Chapter 106: Negotiation with the Five Elders

'Boom… Boom…'

After some time—

On the enormous cloud island, the Fallen Angel Pirate crew members—including Tsuru—watched in awe as Little Oars steadily moved enormous pieces of forest. His immense strength, a testament to his "Devil" lineage, allowed him to haul massive sections of land onto the floating island cloud.

Soon, he had pieced the sections together seamlessly, filling any gaps with rich soil. Before long, a stunning, lush forest spread across one part of the island.

'Woosh... Woosh...'

Hovering above Atlantis, El looked down, satisfied with the forest now adorning the island.

"Go, El!" Linlin, Lily, Gerd, and the others cheered.

"Alright, here goes," El replied, smiling as he scattered seeds across the cloud island.

'Rumble—'

To Tsuru's astonishment, a grand Quetzalcoatl with majestic golden horns appeared, descending onto the island.

'Roar!'

In his Feathered Serpent form, El released a powerful aura that spanned several kilometers, activating the seeds. As if under a spell, they began to take root and sprout rapidly. The Yarukiman Mangrove seeds grew into towering trees in moments, with massive roots intertwining deep into the cloud itself.

'Drip… Drip…'

Thick sap began oozing from the trees, forming large, shimmering bubbles that floated up and burst in midair under the sun's rays, filling the sky with vibrant colors. Some roots protruded like giant funnels, releasing sap that created massive bubbles.

Meanwhile—

Large vines intertwined and grew into structures, forming giant treehouses, swings, seesaws, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, carousels, and towering windmills. Vibrant flowers bloomed all around, creating colorful, mesmerizing gardens and turning the area into a dream-like wonderland.

"Hehehe, now it's my turn!"

Gerd, smiling broadly, descended on her thundercloud, Zeus. With a wave of her hand, she activated her Soul-Soul Fruit powers, imbuing the structures with life.

'Poof… Poof… Poof…'

"I'm a flower!~"

"Ferris wheel, spinning round and round!"

"Roller coaster—full speed ahead!"

"Carousel—spin with me!"

"Flowers, flowers, blooming everywhere~"

Suddenly, all the trees and vines came alive. The Ferris wheel, carousel, roller coaster—even the massive flowers—were animated, with cheerful faces, dancing and twirling.

'Gasp!'

"Incredible!"

"Am I dreaming?"

"It's like a miracle!"

"This looks like a fairy tale come true!"

"Amazing work, El-sama! And Gerd's powers are incredible!"

In mere moments, the island had transformed into a paradise that looked straight out of a fantasy. Tsuru, a former Navy officer, and the other new recruits of the Fallen Angel Pirates were left speechless, captivated by the enchanting scene before them.

"That should be enough. Don't use too much of your soul energy here," El said to Gerd with a smile as he took in the dream-like world of floating bubbles. "We'll need to save enough energy to create an army of Homies soon."

"Don't worry about it…" Gerd laughed, grabbing some of the giant bubbles and imbuing them with soul energy to create floating bubble Homies. With her soul energy still abundant, she drifted up on a large bubble, grinning. "These ones don't require fighting abilities, so I didn't use too much soul power. I'm all set!"

"Perfect!"

"Wow! They're exactly like the bubbles in Sabaody Archipelago!"

Linlin and Lily rushed over, hopping onto a bubble Homie big enough to support their smaller giant-sized forms, bouncing with excitement.

Meanwhile, the other crew members, including Lillian the Three-Eye girl, Ily the mermaid, and Baka the dancer, watched the dream-like scene with wide, eager eyes, delighted by the floating wonderland around them, ready to jump into the fun.

...

'Bang—'

Meanwhile, in the distant Holy Land of Mary Geoise—

In an opulent, spacious conference room, a high-ranking CPO officer in a white suit and mask slammed his fist on the table. "Twenty Devil Fruits?! Ridiculous! We'll never agree to such terms!"

