After listening to the pirate’s explanation, Vir finally understood the situation.
It turned out that this island was not suitable for human habitation. There was only about one month each year when people could land on it. During the rest of the year, the island would sink, and the black sea at the center of the island would expand to cover the entire island, forming a circular black sea that stood out in the blue ocean.
The island was famous not for this unique climate but for a specific mineral it produced.
This mineral was called Sea Prism Stone.
Yes, it was the bane of Devil Fruit users, Sea Prism Stone.
Many believed that Armament Haki, seawater, and Sea Prism Stone could all counter Devil Fruits, but this wasn’t entirely accurate.
Haki could capture the physical form of Logia and some special Paramecia users, but it didn’t negate their abilities. Therefore, Armament Haki was just one method of dealing with Logia and special Paramecia users.
Additionally, the Haki had to be strong enough. Just having Armament Haki didn’t mean you could capture the physical form of a Logia Admiral. If the Haki wasn’t strong enough and there was a significant difference in strength, you still couldn’t capture them.
Seawater could indeed restrain Devil Fruit users because in seawater, Devil Fruit users would become powerless and unable to use their abilities actively, but it wouldn’t make their Devil Fruit abilities disappear.
For example, Aokiji once fell into the sea but managed to freeze the seawater in time to escape.
As for Sea Prism Stone, it couldn’t just be said to restrain Devil Fruit users—it was their nemesis.
Yes, the nemesis. When a Devil Fruit user comes into contact with Sea Prism Stone, they become completely powerless and temporarily lose their Devil Fruit abilities, turning into ordinary people.
Whether Logia, Paramecia, or Zoan, none were exempt.
So, this island that produced Sea Prism Stone was essentially the property of the World Government. If the island’s environment weren’t so unique, it would have been heavily garrisoned by the Marines long ago.
This year, as always, the World Government sent people to the island to collect Sea Prism Stone.
Most of the Sea Prism Stones were exposed on the surface, with only a small portion buried underground.
So, the World Government had the Marines scour the island for these stones.
But this year was different. The Big Mom Pirates had appeared to interfere.
That wasn’t the worst of it. The news of the Big Mom Pirates trying to seize the Sea Prism Stones had somehow leaked, attracting various factions looking to take advantage of the chaos.
Vir knew how precious Sea Prism Stone was. The few small pieces under his ship were evidence enough of its rarity.
The price of Sea Prism Stone on the black market wasn’t particularly high, but its scarcity made it priceless.
Even if a faction managed to obtain Sea Prism Stone, they could only use it as a weapon against Devil Fruit users.
This was because Sea Prism Stone was very difficult to smelt or reshape. The specific smelting technology was a government secret. Why the Big Mom Pirates were after it remained unclear. Could it be they had mastered that technology?
Even grinding it required a complicated process. In a world where technology wasn’t advanced, cutting ordinary gems was challenging, let alone Sea Prism Stone, which was as hard as diamonds.
Upon learning that the island produced Sea Prism Stone, Vir’s eyes lit up. He needed Sea Prism Stone as well.
Vir had always wanted to embed more Sea Prism Stones under his ship to reduce the chances of Sea King attacks, but he had never found a way to purchase them.
Sea Kings in the One Piece world varied greatly, with some super-large ones being terrifying.
If Vir encountered such a Sea King during his voyage, his chances of survival would be slim. He would never forget the sight of a super-large Sea King, resembling a mountain, seen from afar during one of his voyages.
Thus, Vir was eager to get his hands on Sea Prism Stone to embed in his ship’s hull, greatly reducing the likelihood of encountering such Sea Kings.
Knowing that the island had a large amount of Sea Prism Stone, Vir lost interest in watching the fight between the two factions and started heading in another direction to search for Sea Prism Stone.
After a few steps, Vir realized that the outer perimeter was also surrounded by people, half of them Marines and half pirates, seemingly preventing other forces from taking advantage.
This might work on others, but not on Vir.
He walked up to a Marine and pushed him aside, swaggering forward.
The Marine, recognizing Vir’s identity, didn’t do anything foolish but couldn’t disobey orders either, even at the cost of his life.
So, the Marine and a few colleagues surrounded Vir.
“Don’t block the way. I don’t want to kill you,” Vir said, genuinely not wanting to stain his sword with the blood of these soldiers.
Despite the World Government’s incompetence and corruption, these soldiers deserved respect.
Loyalty, steadfastness, and fearlessness in the face of strong enemies.
Unlike those Marines who retreated upon seeing Vir approach,
“Thunder Swordsman, Vir. Our orders are clear: no one is allowed to leave the perimeter. Please step back,” the Marine soldier said resolutely, pointing his gun at Vir.
Vir stopped arguing with the Marines, as it was pointless.
But he didn’t strike them either. Instead, he activated his Thunder Mode, bypassing them.
Just then, he heard a sound behind him. Sensing an enemy rushing at him within his electromagnetic barrier’s range, Vir jumped aside. With a thud, the spot where he had stood was left with a large crater.
It was the World Government officer from earlier.
“Pirate, who let you roam the island? Do you want to die? Stay put and watch, but you dare to touch Sea Prism Stone? Have you sought my permission, Apollo Burnal?” The World Government officer, Apollo Burnal, looked very displeased with Vir.
Apollo Burnal flexed his metal gauntlets, glaring at Vir, intending to kill this pirate.
Despite facing a swordsman, Apollo Burnal was confident in his abilities.
Vir looked at Apollo Burnal, sensing the man’s arrogance and recognizing him as someone highly proud. He drew “Intent Blood,” ready to kill this World Government officer.
Just as they were about to clash, Charlotte Lounie and her subordinates surrounded them.
Seeing Charlotte Lounie, Apollo Burnal said, “Charlotte Lounie, let’s join forces to kill the Thunder Swordsman. We’ll split the Sea Prism Stone.”
Apollo Burnal wasn’t stupid. He knew that the Big Mom Pirates taking half of the Sea Prism Stone was inevitable this year. It was better to split it and join forces with Charlotte Lounie to minimize losses.
Sharing the Sea Prism Stone with the Big Mom Pirates was acceptable to him and easier to explain to his superiors, given their power. But letting a rookie pirate take it would hurt his future prospects, casting doubt on his abilities.
Charlotte Lounie considered the proposal and found it reasonable. She nodded and stood beside Apollo Burnal, ready to eliminate the uninvited guest.
This intruder had already killed a pirate on their side, even if the pirate wasn’t part of the Big Mom Pirates.
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