The deep ocean gradually swallowed the Sea Dragon's Cradle.
As the sphere of water sank deeper and deeper, Crocodile's eyes filled with shock and fear.
Impossible!
He could actually control seawater—and wasn't affected by it at all.
What kind of Devil Fruit power was this?
"What are you trying to do?"
Crocodile didn't even realize his voice was trembling.
He had imagined many possibilities, but Yuuki's series of actions left him completely unable to guess the man's true goal.
Yuuki had no interest in answering the question of a man who was about to die.
Instead, he quietly sensed the depth of their descent.
With a body comparable to the devils of the Black Clover world, the pressure of the ocean posed little threat to him.
As for breathing, that was even less of a concern.
The water barrier created by his magic existed purely to protect Crocodile—so that he wouldn't drown instantly and so the ocean pressure wouldn't crush him.
Of course—
the spell could also extract oxygen from seawater.
Back in the Clover Kingdom, Noelle had used this very magic to take the Black Bulls deep beneath the ocean to the Sea Temple.
Soon—
The sphere reached a depth of around 500 meters.
The violent storm raging above the sea had no influence here.
Countless sea creatures drifted through the water.
The sphere continued descending.
Only after reaching roughly 1,000 meters did Yuuki stop.
Even here, the ocean stretched endlessly downward.
There was no need to go deeper.
At this depth, the effect of seawater on Devil Fruits would be nearly identical to deeper waters.
If the relationship between seawater and Devil Fruits worked as expected—
then seawater might suppress the transfer of Devil Fruit power.
Whether it would succeed or not—
only experimentation would tell.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
A violent current surged through the water.
Huge schools of fish shot upward from the depths.
Some of them were over ten meters long.
They crashed repeatedly into the water sphere.
The barrier looked thin—
yet it effortlessly resisted the impact of thousands of fish.
The chaos lasted barely two minutes.
Then the entire region suddenly became eerily quiet.
THUD—!!
A massive shadow rose from the deep.
Moments later—
A giant sea creature resembling a tiger-headed fish came into view.
Its enormous body extended far beyond sight.
Just its head—emerging from the darkness—was the size of an island.
"A Sea King, huh?"
Yuuki's calm eyes turned cold as the creature approached.
He made no move to attack.
Their size difference was absurd.
From the Sea King's perspective, Yuuki should have been too small to notice.
Yet—
In the next instant—
The creature's enormous crimson eye shifted.
Its pupil moved downward.
And it looked directly at Yuuki.
For a single moment—
their eyes met.
The Sea King froze.
Then—
As if seized by pure terror, it twisted its body and fled desperately into the abyss.
Crocodile stared blankly at the fleeing Sea King.
Then he looked back at Yuuki, who remained calm from beginning to end.
A bitter expression appeared on his face.
Where did this monster come from…?
"The view beneath the sea isn't something you see every day."
Yuuki glanced at Crocodile.
"Enjoy it."
Crocodile finally understood.
There was no possibility of cooperation anymore.
His sinister expression faded.
Now he simply watched Yuuki calmly.
"Heh."
"I'd like to see what you're planning."
"Don't underestimate me, brat!"
"Even if I lost to you—I'm still Crocodile, the Desert King!"
Yuuki raised an eyebrow.
Then he produced a golden key.
He inserted it into the barrier of Sea Dragon's Cradle.
"Key Magic — Close."
Ripples spread through the entire water sphere.
Nothing seemed different—
but the entire barrier had now become a sealed domain.
Next—
Yuuki sliced through the air with a finger.
A massive Seastone cage appeared from his spatial storage.
It floated within the sphere.
Come to think of it—
Yuuki had Crocodile to thank for providing such a large amount of Seastone in the first place.
If he intended to strip away a Devil Fruit—
then preparation was essential.
His plan involved three layers.
1️⃣ Seawater to naturally suppress the Devil Fruit
2️⃣ Key Magic to create a sealed environment
3️⃣ Seastone to completely restrain Crocodile
Yuuki raised his hand.
"Fire Magic — Hellfire."
Scarlet flames erupted in his palm.
The temperature inside the water sphere skyrocketed instantly.
Crocodile fainted almost immediately from the heat and lack of oxygen.
Even after all oxygen was consumed—
the flames continued burning.
Under Yuuki's magical control, the Seastone cage began melting.
Soon it transformed into a coffin-like container of Seastone.
Yuuki poured the prepared fruits into the coffin.
Then he tossed the unconscious Crocodile inside.
Finally—
He used Key Magic to seal the Seastone coffin.
"Compared to Blackbeard's method using the Dark-Dark Fruit…"
"This approach should be far safer."
Yuuki summoned his Emperor Sword and waited calmly.
It didn't take long.
Soon—
Crocodile's soul rose from the coffin.
Yuuki captured it with the Imperial Sword.
Feigning death was meaningless in front of him.
Crocodile probably never imagined that one day—
A Warlord of the Sea and Logia user—
would die by suffocation.
Yuuki opened the Seastone coffin.
His gaze quickly fell upon a fruit resembling a durian, covered in earth-colored spirals.
