“Roar—”

  Less than half an hour ter…

  On a desote isnd, bare and devoid of aation, a thunderous beastly roar echoed through the air. A colossal, dark figure loomed overhead, blotting out the sun.

  Meanwhile, Thor and Dal—both in high spirits—were zipping bad forth across the isnd, scattering rge quantities of Yarukiman Mangrove seeds. Then, with a mighty whoosh, the awe-inspiring, scale-pted Quetzalcoatl desded onto the isnd.

  “Swoosh… swoosh…”

  In the blink of an eye, tless seeds took root and began to sprout. One by oiny green shoots emerged, growing rger and sturdier at a rate visible to the naked eye. In no time, they became t trees with lush foliage, spreading quickly to cover the entire isnd.

  Abundant sap exuded from the trees, rising through their roots and f tless bubbles. Uhe sunlight, these bubbles glimmered in every color of the rainbow—a breathtaking spectacle.

  In uen minutes, what had been a barren, lifeless patch of nd was transformed into a flourishing forest. Everywhere you looked stood massive Yarukiman Mangroves, each trunk easily over a meter or two in diameter. An endless stream of bubbles floated about like something out of a fairy tale—enting and dreamlike.

  “Hiss—”

  “Incredible…”

  “To cultivate so many Yarukiman Mangroves in such a short time…”

  “As expected of El-sama!”

  “This is nothing short of a miracle!”

  …

  Though they had been prepared in advance—fully aware that this great man possessed the power to trol pnt growth—witnessing this unimaginable se firsthand still left the Hell Trading pany members gawking in astonishment, thhly stunned.

  “Hmm, that should be enough…”

  The enormous, imposing figure reverted to human form. El’s tall frame nded before Thor, Dal, and the Hell Trading pany’s supervisor. Speaking calmly, he said, “This patch of Yarukiman Mangroves should produce more than enough sap each year for the Hell Trading pany to sell or use in the first half of the Grand Line.”

  Unlike rubber trees, Yarukiman Mangroves produced a very rge volume of sap. Even just this one grove was more than suffit for the Hell Trading pany’s current needs.

  “Yes, absolutely enough!” the supervisor replied with a smile.

  Just then—

  “Whoosh…”

  Someone approached from afar, wings beating. Surprisingly, he had white wings, like those of an angel. It was Shimotsuki Ushimaru, who had inally been brought over from Wano (now called Fusang Isnd) and grahe Mythical Zoan, Uma Uma no Mi: Pegasus form by El.

  As El’s unofficial apprentid on at of his sister, Shimotsuki Furiko—he had been given two of the Great Grade swords, Ame-no-Habakiri and Enma, both among the very fi of the 21 Great Grade Bdes. By now, this young swordsman had bee renowned far and wide as the Pegasus Sword Hero. Iing a remarkable talent for swordsmanship from his legendary aor Ryuma, his potential was limitless.

  “El-sama, Yh’s been a while!”

  Dressed in a kimono, Shimotsuki Ushimaru touched down in front of El and the others. Aside from the wings on his back, he showed no ns of animalistic traits. Bowing to El, Thor, and Dal, he said with a smile, “I just finished esc a mert ship loaded with raw materials back to ons Factory #9, and I heard that you and the young lords had arrived…”

  “Uncle Ushimaru!”

  Thor and Dal greeted him politely. Naturally, they knew Shimotsuki Ushimaru—Dal in particur, since El pced special emphasis on training his swordsmanship.

  “Thank you for your hard work… I heard you had some trouble with that fellow Johly?” El asked his informal disciple with a smile. “You didn’t e out the worse for wear, I hope?”

  He could sense Ushimaru had grown stronger siheir st meeting—proof he hadn’t been stagnating. It hardly came as a surprise; Ushimaru was known to be a training fanatic, spending every spare moment strengthening his body and polishing his sword skills, even while on escort duty.

  Word had it that not long ago, he’d faced off against Captain John, and the two of them had fought to a standstill—though in truth, that didn’t necessarily mean they were perfectly matched. They had simply been uo decide the oute quickly. After all, while Shimotsuki Ushimaru’s swordsmanship talent was excellent and he rojected to one day surpass even Shimotsuki Kouzaburou, Captain John was still a seasoned fighter. There remained a gap between them.

  Over the years, John, Wang Zhi, and Silver Axe had all likely grown stronger, but ultimately they were relics of an older era—traitors to Rocks, forced to cower in the first half of the Grand Line, sineither the Fallen Angel Pirates nor the Rocks Pirates would allow them a foothold in the New World.

  “He’s definitely powerful. I was on the defensive, but he couldn’t take me down quickly…” Ushimaru said fidently, beaming. “But ime, I’m sure I’ll beat him!”

  Last time, he’d barely escaped Captain John’s clutches by using Rumble Balls to boost his strength—something of a personal disgrace for the proud Ushimaru. But he believed that with enough time, he wouldn’t lose again.

  “fidence is good,” El said with a slight smile, patting Ushimaru on the shoulder without pressing further. He thought highly of the young man, whose natural talent was remarkable, and who made thh use of the “Rumble Balls,” a special tool—so much so that he could freely shift between multiple transformation forms now, even without them. For example, he had just appeared with wings only, no other ges to his body, indig a specialized “partial” transformation.

  “When your sister returns, I’m sure she’ll be very pleased.”

  “That should be soon!” Ushimaru replied with a smile. In a few more years, Shimotsuki Furiko and the others traveling through time would likely arrive in the current era, and he was eager to see what feats his future nephew might aplish. Perhaps he could even give him some pointers in swordsmanship.

  Take young Dal-sama, for instance—his swordsmanship talent was dht astonishing. As long as the teiques weren’t beyond his physical ability, no matter how plex or intricate they were, Dal could lear a gnce, mastering them with arming speed and even inferring other teiques from them. Just through some exges, he had already grasped nearly all the key points of the Shimotsuki-style swordsmanship passed down through Ushimaru’s family. It was humbling even for Ushimaru, the current head of the Shimotsuki .

  Moreover, Dal possessed araordinary Observation Haki capable of directly glimpsing the future—allowing him to anticipate enemy movements—together with the innate ability of the Third Eye Tribe to see the essence of things. It was overpowered to say the least. On top of that, he also wielded the Paramecia Traransfer Fruit, which made him elusive and impossible to defend against. In a head-on battle, Ushimaru couldn’t be sure of keeping the young lord in check.

  “Uncle Ushimaru, you came at just the right time. How about a quick spar?”

  Dal, who had been standing beside El, asked eagerly, his eyes glowing with the prospect of a fight. On his ret outing, most of the oppos he’d faced were unimpressive, leaving him feeling that he hadn’t gotten a proper challenge.

  “Whack!” El rapped Dal lightly on the head in mild exasperation. “That’s enough—quit messing around. If you want an oppohat badly, that’s easy te.”

  He gave Dal a good-humored look, though a dangerous light fshed in his eyes. “Why not let me be your oppo?”

  “Huh? No way—!” Dal cried out at once.

  Bleam