Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 256 Creating Blood Servants

"This is Water Seven, the largest shipbuilding base on the Grand Line!"

A somewhat dilapidated pirate ship sailed into the port of Water Seven. On the deck of the pirate ship, a blond, curly-browed young man, smoking a cigarette, remarked:

"Finally, we can completely refurbish the Going Merry! If it weren't for Usopp's Devil Fruit ability, I think our ship would have fallen apart halfway through the journey."

"Hahaha, of course! With my Candle-Candle Fruit powers, no matter how badly the Going Merry is damaged, I can repair it!"

Usopp, whose head still had a few sparks, stood up after hearing this and laughed heartily. Judging from his current appearance, the development of his Candle-Candle Fruit is almost catching up with Mr. 3.

When there are no more flames on his head, he will have surpassed the original development progress of the Candle-Candle Fruit user.

Mr. 3's development of the Candle-Candle Fruit wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly outstanding either. Usopp, on the other hand, was quick-witted, intelligent, imaginative, and possessed a certain level of scientific literacy. He was a genius at developing this type of Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, which allowed him to catch up with Mr. 3 in just over a month.

"Stop talking, I want to eat meat, eat meat, eat meat!!"

Luffy was filled with excitement and was about to jump down immediately, but just then, a flurry of noise suddenly came from the dock.

"Run!"

"It's that person..."

"A vampire demon has appeared..."

On the dock, the tall, burly men looked panicked. Just by looking at their bulging muscles, their rough skin weathered by the sea, and the weapons at their waists and in their hands, you could tell they were no law-abiding citizens, but pirates.

"What's wrong with these pirates? Why are they so scared?"

Luffy looked puzzled, but then heard a trembling voice beside him speak:

"Luffy, don't you usually read the newspapers? Recently, a monster has appeared in the first half of the Grand Line, killing countless pirates..."

"It is said that any pirate who encounters this vampire demon is doomed to die, and the number of pirates who have died at his hands has now exceeded ten thousand!"

"Let's get out of here quickly! Waaaaah, Captain Usopp has a disease that kills him whenever he sees a vampire..."

Usopp was trembling with fear, sweat pouring down his forehead, and he was on the verge of fainting. However, when he looked at the three main fighters of the Straw Hat crew, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

A hint of husky-like curiosity appeared in Luffy's originally clear eyes, which were completely untouched by knowledge.

Zoro, half asleep and half awake, opened his eyes, revealing an interested fighting spirit.

Even Sanji, who isn't usually very combative, looked somewhat eager to try.

"A vampire demon... must be a user of some kind of Devil Fruit... Heh, quite interesting!"

"A Devil Fruit that can suck blood... could it be the Vampire Bat Fruit? Or perhaps the Blood Fruit?"

"No matter who it is, just knock them away, right?!"

The trio discussed amongst themselves, their eyes brimming with the courage to do something big—compared to the original story, because they hadn't defeated Crocodile, the Straw Hat Pirates were still an obscure force in the Grand Line, and all three of them were eager to raise their profile.

However, the Straw Hat Pirates have a very high moral standard. When they encounter the Marines, they usually just run away and don't massacre civilians. Under normal circumstances, nothing happens, so it's actually difficult for them to increase their bounties.

Now that they had heard about this strange vampire demon that had killed so many pirates, the three of them couldn't help but feel eager to try their luck.

Just then, a cloud of blood mist drifted from the distance of the dock, and countless red bats spewed out from it, rushing towards the pirates below.

"Don't come near me! Damn monster! Ah!"

"There's no escape! I'll fight these bats to the death—uh-uh-uh!!"

In the chaos, some pirates turned back to attack, some simply fled, and some even jumped into the sea. However, swarms of bats covered the sky, and under the blood-red light, each bat pierced through the body of a pirate, turning those strong pirates into dried corpses.

"They seem like they're not easy to deal with..."

"What kind of Devil Fruit ability is it? Or some kind of strange animal?"

Cold sweat dripped down Sanji's forehead, Zoro gripped his weapon tightly, and even the usually carefree Straw Hat Pirates showed a rare serious expression.

