"Ryan, Stussy..."

  "I didn’t expect it to be the two of you!"

  "Have you returned after pleting your studies iure try?"

  "Wele back to the crew!!!"

  The veteran members of the Fallen Angel Pirates—Roef, Barry, and others—were clearly familiar with the pair Moss had brought back, greeting them warmly and with surprise. Meanwhile, the newer members—Tsuru, Rufe, Mad, and Lillian—looked on in fusion, unsure who they were.

  "El-sama, I am hoo say that I have pleted my training under Dr. Tsukimi!" decred Mead Ryan, a slightly stocky young man, as he stepped forward to address El. His eyes shoh deep resped gratitude, and his expression veyed visible excitement.

  Ryan had been kidnapped as a child and sold into svery. Later, he was rescued by the Hell Trading pany ao the Dreamnd in the Calm Belt for training. Though he didn’t possess a natural talent for bat, he showed remarkable intelled an exceptional memory, able to recall almost everything he read. Upon learning that he wished to bee a stist, El-sama, who had given him this sed ce at life, spared no expense in providing him with the best mentors. Six years ago, the Hell Trading pany arranged for him to study iure try under Dr. Tsukimi, a renowned stist of the Grand Line.

  By generously funding Dr. Tsukimi's research, El persuaded the stist to take Ryan on as a disciple. Although he obtaihe opportunity through El’s support, Ryan’s dedication and achievements impressed Dr. Tsukimi, whhe young man’s potential and taught him all he knew. Retly, Ryan had pleted his training, having served as Dr. Tsukimi’s assistant on various stific projects. Yesterday, he received El’s call, prompting him to leave the Future try and rejoin the Fallen Angel Pirates, eager to use his skills to repay the one who had given him a new life and a ce to fulfill his dream of being a stist.

  "El-sama, I’ve pleted my training as well..."

  Stepping up beside Ryan, Bugham Stussy blinked her bright blue, jewel-like eyes and smiled, her gaze toward El filled with admiration and passion.

  "Hmph, Stussy, st to take credit," Ryan muttered, gng at his panion with exasperation. "If I hadn’t helped you finish that experiment, you wouldn’t have met Dr. Tsukimi’s requirements—you’d still have at least a few more years to go!"

  "I’m an Arms-Arms Fruit user; I don’t o be a full-fledged stist. How was I supposed to know Dr. Tsukimi would make me do plex biological experiments..." Stussy replied, unbothered, and tinued matter-of-factly, "Besides, I spent a lot of time honing my Six Powers and Haki skills and developing my fruit abilities—I wasn’t solely focused on stific research like you!"

  Five years ago, Stussy had joihe Hell Trading pany of her own accord, hoping to make a living. She soon discovered that the pany was secretly trolled by the Fallen Angel Pirates. After passing a series orous tests and proving her exceptional abilities, she was given the ce to join the crew.

  From the moment she first met El, she was captivated by his striking appearand powerful presence. Later, El gifted her the Arms-Arms Fruit, acquired by the Hell Trading pany on the bck market, a her to study under Dr. Tsukimi iure try, where she could gain the stifiowledge necessary to fully harness her Devil Fruit abilities.

  "Don’t make it sound like I wasn’t trainiher!"

  Ryan gave Stussy an exasperated look aed, "Every day, you were hiding in your room drawing portraits of El-sama, covered in ink. You thought I didn’t know?"

  "What?!"

  "What were you up to, Stussy...?"

  "Unbelievable! You hopeless fangirl..."

  Linlin, Nef, Gerd, Lily, and the others wideheir eyes, gring at Stussy with disapproval. They all kussy's personality quite well—though she roud aiful, she was irresistibly drawn tth. Ever since she had seen El demonstrate his incredible power, she had been infatuated, utterly fixated on him, and often devised schemes to be near him. Sometimes, she'd even spy on him during training with a dreamy smile on her face.

  If it weren’t for Linlin and Gerd keeping a close watch, she might have sneaked into El’s quarters by now.

  “Lies!”

  Stussy's cheeks flushed as she jumped up, delivering a swift kick at Ryan. "You—how dare you spy on me!"

  "Tekkai!" Ryan's stout body recoiled like a spring, boung off a tree trunk before rebounding back. He might not have possessed natural bat talent, but he had learned a few teiques over the years, especially Tekkai, which he could execute effortlessly.

  "Pervert! Stalker! Shameless creep!"

  "Hey, I wasn’t spying! Don’t ruin my reputation like that," Ryan protested, dug behind El for cover. "It was Dr. Tsukimi's daughter, Sasha, who told me!"

  "Sasha?"

  Stussy ched her teeth, st over to nd a few more kicks. "That little brat betrayed me! And after I bought her all those snacks!"

  As she ranted, she turo El, attempting to expin, "El-sama, please don’t listen to him—I definitely wasn’t doing that!"

  "Alright, enough," El sighed, giving Stussy a sidelong look.

  Stussy did have some stific talent, but pared to Ryan, her aptitude didn’t quite measure up. El hadn’t expected her to bee an exceptional stist. Though she was a bit of a fangirl, she wasn’t merely decorative; she had real skill in on design. This was why he had granted her the Arms-Arms Fruit a her to study under Dr. Tsukimi iure try to enhance her capabilities.

  "Future try? Stists?"

  Both Tsuru, the tacti, and Dr. Kureha, with her broad knowledge, looked at El with surprise. her had expected him to already have persorained in advanced sce.

  "Forethought and pnning go a long way," El replied with a shrug and a smile. "Relying solely on my Devil Fruit abilities isn’t sustainable—sce is the real power."

  He couldn’t afford to overlook su important field. Even if they someday persuaded Dr. Vegapunk to work with them, having trained experts was essential for ht and loyalty.

  "This is your reward for pleting your studies: the Paramecia-css Munch-Munch Fruit," El said, signaling Lily t over the Devil Fruit he'd retly acquired from Drum Kingdom. It was a deep purple-bck fruit that resembled a ivorous pnt.

  Seeing Ryan’s expression of surprise aement, El tinued, "As a stist, you uand the immense value of this ability."

  inally, El had hoped that Ryan might bring back Dr. Tsukimi’s other disciple, Vegapunk, as well. However, that young genius, only ten years old, was relut to leave the Future try. For now, El decided to be patient.

  "Munch-Munch Fruit? I remember reading in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia that it allows the user to e anything, ie it into their body, or even bihings to create something new..."

  Grasping the fruit in his hands, Ryan’s face lit up with joy. It was the ideal power for a stist.

  "I won’t disappoint you, El-sama!”