"What?!"

  Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

  In the Fleet Admiral’s office, Hammons William paled as he received a transmission from the Wover. Shocked and furious, he rose to his feet, exg incredulously, “You’re saying that Navy Captain Harry Merkel is a member of the Fallen Angel Pirates?”

  “Impossible!” he muttered under his breath.

  Harry Merkel was not just any Navy captain; he was Hammons William’s own hough not particurly gifted, Harry had been diligent, reag the rank of Captain at twenty-five, which pleased William greatly. William had even po give his nephew a Devil Fruit from the treasury to boost his strength and personally train him, potentially leading to a promotion to Rear Admiral. However, with the Fallen Angel Pirates emptying the ereasury, those pns had been foiled.

  That m, he had assigned Harry to oversee Tsuru’s fi. Stripped of her youth and weakened by age, Tsuru was supposedly too frail to resist. Harry himself had overseen the poison Tsuru had taken. After firming her death, he had been instructed to transport Tsuru’s body teoise as a gesture of appeasement. Now, with CP officials g Harry was a member of the Fallen Angel Pirates, William felt a chill run down his spine, realizing the grim implications.

  “Yes,” firmed the CP0 official oher end of the line. “He cims to be a member of the Fallen Angel Pirates. It’s unclear whether he was impersonated or bckmailed into joining them. Given that he’s your nephew, it’s more likely the former. You should verify Captain Merkel’s situation immediately.”

  “Damn it! He must have been impersonated by someoh a special ability!” William snarled, his face torted in fury. “Someone, get in here!” he bellowed.

  An officer burst into the room and saluted, only for William, his face dark with rage, to bark, “Check Captain Merkel’s quarters at once!”

  The officer, stunned, broke out in a nervous sweat. Knowing that Captain Merkel was the Fleet Admiral’s nephew, he wondered what could have gone wrong.

  “What’s the current situation?” William demanded, steadying his breath. “When is the hostage exge?”

  “The Fallen Angel Pirates have demahree separate exges, with only oial Dragourned each time. The first exge is in three days, in the Sabaody Archipego.”

  The CP0 official tinued, “After the iation, Merkel left on a Navy ship. Out of for the Celestial Dragons’ safety, we didn’t interfere. We deployed surveilnce ships, but the ship sank into the o just minutes ago, and he’s vanished without a trace.”

  'Click!'

  Hammons William smmed the receiver down, his face dark with anger. “Damn them!” he growled, feeling like he’d been made a fool. How could he have missed that his nephew had been repced right under his nose? He could only hope Tsuru’s presumed defe would deter Carp and Sengoku from rashly abandoning the Navy.

  'Brrring—brrring—'

  The ph again. Before William could respond, his officer’s anxious voice came through, “Fleet Admiral William—”

  “What happened? Did you find Merkel?”

  William’s heart pounded; he had a sinking feeling about this call. His nephew, with his ambition and ck of bad habits, had been one of his favorite family members.

  “We found Captain Merkel’s body… in the restroom.”

  Standing in the ornate quarters of the officer’s dormitory, William’s aide tinued, “He was likely killed around three or four in the m. There are no visible injuries, so he may have been smothered in his sleep. Because it’s a single-officer suite and he was seen leaving this m, no one realized he was missing.”

  “What?!”

  William stumbled, gripping the desk for support, fury bzing in his eyes. “Damn you, Fallen Angel Pirates!”

  ...

  “Wheee!”

  “Be careful, Linlin!”

  “Hey, Gerd, want to join us?”

  “Everyone, let’s get on the Ferris wheel!”

  Elsewhere, a massive floating isnd with a face drifted across the sea. The isnd had colorful bubbles floating above it, with animated pygrounds and attras creating a whimsical, fairytale-like world. Linlin, Lily, Gerd, and Lillian climbed onto the massive Ferris wheel, which was woven together by thick vines and sized fiants.

  “Tsuru, do you want to join us?” Gerd asked, inviting the former Rear Admiral.

  “Not ied,” Tsuru replied with her arms crossed, though she couldn’t help gng at the massive Ferris wheel.

  “Mamamama! Don’t tell me the great dy of the Navy is scared?” Linlin taunted.

  “Hmph! I’ll show you,” Tsuru grumbled, her face turning red as she hopped onto the Ferris wheel.

  “Hold tight, everyohe Ferris wheel ted happily as it secured everyoh vine-like seat belts.

  ...

  Meanwhile, inside a massive wooden on the isnd, El and a few senior members of the Fallen Angel Pirates gathered. Sally, disguised as “Captain Merkel” for the iation, had just returhrough Barry’s Mirror-Mirror portal.

  “Well done, Sally,” El greeted her. “How did it go?”

  “Fwlessly, El-sama!” Sally replied with a smile. “As per your instrus, we arranged for three separate exges to keep the Wover cautious.”

  “At first, we demawo Logia, two Mythical Zoans, and three A Zoans. After some bad forth, they agreed to one Logia, ohical Zoan, and one A Zoan, plus four other fruits for the first exge. For the sed, they’ll provide one Logia, one A Zoan, and five other fruits. The third exge will include ohical Zoan, one A Zoan, and four other fruits.”

  “Three days from now, in the Sabaody Archipego, we’ll exge the first hostage.”

  El nodded, satisfied. “The first two exges should be manageable, but for the third, we’ll o be fully prepared. The Wover is uo py fair.”