The bat lanterns swayed in the wind, casting crimson spots across the bluestone road.
The locals' expressions were far from friendly, giving Black the feeling that he had entered a dangerous neighborhood.
His hand instinctively went to the golden revolver every Celestial Dragon carried, a reflexive urge to empty its clip rising in him.
Then he stopped, noticing something underfoot.
On the bluestone, an almost hidden bat pattern had been carved.
From the shadows, a one-eyed old man emerged, clutching a dark red bottle.
"Guests… you've come for the Gate of Eternal Life, haven't you?"
"Need the latest prophecy?" His gaze locked on Rami, and the blood moon's light revealed his crimson canines.
"The blood of a sick child is the most potent!"
Rami recoiled, terrified, while Perona and Koala shrank into Stella's arms.
Black toyed with a gold coin, a faint smile on his lips.
With a flick, the coin struck the old man's bottle; the crimson liquid spilled across the bluestone, covering the bat pattern and revealing deeper carvings.
Thirteen small claw-like marks bat nests were mapped across the stone.
Black stroked his chin.
"Seems related to the so-called Thirteen Bats."
Koala peeked out, marveling, then screamed at a taxidermied bat hanging nearby, diving back into Stella's embrace.
Black shook his head, chuckling.
After memorizing the map, he moved to search nearby, but Robin tugged at his sleeve.
Ahead, a stone zither hung on a wall in the plaza.
Normally, a zither was no oddity but in the Sleepy Ancient Town, it seemed out of place.
Black led the group closer; the zither had exactly thirteen strings.
Robin activated her Devil Fruit powers. Four hands sprouted, plucking the strings in a haunting "Requiem for the Undead."
When the final note sounded, the strings snapped, and the wall trembled. Plaster crumbled, revealing a hidden mural.
Thirteen bats circled a blood moon, beneath which Ancient Script was inscribed.
Robin read softly:
"Live wing authentication must occur on the third night."
"The third night?" Black pondered. "Probably the third night after the Blood Moon.
Either way, the treasure should be where the bat nests converge. Let's investigate."
The townspeople watched silently, making no hostile move. Black noted this but pressed on, following the map to a massive temple.
"With such a large temple here, even without a map, I'd know something was off!" he muttered.
Inside, they found nothing. Everyone returned to the ship to await the third night.
Three days passed, and Black led the young Slaves back to the temple.
Koala and Perona, now adjusted to the island, explored with curiosity rather than fear.
As the Moonlight aligned with the temple dome, cracks appeared on the walls, glowing dark red.
"Star orbit carvings!" Robin exclaimed.
"Koala, stand on the southeast bat relief!"
"Perona, place one of the bat teeth you brought into the northwest groove!"
Perona eagerly complied, while Koala hesitated, trembling at the eerie relief.
Mandy gently lifted Koala onto the relief.
With everyone in position, light and shadow formed a full bat totem on the altar, its wing tips glowing at thirteen points.
Robin conjured thirteen hands, tapping each.
Ancient Script appeared on the ground:
"The number of wings is the number of sacrifices; its eyes are the key; its blood is the guide."
Stella whispered:
"Thirteen…"
Before she could finish, thirteen two-meter-wide bats crashed through the windows.
Black grabbed Stella and Rami, retreating behind the group.
Mandy drew her sword, attacking the giant bats.
Koala, forgetting fear, punched the air, joining the fray.
Perona squawked and dodged beneath the bats' strikes.
Robin glared at Black:
"You're being irresponsible!"
Black tapped her head, smirking:
"That's your job, little Slaves. Why should a noble Celestial Dragon intervene?"
The battle ended swiftly. Mandy and Koala's strength enough for the Hyena Pirates easily subdued the bats.
Suddenly, the previously still bat statues began vibrating at a specific frequency.
"Ugh… so uncomfortable," Rami muttered, covering her ears.
Robin scanned the room.
"Koala, adjust the statues' positions!"
Koala dashed forward, repositioning each bat stone as instructed.
Once aligned, vibrations ceased, and the statues' eyes shot red light, projecting a Blood Moon onto the altar.
Ancient Script appeared:
"Living wings obscure the heavenly eye; true blood awakens eternal life."
"True blood… the bats' blood," Black muttered.
He guided the bats' wingtips into the altar grooves. Blood flowed along the channels, forming a complex pattern.
The inscription changed:
"With the might of a king, break the curse of eternal slumber."
"Might of a king?" Black's Haoshoku surged, controlled precisely, impacting the altar without harming those nearby.
Glowing patterns spread across the temple walls, then faded as the central stone slab slowly opened.
A dark red fruit floated in bloody mist, its surface etched with spirals.
The Zoan-type Mythical Zoan Bat-Bat Fruit, Vampire Form Patrick Redfield's prize hovered before them.
"Your Highness, be careful!"
Stella suddenly lunged, shielding Black's back with her body.
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