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  At Marine Headquarters, Marineford, ihe grand and imposing office of the Fleet Admiral, Lieutenant Mark stood at attention and saluted as he reported, “All of the giant vice admirals, except for John Giant—the first giant to join the Navy—have submitted their resignations a, despite attempts to stop them.”

  “We tried to apprehend them, but the preparation was rushed. These giant vice admirals were formidable and mao seize a few warships to escape!”

  “Is that so? After all the effort we put into recruiting the giants, it’s frustrating to see them swayed so easily by Elbaf...” Fleet Admiral Hammens William's face darkened, his fists ched. “Justice ot be mocked. They ’t just e and go as they please.”

  “Immediately issue bounties for those deserters. They are now fugitives of the Navy!”

  “Yes, sir!” Lieutenant Mark responded, standing at attention.

  “Furthermore, after Vice Admiral Steel Bone Kong from G-11 and Vice Admiral Bael from G-13 arrived at G-12 to reinforce it, they found the base mostly destroyed with no survivors. Vice Admiral Modi’s body was burned beynition—he is presumed dead.”

  “Many marines were found bound by viheir faces frozen in terror. Some had their blood pletely drained, reduced to mere husks. It seems multiple Devil Fruit users were involved. We suspect that, aside from Kukulkahe Lunarian survivor, there are other Devil Fruit users among the giants.”

  “Giant Devil Fruit users are rare, but they’re not unheard of,” William respoly, unsurprised. “Devil Fruits, the so-called ‘treasures of the sea,’ are scattered across every er of this world. Even after more than 700 years of domihe Wover hasn’t been able to colled trol all of them.”

  “Devil Fruits reappear randomly when their users die, so it’s not surprising that occasionally a giant or another rare race gets their hands on one.”

  “Have Kong and Bael deploy surveilnce ships to monitor Elbaf’s movements and remain on high alert. We o prevent them from ung any further attacks on other bases,” William ordered sternly. “But until Admiral Hark arrives to take and in the New World, avoid any direct frontations with the giants.”

  It wasn’t that William didn’t want to strike back decisively. If it were only the Giant Pirates, things would be simpler. But this situation had escated beyond that—it now involved the eion of Elbaf, the world’s mightiest try.

  A full-scale flict with Elbaf was no small matter. They could summon tens of thousands of giant warriors at any moment. The giants, by their very nature, were formidable. Even as children, they possessed siderable bat abilities, and as adults, they became fearsome warriors with only a little training.

  It took hundreds, if not thousands, of trained mario subdue even one adult giant. With over a hundred giants attag the G-12 base, it was no wohey overpowered it so easily. The thought of aire army of giants, numbering ihousands, was enough to make anyone break into a cold sweat.

  Even the Navy, the dominant power of the seas, would have to prepare for severe losses in a war against Elbaf. And given the long lifespans of giants—three times that of humans—who knew what fearsome monsters might be lurking among their ranks? A flict with Elbaf could very well trigger a wider response from giants across the world, something that o be avoided at all costs.

  “By the way, Admiral William, regarding Kukulkan El...” Lieutenant Mark hesitated, then tinued, “CP has been trying to capture him for months, but since he’s been hiding in Elbaf, uhe prote of the giants, and because of the ret efforts to meions with them, the Wover has beeant to take direct a.”

  “Furthermore, acc to CP’s intelligence, Kukulkan El, although uen years old, is already a monstrous figure. He’s immuo ons, possesses immerength, and is a natural-born monster—an ability user of the Mythical Zoan-type Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Quetzalcoatl.”

  “It’s said he has terrifying bat capabilities. Even without using his fruit powers or the Lunarian racial ability to manipute fire, no adult giant warrior even budge him. He easily tosses them around like toys.”

  “Even without defense, giants have swung their full strength at him with swords, but the bdes shatter, leaving him pletely unharmed!”

  “What? A natural-born monster?”

  Upon hearing this, William’s pupils shrank in shock. His expression turned serious as he abruptly stood, visibly shaken. “Is he really such a terrifying monster?”

  If the intelligence was accurate, then this boy’s abilities were terrifying beyond belief. William had thought he’d been giving the Lunarian child enough attention, but clearly, he had uimated the situation. If someone like this were allowed to grow unchecked, the sequences would be disastrous.

  “Yes, sir. These reports e directly from Sister Carmel, who had no reason to deceive us,” Lieutenant Mark firmed. “Additionally, CP retly reported that a Wover ship went missing near Elbaf. It carried several gover officials and three CP0 agents, and it’s believed Kukulkan El may be responsible.”

  “CP0 was involved as well?” William’s eyes narrowed, and his expression turned grim as he paced the room. “If that’s true, it means his strength ’t be ignored.”

  Though William disliked CP0—the top-secret agender the World Nobles, whose motto of “The Celestial Dragons first, everything else sed” made them arrogant and disdainful of the Navy—he uood the dahey posed. CP0 agents were highly trained and fanatically loyal to the Wover. They would die before failing a mission or failing to rey crucial information. The fact that none of the agents on the missing ship had sent any word was troubling.

  If Kukulkaruly was this extraordinary natural-born monster, bined with his Mythical Zoan abilities, it was entirely possible he had wiped out the CP0 agents without giving them a ce to react.

  “Admiral, should we pce a bounty on him?” Mark inquired.

  “Hm... Let’s start it at five hundred million...” William hesitated, then revised his decision. “No, make that six hundred million Berries!”

  “Six hundred million?” Mark was stunned. Although he uood Kukulkan El’s uure, he couldn’t believe the bounty could be so high. No one had ever received a first bounty of six hundred million Berries.

  Even the leaders of the Giant Pirates, Blue Ogre Dorry and Red Ogre Brogy, were only initially bou one hundred million Berries each, though that was over thirty years ago. And across the seas, there were few pirates with bounties exceeding five hundred million.

  “Admiral William, this...”

  “You heard correctly. Six hundred million Berries,” William stated firmly, crossing his arms. “He’s a Lunarian survivor, which makes him a special case. The Wover has long offered a bounty of one hundred million Berries for any information leading to the discovery of a Lunarian.”

  “And anyone who captures a Lunarian alive cim a reward of at least five hundred million. Of course, that requires capturing them alive.”

  “Kukulkan El’s as at the G-12 base show that he likely harbors a deep grudge against the Navy and the Wover for what happened years ago. He won’t hesitate to seek revenge.”

  “Givehreat he poses, we ’t afford to let him run free. So we’ll pce a six hundred million Berries bounty on his head, dead or alive!”

  “Yes, sir!”