"It's like this, I need to find a fruit with a special pattern in Sleepy Ancient Town. If anyone can help me find it, I'll reward him with ten million Berries!"
"Of course, if anyone dares to keep it for themselves, or if I can't find it here, don't blame my subordinates for being impolite."
"You're the mayor, you should know what to do, right?"
Nox said, looking at the old man of fifty or sixty years old in front of him with a half-smile.
"I know, I know, I'll have everyone in town help look for it."
Mayor Arik Tapa swallowed nervously as he looked at the more than five hundred fierce-looking people holding swords and knives behind Nox, and quickly said.
"Alright then, I'll await your good news."
"If it can be found, I will not only reward the person who found it with ten million Berries, but I can also take out ten million Berries to divide among everyone who helped me search."
Nox chuckled.
For that Devil Fruit, it was nothing to give them a little incentive.
He wouldn't give too much either, otherwise, people's greed would never be satisfied.
"I understand, sir, I will go and instruct people to start searching now."
Mayor Arik Tapa said with some delight. At least the person in front of him wasn't unreasonable or a Pirate, which made things much easier.
"Look in the forest behind you!"
Afterwards, Nox had the more than five hundred people who came with him go search in the forest behind the town.
That place was rarely visited by people and had wild beasts. Ordinary residents wouldn't go there at all, so he could only leave it to the people he brought to search.
"Yes, Captain!"
The people Nox brought were very loyal to him, and they all knew that Nox was looking for a Devil Fruit, so they were also clear about their objective.
"Nox, how do you know there must be a Devil Fruit here?"
Shakky asked curiously.
She had collected the information, and she didn't even know there was a Devil Fruit here, so how did Nox know?
"I once saw a piece of information in an ancient book that said a powerful Devil Fruit was hidden in this town, so I had you help me look for it back in the Rocks era."
Nox casually found an excuse and brushed it off.
It was really inconvenient for him to tell Shakky about this matter, so he simply didn't.
Shakky believed Nox's words. After all, this was the only possibility; otherwise, how would Nox know something that even she, the intelligence chief, didn't know?
While everyone began searching for the Devil Fruit, Nox also took his women and child to search.
Calling it searching was just an excuse to sightsee while looking, having been in this World for so long.
Before, he spent much of his time constantly training and fighting. It was rare to have some time to accompany his women and child on an outing.
This was a rare opportunity; otherwise, after returning, he would have to start competing for dominance, training, and fighting again.
It wasn't until the third day after arriving at Sleepy Ancient Town, after everyone had searched the town twice, that they finally found the Devil Fruit Nox had been longing for.
"Very good, this is what I was looking for."
"Mayor, I keep my word. Here are ten million, I'll give them to you to distribute among those who helped with the search."
After getting the Devil Fruit he was looking for, Nox generously gave Mayor Arik Tapa ten million Berries in front of everyone.
"Thank you, sir!!"
Mayor Arik Tapa said as he happily accepted the ten million Berries.
"What's your name? These ten million Berries are yours."
Then, Nox looked at his subordinate and asked.
The person who found this Devil Fruit wasn't a resident of Sleepy Ancient Town, but one of his own subordinates.
"Captain, my name is Zelens Bisett!!"
Bisett said excitedly, holding the ten million Berries.
"Mm, Bisett, you did very well. Ten million Berries is quite a bit less compared to the value of a Devil Fruit."
"How about this, for the next three years, you will enjoy the benefits of a Vice Captain. I hope that after three years, I can see you become a Vice Captain of my Limitless Pirates!"
Nox patted Bisett's shoulder and said.
"Thank you, Captain, I will definitely not let you down!"
Hearing this, Bisett became even more excited.
One must know that the benefits for Vice Captains and Executive Officers of the Limitless Pirates were no longer as simple as just receiving a monthly salary.
The unique medicinal bath purchase privilege within the Limitless Pirates was a benefit for Vice Captains and Executive Officers. This could truly restore injuries in a short period, and its effect was best after extensive training.
Those who had become Vice Captains said that with the help of the medicinal baths, their training progressed rapidly.
This was also one of the reasons why everyone in the Limitless Pirates wanted to become a Vice Captain, as no one would be uninterested in improving their strength.
Furthermore, Vice Captains and Executive Officers could get discounts when purchasing items from businesses run by their own pirate group.
Junior Vice Captains received a 5% discount, Senior Vice Captains a 10% discount, Regular Executive Officers a 15% discount, and Core Executive Officers a 20% discount.