The officers behind him glared murderously at "Captain Merkel," who stood before them. They looked ready to tear him apart on the spot. None could have predicted that this seemingly insignificant Navy captain would walk into the heart of Mary Geoise, declare himself a member of the Fallen Angel Pirates, and boldly claim to represent the will of Fallen Angel El in negotiations with the World Government.

Though they wanted nothing more than to arrest and interrogate him to find out the whereabouts of both the Fallen Angel Pirates and the kidnapped Celestial Dragons, "Captain Merkel" was unfazed. He warned that if he did not return safely or if anything happened to his life card, their hostages would suffer. Any harm or delay, he claimed, would result in the severed limbs of the Celestial Dragons being sent directly to Mary Geoise, along with even more dire threats.

The CPO officers, both enraged and constrained by the potential harm to the Celestial Dragons, reluctantly reported the matter, resulting in a direct authorization from the Five Elders to begin negotiations.

"Enough with the hostile looks—I might get scared…" The imposter "Captain Merkel" smiled calmly. "I'm not here to negotiate. I'm here to inform you. In this game of chess, we're the ones holding the power."

Outside the door, an armored figure listened, hidden behind a metal helmet. Underneath, a mocking smile crept across her face. Sally, disguised as "Captain Merkel," knew well that for the World Government, nothing mattered more than the safety of the Celestial Dragons. Nonetheless, she hadn't come in person; she'd sent one of her carefully crafted dough replicas, controlled by her Dough-Dough Fruit powers. Not only did this ensure her safety, but it was so convincing that no one would suspect it wasn't her real body.

"Twenty Devil Fruits? Fine!" Suddenly, a cold, authoritative voice came through the Den Den Mushi on the table. "But you must guarantee that the Celestial Dragons remain unharmed, without so much as a scratch, and certainly without enduring any humiliations like those suffered by Saint Fenix."

"Elders…" the CPO agents murmured, quickly standing aside and bowing to the Den Den Mushi.

"No problem," the fake "Captain Merkel" replied with a smile after a brief pause. "Pirates have their honor too."

"State the time and location for the exchange," came the voice of one of the Five Elders. The Elders remained cool and calm, avoiding empty threats. They knew that anyone daring enough to kidnap a Celestial Dragon wouldn't be intimidated by threats. Once the hostages were safe, the World Government would make sure the perpetrators regretted their audacity.

"Ah, nothing like dealing with men of stature. Yes, that's exactly why I'm here." The "Captain Merkel" replica leaned forward with a grin. "El-sama's condition is that the Celestial Dragons be exchanged in three separate installments. You can understand that we're wary of any hidden tricks from the World Government and aim to ensure mutual goodwill."

With the World Government's vast resources and likely access to space-related Devil Fruits, El wasn't about to gamble on a single encounter that could easily be an ambush. To mitigate risks, the exchange would happen over three sessions, securing a good portion of the ransom and making it harder for the government to spring any final traps.

"What? No, we can't agree to that!" one CPO agent shouted. "The exchange must happen all at once!"

"That's El-sama's decision," 'Captain Merkel' shrugged. "I'm merely here to relay it."

There was a long pause from the other end. Finally, with a tone laced with sarcasm, one of the Five Elders replied, "Does Fallen Angel El lack the courage for a full exchange? Perhaps we've overestimated him."

"You know exactly how serious we are," the 'Captain Merkel' replied without missing a beat. "For the first exchange, you'll hand over ten Devil Fruits as ransom, including two Logia, two Mythical Zoan, and three Ancient Zoan."

"Impossible!"

"We'll never agree to that!" shouted the CPO agents. "Handing over the most valuable fruits first gives us no assurance of the Celestial Dragons' safety."

"If you're only willing to offer five fruits," the "Captain Merkel" replica retorted with a smirk, "then all five must be either Logia or Mythical Zoan."

"What?! Absolutely not!"