'Boom… Boom…'

  After some time—

  On the enormous cloud isnd, the Fallen Angel Pirate crew members—including Tsuru—watched in awe as Little Oars steadily moved enormous pieces of forest. His immerength, a testament to his "Devil" lineage, allowed him to haul massive ses of nd onto the floating isnd cloud.

  Soon, he had pieced the ses together seamlessly, filling any gaps with rich soil. Before long, a stunning, lush forest spread across one part of the isnd.

  'Woosh... Woosh...'

  H above Atntis, El looked down, satisfied with the forest now ad the isnd.

  "Go, El!" Linlin, Lily, Gerd, and the others cheered.

  "Alright, here goes," El replied, smiling as he scattered seeds across the cloud isnd.

  'Rumble—'

  To Tsuru’s astonishment, a grand Quetzalcoatl with majestic golden horns appeared, desding onto the isnd.

  'Roar!'

  In his Feathered Serpent form, El released a powerful aura that spanned several kilometers, activating the seeds. As if under a spell, they began to take root and sprout rapidly. The Yarukiman Mangrove seeds grew into t trees in moments, with massive roots iwining deep into the cloud itself.

  'Drip… Drip…'

  Thick sap began oozing from the trees, f rge, shimmering bubbles that floated up and burst in midair uhe sun’s rays, filling the sky with vibrant colors. Some roots protruded like giant funnels, releasing sap that created massive bubbles.

  Meanwhile—

  Large vines iwined and grew into structures, f giant treehouses, swings, seesaws, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, carousels, and t windmills. Vibrant flowers bloomed all around, creating colorful, mesmerizing gardens and turning the area into a dream-like wondernd.

  "Hehehe, now it’s my turn!"

  Gerd, smiling broadly, desded ohundercloud, Zeus. With a wave of her hand, she activated her Soul-Soul Fruit powers, imbuing the structures with life.

  'Poof… Poof… Poof…'

  "I’m a flower!~"

  "Ferris wheel, spinning round and round!"

  "Roller coaster—full speed ahead!"

  "Carousel—spin with me!"

  "Flowers, flowers, blooming everywhere~"

  Suddenly, all the trees and vines came alive. The Ferris wheel, carousel, roller coaster—even the massive flowers—were animated, with cheerful faces, dang and twirling.

  'Gasp!'

  "Incredible!"

  "Am I dreaming?"

  "It’s like a miracle!"

  "This looks like a fairy tale e true!"

  "Amazing work, El-sama! And Gerd’s powers are incredible!"

  In mere moments, the isnd had transformed into a paradise that looked straight out of a fantasy. Tsuru, a former Navy officer, and the other new recruits of the Fallen Angel Pirates were left speechless, captivated by the enting se before them.

  "That should be enough. Don’t use too much of your soul energy here," El said to Gerd with a smile as he took in the dream-like world of floating bubbles. "We’ll o save enough energy to create an army of Homies soon."

  "Don’t worry about it…" Gerd ughed, grabbing some of the giant bubbles and imbuing them with soul energy to create floating bubble Homies. With her soul energy still abundant, she drifted up on a rge bubble, grinning. "These ones don’t require fighting abilities, so I didn’t use too much soul power. I’m all set!"

  "Perfect!"

  "Wow! They’re exactly like the bubbles in Sabaody Archipego!"

  Linlin and Lily rushed over, hopping onto a bubble Homie big enough to support their smaller giant-sized forms, boung with excitement.

  Meanwhile, the other crew members, including Lilliahree-Eye girl, Ily the mermaid, and Baka the dancer, watched the dream-like se with wide, eager eyes, delighted by the floating wondernd around them, ready to jump into the fun.

  ……

  'Bang—'

  Meanwhile, in the distant Holy Land of Mary Geoise—

  In an opulent, spacious feren, a high-ranking CPO officer in a white suit and mask smmed his fist oable. "Twenty Devil Fruits?! Ridiculous! We’ll never agree to such terms!"

