The two Devil Fruits were easy to identify. One was the Dark Dark Fruit, a Logia, and the other an Ancient Zoan.
Both were rare and powerful, yet Parker immediately understood which one held greater value. Anyone with even a basic grasp of Devil Fruits would reach the same conclusion. The Dark Dark Fruit was obviously more precious.
He stepped closer to read the carved plaque.
Dark Dark Fruit: allows the user to transform into darkness while wielding the infinite gravity of a black hole. Drawbacks listed include inability to elementalize, and damage received is doubled.
Parker frowned. The description did not match his expectations. A Logia that could not elementalize? Without elementalization, the greatest advantage of a Logia essentially vanished.
And double damage taken? The drawback alone sounded terrifying, enough to make anyone wary.
Infinite gravity was tempting, but it was only a pulling force. Useful, but not immediately helpful for someone who needed short term strength. Since it was stored here, the fruit clearly had remarkable potential, though it seemed to require long term development.
Parker did not have that luxury.
His attention shifted to the Ancient Zoan nearby. The Winged Tiger Fruit was exactly the type of power he needed. His father wielded the Ancient Zoan Kraken devil Fruit, and his grandfather had been an Ancient Zoan user as well. Their kingdom's martial style revolved around physical might, durability, and relentless endurance.
This fruit perfectly aligned with that lineage.
Moreover, he had seen it before. His father once considered eating this very Devil Fruit before ultimately choosing the Kraken Fruit. If his father had given it serious thought, its quality was undoubtedly high. Carnivorous Ancient Zoans were among the strongest category of Zoans.
Parker's breaths deepened as his resolve formed. This was his path forward. He reached for the fruit, fingers closing in.
His hand seized empty air.
The Devil Fruit vanished.
Not only the Ancient Zoan, but the Dark Dark Fruit beside it had also disappeared.
Shock hit Parker with the force of a hammer. Power that had been within reach, a future he had already envisioned, was suddenly snatched away.
His heart plummeted.
Who? Who stole my Devil Fruits?
He spun in place, eyes wide, scanning every corner of the vault. The chamber was not large. With one look he could see almost everything. There was no one.
Impossible. Someone had taken the fruits right beneath his nose.
He clenched his fists and shouted, voice cracking.
"Come out! Give them back!"
A soft chuckle drifted through the air. "Although that one was not the captain's target, I cannot let you waste it. Do not eat it. Just hand it over."
Nelson appeared behind him. Parker froze, barely registering the voice.
A blade flashed. Blood scattered.
Nelson's sword pierced directly through Parker's chest.
Parker stared down at the blade in disbelief. He did not know when it had appeared, nor how he had been struck so easily.
"Wh-why?" His voice trembled, fading along with his life force.
"Because you took something we needed." Nelson replied as he pulled the blade free. Blood flowed freely down Parker's back. His legs weakened, collapsing beneath him.
He died with resentment burning in his fading eyes.
Nelson stood over the body, smiling in quiet satisfaction. He glanced at the two Devil Fruits now stored within his spatial dimension, especially the Dark Dark Fruit that Teach needed, and tucked them away securely.
With a wave of his hand, Parker's key appeared in his grasp.
"With this, I can go back."
He cast one last look at the surrounding treasures. He wanted them, of course. Who would not? But he could not take them now. Once the battle ended, the entire royal palace would belong to the Nightfall Pirates anyway, along with the riches inside it.
Nelson vanished.
On the western side of the royal city stood the Krakens' massive military factory. Even with chaos erupting throughout the capital, this place continued operating nonstop.
The arsenal was the kingdom's beating heart. Its production lines manufactured firearms and artillery around the clock, supplying the front lines. It could not stop. Over three hundred thousand workers labored across the facility, armed forces included, creating a ceaseless hum of machines.
The complex was divided into three major sectors.
The largest was the weapon manufacturing plant, housing dozens of production lines for every kind of firearm and explosive device.
The second was the weapon research and development center, responsible for designing more advanced technology and optimizing existing blueprints. This was the root of the Kraken Kingdom's technological superiority.
The third was the classified research institute. Everyone knew it existed, yet almost no one understood what happened inside. The direction, however, was obvious. It was a place dedicated to war. A place where large scale, mass killing methods were developed.
And today, the research institute received two uninvited guests.
Redyat and Mainz.
They traveled swiftly from the coast to the royal city, hidden within Redyat's shadow space. Redyat drifted between building shadows, carrying himself and Mainz through the vast military complex.
Their target was the heart of the institute. Once they destroyed the illegal research, their mission would be complete. The Tirisfal Kingdom's forces would handle the rest.
Redyat knew the layout well. He had memorized every detail from the intelligence reports.
Moving along the shadowed walls, he guided their path until they slipped through a thin gap in the research facility's exterior. The shadow seeped through and entered the interior.
Redyat was the perfect infiltrator. No one could sense him. Even if someone saw a shadow shift in the corner of their eye, they would not understand what they were seeing.
Inside, they observed the environment. Researchers wore full reinforced suits. Even the air felt dangerous, brimming with lethal substances. It matched the reports. The previous intelligence officer had died soon after entering.
Mainz prepared to strike first. His main target was the Vice Admiral level guardian stationed within the institute.
He exchanged a glance with his brother.
Redyat nodded.
Mainz dissolved into air, leaving the shadow space and entering the institute. He controlled his form, isolating himself from the surrounding toxins, guiding clean pockets of air around his body. Even so, he knew better than to rely on brute resistance. Poison and bacteria did not discriminate.
Using Observation Haki, he found a sealed chamber where the guardian lay hidden.
Inside that room, a man opened his eyes.
For an instant, he felt something odd, something watching him.
Mainz stopped hiding. He swept through the room, manipulating wind and pressure, and isolated the chamber with a controlled air barrier.
His presence triggered chaos throughout the institute.
Test tubes shattered, releasing volatile substances.
The lead researcher immediately shouted. "Level One alert protocol, now!"
Researchers sprinted into sealed labs. Transparent windows displayed the corridors outside filling with swirling, dense gas.
The lead researcher activated emergency sprinklers. Jets of flame spiraled downward, bathing the corridor in blazing heat.
Redyat observed from within the shadows.
High temperatures can kill most toxins and bacteria. So that is their failsafe.
Protective suits resisted the flames, though some corrosion showed where gas had touched unprotected material. The equipment was specially designed, clearly incorporating advanced engineering.
Then a wave of Conqueror's Haki blasted through the facility.
Every researcher collapsed.
Mainz had isolated the effect to only the institute, ensuring no one outside noticed.
With all distractions removed, he focused on the man before him.
Hurricanes coiled around Mainz, streaks of compressed air gathering strength.
He lashed out.
The man raised a hand. A blue circular barrier formed instantly.
Isolate the air.
The hurricane stopped dead, unable to approach.
Mainz narrowed his eyes. He recognized the power.
The Isolation Isolation Fruit. A troublesome ability. It could isolate anything, even air itself.
Which meant an Air Logia like Mainz had just met one of his natural enemies.
The entire room tensed, the air between them vibrating.
The real battle finally began.