"El, are we sending Homies out again to look for Devil Fruits today?"

  The m, Gerd, freshly washed up and yawning, asked El, who was already deep into his m training.

  She held her scythe with an air of authority ay, her massive form t as she had returo her natural giant size.

  "It’s just a rumor of a possible Devil Fruit sighting; nothing especially powerful," said El, swinging his Great Halberd, his face damp with sweat. He shrugged, "o spend too much time or energy on it. Just make a few Homies from reindeer bodies ter and leave them to keep searg."

  To find that Devil Fruit—which he wasn’t even sure existed at this point—he’d sent Homies like butterflies, dragonflies, and swallows to b the forest where reindeer roamed, but they hadn’t found anything ht. So, he figured Gerd could just create a few ordinary reindeer Homies to tihe seard leave them a transponder snail for updates.

  "Got it. I’ll make some reindeer Homies ter!" Gerd beamed. She reached behind her and pulled out a blue-faced, fang-toothed mask, holding it up to El with pride. "Ta-da! What do you think of this mask, El?"

  "I went out to one of Drum Kingdom’s vilges, found some materials, and spent the whole night making it!"

  Following El’s suggestion, she had crafted this demon mask for herself to wear in battle. With her Soul-Soul Fruit powers, she hoped it would have an intimidating effe enemies, instilling fear and enablio seize their souls more easily.

  "Not bad at all," El remarked, impressed by how the mask gave Gerd an aura of authority and menace. "It ges your whole look—very effective."

  With her massive size, the deadly scythe, and now the ghastly demon mask, Gerd looked terrifying. If she added a cloak or armor to hide her figure, she’d look just like a reaper straight out of the underworld, sure to instill fear in anyone who saw her.

  "Wow, that’s amazing, Gerd!"

  Not far off, Linlin, already used to rising early to train with El, ran over, her eyes shining. "I want ooo!"

  "I’ll make one for you as well," Gerd said with a smile, handihe mask.

  "Thanks, Gerd! You’re the best!" Linlin was overjoyed.

  "Once we for battle, Gerd, you could add a long, bck cloak or some dark armor over it," El suggested thoughtfully, "and maybe deepen your voice to sound more sihat should make a great impact."

  "That sounds right!" Gerd nodded, intrigued, and then, fog on her vocal cords, ihem with soul energy. "ging my voice is easy. All I have to do is infuse my vocal cords with a soul."

  Her usual soft voice transformed into a hoarse, menag male tone. bined with the mask’s monstrous visage, she now looked truly frightening.

  "Incredible! Just like Sally’s voice—it’s impossible to tell who you are!" Linlin marveled.

  "Perfect!" El gave her a thumbs-up. "Later, you could ask Tain from New World to order some leather armor for you through the Hellfire Trade Co. Steel armor is too heavy and would restrient."

  "Alright, I’ll head to the forest now, finish up, and then we set off!" Gerd cheerfully leaped onto the thundercloud Zeus and sped toward Drum Isnd’s woods.

  They didn’t pn to stay long in Drum Kingdom. Their stop was the legendary isnd of gold in Skypiea.

  ...

  "The legendary City of Gold actually exists?" Dr. Kureha, who had just emerged from her room stretg, overheard and smiled in fasation. "This souing! I must have undercharged for my sary!"

  "Maaamaaamaa, it’s too te totiate now! Don’t expect a raise," Linlin teased, stig her to at Dr. Kureha.

  While others feared her silent dosing abilities, Linlin—a Mythical Zoan vampire and natural-born monster—was unfazed.

  "Hmph, how ungrateful of you kids, no respect for your elders!" Dr. Kureha snorted.

  ...

  Meanwhile, high atop the Red Li the Holy Land of Mariejois…

  Early in the m, after finishing a vish breakfast, the Five Elders were discussing curres when an urgent message arrived from Drum Kingdom, rep that the Fallen Angel Pirates had suddenly appeared there.

  "What?"

  "The Fallen Angel Pirates are in Drum Kingdom?"

  Hearing the messenger’s report, the Five Elders were visibly surprised. Wiping his mouth, Saint Mars stood up, incredulous. "What are those pirates doing there?"

  "The king of Drum Kingdom reports that they were attacked by the Fallen Angel Pirates. Although everyone mysteriously bcked out and there were no injuries, two Devil Fruits stored in the royal treasury were stolen."

  "More Devil Fruits, again?" Saint Ju Peter raised an eyebrow.

  "Going to ahs to colleany Devil Fruits…" Saint Saturn rubbed his temples, both astonished and annoyed. "That ambitious brat, is he still not satisfied?"

