"Kukulkan El—"

  On the shore of Isnd No. 36, colorful bubbles floated through the air. But no one present had the heart to admire them. Steel Bone Kong, fists ched tightly, gred at El with intense anger. "I uimated you... I never imagihat in just a few years, you'd grow this powerful!"

  He had sensed from the beginning that this Lunarian would bee a formidable adversary. But he never expected it would happen so quickly. Just three years into his appoi as an Admiral, and El was already causing chaos on this scale.

  Not only had he attacked two of the Navy’s G-Series bases in the New World, but he had also brazenly kidnapped and killed Celestial Dragons, demonstrating terrifying power. Even Admiral Hark himself was deployed to stop him, only to be killed, with his fleet of ships almost entirely wiped out in just under a day, costing the Navy close to 20,000 elite soldiers and a tremendous loss of face.

  Steel Bone Kong could feel the full weight of these mounting failures resting heavily on his shoulders.

  "Enough with the small talk," El said, arms crossed, looking down at him. "Do you have the ransom ready?"

  Without answering, Kong moved aside. His role was merely to serve as security; the iations themselves were to be handled by CP0, the officials directly uhe Celestial Dragons' and.

  One of the CP0 agents, dressed in a white suit and mask and carrying a rge bck briefcase, stepped forward to Kong's side. He opehe case to reveal an assortment of Devil Fruits, each with a tag attached, matg the terms of the agreemely.

  "The fruits are here," the CP0 agent said, staring directly at El. "But to ensure we’re not dealing with an imposter, we’ll o firm that this is indeed Mars-sama. Per reement, we must also verify that Mars-sama’s body hasn't been tampered with."

  Though the captive’s fad build matched his memory of Mars-sama, and his aura suggested he was merely unscious, handling a Celestial Dragon required the utmost caution.

  "If you have a way to firm it, feel free." El raised an eyebrow, quickly dising their true iions through their thoughts. He tossed the screaming Mars-sama to Moss, casually saying, "Just keep in mind that my patience is limited."

  This time, it seemed the gover had genuinely inteo avoid a frontation. They had brought along equipment for blood testing to firm the Celestial Dragon’s identity.

  "It’ll take ten minutes," said the CP0 agent, giving a nod to several doctors standing by with face masks and white coats.

  "You fools dare doubt me?" Mars, now clutched by Moss and ashen-faced with fear, shouted furiously, "When I return, I'll have you all ensved!"

  "My apologies, Mars-sama." The CP0 agent bowed deeply and said in a low voice, "But we must take every precaution to prevent any harm to your body. Remember, they’ve already disabled Fenix-sama."

  "What!?" The color drained from Mars’s face, and he fell silent.

  As the doctors tremblingly approached, they examined his physical dition and drew a blood sample to verify his identity. After a few moments, the results came in, firming that he was ihe Celestial Dragon they sought.

  "El-sama, these are genuine Devil Fruits." Moss, who had ied the fruits one by one, reported back to El, ensuring they hadn’t been deceived by terfeits.

  "Very well," El said, addressing the CP0 agent. "Since we’ve verified the identities on both sides, hand over the Devil Fruits. We still have two more exges to duct, and with Steel Bone Kong present, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

  The CP0 ageated for a moment before replying, "Very well. Let’s hope you honor your word.”

  The CP0 officer hesitated briefly, but after seeing Steel Bone Kong’s nod of approval, he finally hahe briefcase to Moss. Simultaneously, other CP0 agents immediately stepped forward to escort Saint Mars away.

  “Admiral Kong!”

  As the Celestial Dragon was successfully retrieved, the d Navy personnel present remaieheir ill on edge. Eae stood alert, awaiting further orders from Kong and the CP0 officer. It seemed that, with just a single and, they were ready to fire.

  “The transa is plete. The exge is scheduled for tomorrow…” El remarked calmly, his gaze resting on the CP0 officer. “And it will take pce here on the Sabaody Archipego.”

  “So brazen…” Steel Bone Kong’s face darkened, his gre fixed on El with deadly iy. His muscles tensed as he took a step forward, fists ched and radiating malice. “I think it would be best if you stayed here, pirate.”

  “Oh? Is that so?” El grinned, unfazed by Kong’s aggression. “Go ahead and try if you think you manage.”

  A sudden surge of powerful energy radiated as the two locked eyes. With a thunderous crack, they vanished from their spots, eag forward with shog speed. Their massive fists, ed in queror’s Haki, collided with earth-shattering force.

  ‘Boom!’ The ground trembled and split opeh them as a wave of destructive energy exploded outward, hurling Navy and CP personnel aside like leaves in the wind. Even Moss and the CP0 agents struggled to stay on their feet, the intense shockwave driving them backward.

  The csh of their Haki sent violent gusts ripping through the air, tearing loose rocks and debris and sending them skyward. The weaker CP agents, Navy soldiers, and medical staff, along with the just-rescued, stretcher-bouial Dragon, were all left unscious, eyes rolling back from the iy of the frontation.

  The surrounding isnds weren’t spared either; the impact rippled outward, causing tless bystao colpse in droves, foam at the mouth, and faint on the spot.

  In the sky above, once scattered with white clouds, a tremendous pressure from their energies cshed, creating loud rumbles and drawing the clouds into a vortex that nearly split the sky in two.

  El’s gaze sharpened, Kong’s own queror’s Haki teique. Though he had already ed his massive fists in advanced Armament Haki, the collisio El momentarily off-bahe power behind Kong’s punch forced El to stagger back two steps, crag the grouh him. El could see that, despite Kong’s smaller size, the admiral possessed a terrifying presend strength.

  While El mao fend off the strike, his arm tingled with numbness from the force of the blow. Had it not been for his innate resilience, superhuman strength, and the incredible natural defenses of his Lunarian bloodline, he might have sustained serious damage.

  “You…” Kong muttered, his own face betraying shock as he steadied himself. He had inteo intimidate El with his initial strike, yet to his surprise, El held his ground, retreating only slightly rather than being pletely overwhelmed. It was a rare feat for ao withstand a full-strength strike from him.

  “Admiral Kong, don’t be reckless…” came the anxious shout from the CP0 officer, watg from a distah sweat on his brow. While oial Dragon had been saved, the others were still hostages, and the situation remained precarious.

  “You may spar with me all you like, Admiral, but remember,” El sneered, meeting Kong’s furious gaze, “the longer I’m deyed, the worse it will be for your remainiial Dragons.”

  Though El hadn’t mastered the teique of queror’s Haki infusion, he was uerred. He khat he could stand his ground in a fight. And this enter with Kong had already provided invaluable insights, bringing him closer to masterieiques.

  With a cold snort, Kong released the tension in his stand retreated, a dark scowl crossing his face. “Lunarian brat, your time is limited. Enjoy your arrogance while you .”

  “No, Admiral, I think my reign has only just begun,” El replied with a mog smile. “Remember my words: cherish the fleeting days of your title while you still .”

  Kong’s expression darkened further, his fists g in barely restrained anger.

  “Patience,” El said with a smirk. “There will be time for a proper battle… Moss, let’s go.”

  Without another word, he and Moss turned away, ign the furious gres from Kong and his team. The two figures shot into the sky, vanishing into the horizon.