Vladimir's Diary
"This is actually a man-made cave?"
Vidal ventured deep into the cave, and with the help of the faint green light emanating from his body, he discovered that the surrounding and overhead rock walls were carved with various terrifying Gothic-style reliefs.
Flocks of bats fluttered about wildly, their faces contorted in agony, as if trying to break free from the rock face.
Surrounded by them was a towering, typical Gothic church, which he recognized at a glance as the one in town.
At the top of the tower stood a man wearing a cloak over Gentleman's suit, but revealing a pair of fangs, his gaze fixed on the uninvited young man.
But Vidal didn't care at all. Even if it came to life, it wouldn't matter, since it was just a lifeless relief.
He was now more concerned about the large stone coffin directly in front of the church relief and the three mounds with black crosses stuck in them on the left.
The atmosphere here was somewhat eerie. Vidal maintained his Observation Haki and walked over, soon seeing that the stone coffin was covered with lines of small characters.
There were too many words; Vidal stood there for more than thirty minutes before he finally read them all.
But the content was anything but boring; after reading the whole thing, I didn't even feel the time passing.
The gist of it is that a man calling himself Patrick Vladimir was severely injured while being hunted by the newly established World Government, and he was tired of living.
He secretly brought his son to this island, and then built himself a tomb and this stone coffin in the mountains.
As for how he's tired of living...
Well, it's said that because he ate the Vampire Fruit, he has lived for over two hundred years, experiencing everything and seeing everything he could ever want to see. This world holds no meaning for him.
The main reason is that he is being relentlessly hunted by the World Government. Although he is quite strong, if he continues to roam around, he will be caught and killed sooner or later.
But he felt that dying like this was meaningless, and it would be better to plan his own death and pass on some things.
First, there's the Vampire Fruit. According to Vladimir, he would be buried with a few apples in his coffin before he died.
The day after his death, he had his son open the stone coffin again to take the fruit, and then buried his body nearby.
If subsequent generations simply follow this process, they can ensure that the Vampire Fruit remains in the possession of the Patrick clan.
It was also noted that if descendants chose to eat the fruit, it meant they were willing to bear the guardianship mission of the Patrick clan.
First, to protect the secrets of the tomb; second, to protect true history; and third, to protect the lineage of the clan.
That's all the content.
Vidal first digested this information, thinking that the first and third points were easy to understand, but where was the true history of the second point?
However, I imagine the answer will be inside once this stone coffin is opened.
Without hesitation, Vidal reached out and pushed up the sarcophagus, but as soon as he touched it, all his strength began to disappear rapidly, causing him to quickly withdraw his hand.
"This thing is Seastone?!" Vidal stared at the stone coffin in shock, now even more curious about what was inside.
They quickly found a thick, long wooden stick to prop up the coffin lid, and then used a little force to push it open. Soon, the scene inside came into view.
Hey, why isn't it working? There's no body or even bones in here, but there is a fruit that's entirely purplish-red and covered with spiral patterns.
Needless to say, this must be the Vampire Fruit. Besides that, there's also a red book that looks incredibly thick.
The cover simply bears the words 'Vladimir's Diary' in bold black letters.
Vidal naturally realized that the contents of the book must be the history that needed to be protected, which meant that Redfield had been here before.
However, he simply buried the remains of his predecessors without eating the Vampire Fruit; it's unknown whether he had read the contents of the book.
Decades later, after escaping from Impel Down, he returned to his hometown to reclaim the fruit in an attempt to regain his youth.
As for the contents of the book, Vidal guessed that he had most likely read it, which would explain why Redfield always kept to himself and acted very discreetly.
I just don't know what happened after that that led to him being imprisoned in Impel Down, or why he caused such a huge uproar to fight for that Pirate King title.
"I'm definitely taking this Devil Fruit with me, but I can't take this 'Vladimir's Diary' out of the country!"
He didn't even need to look at the contents to roughly figure out what it involved, so he planned to read it all here before putting it back in the stone coffin.
Having made up his mind, he first found rocks to seal the cave entrance, and then made himself a table and chairs inside.
I was thinking of making sure to cover up the surroundings properly when I left after watching the show.
Finally, he contacted Rogers and said he would rest for another day in Sleep Ancient Town so he could restore the island's environment, which had been damaged in the battle.
Having completed these preparations, Vidal sat down in a chair, with the Mythical Zoan Vampire Fruit on the table.
Immediately, I took a deep breath and turned to the first page of my diary!
The experiences of a powerful figure from over 900 years ago, spanning more than two hundred years, unfolded page by page before Vidal in this gloomy and deserted tomb.
The green light not only illuminated every line of the diary, but also reflected on his expressionless face and sparkling eyes.
He spent a full day and night inside the tomb, only emerging from the cave entrance the next morning with his eyes half-closed.
However, his hands were empty, because the Devil Fruit was hidden inside his body.
Half a day later, he came down the mountain, but the mountain environment had changed from its previous barren appearance, and was now covered with countless lush vegetation and trees.
In the distance lies a clear and tranquil lake.
Down the mountain, Vidal looked back one last time, "Vladimir, Joy Boy's comrade?"
Overnight, he learned many things, many things he shouldn't have known.
For example, the existence, origin, and abilities of Imu, the truth behind the Void Century, and other shocking information.
He originally thought that as long as he possessed top-tier combat power in the world, as long as he could make the Navy work for him, and by uniting other forces, he could achieve his ultimate goal.
But it seems that these are still a little lacking.
Fortunately, he had come to understand the gap between the two sides. The World Government, an organization that had existed for hundreds of years, was no longer vague or mysterious in his eyes.
"I never expected that such a small, Sleep Ancient Town would yield such a gain for me. But this means that Redfield..." Vidal's eyes flashed with a cold light.
Once the World Government discovers Redfield's surname and background, as well as the secrets of Sleep Ancient Town, he, who once visited and stayed there for a few days, could very well be implicated.
While this possibility is slim, it doesn't mean it's impossible. The key issue is that if this information were leaked before he's fully capable, it would bring him unimaginable disaster and could even implicate his family.
So Redfield was a risk to him, a living, ever-present risk that could be detonated at any moment, a risk that would endanger his life and that of his entire family!
Furthermore, why would Redfield be captured by the World Government and imprisoned in Impel Down in the future?
It's terrifying to think about.
"This Vampire Fruit will be sealed away for now. It cannot be left to Redfield, nor can it be given to anyone else, until I can bear it all."
Vidal turned around and resolutely walked towards Sleep Ancient Town.
"It's time to leave!"
To be honest, this is the chapter that took me the longest to write, but it is also an extremely important chapter in my story!