Chapter 114

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After the disgraceful retreat of Germa 66, Doflamingo led his men back to the island.

Although the island was initially subjected to a terrifying barrage, the assault quickly fizzled out as the executives each made their move.

The losses were not insignificant, but still within acceptable boundaries.

Most importantly, the family residence located on the mountaintop was fortunately unharmed.

Given that they had just recently moved here, Doflamingo decided not to create more chaos for the time being. He would just spend some money to rebuild the damaged structures.

As for those who had died...

Doflamingo had never considered them a part of the Donquixote Family.

Only those who officially became members of the family were worthy of being his 'family'.

So, if those who lacked the ability died, it was no matter. With the reputation of the Donquixote Family, they could recruit as many minions as needed.

During the damage assessment, someone reported that the kids kept in the dungeon had been rescued.

In the end, nearly everyone had fled, leaving the dungeon unattended.

Doflamingo did not take his anger out on his subordinates. After all, if the boss ran away, how could he expect his underlings to remain loyal to the end?

Impossible!

So, if they were rescued, so be it. They were just a few insignificant kids anyway.

"Abel, I remember you mentioned finding a Den Den Mushi on those kids in the beginning?" Doflamingo queried.

"Yes, I communicated with someone using it, but I thought it was a scam, so I discarded it later," Abel replied candidly.

"Discarded? Well, that's done."

Doflamingo could not bring himself to criticize Abel. After all, he had assigned him the task, and all updates had been reported to him.

The entire incident began with Germa provoking the Donquixote Family, so if anyone was to blame, it would just be bad luck.

But there were some benefits.

An exposed Germa posed less threat than one hiding in the shadows.

And after this battle, Doflamingo had gained a clear understanding of their full capabilities.

Now all they needed was an opportunity to drive Germa out of the North Sea, then they wouldn't have to worry anymore.

After the meeting, Abel secluded himself in his room.

At this point, he didn't take the risk to contact Judge, nor was it necessary.

His last message to Judge was to leave the North Sea and recover.

Given Doflamingo's vindictive nature, if Germa continued to stay in the North Sea, they would inevitably be found.

And then, there would be two outcomes: either be absorbed or vanish from history.

The fact that Judge managed to escape this time was simply good luck, and due in part to Abel's help.

Otherwise, they would have already been dead.

So, to avoid such a situation from recurring, moving to another location and laying low was a good strategy.

Furthermore, if Abel remembered correctly, Germa's snail ship was amphibious, capable of both on-land and underwater travel, and even climbing the Red Line.

The Red Line!

In other words, as long as Germa crossed the Red Line, they could easily reach the East Blue!

And they would be undetected.

Compared to other seas, the East Blue was relatively calmer.

As long as Judge didn't provoke some big shots, like the occasional visitors to the East Blue, Garp and Red-Haired Shanks, there should be no significant problems.

Of course, it was best to keep a distance from the Goa Kingdom.

When the time comes, Abel will remind Judge of these issues, particularly about the troublesome Neon Light Brothers. They must never meet Luffy and Ace. It would be best to keep them away altogether.

According to certain laws of the universe, as soon as the two parties meet, conflicts will inevitably arise, possibly leading to a major fight.

Then, the parents from both sides would have to intervene, eventually escalating into a full-blown war.

If that happened, Germa would likely meet a gruesome end.

"Hiss... Why do I suddenly feel that the East Blue is more dangerous than the North Blue?"

Abel felt a sense of concern for Judge, but he quickly put it aside.

With Germa's situation settled, he could finally focus on enhancing his abilities without any worries.

Deadly poisons were laid out on his table.

"Let's start with you."

Abel picked one that he thought wasn't as lethal and started injecting it into his heart.

Who on earth does things like this?

The next second, he fell onto the bed, foaming at the mouth.

...

It took Abel a full five days to successfully integrate seven new lethal poisons.

The reason it took so long was because of the 24-hour cooldown period for his talent, "Soul of a Samurai".

Frequently triggering the 'death immunity' effect, he had no choice but to wait.

If he waited, he would waste some time, but his life would be secure, and he wouldn't meet an untimely end.

But if he didn't wait, he would truly be risking his life.

Thankfully, his efforts were not in vain. He finally succeeded.

The talent, "Heart of a Wight," which had been upgraded to orange quality, had undergone another astonishing transformation!

Talent: "Heart of a Wight" (Orange)

[Description: The Pyrite virus has devoured ten other lethal poisons and transformed, concentrating all the toxins in the heart. When activated, the toxins spread rapidly throughout the body via the bloodstream, turning the user into a wight.]

[As a wight, the user's defense, speed, and strength are all increased by 300%, and attacks carry the 'Plague' effect. The user can choose to turn on or off the 'Plague Aura'. Pain sensitivity is reduced by 100%.]

[Plague Aura Effect: Once activated, it radiates within a 10-meter radius centered on the user, making all living creatures within this range subject to an infection check every 10 seconds. Those infected will experience severe pain and develop white patches on their skin. When these patches spread throughout their bodies, they will die from the poison.]

[Side Effects: Due to the accelerated erosion of the toxins, the lifespan will decrease at a rate of one day per hour. During the activation process of the Plague Aura, the lifespan will further decrease at a rate of one day per minute.]

[Growth Potential: Inject 99 new deadly toxins into the heart until they are fully assimilated. Current progress: 0/99.]

...

After Abel finished reading, his reaction was:

Just one word, powerful!

A 300% increase in strength, attack carrying the 'Plague' effect, 100% reduction in pain sensation, and the additional 'Plague Aura' ability!

As soon as this aura is activated, all creatures within a 10-meter range of him will undergo an infection check every 10 seconds.

Those infected are as if poisoned by him, without him exerting much effort as before.

In other words, he only needs to stand there to be a walking plague source, capable of killing invisibly.

Although the side effects remain, they have significantly lessened compared to when they first began.

Even the compounded lifespan reduction during the activation of the Plague Aura is within an acceptable range.

Given such a powerful talent, a few side effects are negligible.

What made Abel both shocked and delighted was the persisting 'Growth Potential' tag.

This means that the talent "Heart of a Wight" indeed possesses the potential to grow into a red talent.

But the updated growth condition is incredibly stringent!

It jumped from initially requiring only three or seven new deadly toxins to a whopping 99!

This is not a small increase in difficulty.

Abel even began to doubt if the growth condition was deliberately discouraging, not really expecting anyone to achieve it.

Injecting 99 new deadly toxins into the heart - how many lives would be enough to fulfill this?