"Don't bother, I'm just a messenger," Vladimir grinned, "Your Soul-Soul Fruit is useless against me."
"You Phantom are really courting death!"
"Quickly prepare 10 billion, and if you're short even one penny, just wait to collect their bodies." Vladimir was unmoved, "And one more thing, I know that you and Whitebeard are about to start a war. If you don't want a third party to emerge during the war, I advise you to seriously consider what I just said..."
The voice faded, and Shadow Fiend's figure gradually dissipated.
Coming without a shadow, leaving without a trace.
The enraged Charlotte Linlin immediately unfolded her Observation Haki, and in an instant, tens of thousands of meters were within her range of perception.
However, she couldn't detect any trace of Shadow Fiend's presence at all.
"Daring to threaten Mama...!"
At this moment, the entire Whole Cake Island was trembling, and in the sky above, a doomsday-like scene of dark clouds appeared in an instant.
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, raging without end.
Everyone on the island sensed the anger of the Four Emperor and, beneath that anger, the overwhelming killing intent!
Many people trembled and prostrated on the ground.
...
On Whole Cake Island, Charlotte Linlin was enraged by Vladimir's few words, causing the entire island to shake. In the sky above, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, and thick dark clouds were like a large hand, wanting to slap the offender to death.
The instigator, Vladimir, had already traveled hundreds of miles in an instant, returning to Dressrosa.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he dispelled the Shadow Fiend transformation, turning back into the Nine-Tailed Fox.
"As expected of a Four Emperor-level, much stronger than the Navy Admirals."
Facing her once, Vladimir could somewhat feel that the Four Emperors and the Admirals were two different levels of strength. He estimated that even a three-star Nine-Tailed Fox couldn't beat Charlotte Linlin.
"It seems I have to level up to 4 stars to contend with the Four Emperors."
Out of curiosity, Vladimir asked the Fantasy Gene, and the answer he received was that he needed 5 Devil Fruits to level up to 4 stars.
This couldn't help but make him a little helpless. It was only 3 to 4, and he needed 5. If it was 4 to 5, he would need 8, or even 10.
Moreover, this was only for one transformation. If he wanted to level up all the transformations to full star level, he would need dozens of Devil Fruits.
"This isn't a problem of money anymore. With such a large quantity, it's not enough to just buy them with money. I have to go find them myself."
Shaking his head, Vladimir decided to slightly change his strategy.
While making money, he would also pay attention to information about Devil Fruits.
"Speaking of making money, the Empress girl still owes me 500 million. I wonder if she's saved enough. If she hasn't, it's best to use a Devil Fruit as collateral. It seems I have to go to Amazon Lily sometime."
In addition to the Empress's 500 million, the Navy also owed him 1 billion. He had to go and collect it when he had time.
Charlotte Linlin's 10 billion ransom, for the time being, didn't seem so easy to get.
As for now, apart from the 500 million he had on him, Vladimir only had half of the treasure left over from robbing the Celestial Tribute. Selling these things would probably get him 500 or 600 million.
Thinking this, Vladimir got up and left the room.
"Nine-Lord."
In another room specifically used to confine Charlotte Kanten and the other man, the two pirates in charge of guarding them immediately put on a flattering expression when they saw Vladimir.
"How are the people inside?"
"That kid is doing well, please rest assured, Nine-Lord. However, Pekoms' situation... his injuries haven't been treated all along, and if it continues like this, there might be a problem. He might kick the bucket before Nine-Lord gets the ransom."
"I know."
Vladimir nodded and walked towards the two.
Pekoms was bound hand and foot, and although his wounds had been simply bandaged, his face looked increasingly pale, much worse than a few days ago.
"You guys go find a doctor."
"Yes, Nine-Lord."
Immediately, the two left to take care of the matter.
Vladimir looked at the lion-head and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you die. I still have to use you to get money."
"Am I supposed to thank you, gawo!?"
Pekoms looked at Vladimir angrily.
Shaking his head, Vladimir chuckled and said, "I have no grudges against you. I'm just forced to do this by life. We're all pirates, so robbery and kidnapping are commonplace, right?"
Commonplace my ass! You're extorting a Four Emperor, gawo!
Pekoms roared inwardly, but he didn't have the strength to argue with Vladimir.
At this time, Charlotte Kanten said with concern, "Ni-Nine-Lord, did you contact Mama? When will she redeem me?"
"I had a subordinate personally go to Whole Cake Island and did see your old lady, but..." Vladimir smiled playfully, "She was very angry after hearing it and probably wanted to kill me to vent her anger. This 10 billion won't be easy to get."
In Vladimir's opinion, BIG MOM's anger mostly stemmed from the provocation of the Four Emperor's prestige, rather than caring about the lives of a son and a subordinate.
After all, BIG MOM's nickname came from being brutal and fierce.
Hearing this, Charlotte Kanten's face immediately turned pale.
He opened his mouth, just wanting to say something to save his life, when Vladimir suddenly frowned and sharply swept his gaze towards the direction of the window.
"Who's there? Sneaking around."
As soon as the words fell, a black shadow suddenly broke through the window. This black shadow moved quickly, not attacking Vladimir, but locking onto Charlotte Kanten as its target.
"Daring to make a move on my 10 billion, you're courting death."
Vladimir's gaze narrowed, and his golden fox eyes immediately saw the person clearly.
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