One temptation after another - An Offer that Kai couldn't refuse!

Even though the sudden discovery of his Observation Haki weighed heavily on him, Kai couldn't help but seriously consider the offer from the King of the Red Castle.

The assistance from the Queen of the Pink Castle in obtaining the Extremities would guarantee success in becoming a King later on, and the assistance from the King of Gold Castle in obtaining the legacies of Zoro and Gol D. Roger would allow him to overpower all swordsmen.

However, the offer of Aphrodite was hard to ignore.

Her presence overshadowed all others and her offer to Kai was one that was hard to put aside, even for a moment.

The offer came with the condition that it would happen in the name of Chaos, leaving no room for doubt.

"Do the Kings know about it?!" Black Mountain bellowed, his short, spiky hair standing even more upright. Everyone knew that no offer could even come close to what the Red King had just offered, if he had offered Aphrodite.

"Ara-Ara! Can't even take a joke, this bunch, humph!" Aphrodite licked her lips, her tongue moist and red.

Ravana, the old man, pulled so hard on his long white beard that a few hairs fell out. Black Mountain's chest heaved up and down, his eyes bloodshot.

On the other side of Aphrodite, Jade Beauty's cheeks had gone red as if she had already decided to counter Aphrodite's offer with her own body. Only Shadow Origin had a smile on his face, an amusing smile lingering across his lips.

Kai noticed that smile, more than he wanted to.

"Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki!" Aphrodite told Kai, winking at him.

The smile on Shadow Origin's lips vanished.

Kai's mouth went dry.

No one, no Contestant, according to Item-M, had managed to become a Jinchūriki of a tailed-beast above the Eight-Tails. These Contestants didn't include those who later became Kings, as logic didn't apply to them.

Kai wanted this Power too.

Perhaps only now had he actually got to know how much he wanted it. More than Aphrodite, it seemed.

There was no King who would dare to promise such a thing. All Contestants present in this auction knew this. Not on Chaos, at least.

But it was the Red God of Shinobi!!!

If anyone could hold their promise and oath true, then it was him.

"You know why His Majesty is the King of Kings?" Aphrodite asked, twirling a lock of her hot pink hair. Her question made the other four viceroys frown and wince, but they dare not refute the claim. "Long story short... Oh! That sounds so erotic!"

"Aphrodite!" Jade Beauty ground her jaw.

"Ara-Ara! No respect for the Big Sister here, huh? Oh, well. His Majesty has successfully mastered not 2, but 3 Extremities of distinct Random Worlds — Hashirama, Madara, and Whitebeard. To not accept his assistance... even considering it is a foolish act, no?"

A storm raged within Kai, hearing Aphrodite's words.

The concept was absurd. Even one of these three alone was enough to make the Contestants, at least those who were worthy, go berserk over their legacies.

And the Red God of Shinobi possessed all of this by himself!

Not to mention, these were Extremities! That meant, below the 7th Set, the Hashirama, Madara, and Whitebeard mentioned by Aphrodite were the strongest! It was as far as the Power itself could go. No more.

"Now, His Majesty is looking for another legacy," Aphrodite said, leaning forward, her large breasts pressing against the table's rim. "Bugs Bunny! Help him, and you will have all that is promised. And..." She winked, "… perhaps more."

Was there even a need to hear more?

For others, there wasn't. If anyone else had been in Kai's place, then he wouldn't have needed to hear more.

But who was Blood Demon?

Words, Oaths, and Promises were nothing but wind until the last moment, he knew.

Kai took a deep breath and weighed his options. He knew that he could not make this decision lightly, and he needed to think about it carefully. The Red King's offer was too good to pass up, but he also knew that it would come with a cost. He needed to be sure that he was willing to pay that cost before he made his decision.

As he sat there, lost in his thoughts, Aphrodite and the other viceroys watched him intently. They could see the wheels turning in his head, and they knew that he was considering the offer. They also knew that they could not pressure him into making a decision.

It was up to Kai and Kai alone.

At last, Kai tore his eyes off Aphrodite's enormous chest and the touch of her pink nipples that were protruding through her thin silk gown. He looked at Viceroy Shadow Origin, demanding to hear the offer.

Jade Beauty couldn't wait anymore, though. She was already fearing Aphrodite's offer would never counter it. "I am the Viceroy of the King of the Black Castle!" she blurted, making Shadow Origin bite on his words. "You can call me Jade Beauty."

At a glance, Jade Beauty looked like a stunningly beautiful and powerful woman. Her long, jade-like hair was cascading down her slender frame. Her sleeveless gown showcased the skin of her arms, as smooth as milk. Yes, she wasn't as striking as Aphrodite. True.

Even then, comparing these two would have been a mistake, Kai knew.

From the brief hints Kai had picked up from her, Jade Beauty packed a resolver no less than his own.

