Chapter 135: Exchange, Awakening, Return

The next moment, he pulled out two Teigu seized from the Imperial Capital from his bosom: Great Pitcher and Shambhala.

"I want to sell these two items as well." He said, holding the Teigu up before him.

The Main God Light Ball flashed again, a beam of light sweeping over the two Teigu.

【Great Pitcher, appraised as a Three-Star Item, recycle successful, Exchange Points gained: 2000 points】

【Shambhala, appraised as a Special Four-Star Item, recycle successful, Exchange Points gained: 10000 points】

Watching the Exchange Points increase, Sakazuki's brow furrowed slightly.

"If I had known earlier that they could be sold for Exchange Points, I should have taken everything I could." He thought to himself, "What I lack now is still too much."

Sakazuki pondered for a moment, a flash of determination crossing his eyes. He looked up at the Main God Light Ball, his voice low and firm: "I want to sell my abilities."

The Main God Light Ball flickered slightly, as if waiting for his further explanation.

"I want to sell the Marine Six Styles." Sakazuki said, his tone carrying a hint of probing.

The words had just fallen when a strange sensation suddenly swept over his entire body. Sakazuki felt as if he had been scanned by something, from head to toe, not a single pore escaping.

The next moment, the Main God's mechanical voice rang out in his mind:

【Soru, appraised as a Three-Star Skill, recycle successful, Exchange Points gained: 2500 points】

【Paper Drawing, appraised as a Three-Star Skill, recycle successful, Exchange Points gained: 2500 points】

【Moon Step, appraised as a Three-Star Skill, recycle successful, Exchange Points gained: 2500 points】

……

As the notification sounded, the Reward Points also rose rapidly.

After finishing the sale, he moved his body slightly and felt nothing abnormal, after all, according to the information transmitted by the Main God, he would not lose these abilities because of this.

"Strange," Sakazuki muttered to himself, "then what exactly did the Main God gain?"

Sakazuki did not know that the true significance of this transaction far exceeded his imagination.

As an important character of the Reincarnation World, the Reincarnator himself represented an important part of the world; every voluntary sale allowed the Main God to obtain part of that world's imprint, harvesting energy while deepening its connection with that world.

"Main God, I want to sell Advanced Armament Haki, Advanced Observation Haki, and the Magma Fruit ability." His voice was low, without the slightest hesitation.

【Advanced Armament Haki, appraised as a Four-Star Skill, recycle successful, Exchange Points gained: 10000 points】

【Advanced Observation Haki, appraised as a Four-Star Skill, recycle successful, Exchange Points gained: 10000 points】

【Magma Fruit, appraised as a Five-Star Ability, recycle successful, Exchange Points gained: 40000 points】

Sakazuki took a deep breath and moved his body. Although he knew he would not lose these abilities, he still felt some unease in his heart.

"144500 points." Sakazuki whispered, his gaze falling back onto the Virtual Screen.

He stared at the "Devil's Essence" on the screen, a flash of determination in his eyes. Although uncertain what consequences fusion would produce, to become stronger, this risk was worth taking.

"Main God," Sakazuki said in a deep voice, "I want to Exchange Devil's Essence."

【Confirm Exchange of Devil's Essence, deduct 120000 points, remaining 10500 points】

The words had just fallen when an exquisite metal can appeared out of thin air before Sakazuki. The can was entirely gold-coral in color, emitting an ancient and mysterious aura.

Sakazuki picked up the metal can and opened it. Instantly, a bone-piercing cold air rushed toward him; inside the can was a strange blood, emitting a faint blue light, the cold air emanating from it.

"Is this the source of Esdeath's power?" Sakazuki muttered softly, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

He gripped the metal can tightly, feeling the bone-piercing cold in his hand; Sakazuki took a deep breath, his gaze becoming firm.

"Since I've come this far, there is no turning back."

Sakazuki took a deep breath and said to the Light Sphere: "In the process ahead, if I am injured, please treat me immediately. The required Reward Points will be deducted directly from me."

【Request recorded. Treatment will be carried out automatically when necessary, and the cost will be deducted from your Reward Points.】

The words had just fallen, not giving himself a chance to hesitate; Sakazuki suddenly tilted his head back and drank the blood in the can in one gulp.

Instantly, a violent power like a towering tsunami surged into his body.

