"What?"

  "Artificial Devil Fruits?"

  "What exactly is going on?"

  Meanwhile, atop the Red Line in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the Five Elders were visibly armed as they listeo a report from a CPO officer.

  Their expressions ged, and they stood up, uo remaied.

  Over the years, the Fallen Angel Pirates’ teological development had been astonishing. Even teologies once deemed sce fi—such as ser onry—had been mastered by them.

  Acc to telligeheir sers had evolved from single shots to rapid fire, with increasingly destructive power. Even the Wover’s Marine Sce Division had yet to overe such teological hurdles. Several elite agents had been sacrificed just to retrieve one or two severely damaged Homie robot samples.

  Although the Marine Sce Division had retly made some progress, it was still far from implementieology in practice.

  Now, the Fallen Angel Pirates had quietly developed artificial Devil Fruits. It was almost unbelievable.

  "This m, the Hell Trading pany announced pns to sell artificial Devil Fruits on a rge scale," the CPO officer reported while kneeling. "Major kingdoms, underground anizations, and even the Shichibukai have received invitations."

  "In addition, we’ve just received news from the Rocks Pirates..." He paused. "Fallen Angel El specifically sent them a batch of artificial Devil Fruit samples. Two pirates successfully gained Devil Fruit abilities."

  "It seems Rocks is tempted and may sider purchasing in bulk."

  "He’s selling artificial Devil Fruits to Rocks?"

  "The Fallen Angel Pirates... aren’t they afraid of aiding their enemies?"

  "What scheme is that bastard Fallen Angel El pying at?"

  The Five Elders, hearing the report, were visibly uled. If someone had truly developed artificial Devil Fruits, why would they sell them to other forces, effectively emp potential enemies?

  "Apparently, only Zoan-type abilities be produced, and these artificial Devil Fruits have signifit side effects," the CPO officer expined. "Each person only e ohe success rate faining abilities isn’t high, and failure results in the individual losing the ability to express aion other than ughter—whether they’re sad, angry, or otherwise."

  "While the abilities do enharength to some extent, they’re far inferior to natural Zoan Devil Fruits."

  "Furthermore, many of the Fallen Angel Pirates’ internal leaders—from various races—strongly opposed using these artificial fruits within their own forces. sequently, Fallen Angel El abahe idea of mass-produg ability users."

  "I see..."

  Hearing this, the Five Elders rexed slightly. If the Fallen Angel Pirates could mass-produce every type of Devil Fruit without limitation, they would pose an insurmountable threat.

  Even so, the artificial Devil Fruits—fwed though they were—still warranted . I years, the Fallen Angel Pirates’ power had grown at an arming pace. Although the Wover and Marines had also increased their strength, they hesitated to wage full-scale war against the Fallen Angels—it was too risky and could backfire.

  Moreover, after the Heavenly Tribute was stolen and the fleet dispatched to Hive Isnd failed, retions with the Rocks Pirates had deteriorated signifitly. Trust was ent, and pns to jointly suppress the Fallen Angels had stalled.

  "Still, we ’t rule out the possibility that they’ve already developed superior artificial Devil Fruits and are selling these defective oo raise funds while secretly produg better versions," Saint Nasujuro said gravely.

  "That’s entirely possible. We ’t afford to be careless," Saint Mars agreed, his face stern.

  The threat posed by the Fallen Angel Pirates grew with each day, and any pse in caution could be disastrous.

  "Don’t worry. sidering the Fallen Angel Pirates’ ability to seize other people’s Devil Fruit powers directly, we’ve been monit them for some time," the CPO officer reassured them. "So far, we haven’t observed any sudden increase in ability users within their ranks. At present, there’s no indication of anything unusual."

  "Enough excuses. The problem is that CP has been utterly useless!"

  Saint Valkyrie gred at the CPO officer, his voice ced with displeasure. "After all this time, you haven’t even pinpoihe location of their research base, let alone assassiheir stists! Fallen Angel El mao produce artificial Devil Fruits quietly, and you didn’t even catch wind of it beforehand…"

  Saint Saturn smmed his e on the floor, his face icy. "A bunch of inpetent fools!"

  "My deepest apologies, Elders..."

  The CPO officer, sweating profusely, stammered, "Over the years, we’ve been tirelessly infiltrating and searg, but we’ve suffered signifit losses. That Three-Eye Tribe woman, the one called ‘Evil Eye,’ possesses the Paramecia-type Gre-Gre Fruit. She see through lies and read minds. Any agents we send in are quickly exposed."

  "Additionally, the Fallen Angel Pirates’ research facilities are deeply cealed. Each isnd is heavily guarded, with strongholds led by powerful officers and their troops near suspected entrances. Eves with unique abilities have failed to infiltrate. Once discovered, we lose tact almost immediately, and their Vivre Cards soon turn to ash."

  "All we’ve firmed is that their research facilities are massive, likely underground, with tunnels eg multiple isnds, including their headquarters at Cake Isnd."

  Despite years of effort, CP had made little headway. Infiltrating Totto Land remaihe highest-risk mission fents, with staggering casualty rates. While some progress had been made, the core of the Fallen Angels’ operations remained shrouded in secrecy, frustrating the Wover’s attempts to gather aable intelligence.

  Bleam