A powerful Contestant, with a sharp mind and determination.

That was Kai's evaluation of Jade Beauty.

"Observation Haki is nothing but a selection criterion, Blood Demon," Jade Beauty told him, her tall back upright. "If it was only that, then His Majesty wouldn't have given you another glance. Not until you'd cleared the Tournament of Worth, at least. It's your resolve to go beyond your limits and grab the opportunity when it's the ripest which caught His Majesty's eyes."

Jade Beauty clenched her fist under the table, calculating her words.

"You already have a Verse Fusion Random World centered on Spiritual Awakening," she told him, glancing at others from the corner of her eyes. "That almost guarantees you will walk on the path of Spiritual Power. His Majesty, the King of the Black Castle, has absolute mastery over Nen. And his offer is no mere power or empty promises…"

Jade Beauty threw a nasty look at Aphrodite, who suddenly sat up, her breasts jiggling up and down.

Kai's breathing quickened upon guessing where it was heading.

"His Majesty offers you Nen, Blood Demon," Jade Beauty continued, taking a deep breath. "He offers you a Multiverse Interdependency between Spiritual Power and Nen (-Ravana's eyes opened, Aphrodite's mouth hung open, Black Mountain slipped out of his chair, and Shadow Origin grabbed the table so tight that it creaked.-). He offers you… a Multiverse Interdependency between the Primordial Laws of SP and HP."

This?!

The Viceroys knew what wasn't among the Offers of other Kings and the Queen. They didn't know what the exact offers were, however.

Jade Beauty, or the offer of the King of the Black Castle, shocked them all.

Slowly, Kai stood up.

Since the moment he had gained his Reality Marble, a product of Multiverse Interdependency between SP and MP, Kai had been having a thought.

An absurdly hideous and outrageous thought.

What would happen if… if he could add Nen to his Reality Marble?

What kind of monster would he become, then?

And what kind of Being he would birth in this Reality Marble when Ayin already surpassed all logic and perceivable boundaries?

A muscle on Kai's face twitched; a clear sign of him losing control over his emotions; over his expressions.

Kai turned his head toward Shadow Origin, but it didn't feel like he wanted to hear his offer. There was nothing… nothing could surpass his greed for Nen right now. Especially when these Kings didn't know about Kai already having a Multiverse Interdependency of Primordial Laws.

If they knew, the King of Black Castle would have never offered Kai such a thing.

If they knew, then Kai would have already died.

No Contestants, not Kings and Queens, when they were lower Set's Contestants, were so absurd. So that would have left only one option.

Glitch!

Kai knew, by mentioning his resolve and his will to grab opportunities, Jade Beauty had struck the right nerve at the most proper time. In this game of minds, Viceroy Jade Beauty had left Aphrodite behind by far. Very far.

Kai looked at Shadow Origin, and he looked back at him.

This was the blessing and curse of being in the last. Shadow Origin got to listen to all offers, adjusting his plans. But now he would have to make his offer more presentable and appealing as well.

"I am Shadow Origin, the Viceroy of the King of the Purple Castle," Shadow Origin introduced, recalling the words Purple Mist had told him to say. "His Majesty offers you…"

Shadow Origin hesitated. He didn't know why His Majesty had commanded him to say that exact word to Blood Demon. After hearing others' offers, Shadow Origin was indeed having second thoughts.

Still, his trust and belief in King Purple Mist outsmarted his rational thoughts.

"His Majesty offers you…" Shadow Origin said, his heart calming down, thinking of his King, "… Nothing."

Jade Beauty: "…?"

Aphrodite: "…"

Ravana: "…?!"

Black Mountain: "?#/#%"

Kai's mind had gone blank. All his life had changed since his return from the World of the Pirates of the Caribbean. Everything.

But, in these changes, there was one common element.

Alchemy!

His Reality Marble had it as the Tree of Life, though in his case it was the Tree of Death. The legacy of Inheritance had it. The absurd, sudden, and rigorous training Darcie had gone through in these last five months had it as well.

'Darcie, listen,' Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had told her. 'Do you know what the true purpose of Alchemy is?'

Kai had etched these words into his heart; in his soul.

Darcie had shaken her head.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had then puffed smoke and said, "It's not Philosopher's Stone, child. No. Not even an Elixir of Life. It's… Null! The search of Nothing, the ultimate destination. That's where… Death gets its powers from, some say."

"I…" Kai said in a trance, his heartbeat slowing down. "… I accept!"

A bright blue flash made Kai disappear, teleporting him to the next destination.

The flash did leave behind a collection of absurdly powerful beings, their mouths hanging open, and their minds in chaos, not knowing what just happened.

And Shadow Origin's jaw was hanging lower than all.

***********

AN: If you want to read ahed, then try Patre0n. The entire 3rd Stage of the Tournament of Worth is now available there.