The New World was the territory of the Pirate Emperors. Their influence and informants spread across almost the entire sea. Even in places where they had no direct eyes, simply releasing news to the underworld would prompt countless people to act as their informants, eager to collect the information they wanted just to join or please them.
Therefore, upon arriving at Sabaody Archipelago, Yamato hid in the cabin and dared not go out until the coating was completed.
Clearly, Yamato was afraid that Kaido would discover she had joined El's crew, causing Kaido to come personally and take her back.
Although El had promised her that if Kaido found out, he would not hesitate to fight Kaido—or even wage war against the Beasts Pirates—just to keep her, she didn't want to drag her friends into conflict. She believed that once she had gained enough strength in the future and was no longer inferior to that rotten old man, it wouldn't be too late to defeat him and drive him out of Wano.
But in El's view, Yamato's future prospects were bleak. She didn't even dare to go out—clearly, her heart was still filled with psychological shadows regarding her father.
If she couldn't even overcome her psychological shadow, how could she possibly defeat her father?
Thinking this, El decided to wait until the adventure was over before starting a new course of treatment for her.
Although Yamato had mastered Conqueror's coating, her willpower clearly couldn't match her own ability.
If he didn't help her will catch up to her ability, she wouldn't be able to awaken her Devil Fruit power. And without awakening, she couldn't reach a new level.
So, not to mention beating Kaido—even El, who hadn't awakened his own Devil Fruit ability, could rely on his physique to completely suppress her.
—
After the Pegasus was coated, El used his Devil Fruit ability to skip the complicated control process, taking the ship wrapped in a huge bubble directly to the bottom of the sea.
On this trip to Fishman Island, El's targets were only two people: Shirahoshi and Vander Decken IX.
As the current incarnation of the Ancient Weapon Poseidon in this generation, possessing innate Observation Haki just like him, Shirahoshi was the lifeguard he had chosen when formulating his Supreme Plan and deciding to eat a Devil Fruit.
Although everyone in their group always carried Bubbly Coral on them—even if someone accidentally fell into the sea, as long as their whole body wasn't completely soaked in seawater and they used Bubbly Coral to protect themselves, nothing would happen—there was nothing wrong with being cautious. Just in case something unexpected happened, it would be too late to regret it. So whether for possessing one of the Three Ancient Weapons, or for having the world's first-class lifeguard and the most beautiful mermaid, El had already set his sights on Shirahoshi even before entering the New World.
If it weren't for the unexpected incident at Sabaody Archipelago—being caught by surprise by CP agents, Navy Headquarters, and even Rayleigh—El would have had a 50% chance to recruit Shirahoshi back then.
As for why it was only a 50% chance? It was simple. At that time, even with Carina's ability to use radio waves, he might not have been able to track Vander Decken IX's trail—even with his Observation Haki pushed to the extreme. But now, with Violet by his side, the probability of finding Vander Decken IX was guaranteed.
Just as when he recruited Nami—unless he successfully recruited her before Cocoyasi Village was ruled by the Arlong Pirates, he had to help her solve her problem and eliminate the Arlong Pirates to fully win her heart.
The same situation applied to Shirahoshi. He had to help her get rid of Vander Decken IX to completely win her heart.
At the same time, Vander Decken IX's Devil Fruit ability was truly outrageous. As a rule-type Paramecia, as long as he touched a target, any object he threw would automatically track that target. Unless stopped along the way, these objects would chase the target to the ends of the earth.
Even more frightening was that as long as the user had sufficient stamina, he could even throw an island at the target.
For example, if the user was in the East Blue and the target they touched was on some island in the New World, as long as there was a handle or chain attached to that island, he could throw the island from the East Blue all the way to the New World. If it wasn't destroyed along the way, the island would eventually accurately hit the target.
During that time, even if the target escaped to another island, to the Calm Belt, or to the White Sea, the object would continuously pursue them. This was why this ability was so outrageous.
So, in addition to saving Shirahoshi, El also set his sights on Vander Decken IX's Devil Fruit—the Mark-Mark Fruit.
For El, having too many rule-type Paramecia, Mythical Zoan, and Logia Devil Fruits would never be enough.
As for grabbing so many Devil Fruits and not having users in the crew—would these Devil Fruits be wasted?
Absolutely not. Because one of his purposes on this adventure was to expand the fleet—to be precise, it was to find an affiliated force for the Flying Pirates.
Then, from among the affiliated forces, he would select outstanding seedlings and cultivate loyal subordinates.
As for the other thing—it was Joy Boy's message regarding his return 800 years later and his apology for breaking his promise, along with his assurance that someone would fulfill it in the future. As El had promised Robin, he would help her fulfill her archaeological dreams.
Although he wouldn't go out of his way to find these Poneglyphs, if one happened to be at their destination, he would naturally fulfill his promise to Robin.
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