On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Lloyd was momentarily stunned by Shanks' words before asking,
"A Devil Fruit? What Devil Fruit?"
Shanks immediately replied,
"The Paramecia Gravity Fruit! Brother, I already checked it for you. This Devil Fruit is definitely top-grade. I knew you would like it."
"Gravity Fruit... You captured Issho?"
Shanks blinked in surprise. A thought crossed his mind, and a trace of unease surfaced.
Could it be that his brother knew this blind swordsman?
He glanced at Issho, who lay half-dead on the ground. A drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead as he asked,
"Brother, how did you know his name is Issho? Do you know each other?"
Lloyd answered calmly,
"No, we have never met. I have only heard of him. His strength is quite impressive."
Hearing this, Shanks let out a quiet breath of relief and smiled.
"Yeah, it took quite some effort to capture him."
Lloyd found it interesting that Shanks had encountered Issho and even fought him, but he did not pursue the topic further. The sea region where Shanks was located had already been marked by his Kamui, so he could arrive there instantly whenever he wished.
After ending the call, Lloyd's figure twisted slightly before vanishing from his seat.
Moments later, a sharp sound cut through the air as Lloyd arrived.
Since Shanks' ship was constantly moving, Lloyd could not teleport directly onto it and had to approach from nearby.
Seeing him, Shanks immediately called out,
"Brother."
The rest of the crew exchanged glances. They were still unaccustomed to the relationship between their captain and the Fleet Admiral.
Benn Beckman, however, wore a serious expression as he muttered,
"So the rumors were true. A teleportation-like ability..."
Lloyd walked over and lightly patted Shanks on the shoulder before shifting his gaze to Issho, who was drenched in blood on the deck.
If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, Lloyd would have assumed he was already dead.
From the side, Shanks explained,
"Brother, this man is from the Revolutionary Army. Just now, their leader, Monkey D. Dragon, came to see me. He wanted to form an alliance."
Lloyd raised an eyebrow slightly. So Issho joined the Revolutionary Army.
However, hearing that Dragon sought an alliance with Shanks made Lloyd chuckle.
He turned to Shanks.
"Did you tell him who you really are?"
Shanks shook his head.
"No. He is probably still confused. During the fight, he kept saying I was not his enemy."
"You let him escape?"
"Yes. Issho held me and Beckman back and used his ability to lift Dragon away. Otherwise, he would not have gotten far. Oh, and I crippled one of his arms."
Lloyd nodded.
"That man's ability to escape is exceptional. He always has someone covering him. If not for Monkey D. Garp back then, he would have died by my hand long ago."
Shanks laughed.
"I heard about that. Because of it, Garp was thrown into prison. Dragon really does cause trouble for his own family."
Lloyd simply smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
The two continued talking casually until Beckman finally interrupted with a helpless sigh,
"You two do realize Issho is about to die, right? Do you still want that Devil Fruit?"
Only then did they look down again. Just as Beckman said, Issho's breathing had become faint, more air leaving his body than entering.
Shanks quickly urged,
"Brother, take the Devil Fruit now. You can talk later."
In truth, Shanks had been the one dragging out the conversation. After drifting alone at sea for over thirty years, discovering he had family, and that his brother had been watching over him all along, left him overwhelmed.
Even a single night of conversation would have meant a great deal to him.
Lloyd stepped forward and crouched beside Issho.
"What a pity. I had hoped you would become my subordinate."
As soon as he spoke, Issho suddenly lifted his head, as if gathering the last of his strength. His blank white eyes faced Lloyd directly.
"Fleet Admiral... Celestial Dragon..."
Lloyd tilted his head slightly, intrigued.
"You can see me?"
Issho shook his head weakly.
"I cannot see clearly. But this overwhelming aura... there is no one else in this world it could belong to."
A faint smile appeared on Lloyd's lips. A golden glow flickered in his eyes, and the bleeding from Issho's body abruptly stopped.
Before Issho could react, Lloyd placed his right hand, now emitting a dark aura, onto his chest.
Issho's body stiffened instantly. He felt something being forcibly drawn out from within him.
Moments later, Lloyd withdrew his hand. With a simple motion, a purplish-black Devil Fruit materialized in his palm.
Even though Shanks and his crew already knew of Lloyd's ability to extract Devil Fruits, witnessing it firsthand left them stunned.
But what followed shocked them even more.
Under their horrified gazes, Lloyd calmly bit into the Devil Fruit.
Dark juice trickled down from the corner of his mouth, creating an eerie sight.
By the time anyone reacted, the fruit had already been completely consumed, leaving only the spiral stem in his hand.
Issho lay there in confusion, unaware of what had just occurred, only noticing the sudden silence around him.
Lloyd slowly stood up, his expression slightly grim.
Shanks hurried over and grabbed his shoulder.
"Brother! What is it? Are you alright?"
He was genuinely worried. Without hesitation, he even tried to check Lloyd's mouth with his finger.
Lloyd's eyes widened in irritation. He slapped Shanks' hand away.
"Stop that. I am not going to explode. I just feel a little nauseous."
Lloyd still had one remaining Devil Fruit slot. The power of the Kage Kage no Mi had already merged into his Yami Yami no Mi, so it did not occupy a slot.
Before consuming the Gravity Fruit, his abilities consisted of a Logia-type Dark-Dark Fruit and a Mythical Zoan True Ancestor Fruit.
Now, Lloyd had become a user of three different Devil Fruit powers.