paramecia Devil Fruit, which was why he had managed to catch up to Mr. 3 in just over a month.

"Enough talk, I want to eat meat, eat meat, eat meat!!"

Luffy was full of excitement and wanted to jump off immediately, but just then, a flurry of panicked sounds suddenly came from the pier.

"Run away..."

"It's that person..."

"The blood-sucking devil has appeared..."

One could see the tall, sturdy, and rough-looking guys on the pier looking panicked. Just from their bulging muscles, the skin on their faces roughened by the sea's wind and frost, and the weapons they held or had tucked into their waistbands, it was clear that these guys were certainly not law-abiding citizens; they were all Pirates.

"What's wrong with these Pirates? Why are they so scared?"

Luffy wore a strange, confused expression, but then heard a trembling voice beside him speak:

"Luffy, don't you usually read the newspapers? Recently, a monster has appeared in the first half of the Grand Line, killing who knows how many Pirates..."

"It is said that any Pirate who sees this blood-sucking devil cannot escape death. The number of Pirates who have died at his hands now exceeds ten thousand!"

"We should leave quickly! Sob, sob, sob, Captain Usopp has caught the disease where he dies upon seeing the blood-sucking devil..."

Usopp was currently trembling, sweat pouring from his forehead, and he was on the verge of fainting on the spot. However, when he looked at the three main powerhouses of the Straw Hat Pirates, he suddenly felt a sense of impending doom.

In Luffy's clear eyes, which had never been polluted by knowledge, a hint of husky-like curiosity appeared.

Zoro, who was half-asleep, opened his eyes, revealing an interested fighting spirit.

Even Sanji, who was not usually very bellicose, had a look of eagerness in his expression.

"Blood-sucking devil... should be some kind of Devil Fruit user... Heh, quite interesting!"

"A Devil Fruit that can suck blood, could it be a vampire bat? Or the Blood Fruit?"

"No matter who it is, we can just beat him away, right?!"

The trio discussed it, their eyes filled with the courage to do something big—compared to the original story, because they hadn't defeated the sand crocodile, the current Straw Hat Pirates were still nobodies on the Grand Line, and all three were eager to raise their fame.

However, the Straw Hat Pirates had a high personal moral baseline; they usually fled directly when encountering the Marine and would not slaughter civilians. Under normal circumstances, nothing happened, so it was actually difficult to increase their bounties.

Now that they had heard of this strange blood-sucking devil who had killed so many Pirates, the three of them couldn't help but feel eager to try.

Just then, a mist of blood drifted from the distance of the pier, and countless red bats surged out from the blood mist, pouncing toward the Pirates below.

"Don't come near me! You damn monster! Ah!"

"Can't run away! Fight these bats—ugh, uh!!"

The chaotic Pirates either turned back to attack, simply fled, or even jumped into the sea. However, the overwhelming bats shrouded the sky. Under the blood-colored light, every bat pierced a Pirate's body, and then those strong Pirates turned into Dried Corpses one by one.

"Doesn't seem easy to deal with..."

"What kind of Devil Fruit ability is it? Or some kind of strange animal?"

Cold sweat dripped down Sanji's forehead, Zoro gripped his weapon tightly, and even the Straw Hat boy, known for being thick-skinned, wore a rare, cautious expression.

A moment later, only a pile of Dried Corpses remained on the pier. Even the Pirates who had fled into the sea were caught up by the blood-colored bats that dived into the water, and straw-like corpses floated on the surface of the sea.

"So miserable..."

Looking at the Pirates floating on the sea like withered tree trunks, Luffy couldn't help but say. Just then, the blood-colored bats crazily condensed toward the center like a blood-colored whirlwind. A moment later, the figure of Uchiha Feiyu stepped out from the whirlwind.

Only, compared to before, Uchiha Feiyu, having acquired the Vampire Fruit, had some changes in his appearance and carried an even more mysterious and dark temperament.

"Eh! Usopp, doesn't this guy's face look a bit like your creditor?"