  The officers behind him gred murderously at "Captain Merkel," who stood before them. They looked ready to tear him apart on the spot. None could have predicted that this seemingly insignifit Navy captain would walk into the heart of Mary Geoise, decre himself a member of the Fallen Angel Pirates, and boldly cim to represent the will of Fallen Angel El iiations with the Wover.

  Though they wanted nothing more than to arrest and interrogate him to find out the whereabouts of both the Fallen Angel Pirates and the kidnapped Celestial Dragons, “Captain Merkel” was unfazed. He warhat if he did not return safely or if anything happeo his life card, their hostages would suffer. Any harm or dey, he cimed, would result in the severed limbs of the Celestial Dragons bei directly teoise, along with even more dire threats.

  The CPO officers, both enraged and strained by the potential harm to the Celestial Dragons, relutly reported the matter, resulting in a direct authorization from the Five Elders to begiiations.

  "Enough with the hostile looks—I might get scared…" The imposter “Captain Merkel” smiled calmly. "I’m not here to iate. I’m here to inform you. In this game of chess, we’re the ones holding the power."

  Outside the door, an armored figure listened, hidden behind a metal helmet. Underh, a mog smile crept across her face. Sally, disguised as "Captain Merkel," knew well that for the Wover, nothing mattered more than the safety of the Celestial Dragons. heless, she hadn’t e in person; she’d sent one of her carefully crafted dough replicas, trolled by her Dough-Dough Fruit powers. Not only did this ensure her safety, but it was so ving that no one would suspect it wasn’t her real body.

  "Twenty Devil Fruits? Fine!" Suddenly, a cold, authoritative voice came through the Den Den Mushi oable. "But you must guarahat the Celestial Dragons remain unharmed, without so much as a scratch, aainly without enduring any humiliations like those suffered by Saint Fenix."

  "Elders…" the CPO agents murmured, quickly standing aside and bowing to the Den Den Mushi.

  "No problem," the fake "Captain Merkel" replied with a smile after a brief pause. "Pirates have their honor too."

  "State the time and location for the exge," came the voice of one of the Five Elders. The Elders remained cool and calm, avoidiy threats. They khat anyone daring enough to kidnap a Celestial Dragon wouldn’t be intimidated by threats. Ohe hostages were safe, the Wover would make sure the perpetratretted their audacity.

  "Ah, nothing like dealing with men of stature. Yes, that’s exactly why I’m here." The “Captain Merkel” replica leaned forward with a grin. "El-sama’s dition is that the Celestial Dragons be exged in three separate installments. You uand that we’re wary of any hidden tricks from the Wover and aim to eual goodwill."

  With the Wover’s vast resources and likely access to space-reted Devil Fruits, El wasn’t about to gamble on a single enter that could easily be an ambush. To mitigate risks, the exge would happehree sessions, seg a good portion of the ransom and making it harder for the gover any final traps.

  "What? No, we ’t agree to that!" one CPO agent shouted. "The exge must happen all at once!"

  "That’s El-sama’s decision," 'Captain Merkel' shrugged. "I’m merely here to rey it."

  There was a long pause from the other end. Finally, with a tone ced with sarcasm, one of the Five Elders replied, "Does Fallen Angel El ck the ce for a full exge? Perhaps we’ve overestimated him."

  "You kly how serious we are,” the ‘Captain Merkel’ replied without missing a beat. “For the first exge, you’ll hand over ten Devil Fruits as ransom, including two Logia, two Mythical Zoan, and three A Zoan.”

  “Impossible!”

  “We’ll never agree to that!” shouted the CPO agents. “Handing over the most valuable fruits first gives us no assurance of the Celestial Dragons’ safety.”

  “If you’re only willing to offer five fruits,” the “Captain Merkel” replica retorted with a smirk, “then all five must be either Logia or Mythical Zoan.”

  “What?! Absolutely not!”