Hearing this, Vladimir remained noncommittal, his expression unchanged.
Seeing his silence, Ghost Grandma had no choice but to say, "Devil Fruits won't work. Without the necessary conditions for the Treasure-Hunting Mouse to activate its ability, it cannot help you find Devil Fruits."
"Overthinking it," Vladimir said, calmly observing the other party. "Do you think we would act blindly without knowing anything?"
Previously, he indeed didn't know, but Doflamingo did.
The Treasure-Hunting Mouse needed a necessary medium to find specific targets, just as Ghost Grandma said.
For example, when Kaido asked Nini to find the Red Stone, he provided a rubbing of his own Red Stone.
However, the Treasure-Hunting Mouse had a second function: finding non-specific targets. Even over long distances, it could sniff out the aura emitted by treasures.
Although the efficiency might not be very high, this was also a way to obtain Devil Fruits.
Furthermore, the efficiency of the Sea Beast Legion in salvaging Devil Fruits from the seabed was even lower. With the Treasure-Hunting Mouse, the combined progress would be very fast!
Upon hearing Vladimir's words, Ghost Grandma's expression immediately turned grim. She sighed inwardly, "It seems I can't fool him. I'll have to run!"
With that thought, she flipped her right hand, and from beneath her sleeve, two paper figures suddenly shot out.
Vladimir's sharp eyes noticed that the paper figures, one male and one female, one large and one small, were quite lifelike, clearly representing Andy and Nini.
"Kid, Nini, prepare to escape! Transfer!"
Ghost Grandma shouted, and the next moment, the bodies of the three began to distort, as if ripples appeared in space. Then, with a flash of light, the three vanished into thin air.
"Huh?"
Vladimir, standing on the dragon's head, looked down in surprise.
The three had disappeared, vanished right before his eyes. Their aura, in just a short moment, appeared in another part of Dragon Island.
"It is indeed a space-type ability," Vladimir chuckled. "Unlike the Door-Door Fruit, which opens a dimensional door to enter an alternate space, and then opens another door elsewhere to transfer. This ability… is more convenient and faster. No wonder they could rescue people so stealthily!"
~
Previously, Ghost Grandma didn't need physical contact with Andy and Nini to activate her ability, which was the convenient part.
Most Paramecia users require physical contact to activate their abilities and affect others.
It was likely that those two paper figures replaced the condition of "physical contact."
"No, not necessarily. Perhaps it's an awakened Paramecia? Or like the ROOM space of the Op-Op Fruit, which doesn't require physical contact to achieve similar results."
Vladimir meticulously analyzed her ability, then smiled. With a thought, he traversed space, instantly pursuing them.
...
Meanwhile, in another part of Dragon Island, near the coast.
Space rippled, and the three of Ghost Grandma appeared out of nowhere.
"Cough, cough…"
As soon as they appeared, Ghost Grandma coughed a few times, her face looking somewhat pale.
"Ghost Grandma!" Annie exclaimed in alarm.
"Grandma is fine," Ghost Grandma quickly said. "Nini, you need to run quickly. There's a special small boat here that can pass through the strange sea surrounding Dragon Island! Hurry! If you don't leave now…"
However, before she could finish speaking, wisps of black smoke drifted out, rapidly coalescing into a pitch-black figure.
Seeing this, the three were greatly alarmed.
Ghost Grandma's face was filled with disbelief, and she exclaimed, "How is this possible! We just teleported tens of thousands of meters! Shadow Fiend, how did you catch up!?"
"Tens of thousands of meters in an instant? Hehehehe…"
Vladimir let out a light laugh. "A mere ten thousand meters? I can traverse from one end of the planet to the other in an instant! You've been locked onto by me, so you can't escape."
Hearing this, Ghost Grandma suddenly remembered that some time ago, intelligence reports of the Shadow Fiend appearing in many places in the New World had spread. These reports were issued almost on the same day, and the locations were far apart, making it impossible to travel back and forth in a single day.
She had initially dismissed it as a false rumor, but hearing him say this now, she couldn't help but feel a sense of shock…
"Why does such a monster exist in the world! What kind of ability user are you!?"
Ghost Grandma exclaimed, "Could it be that beyond the 'awakening' stage, Devil Fruits have a third stage?"
Otherwise, it was hard to explain what kind of Devil Fruit ability could allow one to traverse the planet in an instant.
Hearing this, Vladimir's expression remained calm. With a wave of his hand, a long shadow spread from beneath his feet.
The shadow transformed into a sharp blade, sticking close to the ground, without substance, and quickly reached in front of Ghost Grandma.
"Shadow Blade!"
With a whispered utterance, this eerie shadow blade suddenly rose from two dimensions to three. The materialized shadow blade thrust directly towards Ghost Grandma's chest.
And just as the wound was about to be inflicted, Ghost Grandma's gaze sharpened, and she whispered, "Transfer!"
Poof!
With a soft sound, the Shadow Blade instantly pierced Ghost Grandma's abdomen.
"Old woman!" Andy's expression changed, and he tried to intervene, but it was too late.
Suddenly, Ghost Grandma raised her withered right hand and said weakly, "I'm fine… cough, cough."
"Hmm?" Vladimir felt surprised again. "You're unharmed after being hit by my Shadow Blade. I see. Your ability isn't just spatial transfer; you can even transfer wounds… No, you can transfer the opponent's attacks!"
Suddenly, his gaze shifted to a nearby rock. A strange cut appeared on the large stone.
It was indeed caused by the Shadow Blade!
Hearing this, Ghost Grandma said wearily, "You didn't intend to kill me with that last attack, otherwise you would have aimed for the heart. Is it because you need Nini's Treasure-Hunting Mouse, so you don't want to kill me?"
Isn't that obvious?
Vladimir muttered inwardly. Before resorting to extreme measures, killing Ghost Grandma, who clearly had a good relationship with Nini Poland, would prevent her from helping him.
"Haha, I told you, we have no ill intentions. It's you who insisted on running. If I really wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be able to escape even if you fled to the moon!"
Vladimir said nonchalantly.
Hearing this, Ghost Grandma couldn't help but show a wry smile. "This old woman admits defeat. The people of the Phantom Organization are indeed extraordinary beings. Facing your abilities, I couldn't even escape with Nini."
With that, she took a deep breath and said heavily, "Let's talk properly!"
____________________
For more advance chapters visit my patreon
patreon.com/kane45
Tier: 10$ Casual Reader - +20 Advance Chapter
20$ Intermediate Reader - +40 Advance Chapter
40$ Expert Reader - +80 Advance Chapter
Update: "Monday to Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day"
"Saturday and Sunday - Off"