Another deserted island.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Thunderous impacts echoed through the island's center.
"Five Thousand Tile True Punch!"
Shark, his muscular upper body bare, drove fist after fist into a massive block of bluestone before him.
He panted, staring at his trembling knuckles. "Not enough yet. Back in the Sun Pirates, Boss Jinbe could shatter rock like this with pure muscle and short power. No water needed."
"I've taken the Limit Breaker serum. The talent ceiling is gone. These six months, I'm mastering every secret of Fish-Man Karate. Body and Haki. I am not losing to Boss Jinbe again."
"Yohohoho. Mr. Shark is certainly diligent."
Nearby, Brook hovered in a strange seated posture high above. His eyes were closed, and two ghostly blue flames of the Underworld flickered inside his empty sockets.
"Though chasing strength alone can blind you to the lightness of the soul."
As Brook spoke, the aura of the Underworld around him began to pull away from his bones, coalescing into a faint silhouette in midair.
The first shape of soul projection.
While Shark and the others pushed their training forward, a chime rang through the mind channel.
Ding.
Carina's voice cut in, sharp with excitement. "Everyone, pause. I intercepted something interesting."
"What is it, Carina?" Sabo halted his sparring with Enel and answered through the channel.
"Those gold coins and antiques I seeded with contract ripples? A batch of them made it to the North Blue black market."
Carina's voice rang clear. "Just now, through an antique vase in a North Blue arms dealer's office, I eavesdropped on an underground deal."
"Arms deal? Why waste time on small fry like that?" Enel floated lazily, unimpressed.
"Not arms. A Devil Fruit."
Carina flipped open the worn Devil Fruit Encyclopedia beside her. "The dealers were appraising it. They don't know what it is. Said the surface looks like flowing sludge. Ugly color. A little sticky to the touch. From their description, it's a strong match for the Logia-type Numa Numa no Mi. They're planning to close the deal in three days, on Minion Island in the North Blue."
"A sludge-like fruit?"
Ace opened his eyes from his beach chair.
He knew exactly what the Numa Numa no Mi could do. In the original story, that idiot Caribou ate it and squandered a god-tier fruit.
It could transform the surrounding terrain into a bottomless swamp for massive area control. Its interior even contained a nearly infinite pocket dimension for storing weapons, living creatures, and absorbing enemy attacks.
For a fishman who specialized in Fish-Man Karate but lacked water support on land, gaining that swamp domain would be an absolute game-changer.
"Carina, confirm. The deal is on Minion Island in the North Blue?" Ace asked through the channel.
"Confirmed, Captain."
"Good."
Ace stood, gazing at the distant sea of clouds. "That fruit is ours."
"Ace, who are you sending?" Sabo asked, already interested.
"Shark."
"Me?" Shark paused mid-punch. "Captain, I'm a fishman. The sea is my strongest weapon. I'm not eating a Devil Fruit and turning into a landlubber."
"You're not eating it."
Ace smiled. "That sea beast on your back. It's alive, isn't it?"
Dead silence for two seconds. Then Jeno's roar exploded through the channel.
"Bwahahaha! Genius! Captain, you're a genius!"
Jeno was screaming with excitement. "Feed the Numa Numa no Mi to Samehada! After it eats the fruit, it won't just be your back armor. It can generate a bottomless swamp domain whenever you need it! Use the swamp like water, and your Fish-Man Karate becomes unstoppable on land!"
Shark's breathing turned rough as the idea sank in.
If they pulled this off, he'd keep his sea combat strength and wipe out every weakness on land.
"A Devil Fruit that fits Shark like a glove. No question we're taking it." Sabo grinned and rested the Flame Dragon Staff on his shoulder. "But Captain, from a sky island to the North Blue. Even if the Eclipse flies at full speed, it'll take a while. If we leave now, can we make the deal?"
"The Eclipse stays here as Bonnie's surgical base. It's not moving. And even if someone eats the fruit, it doesn't matter. Don't forget my Yami Yami no Mi."
Ace turned to Kuma, who stood quietly nearby.
"Kuma. If you would."
Kuma adjusted his round glasses and understood immediately.
He removed his right glove, revealing the pink paw pad on his palm.
"No problem. I can launch them directly from here to an island I've visited in the North Blue. It's close to Minion Island. After that, they'll need to travel on their own." Kuma's voice was steady. "The flight will take roughly three days."
"WHAT?!"
Buggy's shriek tore through the channel like a dying pig. "Launch them?! Big guy Kuma, that's tens of thousands of miles! A human flying through the sky for three days will splatter into paste on landing!"
"Relax." Kuma explained calmly. "My ability forms a protective bubble around the target. When it reaches the destination coordinates, the bubble bursts. Everything inside lands without any physical damage."
"But sending Shark alone to the North Blue. Finding an island at sea will slow him down too much."
Ace looked toward the red-haired swordswoman nearby. "Leonora. You're going with him. Your Fuwa Fuwa no Mi can keep you both airborne after the bubble pops, and flying back with the fruit will be easy."
"Understood, Captain. A good chance to see what North Blue swordsmen are made of." Leonora nodded, a grin curling at the corner of her mouth.
"Jeno. Bring out that small transport."
"On it!"
Jeno rolled a transport out of the Eclipse. It looked like a massive metal disc, which he set down on the open ground. "Lightweight alloy construction. Boss, you control the flight with your Devil Fruit. Speed matches the Eclipse. And it's stocked with food and fresh water for your trip."
Shark and Leonora stepped onto the metal disc.
"Kuma. Do it."
"Are you both ready?" Kuma raised his enormous right hand, looking at the two before him.
Shark, Samehada strapped to his back, nodded silently.
Leonora kept one hand on her sword hilt, eyes sharp.
BOOM.
A muffled explosion. The air warped violently.
The metal disc carrying Shark and Leonora vanished from the deck, transformed into a meteor wrapped in a transparent bubble. It tore through the sea of clouds at terrifying speed, rocketing toward the North Blue.
"Get the fruit and come back fast. If you run into anyone stupid on the way..."
Ace watched the vanishing meteor in the sky. Through the mind channel, he gave the two flying figures one final order.
"Whoever it is, kill them."
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