Castle-Castle Fruit

Evidence?

Capone Bege froze, looking at the treasures inside the safe, unable to process what was happening.

"No, leaving the evidence in a place like this is too dangerous. It must be secured properly."

Yaen said this solemnly, casually finding a few suitcases in the room. He then crouched down in front of the safe and carefully transferred each piece of evidence into the suitcases, not forgetting to ask.

"Mister Bege, you don't mind if I collect this evidence, do you?"

In the underworld, where the strong prey on the weak, Capone Bege naturally understood that as the weaker party, he had no right to resist. He replied submissively.

"You... feel free to do as you please..."

Yaen nodded and then said.

"Since that's the case, come and help me. Remember to be careful; this is all important evidence. You must not intentionally damage or scratch it, otherwise, I will have no choice but to charge you with the crime of intentional destruction of property and..."

Yaen adjusted his slightly reflective glasses and said in a calm tone, "Execute you on the spot."

???

Capone Bege.

Instantly feeling a terrifying sensation, Capone Bege hurriedly crouched down and skillfully helped Yaen transfer the treasures into the suitcases.

Soon, as the treasures were successfully transferred one by one, a strange box appeared at the bottom of the safe.

Yaen frowned, clearly sensing that this box was completely out of place compared to the other treasures, and directly ordered Capone Bege.

"Open it."

Resigned to his fate, Capone Bege opened the box while saying, "Sir, these are Devil Fruits."

As the words fell and the box was opened, three Devil Fruits were neatly arranged before Yaen's eyes.

Yaen took the box from Capone Bege's hands, his expression turning serious.

In terms of value, these three Devil Fruits far exceeded the total value of all the treasures in the safe combined.

For Yaen, these three Devil Fruits had an even more special purpose.

"The influence of your Capone Mafia is much greater than I imagined. To think you could collect so many of these things known as the 'Sea Secret Treasures'?"

Capone Bege's eyes darted around, noticing Yaen's interested expression regarding the Devil Fruits, and he replied cautiously.

"In the West Blue, which is the sea of the underworld, while it is difficult to collect Devil Fruits, it is not impossible..."

After a pause, Capone Bege continued.

"If you are willing to spare me, the Capone Mafia will do everything in its power to collect Devil Fruits for you."

Yaen glanced at Capone Bege, smiled, and said, "There is a misunderstanding. It's not Devil Fruits that I like, but rather... slicing fruit."

Immediately, before Capone Bege's stunned eyes, Yaen took two Devil Fruits out of the box one after another and tossed them into the air.

Following that, the Zanpakutō tied at Yaen's waist was instantly drawn and slashed toward the two Devil Fruits.

"There..."

A simple, unadorned slash cut the two Devil Fruits, known as the "Sea Secret Treasures," in half.

???

Capone Bege.

At this moment, even Capone Bege, a Mafia boss, couldn't help but feel a pain so sharp it made it hard to breathe. He couldn't help but mutter, "What a waste of heaven's gifts. Even if these two are just Zoan Devil Fruits, they are worth at least 100 million Belly each. Just like that... they're gone."

Yaen, however, paid no mind to Capone Bege's reaction, focusing most of his attention on his Zanpakutō and his own soul.

As the two Devil Fruits were shredded, an invisible energy was absorbed by the Zanpakutō, which then began to slowly condense into a mask within his soul.

It seems my intuition was correct. The method to awaken the Void Soul Reaper Blade lies in absorbing Devil Fruits, and it isn't limited to consuming them myself. Absorbing the energy directly through the Zanpakutō is also feasible.

Thinking this, Yaen couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.

After all, the taste of a Devil Fruit could hardly be called pleasant.

The last time, under the watchful eyes of Sengoku, Yaen had been forced to eat a Devil Fruit on the spot. He had even gone out of his way to sprinkle a large amount of white sugar on it, but the taste...

It was still like a pile of sugar-coated excrement.

It had truly disgusted Yaen to the core. He had wanted to spit it out immediately, only to have Sengoku slap his mouth shut.

Fortunately, Yaen's intuition had been correct; if he wanted to absorb the energy of a Devil Fruit, he could simply do it directly through his Zanpakutō.

Otherwise, Yaen would have really needed to seriously consider giving up this ability entirely.

After all, according to Yaen's vague intuition, the amount of Devil Fruit energy required to condense each additional Void Soul Reaper Blade would be double that of the previous one.

In other words, if Yaen had to personally eat a Devil Fruit every time to absorb the energy, there was a high probability that... he would be stuffed to death, and stuffed to death by Devil Fruits with such an indescribable taste, at that.

After this verification, Yaen felt a sense of certainty. Just as he was about to take out the last Paramecia Devil Fruit from the box to slice it up as well, he suddenly felt that the Devil Fruit in his hand looked somewhat familiar. He said uncertainly:

"Huh? Is this the Castle-Castle Fruit?"

Fearing that Yaen did not understand the value of the Castle-Castle Fruit and might slice it up, Capone Bege hurriedly spoke.

"That's right, this is the Castle-Castle Fruit. The fruit's ability allows the user to turn their own body into a castle. You can deploy everything—including yourself—inside your body, just like a real fortress. Anything that enters the body shrinks down, and once it leaves the range of the castle, it returns to its original size."

After a pause, Capone Bege did not forget to add, "This is different from a Zoan fruit; this is a rare and special ability."

Yaen pondered for a moment, his gaze shifting to land on Capone Bege as he asked, "Is your son named Capone Bege?"

In an instant, Capone Bege's pupils constricted violently. He had never expected that Yaen would know this secret.

As the founder of the Capone Mafia, Capone Bege had anticipated the potential outcomes he might face in the future. For the sake of safety, he had always kept the existence of his wife and son hidden.

Yet, this secret, which was the most important thing in the world to Capone Bege, had been casually blurted out by Yaen.

Countless questions and confusion arose in Capone Bege's heart, but he subconsciously knelt before Yaen and said, "My lord, please spare my family. I am willing to give up everything."