"Bang—"

  At the summit of the Red Line, in the Holy Land of Mariejois, a luxurious tea table shattered into tless pieces.

  Seated in their usual positions, the Five Elders wore expressions of pure fury.

  Scattered across the floor y a freshly printed copy of the Totto Land Daily and several newly issued bounty posters. Among them were posters featuring the Five Elders’ own faces. The bold, astronomical figure of 10 billion Berries printed beside each of their names was almost blinding in its audacity, leaving anyone who saw it utterly speechless.

  "Kukulkan El…"

  "That bastard… how dare he!"

  "Absolutely wless! pletely out of trol!"

  "Ten billion Berries… quite the show of wealth, isn’t it?"

  "That damned Lunarian brat…"

  The Five Elders were equally shocked and ehey had never imagihat the Totto Land Kingdom would dare to publicly pce bounties on the Wover’s representatives.

  Not only had Totto Land put a pri the heads of Navy officers and CP officials, but even the Five Elders themselves—holders of the highest authority in the Wover—were included, along with the Holy Knights and the Celestial Dragons.

  Each of the Five Elders carried a 10 billion Berry bounty.

  Members of the Holy Knights were priced at 5 billion Berries, and each Celestial Dragon at 3 billion Berries. In parison, the Fleet Admiral’s 5 billion and the Admirals’ 3 billion seemed almost modest.

  These eous figures made it clear that this was y threat or bluff. Totto Land was serious.

  What made matters worse was the promise of prote for anyone who carried out these assassinations. If a Celestial Dragon dared to desd into the mortal world, they now faced the genuine risk of being targeted and killed.

  Despite efforts to suppress the information, word had already leaked about the Celestial Dragons who had been kidnapped and murdered by the Fallen Angel Pirates. Whether this leak was an iional act by the Fallen Angel Pirates, utilizing their own intelligework to tarnish the Wover’s reputation, remained uain. heless, the damage was undeniable.

  The Wover’s painstakingly crafted image of invincibility, upheld for turies, now showed cracks. Though the illusion of divihority wasirely shattered, it had been shaken. The once-ironcd w that “the desdants of the Creator are sacred and untouchable” was now in doubt, sparking dangerous thoughts in the minds of the ambitious, the ruthless, and the desperate.

  A 3 billion Berry bounty for a Celestial Dragon, coupled with the promise of prote, was enough to tempt the greedy and vengeful. Among the oppressed and impoverished who had suffered under Celestial Dragon tyranny, some might now find the ce to act.

  "We must spare no cost to elimihem immediately," Saint Nasujuro said coldly, his gaze dark and venomous. "We missed our ce before!"

  "Indeed. We never should have promised," Saint Ju Peter added with a trace ret. "Now they’ve grown too powerful. The Fallen Angel Pirates have bee a true force, and dealing with them won’t be easy."

  Saint Saturn and Saint Mars remained silent. Though it was easy to offer hindsight now, what could they have done back then? Real power in the Wover did not lie with them—it beloo Imu. Had they refused to promise and allowed the Holy Land to be destroyed, disturbing Imu would have brought the wrath of the King of the World upon them, possibly resulting in their own punishment.

  Later, the Fallen Angel Pirates had escated, hurling isnd-sized boulders toward Mariejois. If they could throw ohey could throw more. Predig or defending against su attack was impossible. With the national treasure’s limited energy—each use ing an irrepceable resource—there had been no choice but to promise.

  "Five years have passed, and that Lunarian monster is still only 22 years old," Saint Valkyrie said bitterly, his voice dripping with frustration. "In a way, he’s just entering the golden age of his explosive growth in strength. While I don’t believe he grow without limit, it’s undeniable that he’s likely far stronger now than he was five years ago."

  Back then, even with Saint Saturn’s full cooperation, they had barely mao hold El at bay. They could only stall him, relying on their near-immortal resilienow, it would likely take three or four of them w together to fully restrain that monster. Even then, his terrifying speed made it impossible to guarantee his capture.

  At best, they could sider a direct assault on Totto Land’s capital, aiming to cripple the kingdom’s leadership and infrastructure in one decisive strike. But the Fallen Angel El might not be willing to flee—he had built everything painstakingly. Moreover, the Navy, despite having reples forces through extensive global recruitment and alliances, had not outpaced the Fallen Angel Pirates. Over the years, the pirates’ power had snowballed into a formidable force.

  telligence reports were chilling. Atempt to raid Cake Isnd would not be as simple as before. The Fallen Angel Pirates could mobilize their elite forces, potentially trapping the attackers in a deadly encirclement. Their previous attempt had clearly been anticipated, allowing the pirates not only to strike Mariejois but also to blow up Marineford, nearly destroying the Holy Land. They had even ihe Roger Pirates and Rocks Pirates to join them, showg an unparalleled intelligework rivaled only by the Gover’s own its.

  Could the Wover unother surprise attack without its pns leaking first?

  "It’s not just Fallen Angel El we o worry about," Saint Saturn said solemnly. "The overall strength of the Fallen Angel Pirates ot be uimated. Even if we were to attack, there’s no guarantee we could wipe them out. And we must sider the possibility that Fallen Angel El might ally with the increasingly dangerous Rocks Pirates tet the Wover."

  Acc to telligehe Fallen Angel Pirates had employed a giant with the Stoone Fruit to expand Totto Land’s isnds, raising their foundations and eg them with enormous bridges equipped with railways fh-speed trains. They had also developed fast-moving automobiles, now in mass produ. In the event of an invasion, their scattered bat units could swiftly regroup and defend the kingdom.

  The kingdom now possessed hundreds of warships, transport vessels, flying Homies, ferocious aerial beasts, and massive sea beasts. Even disregarding ordinary soldiers, the cadre of the Fallen Angel Pirates owerful and could quickly mobilize reinforts.

  There was also the risk they might ally once again with other fas, turning the tables on the Wover. A rge-scale naval siege of Totto Land was unrealistic. Su a could provoke a devastating terattack from both the Fallen Angel Pirates and the Rocks Pirates, f the Navy into a two-front war.

  The monsters within the Fallen Angel Pirates—each a camity-level threat—were nightmare enough. If El unleashed his full power, creating massive tsunamis and unimagiorms, the Wover’s fleet might be destroyed before it even reached Totto Land.

  "Damn it," Saint Saturn growled, his face dark as he struck the ground with his e. "If we could just resolve the energy issue with Uranus, this wouldn’t be a problem!"

  If they could fully activate Uranus for an all-out assault on Totto Land, they might have a ce to annihite the Fallen Angel Pirates in one decisive blow. But most of the Fallen Angel Pirates’ high-ranking officers rarely stayed together. Evehey gathered, it was often aboard the mobile fortress Atntis, a floating base with no fixed location.

  Uhe Uranus energy issue was resolved, they couldn’t afford to waste its limited power on a risky operation. Without a guaranteed victory, the sequences would be catastrophic. If Fallen Angel El survived, he would undoubtedly retaliate, possibly ung isnd-sized rocks, bombs, or even poison gas at Mariejois. The resulting chaos would be untrolble.

  Given El’s insidious tactid ruthless methods, there was no limit to the destru he might unleash in revenge.

  Bleam