Tailed Beast Fruit Ten-Tails Form

"Lightning? How could the power of the legendary Rumble-Rumble Fruit appear here? Something was strange... Why could a Devil Fruit user swim?"

Zeff's breadth of experience was beyond anything the brats around him could compare to. He had noticed that the Lord of the Coast had suffered more than mere physical damage.

The battle-crazed bunch beside him, however, had only noticed that, and they were all thrilled by Gato's oppressive brute strength.

"Are you kidding me? That kid's incredible! He looks so skinny, too."

"Hey! Hey! That guy's way too dangerous! Baratie could get destroyed by one careless punch from him!"

Sanji held his cigarette between his lips and said nothing.

If anyone on this ship had the deepest background, it was undoubtedly Sanji. Even if he no longer bore the name of the Vinsmoke Family, it was still an indelible mark upon him.

Likewise, his ability to accept such things was hardly inferior to Zeff's.

Whether in his family before or later under Zeff's tutelage, he had often heard of the sea's magnificent grandeur, or of some great hero accomplishing monumental feats through unrivaled power.

But hearing about them was one thing. Having never witnessed such things himself, Sanji had always doubted just how far human strength could truly go.

Now, he finally had a rough understanding. The disaster-like power those great heroes possessed probably was not merely legend.

He had never expected the person who showed him all this to be the glutton who had come to Baratie in dire straits not long ago, looking for work and a meal.

It gave him the feeling that being able to eat was the ultimate combat power.

Indeed, among the people of this world, that was practically a law. Those who could eat especially well were never weak.

"Haha, that kid really knows how to hide his strength."

Gato was undoubtedly strong, and Sanji was genuinely delighted to be acknowledged by someone strong.

Gato was already almost out of strength. He could only grab the Lord of the Coast by its tail and barely stand atop the sea. Fortunately, the seawater's buoyancy was strong, so it did not take too much effort.

Seeing the spectators who had been watching the excitement the entire time without any intention of helping, he could not help but grow furious.

"Hey! You lot, come help me, or I'll throw this big thing straight onto the ship!"

He was obviously bluffing. Once the Lord of the Coast fully stretched out, it was far longer than Baratie. Even if he could still activate Lightning Enhancement, he could not possibly do such a thing.

But the chefs, still shaken by Gato's display, did not know that. They were genuinely frightened and, in a panic, all turned to look at Zeff.

"Go bring that kid aboard! That's a Sea King—a whole one at that... As long as we handle it properly, Baratie will become famous across the seas once again!"

Zeff's mind was now filled entirely with the Lord of the Coast. He did not even consider whether Gato could actually do it. In fact, he was even more anxious than Gato. With a wave of his hand, the ship called Baratie sprang into action.

Sea King meat was a rare commodity. Their ferocity and strength meant that few were ever caught. As a top-class restaurant on the sea, Baratie naturally possessed premium ingredients like Sea King meat, but not in large quantities.

Zeff had already decided how to deal with this Sea King. He gave no thought to Gato's feelings at all; the perfect ingredient had ignited a top chef's overwhelming urge to cook.

Although the Lord of the Coast was larger than Baratie, it was a serpentine creature and could be coiled up. It took the group over an hour of hard work to haul the massive beast onto Baratie.

As soon as he was done, Gato found Zeff. With a smug look, he said, "So, old man Zeff, the effort I put in is enough to let me eat and drink my fill until we reach land, right?"

"You mean you're giving this Sea King to me?"

"Gahaha, what stupid thing are you saying? It'd be a waste not to let a top restaurant like Baratie cook such perfect ingredients."

Zeff burst out laughing as well, completely missing Gato's faint mockery. "Haha, kid, you really do have good taste. You can eat as much as you want."

He had long since decided to handle the entire Lord of the Coast himself, but receiving the original owner's approval only put him more at ease.

After laughing, Zeff suddenly turned serious and said to Gato, "You're no ordinary person, kid. A Rumble-Rumble Fruit user—why would you come to one of the Four Seas? And why pretend to be some stranded victim to get close to us?"

After saying that, Zeff added, "And why can you swim?"

Hearing that, Gato could not help but grumble inwardly. What did he mean, pretend? He really had been in a miserable state, okay? And Rumble-Rumble Fruit? His cheat was far more incredible than that.

He thought it over and felt that he needed to answer this question seriously. He was still weak right now, so revealing only lightning powers was fine. But if he developed ninjutsu with other attributes later, people might mistakenly believe he could eat multiple Devil Fruits.

If he became someone on the level of an Emperor of the Sea, that misunderstanding would not trouble him. But if he had not reached that level, he would become the number one target of every ambitious powerhouse.

The temptation of being able to eat multiple fruits was comparable to an Ancient Weapon.

Rather than be misunderstood later, he might as well use Zeff's mouth to spread the information he wanted others to know now.

Putting on a carefree expression, he casually said, "That? What I ate wasn't a Rumble-Rumble Fruit, but a Zoan-type fruit."

Then he took on the look of someone unable to resist showing off. "But it's no ordinary Zoan fruit. What I ate was a Mythical Zoan, the Ten-Tails form of the Tailed Beast Fruit!"

Zeff was almost dizzy from Gato's long introduction. Mythical Zoan, Tailed Beast... Wait, was there even a mythical beast called a Tailed Beast?

Gato continued, "Tailed Beasts are powerful mythical beasts that command the power of the earth. They're like human powerhouses who have eaten Logia-type fruits and can wield elemental powers."

"The Ten-Tails is the strongest among them. It can use the powers of five different Logia-type fruits. If I had mastered even a little more of the Tailed Beast Fruit's power, this big fellow would have died the moment it saw me."

"As for swimming, that's one special ability of the Tailed Beast Fruit. It isolates me from seawater."

Zeff no longer thought about why Gato had been stranded. He was utterly stunned. Even as a great pirate who had traveled the Grand Line and seen much of the world, he had never heard of such a powerful fruit.

It could wield the powers of different Logia-type fruits? It also had a special method that allowed its user to swim? And it was a Zoan fruit with innate divine strength?

How could the sea possibly produce such a monstrous Devil Fruit?