Marie Geo, Holy Land.
The Five Elders.
"Brr, brr, brr!"
A Den Den Mushi on the table rang and was answered by a person.
"Report, sir, the hunt mission has failed, but we have identified the members of the 'Ghost Squad'."
The voice of Umi Zaru came from the Den Den Mushi, speaking in a heavy tone.
Upon hearing this, the Five Elders were surprised by the mission failure, and then, pleasantly surprised, they said, "Speak?"
"User of the Ito Ito no Mi, an assassin who uses dual daggers, name unknown."
"User of the Suke Suke no Mi, extremely fast movement speed, estimated to be comparable to the Pika Pika no Mi, name unknown."
"A bounty hunter in the Four Seas known as the 'Wind Sword Master', Yasuo, is also a member."
"Furthermore, 'The Unrivaled' Banjir Yujiro, who has recently appeared on the seas, is likely also a member of the 'Ghost Squad'."
"The strength of these four individuals is very high, possessing Admiral-level power, though their focus differs, leading to variations in their output."
The Five Elders were all shocked by Umi Zaru's report.
The Xuanwu Navy actually had so many Admiral-level powerhouses; such a foundation was truly astonishing.
However, what was most shocking was not their existence, but the abilities they possessed.
"Do you think it's possible?" one of the Five Elders hung up the Den Den Mushi and looked at the other four, speaking in a deep voice.
They all fell silent for a moment, then one of the curly-haired Five Elders said seriously, "It's impossible for it to be fake."
"Gecko Moria's Ito Ito no Mi, and Absalom's Suke Suke no Mi, both of them died at the hands of the Xuanwu Navy."
"Upon the death of any Devil Fruit user, their fruit will be reborn in various locations across the sea."
"Our dispatched forces have not found any news of these Devil Fruits, either because they couldn't be found, or because they had already been consumed."
"Looking at it now, it's clearly the latter."
Another of the Five Elders, after the first one finished speaking, said, "During this period, many Devil Fruit users on the sea have been inexplicably hunted. Perhaps this matter is related to the Xuanwu Navy."
"Could it be that Benedict has truly mastered a method to quickly locate Devil Fruits?"
They all fell silent again.
They had also attempted to find a method to quickly locate Devil Fruits.
After countless experiments, they only managed to gain some clues.
"Since the members of the Ghost Squad have been confirmed, let's proceed according to plan."
"Eliminate this force, and then completely take down the Xuanwu Navy."
...
North Blue.
Benedict, arriving via Flying Thunder God Technique, was somewhat surprised as he addressed Tōtō and Jing Ke, "You're not joking with me, are you? Three Admiral-level experts couldn't take down one person?"
Yasuo, Tōtō, and Jing Ke, all three possessed Admiral-level strength.
Especially Jing Ke, who had S+ class potential and, after his training, had gained considerable enlightenment, his strength also greatly improved.
His development of the Ito Ito no Mi was no less than that of Gecko Moria, and in terms of offensive techniques, he was even more ruthless.
Yet, such a combination of powerhouses couldn't even defeat a single CP0?
Was this CP0 Kaido?
Tōtō's face showed embarrassment at Benedict's words.
Frankly speaking, it was indeed shameful that three Admiral-level fighters couldn't take down their opponent.
Jing Ke was silent for a moment and said, "If another person hadn't appeared, we could have defeated them."
"I alone am enough!" Yasuo said calmly and in a deep voice.
"I'm not afraid of two people either," Banjir Yujiro said, looking at Yasuo and smiling excitedly, "The more, the better."
Benedict looked at the four of them, then turned to Jing Ke and asked, "The person who could open doors in space, are you sure you didn't sense it incorrectly?"
"Absolutely certain!" Jing Ke said in a deep voice.
"The Doa Doa no Mi user, quite interesting," Benedict could now confirm the opponent's identity.
Moreover, the Door-Door Fruit ability was used in an interesting way by the opponent, managing to open doors for long-distance escapes.
It had to be said, this Devil Fruit ability was quite useful.
"If you encounter them again, inform me," Benedict said, throwing a dagger to Jing Ke with interest.
Benedict instantly departed using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The progress in conquering the North Blue, South Blue, and West Blue was somewhat slow, but there were no major issues at present.
Sakata Gintoki remained stationed in the North Blue, Kenjiro in the South Blue, and Kashiwagi in the West Blue. With Bai Qi coordinating military forces, all fleets maintained constant contact.
During this time, Benedict also hunted Devil Fruit users across various regions, successfully completing two more Normal Awakening Potions, while unexpectedly obtaining two drops of Rainbow Awakening Potion.
These were from the Paramecia-type Mini Mini Fruit and the Paramecia-type Boost-Boost Fruit.
The Mini Mini Fruit came from a Giant race pirate faction, possessing Vice Admiral-level strength. When they appeared in the North Blue, they engaged in a battle with the fleet led by Sakata Gintoki, and were eventually defeated by him.
The original user of the Boost-Boost Fruit was a Mink tribe expert, who was taken down by the elite forces of the fleet led by Kashiwagi.
Benedict pondered for a moment about these two obtained Normal Awakening Potions, deciding to give one to Kenjiro and the other to Ōtengu Seifū.
With the changing situation, Benedict was unsure if the World Government would suddenly attack Gourmet Island directly, so to prevent the Xuanwu Navy's economic source from being cut off, Benedict decided to further enhance Ōtengu Seifū's strength.
Kenjiro was currently the strongest Admiral, second only to Saitama, and was not a Devil Fruit user.
Therefore, in his choice, Benedict opted for Kenjiro, rather than Sakata Gintoki.
They were all loyal subordinates, and in principle, they should be trusted.
However, as the fact that Devil Fruits possessed demonic souls gradually became evident, this also caused Benedict to have concerns and worries about the "100% loyalty" information.
If they were controlled or instigated by demons, would their loyalty instantly turn negative?
Therefore, without knowing if the Five Elders or Im possessed the ability to control demons, it was best to be cautious.
"I hope that day never comes."
"However, to be safe, I must also gather the Rainbow Awakening Potions as soon as possible."
"Only with formidable strength can I stand invincible."
Benedict set his sights on Alabasta.
Crocodile had already accelerated his invasion of Alabasta and was preparing to move against the royal family.
King Nefeltari Cobra of Alabasta, knowing he couldn't resist Crocodile, sent a request to the Xuanwu Navy.
Benedict agreed and would personally travel there.