'Whoosh… whoosh…'

  Three days ter.

  In a certain part of the sea, on a massive floating isnd drifting slowly through the sky—

  Colorful bubbles floated around, bright aiful.

  Ily, a young mermaid, sat on a rge bubble, her graceful tail swayily as she blew bubbles excitedly with her newly crafted bubble wand and solution. “Bubble Bomb!”

  'Boom… boom…'

  One by one, seemingly harmless bubbles floated out, only ter powerful explosions moments ter. The training area was soo in ruins, bsted to pieces.

  “Hehe, this is amazing…”

  Watg the se, Ily couldn’t tain her joy. She shouted excitedly to El, whose tall figure stood nearby, “El-sama, I really did it!”

  These bubbles were crafted with sap from the Yarukiman Mangrove and enhanced by her Bubble-Bubble Fruit powers, making them extremely durable. Not only could they support her weight to float in the air, but even outside this unique enviro, they wouldn’t pop easily. She could trol them perfectly and eveohem at will.

  “Not bad, it’s looking pretty impressive!”

  Sitting nearby, El looked up from his neer. Smiling, he nodded encingly, “Keep it up, Ily!”

  It was worth noting that—

  The battle on Franca Isnd had bee quiet these past few days. Though the Wover was furious and had ordered CP agents to search everywhere for the Fallen Angel Pirates, the general public remained unaware of what had truly happened. For now, El and Linlin had yet to make any public moves following their ret promotion. It all appeared as if the Wover was simply enraged by the Fallen Angel Pirates’ atta the Celestial Dragons, resulting in a widespread bounty hunt.

  “Yes, I will!”

  g her small fists, the mermaid girl nodded enthusiastically, filled with determination. She didn’t want to just be a mascot; she wao fight and tribute her strength.

  Not far away—

  Baka, the Bck Mamba user, along with Rena and Luna, the Bck Cat and Ocelot users, were training hard with he ship’s doctor, as soured down. Meanwhile, Tom of the Mink Tribe, with his Speed-Speed Fruit powers, and Mad of the Loribe, who wielded the Egg-Egg Fruit, were training in the Six Powers alongside their respective rades, “Griffin” Moss and “Flea Man” Rock.

  With the boost from their Devil Fruit abilities, everyone was making rapid progress. Especially the female members, who beed from Lily’s extraordinary “Pile-Pile Fruit” ability, which allowed them te skills and share teiques, making their training even more effit. Baka, the “Bck Mamba,” and the Neko Neko sisters, Rena and Luna, had made impressive gains. Even Ily, whose aptitude was somewhat g, rogressing steadily. Her development in both her Fruit abilities and physical training was advang well. She was already showing signs of being a capable fighter.

  Meanwhile—

  'hew…'

  “Hey, Sak…”

  Oher side, Gerd stood with her hands on her hips, looking displeased as she towered over a young man of at least three meters tall, who was sweating profusely and panting heavily. “You’re already out of stamina again?”

  In front of them, a wide field was dotted with over three hundred wax statues—armored soldiers about two meters tall, each holding a spear and shield. They stood lifelike, glinting in the sunlight.

  “I really don’t have any strength left, Gerd-sama…” Sak, pale-faced and exhausted, said weakly. “Please, let me rest a bit!”

  Sak was a newer given the Paramecia Wax-Wax Fruit by El. Once a pirate captain, he’d started his journey with high hopes of pleting the “Grand Line circuit.” But soon after setting out, he and his crew had been drugged and captured by a sve-trading group, who sold him off after eliminating his crew.

  Rescued by the Fallen Angel Pirates, Sak had realized the dangers of the world and, humbled, decided he wasn’t cut out to be a captain. Not wanting to live an ordinary life, he joihe Fallen Angel Pirates.

  Joining the crew, he finally met the legendary captain, Fallen Angel El, whose imposing figure deeply impressed him. Here was a man who fearlessly attacked the Navy’s fortresses and even the World Nobles, defying admirals and sying a top Navy figure in battle.

  Trior, El had bestowed upon him the powerful Wax-Wax Fruit. Though its name sounded ordinary, Sak quickly realized its strength. The fruit allowed him to produce vast amounts of sticky wax, which he could shape into various forms, from ons to structures. When hardehis wax was as strong as steel, allowing him to trap enemies or even craft armor and other objects.

  Yet, before he could celebrate, El summoned him again to begin a grueling task.

  El had ordered him to produce a rge number of wax sculptures—armored soldiers, knights, lions, tigers, and eagles.

  Creating a few or even ten was manageable for him. But produg hundreds of these wax sculptures at once exhausted even his siderable stamina, which rivaled that of a Navy headquarters captain.

  Every time he rested and regained some strength, he ushed to produce even more wax creations. He was so exhausted he just wao colpse.

  But what truly amazed Sak was that Gerd-sama could infuse captured souls into the wax creations, granting them a form of life and animating them. With ease, she had created an immense army of wax soldiers, a formidable Homies army. It was simply beyond belief.

  “All right, Gerd…”

  Lily ran over, hugging Gerd and saying cheerfully, “o push him too hard. He did make a lot of Homies already!”

  “And El-onii did say that we don’t oo many wax Homies. While wax be lighter and strohan steel, it also has weaknesses like fire, which brings certain limitations!”

  “It’s still pretty incredible though…”

  A tall figure, riding a rge Bubble Homie, floated over.

  Linlin soon joihem, gesturing to the drastically transformed Atntis with a smile. “We’ve amassed such a powerful force so quickly!”

  “Wow… just look…”

  At some point, a vast number of animated soldiers had appeared across the floating fortress, each wielding swords or spears, with knights riding tall horses scattered throughout every er.

  Without exception, they were all wax creations animated by Gerd’s soul infusion, being “living” Homies soldiers. These soldiers had signifit bat capabilities, with some leaders even housing the souls of former Navy officers, making them especially formidable.

  Teams of ten wax soldiers marched in sync across the fortress, patrolling tirelessly. Altogether, their numbers exceeded ten thousand.

  Alongside them, numerous wax lions, tigers, panthers, and even giant snakes roamed the forests, each filled with life and adding to the fortress’s defenses.

  Aerial scouts included wax-crafted fals, moths, swallows, and seagulls—Homies who served as watchful eyes from the sky.

  And in the air, knights on pterodactyls and griffins soared above, patrolling the skies.

  It was an awe-inspiring sight.