After using Violet's Clairvoyance ability while in Asura form, El quickly located Vander Decken IX's hiding place somewhere in the deep sea.
The Mark-Mark Fruit required physical contact to mark a target. The last time Vander Decken had secretly touched Shirahoshi was when Queen Otohime was assassinated—and he hadn't washed the palm that touched her since that day.
In his obsessive pursuit to forcibly marry Shirahoshi, Vander Decken IX had offended the entire Ryugu Kingdom by sending "love letters" in the form of weapons hurled via his Devil Fruit ability. Because of this, Shirahoshi couldn't even attend her own mother's funeral. Everyone, including El, couldn't wait to peel off his skin.
Vander Decken IX clearly understood how much he was hated. Not long after sending his first love letter, he had already fled Fishman Island and hidden somewhere in the deep sea—a place even Jinbe, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, couldn't find.
However, as a Devil Fruit user, even though Vander Decken was a fishman, he couldn't come into contact with seawater—it would render him powerless and nullify his mark on Shirahoshi. So he had to wrap his entire body in Bubbly Coral. To avoid sharp objects while navigating the darkness, he always carried a lamp with him.
This faint light source from the lamp was why El could successfully locate his hiding place. In the next second, El flew directly out the window and used Razor (Kamisori)—a combination of Moonwalk (Geppo) and Shave (Soru)—to transform into an afterimage and leave Fishman Island.
Before their figures passed through the protective film, Carina controlled her arm to retrieve a Bubbly Coral and squeezed out a giant bubble that enveloped them while in Asura form.
El maintained an OK gesture while using clairvoyance to lock onto Vander Decken's position. Soon, their figures flew out of the Sunlight Tree's area of influence at tremendous speed and plunged directly into the dark sea—where you couldn't even see your fingers before your face.
It took only about half an hour for El to reach Vander Decken's location. Looking down, he spotted a ghost ship nearly impossible to discern without night vision. In a certain cabin room, a lamp shone faintly under the protection of Bubbly Coral. Not far from it sat a bullhead shark fishman, most of his body hidden in shadow.
Seeing this, El stretched his palm outside the bubble. A small amount of their stamina was consumed and converted into Float-Float Fruit ability, seizing control of the surrounding seawater. He withdrew his exposed palm back inside the bubble, then slowly raised his hand and clenched it tight.
Instantly, the seawater near the ghost ship below—as if endowed with spirituality—began rotating automatically, soon forming an incomparably huge water vortex that mercilessly crashed into the tattered vessel.
The underwater pressure in the deep sea was immense. A water vortex appearing at such depths was even more terrifying than a tsunami.
The ghost ship, with its unknown history, encountering this vortex instantly shattered like glass into countless fragments. Among those fragments was Vander Decken IX, revolving helplessly within the vortex, pierced by several sharp wooden planks.
After confirming he had lost consciousness, El waved his hand again, consuming some stamina to restore the violent water vortex to its original state. Then, under Violet's shocked gaze, El flew over, grabbed the unconscious Vander Decken, and flew back toward Fishman Island.
After another half hour or so, El passed through the protective film again and landed on the Pegasus's deck. He burst the bubble enveloping him and let Carina release Asura form. The hand gripping Vander Decken's neck tightened—ending his life.
Then, right in front of Violet, Carina placed Vander Decken's body into the large box they had prepared long ago and swallowed it. In less than a minute, Carina spat the box back out, opened it, and retrieved the Devil Fruit. Violet, watching this整个过程, instantly turned pale.
El glanced at Violet, completely shocked as she stared at Vander Decken's body, then turned his gaze to Carina. "I'll go ahead to recruit our new companion. Carina, store the Devil Fruit first, then follow me with Violet."
"No problem." Carina also glanced at the frightened Violet with a playful smile before giving El an OK gesture.
After successfully capturing the fourth rule-type Devil Fruit, El didn't return to Ryugu Palace with Vander Decken's body or go find Nami and the other girls. Instead, he flew straight toward the Hard-Shell Tower.
This was where Shirahoshi had been confined and raised for most of her life due to the constant threat of Vander Decken IX. Without his existence, according to the original timeline, she would remain here for several more years until Luffy's arrival allowed her to emerge. But with El's presence, countless destinies had already been altered—and Shirahoshi was one of them.
Stopping before the prison-like Hard-Shell Tower, El threw Vander Decken's body to the ground. He reached out and touched the heavy gate. The next second, the door—embedded with countless weapons—instantly liquefied, creating a massive opening. His figure passed through the hole as he slipped into Shirahoshi's room.
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