Luffy looked at Uchiha Feiyu, whose image had changed quite a bit, scratched his head, and asked.

As for the mention of a creditor... don't forget that Usopp had received the Devil Fruit ability bestowed by Uchiha Feiyu, and the Candle-Candle Fruit was a high-priced product that could sell for hundreds of millions of Belly at an auction!

Although Uchiha Feiyu had taken away the Going Merry and taken Usopp along with him, the Straw Hat Pirates had now retrieved the Going Merry, and Usopp hadn't suffered any abuse, so theoretically, the Straw Hat Pirates, or at least Usopp, definitely owed Uchiha Feiyu.

"It's... it's... it's Uchiha Feiyu! It's... it's over... it's over... we're finished!! That terrifying guy has come knocking!! You bastard Luffy, you've ruined me!!"

Usopp was not face-blind like Luffy; he recognized at a glance that although there were great changes, it was indeed Uchiha Feiyu himself. Thinking of the result of his secret escape, and then thinking of Uchiha Feiyu's ruthless, murderous nature, his eyes rolled back, and his whole body went limp like a noodle.

"Last time, Captain, you were beaten into a serious injury by that guy, right!"

Zoro held his long sword and stood by Luffy's side—back in Alabasta, the Straw Hat Pirates had also cooperated with the Rebel Army there in order to find Usopp.

Then Zoro kept getting lost and went offline until he met Sanji, who was carrying the seriously injured Luffy, only to realize that the war was over and the Rebel Army had all gone home to their respective mothers.

Sanji didn't like fighting much, and being the one with the most common sense in the trio, he had felt something was wrong as soon as the great nobles seized the fruits of the Rebel Army's labor, so he simply ran off to be a logistics cook. In the end, only Luffy was unlucky; if it hadn't been for Ace, he probably would have died in Alabasta.

After Ace rescued Luffy, he handed Luffy over to Sanji. Then, when Sanji was nursing Luffy back to health, he met Zoro. The three stayed in Alabasta for a while, just as Uchiha Feiyu left. Usopp happened to run into them and joined the three to snatch back the Going Merry and run away.

"Ugh... I was beaten so miserably last time!"

Luffy nodded, looking at the centipede-like, hideous scar on one of his arms—that was the most serious injury he had suffered since birth; facing the opponent, he was almost instantly defeated without any power to resist.

"So it was you guys..."

Just then, a faint voice arrived, and Uchiha Feiyu's figure flashed, already standing on the deck of the Going Merry.

"So fast!!"

Zoro drew his two swords, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, and Sanji even bit off the cigarette in his mouth, a look of terror appearing on his face.

This speed had already exceeded their neural reflexes and dynamic vision; in their perception, Uchiha Feiyu seemed to have teleported directly onto the deck.

"Want to fight?! Bat-man!!"

Luffy stood in front of Uchiha Feiyu for the first time, clenching his fists—although he had been beaten miserably last time, the Straw Hat boy was inherently the type to forget the pain once the wound healed, and it was even more impossible for him to admit defeat directly.

Then, with three "pop, pop, pop" sounds, the three of them, Luffy included, were sent flying backward and crashed onto the deck.

"How rude. I beat you up just last time, and you still can't remember my name?"

Uchiha Feiyu flicked his palm, and then the three people on the deck screamed simultaneously as a large amount of fresh blood was extracted and fell into Uchiha Feiyu's hands.

Accompanied by the extraction of blood, the trio rapidly aged, soon appearing listless and weak. Just then, a sharp shout reached Uchiha Feiyu's ears:

"Special Move, Gunpowder Star!"

A glowing projectile smashed toward Uchiha Feiyu. Uchiha Feiyu glanced at it and flicked his hand lightly, sending the projectile flying straight back. It struck Usopp, who was holding a slingshot. With a boom, Usopp was sent flying backward.

"You use the Candle-Candle Fruit ability quite well. It seems you will be able to digest the power of this Devil Fruit very soon."

