Chapter 1614 Dragon-Dragon Fruit - Ancient Zoan - Mosasaurus Form

Since the customer had agreed to the transaction, the shopkeeper said no more and waved slightly to Kaku.

Kaku moved forward with a mix of excitement and trepidation, his shoe tips touching the edge of the counter, just an arm's length away from the shopkeeper.

The shop owner looked up, his gaze sweeping over the other people in the shop who were intently watching them. He waved his hand again, and everyone in the shop instinctively took a few steps back, making more space in front of the counter.

The shop owner picked up the empty bottle with his left hand and steadily held the Mosasaurus Fruit in his right. "Don't be nervous. The replacement process will be quick, and you won't feel any pain."

Kaku and the shop owner locked eyes, and in that instant their gazes met, Kaku felt his body stiffen abruptly.

"call--!!"

An absolute darkness, capable of swallowing all light and sound, surged forth without warning from the shadows beneath the shopkeeper's feet.

The darkness was not still, but rather like a living thing, or perhaps connected to some indescribable abyss, instantly swallowing Kaku, who was standing in front of the counter, along with the shopkeeper behind it.

The two figures vanished in an instant into the churning darkness, leaving only the dim light of the yellow oil lamp on the counter, swaying weakly at the edge of the darkness, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

"What's this"?!

For the first time, Lucci's voice lost its composure, carrying a hint of shock and anger.

He could not see anything in the darkness, nor could he sense any presence from Kaku; the darkness seemed to isolate him from everything.

Worried about the safety of his comrades who had risked their lives for him, he clenched his fists. Although he couldn't feel the power of the Leopard Fruit within him, his strong physique honed through years of training and his fighting instincts made him unwilling to sit idly by and wait for death.

The darkness, as abrupt as it appeared, instantly contracted and receded, as if time had reversed, surging back into the shopkeeper's body.

The shop owner remained standing in the same spot, his posture seemingly unchanged, but the position of his hands had shifted.

In his left hand, a tiny flame now flickered inside the previously empty, transparent bottle.

The flame was not the usual orange-red, but a strange color that was warm yet pale, radiating the light of life—a materialized twenty-five-year lifespan.

In his right hand, there was a string of strangely shaped, red banana-shaped fruits covered with spiral patterns. These were the replaced Ox-Ox Fruit - Giraffe Form.

"Transaction complete!!"

Kaku snapped out of his daze and remained standing in front of the counter, but his appearance had changed noticeably.

The once youthful, firm lines on his face seemed to have loosened somewhat, and a few clearly visible fine lines had quietly appeared at the corners of his eyes and mouth.

Even more striking is that nearly a third of his once dazzling golden short hair has now turned into a dull, lackluster gray-white.

Even though the process was painless, the loss of his life essence still left an indelible mark on his body, taking away twenty-five years of his life in one go.

Kaku subconsciously raised his hand, touched his face, and tugged at a strand of gray hair on his forehead. He could clearly feel a subtle emptiness emanating from within his body.

Muscle vitality and cell metabolism seem to be a bit slower and weaker than before, not as robust as they used to be.

It was all worth it. Kaku clenched his fist tightly, and the light in his eyes, far from being dimmed by the signs of aging, burned even brighter.

To gain greater power, and to no longer be a weakling at the mercy of others, this price is entirely worthwhile.

He was eager to try and demonstrate the power of the new fruit within him, but Kaku immediately discovered that he still couldn't communicate with his fruit's abilities in this shop.

The feeling of being stripped of his power remained, and Kaku's pleading gaze naturally turned to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper calmly placed the two items he had exchanged into the cabinet behind him, then casually snapped his fingers toward Kaku, saying, "Try it out, your new Devil Fruit ability."

With that snap of his fingers, Kaku's sense of disconnect from the power within him vanished instantly, and he could once again clearly feel the power of the Devil Fruit.

But this time, the texture of that power was completely different from before.

It's no longer the land-oriented, physical-skill-and-flexibility feel of the Ox-Ox Fruit - Giraffe form, but a deeper, more vast power, full of the power of an ancient ocean predator. It's the genuine Dragon-Dragon Fruit - Ancient Zoan - Mosasaurus form!

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Kaku's already somewhat tattered suit began to bulge taut from his rapidly expanding body, with the sound of tearing fabric ringing out one after another.

His human skin color began to darken rapidly, changing from a normal skin tone to a deep, dark blue, almost like the deep sea.

Upon closer inspection, the surface is no longer smooth, but quickly becomes rough and hard, revealing a fine, scaly texture, like a mixture of ancient rock and keratin.

What was most shocking was his head. The human facial features twisted and stretched rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, a hideous and enormous beast head replaced Kaku's original head.

That was the head of an ancient ocean overlord.

Its long, prominent lip was covered with sharp, serrated, white teeth that reflected a chilling light under the dim lamplight.

The thick bony protrusions on the top of its head and back add to its ferocity, making it a true symbol of a top predator.

Compared to its previous herbivorous, long-necked giraffe form, its imposing presence and sense of oppression are worlds apart.

The half-dragon Kaku uttered indistinctly, "I have never felt so strong before!"

He felt the terrifying physical power surging within him, many times stronger than before. That strange sense of fullness almost completely masked the emptiness he felt from losing his lifespan.

Moreover, he didn't mention at all that, in his mosasaur form, he could truly swim freely in the ocean.

No longer being absolutely restricted by the fact that Devil Fruit users are landlubbers, this means that when he can't win a fight, he can dive directly into the sea like a fish-man, giving him an extremely important means of survival.

He even had a vague feeling that the stomach space of his Mosasaurus form was unusually large and special, perhaps able to temporarily swallow his companions and move at high speed in the sea with his comrades.

This idea excited him even more, and he suddenly felt that he was no longer a burden who would only hold Lucci back, but could actually help Lucci and the whole team.

The shopkeeper snapped his fingers again, and Kaku, in his Mosasaurus form, trembled, once again feeling himself disconnected from the immense Mosasaurus power within him.

His body began to shrink rapidly back to its original size. The ferocious beast head disappeared, and his dark blue scaly skin returned to its normal color. In the blink of an eye, he transformed back into the human Kaku with a few more wrinkles on his face and graying golden hair.

Kaku bowed deeply to the shopkeeper with utmost respect, a bow that came from the bottom of his heart.

He walked briskly to Lu Qi's side with a satisfied look on his face, lowered his voice, and excitedly wanted to say something. He was obviously eager to share his new ability with his most trusted comrade.

Undoubtedly deeply moved by what had just happened, the shopkeeper's voice rang out again: "So, who will make the transaction, second person..."