"Tsk—"
"So powerful..."
"Is this the kind of strength a special Homie can have, created from the soul of such a strong figure?"
On the deserted island, Tsuru, Moss, Rock, Lillian, and the others narrowed their eyes in awe. Though they had anticipated its strength, they couldn't help but feel astonished at the power of the newly created six-winged Fallen Angel Homie, Lucifer.
The sheer force of its massive strikes and incredible flying speed made it a serious challenge for any of them if faced head-on.
Most of them were confident they'd surpass it in time, but they couldn't deny that the Soul-Soul Fruit was a remarkable power. In the right hands, it could create such a formidable warrior with ease.
However, it would take someone like El—a freakishly strong, natural-born monster—to capture a powerful figure like Saint Howard and provide Gerd with the opportunity to seize his soul. Few other pirates could even dream of such a feat; even if they could defeat him, capturing him alive was another matter entirely.
"Not bad, this power should do," El said, nodding in approval as he watched Lucifer's performance. After all, this high-level Homie was created from the soul of a Navy admiral-level warrior. It retained part of its original memories, specifically those of its former master, Saint Howard, and had inherited his combat skills. Though its strength had diminished compared to Howard's full abilities—or even Linlin's unique natural-born strength—it still packed a punch. Built with Baldimore's advanced technology, the memory-shaped metal body gave it real combat power on par with Little Oars and the advantage of versatile land, air, and sea capabilities. It feared neither seawater nor fire—impressive for a single unit in their forces.
"If it were a complete soul, it'd be even stronger," Gerd added with a smile. "But for now, we need to keep him alive to use as leverage against the World Government."
"El-sama, these past few days, I've gotten a pretty good handle on the powers of the Munch-Munch Fruit," Ryan said after a moment's hesitation. "Though I can't guarantee success, it might be worth a try."
"Go ahead and give it a shot," El replied with a grin. "If it doesn't work, it's no big deal."
Success could bring enormous potential, after all.
"Perfect! I've been wanting to create two more advanced Homies!" Gerd said, a glimmer in her eyes, clearly ready to put their plan into action. Saint Howard, the Commander of the Holy Knight, wasn't their only high-value captive; two other senior CPO agents, particularly the one with the Ancient Model Pterosaur, were also worthy targets. With their souls, the resulting Homies could be formidable additions to their forces.
Soon after, Barry passed through a massive mirror into the Mirror World and retrieved one of the senior CPO agents—handcuffed with Seastone restraints—who possessed the power of the Swap-Swap Fruit. The Seastone he had previously swallowed was removed, so his limbs now needed to be secured with specially-made Seastone cuffs.
"Fallen Angel El—"
The CPO agent, pale and weakened, stared at El, Gerd, and the others with growing dread.
'Swish'—
Gerd stepped forward, her massive form looming over him, her Reaper's scythe gleaming menacingly. Wearing a fearsome demon mask with a monstrous face, her piercing eyes stared him down. Her voice, hoarse and chilling, rang out, "Life...or death?"
The agent's blood ran cold as if he were staring into the eyes of a death god from the depths of the underworld.
All at once, his soul seemed to separate from his body, rising out of him like an ethereal mist. His face drained of color, fear and confusion etched across it as he looked at Gerd in shock. "What... what did you do to me?" he stammered.
"Heh, wrong answer..." Gerd's voice was menacing as she laughed darkly from behind her reaper mask, enhancing her sinister appearance. Swiftly, she seized his soul, gripping it firmly and giving a harsh pull. "I'll take forty-six years, three months, and twenty-two days of your lifespan!"
As a Soul-Soul Fruit user, Gerd could easily see her target's expected lifespan under normal conditions. Without mercy, she drained every remaining second, stripping his spirit entirely.
"Ahhh!" The CPO agent let out a chilling scream as his body rapidly withered into an elderly, lifeless husk.
"Not bad... high-quality soul indeed, just as expected from a CP0 elite," Gerd murmured, her voice returning to normal as she smiled and nodded at Ryan. "Your turn, Ryan."
"No problem!" Ryan grinned as he stepped forward, opening his mouth wide. He swallowed down a large bag of various fruits he had prepared, then immediately consumed the lifeless body of the agent, jaws snapping down and crunching with ease.
"Crunch... crunch..."
"Do you think it'll work?" Linlin asked, her voice filled with anticipation. Everyone else looked on, eyes fixed on Ryan, hardly daring to blink.
If they could truly extract a Devil Fruit power from another user, it would be a game-changer for the Fallen Angel Pirates.
El, meanwhile, leaned casually against a towering tree, watching with an amused smile. Whether Ryan succeeded or not, the Fallen Angel Pirates' ascent was unstoppable. Success would be a bonus, but failure wouldn't disappoint him.
"So," Ryan grinned mischievously, "guess what? Did it work?"
With a smirk, he activated his Munch-Munch Factory power. From an open compartment in his abdomen, a fruit with strange spiral patterns emerged, now ready for El and the others to inspect.
"Tsk—"
"This is..."
"A Devil Fruit?"
"It actually worked?"
Everyone present couldn't help but gasp, eyes wide with amazement.
They knew that once a Devil Fruit user died, their powers would randomly manifest elsewhere in the world. Even the World Government had never figured out a way to reliably seize a Devil Fruit power directly from its user. Yet, incredibly, the Munch-Munch Fruit had made this possible, allowing them to retrieve the user's Devil Fruit ability.
"Indeed, it's the Paramecia-type Swap-Swap Fruit!" Tsuru exclaimed, recognizing it immediately from her memory of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
"Swap-Swap Fruit, huh? Amazing!" Linlin said, taking the fruit with fascination.
"The power to extract Devil Fruit abilities..." Dr. Kureha murmured, astonished. "Tsk, truly incredible."
"Well done. Now things will be a lot easier." El raised an eyebrow, smiling with satisfaction. "Barry, bring out the Pterosaur Zoan user next!"
"On it!" Barry responded excitedly. With the ability to extract powers from Devil Fruit users, they could now hunt down ability users across the sea and collect an arsenal of powers, enabling them to train a massive number of powerful recruits.
With this, the Fallen Angel Pirates' strength would grow exponentially, like a snowball gaining momentum, eventually becoming an unstoppable force—even the World Government itself would struggle to deal with them.
Soon, the CP0 agent was brought out, and Gerd performed the same procedure, draining his lifespan. Surprisingly, this one had fifty-five years remaining.
Afterward, Ryan consumed the corpse and extracted the Zoan Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Model: Pterosaur form.
"El, this is quite a find," Moss said with a grin. "This Ancient Model: Pterosaur might even outpace my own Zoan Ancient Model: Pelagornis in speed!"
"Yes, quite a valuable addition." El nodded, pleased as he accepted the newly extracted Devil Fruit from Ryan. So far, their collection included few fruits with flying abilities. The Dragon-Dragon Fruit, though an Ancient Zoan, was likely unmatched in flight speed—far superior even to Logia Fruits like the Cloud-Cloud or Smoke-Smoke varieties.
In fact, El thought it would be ideal to give this Pterosaur power to a giant. With the sheer size and strength of a giant, they could fully harness the Pterosaur's power. They wouldn't even need close combat; a single flap of their wings would send devastating gusts that could scatter most foes.
Since the Fallen Angel Pirates now had plenty of Devil Fruits in their possession, recruiting several powerful giant warriors to enhance their mid-tier forces seemed like an excellent next step.
~~~
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