"So, it worked."
"This is the Sand-Sand Fruit."
He lifted the fruit curiously.
The ordinary fruit now contained a strange energy.
"More complex than I expected."
Yuuki examined it carefully.
Then he suddenly smiled.
"If observation isn't enough…"
"Then I'll test it myself."
Without hesitation—
He took a bite.
Crunch.
An indescribable taste spread through his mouth.
Awful.
Yuuki frowned.
But he cared far less about the taste.
The moment he swallowed—
A mysterious power entered his body and spread rapidly through his veins.
The energy began transforming his body.
This time—
Unlike before—
Yuuki could clearly sense that the energy was alive.
Not alive in the sense of having consciousness—
but in the sense of being an active, living energy.
Somewhat similar to mana sources.
No—
Even more complex.
Yuuki's gaze deepened.
The energy spread throughout his body—
yet failed to fully invade.
A faint look of disdain appeared on his face.
His body was no longer that of an ordinary human.
His demigod physique made him immune to all magic below the Netherworld tier.
Though the Devil Fruit possessed unique qualities—
its quantity of energy was simply too small.
Unless Yuuki consumed multiple Devil Fruits at once—
it had no chance of taking over his body.
Then—
Deep within his soul—
the Kabbalah Tree of Life reacted.
A faint silver glow burst forth.
In the next instant—
The Devil Fruit energy inside Yuuki's body was expelled.
Once outside—
The energy did not return to the fruit he had eaten.
Instead, it attempted to escape the water barrier.
Fortunately—
Yuuki had already sealed the sphere with Key Magic.
The energy struck the barrier and bounced back.
Yuuki attempted various magical methods—
yet he couldn't see or capture the energy directly.
He could only detect its presence through the feedback of the barrier.
Moments later—
A fruit inside the Seastone coffin transformed once again into a Devil Fruit.
Yuuki picked up the newly formed Sand-Sand Fruit.
"So, the complete system formed by the Kabbalah Tree rejects Devil Fruit power."
"That was unexpected."
He thought for a moment.
"I originally intended to absorb Devil Fruit energy through Kabbalah magic formulas."
"It could have strengthened my magical system."
"But the experiment proves that won't work."
Yuuki sighed slightly.
The magic of the Black Clover world was powerful.
Yet its forms were relatively limited.
Even rare magic like Soul Magic and Fate Magic were extensions of other magic types.
"Perhaps evolving my three-leaf grimoire into a four-leaf grimoire will create new changes."
"And if not…"
"I can still use Devil Fruit lineage factors to create magic tools containing Devil Fruit powers."
"Either way…"
"This experiment was a success."
With a wave of his hand—
Everything except Crocodile's corpse disappeared into his spatial storage.
The water sphere shot upward.
Moments later—
It burst from the ocean surface.
Yuuki floated in the air.
The storm had vanished.
Bright sunlight shone across the sea as if the earlier chaos had never existed.
"The weather of the Grand Line…"
"Truly unpredictable."
Stretching lazily, Yuuki landed back on the deck.
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
Buggy, Mohji, and Cabaji all straightened immediately.
Yuuki casually tossed Crocodile's corpse onto the deck.
THUD.
Mohji and Cabaji exchanged a glance.
Fear—and excitement—flashed in their eyes.
Buggy's skull-and-crossbones bandana trembled.
The more he saw, the more terrifying his captain seemed.
Yet strangely—
he felt excited.
After all—
Yuuki had rescued them from Admiral Aokiji.
That alone proved everything.
What was the greatest treasure in the sea?
Of course—
ONE PIECE.
Buggy had a feeling.
His captain would one day turn the entire world upside down.
Without realizing it—
Buggy, who once planned to escape or use Yuuki to find treasure—
had already accepted himself as a member of the Magic Eye Pirates.
Yuuki's calm voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Bring the four in the laboratory up here."
Buggy, Mohji, and Cabaji instinctively moved—
then froze.
They knew those words weren't meant for them.
The laboratory was a place only Yuuki and Conrad could enter.
Even though it had never been officially stated.
Conrad nodded and walked below deck.
Moments later—
screams echoed.
Mr. 3, Miss Goldenweek, Mr. 5, and Miss Valentine were thrown onto the deck.
"Ugh… that hurts…"
Miss Valentine rubbed the red marks on her arms.
But suddenly—
she froze.
Several pairs of eyes were staring at her.
Her expression turned pale.
Mr. 1, Miss Goldenweek, and Mr. 5 all looked equally terrified.
They weren't restrained.
Yet none of them dared move.
Especially after seeing Crocodile's corpse.
Buggy, Mohji, and Cabaji stood around them like spectators.
They clearly remembered how arrogant these people had been at Little Garden.
"I'll do anything!"
Miss Goldenweek suddenly cried out.
Her pale green eyes were full of pleading.
The others quickly followed her lead and begged for mercy.
Yuuki frowned slightly.
"Shut up, you idiots!"
Buggy stomped his foot on the deck and roared.
"You're disturbing the captain!"
The noisy pleas instantly fell silent.
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next Bonus Chapter at 5500 powerstones.