From a stific standpoint, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit is quite useful, plenty of applications and potential. If developed thhly, it could even bee a formidable power. However, Cudius had no real i in this particur Devil Fruit. Spring Isnd was too far away to bother with, and based on what Shakky had told him, he was certain Marine would have already moved in to secure it.

  Marine Headquarters, after all, was currently obsessed with Logia Devil Fruits. Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino had set an incredible pret fia users, demonstrating just how powerful aile such abilities could be. On top of that, Cudius himself, along with Enel and Crocodile, were high-profile Logia users aligned with the Wover. Together, the six of them seemed to firm the reputation of Logia users as overwhelmingly strong.

  As expected, Cudius was right. Marine had already dispatched forces t Isnd, aiming to retrieve the Smoke-Smoke Fruit. Their pn was to cultivate a new, powerful Logia user from the officer training camp.

  In this year's camp, two standout didates had caught attention. The first was a girl named Hina, a user of the Cage-Cage Fruit from the Paramecia css. However, since Hina already had a Devil Fruit ability, she wasn't in the running. The sed didate was Smoker, a young Marine who had witnessed Gol D. Roger's execution in Loguetown as a child.

  Rather than turning to piracy after seeing Roger's execution, as many might have expected, Smoker took the opposite path. Inspired in some way, he joined Marine, rising quickly through the ranks. His performance earned him a p the officer training camp, where he became one of the brightest prospects, impressing both Zephyr and other Marine leaders.

  If everythi acc to pn, Smoker had a bright future ahead of him, likely destio reach Vice Admiral rank at the very least. With the Smoke-Smoke Fruit in his possession, Marieo groom him further, possibly as a future Admiral didate.

  But Cudius knew Smoker's personality well. The man was as stubborn as they came, deeply driven by his own sense of justice, to the point of being almost unyielding. Smoker wasn't oo promise or bend, eve would have been strategically wise.

  This refusal to would eventually leave him marginalized within Mariruggling to navigate Marine's bureaucratid political plexities, Smoker would ultimately be sent to East Blue, effectively exiled. The iion behind this move was to temper his personality and teach him humility, but instead, Smoker ended up spending nearly a decade iive obscurity, stationed in Loguetown.

  While his time there allowed him to maintain pea East Blue, Smoker's skills stagnated during this period, leaving him unprepared for the Grand Line's brutal challenges wheurned. Even with the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, his bat effectiveness fell short of expectations, though ter events in the New World would force him to rebuild himself.

  In any case, Cudius had no i iing involved with the Smoke-Smoke Fruit. He didn't have any suitable didates under his and to give it to, and he was fident Marine would secure it without issue.

  Initially, Cudius had sidered giving Rob Lucci a Devil Fruit to boost his capabilities, only to ter realize that Lucci had already ed the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Leopard, when he was younger. At first, Cudius had dismissed Zoan fruits like Lucci's as ordinary, assuming their potential was limited pared to Logia or Paramecia abilities. However, after learning more from seasoned veterans like Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr, Cudius came to uand Zoan fruits in a new light.

  Sengoku, as a user of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Buddha, had a particurly deep uanding of Zoan abilities. Acc to him, Zoan fruits, whether Mythical or A, primarily excelled in boosting the user's physical capabilities. While Mythical Zoan fruits offered unique, high-end powers, regur Zoan fruits were far from weak. With proper training and physical specialization, even ordinary Zoan users could reacredible heights.

  Hearing this, Cudius stopped uimating Lucci's Leopard Model. The fruit was an excellent match for Lucci, whose talent and aptitude were already exceptional. In fact, Lucci's reputation as the stro CP9 member in 800 years wasn't unfou was his immeential that earned him that title.

  However, Lucci's full potential had yet to be realized, partly because his work as a spy often limited his ability to train. His undercover mission in Water 7, for instance, had him masquerading as a shipwright for five years. While he became an exceptional craftsman during that time, his bat training undoubtedly suffered. Cudius couldn't help but wonder how strong Lucci might have bee with uninterrupted focus on honing his abilities.

  As these thoughts drifted through his mind, Cudius wahe streets of Sabaody Archipego, heading toward the shopping district to find Stussy and the others. But just as he left the illegal zone, a familiar figure caught his eye.

  It andine.

  Cudius hadn't seen Spandine in person for some time, though the two unicated regurly through phone calls. Under Spandine's leadership, CP-X's covert operations had seen rapid development, earning Cudius's approval.

  However, the man before him now didn't look like a petent leader. Instead, Spandine's face ale, his expression frantic. The moment he spotted Cudius, he bolted toward him, colpsing to his knees and grabbing Cudius's leg.

  "Yhness! Oh, Yhness! Please, you have to save me! I've made a terrible mistake!" Spandine wailed, tears streaming down his face as he g to Cudius's leg like his life depended on it.

  Startled, Cudius instinctively pulled his leg back, gring at Spandine in annoyance. "For heaven's sake, get up! Do you have to rub your tears and snot on my trousers? Do you have any idea how much these cost?"

  Spaumbled back, sitting on the ground as he wiped his face, his eyes still red and watery. "I—I'm sorry, Yhness. But I'm in a real catastrophe! This time, it's all Lucci's fault!"

  Cudius's eyebrow twitched as he looked down at the pathetic sight before him. "What did Lucci do?" he asked, his voice ced with exasperation.

  Spaook a deep, shuddering breath before blurting out, "It was supposed to be a simple mission, but Lucci... he went too far! And now we're irouble!"

  Junkdog