  Of course, Devil Fruits are precious treasures of the sea, and no one would think they had enough. But sidering the Devil Fruits the Fallen Angel Pirates had already seized from the Wover and even raided from the Navy headquarters, it seemed they should have more than enough.

  If their aim was truly to expand their forces, they’d likely be in the New World recruiting, where the pirate powerhouses are much strohan in the first half of the Grand Line. Yet here they were, still moving freely in the first half of the Grand Line.

  "Acc to CP reports, it’s nearly firmed that the Hell Trading pany is trolled by the Fallen Angel Pirates…" Saint Valkyrie’s face darkened as he spoke coldly. "Most of that food and medie they’re supplying seems to be the work of Fallen Angel El’s Mythical Zoazalcoatl powers, which allow him to grow pnts rapidly."

  "But they’ve beeremely cautious. Even with CP agents and the Navy searg across territories, they’ve only caught low-level, temporary staff who know nothing of sequence!"

  If not for ret provocations, the Wover would never have guessed that while the Fallen Angel Pirates had seemingly stayed quiet for years, they had actually been growing their forces right uheir noses.

  "This situation is a wake-up call; the Wover has grown pt… we truly uimated them," Saint Ju Peter remarked seriously. "Even our surveilnce has bee sluggish. A plete overhaul may be necessary."

  "Let’s focus on this for now—should we send forces?" Saint Nasujuro adjusted his gsses, eyes narrowed with i.

  "As much as I’d like to deal with the Fallen Angel Pirates right away," Saint Mars said, "they certainly won’t remain in Drum Kingdom long. By the time we arrive, they’ll likely be gone again."

  Beyond the immediate challehey had to aowledge that the Fallen Angel Pirates had bee a formidable threat. Their past mistakes, uimating El’s strength, had already cost the Navy dearly. Tw-series naval fortresses had beeroyed, tless elite troops lost, and even Admiral Iron Cw killed. Now Admiral Steel Bone Kong y unscious in the Navy hospital, barely ging to life. Their prized Supreme ander of the Holy Knights had even been captured by these pirates.

  Giveuation, the Navy alone wouldn’t have the power to hahe Fallen Angel Pirates; it would require reinforts from the Wover. Ag rashly, without thh preparation, could lead to eveer losses. While it was humiliating to hold back, they couldn’t afford any more reckless moves. They had to gather intel, prepare extensively, and only strike ohey could be certain of a decisive victory.

  To act otherwise, only to have the Fallen Angel Pirates slip through their grasp, would be a disaster.

  "They’re not small-time pirates anymore. We o be thh this time; there’s no room for more mistakes," Saint Valkyrie said gravely. He turo the kneeling messenger, his tone cold. "Our priority now is for CP agents to gather accurate intelligen the Fallen Angel Pirates. We o assess just how powerful they’ve bee… otherwise, we may o se aructure the Wover’s agencies, making sure our ‘eyes and ears’ are sharpened."

  "No more carelessness," Saint Saturn said, tapping his e on the floor, his voice like iron. "Tell those inpetent fools this is their st ce. We won’t tolerate further disappoi!"

  The fact that the Fallen Angel Pirates had secretly established the vast Hellfire Trade Cht uheir noses, and caused such heavy losses to the Wover, marked them as an unpreted threat—not some on pirates that could be easily crushed. The sheer scale and coordination of their operations suggested there could be hidden forces still unrevealed.

  And the Holy Knights were no ordinary soldiers; they were elites from noble families and must not be lost again.

  Even among CP0, a feable ageed, but they couldn’t pare to an Admiral’s power. Rushing in without full preparation could be risky. They had to sider the possibility that the pirates’ sudden appearance was bait, meant to lure them into a trap. If the Fallen Angel Pirates inteo take advantage of a weakened Navy aroy its strongholds—symbols of justice that had stood for turies—the sequences would be catastrophic.

  With the Navy’s ret setbacks, if another failure occurred, the world might perceive the Wover as crumbling. This perception alone could emboldeless plobally, who might then challehe Wover’s authority.

  The chaos that would ensue would be difficult to trol and would be hard to expin to Im-sama.

  "For now, have someone tact the Fallen Angel Pirates aiate," Saint Ju Peter instructed the messenger. "Ask what terms they’d require to release Holy Knight ander Saint Howard."

  As the highest-ranking Holy Knight, Howard’s unique position and strength were vital to the Wover. Though he’d failed this mission, they couldn’t simply abandon a resource of his caliber. If there were any ce t him back, they’d do whatever it took.

  "Yes, sir!”