His Sand-Sand Fruit ability allows him to turn his body into sand.
He can move just above the ground, looking almost as if he is floating.
But that is not true flight.
Doflamingo, however, uses his Paramecia powers to attach his strings to clouds and pull himself through the air.
Admittedly, it isn't exactly flight either, but it comes very close.
These two had always clashed whenever they met on the open seas.
And now, even serving together under El's command, they still seemed to compete with one another constantly.
However, with El keeping them in check, their rivalry never disrupted the crew's plans or operations.
In fact, El actually encouraged this kind of friendly competition between his subordinates.
If a team lacks energy, if there is no debate or rivalry, and everyone simply agrees with everything without question… that team is already on the path to collapse.
Right now, though El was resting in his cabin, his Observation Haki extended across the entire ship—and far out into the surrounding waters.
Seeing Crocodile and Doflamingo chatting casually on deck, he felt slightly relieved.
With these two veterans standing guard, most problems could be handled perfectly without him needing to step in at all.
In terms of both strength and experience, very few people in the entire New World could compare to them.
Suddenly!
Something triggered a warning deep within El's Observation Haki.
"What is this…?"
He sat up straight instantly.
He sensed it: deep beneath the ocean, in the direction of the Calm Belt…
A massive force was gathering, building up, ready to burst forth…
And in the blink of an eye, it was released!
"ALL HANDS, BATTLE STATIONS!"
El dashed out of his cabin and onto the deck in less than a second.
He frowned, staring toward the horizon—the direction of the Calm Belt.
He had just spoken to Boa Hancock on the Den Den Mushi. Her escort ships hadn't even met up with them yet, and now this happened… truly terrible luck!
By now, standing on the deck, El could clearly feel exactly what was happening.
A volcano deep underwater had erupted—at the worst possible moment.
Who could have expected such a coincidence?
El was powerful, and his Observation Haki was exceptional… but an underwater volcanic eruption was an extremely rare event.
Whoever encountered it was simply unlucky.
"Really… I don't even know what to say." El shook his head.
Even he could not afford to underestimate this eruption.
In other seas, such an event might not matter much. Even a dozen or twenty volcanoes erupting at once would be nothing to worry about.
But this was different.
They were right at the edge of the Calm Belt.
The area erupting was directly connected to those waters.
And the Calm Belt was the home of countless, unimaginably massive Sea Kings.
Crocodile and Doflamingo rushed to El's side.
Reading the expression on their captain's face, they knew exactly what was worrying them all.
"Captain… the volcano erupting right now… and us being so close to this area…"
Doflamingo didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear enough.
This wasn't any ordinary pirate's territory—at least, it never had been before.
These waters were essentially the hunting grounds of the Sea Kings.
It was true that these monsters lived deep within the Calm Belt.
But as the saying goes: even rabbits don't eat the grass right outside their burrows. Did that mean the Sea Kings only hunted inside the zone?
If that were true, where did all the other giant beasts and Sea Kings found around the world come from?
So right now, the waters where El's ship sailed were equally dangerous.
They were under direct threat from these colossal creatures.
The reason the Calm Belt was their home was that its waters were always perfectly still and calm.
But now, with a massive volcano erupting deep below…
The word "calm" no longer applied here.
Hundreds of Sea Kings were surely being awakened and enraged.
Every ship nearby—pirate, merchant, or otherwise—would instantly become a target for their fury.
The reason the Grand Line was almost impossible to leave, yet easy to enter, was largely because of the Calm Belt surrounding it.
Or more precisely… because of the massive Sea Kings that lived within it.
Their size and power were simply beyond imagination.
Ordinary humans and pirates stood absolutely no chance against them.
To survive an encounter and leave with your body intact was considered good fortune.
Even large pirate ships were barely enough to serve as snacks for these giants.
And they had absolutely no hesitation or moral qualms about eating humans.
Whether you were a pirate or a Marine who had accidentally angered them… meeting a Sea King usually meant certain death.
"Here they come!"
El raised an eyebrow.
His Observation Haki was the sharpest on the ship.
He detected the churning currents rising from the deep the very second they began to move.
Just behind him, Doflamingo and Crocodile also sensed the gathering storm and rising waves.
"Colossal Sea Kings…"
As he spoke, Crocodile activated his Devil Fruit power.
Shifting fully into his elemental form, he became nearly immune to all ordinary physical attacks!
Even if a massive Sea King rammed into him, it would likely do absolutely nothing to a man made entirely of sand.
No one expected to run into such trouble while simply sailing to inspect their own territory.
Encountering Sea Kings anywhere along the Grand Line was never surprising… but it was always an unexpected accident.
No matter how strong a pirate crew was, dealing with these beasts was always a headache.
Not only were they difficult to defeat, but once slain, their gigantic bodies floating in the water created huge obstacles that were incredibly hard to remove.
And right now, El seemed to be facing exactly this problem.
"Get ready… the creatures drawn here aren't going to be just one or two!"
El sighed softly.
His luck this time was truly terrible.
Under normal circumstances, with calm seas, he would have arrived at Amazon Lily and finished his business without any trouble at all.
But who would have guessed that he would be blocked by such a massive horde of monsters halfway there?
"SPLASH! ROAAAR!"
Unimaginable amounts of water crashed down from above, raining upon them.
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