Moments later, all that remained of the pirates on the dock was a pile of dried corpses. Even the pirates who had escaped into the sea were caught up by the blood-red bats, their bodies floating on the surface like straw.

"How tragic..."

Looking at the pirates drifting on the sea like withered tree trunks, Luffy couldn't help but speak. Just then, blood-red bats frantically gathered towards the center, like a blood-red whirlwind. A moment later, Uchiha Tou's figure emerged from the whirlwind.

However, compared to before, Uchiha Tou's appearance has changed after he acquired the Vampire Fruit, and he has also taken on a mysterious and dark aura.

"Hey! Usopp, doesn't this guy look a bit like your creditor?"

Looking at Uchiha Tou, whose appearance had changed quite a bit, Luffy scratched his head and asked a question.

As for the creditor... don't forget that Usopp received a Devil Fruit ability from Touya Uchiha, and the Candle-Wax Fruit can fetch hundreds of millions of Berries at auction!

Although Uchiha Tou took the Going Merry and Usopp with him, the Straw Hat Pirates have now gotten the Going Merry back, and Usopp wasn't mistreated. So theoretically, the Straw Hat Pirates, or at least Usopp, definitely owe Uchiha Tou.

"Y-yes...it's Uchiha Touu! It's...it's...it's all over!! That terrifying guy has come knocking!! Luffy, you've ruined me!!"

Usopp wasn't face-blind like Luffy; he immediately recognized that although the appearance had changed drastically, it was indeed Uchiha Touya himself. Thinking about the consequences of his sneaking away, and recalling Uchiha Touya's ruthless killing prowess, Usopp's eyes rolled back, and he went limp like a noodle.

"Last time, Captain, you were seriously injured by that guy, weren't you!"

Zoro, gripping his long sword, stood beside Luffy. Back in Alabasta, the Straw Hat Pirates had cooperated with the rebels there in order to find Usopp.

Then Zoro kept getting lost and disconnected until he met Sanji, who was carrying a seriously injured Luffy. Only then did he realize that the war was over and the rebels had all gone home.

Sanji didn't particularly enjoy fighting, and being the most sensible of the trio, he sensed something was amiss when the nobles seized the rebels' spoils, so he simply went and became a cook. In the end, only Luffy suffered the consequences; if it weren't for Ace, he probably would have died in Alabasta.

After Ace rescued Luffy, he entrusted Luffy to Sanji. While Sanji was helping Luffy recover from his injuries, they encountered Zoro. The three of them stayed in Alabasta for a while. Just then, Uchiha Touya left, and Usopp happened to meet them. Together with the three of them, they stole the Going Merry and escaped.

"Hmm... I got really badly beaten up last time!"

Luffy nodded, looking at the grotesque, centipede-like scar on one of his arms—the most severe injury he had ever suffered since birth, in which he was instantly killed by his opponent with almost no power to resist.

"Oh, it's you guys..."

Just then, a faint voice came, and Uchiha Tou's figure flashed and he was already standing on the deck of the Going Merry.

"So fast!!"

Zoro drew his twin swords, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, while Sanji bit off the cigarette in his mouth, a look of fear on his face.

This speed exceeded their nerve reflexes and dynamic vision. In their perception, Uchiha Hiu seemed to have teleported directly to the deck.

"Want to fight?! Batman!!"

Luffy immediately stood in front of Uchiha Tou, clenching his fists—although he had been badly beaten last time, the Straw Hat Luffy was the type to never learn from his mistakes, and he was even less likely to admit defeat.

Then, with three loud thuds, Luffy and his two companions were sent flying backwards and crashed onto the deck.

"How rude of you! I beat you up last time, and you still can't remember my name?"

Uchiha Touyu shook his hand, and then the three people on the deck screamed at the same time as a large amount of blood was drawn out and fell into Uchiha Touyu's hand.

As blood was drawn, the trio aged rapidly, soon appearing listless and weak. Just then, a soft shout reached Uchiha Touyu's ears:

"Deadly move, Gunpowder Star!"

