As soon as the words left his mouth, he swung his staff-sword downward.
"Gravity Suppression!"
Thud!!
In an instant, within a hundred-meter radius, the air itself seemed to become incredibly heavy.
Every pirate felt their bodies sink, forcing them to hunch over. Some even collapsed flat onto the ground.
"This is... the Paramecia-type Gravity-Gravity Fruit!" Sluth's expression darkened. "This is troublesome!"
As he spoke, his body gradually turned fluid-like.
His skin darkened, and his entire form softened like liquid, melting into a dark pool on the ground.
The next moment, that pool of black liquid suddenly reshaped into a sharp, spiked sphere, rolling rapidly straight toward the blind swordsman Issho.
"Ferrofluid: Giant Spiked Ball!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The massive spiked sphere rolled forward, crushing everything in its path.
Issho slowly opened his eyes, revealing only white pupils. "Logia-type? A user of the Magnet-Liquid Fruit... quite a troublesome ability!"
...
While the situation unfolded there, outside the auction venue, Azir, the Emperor of the Sands, stood guard silently.
Suddenly, he lifted his head, gazing upward at the Golden Disk floating above.
The disk glowed with golden radiance, gathering magical energy into countless projectiles. Whoosh!
A volley of energy blasts shot down toward an empty stretch of ground in front of the venue.
Seeing this, Azir rose swiftly, holding his golden staff, and pointed sharply forward.
"Your stealth ability is impressive, but you cannot hide from the Golden Disk. Your hostility is far too strong... Quicksand!"
A sandstorm roared to life, sweeping violently across the ground.
Right there in the empty space, a nearly invisible figure slowly materialized.
"I've been found... My Observation Haki grants me supreme concealment—how did this disk detect me?"
The newcomer wore a black cloak. Seeing the blasts and the approaching sandstorm, he turned and fled immediately, without hesitation.
His skin had a greenish tint, and as he ran, he moved close to the ground, crawling like a reptile.
"Animal-Zoan: Lizard-Lizard Fruit, Chameleon Form?"
Azir said in surprise, "A rather rare Zoan-type. But I know you—you spoke with Lord Aizen during the first round of screening. Don't run!"
He gave chase instantly.
The two fled and pursued, quickly moving far away from the auction venue.
Azir needed no guesswork to know why this person had appeared: clearly, he had come to rescue someone.
And who else would it be, but one of the twenty-six captives bound to the wooden frames on public display?
Minutes after Azir's departure, a tall man with an elongated face and an extraordinarily large, dark purple afro stepped casually onto the scene.
"Oh dear, oh dear... isn't this Croc-boy? Stripped naked and strung up in a place like this... it truly brings tears to my eyes, hahaha!"
The newcomer grinned broadly as he walked up to Crocodile.
"Hmm?"
Crocodile moved his fingers slightly and slowly lifted his head.
His mind was hazy, and his vision blurred. Long hours under the scorching sun and days without food had left his body severely weakened.
"Who... are you?"
"What?!" The newcomer stared at him in shock.
"Croc-boy, have you really starved your brain out of function? You don't even remember me? Listen well—I am Emporio Ivankov, Queen of the Kamabakka Kingdom!"
"It's... you!"
Crocodile's eyes snapped wide open, and a sharp killing intent flashed within them.
The name Ivankov acted like a stimulant, instantly clearing his mind.
"Aren't you locked away in Impel Down?" Crocodile ground out through his teeth.
"That's all thanks to Phantom attacking the prison some time ago—I seized the chance to escape, hahaha!"
Ivankov grinned. "I know all about your little secrets, Croc-boy. I never imagined that after all these years, you'd rise to become a Warlord of the Sea—truly impressive!"
"Did you come here to rescue me?" Crocodile's eyes narrowed.
"In your dreams." Ivankov curled his lip. "Well... it's not entirely impossible. Anyway, the member of Phantom guarding here was just lured away by someone else—hahaha!"
No sooner had he spoken than a weak voice called out from nearby.
"Save me too, while you're at it."
Gecko Moria spoke up suddenly. His condition was even worse than Crocodile's.
"Emporio Ivankov... King/Queen of the Okama..."
...
Meanwhile, inside a private room at the auction venue.
Doflamingo knelt on the floor, screaming in agony.
"AAAAHHHH!"
From his nostrils, ears, eyes, and mouth—from every orifice—thick white bone-like substance oozed out, rapidly encasing his entire body.
"What... what is this?! Lord Aizen!"
Vladimir let out a low hum. "I told you earlier to prepare yourself mentally. I never expected you wouldn't even last thirty seconds... and now you've begun Hollowfication."
"Hollowfication?!" Doflamingo gritted his teeth, fighting the pain and struggling desperately to keep his sanity.
"This isn't normal Hollowfication," Vladimir said.
The soul has two sides: the front is a Soul Reaper, the reverse is a Hollow. Hollowfication is the process of gradually turning into that reverse side.
I only intended to help you rapidly evolve and unlock the true potential of your Devil Fruit... but your soul is far too corrupted and wicked.
As soon as we began, it naturally started turning you into a Hollow.
____________________
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"