Sakazuki widened his eyes, his pupils contracting sharply, his body trembling violently involuntarily. A bone-piercing cold spread rapidly from his stomach, like countless tiny ice needles piercing his entire body, every inch of skin transmitting excruciating pain.

At the same time, the scorching magma within his body began to churn violently, as if resisting this invasion of cold. Ice and fire waged fierce battle within him, every inch of flesh and blood becoming a cruel battlefield.

"Ugh!" Sakazuki couldn't help but let out a low roar. The intense pain wandered through his body like an electric current, muscles twitching constantly under his skin, veins bulging, as if something wanted to burst out of his body.

As the pain intensified, Sakazuki's body began to undergo abnormal changes.

His right half was gradually covered by crystal-clear frost, cold air overflowing; his left half burned with scorching magma, red lava rolling and flowing beneath his skin. These two completely opposite forces constantly collided, bursts of white steam erupting at the boundary.

This internal struggle soon affected the surrounding environment. The ground beneath Sakazuki's feet began to show abnormalities, half covered by thick ice, the other half turned into a scalding magma pool.

At this moment, countless voices like sharp blades pierced into Sakazuki's brain—screams, weeping, pleas for mercy, and the sounds of blades entering flesh. These voices wove into a giant net, tightly wrapping his consciousness.

Immediately after, countless images flashed before his eyes: battlefields splattered with blood, villages littered with corpses, burning city ruins.

These scenes switched rapidly, like a revolving lantern flying past before his eyes, each one so real as if he had personally experienced every scene. The frequent changing of images made Sakazuki's consciousness increasingly blurred, his head splitting with pain.

As these terrifying scenes kept emerging, an uncontrollable impulse surged within him: to destroy, to kill, to dominate everything. This desire was so strong it almost swallowed his reason; Sakazuki felt his consciousness being assimilated by this power.

"Get... out of my way!" Sakazuki gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, letting out a low roar.

At this moment, all his senses seemed to be suddenly cut off, the surroundings sinking into a strange darkness. However, this silence lasted only a brief instant.

Suddenly, Sakazuki's nose was filled with the heavy smell of scorched wood and the pungent stench of blood, nauseating.

The familiar smell awakened memories buried deep in his mind; Sakazuki suddenly looked up, the Main God Space before him had disappeared.

In its place was the hometown scene of his childhood, and he himself had become the appearance of a child. Familiar houses and streets were now shrouded in flames, everywhere were burning wreckage and thick smoke.

At the same time, the pirates' wild laughter and the villagers' screams rang in his ears, so clear as if they were right beside him.

Scorching flames licked his skin, the burning pain so real it made him tremble. Sakazuki could clearly feel the heat wave rushing toward him, the choking smoke making him unable to breathe. Everywhere his gaze reached were scenes of pirates wantonly destroying and looting. A group of pirates were roughly ransacking a civilian house, smashing furniture to pieces. On the other side, several pirates were dragging a screaming woman into an alley.

"Damn pirates!"

These scenes made the anger in Sakazuki's heart burn ever fiercer. He clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. At this moment, a powerful force surged within him. It was the killing consciousness from Devil's Essence, like a bloodthirsty wild beast roaring. Deep inside, a voice kept whispering: "Kill them... kill them all."

This voice grew louder and louder, finally drowning out Sakazuki's consciousness. His eyes turned blood-red, he kicked off the ground, and in an instant charged toward the nearest pirate like a shell leaving the barrel.

"Die!" He roared, his fist slamming hard into the pirate's face. The pirate had not yet reacted when he was punched through, his skull flying out and heavily crashing into the wall behind.

The pirates never expected a counterattack, let alone that this power would come from a child.

"What? This brat." "Grab him fast!" "Don't let him get away!"

The pirates panicked, but their shouts were nothing but meaningless noise to Sakazuki; his world now held only a single thought: kill!

Blood sprayed, screams rose and fell. Sakazuki was like a precision killing machine, every movement taking a life. In his eyes, these pirates had long since forfeited their right to live.

The pirates' screams rose and fell, but this only made Sakazuki more excited; his movements grew faster and fiercer, as if venting years of anger in this moment.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Sakazuki kept growling low, his voice filled with irrepressible frenzy. His eyes saw only enemies, only blood, only death.

Who knows how long passed, the world suddenly fell quiet. Sakazuki abruptly stopped, breathing heavily as he scanned his surroundings.

