Atop the Holy Land of Marijoa, the atmosphere was grim.
The Five Elders sat in tense silence, their faces dark with frustration. They had just followed Imu-sama's orders to launch an operation against Vegapunk's homeland, yet the plan had failed spectacularly.
No one expected Souta Kiryuu to appear near Baldimore Island so quickly.
It was almost certain now that the island would be relocated by the Souta Pirates.
That meant, once again—they had failed to complete Imu's assigned task.
"The Baldimore mission failed. Should we still proceed with the Sorbet Kingdom?"
"During the last Sorbet Kingdom incident, Bartholomew Kuma already evacuated half the civilians. The remaining nobles are insignificant—no real threat to Kuma or Souta."
"The Log Pose to Amazon Lily has already gone haywire, and now Baldimore's has too. Looks like Vegapunk's come up with another one of his damned devices."
"We still haven't located Enel's homeland. As for Moria, Lafitte, and Capone Bege—none of them seem to care about their native lands."
"Trafalgar Law's home, the White Town of Flevance, was destroyed long ago."
A heavy silence followed.
"So, are you saying there's not a single weak point left among the Souta Pirates?"
"There was that mysterious warrior with the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Spinosaurus—his wings were black. Possibly a Skypiean, but… an anomaly."
"It's becoming increasingly likely they're hiding on some Sky Island."
"And Souta himself… no one knows who first brought him to Punk Hazard's lab. There's not a trace of his past anywhere in the records!"
Another Elder slammed his hand down.
"That arrogant wretch just threatened me directly! Said he's sending us something!"
"Marijoa is probably already marked by the Seraphim with the Paw-Paw Fruit. We have to find that mark and erase it completely!"
The room fell into an even darker mood.
Targeting the Souta Pirates was proving absurdly difficult—and now they had to prepare for Souta's inevitable counterattack on Marijoa itself.
The Paw-Paw Fruit's ability wasn't unbeatable, but the logistics were nightmarish.
If they could find the marked location, they could theoretically destroy the ground or the building to erase the marker—but if Bartholomew Kuma's Seraph had placed multiple marks, they'd have to wait for each strike to land before identifying and clearing the area.
Unless, of course, they destroyed all of Marijoa and rebuilt it from scratch.
"That damned Paw-Paw ability really is a cursed power," one Elder muttered bitterly.
The last time they had allowed the Souta Pirates to invade Marijoa had been one of the greatest blunders in the Elders' entire lifetimes.
Had they known what Souta was capable of, they would never have left the Holy Land to chase him to Amazon Lily.
But no one could've predicted that the man would actually dare to invade Marijoa itself.
His thinking was too unpredictable—utterly outside the logic of their old world.
"For the next few days, remain on full alert," one Elder finally ordered, voice heavy with resentment.
"That lawless demon really might use the Paw-Paw Fruit to send us some kind of… unimaginable weapon."
With that, the Five Elders stiffly rose and prepared to face Imu-sama, ready to confess their failure.
The plan to threaten the Souta Pirates through their loved ones had completely fallen apart.
A Few Days Later — Sky Island
Souta Kiryuu and his team of Seraphim finally returned to Sky Island.
"Boss! The Death Kingdom poison gas bombs you asked for—they're ready!"
Caesar Clown rushed forward, his face plastered with an eager, obsequious grin.
His position within the Souta Pirates was rock-bottom, and he knew it. This was his chance to climb back up.
Souta eyed him calmly.
"Vegapunk's on the Moon now. If you can develop something even more destructive than his weapons, I might consider naming you Sky Island's second scientist."
Caesar froze for a moment—then bowed deeply, excitement flooding his eyes.
"Yes, Boss! I swear I'll do it! I'll work day and night! I'll follow you till death!"
Souta smirked slightly.
"Good. Because if your creation can wipe out Marijoa in a single strike, history will remember you as the genius who made it happen."
Caesar's grin faltered. He swallowed hard.
Did he hear that right?
Destroy Marijoa?
That wasn't ambition—that was suicide!
If the World Government ever found out, they'd erase not only him, but his ancestors, his birthplace—everything.
"Boss… those poison gas shells wouldn't happen to be the ones with—uh—my signature, would they?"
He gave an awkward laugh. He had proudly engraved his own name in big, bold letters on every shell, to ensure the world remembered his "brilliance."
Souta grinned, eyes gleaming.
"That's right. Those beauties are about to be delivered straight to Marijoa as a gift."
Caesar's expression went slack.
Before he could even respond, Souta commanded the Seraphim of the Beast Path, who possessed the Soul-Soul Fruit, to imbue the three Death Kingdom gas shells with souls—turning them into Homies, living weapons.
Then he ordered them to fly toward Marijoa and self-destruct upon arrival—before the Five Elders had any chance to intercept them.
Under the Paw-Paw Fruit power of Seraphim Kuma, the three living gas bombs were launched, disappearing into the clouds, shot directly toward the Holy Land.
Souta glanced back at the stunned Caesar and chuckled.
"Let's hope the Five Elders enjoy their gift. Oh—and your name's written pretty big, I see."
Without another word, he left Caesar's weapons lab, his red cloak fluttering behind him.
He wondered if those decrepit old men would notice Caesar's signature on the bombs before they exploded.
Who knew—maybe Caesar's bounty was about to skyrocket again.
Vegapunk's Laboratory — Later
Inside the lab, Souta was carefully selecting Paramecia-type Green Blood abilities suitable for S-Crocodile and S-Lucci.
Crocodile specialized in tactical ability control, while Lucci excelled in close combat and physical technique.
The list of Green Blood Paramecia powers was extensive:
the Barrier Fruit, Op-Op Fruit, Door-Door Fruit, Slow-Slow Fruit, Scythe-Wind Fruit, Heat-Heat Fruit, Sound-Sound Fruit, Chop-Chop Fruit, Wax-Wax, Bomb-Bomb, Thorn, and many more.
Souta hesitated—some of these abilities were simply too valuable to hand out so easily. There would be even stronger Seraphim in the future.
After thinking for a moment, he made his choice.
"Give S-Crocodile the Scythe-Wind ability. Let him be a ranged specialist. As for S-Lucci, he'll take the Heat-Heat power."
It was a good fit.
Crocodile favored slicing sand blades—combining them with the wind-scythe of Eric the Whirlwind would make him devastating at range.
Lucci, on the other hand, excelled at close combat. With searing heat amplifying every strike, his destructive power would skyrocket.
Perhaps—just perhaps—he could awaken a talent unseen in eight centuries.
Originally, Souta had planned to reserve the Heat-Heat Fruit for a future, stronger Seraphim—but now he decided to give this prodigy a chance to prove himself.
To see if Seraphim Lucci could truly break his limits and become a genuine powerhouse.
As for S-Bat and S-Sweet Serpent, they naturally retained their original Shadow-Shadow and Love-Love abilities.
Alongside the three other Seraphim—those wielding the Fortress, Mirror, and Teleportation powers—
the second generation of seven Seraphim was now complete.
All had entered their next phase: training and evolution.
...
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