Chapter 417: Unusual Devil Fruit? Mission for the Siblings...

"Eh?"

Hearing this—

Arcas's eyes lit up, glowing with excitement. He looked eagerly at Dal, Sif, Eden, and the others, seemingly itching to join:

"In that case, I want in too… Which one of you will be my opponent?"

"Hey, hey…"

Hearing Arcas say that, Willie (the Fourth) was sweating bullets, speaking up with exasperation:

"Arcas, little brother, maybe it's best you don't join!"

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Eleventh child, Arcas, is still very young—only fourteen years old—even he is a genuine monster.

Five years ago, their father granted him the newly-rediscovered Paramecia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit (Gura Gura no Mi) first found by the Hell Trading Company. Thanks to that enormously powerful ability, his destructive force is terrifying beyond measure; it can trigger earthquakes and tsunamis on a whim, basically a walking natural disaster.

Especially when he combines it with his Mink Tribe Moon Lion transformation: at full power, his speed, strength, and Haki all get boosted in every aspect, making him extremely dangerous.

Last time Arcas sparred with these older siblings, he got a bit carried away and went full Moon Lion—completely losing control of his surging destructive impulses—and ended up sinking this entire spot into the ocean. Eventually it was Uncle Saul, the Giant with the Stone-Stone Fruit, who had to rebuild the place.

"Exactly. If you get all worked up, you'll definitely destroy this entire area once again…"

Recalling the devastation from last time, even Dal (the Third) was left with a twitch in his cheek, quickly trying to dissuade him:

"This island is where all the younger kids do their training—Dad would not be happy!"

Everyone remembered that last time, Arcas's rampage made a complete wreck of the place, and they had to drag Uncle Saul—who was busy constructing giant bridges all across the New World—to come fix it.

"R-right, gotcha…"

Seeing that he'd been ruled out, the usually battle-hungry Arcas deflated a bit, disappointed, but he also knew if he went all out, he'd annihilate everything in sight. He realized they weren't shutting him out on purpose. Though clearly upset, he wasn't mad.

Off in the distance, two more tall silhouettes appear, wings flapping as they descend:

"Guys—"

"Heehee, we're here!!!"

One is a tall, shapely young woman who looks strikingly like Linlin, though wearing an eyepatch, excitedly waving her hand. Next to her, a teen boy with a ruggedly handsome look and a burly frame stands at her side.

"Brother Hyde!"

"Sis Athena!"

"You two are late!"

"Haha, it's getting lively now!"

Sif, Dal, Frey, and the others greeted them cheerfully. With their arrival, the only older sibling missing from this group was Sister Medusa, who was busy acting as Queen of Amazon Lily.

These two newcomers were the Ninth child, Athena, and Tenth child, Hyde—twins, just like Thor and Sif, except these two share the same parents as Ares. They'd recently turned sixteen, two years older than Arcas.

"Huh, guess there's two more powerhouses I can't beat," muttered Willie (the Fourth) wryly. Although Ninth child Hyde and Tenth child Athena had only just turned sixteen, both possessed that Lunarian "armored" body—immune to blades or bullets—and had exceptionally formidable Devil Fruit abilities.

Their fighting strength was no less fearsome than Thor or Sif at the same age.

Despite Willie's own diligence—he trained relentlessly for years, and even got extra help from their father—he still lagged behind many of these "monster" siblings.

Soon, Hyde and Athena flew over to them:

"Looks like this sparring will have to be postponed," Athena chirped, smiling at Dal and Sif. "Dad gave us a mission!"

"Eh?"

Everyone on that battered island showed surprise.

"Heard in the first half of the Grand Line, there's some very unusual Devil Fruit that's got the Navy, the Shichibukai, and even Roger's crew on the move," Hyde explained. "Mom and Aunt Gerd were going to head out, but Dad said it'd be good training for us, so he told me and Athena to come find you guys."

Athena giggled. Because she'd been wearing an eyepatch to sharpen her Color of Observation Haki—relying purely on Haki in place of normal vision—she'd never taken it off, hoping for an even greater breakthrough.

"Ah, so that's the story…"

High above the waves below, Thor—who'd been locked in a fierce fight with Ares just moments before—caught their conversation with his extra-sharp "mind-net" and smirked. "Great, I was just feeling bored!"

Before a baffled Ares, who'd planned to ramp things up and use his half-beast form, Thor casually turned into electricity and vanished from the battlefield in a flash, reappearing beside Dal, Sif, and the others.

"Thor, hey…" Ares began, exasperation lining his voice—he'd just gotten started. "You're done already? That's so dull!"

"Ares, we've gotta pause," called his younger brother, Hyde, not waiting for Thor to answer. "Some big mission's come in…"

"Eh?" Ares hopped over with a flap of his wings, soon learning the details. His eyes shone with excitement. "Really? That's fantastic…"

"Then let's get moving ASAP!"

Thor, Dal, Sif, and the rest were all raring to go, too. If the Navy and Roger's pirates are all after it, that definitely isn't some run-of-the-mill Devil Fruit, plus it's a perfect chance to clash with top fighters from around the world—way more interesting than these in-house mock battles.

After all, though the Kukulkan siblings often spar, none can truly go all-out and risk serious harm. Against outsiders, though? No such restrictions.