'Whoosh—Whoosh—'

  "Search everywhere—don't let any suspicious targets escape!"

  "Seal off the entrances and the entire coastline. No one is allowed to leave without authorization!"

  "Be on high alert—our target might have some sort of spatial ability!"

  At Marine Headquarters, a sharp arm echoed throughout the base. Minutes earlier, after receiving an anomaly report from the surveiln, the Chief of Staff, the Minister of Finance, and several Vice Admirals had rushed to the treasury with the keys.

  When they opehe door to find the vault pletely empty, everyone was stuheir eyes widened in disbelief. For a moment, no one could prehend what had happened. Chaos quickly spread aarine Headquarters.

  Heavily armed Marines gathered, frantically searg for any suspicious individuals in an attempt to catch the thieves responsible for robbing the vault.

  "What did you say?"

  Over in Sabaody Archipego, Marine Fleet Admiral Hammons William received the report. His mi bnk for a sed, his body swaying as if he was about to colpse.

  "I deeply apologize, Fleet Admiral William... It's entirely our fault for being so negligent..."

  Oher end of the transponder snail, the Marine Chief of Staff was sweating profusely, on the verge of tears as he reported, "At first, the monit room persohought the signal issue with Vault 24 was just a teical error due to the room's isotion. They tried to fix it... But in those few minutes, by the time we got there, the entire vault had been ed out!"

  "Damn it! Fallen Angel El!!!"

  Upon hearing this, Hammons William's face turned bright red. Blood surged up his throat, and he coughed up a mouthful of it.

  "Fleet Admiral William—" Several Marines rushed forward, their faces pale with worry as they tried to support him.

  "I'm fine..." William's fists ched tightly, his knuckles crag. His bloodshot eyes burned with fury as he struggled to trol his anger. "That Lunarian brat... I won't let him get away with this!!!"

  He couldn't believe it. Fallen Angel El had not only kidhe Celestial Dragons and killed a Marine Admiral, but also emptied the entire Marireasury. The pn had beeiculously crafted; it wasn't a spontaneous act of defia had been pnned for a long time.

  "Hammons William, did someone infiltrate Marine Headquarters ay the treasury?" A tall, middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, wearing a uniform and an air of authority, approached the Marine Fleet Admiral. His luxurious attire, adorned with the unique emblems of the Celestial Dragons, made his status clear.

  "Yes, ander Saint Nerona Shendewas. We're not sure how it was done, but there's no doubt that this is the work of Fallen Angel El," William gritted his teeth. He paid no mind to the anding tone of the Celestial Dragon, for Saint Shendewas was not only a Celestial Dragon but also the Supreme ander of the Holy Knights, holding a rank far above that of a Marine Fleet Admiral.

  "Kidnapping and killing the desdants of the creators, sying a Marine Admiral, aying the Marireasury... This Lunarian survivor is truly insane," Saint Shendewas muttered, his expression dark. Earlier, when they had heard about Admiral "Iron Cw" Hark's death, they had bmed the Marines for being inpetent. But after witnessing firsthand the bined power of El and that young woman, they uood just how terrifying their strength was. No wonder a Marine Admiral couldn't stop him and ended up decapitated.

  'g~~~g~~~'

  At that moment, Hammons William's transponder snail rang.

  "I am the Fleet Admiral—"

  But before he could finish, the transponder snail, simuting the face of an old man with a mustache, began to shout angrily: "Hammons William, is your Marine force a bunch of useless idiots?"

  "You didn't capture a single criminal, and you let Fallen Angel El—the st surviving Lunarian—escape!"

  "Not only did you fail to rescue the kidnapped Celestial Dragons, but the only one you did retrieve, Saint Fenix, has bee a cripple!"

  "First, G-5 and G-1—key strongholds that guard the New World for Mary Geoise—were attacked, resulting in massive casualties... Then the naval fleet sent to surround Sabaody Archipego, far rger than a standard Buster Call, was almost entirely wiped out!"

  "An Admiral, the pinnaarine power, was beheaded by that Lunarian brat! And now your Marireasury has been looted without a trace!"

  "You bunch of inpetent fools—what a disgrace!"

  The face simuted by the transponder snail kept shifting, and several furious and elderly voices joined in, mercilessly berating the Fleet Admiral, who stood at the pinnaillions of Marines.

  "I deeply apologize. It is my failure, elders of the Five Elders cil..."

  Hammons William bowed his head. Despite being scolded by the highest authority, the Five Elders, he dared not offer aal. "I will take full responsibility!"

  "As a mere Fleet Admiral, what do you think you take responsibility for?" one of the Five Elders, the oh a long beard, said coldly through the transponder snail. "Saint Hanic was brutally murdered, Saint Fenix crippled, and Saint Prank and the others are still in that Lunarian brat's hands!"

  "William, we'll deal with your responsibility ter. Right now, mobilize the entire Marine ford its to hunt down Fallen Angel El's pirate crew and rescue the three Celestial Dragons!"

  "Elders, before Fallen Angel El escaped, he made a demand that he asked me to rey to the Wover..."

  Hesitating for a moment, Hammons William g the grim-faced Holy Knights and spoke directly into the transponder snail: "He said that if we want to rescue the three World Nobles, we must provide twenty Devil Fruits as ransom, including two Logia, two Mythical Zoan, and three A Zoan types..."

  "What!?"

  "That arrogant criminal dares threaten the Wover?"

  "Twenty Devil Fruits, including the rarest types? He's gone mad!"

  "We ot let this slide! The Wover does not iate with anyone!"

  The Five Elders, far away in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, were enraged. Even the members of the Holy Knights standing nearby were furious upon hearing the demand.

  "That Lunarian brat is a lunatic! He said..." Hammons William took a deep breath and tinued, warning them coldly, "If we don't meet his demands, he'll give those Celestial Dragons aphrodisiad throw them into a pigsty—then broadcast it to the entire world using a rge transponder snail."

  "What!?"

  "That bastard! How dare he—"

  "We 't let him get away with this!"

  "He's digging his own grave!"

  Upon hearing this, not only the Five Elders but also Saint Shendewas and the Holy Knights were shocked, their faces torted with fury. Fmes of anger and killing i burned in their eyes.

  Bleam