The gleaming bullet hurtled towards Uchiha Touyu, who glanced at it, flicked it lightly, and the bullet flew back, hitting Usopp who was holding a slingshot. With a loud bang, Usopp was sent flying backward.

"You're using the Candle-Wax Fruit's power quite well. It seems you'll be able to digest the power of this Devil Fruit soon."

Uchiha Touyu chuckled lightly, and Usopp, who had fallen to the ground, shakily got up. In fact, he wasn't injured at all; he was just frightened. The power of the gunpowder star had been completely blocked by the layer of candle armor he wore.

At the same time, Uchiha Hiyu flicked his wrist, and with a thud, like the sound of a bell, Usopp was sent flying backward and fell into the sea with a splash.

Wearing the light candle armor, Usopp wouldn't drown, but if he fell into the sea, this Devil Fruit user wouldn't be able to climb out on his own.

At this moment, Uchiha Touyu's gaze fell on the Straw Hat trio lying on the ground, and a smile appeared on his lips:

"I've never tried creating vampire servants before, so I'll use the three of you as guinea pigs this time!"

After evolving, the Vampire Fruit gained the ability to create blood servants. However, this creation is obviously not unlimited. Without affecting his own power, Uchiha Touya can only create a maximum of seven or eight blood servants.

Therefore, Uchiha Touyu naturally had to be more cautious and at least select some outstanding individuals, otherwise wouldn't it be a waste of his ability quota?

The created blood servants are roughly equivalent to a lower-tier Vampire Fruit, and are even stronger than ordinary Zoan-type Devil Fruits, at least in terms of regenerative ability.

It also possesses two abilities: a blood curse and a bat transformation. One is roughly equivalent to a Zoan-type transformation, while the other is a lower-level ability that manipulates blood, causing the opponent's wounds to bleed uncontrollably and fail to heal.

Furthermore, because they are not Devil Fruit users, they are not afraid of the power of seawater, but at the same time, they also have their own unique weaknesses.

First, there are the side effects of the blood curse: one must drink a certain amount of fresh blood every day, otherwise one is likely to go berserk and attack indiscriminately. Second, there is a fear of the power of sunlight: if one is under the sun for more than five minutes, one will feel unbearable pain.

Of course, most importantly, they will be controlled by the Vampire Fruit user to some extent. Although they will not be completely manipulated, they will be like toys in the hands of the Hobby Fruit user, only able to resist in their hearts.

The blood in Uchiha Touyu's hand congealed into a ball. At the same time, he opened his mouth, revealing two sharp canines. Three drops of ruby-like blood dripped from between his canines and fell into the blood ball in his hand. Then, Uchiha Touyu clapped his hands, and the blood ball returned to the Straw Hat trio's bodies.

The Straw Hat trio, who were originally old and on the verge of death, recovered after the blood returned to their bodies. In fact, their auras were even stronger than before, clearly indicating that they had gained some of the vampire's power and their strength had increased considerably.

Ignoring the Straw Hat trio who were beginning to recover, Uchiha Touya transformed into a ball of blood and disappeared from the deck.

The killings during this period not only improved Uchiha Tou's strength but also provided his main body with a lot of sacrifices and mana. In addition, his reputation as a vampire demon that resounded throughout the first half of the Grand Line also advanced his Devil Fruit abilities. At least the easiest blood transformation ability has been developed by him.

For Uchiha Tou, blood transformation is not just a simulation of Logia-type elemental transformation ability—in fact, the bat avatar can do something similar. Although it is not as immune to physical attacks as a true Logia-type elemental transformation, in the hands of a strong Observation Haki user, it is not much different from elemental transformation.

Most importantly, once one can truly transform into blood, certain blood-related techniques can be used, such as the current Blood Escape technique, which is not much slower than the Rumble-Flash Devil Fruit.

"Damn it... what did that guy do to us?"

"Never mind that for now, let's get Usopp out of there first... Also, let's leave after we've repaired the ship..."

The Straw Hat trio got up immediately after recovering, but even if Luffy was carefree and Zoro wanted to face the challenge, they were disheartened and had little desire to fight in this situation.

(End of this chapter)