A moment later, after reading the report, both of them took on a solemn expression.
Aether looked at them and asked in a deep voice, "Well? Any thoughts?"
Garp uncharacteristically put away his joking expression. "The Rocks Pirates... their strength has expanded again. Why does that guy always manage to recruit such troublesome monsters? Wouldn't it be better to join the Marine and maintain the peace and Order of the sea?"
Sengoku rubbed his long braid, his brow furrowed. "Fleet Admiral Aether, the information I asked you to check with the World Government earlier—is there any result?"
Aether sighed and shook his head.
"No. In the World Government's vast Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, no fruit matching Charlotte Linlin's ability characteristics was found."
"It can basically be concluded that she consumed a brand new Devil Fruit that has never been recorded. The Gorosei might have more secret records, but..."
Aether didn't finish his sentence, but all three present understood. No one would disturb those five supreme lords just for the specific ability of a pirate.
Moreover, in the past, many powerful fruits not recorded by Marineford had appeared on the sea, but their origins were often inextricably linked to the Celestial Dragons entrenched in the Holy Land Mary Geoise.
"Sigh..." Hearing this, Sengoku also let out a sigh.
Regarding Charlotte Linlin, his feelings had always been very complicated. He had always kept an eye on this Damselette who was forced onto the path of piracy because of the Celestial Dragons' selfishness and his own 'compromise' at the time.
It was just that the people escorting the tenryubito tribute back then included CP0; unless he didn't want to be a Marine anymore, he could only follow Orders.
Now that her strength was growing rapidly and her conduct was even more in line with certain connotations of 'justice' than many Marines, he felt increasingly repulsed by the Celestial Dragons and increasingly ashamed to face Charlotte Linlin.
This was why whenever a mission related to her came up, he would always find an excuse to avoid it—of course, it definitely wasn't because he wanted to take the opportunity to pummel Garp.
Aether ended the topic and reminded the two of them:
"We cannot ascertain the specific abilities of her Devil Fruit for the time being. If you encounter her at sea in the future, you must be doubly careful. Devil Fruit abilities are treacherous and unpredictable; you must never let your guard down."
He picked up another stack of documents and added, "Furthermore, according to Tsuru's intelligence, Charlotte Linlin's ability to control different types of lightning is related to those three uniquely shaped swords she carries with her."
"Oh? Those three swords that look more like works of art?" Garp raised an eyebrow with a hint of surprise.
"I thought the little girl had them specially made just for looks. They actually have that kind of power?"
As someone who had fought many times with great swordsmen like Roger, he had a good understanding of famous blades. A truly good sword emphasizes material, forging, and practicality; they usually aren't made to be so flashy.
Sengoku also showed a puzzled expression. "Swords capable of controlling lightning? Does such a thing really exist?"
Even after reading Tsuru's detailed report, he still found it hard to believe. If one could harness natural power just with swords, then what was the point of people like them training their physical techniques and developing fruit abilities so hard?
"The possibility is very high." Aether flipped through the combat records and photos of Charlotte Linlin in his hand.
"Observing her many battles reveals a pattern: when she uses black lightning, the nodachi with the black scabbard at her waist is usually in hand; when using red lightning with startling destructive power, she is inevitably holding that crimson longsword; and the most destructive purple lightning always descends after that luxurious purple longsword appears."
As he spoke, he spread several captured photos of Charlotte Linlin fighting while wielding different colors of lightning across the table.
Garp leaned in to look at the photos. "Is it possible that these swords themselves are creations of her Devil Fruit ability?"
"The possibility is extremely low, Garp," Aether countered.
"First, there is no known Devil Fruit ability specifically for creating such weaponry with specific elemental attributes."
"Second, Charlotte Linlin's fruit has basically been confirmed as a Mythical Zoan Type, not a Paramecia capable of creating matter. Therefore, your hypothesis doesn't hold up."
He looked at Charlotte Linlin in the photos, looking like a deity surrounded by lightning, and couldn't help but remark:
"If the title of 'God' weren't monopolized by that group of people, the 'Thunder God' title Rocks gave her might be more appropriate."
"However, Charlotte Linlin's title really should be changed... Hmm, 'queen of thunder'... perhaps that's more fitting."
Aether rubbed the stubble on his chin, lost in thought.
At that moment, a sharp light flashed in Sengoku's eyes, and he proposed an idea:
"Since her lightning abilities are strongly related to the swords, is it possible for our Marine to... produce similar imitation weapons?"
Aether and Garp both looked at him in confusion.
Meeting their gazes, Sengoku said solemnly:
"Since we cannot replicate or counter Charlotte Linlin's Devil Fruit ability for now, we must understand these swords of hers that can invoke natural power. Even if we can't understand them, such powerful weapons should not fall into the hands of pirates."
...st. freya, deck.
Whoosh—!
The sea breeze blew, lifting a strand of purple hair from Charlotte Linlin's temple.
"How is it, Vina? Any discoveries?" She looked at Vina, who was placing her hand between her brows in a strange focusing posture.
The Homies Seagulls responsible for scouting also landed back on the ship's railing one after another, chirping their reports that no target flag had been found.
Vina lowered her hand and shook her head slightly, her face tinged with exhaustion and frustration. "No, Captain. I've done my best to search the vast sea area around Dressrosa, but I haven't found any ships flying the Phantom Pirates' flag."
She had used the super long-range vision of the glare-glare fruit to scan the nearby sea surface almost inch by inch, but her lack of proficiency with the new ability, combined with the dim light last night, did indeed affect the efficiency of the search.
"I'm sorry, Linlin," Vina's mood was a bit low.
"Did I... waste this precious fruit?"
"Don't blame yourself, Vina, you've already done very well." Charlotte Linlin reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
"To be able to use the ability for a large-scale search in just one day is already remarkable. They might have escaped in advance, or perhaps they were killed in internal strife."
Her tone shifted, becoming spirited: "Our journey is the entire sea! There's no need to delay our itinerary for a few rats in the gutter. My Navigator, tell us, where is our next destination?"
Feeling the Captain's trust and encouragement, Vina immediately cheered up and answered loudly:
"It's Hack Narcissus Island! My Captain!"
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