Just as Ivan was looking around, a girl around twenty years old, dressed in a gothic lolita dress, appeared beside him.
The moment he saw her, Ivan froze, instantly recognizing her identity—it was none other than the Ghost Princess, Perona.
But wasn't this little girl supposed to be on Thriller Bark? How could she be here?
Could it be that Moria also wanted those two Devil Fruits?
While Ivan was momentarily stunned, Perona floated in mid-air with her small umbrella, drifting over to his side. Her pink twin-tails swayed gently as she asked:
"Hey, do you want to join my team?"
She tilted her head, her tone carrying a hint of arrogance as she offered what she thought was an enticing condition:
"After the mission is over, I can give you fifty million Berries' worth of treasure."
Ivan snapped back to reality, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Why me?"
Perona placed her hands on her hips and snorted as if it were obvious, giving him a once-over:
"Because I get the feeling that you're pretty strong."
Hearing this, Ivan suddenly chuckled. "Since I'm strong, why not give me one of the Devil Fruits?"
Perona immediately wrinkled her nose, lifting her chin proudly:
"The Devil Fruits are, of course, reserved for Lord Moria! He needs them to research an even stronger Zombie Army!
Besides, your strength definitely can't compare to mine. Horohorohoro…"
Ivan thought to himself:
Just as I suspected.
Moria has been researching stronger zombies all along. Perona appearing in a place like this is to obtain new Devil Fruits and strengthen Moria's zombies.
"Alright, now tell me, what abilities do you have?" Perona crossed her arms, staring at Ivan curiously.
Ivan replied calmly, "I can control earth, and my physical combat skills are decent."
Perona was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up as she happily leaned in closer:
"You're a Devil Fruit user too? And an earth manipulation ability—that's a lot like Fox from the Shadow Garden.
Probably a lesser version of his ability, but still pretty good. With you here, my confidence in seizing the Devil Fruits has increased!"
Faced with Perona's invitation, Ivan decided to accompany her. However, he wasn't satisfied with Perona's proposed distribution.
He raised a question: "That's right, I feel like I have some strength. How about this: in the upcoming mission, we'll let our abilities speak for themselves. Whoever contributes more gets to choose a Devil Fruit. What do you think?"
Perona agreed without the slightest hesitation:
"Of course, that's no different from our current arrangement. My contribution will definitely be greater. Horohorohoro…"
Looking at the confident Perona, Ivan smiled just as brightly.
I just hope you can stay this confident later.
Because the two important Devil Fruits were located at the G-2 Branch, security there had become even stricter.
Now, the entire branch's security level had skyrocketed several times compared to usual.
On the sea, navy escort ships were deployed in a circular blockade formation, their cannons all aimed outward. The dark barrels gleamed coldly under the sunlight.
The lookout on the mast remained vigilant day and night, their telescope fixed on every ripple of the waves, even tracking seabirds as they passed overhead.
The entire base was shrouded in an atmosphere of solemn tension, as if even the wind dared not howl freely, foretelling a storm powerful enough to shake the New World, about to unfold here.
…
For this mission, Seastone Powder was to be deployed. Seastone Powder possesses a powerful suppressive effect on Devil Fruit users, and even the three Admirals would be no exception.
Thus, for this operation, the three Admirals were not present. Instead, Garp, who is not a Devil Fruit user, was placed in full command.
Inside the G-2 Branch command office, Garp sat on a stool, still munching on rice crackers.
Below, Ivan and Onigumo stood by the window, looking down at the changes within the G-2 Branch.
Suddenly, Onigumo's gaze sharpened, and a chilling killing intent instantly radiated from his entire body.
He raised his hand, pointing to a shadowy area below the window, where several pirates were lurking in the grass.
Although their concealment was skillful and difficult to detect, it could not evade Observation Color.
After confirming the identities of these pirates, Onigumo nodded repeatedly, even his tone carrying a hint of approval:
"Vice Admiral Ivan, your idea is quite good.
Look, some reckless pirates have already infiltrated quietly, including major figures like the Eight Treasures Water Force and the Sweet Three Generals!
If this continues, even if we don't lure out Shadow Garden, just killing these infiltrating pirates would count as a significant achievement."
Ivan was also surprised by the arrival of the Eight Treasures Water Force and the Sweet Three Generals.
But he quickly understood.
In the One Piece anime, only a little over two hundred Devil Fruit users have appeared, highlighting the rarity of Devil Fruits.
In the Dressrosa arc, a single Flame-Flame Fruit attracted competition from numerous forces, let alone two Devil Fruits hailed as the Navy's foundation?
His tone was calm: "Devil Fruits are the secret treasures of the sea, extremely important strategic resources. It's only natural that the Eight Treasures Water Force and the Big Mom Pirates would set their sights on them."
Upon hearing this, Garp merely waved his hand dismissively, looking directly at Ivan and getting straight to the point:
"Forget about these scum. I'm asking you, have the people from Shadow Garden arrived?
Compared to Shadow Garden, even the Sweet Three Generals are just small fry!"
Ivan slowly turned around, his tone resolute:
"They've definitely arrived. They're somewhere in the G-2 Branch, hidden very deeply."
Garp raised an eyebrow slightly, a flicker of doubt in his eyes, his tone carrying a casual inquiry:
"You seem quite confident. What makes you so sure?"
Ivan lifted his gaze slightly, sweeping over the two of them, and spoke slowly, his tone calm yet filled with absolute certainty:
"My Observation Color is special, different from ordinary Observation Color. It possesses an extremely keen perception.
Although I can't precisely sense the exact location of a target or identify who it is specifically, I can clearly perceive the auras of all the strong individuals within this range, as well as their relative levels of strength."
He paused, then added, his eyes growing more serious:
"Right now, within the entire G-2 Branch area, aside from you, Mr. Garp, there is another monster hidden whose aura far surpasses everyone else's."
"That presence is definitely not something these infiltrating pirates could possess, nor is it something the navy officers of this branch could have. Aside from the top experts of Shadow Garden, there is no second possibility."
The office instantly fell into a brief silence. He knew that this game using Seastone Powder as bait was finally about to truly begin.
...
Unnoticed, night had already fallen. At some point, intermittent sounds of clashing blades and miserable wails began to come from the outskirts of the G-2 Branch.
Even the surrounding air was permeated with the scent of blood.
In a corner, Ivan and Perona hid behind a thicket of grass, looking down from above at the entire G-2 Branch.
Perona's beautiful eyes narrowed tightly as she muttered, "This is troublesome. The defenses are so tight, and many famous pirate crews have already been taken down. How are we supposed to infiltrate?"
Ivan suggested, "I have a way. I can manipulate earth. Let's go in from underground."
Perona's eyes lit up. "That's perfect! Let's set off right away!"
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