"What did you say? The Float-Float Fruit? Are you sure?"
In the Fleet Admiral's office at Navy Headquarters, Sengoku stood up in shock, staring wide-eyed at Aokiji, who was lounging on the sofa.
Aokiji, having put his sleeping mask back on, lay down and spoke slowly. "I've already verified it. There are three locations where the ground was manipulated by a Devil Fruit ability."
"At one of them, the surrounding earth was formed into a giant sphere, then buried underground. Inside were several crushed corpses—all CP agents."
"The other two locations are a mountain with a hole opened on Grove 72, and the area frozen by my Devil Fruit ability."
"It's confirmed that the former is a sword mark left by a master swordsman. That young swordsman, El, was already fighting a certain master swordsman before I met him."
After a slight pause, Aokiji's voice grew heavy. "And I have an incredible guess: the change in the sky above Sabaody Archipelago was likely this young swordsman, El, fighting that mysterious master swordsman."
"Your guess is bold, but not impossible!"
Recalling Shiki's era, Sengoku snapped back to focus and said solemnly, "That little devil raised three girls with astonishing abilities. Just as you mentioned that girl Carina—her physique doesn't match her age either."
"Assuming Carina's terrifying physique comes from her unknown Devil Fruit ability, then the young swordsman El, already a Float-Float Fruit user, couldn't have gained his physical strength from another Devil Fruit."
"That means this little devil was likely born extraordinary—possessing a special physical ability since childhood, or is a natural monster!"
Worthy of his title as "The Resourceful General," Sengoku deduced the possibility of El being a natural-born monster just from his physique.
"Awakening Conqueror's Haki at age nine, or even earlier, and using flying slashes by age eight… it's not impossible for him to have mastered Conqueror's Coating by now," Sengoku added, his expression grave.
As one of the few top-tier powers in the Navy who possessed Conqueror's Haki and had mastered Conqueror's Coating, Sengoku knew well that this technique wasn't restricted by age or physical condition. With enough talent, one could master it—and El's talent was clearly extraordinary.
"If that's the case, then in addition to Conqueror's Coating, his swordsmanship must also be at the level of a master swordsman at its pinnacle."
Aokiji murmured, "Conqueror's Coating, pinnacle-level swordsmanship, and the Float-Float Fruit ability… He's practically a new-generation version of Shiki, the captain of the Flying Pirates."
"With the Float-Float Fruit ability, this kid's threat level has reached a new height."
Picking up the papers faxed by the intelligence team—which included pictures secretly taken with a Den Den Mushi during the battle—Sengoku said deeply, "The three girls beside him are no less threatening than he is, perhaps even more so. At least with him, we can still see Shiki's shadow. But these three girls… they break the rules of this world."
"If it were other abilities, even rule-breaking ones, they would at most refresh our worldview."
"But the strongest Logia-type Devil Fruit, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, another high-level destructive element like the Flame-Flame Fruit, and that unknown Devil Fruit… their combined destructive power is simply unimaginable."
"If we allow all four of them to grow up, the New World will gain two more Emperors."
"The balance formed by us, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the three Emperors of the New World will be shattered."
After listening to Sengoku's grave analysis, Aokiji spoke slowly.
"The Float-Float Fruit and Rumble-Rumble Fruit users are the hardest to capture. They don't fear encirclement or suppression."
"Except for Kizaru, none of our Devil Fruit abilities match or restrain them…"
Sengoku also understood this and sighed. "Until we find a method and opportunity to deal with them, we can only increase their bounties, investigate their intelligence, and publicize detailed information to the world—letting other pirates and bounty hunters handle them."
"So, how high must the bounty be to pique those people's interest… or provoke conflict among them?"
Sengoku looked contemplative.
The next day, a piece of news shocked the world.
Countless newspaper delivery birds carried freshly printed newspapers, releasing free copies to all corners of the globe.
Taking a loss just to maximize influence—this wasn't the first time the people of the world had seen the "World Economic News" do this. They immediately understood that today's newspaper must have been commissioned by Mary Geoise or the Navy Headquarters.
News with such widespread influence could only be a major event that would shake the world.
And indeed it was. When people across the world picked up or caught the falling newspapers and saw the front-page news, their expressions changed.
"The End of a Legend! A New Generation Float-Float Fruit User: 'Flying Swordsman' El!"
The headline text was brief, but it was accompanied by numerous pictures.
Those images showed the sky torn apart, a giant sphere buried deep in the earth, and large mountains frozen and cleaved in two.
However, the picture on the front page was of a man in a black robe, with silver hair tied in a ponytail and a black sword at his waist. Compared to three years ago, he had changed greatly.
If not for his unchanged style of dress and the familiar轮廓 of his face from three years prior, no one would have recognized the "Young Swordsman El" from back then.
The second page of the news, in contrast, contained almost no text—only a line announcing the bounty.
If the front and second pages of the "World Economic News" were the first bomb to detonate across the world…
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