"Nii-san, is this the Devil Fruit you came here specifically to find?"
Looking at the Devil Fruit in El's hand, Carina asked curiously. "This shape looks like a big apple—is it a Zoan-type Devil Fruit?" By the end of her words, Carina's tone had become a bit uncertain, because she didn't think a Zoan-type Devil Fruit would be worth El's effort to come to this remote place.
"Yes, this Devil Fruit is indeed a Zoan-type Devil Fruit."
El nodded and said, "However, just as Paramecia-type Devil Fruits have rule-type abilities that are rarer than Logia-type Devil Fruits, Zoan-type Devil Fruits also have something even rarer—the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit."
Hearing this, Carina and the other girls immediately stared at the Devil Fruit El held. Even Kuina, who was usually uninterested in other things, followed Carina and the others' gaze.
Looking at the purple, tomato-shaped fruit with swirl patterns around it in El's hand, Carina couldn't help but exclaim, "Is this the legendary Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit? This is the first time I've seen one!"
"Is it the same Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit I ate?" Yamato pouted and said with a look of disgust. "This kind of fruit isn't delicious at all."
"Yamato, you're actually a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user?!" Yamato's words shocked Carina again. She looked at the horns on Yamato's head—she had only thought Yamato was a mutated human; she never expected her to be a legendary Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user.
"Yeah, didn't I tell you?" Yamato replied in a daze.
"No... but we didn't... never mind." Carina's lips twitched slightly. She hadn't expected that their group of fewer than ten people was actually almost entirely Devil Fruit users. Not counting the two Zoan-type Devil Fruits in storage and the Millet-Millet Fruit found in Wano, out of nine people, eight were Devil Fruit users—and everyone had eaten an extraordinary Devil Fruit.
Among these eight people, they had a rule-type Paramecia Devil Fruit, destructive Logia-type Devil Fruits, a strategically valuable Paramecia Devil Fruit, and a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.
Let's not even talk about the strategic-level abilities for now. After Tama ate the Millet-Millet Fruit, their team would possess three rule-type abilities.
If this information were ever revealed, it would shock the entire world, right? Carina couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
"Nii-san, what are you going to do with this Devil Fruit?" Nami suddenly asked while looking at it. "In our team, Tama is the only one left who isn't a Devil Fruit user—but she already has the Millet-Millet Fruit."
"If we want someone to eat this Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, we'll need to recruit a new crew member."
"No need." El shook his head and said, "This Devil Fruit will be stored temporarily. I'm not sure if I'll find a user for it."
A big question mark appeared on Carina and the other girls' foreheads.
However, seeing that El didn't want to explain, Carina and the others let it go. They trusted El's words—he never made the wrong decision—and they also believed there must be a reason for his actions.
In fact, there was a reason. El wasn't yet sure whether to give this Devil Fruit to someone else to eat.
Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruits possessed incredibly tenacious vitality and durability. Once a frail person ate one, they would undergo an instant transformation, turning their physique into something monstrous among humans. And once awakened, they would possess among the strongest vitality and durability in the world.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit was like the Munch-Munch Fruit and Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Once someone ate it, they would break their physical limitations as long as they hadn't passed their growth stage. If eaten at a young age, they would definitely become a powerful person in the future.
So, if he wanted someone to eat this Devil Fruit, he had to ensure the other party was completely loyal to him—and people like that were difficult to find.
However, as a traveler, El could find more than one such subordinate. But he hesitated: should he use this Devil Fruit to cultivate a powerful confidant, or—after obtaining the materials and methods for creating weaponized Devil Fruits—should he use it to create a pet that would never betray him, as well as a means to extend lifespan?
As a traveler, El currently only knew of three ways to obtain immortality in this world.
The first was Pure Gold, eaten by Bonbori, a Super Lamp Anglerfish that had held the island of Alchemi in its stomach a hundred years ago.
The second was the Op-Op Fruit's ability—the Immortality Operation that sacrificed the user's own life.
The third was the Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire. In addition to granting higher vitality and durability, each Mythical Zoan had its own special ability.
The special ability of the Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire, was similar to the Berry-Berry Fruit—it involved conceptual power.
It could take the life force of others by sucking their blood, and at the same time, it could return the lifespan it had taken. Since lifespan could be returned, did that mean lifespan could also be transferred?
El was ambitious. He wanted all three methods of immortality, after all, he didn't have any so-called system within him. If he wanted to obtain immortality for himself and for the people around him, he could only use the methods available in this world.
Therefore, until he obtained the Op-Op Fruit and Pure Gold, El didn't know how to handle this Devil Fruit for the time being.
So El decided to temporarily store it in the warehouse. He accompanied Carina and the other girls for a walk through the ancient sleeping town, and after roaming the entire town, they drove Pegasus to the next destination.
Time flew by quickly, especially when you were having a great time. In the blink of an eye, half a month had already passed.
After visiting two uninhabited islands with unique characteristics, Pegasus once again arrived at a certain starting island in the New World.
This island was very famous. It didn't belong to any of the three required islands in the New World that pirates had to travel to, but it was an island that every pirate crew returning to the first half of the Grand Line would definitely visit—because aside from the Sabaody Archipelago, this was the only place where a coating shop could be found.
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