It was a pocket watch, one of the spoils Doflamingo had looted after subduing over a hundred pirate crews on Whole Cake Island.
It contained a faint trace of mystical power, yet it was too insignificant to be worth absorbing, so Vladimir had kept it stored away until now.
He never expected it to react like this at such a moment.
Originally broken and motionless, the hands of the watch quietly shifted forward.
Then, the orange light radiating from it, carrying that single wisp of faint mystical energy, drifted into Vladimir's body and merged with him.
"Hmm?"
Vladimir let out a soft sound of surprise. Immediately afterward, a transformation began.
His body shrank rapidly, collapsing from its human form into the shape of a fish.
A small golden fish, no bigger than two palms wide, with strikingly vivid colors. Every scale on its body gleamed with a brilliant, luminous sheen.
At the same moment, knowledge regarding this new transformation flooded into his mind.
Thirteenth Transformation: Space-Time Fish
Rank: ★☆☆☆☆ (One Star)
- Ability 1: River of Time
After receiving this information, Vladimir could not help but widen his eyes in shock.
"It's actually at One Star… No, more importantly, it's actually a Space-Time Travel type of transformation?!"
"A rare Space-Time type Phantom Avatar?!"
Vladimir was stunned. And as he became more aware of his current state, he felt even more amazed.
He was a small golden fish, roughly thirty centimeters long, brilliantly colored, and shining all over.
Yet he could sense no destructive power whatsoever. Clearly, this avatar was not suited for combat.
In fact, it was extremely weak — so weak that even an ordinary deep-sea fish could easily swallow him in one bite.
"But why only One Star? Eve, the Sun Tree, contained power equal to forty or fifty Devil Fruits, and it was the first time I absorbed energy of that purity. Even if it hadn't reached Three Stars, it certainly shouldn't have been just One Star."
When unlocking a new transformation with minimal energy expenditure, the probability of it being a Two-Star avatar was highest — roughly eighty to ninety percent.
With increased expenditure, a Three-Star avatar was the most likely outcome.
As for an avatar appearing at One Star… that was rarer than even a Three-Star result!
Up until now, counting this Space-Time Fish, he had thirteen different avatars. This was the very first time such a thing had happened.
In response to his thoughts, the Illusion Gene remained silent for a long time before finally offering an explanation.
"Uncertain. Most likely, it is because of that pocket watch."
Hearing this, Vladimir flicked his tail and swam slowly closer to the broken watch still hanging among the roots of the Sun Tree.
Under his scanning vision, the watch was now completely devoid of mystical power.
Even that single trace it once held was gone. It was now nothing more than a very ordinary, worn-out old object.
"The appearance of this rare transformation is most likely due to that item," the Illusion Gene continued.
"Originally, the mystical power within the watch was extremely faint. It is highly probable that its power gradually faded away over the course of countless years. And by absorbing the energy of the Sun Tree, you inadvertently supplied the necessary spark to reactivate it."
"Is that really how it works?"
Vladimir didn't fully commit to the idea. With a thought, he projected a stream of golden light from within himself, instantly reforming his true body.
He reached out, retrieved the pocket watch, and then picked up the Space-Time Fish form in his hands, observing it carefully.
"Putting that aside for now… even though it is only One Star, upgrading its rank should be simple enough. The real question is what this new transformation is capable of…"
Currently, he already possessed four avatars at maximum rank, and he still had a large stockpile of Devil Fruits stored away. Raising its level would be no problem.
"Ability One is called River of Time. It relates to time… so it really was because of the watch? After all, a pocket watch is also a symbol of time itself."
Vladimir shook his head, deciding not to dwell on the mystery. Instead, he focused all his attention on understanding the new ability.
The information provided upon transformation was limited. He understood the concept of the River of Time, but he still needed to figure out exactly how to use the power himself.
First of all, the River of Time was indeed like a river… or, to be precise, it was the very manifestation of the laws of time.
The Space-Time Fish could swim freely along the River of Time, and could even travel forward into the future.
However, it could not swim upstream. Meaning, it was impossible to travel backward. There was no way to return to the past.
Of course, it was also possible that the Space-Time Fish was currently too weak to resist the flow of the laws of time, and could only drift along with the current.
"But whether it's returning to the past or seeing the future… those things aren't actually that important to me. What matters is the ability to travel between worlds."
Vladimir examined the little golden fish resting in his palm and murmured to himself.
"However, since it is named the Space-Time Fish, once its rank is raised, abilities related to space travel should unlock as well. Once time and space are combined, I should finally be able to travel between different worlds."
Regardless of the hurdles, unlocking this transformation meant he had finally caught a glimmer of hope regarding his ultimate goal.
All in all, Vladimir was quite satisfied with the results of this trip. The next step was simply to raise the rank of this little fish.
"Before that though… I need to deal with the problem on Fish-Man Island."
With that thought, Vladimir turned his gaze toward the island.
It was now pitch black there. In fact, the entire deep sea was shrouded in darkness.
And on the island itself, chaos had erupted. Fish-Men, Merfolk, and even pirates passing through on their way to the New World were all terrified by the sudden disappearance of light.
Fish-Man Island — Ryūgū Palace.
Inside the main hall, King Neptune sat upon his throne. Beside him stood Queen Otohime.
Below them were their three princes, along with their ministers and advisors.
The eldest son: Fukaboshi.
The second son: Ryūboshi.
The third son: Manboshi.
Unlike the darkness outside, the palace was illuminated by massive glowing pearls, keeping the great hall bright.
Nevertheless, the sudden loss of light from the Sun Tree had put everyone on edge. It was a matter of survival for their entire civilization.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out just outside the hall. A group of guards could be heard shouting helplessly.
"Princess, you cannot rush in like this! His Majesty is currently…"
"Father! The sky has gone dark!"
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