**Chapter 5: The Death Fruit**
In that battle, the World Government and the Marines targeted Jaeger, but Jaeger wasn't alone.
He led the renowned Death Fleet.
Besides the expert who went to sea with Jaeger, there were also many of Jaeger's subordinates and followers, each a strong individual among pirates.
A powerful Legion including two Top-tier Combatants.
Otherwise, it would have been difficult for Jaeger alone to endure against such a terrifying lineup.
However, the legends later spread on The Great Sea became overly mythical, turning it into a battle involving only Jaeger.
The Kronos Kingdom has always had the Two Pillars of the Kingdom, serving as crucial forces protecting the kingdom, one overt and one hidden.
The overt one is naturally the Grand General of the Kingdom, while the hidden one is the Commander-in-Chief of "Hell," who commands the elite troops of the Tartaros Royal Family.
As for the Commander-in-Chief who controls the vital intelligence force 'Styx', their strength isn't the primary factor; it varies, but they are at least not weaker than the elite Vice Admirals of the Marines, and most are near-Admiral level combatants.
Many times, this position is held by elites from the Tartarus Royal Family.
Whenever a new generation rises, the older generation of experts retires, becoming the kingdom's hidden strength.
The sacrifice of the expert who was considered one of the candidates for Commander-in-Chief of "Hell," along with the Crown Prince, was an undeniable blow to the Kronos Kingdom.
In a thousand years, the Kronos Kingdom had never lost two Top-tier Combatants at once.
Moreover, one of them was the Crown Prince, possessing the Tartarus Family's most supreme bloodline.
Possessing the most supreme physique and potential, a monster destined to reach the peak.
At that time, there was great controversy within the Tartarus Family, with many wanting to retaliate against the World Government and the Marines, but after rational consideration, it was suppressed.
Because they still had Hades.
This is also why the Kronos Kingdom is relatively low-key now, and it should remain so.
"Finally, this is for you. It can only be yours."
"With it, you shouldn't have to worry in the Rocks Pirates. It also happens to cut off some people's thoughts."
Tartarus Bane said, taking out a prepared box from within his clothes and slowly opening it in front of Hades.
What came into view was a pear-shaped, deathly grey Devil Fruit. The surface of the fruit had strange patterns, as if emitting an aura of death.
Below the fruit was a small booklet.
"This, this is!"
Although he had never seen what that Devil Fruit looked like, Hades already had a guess in his heart.
"That's right, the Death Fruit! It was Jaeger's ability, Hades!"
"After your father died, everyone was searching for this Devil Fruit that had been reborn. The Marines were searching, the World Government was searching, the Rocks Pirates were searching, and other forces on The Great Sea were also searching."
"Perhaps it was the favor of destiny, or Jaeger's spirit in heaven, but this Devil Fruit was ultimately obtained by us."
Although the words were calm, Hades could feel the hardship involved, and he didn't know how great a price had been paid.
Thinking of the World Government's sudden drastic actions, Hades realized that it was very likely because of this Devil Fruit.
The World Government had suffered heavy losses; it was impossible for them to still be causing trouble within the Kronos Kingdom.
The Kronos Kingdom also wasn't afraid of the World Government, which had lost many agents.
It was just that he alone might not provoke the World Government's apprehension. The heavily damaged World Government and Marines were also unwilling to offend Kronos, a superpower with extraordinary influence in the New World.
Furthermore, Hades was still just a child; they had enough time to scheme and calculate.
There would be future opportunities to deal with the Kronos Kingdom; this bit of time didn't matter. The Rocks Pirates were the ones the World Government and the Marines most needed to deal with.
However, adding the Death Fruit changed things.
The Rocks Pirates might have been involved in this process, and his mother also held a place in the struggle for the Death Fruit.
There was likely a hidden struggle as well.
But none of that mattered anymore. Hades felt a stirring within him, his body erupting with a desire for this Devil Fruit that originated from his heart. He didn't know if it was psychological.
Moreover, this was indeed a top-tier Paramecia Devil Fruit; how could Hades miss it?
Hades reached out, grabbed the Death Fruit, opened his mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp.
Knowing how disgusting Devil Fruits were, he naturally didn't want to taste it, even though he didn't know what it would taste like.
Bane watched silently, when suddenly his expression changed. His figure flashed, appearing over ten meters away from Hades.
As the current King of the Kronos Kingdom, Bane, although unable to compare with his elder brother Jaeger, was not weak himself.
Just now, he had felt a threat.
Staring intently at Hades, he could already feel a dangerous power erupting from within Hades' body.
Hades' body couldn't help but emit a chilling, deathly grey gas, which slowly spread outwards.
This power was so familiar, detectable even from afar.
A Military Base outside the Royal Capital.
Grand General of the Kingdom Zoffy suddenly raised his head. Feeling this power, his gaze turned towards the royal palace. His hands trembled with excitement, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"Your Highness!"
Hades only felt the power within his body continuously surging out. He could freely control this strange power without harming himself.
The strange Death Force, if not countered by other powers or blocked by Haki...
...it was simply impossible to resist with just the physical body. Life would easily wither and decay.
Even a powerful physique would be like paper under the Death Force.
Later on, one could even use the Internal Destruction Technique of Haki in conjunction with the fruit's ability to directly inject the Death Force into an enemy's body.
Although the Death Force would be weakened by Haki during this process, the effect was still powerful.
The inside of the human body is very fragile, vastly different from the outside. The Death Fruit constantly erodes their bodies; accumulating over time, the advantage will continuously expand.
If one's strength is weak, they will lose their life right there.
Organ failure and the draining of life are all effects brought about by the Death Force.
(end of chapter)