Compared to unknown abilities, most people naturally preferred to consume Devil Fruits whose powers were already understood.
With Teach's unique ability and Redyat's mind-reading, the Nightfall Pirates had gradually identified the abilities of many previously unknown Devil Fruits.
The method was undeniably cruel.
Even so, no one truly cared.
Compared to the countless lives lost during a single war, sacrificing a handful of people to uncover the abilities of unknown Devil Fruits hardly attracted any attention.
Among the Nightfall Pirates' collection were numerous precious abilities.
There was the Ancient Zoan Giant Eagle Fruit, the Ancient Zoan Titan Python Fruit, the Logia Miasma-Miasma Fruit, and the Ancient Zoan Fine-Toothed Bear Fruit.
Every previous user of those Devil Fruits had fallen at the hands of the Nightfall Pirates.
There was even the Paramecia Bounce-Bounce Fruit, an ability Teach personally considered exceptionally powerful.
Despite possessing an impressive collection, truly top-tier Devil Fruits remained rare.
The Dark Council also needed to strengthen itself independently, and the Nightfall Pirates generally avoided interfering with its internal development.
Whenever a particularly powerful Devil Fruit was acquired, it would almost always be absorbed by the Nightfall Pirates before anyone else had a chance to claim it.
The same principle applied to Doflamingo.
He had already begun deliberately cultivating his own subordinates.
Stephanie's organization also possessed a number of respectable Devil Fruits, but the World Government would never casually hand over truly valuable abilities.
Rather than strengthening a future enemy, it was far wiser to cultivate an elite spy with a powerful Devil Fruit and eventually place that person inside the Nightfall Pirates.
Teach had entrusted that task to Doflamingo.
Although it was not among his highest priorities, it still required careful planning and even more careful candidate selection.
If the Battle Pyramid continued distributing high-value Devil Fruits at the current pace, even the Nightfall Pirates' considerable reserves would eventually begin to run dry.
Besides, the three precious Devil Fruits had primarily served as a promotional spectacle.
Their purpose had been to establish the Battle Pyramid's reputation and attract worldwide attention.
Now that objective had already been achieved.
The Battle Pyramid had entered a stable stage of development, and its continued success no longer depended on constantly offering priceless Devil Fruits as rewards.
Its greatest strength lay in its mature internal ecosystem.
The complete training system, abundant resources, medical support, research facilities, and countless services available inside the Pyramid were what truly kept people coming back.
Furthermore, the prize pool still contained many Devil Fruits with respectable abilities.
There was no shortage of worthwhile rewards.
For that reason, Redyat had no intention of introducing another batch of three priceless Devil Fruits.
One would be more than enough.
Very few people were actually capable of accumulating 1,300 points.
Reaching that level demanded relentless battles over an extended period.
Once a person's fighting frequency decreased, their point consumption would eventually exceed the rate at which they earned new points.
As a result, most participants inevitably reached a ceiling they could not surpass.
Joshua, Sett, and Hishi were exceptional cases.
Ordinary people simply could not endure that level of continuous combat.
It demanded extraordinary determination, an unwavering desire to become stronger, remarkable physical resilience, and exceptional talent.
Such individuals were rare throughout the Grand Line.
Only because the Battle Pyramid was still relatively new had several of them appeared in such a short period.
The Devil Fruits offered by the Nightfall Pirates had always been intended for people like them.
In the future, such individuals would become even rarer.
Even if several eventually emerged, however, the Nightfall Pirates remained fully capable of rewarding them.
More importantly, those people were highly unlikely to become enemies of the Nightfall Pirates.
"Jab" Joshua intended to rebuild the Jab Pirates.
Once he gathered enough Devil Fruits to serve as the foundation of his crew, he planned to begin recruiting on Parage Island.
With his current fame, followers who recognized his potential would naturally gather around him, eager to sail under his flag.
Parage Island would become the birthplace of the new Jab Pirates, and the Nightfall Pirates had never restricted such activities.
In fact, quite a few pirate crews had already begun their journeys from Parage Island.
As the Jab Pirates continued to grow, Joshua's gratitude toward the Nightfall Pirates would only deepen.
There was virtually no possibility that he would become hostile toward them.
After all, it was fair to say that Joshua himself had been nurtured by the Battle Pyramid.
Given Joshua's personality, the chances of the Jab Pirates eventually becoming affiliated with the Nightfall Pirates were far higher than those of any ordinary pirate crew.
Sett offered a different kind of value.
Although he intended to return home and inherit the throne of the Sett Kingdom, he had already brought considerable benefits to the Nightfall Pirates.
First, he maintained an excellent relationship with them.
Second, the two sides had established a mutually beneficial trade partnership.
The Sageros Sea possessed countless technologies and products capable of accelerating the development of the Sett Kingdom.
Even the Battle Pyramid's operating model was vastly superior to traditional gladiatorial arenas, providing valuable experience that could be adapted back home.
Likewise, the Sett Kingdom possessed resources the Nightfall Pirates needed.
Beneath the kingdom's massive island stretched enormous mineral deposits.
The ore veins were so extensive that they could support the kingdom's economy for generations, making the Sett Kingdom exceptionally wealthy.
After years of purchasing powerful cannons and other advanced weapons, its military strength had increased dramatically.
Although its population numbered only around three million, the kingdom was effectively a nation of soldiers.
It also relied upon a vast slave labor force to extract its abundant mineral wealth, as slaves remained extremely cheap to acquire.
The immense reserves of iron ore and countless other minerals were exactly what the Nightfall Pirates required.
Naturally, they welcomed such cooperation.
Each side obtained what it needed, while both enjoyed substantial profits.
As for the final recipient of the Logia Snow-Snow Fruit, Hishi had already made his decision.
He intended to join the Nightfall Pirates.
In truth, he had reached that conclusion long before obtaining the Snow-Snow Fruit.
The Nightfall Pirates naturally kept an eye on outstanding performers within the Battle Pyramid and quietly approached promising candidates whenever the opportunity arose.
They never forced anyone to join.
Instead, they relied on discreet inquiries and subtle invitations.
Hishi had practically grown up inside the Battle Pyramid.
He understood the Nightfall Pirates better than most people.
To someone like him, there was no organization more worthy of joining.
The Nightfall Pirates were in the midst of an unstoppable rise, and they represented the greatest opportunity on the seas.
Even so, Hishi had his own pride.
He wanted to join not as an ordinary member, but as a cadre worthy of recognition.
That was why he had waited until after obtaining the Snow-Snow Fruit.
Only then did he consider the timing perfect.
Redyat's eyes finally settled on several Devil Fruits on the list.
Besides selecting one truly powerful ability, he also intended to refresh the Battle Pyramid's prize pool.
After all, several of the existing Devil Fruits had already been claimed.