Half a month had passed.

  On Atntis, the arrival of the two little ones filled the pce with endless ughter.

  However, trouble soon followed. Thor and Sif, the twin siblings, dispyed a rambunctious nature, much like Linlin in her childhood.

  Before their birth, like most parents, Gerd and El had been full of anticipation, but raising the twins quickly desded into chaos. Though they were newborns, the twins were unruly—running around and causing mischief. Overwhelmed, Gerd had no choice but to assign numerous Homies to follow them stantly, ensuring they wouldn’t sneak out of Atntis.

  To protect the twins and prevent the Wover from ag desperately, the hat Gerd, a giantess, had given birth to the captain of the Fallen Angel Pirates’ children remained undisclosed. Only the embers knew of this top-secret information.

  El, meanwhile, had delegated most tedious goverasks and visited the twins daily. Still, he did not his training.

  The newly structed Beast Isnd had bee his primary training ground. Witt, a Kilo-Kilo Fruit user and a reliable "training tool," apanied him once again.

  Witt, now adjusted to a weight of several thousand kilos, stood on a massive iron shield while El trained beh it. Perf a handstand, El pushed the thick iron wall up and down with his legs. At the same time, he tinuously swung his sword, rigorously honing his skills.

  "Oh my, El-, you’re as hardw as ever!" Tethys remarked, watg El train with such focus.

  Over the past few days, El had maintained releraining, never allowing his formidable strength to make him pt. His unwaveriermination was truly admirable.

  In her right hand, Tethys held a handful of bird eggs, each faintly glowing with a strange light. Using her Ripe-Ripe Fruit abilities, she hatched them instantly, turning the eggs into fully grown albatrosses.

  "Fp, fp, fp..."

  The newly hatched albatrosses fluttered about as Tethys pced them inte birdcage. Turning to the angel Homies who had delivered the eggs, she instructed:

  "Take them away."

  "Uood, Tethys-sama!" The angel Homie saluted and carried the birdcage away, flying into the distance.

  A few months earlier, El had ordered the Homies to secretly capture some News birds on other isnds and have them breed. He also hired professional trainers at great expense. Now, with Tethys’s Ripe-Ripe Fruit abilities, the eggs could be hatched, and the birds matured instantly, signifitly speeding up the process.

  This allowed for the rapid training of enough News birds. When ready, the Totto Land Daily neer would expand beyond the borders of the Totto Land Kingdom and circute worldwide, breaking the Wover’s monopoly on public opinion.

  Nearby, Gerd directed her attention to a group of yous fined within bubble Homies. These creatures had been developed through artificial insemination by the sce divisiohe past few months. Even as juveheir size was already astonishing.

  Moreover, the fish-man troops had spent time training these beasts as battle partners. The young creatures were well-disciplined and ready to work alongside the fish-men without requiring further taming, even as they matured.

  "Sea lions? How long is their maturity cycle?" Tethys asked, grabbing one of the struggling, trembling sea lions.

  "Tethys-sama," one of the trainers responded, "due to their rge size, these sea lions have a longer maturity period. It takes roughly fifty years for them to fully grow."

  "Oh?" Tethys raised an eyebrow. She pced her hands on a sea beast and focused her gaze. "Mature… fifty years!"

  In an instant, the sea beast, inally only two to three meters long, grew into a colossal creature hundreds of meters ih—an incredible and exaggerated transformation.

  "Spsh!" With a loud sound, the massive sea beast leapt into the o. Water sprayed everywhere as the ferocious creature, now enormous, burst from the surface. It opes bloodthirsty jaws, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and tried to attack Tethys.

  However, the Fish-Man in charge of taming it, statio the coast, immediately intervened. "Behave yourself!"

  Reizing its "master," the intimidating creature quickly nodded in submission.

  Uerred, Tethys repeated the process for about ten more massive sea beasts, each assigo a specific Fish-Man for training and trol. One by ohe creatures plunged into the sea.

  "Phew, maturing so many oversized sea beasts at once is quite tiring!" Tethys excimed, wiping the sweat from her brow and smiling. "The Ripe-Ripe Fruit is truly an incredible ability!"

  Witnessing this se, Witt—who was steadily training atop a massive iron shield—couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

  "Brrrr~~~ Brrrr~~~"

  Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi that El had pearby began t. Tethys raised an eyebrow and, at El’s gesture, answered with a cheerful smile.

  From the receiver, the voice of the dancer Baka came through: "El-sama…"

  "What is it?" El asked directly.

  "There’s news from Sally-sama," Baka reported through the Den Den Mushi. "The Kuja Pirates were intercepted by the Navy while raiding a ship. Their captain stayed behind to cover the retreat and has been captured by the newly promoted Marine Vice Admiral, Sengoku ‘The Buddha.’ She’s currently being transported to Enies Lobby."

  Baka added, "However, it seems that the Celestial Dragons in Mariejois have taken an i in the Kuja Empress from Amazon Lily and have ordered Sengoku to deliver her to the Holy Land. Should we use this opportunity to rescue her?"

  "The Kuja Pirates?" El repeated, still supp Witt upside-down. He looked surprised.

  "Yes," Baka firmed. "They hail from the legendary all-female nation of Amazon Lily, located in the Calm Belt. Their captain, Gloriosa, is also the Kuja Empress. She’s only twenty-five and already has a bounty exceeding 200 million berries. She’s been making waves in the first half of the Grand Lily."

  "I see. I’ve entered them twice before," El responded calmly, pushing Witt away with his legs.

  "Witt, that’s enough training for today!"

  "Huh?" Caught off guard, Witt was sent flying into the o, but he quickly adjusted his weight and floated back up.

  "This is perfect timing," El said, flipping gracefully and nding on the ground. "I’ll head to the Grand Line myself."

  In his youth, El had lived alone in the Calm Belt and explored the surrounding areas. By ce, he had entered the Kuja Pirates on two separate occasions during their expeditions. However, they had never fought, and he had only observed them from a distance.

  Bleam