"Oh? A Zoan-type Devil Fruit user…"
Though Issho could not see with his eyes, his Observation Haki was exceptional. Every move Rob Lucci made was laid bare before him, as if held in the palm of his hand.
"Let's see then… just what tricks does a top Zoan user from the World Government have up his sleeve?"
Truth be told, had he not been defeated and invited to join the El Pirates, Issho might very well have ended up serving either the World Government or Marine Headquarters.
With his abilities, even without prior connections, he would surely have risen to a high rank in no time.
With a fierce roar, Rob Lucci decided to throw caution to the wind and fight for his life.
Though the blind swordsman before him radiated overwhelming power, he knew he had no choice but to risk everything.
From a young age—even while still a teenager—Lucci had already performed extraordinary feats for the World Government.
Before he had even reached adulthood, he had single-handedly slain hundreds, even thousands, of enemy soldiers.
It was this very battle that first marked him as a prodigy in hand-to-hand combat.
Now, facing a true crisis of life and death, there was no turning back. Whether as a master of martial arts or as a Zoan user, Rob Lucci would never retreat.
Boom!
Yet against Issho, who wielded the Gravity Fruit, Lucci found himself at a disadvantage from every angle.
Issho did not even need to close in for hand-to-hand combat.
With a simple swing of his cane-sword, he used his power to lift massive chunks of broken rock from the ground and hurl them at Lucci like a barrage of missiles.
Lucci's physical skills were extraordinary, but against such a formidable Paramecia user, he had almost no room to fight back.
Before he could even get close, he was forced to retreat under a constant rain of falling stone and debris.
This was exactly what Issho intended. El had given clear orders: capture all intruders alive if possible.
As a secret organization, CP9 held valuable intelligence about the World Government, and letting such information go to waste would be a great loss.
Issho certainly had the power to end the fight instantly, but that was not his goal.
Instead, he planned to wear Lucci down—exhaust his strength until he could barely defend himself, then subdue him quickly.
Once his stamina ran out, even any hidden tricks Lucci might have would be useless.
…
The other senior officers of the El Pirates shared the same approach. Like Issho, they were now facing off against the remaining CP9 agents, all aiming to take them alive.
…
"I wonder when we'll hear good news."
Back in his quarters, El had been waiting for some time.
Blueno, whom he had captured earlier, had already regained consciousness—though bound in Sea Prism Stone handcuffs, he could no longer use his Door-Door Fruit to escape.
Glancing at Blueno, El sighed thoughtfully.
"Sometimes it's just like this… A truly powerful Devil Fruit may end up in the hands of someone who never fully learns how to unlock its potential. It was seeing you that really made me think about this."
Blueno stared back at him with a furious glare. He knew El was mocking him for failing to develop his fruit properly—but right now, he could do nothing.
When a Devil Fruit user is restrained by Sea Prism Stone, not only are their powers sealed away, but their physical strength is also drained almost completely.
In this state, Blueno was so weak that he could not even end his own life if he wanted to.
If anyone in the El Pirates deserved the title of most loyal, it was surely Boa Hancock—no one else could claim that place above her.
Yet when Hancock stepped forward and volunteered to handle the task, El simply waved his hand and smiled.
"No need. You are all Devil Fruit users, and I know that fighting deep underwater is a harsh punishment for you."
"As for this one…"
"I'll take care of it myself."
…
The Kraken of the North Sea was a rare and colossal sea monster. Even among the largest of Sea Kings, it stood as a giant.
With its countless tentacles and arms, it could easily reduce massive structures to rubble. For coastal communities, it was often feared more than the destructive force of a tsunami.
Even the fleets of Marine Headquarters would choose to avoid confronting such a terrifying beast if they had any other option.
But there was no avoiding it now. The Kraken had blocked their path, and it clearly had no intention of letting them pass peacefully.
It seemed the monster had claimed these waters as its own territory—though as far as El was concerned, it was nothing more than an intruder itself.
El smiled faintly.
Devil Fruit users feared the deep sea and could not safely touch seawater—but El did not share such limitations.
He only needed to apply a personal bubble made from the sap of the Yarukiman Mangrove, which allowed him to move freely underwater.
This was one of the key differences between ordinary people and Devil Fruit users. A normal person, protected by a bubble, could dive deep and still retain most of their strength.
But a Devil Fruit user, even inside a bubble, was still afflicted by the sea's curse—their power would be reduced by more than half.
That was why Doflamingo had been so reluctant to enter the water to fight the Kraken.
El, however, had no such concerns. Holding a coral-shaped device that could generate a personal bubble, he leaped straight into the deep ocean.
He pressed the device, and a transparent bubble instantly formed around his upper body, keeping the seawater out and providing him with a steady supply of air.
Of course, this method could not last forever. Humans could not truly transform into Fish-Men and live indefinitely underwater.
But for El, even a few moments was more than enough. Even without the bubble's protection, he had the strength to face such beasts in their own domain.
True strength was not bound by environment. Anyone who could only be called "strong" under certain conditions was not truly strong at all.
__________________
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