In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

  Due to strict secrecy, the hat a warrior from the Vodka Kingdom—who was not even ten years old—had been scripted into the Marines caused no signifit ripples across the seas.

  Upon Kaido’s arrival at Marine Headquarters, he romptly enrolled in the Naval Academy. His remarkable performance shattered all previous records, leaving tless Marines in awe and disbelief.

  But that’s a story for aime.

  One day, in the first half of the Grand Line, in a small, inspicuous vilge in a Wover-affiliated nation called Kano try, an intriguing se unfolded.

  "Well, well, it’s been a while since I’ve been here. You’ve had quite the harvest, haven’t you?"

  A ly dressed young man examined a rge pile of animal pelts brought in by local hunters.

  "Sir, what do you think? How much we get for these?"

  Several hunters stood before him, their faces filled with nervous anticipation as they awaited his appraisal.

  After a moment, the young man straightened up and smiled.

  "These are good. We’ll take them at the same price as before. Any issues with that?"

  " all! Thank you so much!" one of the hunters replied, beaming with joy.

  Though the Tain Trading pany wasn’t as famous as other majanizations, it was well-known in business circles. They dabbled in various industries, including hospitality, real estate, jewelry, and fashion. Their frequent purchases of animal pelts from rural hunters at above-market prices provided the locals with a generous source of ine.

  "Dad, what kind of fruit is this?"

  Suddenly, a barefoot child came running, holding an odd-looking fruit in his hands, his face alight with excitement.

  "Hey, kid, don’t wander off!"

  The huurned, startled by the strange fruit in his son’s hands.

  "What’s that? I’ve never seen anything like it before!"

  Snatg the peculiar fruit from his son, he scolded him:

  "Do random fruits like this—it could be poisonous!"

  Notig the fruit, the young mert narrowed his eyes. His expression shifted to one of disbelief.

  "Wait! Don’t throw it away. Let me take a closer look."

  His voice trembled slightly as he stopped the hunter.

  "Of course."

  Though puzzled, the hunter hahe fruit to the mert. The other hunters gathered around, curious about the fuss.

  After a careful examination, the mert’s excitement became palpable.

  "This is no ordinary fruit… It’s a Devil Fruit—the legendary treasure of the sea!"

  The hunters gasped in shock.

  "A treasure of the sea?"

  "This is a Devil Fruit?"

  "One of those fruits worth tens of millions—or even hundreds of millions—of Berries on the bck market?"

  Their envy was evident as they stared at the hunter who had found the fruit.

  "How lucky one person be?" someone murmured.

  The hunter, stunned, stammered, "This… this is really a Devil Fruit?"

  He had never imagined his son would actally stumble upon something so valuable.

  After a moment, he turo the mert with excitement. "How much is it worth?"

  The mert replied with a smile, "Let me take a picture and send it to our headquarters. They’ll match it against the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia to firm its abilities, then we offer a price."

  He tinued, "Most ordinary Devil Fruits fetch tens of millions, but if you’re in a hurry and don’t want to wait, we buy it as an uified fruit for 100 million Berries."

  The hunter didn’t hesitate. "100 million Berries? That’s more than enough! Let’s go with that."

  With such a windfall, his family would be set for life.

  "Deal!"

  The mert nodded, pleased. "I’ll arrange for the payment immediately."

  Acquiring a Devil Fruit from civilians was a rare opportunity, and if it turned out to have exceptional abilities, it might eveo a promotion for him.

  …

  Two hours ter, on the Red Line…

  In a secluded area, El stopped his training. Sweat dripped from his body as he set aside the seastos he had been using to strike the red rock wall. Hearing Sally’s report through the transponder snail, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

  "The Press-Press Fruit? Are you certain?"

  "Yes, El-sama."

  Sally’s voice from the other end carried a hint of excitement. "The photo matches the Press-Press Fruit perfectly. Barry has already goo retrieve it."

  El chuckled. "Kano try, in the first half of the Grand Line? How fortuitous."

  He hadn’t expected the Tain Trading pany to stumble upon such a powerful Devil Fruit.

  The Press-Press Fruit, a Paramecia-type ability, was undoubtedly among the top-tier powers. It allowed its user to manipute gravity’s strength and dire, creating gravitational forces and effects like anti-gravity, repulsion, and attra. For someoh strong Observation Haki, it could even target objects in space, pulling them down to the p.

  El smiled faintly.

  "This is perfect. I’ve been w what abilities to prepare for Linlin’s unborn twins. Now I know."

  With just a few months left before Linlin gave birth to her twins, this fruit had arrived at the perfect time—an excellent foundation for nurturing the geion.

  Bleam