"You’re Afar?"

  Half an hour ter, El met the Lunarian who had e seeking refuge at the floating fortress Atntis.

  Afar appeared to be a young man in his mid-twenties, standing an imposing five meters tall, making him seem like a small giant to ordinary people. He had tan skin, gray-white hair, fmes bzing from his back, and a pair of bck wings. Unlike El, Afar also bore a wreath-shaped tattoo around his left eye—a clear indication of his identity. He was unmistakably a desdant of the Lunarian people.

  Judging by his presend aura, his strength was formidable. Though young, he was far more powerful than most Marine Vice Admirals and had immeential.

  The fact that a fellow Lunarian was seeking him out so soon filled El with satisfa. It seemed the founding broadcast of Totto Land had not been in vain.

  "My full name is Kukulkan Afar," Afar introduced himself with a smile. He examined El, who was t like a giant and exuding an effortless aura of authority. "To be precise, we’re distant cousins."

  "Cousins?" El blinked, momentarily surprised.

  But in an instant, he read Afar’s true emotions, firming the man wasn’t lying. Meanwhile, Linlin, Moss, and Gerd exged puzzled gnces, caught off guard by this revetion.

  "If I’m not mistaken, your father’s name was Bardr, correct?" Afar ighe others’ reas, pulling out a worn photograph from his coat and handing it to El. "Our fathers were cousins. Here’s a photo of them from their youth."

  El looked at the image, where two young Lunarians stood side by side. One bore a striking resembo El’s father, Bardr. Memories of his family washed over El, stirring a mix of emotions—nostalgia, sadness, and a touch of bitterness. He gazed at the photo with a faint sense of longing.

  But he quickly suppressed his emotions, turning to Afar with a smile. "Regardless, wele to Totto Land, cousin Afar!"

  "I never imagined our tribe would produeone like you—a hero who dares to openly challehe colossus that is the Wover."

  Afar’s eyes glimmered with a mix of admiration aement as he looked at El. "I may ck your ce and capability, but I’m fident I tribute. Just say the word, and I’ll do my part. I want to witness firsthand where you’ll lead the Lunarian people."

  "Then watch closely." El pced a reassuring hand on Afar’s shoulder, his expression brimming with fidehe Lunarian race will rise once more and stand at the pinnacle of this world."

  "I’ll be waiting for that day." Afar’s gaze burned with fervor, filled with hope and anticipation.

  Once a mighty tribe known as the Race of Gods, the Lunarians were now on the brink of extin, their numbers reduced to a mere handful. If he could see their resurgender El’s leadership, he would gdly give his life for the cause. It would be a death worth dying.

  "Oh, and I couldn’t show up empty-handed for my first visit." Afar suddenly remembered something, pulling out a small treasure chest and handing it to El. "On my way here, I intercepted a Wover ship and mao snag this—a Devil Fruit." He grinned. "It’s said to be the Dragon Fruit, A Zoan model: Scythe Dragon. sider it a gift."

  "Hmm?" El paused. "The A Zoan Therizinosaurus model?" He thought he’d misheard, but opehe chest to firm. Inside y an odd-looking Devil Fruit.

  "A Devil Fruit?"

  "Stolen from the Wover?"

  "Wait, isn’t this the ability of Admiral Iron Cw Hark?"

  "I didn’t expect the Wovero recover it so quickly."

  Everyone present was stuheir eyes fixed oreasure chest in disbelief.

  …

  "What did you just say!?"

  "The Devil Fruit being transported was stolen?"

  "Useless fools! What oh were you doing?"

  Atop the Red Line, within the Chamber of Authority in the ruined Pangaea Castle at Mary Geoise, the atmosphere was suffog. The Five Elders gred darkly at the CP0 officer kneeling before them, drenched i.

  "Our deepest apologies, my lords..." the CP0 officer stammered, trembling as he gave his report. "We took every precaution and even assigned CP9 agents to escort the transport. However, the enemy was far too powerful!

  "Acc to CP9’s report, the assaint possessed overwhelming strength—they were no match. Moreover, the culprit appears to be of Lunarian dest!"

  "What?"

  "A Lunarian?"

  "Is it the Fallen Angel El?"

  The Elders' pupils narrowed sharply, their faces twisting in rage. Their first thought was that El, the leader of the Fallen Angel Pirates, was behind this attack.

  "No, was another Lunarian survivor!" the CP0 officer hurriedly crified, fearing further fury. "However, our iigation shows that their route appears to lead toward Totto Land... If our information is correct, that Lunarian is likely already in Totto Land Kingdom by now!"

  "Crash!"

  A teacup flew through the air and shattered violently against the CP0 officer’s head. The fragments scattered across the floor, and blood began to drip from his forehead. Despite the injury, the officer didn’t dare flinch, let alone wipe the blood streaming down his face.

  "Damn it!" Leaning heavily on his e, Saint Saturn gred daggers at the officer. "You’re all a bunch of useless idiots! How could you let him escape to Totto Land!?"

  Eveher Elders—Saint Mars, Saint Valkyrie, and Saint Nasujuro—looked livid. Their faces were dark with rage as they snapped:

  "We finally discovered a surviving Lunarian, and now he’s joihe Fallen Angel Pirates? This is uable!"

  "Immediately iigate everything about this Lunarian!"

  "No matter what methods CP employs, you must capture or eliminate him at all costs!"

  "Under no circumstances we allow the near-extinct Lunarian race to rise from the ashes!"

  The Elders' frustration alpable. With so maial Dragons already executed by the Fallen Angel Pirates, capturing a Lunarian survivor would have been a valuable bargaining chip for them. Now, that opportunity had slipped through their fingers—and worse, the survivor had joined El.

  To make matters worse, the Lunarian appeared to be a powerful individual, strengthening El’s forces even further. With El’s prote, targeting the Lunarian would now be expoially more difficult.

  The Elders were deeply armed by the possibility that Totto Land’s sanctuary could allow the Lunarian race to recover, undermining decades of effort to annihite them and posing a serious threat to the Wover’s rule. This could not be allowed.

  "Uood!" The CP0 officer bowed deeply, his voice trembling as he hastily retreated.

  Bleam