Chapter 68: Diversion Plan

"Oh no—"

"The Celestial Dragons have been attacked!"

"Run! The Admirals are coming!"

"Damn it, what's going on?"

"Who would be foolish enough to provoke the Celestial Dragons?"

"This is bad! We can't stay here!"

"Enough talking, just run!"

"Set sail immediately!"

...

Soon enough, news of the attack on the Celestial Dragons spread across the entire Sabaody Archipelago at an alarming speed, causing widespread panic. In every street and alley, pirates, civilians, nobles, and merchants fled in terror, scrambling to escape.

Some, who had long harbored resentment toward the arrogant and overbearing Celestial Dragons, or who had been oppressed by them in the past, felt a sense of satisfaction. Others, however, cursed those who dared to offend the World Nobles, blaming them for disturbing the fragile peace of Sabaody.

Regardless, many pirates and merchants felt that disaster was imminent and rushed to leave the archipelago, fearing they might get caught in the crossfire.

"Heh heh, hey there, boys… What are you doing skulking around here?"

At that moment—

Outside the auction house on Island 1, Moss appeared as if from nowhere, like a phantom. He patted the shoulders of two CP agents who were hiding in the corner, peeking inside. "If you want to watch, why not just walk in openly?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

Before the two agents, now frozen with fear, could react, Moss made his move.

'Bang!'

His large hands grabbed their heads as if they were watermelons and smashed them together.

"Ahhhh…"

With screams of agony, their bloodied bodies collapsed to the ground, their heads shattered, and brains spilling out.

At the same time—

Nef, with a playful smile, flicked her fingers toward the distant forest.

'Swish!' A sharp "Finger Gun" pierced through the air like lightning.

A figure hiding in the woods, using binoculars to observe, let out a sudden scream as a bloody hole burst open in his chest, and he fell to the ground, dead.

"Linlin, we've just left G-1 Base, heading toward you, following the life card…"

Inside the auction house, apart from the unconscious guests still seated, the entrance was littered with bloodied corpses—CP agents who had tried to break in and rescue the Celestial Dragons but were swiftly dealt with.

Near the auction stage, a Celestial Dragon crawled on all fours, humiliated and trembling, much like the human slaves they usually rode. His eyes were filled with fear and fury, but he couldn't speak or resist.

In front of him, Linlin sat with her legs crossed, holding a telephone snail that looked tiny in her large hands. The snail imitated Gerd's features, and a distorted voice, accompanied by the sound of howling winds, asked, "How's it going on your end?"

"Hmm~ Moss just took care of a few clueless idiots…" Linlin smiled. "But I'm sure the Navy will surround us soon, and we're ready for a good fight!"

"We don't need to say much more. Tell Moss and the others to be prepared and stick to the plan. Don't let anything go wrong at this critical moment," Gerd instructed.

"Mamamama, a diversion, right? No problem!" Linlin laughed.

Nearby, the three-eyed girl Lillian and the mermaid girl Ily looked confused and wide-eyed. They couldn't understand what Linlin meant by a "diversion" or why there was another plan. Wasn't their goal to kidnap the Celestial Dragons? Why were they waiting for the Navy to come and capture them?

"Barry, have you mastered the powers of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit yet?" Linlin asked, turning to the Snakeneck youth Barry from the former Sheep's House, smiling. "We don't have much time!"

'Plop plop,' Barry chuckled, pulling out two round mirrors. "Of course… I've already marked these two mirrors. Even from a great distance, I can pinpoint their locations and open the mirror world whenever needed for a quick escape!"

As the Mirror-Mirror Fruit user, Barry not only had the ability to enter and exit the mirror world at will, but he could also control the size of the mirrors. Though he had only recently gained the ability, there was still much more to explore.

"Mamamama, we originally just wanted to get a few Devil Fruits…" Linlin said happily. "But since you've already mastered the Mirror-Mirror Fruit, let's take it further and empty their treasury!"

Their original plan had included obtaining the Mirror-Mirror Fruit from the auction. The Fallen Angel Pirates had already learned that Steel Bone Kong, one of the youngest Navy Admirals, was away on a classified mission. Another admiral, "Pegasus" Horn, was stationed in the Holy Land of Mariejois, leaving only "Iron Claw" Hark at Navy Headquarters. If Barry could quickly master his new abilities, they intended to take advantage of the Navy's absence and loot their treasury.

"Then we'll leave the rest to Moss and me!" A short, pink-haired boy, less than two meters tall, with white horns like a demon, grinned. "With Moss's Ancient Zoan Pelagornis form and my Door-Door Fruit, we won't have any trouble!"

The boy, Uthan, a former member of the Sheep's House, had demon blood and possessed the Door-Door Fruit, which allowed him to create spatial portals and travel between them instantly.

"I'll help too!" Miniaturized by his ability, Little Oars, now less than a foot tall, jumped onto Uthan's shoulder, baring his teeth with excitement.

"Thanks to Sally, of course!" Moss laughed.

"Yes, Sally's amazing!" Nef nodded in agreement, her voice tinged with admiration.

As the intelligence chief of the Fallen Angel Pirates, Sally, the "Shapeshifting Witch," had infiltrated Marineford unnoticed and memorized the layout of the Navy's headquarters, even identifying the location of their treasury. This would allow Uthan and the others to find it quickly and avoid detection.

"Let's not waste time. You guys leave the island and get ready!" Linlin ordered, tossing several slave collars to the Celestial Dragons. "Barry, put these guys into the mirror world. They'll be useful as hostages."

"Mamamama~ they're valuable bargaining chips!"