Standing alone in the center of a battlefield strewn with corpses, he then lowered his head to look at his blood-soaked hands, and a clear realization dawned:

This is his mission, this is the meaning of his existence.

"Only by thoroughly eradicating pirates can we truly end this era's chaos." He murmured, a determined light flashing in his eyes.

Boom! Suddenly, a powerful aura erupted from within him, spreading outward like a materialized pressure; the illusion shattered like a mirror. Countless fragments danced in the air, finally dissolving into specks of starlight.

As the illusion vanished, Sakazuki felt an unprecedented power surging within him; he looked down at his hands, seeing the skin once covered in frost and magma rapidly returning to normal.

Inside his body, the Devil's Essence and the Magma Fruit no longer struggled against each other, but submitted under a more powerful force.

It was the pressure of Conqueror's Haki, ruling over everything inside him like an emperor; two utterly different powers, like subjugated beasts, lay docile and prostrate beneath his will.

At this moment, the Main God's voice rang out in the space once more:

【Fusion complete. New bloodline: Please name it, Reincarnator】

【Ability description: Perfectly fuses the Devil's Essence and Magma Fruit abilities, allowing free control of ice and fire energy.】

【Ability appraisal: Six-Star Minus】

Hearing the Main God Space's words, he slowly extended his right hand; his palm instantly turned into scorching magma, red light flashing, heat rising.

Next second, Sakazuki narrowed his eyes; with a thought, a bizarre change occurred in an instant.

That scorching magma actually began to eerily emit threads of cold air; the magma still flowed, yet began to exude a bone-piercing chill.

This phenomenon defying common sense made even Sakazuki feel a hint of surprise: "Interesting..."

He could sense this new power was far more potent than simple ice or magma. The cold of ice and heat of fire coordinated, able to cause even more terrifying destruction.

Sakazuki pondered a moment, then suddenly spoke: "Let's call it 'Netherflame Frozen Prison'."

The Main God Space responded immediately: 【Bloodline naming successful: Netherflame Frozen Prison】

Immediately after, another prompt sounded: 【Main God Space has recorded this ability, reward 10000 points】

"Next," he said softly, his voice filled with resolve, "it's time to go back. Those pirates have been rampant for far too long!"

He raised his head to look at the Main God Light Ball and said in a deep voice: "Main God, I want to return."

The moment the words fell, Sakazuki's vision suddenly plunged into darkness; when he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the familiar room.

Sakazuki looked around, feeling as if what happened before was just a dream. He looked down at his hands, sensing the new power surging within him.

At this moment, urgent knocking suddenly sounded, interrupting his thoughts.

Sakazuki frowned and said in a deep voice: "Come in."

The door opened, and a Marine soldier entered quickly. He was Sakazuki's personal guard, and his expression looked somewhat tense right now.

The soldier stood at attention and saluted, speaking rapidly: "Admiral Sakazuki, there's an emergency to report!"

Sakazuki nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

The soldier took a deep breath and said: "Fleet Admiral Sengoku has just submitted a retirement application to the World Government."

Hearing this news, Sakazuki's brow twitched slightly, but he showed no great surprise. He had long sensed Sengoku's intention to retire; this was not unexpected.

However, the soldier's next words made his expression turn grave.

"But, Fleet Admiral Sengoku also made a suggestion." The soldier continued reporting, his voice slightly hesitant, "He requested the World Government consider recommending Admiral Aokiji as the next Fleet Admiral."

Hearing this news, a cold glint flashed in Sakazuki's eyes. The room temperature seemed to drop several degrees instantly; the soldier involuntarily shivered.

"Aokiji, huh." He murmured low, his voice carrying a hint of thoughtfulness, "Looks like the situation ahead will become even more interesting."

Sakazuki turned to face the soldier, his voice returning to its usual calm: "I understand. You may go."

Feeling the powerful aura emanating from Sakazuki, the soldier couldn't help but shiver again and quickly left the room.

Sakazuki was silent for a moment, then slowly stood up and walked to the window. He looked down on the Holy Land's scenery, a complex expression surfacing on his face.

"This position, I am determined to obtain. Aokiji, you'd best be prepared."

If Akainu hadn't been kept from having his whole family killed by pirates as a child, I really can't understand why he's this obsessed.

Going by the childhood portrait Oda drew, it's eight or nine parts out of ten accurate.

(Chapter End)