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  The bullets formed a torrential storm of steel, spraying wildly towards Arthur.

  "Tsk, tsk. You're really going to use bullets against me?" Arthur shook his head, not even b to lift a hand.

  Theoretically, average bullets couldn't harm him, let alone eve close. Unless someone like Garp used overwhelming force to propel the bullets through his defehey were useless.

  <"Eleagism - Barrier!">

  An invisible eleagic field enveloped Arthur, f a protective barrier around him.

  The bullets, uo pee the barrier, seemed to freeze in mid-air within two meters of Arthur.

  From a dista looked like a giaal sphere had formed around him.

  "k! k! k!"

  The spent bullet gs cttered to the ground, creating a crisp, jarring sound.

  Not only Gotti, but Walloon, the underlings, and the remaining pirates and bounty hunters in the bar were all stunned.

  "What... What kind of power is this?" Gotti asked, his face filled with shock.

  Although he knew about Devil Fruits, this was the West Blue after all. Devil Fruit users were incredibly rare here. Those who did possess one were sidered top-tier experts, practically untouchable.

  'Gasp...' Aurora sucked in a breath, her heart suddenly filled with excitement.

  "The stro Logia-type—Thunder Fruit!" Arthur's voice came from behind the curtain of bullets, still calm and uurbed. He hadn't even sidered hiding his ability, knowing that it would be exposed sooner or ter.

  The nail that sticks out gets hammered down? Keep a low profile? Hide your strength and bide your time?

  Sorry—He never eained such thoughts. If you had the power, why not funt it?

  "Is that all you've got? If that's the case, then I'll have to ask you to die!"

  Arthur's words echoed through the silent bar, breaking the stunned silence.

  Gotti was terrified. He decisively made up his mind and leaped from the booth, attempting to escape through the door. If he couldn't fight this guy alohen he had to get e Bege!

  "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

  The bullets, frozen in mid-air, were suddenly propelled by an unseen force, transf into a long, metalliake that shot back totti.

  Blood spttered everywhere. Gotti's body was riddled with bullets, not a single spot left untouched.

  His body crashed heavily to the ground, lifeless.

  Arthur had killed e Bege's trusted subordinate in seds. The bar fell deathly silent. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. After a long moment, whispers finally broke out.

  "He's young but incredibly powerful."

  "The Thunder Fruit? The Stro Logia?"

  The pirates and bounty hunters hid their envy and jealousy, cursing Arthur's incredible luck. They had no idea he had nearly died to obtain this power.

  But no matter what, they all uood that this young man would likely rise to prominen the West Blue—like a newly igar.

  "I've helped you kill one of them. It's time to show some proof and bring out the Castle-Castle Fruit, don't you think?" Arthur interrupted Aurora, who was still in shock, his voice ced with amusement.

  "Alright!" Aurora made up her mind. She gave Arthur a deep look ahe way out of the bar.

  The Mafia underlings had long been scared witless. Seeing them approach, they immediately parted to create a path.

  ....

  News of the Thunder Fruit user on Elbak Isnd quickly spread throughout the West Blue.

  All sorts of rumors emerged, like how he had stumbled upon the Devil Fruit by sheer luck, or that he owerful pirate returning from the Grand Line.

  Even more absurdly, Arthur was rumored to be a monster capable of rivaling the Marines' stro fighters and the top figures in the New World.

  Arthur couldn't care less about these trivial matters. His current goal was the Castle-Castle Fruit—the existence of which was still uain.

  Acc to his analysis, the likelihood of Aurora possessing this fruit was quite high.

  e Bege haden the fruit yet, and they all believed it was with Aurora.

  Such certainty implied they had wit firsthand. The probability of it being fake was extremely low.

  Aurora walked quickly, with Arthur following closely behind. They traveled for about ten miles.

  She stopped at a reef by the sea. After carefully surveying the area, she seemed to have found the right spot and pressed down on a particur rock.

  "Rumble!!!"

  The reef shook violently, gradually revealing a dark, deep opening.

  "You built a secret room in a pce like this? Quite creative." Arthur casually praised her iy.

  "Wait for me here!" Aurora said, theered the cave without waiting for Arthur's response.

  She returned a moment ter, carrying a gray, durian-shaped fruit in her right hand. The fruit's patterns were straight lines, resembling the markings on a castle wall. In her left hand, she held a thick book.

  "Is this the Castle-Castle Fruit? Are you sure?" Arthur stared ily at the gray fruit in her hand, not hiding his desire.

  Only the weak hid their true iions. Arthur wao live as he pleased and didn't bother to ceal his desires.

  Aurora nodded firmly. "This is defihe Castle-Castle Fruit. There's no mistake!"

  She hahe thick, diary-like book to Arthur and flipped to the middle.

  The book tained a picture identical to the Castle-Castle Fruit in her hand. Below the picture were lines of text:

  ...[Castle-Castle Fruit: Allows the user to store anything, including themselves, within their body, like a castle. Objects stored inside will shrink, returning to their inal size when outside the user's body.]

  [In battle, the user and their crew iheir body to fire bullets, ons, and other ons at the outside world. Upon leaving the user's body, the bullets and onballs return to their normal size, allowing for immense firepower to attack oppos. Alternatively, the user release their crew like a vast army, overwhelming oppos with sheer numbers.]...

  The description was clear and cise, even outlining the general dire for developing the fruit's powers.

  "This book is a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. A Celestial Dragon who once passed through my father's territory dropped it! So I'm absolutely certain this is the Castle-Castle Fruit. Are you happy now?" Aurora said coldly.

  "—Devil Fruit Encyclopedia!" Arthur's eyes lit up. He snatched the book as if it were a priceless treasure.

  The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia was undoubtedly one of the greatest works in the world of One Piece. In Arthur's eyes, its value even surpassed the Poneglyphs.

  It tained records of all known Devil Fruits, even outlining potential development paths, a culmination of geions of experiend experimentation. Its value was immeasurable.

  Although the suggested development paths might not always be correct, they at least provided a starting point, preventing one from fumbling around blindly.

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