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Who said Zoan‑type fruits are the most common and ordinary kind of Devil Fruit?
There are extremely rare varieties among them as well—such as the Ancient Zoan and Mythical Zoan types.
These special variants are even harder to find than the Logia class, which is widely regarded as the most powerful category of all.
Logia‑type users are feared both because they can transform into natural elements and because their fruits are so scarce.
But in truth, some of these unique Zoan‑type fruits are even rarer.
And with that rarity comes immense power—abilities that are often just as formidable, if not more unpredictable, than those of Logia users.
It is no surprise that the Beasts Pirates have so many Zoan‑type users. First, such fruits are already the most numerous.
On top of that, Kaido had spent years buying up artificial Zoan‑type fruits to distribute among his ordinary crew members.
Even so, among the thousands of users, very few are lucky or gifted enough to possess one of the truly rare natural Zoan fruits.
That is why every one of the crew's top officers wields one of these exceptional variants.
To take an example right here—both of the All‑Stars currently on board are Ancient Zoan‑type users, a category as rare as any Logia fruit.
…
Queen and Jack muttered to each other as they watched the unfamiliar ship drawing closer.
"Standards in the New World really are dropping these days."
"Now every random nobody thinks they can come here and throw their weight around?"
"Do they even understand what the New World actually is?!"
As two of the Beasts Pirates' highest‑ranking commanders, they certainly felt entitled to judge the "quality" of pirates sailing these waters.
"Exactly!"
Jack was already ready to act and drive off this intruder who had approached without warning.
He himself was a user of one of those rare Ancient Zoan fruits—the Elephant‑Elephant Fruit, Ancient Model: Mammoth.
But there was more to him than just his Devil Fruit. Jack was not human—he was a Fish‑Man.
Even though Fish‑Men are naturally adapted to life in the ocean, anyone who eats a Devil Fruit loses the ability to swim.
This was the sea's curse: once granted such powers, the user becomes weakened and immobile the moment they are submerged.
Fish‑Men did have one advantage, however.
A human trapped in the water would suffocate and drown within minutes, but Fish‑Men could still breathe underwater.
Their physical strength was also far greater—on average, ten times that of an ordinary human.
Yet even with all these natural gifts, the sea still rejected them.
A Fish‑Man with Devil Fruit powers could not move once submerged.
Unlike humans, who died quickly, they were left helpless, unable to escape, and faced a slow, agonizing end. In that sense, some might say they were even more unfortunate.
Still, the fact that they could survive longer underwater did give them more time to be rescued.
And now, it was this very Fish‑Man Devil Fruit user who stepped forward to deal with the approaching ship.
Jack the Drought, wielder of the Mammoth Fruit, needed no complicated tactics.
He could simply board the enemy vessel and unleash his full strength—enough weight and force to crush the hull and send it straight to the seabed.
"Captain… isn't this a little too open and provocative?"
Doflamingo watched the ship ahead with growing unease.
Even among pirates, there were unwritten rules—established over years of conflict and cooperation.
Generally, no matter how strong or weak a crew was, they avoided breaking these customs.
One such rule: when two ships met at sea, they were not supposed to draw too close to one another.
This was especially true between crews that did not know each other well, as it could easily be mistaken for an act of aggression and spark a fight.
"What does it matter?"
El glanced at him, completely unfazed. "I just want to find out why they're here."
In his mind, there was nothing wrong with his actions. But Doflamingo's heart was racing.
To provoke the Beasts Pirates was no small matter—they were notorious for reacting violently to any slight.
Seeing his expression, El knew exactly what his subordinate was thinking. He shook his head.
"Stop worrying. You're still trying so hard to avoid conflict… but have you not noticed? They have already set foot on what was once your territory."
El did not care much for the so‑called "rules of the sea," but he was not reckless enough to act without reason.
The real reason he had ordered their ship to close in was something else entirely.
Through his Observation Haki, he had sensed something unusual on board the Beasts Pirates' vessel.
"Among the people you left behind in Dressrosa, were there two named Baby 5 and Buffalo?" El asked.
Doflamingo nodded slowly. "That is correct, Captain. I did leave them stationed near the kingdom."
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