Eli's expression darkened as he saw four imposing figures appear before him.
At the same time, Caesar had already anticipated their movements. With his battle experience and sharp intuition, he quickly assessed their strength.
All four were high-ranking combatants, at least at the level of a Marine Rear Admiral. None of them were weaker than Eli himself. However, they were past their prime, relying more on their honed techniques and discipline rather than raw power.
Equipped with high-quality gear, these men would be formidable opponents in a one-on-one fight—even for Eli. But their misfortune lay in the fact that they had encountered him.
Caesar didn't even need to draw his Tyrannical Saber. With overwhelming force, he surged forward like an unstoppable avalanche, sending the four men flying with a single devastating strike. They crashed into the walls of the courtyard, their fate uncertain.
As their bodies hit the ground, four more warriors rushed out from a nearby villa, clearly the inner courtyard's defenders. Seeing their comrades defeated in an instant, their expressions shifted from confidence to shock.
Their eyes darted toward Caesar, who stood with his sword floating beside him, exuding an aura of absolute dominance. Recognition dawned upon them.
"You… do you even know what you're doing?" one of them stammered.
"Are you a pirate?! If you cause trouble here, you'll be hunted by the Marines!" another warned.
"That blade…!" The third man's voice trembled. "I saw it in the papers! The Tyrannical Saber… You're Caesar!"
Caesar ignored their words, stepping forward with Eli at his side. Without slowing his pace, he addressed the guards coldly.
"If you want to fight, do it now. Otherwise, move aside."
The four men instinctively took defensive stances, standing at the villa's entrance like an unyielding wall. But as Caesar and Eli approached, the sheer pressure of Caesar's presence crushed their resolve. Not a single one dared to make a move.
Silently, they stepped aside.
Caesar and Eli entered the villa unopposed.
Inside, the noble who resided here—the same man Eli had spoken of before—had clearly received word of the commotion. He hurried down from the second-floor staircase, his expression livid.
"Who are you?!" he snapped. "You dare break in here? Do you have a death wish?"
Caesar exhaled slowly, his aura flaring just slightly as he uttered a single warning:
"I'll give you one chance to rephrase that."
The noble, a man in his fifties with an air of arrogance, felt his confidence drain in an instant. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he swallowed hard. His tone changed immediately.
"I… W-what do you want?"
"Do you have a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia?" Caesar asked.
The noble's expression darkened once more, but under Caesar's piercing gaze, he had no choice but to nod.
"Yes… I have a copy."
Caesar turned to Eli. "Go with him and get it."
Eli hesitated. "Captain, are you sure? This man is rumored to be as strong as a Vice Admiral. If I go alone—"
Caesar cut him off. "Go. I want to see if he dares to make a move."
The noble grimaced, then sighed in defeat. "As expected of the infamous Caesar of the New World… Truly domineering." He lowered his gaze. "I wouldn't dare act against you."
Eli wasn't surprised that the noble recognized Caesar. Anyone who followed recent events in the world would know his face—especially given the havoc he had been stirring lately.
But to cow a man of this level with just a few words… That was something else entirely.
Eli followed the noble upstairs, glancing back once at Caesar, who had already made himself comfortable on the villa's sofa.
Once inside the noble's study, the man unlocked a secure safe. As the door swung open, Eli's eyes widened at the sight within.
Stacks of gold and jewels glittered in the dim light—enough to buy a lifetime of luxury. But what truly caught Eli's attention was something else.
A Devil Fruit.
It sat on a tray, encased in a glass cover.
When the noble reluctantly handed over the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, Eli took it without hesitation. But instead of stopping there, he reached into the safe and retrieved the Devil Fruit as well.
The noble's eyes widened in horror.
"W-wait! You only wanted the Encyclopedia! What are you doing?!"
Eli's gaze remained cold.
"Got a problem with that?"
This was the same man who had extorted him, forcing his parents to pay the Heavenly Tribute. He had no sympathy for him.
"If you don't like it," Eli continued, "you can take it up with my captain. But if you try anything against me, I'll kill you right here."
The noble's breath hitched, and in the end, he could only clench his fists in frustration. He knew that resisting was useless.
Even the Marines' legendary hero, Garp, struggled to deal with Caesar. What hope did he have?
He could only lament one thing—he should have eaten the Devil Fruit himself while he had the chance.
---
[107] A New Power: The Electric-Electric Fruit?
Eli returned downstairs in high spirits, carrying the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia under one arm and the newly acquired Devil Fruit on a tray.
As he descended the stairs, the guards who had been too afraid to move earlier let out startled gasps.
"Wait… isn't that the Devil Fruit our lord kept locked away?!"
"He never even let us see it before… and now it's gone?!"
"That thing could be worth at least 100 million berries!"
"He was planning to offer it to the Celestial Dragons… But now… it's over."
Caesar was intrigued. He hadn't expected to stumble upon a Devil Fruit here.
But considering this noble belonged to an ancient family, it wasn't all that surprising.
He took a closer look at the fruit, noting its unique design—resembling a pineapple, with blue and white currents swirling across its skin.
Eli handed him the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
"Captain, I don't know what it is. But the fact that old bastard guarded it so closely… it has to be something rare."
Caesar flipped through the pages, comparing the fruit's patterns.
Then, he found it.
Superhuman-Class: The Electric-Electric Fruit.
It granted the user control over electricity, allowing them to generate and manipulate currents at will.
A formidable ability, though not quite at the level of Enel's Goro Goro no Mi—which was a Logia. But even without intangibility, it was still a terrifying power in the right hands.
Caesar smirked.
"A good find."
He set the fruit aside and stood up.
"Eli, let's go. We have eight other Devil Fruits waiting on the ship—I want to check what those can do as well."
Eli nodded excitedly.
The prospect of discovering new, powerful abilities was exhilarating. Even if none of the eight were Logia-class, there had to be something worthwhile among them.
With that, the two pirates departed.
As they vanished into the night, the noble finally collapsed onto the sofa, shaking with fear and fury.
And then—
BOOM!
Without warning, the entire villa crumbled into rubble.
The guards barely had time to scream.
Eli turned back in surprise.
"What just happened?"
Caesar merely smiled.
"Nothing important."
With that, they disappeared into the darkness.
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