Uchiha Feiyu said with a light laugh. Usopp, who had fallen to the ground, climbed up tremblingly. In fact, he hadn't suffered any real injuries; he was just scared. The power of the Gunpowder Star just now had been completely blocked by a layer of candle armor on his body.

At the same time, Uchiha Feiyu flicked his hand again. With a 'dong' sound, like a bell being struck, Usopp was instantly sent flying backward and fell into the seawater with a splash.

With the light candle armor on his body, Usopp wouldn't drown, but having fallen into the seawater, as a Devil Fruit Ability user, he couldn't hope to climb back up on his own.

At this moment, Uchiha Feiyu's gaze turned back to the Straw Hat trio lying on the ground, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth:

"I haven't tried the function of creating Vampire thralls yet. I'll use the three of you as test subjects this time!"

After the Vampire Fruit evolved, it gained the ability to create blood thralls. However, this creation obviously couldn't be infinite. Without affecting his own power, Uchiha Feiyu could create at most seven or eight blood thralls.

Therefore, Uchiha Feiyu naturally had to be cautious and at least select some fellows with outstanding potential; otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of his ability quota?

The created blood thralls were roughly equivalent to a lower-tier Devil Fruit, even significantly stronger than ordinary Zoan Devil Fruits, at least in terms of recovery, which was better than the average Zoan.

They also possessed two abilities: Blood Curse and Bat Transformation. One was roughly equivalent to a Zoan transformation, while the other was a lower-tier blood manipulation ability that could cause the opponent's wounds to bleed incessantly and refuse to heal.

Moreover, because they were not Devil Fruit Ability users, they did not fear the power of seawater, but at the same time, they had their own unique drawbacks.

First was the side effect of the Blood Curse: they had to consume a certain amount of fresh blood every day, otherwise, they were likely to go mad and attack indiscriminately. The second was the fear of the power of sunlight; they would feel incessant pain after being under the sun for more than five minutes.

Of course, most importantly, they would be controlled to a certain extent by the Vampire Fruit user. Although it wasn't to the degree of being completely manipulated, they were like the toys in the hands of a Hobby-Hobby Fruit user, able to resist only a little in their hearts.

The blood in Uchiha Feiyu's hand condensed into a ball. At the same time, he opened his mouth, revealing two sharp canines. Three drops of ruby-like blood dripped from the canines into the blood ball in his hand. Then, Uchiha Feiyu clapped his hands, and the blood ball returned into the bodies of the Straw Hat trio.

The Straw Hat trio, who had been aging and dying, recovered after the blood ball returned to their bodies. Their auras were even a bit stronger than before; clearly, they had already obtained a portion of the Vampire's power, and their strength had increased significantly.

Ignoring the recovering Straw Hat trio, Uchiha Feiyu transformed into a streak of blood light and disappeared from the deck.

The slaughter during this period not only increased Uchiha Feiyu's strength and provided his main body with many sacrifices and Dharma Power, but the reputation of the "Blood Demon" that resounded throughout the first half of the Grand Line also pushed his Devil Fruit Ability a step further. At the very least, the easiest ability, Bloodization, had already been developed by him.

For Uchiha Feiyu, Bloodization was not just simulating a Logia elementalization ability—in fact, Bat Transformation could achieve something similar. Although it wasn't like true Logia elementalization where one completely ignored physical attacks, in the hands of an expert with Observation Haki, it was no different from elementalization.

Most importantly, after being able to truly transform into blood, some methods from the Blood Scripture could be used. For example, this current Blood Escape technique was not inferior to fruits like the Lightning Fruit in terms of speed.

"Damn it... what did that guy do to us?"

"Don't worry about that for now, let's fish Usopp out first... Besides, let's leave once we finish repairing the ship..."

The recovered Straw Hat trio climbed up at the first opportunity. However, no matter how carefree Luffy was, or how much Zoro wanted to face a challenge, in this situation, they were disheartened and had no desire to fight.

(End of chapter)