However, the most important things were not these.
Most importantly, once one became a Vice Captain, they could obtain various sword techniques, body art, and Haki training manuals collected by the Captain within the Limitless Pirates.
These were the fastest methods to become stronger!
Compared to Bisett, Nox was even happier.
After obtaining this Mythical Zoan Vampire Devil Fruit, Nox carefully stored it away and then led everyone to begin the return voyage.
"I'll keep this Devil Fruit stored for now and eat it later when my strength hits a bottleneck."
"Otherwise, if I eat the Devil Fruit, I won't be able to enter the Sea."
During the return voyage, Nox kept hesitating about whether or not to eat this Devil Fruit, as it was the most suitable Devil Fruit for him, bar none.
But in the end, he still temporarily gave up on the idea. After all, once he ate it, he wouldn't be able to enter the Sea, which would also be adding a clear weakness that could potentially be targeted to kill him.
He clearly remembered Rocks at God Valley back then. Rocks, who possessed incredibly terrifying strength, was actually beaten to death by a mob, unable to even escape!
If he were Rocks, and if he hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, he definitely would have plunged headfirst into the Sea to escape.
After all, if he were in the Sea, the only people who could chase him into the Sea would be Roger, Garp, and at most Rayleigh and Saint Garling.
If Rocks had Nox's [Life Return: Swimming Form], then those four people would be no match for Rocks in the Sea, and escaping from the Sea would be absolutely no problem!
Even if many Executive Officers who wanted to kill Rocks were waiting outside the island, they were all Devil Fruit users (except for Nox).
They couldn't catch up to Rocks at all, and Rocks could also escape successfully.
Currently, Nox's strength wasn't strong enough. If he ate the Devil Fruit, he might be cornered by Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr, unable to escape, and then be besieged to death.
For his own safety, Nox felt it was better not to eat the Devil Fruit for now.
"Alright, it's decided. I'll eat the Devil Fruit later when I have the power to not fear being besieged, or when my strength becomes difficult to improve. Anyway, I'm still young now and don't need to extend my lifespan."
The greatest use of the Vampire Devil Fruit was eternal youth and longevity. He was only twenty years old, so he wasn't in a hurry in this regard.
After all, eating a Devil Fruit would cut off the possibility of Nox escaping from the Sea.
This was currently one point where he was stronger than everyone else.
Now, without having eaten a Devil Fruit, he feared no one!
Even if he now faced Roger, Garp, Rayleigh, Saint Garling, and Five Elders Saturn Saint, who besieged Rocks back then, he was still confident he could escape into the Sea from their encirclement.
This was his confidence!
"Nox, I just received news that we've found your master whom you asked me to look for. He is currently living in seclusion on Stella Island."
Just as Nox and the others were returning, Shakky received a message from her intelligence Executive Officer.
"Stella Island? It seems to be an island not far from the Red Line."
"Let's send the child back first, and then go to Stella Island to pick up my master."
Nox said.
Since Shakky could find his master's secluded location, if the World Government wanted to find him, they probably could too.
Therefore, Nox wanted to bring his master back to his own territory, which would be safer than on Stella Island.
Although Louis was only his master when he was weak, no matter what, once a teacher, always a teacher.
It was impossible for him to remain indifferent after hearing news of his master, especially since his master might even be implicated because of Nox himself.
"Mm, okay, I'll have people set up mirrors along the way!"
Shakky nodded.
Currently, all the islands covered by Shakky's intelligence network had many mirrors that Shakky had made herself.
After all, only the mirrors she made herself could connect to her Mirror World.
Although he couldn't sense mirrors that were very far away now, he could sense them within a certain range.
In the future, with Shakky's continuous development, she might even be able to connect to all the mirrors she made herself throughout the New World, even while sitting in Wano Country, and perhaps even cover the Four Seas.
Stella Island:
In a small alley off the bustling main street, many people had settled down here.
After leaving Asattava Island and arriving here, Louis also settled down. Over the years, he had gotten to know many neighbors and lived a relatively peaceful life.
When Louis returned from chatting with his neighbors, he saw that there were two extra figures in his home.
One of them was precisely the disciple he had seen many times in the newspapers, making him proud and delighted.
"Master, long time no see!"
Seeing his master after many years of separation, Nox didn't know what to say for a moment. All the past events were contained within that single phrase, "long time no see."