The Vampire Fruit is Acquired

With hopes now in sight, Big Mom naturally gave Minos's actions her full support.

They couldn't send too many people. Famous figures like Katakuri absolutely couldn't go. A tall tree catches the wind, after all—Big Mom's higher-ranking children could never hide from the other Yonko Crews and the Marines.

Minos intended to go alone with a few people, preferably some obscure ones who didn't belong to the Charlotte Pirates.

Charlotte Linlin agreed with a wave of her hand, offering her full support. She assigned him a ship made from Adam Tree wood and found him a group of highly capable sailors and shipwrights.

Most of the Charlotte Pirates' subordinates were Homies, including their ships, so they had little need for shipwrights.

But this operation needed to remain discreet. They were heading into the territories of the other Yonko, after all, so they couldn't openly use the Charlotte Pirates' distinctive ships. Ordinary shipwrights aboard, however, were no issue.

A group of combat Homies would remain in the hold as well. As long as they didn't let them out, it would be fine.

As for a navigator, Minos sought out Violet. The Glint-Glint Fruit gave her a field of vision spanning four thousand kilometers, though its perspective resembled that of a satellite in the sky. It lacked X-ray vision and provided only a bird's-eye view.

In terms of range, this ability surpassed even Minos's current capabilities. But when it came to finding things, it definitely wasn't as useful as Minos's Evil Eye.

Minos's Evil Eye not only came with telescopic vision, but could also see directly through objects. Moreover, once he knew what an item looked like, it possessed a certain degree of target-locking ability.

In Yu Yu Hakusho, Hiei had the Evil Eye transplanted specifically to find people and objects, so it naturally possessed specialized abilities in that regard.

Since Violet was boarding the ship, Kyros didn't stay behind either. On one hand, he worried about his sister-in-law; on the other, he had only recently joined the Big Mom Pirates and rarely showed his face, so he joined them as well.

For the remaining people, Minos chose Baby5 and the big guy Talon. With four officers in total plus Minos, their pirate ship was more or less ready to depart.

None of these people had shown themselves much. Very few outsiders even knew they were members of the Big Mom Pirates, and even if they did, they were merely minor officers. Not one of them was Big Mom's child, so naturally no one would pay them much attention, nor would they cause conflict with outsiders.

A few days later, once everything was ready, Minos led the group out to sea.

Minos's operation this time was partly to stir up more trouble and partly to collect Devil Fruits. After spending so long in the pirate world, he had learned that Count Red—the Great Pirate known as the Red Count—had indeed existed in this world.

Count Red was a character from a movie and one of the world's greatest pirates. However, he had now been sent to Impel Down by the Marine Hero Garp.

Minos didn't care about that. What he cared about was that if Count Red existed, then the movie's plot must exist as well. In other words, that powerful Mythical Zoan Vampire Fruit naturally existed too.

Fortunately, the Charlotte Pirates were the best-informed pirate crew in the entire New World. After spending considerable time searching, Minos found Sleepy Town, the location of the Vampire Fruit from the movie.

That rundown place was both remote and devoid of any notable products. It wasn't even marked on most maps. Ordinary forces would probably be completely clueless about it, which was why the Vampire Fruit had never appeared.

The subordinates selected for the mission didn't know its objective, since it was classified. Aside from Minos, Big Mom, Katakuri, and Charlotte Smoothie, who had been present at the time, no one else in the Charlotte Family knew the details, much less these chosen subordinates.

In any case, when they were given the mission, they were simply told to obey Minos in everything. Minos naturally intended to use the opportunity for personal gain first and search for the Vampire Fruit.

Although the New World's environment was harsh, with Violet and Minos—two Thousand Mile Eye navigators practically using cheats—there wouldn't be any problems unless they encountered the world's backlash like last time.

After sailing for roughly five or six days, Minos and the others arrived at Sleepy Town.

The Vampire Fruit's hiding place was quite concealed, but the pirate world had no barriers or anything of the sort. Naturally, it couldn't stop Minos's Evil Eye from seeing through it. Once he pinpointed the location, all he had to do was search carefully, and Minos easily found where the Devil Fruit was hidden.

Minos had everyone resupply in Sleepy Town while he secretly took Baby5 to a place that was either an Underground Tomb or perhaps an Underground Temple. Inside, they found the violet-red Vampire Fruit.

His Karma Points had been steadily increasing lately, apparently because Stussy becoming a double agent had indeed affected the situation across the world to some extent.

The Vampire Fruit didn't have much influence on the main storyline, since it belonged to a movie and was the sort of thing that could be included or omitted. Still, as a top-tier Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, it carried at least some influence.

Obtaining this Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit happened to make up the final bit of Karma Points he lacked.

The moment he sensed that his Karma Points were complete, Minos immediately initiated the trade. After the Karma Points underwent a qualitative transformation, the world's backlash probably wouldn't be far away. He had to exchange them quickly.

Upon entering the Golden Paradise space, Minos immediately placed the Vampire Fruit on it. A few golden flashes then flew over.

"Looks like there are fewer of them... The more valuable the item, the smaller the selection range?"

Perhaps that was the case. Rarity gave things value, and there were never that many items at the very top of the pyramid.

Thinking that, Minos began examining the four Golden Light Groups this time.

Holy Grail (the cup that bore Jesus's blood): From the world of Christianity.

Fill the Holy Grail with wine, and whoever drinks it will be cured of all illnesses, recover from injuries, prolong their lifespan, eliminate disabilities, retain eternal youth, calm their mind and spirit, and heal every negative affliction of both body and soul.

God used seven days to create the world, so its power followed a cycle of Seven Heavens. After each use, the Holy Grail would only fully recover seven days later.

"Gasp... What an absurd thing. It's even more overpowered than a Senzu Bean!"

Not only did it possess the Dragon Ball Senzu Bean's ability to completely restore someone as long as they still had a breath left, it could also heal injuries and restore youth.

Although it couldn't grant immortality, that lifespan extension surely wouldn't be weak either. At the very least, it should let someone live to one or two hundred years old. Otherwise, it wouldn't deserve the name Holy Grail.

The seven-day recovery period was a problem, but considering the cup's miraculous effects, that flaw was practically negligible.

"Let's look at the others!" After thinking for a moment, Minos continued reading.

Blood God Scripture (a legendary scripture formed naturally from the Sea of Blood; some say it was a demonic sect's sacred tome created by Old Ancestor Minghe through Blood God Seeds): From the world of Legend of Sword and Fairy.

Once this art is mastered, one can transform into a Blood God Seed. By pouncing upon a person, one can absorb all their blood essence and wear their skin to impersonate the deceased.

After being modified by the Laws of the pirate world, it possesses the same traits as a Logia. Those without Armament Haki or Conqueror's Haki, as well as users of fire or lightning abilities, cannot harm it.