"El-sama, these are Kurozumi Higurashi and Kurozumi Semimaru..."

  That afternoon.

  Two wretched figures, restrained by Seastone handcuffs, were dragged out of the Mirror World by Barry and his panions and thrown before El.

  “Wait, are you the Fallen Angel, El?”

  Faced with the t figure before her—whose imposing stature was as intimidating as that of a giant—a disheveled, gray-haired woman in her fifties broke into a cold sweat. Struggling against her bonds, she shouted, “I work with you! Believe in our abilities; we could be very useful to the Fallen Angel Pirates!”

  “Hmm, your abilities are indeed quite useful.”

  El nodded indifferently.

  Under Kurozumi Higurashi's gaze, which flickered between hope and unease, El raised his right index finger and pressed it directly against her forehead, extrag her memories without hesitation.

  “Ah, three Devil Fruits, is it?”

  El smiled, his surprise evident.

  He hadn’t expected such a pleasant discovery. Not only had she gathered the Paramecia-type Brush-Brush Fruit, but she also acquired the Mythical Zoan-type Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Yamata no Orochi, along with another, uified Devil Fruit.

  “How do you know?!”

  Kurozumi Higurashi's eyes widened in shock. Realizing something, she stared at El, her unease growing.

  “Gerd, they’re all yours...”

  “Hehe, no problem!”

  The tall Gerd stepped forward with a sly grin, activating the powers of the Soul-Soul Fruit on both Kurozumi Higurashi and Kurozumi Semimaru.

  “Life or Death?”

  “Ahhh—!”

  In an instant, apanied by agonized screams, their souls were extracted.

  Ryan cackled wickedly, opening his massive jaws without hesitation and dev their corpses to recover the powers of their Devil Fruits.

  Soon, two Devil Fruits materialized in El's hands.

  “Sally, I’ll leave this Imitation Fruit to you.”

  El hahe Paramecia-type Imitation Fruit to Sally, the “Shapeshifting Witch,” with a smile.

  “As you and! I’ll ha perfectly!”

  Catg the peculiar fruit, Sally replied cheerfully.

  “El-onii, do you already have someone in mind for this Barrier-Barrier Fruit?” Linlin asked curiously as she toyed with the Paramecia-type Barrier-Barrier Fruit.

  “Of course I do!”

  El smiled. “Francis Bangi.”

  “That Longarm Tribe member who was once imprisoned iernal Hell?” Gerd raised an eyebrow.

  “Mamamama, he’s strong indeed—an excellent choice!” Linlin ughed.

  For someone as selective as her to approve of his strength spoke volumes about his capabilities.

  Francis Bangi was once a pirate with a bounty exceeding 300 million Berries and a member of the Longarm Tribe.

  When they broke him out of Eternal Hell aended an invitation, this Longarm Tribe powerhouse didn’t hesitate. He immediately agreed to join the Fallen Angel Pirates, and to their satisfa, harbored no ulterior motives.

  Soon—

  Under El's orders, a burly figure, t at an impressive three to four meters tall and built like a taered the room.

  What caught everyone's attention was his uniquely structured arms—each as thick as a human thigh and sisting of three segments, unlike ordinary humans.

  “Guji~~~Guji~~~ El-sama, you called for me?”

  Francis Bangi asked with a wicked grie his fierce appearance, which made him seem to be in his forties, he had no pints about joining the crew.

  It wasn’t because he was inspired by El’s grand ideals, but because he believed in the crew’s immeential and promising future. Furthermore, El had saved him from Eternal Hell, making him a life-saving beor. Serving El was, in his mind, a debt he had to repay.

  “Catch.”

  El tossed the Barrier-Barrier Fruit to him with a smile.

  “This is your wele gift.”

  El was fully aware of Bangi’s thoughts and was quite satisfied with him. Most of the individuals El had rescued from Eternal Hell—aside from unique, powerful entities like Irma Irene—were carefully chosen. While not necessarily virtuous, they were far from irredeemable vilins.

  “A Devil Fruit?”

  Bangi's eyes lit up.

  He caught the peculiar fruit, which resembled a “cherry” in his massive hands, and exami curiously.

  “El-sama, what kind of ability does it grant?”

  “The Paramecia-type Barrier-Barrier Fruit,” El replied with a faint smile.

  “It allows you to create green barriers and manipute their shape freely. To some extent, it grants absolute defehe barriers are nearly iructible—almost impossible to break unless faced with very specific abilities. Even I wouldn’t be able to destroy them.”

  “I trust you’ll find this ability quite satisfying?”

  The Barrier-Barrier Fruit, as a Paramecia-type ability, was among the most formidable defensive powers. Uhe barrier tained gaps, breaking it was almost impossible.

  One would o either overwhelm the user with queror’s Haki to rehem unscious, or catch them off guard a them with overwhelming power before they could activate their abilities.

  Alternatively, one could simply wait for the user’s stamina to deplete, causing their power to fail naturally.

  Francis Bangi’s strength surpassed even that of the current Little Oars Jr. With his level of power, not even El’s queror’s Haki could knock him unscious. Even a Marine Admiral wouldn’t be able to react faster than him or prevent him from activating the Barrier Fruit’s ability.

  Once armed with the Paramecia-type Barrier-Barrier Fruit, his bat power would undoubtedly reaew heights. More importantly, he would bee the stro shield of the Fallen Angel Pirates.

  “Absolute defense?”

  Francis Bangi’s eyes gleamed with excitement. With su extraordinary ability, how could he have any pints?

  Without hesitatioossed the retively small fruit into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

  Bleam