BOOOOM!!

  In an instant, the earth quaked, and the mountains trembled.

  The Gcier, renowned for its extraordinary durability and uructure, began to shake violently.

  “Crack… crack…”

  Uhe disbelieving gazes of jao the Drill and his Happo Navy crew, the seemingly iructible Gcier fractured. Giant fissures spread visibly across its surface, growing wider and more exaggerated with every sed. Many lost their footing, tumbling over in fusion and panic.

  "Ah, ah…"

  "Impossible!"

  "The Gcier is breaking open…

  And all it took was a siomp…"

  The pirates were left dumbfounded, mouths agape as they stared at the awe-inspiring figure before them. Cold sweat dripped down their faces.

  The Gcier had long been known for its ability to evenly distribute any force applied to it. To break it apart would require shattering the equivalent of an enormous isnd-sized gcier all at onbsp;

  Throughout history, only those who had perfected the ultimate teique of the Hasshoken could focus their power into a single point and fracture its icy expanse.

  Eveuries ago, a Marine Admiral who had ed the Strength-Strength Fruit—famed for overp giants with raw force—failed to make it budge with a full-strength attack.

  "Is that… the ultimate teique of the Hasshoken?"

  jao, still in shock, whispered in disbelief. His heart pounded violently as he stared at the Fallen Angel, El, t before him.

  As a practitioner of the Hasshoken, jao instantly reized the teique. The ultimate skill of the Happo Navy, passed down through geions, was being wielded with astonishing ease by El. There was no eborate preparation or visible effort—only effortless precision and mastery.

  “The ultimate teique of the Hasshoken… is it really so difficult?”

  El turned, his expression calm and almost indifferent, as he gazed down at the stunned jao.

  “It’s nothing more than the result of persistend determination. Whether it’s your head, your fists, or your feet, any part of your body be honed into an unyielding on—a fang capable of tearing through anything.”

  “To break the Gcier? You don’t even need a foot. With the right mastery, a single finger do it,” El said, his voice ced with authority.

  He disappeared in an instant, reappearing hundreds of meters away before anyone could react. The pirates and jao watched, bewildered, as El stood motionless on the Gcier, raising a single finger.

  “Hum—”

  The air seemed to distort as El’s finger, ed in Haki and brimming with overwhelming energy, shot forward like a bullet. It cleaved downward like a bde.

  BOOOM!!

  Another deafening explosion.

  The Gcier trembled violently once more. Far in the distahe iructible ice fractured again, massive cracks spreading in all dires like spiderwebs. The sheer scale was unfathomable, leaving everyone present in stunned silence.

  “Tsk—”

  "Am I dreaming?!"

  "With just one finger… he tore the Gcier apart!"

  "So this is the true strength of the world's stro creature?"

  "What unimaginable power…"

  The pirates trembled, their knees weakening. Even jao the Drill found himself drenched in cold sweat, his mind rag with disbelief and awe. They stared in revere the t figure that seemed as indomitable as the heavens.

  “If losing a mere pointed head is enough to crush your spirit, then your resolve is as insignifit as your so-called pride,” El said coldly.

  With a single powerful beat of his wings, he asded into the sky, leaving behind an aura of absolute dominance. He disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye, his parting words lingering in the air:

  "The path to transformation, to being something greater, lies within you. Whether you break free from your co or remain a failure wallowing in self-pity is entirely your choice.

  I look forward to meeting a new jao iure—one who has found his strength again, not a broken man, rotting away in despair atop the Gcier."

  jao ched his fists, his face pale with emotion.

  “Damn it… so what if I ’t break the Gcier with my head anymore?”

  jao the Drill remained motionless, staring bnkly ahead. His once-dim eyes gradually brightened, as if enlightened by a sudden realization.

  “So what if I lost my drill head?”

  He spped himself hard across the fad said resolutely, "If my predecessors in the Happo Navy could master the Hasshoken with just their fists ao open the Gcier, then so I!"

  Gripping the Paramecia-Type Point-Point Fruit tightly in his hand, jao gritted his teeth. His ongry gaze shifted to one of obsession aermination.

  "Damn that Sengoku! One day, I’ll pierce through that smug golden Buddha form of his!"

  "Wait, Captain! If the Gcier is opened…" one of the Happo Navy officers interrupted. "Doesn't that meareasure will…"

  jao froze, realization dawning on him. Spping his fttened forehead, he dashed excitedly toward the Gcier. But as he and his creroached the site, they all stopped iracks, stunned into silence.

  The Gcier appeared pletely inta the area where the treasure y frozen. The vast trove of gold and jewels beh remained untouched, still sealed securely ihe earlier cracks had only affected ions of the Gcier.

  “That guy… he definitely did this on purpose…” jao's eyelid twitched violently. He clutched the peculiar fruit in his hand and, after a moment of hesitation, his eyes hardened. Without further thought, he took a vicious bite.

  “Damn it! I refuse to believe that I, jao the Drill, am weaker than a single finger of El the Fallen Angel!”

  …

  Elsewhere…

  After leaving the Gcier, El did not immediately cross the Calm Belt to return to the New World. Instead, he made his way to the northern waters of the West Blue, he Calm Belt, arriving at an isnd belonging to a non–Wover member state.

  This isnd had been purchased by the Hell Trading pany, serving as one of its key bases in the West Blue. Transformed into a fortified military stronghold, it was equipped with substantial firepower and guarded by multiple giant warriors. Even the regional navy dared not un assault here. The Hell Trading pany had three such fortresses in the West Blue alone.

  While simir strongholds also existed in the North Blue, none had beeablished in the East or South Blue due to the Red Line’s separation and the Wover’s strict vigince. However, the pany had secretly set up factories on uninhabited isnds within the Calm Belt he East and South Blues, produg pharmaceuticals, ons, and oods.

  Over the years, the Hell Trading pany had also established a work of covert operations across the East Blue. Even the Wover found it difficult to dismahese operations. Most of the allied nations had signifit trade agreements with the pany, reaping massive eiefits. Even royalty eagerly peted fional distributihts to the pany’s lucrative products, ensuring their silend prote. Though they outwardly enforced the Wover’s bans, their pliance was rgely superficial. For the sake of profit, these kingdoms often allowed the pany’s goods to flow freely into bck markets or even openly.

  …

  In the fortified base, heavily armed guards patrolled the perimeter. When they spotted El approag, their eyes lit up with excitement and reverence.

  "El-sama is here!"

  The thundering footsteps of two giant warriors echoed as they hurried to greet him. These were Lonz and Lacroix, two of the pany’s trusted giant enforcers. Both had been granted Zoan-Type A Devil Fruits by El and were eternally grateful.

  “El-sama, it’s an honor!”

  Their voices were filled with deep resped admiration.

  "You’ve done well," El said with a smile, nodding in approval.

  The rank-and-file personnel were locals trained for the job, but giants like Lonz and Lacroix rotated every few months to prevent pd ehey remained sharp.

  “You’ve worked hard. Hand it over,” El said, his gaze turning to the base’s ander.

  He hadn’t e here merely to ihe stronghold; he was here for something specific. The Hell Trading pany had retly acquired a Paramecia-Type Devil Fruit in a major trade—a rare spatial ability known as the Castle-Castle Fruit.

  "Yes, El-sama!"

  Bleam