"BOOM! BOOM!!!"

  The deafening explosions echoed across the battlefield.

  Ferocious winds raged, and surging shockwaves rippled through the air. The sea boiled, waves roared, and the once-calm o became a chaotic expanse.

  A thunderbird, a fiery bird, and an azure dragon—alongside various ures, rge and small, albeit in a slightly disheveled state—finally made ndfall on the isnd. There, they stood opposite El, Linlin, and their assembled forces in a teandoff.

  "ROAR!"

  The azure dragon bellowed, then spat out a figure from its mouth.

  "Swoosh…"

  A man a Justice cloak nded firmly on the ground.

  "S Space!"

  With a low growl, his legs and the surrounding ground transformed into a bck, viscous s. From the eerie depths of the s, a dozen formidable figures emerged oer another. Among them were CPO operatives, dressed sharply in suits and masks, as well as high-ranking naval officers wearing Justice cloaks.

  Standing out promily were “Buddha” Sengoku and “The Fist” Garp, two exceptional naval prodigies brought along for this operation.

  "Finally out…"

  "I was suffog in there!"

  "Tch! These bastards…"

  As they observed El and the other promi figures of the Fallen Angel Pirates, their gazes involuntarily shifted to the imposing giant squad standing menagly behind them.

  The eyes of both the CPO agents and naval officers narrowed, their expressions filled with disbelief.

  "Tsuru—"

  Sengoku and Garp's voices rang out as they reized Tsuru standing among the Fallen Angel ranks. Once a celebrated figure of the Navy, she was now clearly allied with the pirates, standing as the Chief Strategist of the Totto Land Kingdom, a pirate nation.

  "Sengoku, Garp, long time no see."

  Tsuru’s gaze, plex with mixed emotions, briefly rested on her former rades before hardening with resolve. She spoke calmly:

  "I apologize, but our paths diverge here. We fight for different sides. Do not hold bay at."

  "Tsuru... Have you truly forsaken justice?"

  Sengoku’s face torted with flig emotions. His fists ched tightly as he shouted:

  "Even if you left the Navy, there was o join these pirates!"

  "Enough, Vice Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp!"

  The voice of Fleet Admiral Hammons William cut through the air, sharp and anding:

  "Know your pce! It's clear she has abandoned justid fully embraced depravity!"

  William’s tone was firm, aiming to quell the influesuru might have over Sengoku and Garp. He had initially resisted bringing the duo along. Yet somehow, they discovered the operation's details and insisted on joining—especially Garp, who ht threaten if not allowed to participate.

  William had relutly ceded, his frustration simmering.

  "Enough of this useless chatter. She's just a traitor who no longer matters."

  From above, the monstrous bird-form of Saint Mars gred down at El and his group, his voice cold and full of malice:

  "None of you will escape this time."

  Despite his prior preparations, Saint Mars couldn’t help but feel slightly un the Fallen Angel Pirates' overwhelming lineup. Had they not e armed with meticulous pns and overwhelming firepower, he realized, this battle might have turned into another disastrous defeat.

  "Fallen Angel El, you bastard!"

  Saint Mars’s eyes burned with anger as he spat venomous words:

  "Not only did you assault Impel Down, but you also released those despicable, bloodthirsty criminals...!"

  Hammons William ched his fists tightly, gring at Fallen Angel El with murderous i. His sharp gaze swept over the restored forms of Lady Demon Irene and Cyril Oka, who had reverted from their hybrid forms. He reized them immediately as former prisoners of Impel Down.

  "Muaahahaha, do ynize me, Fleet Admiral?"

  Lady Demon Irene's crimson eyes locked onto the Fleet Admiral. She licked her lips and sneered mogly.

  "Admiral Ross mentioned you before," William said coldly, fixing his gre on the wicked, scythe-wielding woman. "Your heinous crimes deserve a thousahs."

  Despite his posed demeanor, William couldn't suppress the shock roiling in his heart. After over a month of sc through the profiles of prisoners released from Level 6, the Navy and Wover had identified most of the escapees.

  In theory, prisoners cryogenically frozen for decades should have aged rapidly and weakened after thawing. Yet this infamous criminal, Lady Demon Irene, appeared in peak dition, her vitality and bat strength seemingly undiminished.

  In trast, the once-feared pirate Iron Arm Tok, a Steel-Steel Fruit user with awakened powers and a bounty exceeding 1 billion berries, was o be seen. Hammons couldn't help but wonder if the pirate was lurking, preparing an ambush.

  "You're Cyril Oka, 'The Beast,' aren't you?"

  William’s gaze shifted to the scarred and terrifying Cyril Oka, whose body brotesque reminders of a brutal past.

  Standing among the Fallen Angel forces, Charlotte Linlin drew a sharp gre from Kong, whose temples had grayed after losing twenty years of life to her powers.

  "The Fallen Angel Pirates truly have gathered some monstrous talents," Kong growled through gritted teeth.

  The former naval hero's eyes bzed with hatred. He had been in his prime, but Linlin's vampiric ability had aged him into his te fifties. Every day since, he had burned with a desire to capture her and recim his stolen years.

  "I remember him vaguely," a haughty voice chimed in.

  The massive thunderbird nded gracefully as Saint Denis stepped forward. His disdainful gaze fell on Cyril Oka, and he sneered:

  "You’re one of the st of the Bueers people, aren’t you? I recall hearing you were once captured and ensved in the Holy Land but mao escape and became a pirate. Caused some trouble until you were taken down by Admiral 'Iron Cw,' wasn’t it?"

  "Hmph!" Cyril Oka’s expression darkened, his voice seething with hatred. "The shame you bastards inflicted on me is burned into my memory! I’ll never fet it!"

  His eyes, sharp and vengeful, locked on Saint Denis. His killing i alpable. For Cyril, joining the Fallen Angel Pirates was about more than repaying El for freeing him. It was a ce to exact revenge on the Wover, the entity responsible for the destru of his people.

  "CAW—"

  Suddenly, a loud cry echoed across the sky. A massive oroached, cirg above before ndio El and his panions.

  "Roger—"

  Garp's eyes widened in shock as he reized one of the figures leaping down from the owl. His voice rose in disbelief:

  "What are you doing here?!"

  "Tch-tch," Roger muttered, adjusting his straw hat. His eyes sed the teandoff betweewo opposing forces.

  His gaze lingered on the Wover's lineup: the massive azure dragon, the fiery serpent-bird hybrid, the thunderbird cloaked in lightning, and high-ranking figures like Fleet Admiral Hammons William and Admiral Kong.

  The sheer scale of the frontatio Roger's subordihe Gold-Silver-Copper Trio, in awe.

  Sweat beaded on their brows as they stared at the overwhelming forces arrayed before them.

  "What a lineup… Even for us, getting involved here seems like biting off more than we chew," one of them muttered nervously.

  "Feels like we may have been a bit reckless this time, haha!" Rhed, though his tone carried an undercurrent of caution.

  Bleam