"Don't let these criminals escape!"
"Make sure the Celestial Dragons are safe!"
Outside the auction house on Island 1, a large group of heavily armed Marines had completely surrounded the area in multiple layers. Rear Admiral Mace, the commanding officer of the Sabaody Archipelago Naval Base, noticed that when Linlin, Rock, Nef, and the others emerged, the Celestial Dragons were nowhere to be found.
"Damn criminals! Do you know what kind of severe crime it is to offend the descendants of the creators?" Rear Admiral Mace, his eyes burning with rage, glared at Linlin and shouted, "Where are the Celestial Dragons? What have you done to them?"
He couldn't believe what was happening. He had been sitting peacefully in his office, drinking tea, when disaster struck. Not only had the Celestial Dragons been attacked, but there were even reports that one of them had been killed.
For Mace, it was as if the sky had fallen. The Celestial Dragons had been harmed right under the Navy's nose, and as the head of the naval base in Sabaody, he knew he would be held responsible. He feared being made the scapegoat and was desperate to at least save the remaining Celestial Dragons to mitigate the consequences and protect his family from being implicated.
"If you want to know what happened to the Celestial Dragons, why don't you go in and check for yourself?" Linlin smirked, taunting him. "Maybe, on a whim, I killed them all!"
Tall and imposing, with a horned hat and tight-fitting jeans, Linlin wore a floral shirt that accentuated her striking figure—completely different from the chubby appearance she once had.
"Damn it—"
"She's too bold!!"
"Open fire!!!"
'Bang... bang...'
Hearing Linlin's words, Rear Admiral Mace and the other Marines, seething with anger, aimed their weapons at her. The young girl before them, who seemed too large to be human and possibly a giant, had enraged them. If the Celestial Dragons were harmed or couldn't be rescued, the Navy stationed on Sabaody would pay the price.
Without hesitation, the Marines raised their guns and rocket launchers, aiming at the audacious criminals, and pulled the trigger.
'Clang!'
A bright flash of steel followed by the metallic sound of a sword being unsheathed echoed through the air. Linlin had drawn her large, curved sword from her waist, the blade gleaming in the light. Her weapon, Napoleon, forged by El, was undoubtedly among the finest blades, ranking high within the 21 Great Grade Swords.
"Well, since a battle's inevitable, it wouldn't hurt to kill some Marines and gather some blood for storage. I'm sure Gerd won't mind," Linlin smiled mischievously as she spoke.
'Slash... clang... boom...'
Laughing as she wielded Napoleon, Linlin took a few steps forward, completely unfazed by the bullets raining down on her. The projectiles ricocheted harmlessly off her body. Though she could easily deflect the cannon fire, she nonchalantly sliced through the shells with her sword to avoid being covered in soot.
"Linlin, don't get too excited…"
"Oars, hold back for now... leave these guys to us!"
"As long as they're alive, it's fine, right?" Nef, Rock, and Jien chuckled, effortlessly dodging the incoming bullets as they prepared to engage the Marines.
But Linlin refused to let them take over. "No way, you guys are too slow!"
Dodging a rocket with ease, Linlin declined their offer. After spending years with El, lying low and only occasionally hunting pirates, she was eager to use the Sabaody Archipelago as a stage to announce the Fallen Angel Pirates' grand entrance into the world. Her fighting instincts had long been suppressed and were now ready to burst out.
"Finger Pistol!"
Nef moved with lightning speed, instantly appearing in the midst of the Marines.
'Bam... bam...'
With a flick of her fingers, her strikes pierced through the soldiers' chests like bullets, leaving them screaming as they collapsed to the ground.
"Ada~ Ada~ Shadowless Kick!"
Rock, towering over four meters tall, lunged forward, his long legs blurring as he unleashed a barrage of kicks.
'Boom... boom...'
His powerful strikes sent Marines flying like ragdolls, unable to even fire their weapons before being knocked away.
"Fish-Man Karate: Water Shot!"
Jien, the Fishman, flicked his wrist, creating a small pool of water in his palm. He whipped it forward, and the water droplets turned into sharp projectiles, piercing through the Marines' bodies one after another. Screams echoed as they fell.
'Gasp—'
"What's happening?"
"These guys... they're monsters!"
"The bullets are bouncing off her!"
"Damn it, is she made of steel or something?"
"Is this some kind of strange Devil Fruit power?"
A Marine stared wide-eyed, unable to believe the sight before him. The girl, who resembled a small giant, didn't even flinch when faced with their barrage of bullets. While she dodged or sliced through the rockets and shells, the bullets seemed to have no effect. She stood there, completely unharmed.
"All units, follow me!" Rear Admiral Mace's eyes burned with determination and desperation. Without hesitation, he charged forward.
"These criminals have committed unforgivable crimes by offending the Celestial Dragons... Kill or capture, it doesn't matter!" he shouted, rushing at Linlin with his sword drawn, coated in Haki.
He knew that if it were only about offending the Celestial Dragons, he might get away with a demotion if his superiors were lenient. But with one of them murdered, he, as the commander of the Sabaody Archipelago base, would be held accountable. He believed that dying heroically in battle might be a better fate than living through the disgrace and punishment that would follow. At least his family would be spared.
"Die!" Mace roared, his foot hitting the ground as he charged at Linlin with incredible speed, his sword slicing through the air.
'Slash…'
But in an instant, a massive hand appeared out of nowhere, grabbing him entirely.
"Rear Admiral Mace!" The Marines' faces turned pale as they watched in disbelief. Their commander had been captured so easily.
"Aaah…"
'Crack… crack…' Mace's bones were being crushed under the pressure of Linlin's grip. His eyes bulged, and his face turned red as he looked at the towering figure of Linlin, who held him effortlessly. He screamed in pain as half of his blood was drained, and his body quickly aged and shriveled, becoming dry and frail—a horrifying sight.
"Linlin-sama, don't be so rash…" A voice called out from above. A thundercloud, Hera, descended from the sky, its face appearing in a human-like form. However, its eyes bore an unusual ripple pattern, different from Hera's usual appearance. The voice that came from it was not Hera's typical tone.
"Don't take too much of their life force, or their souls will weaken," the voice warned. As a result of the Soul-Soul Fruit's powers, souls were measured in terms of lifespan. If Linlin drained too much of their lifespan with her Vampire Zoan ability, the souls collected by the Soul-Soul Fruit would be greatly diminished, leading to significant losses.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma~ I almost forgot about you!" Linlin glanced at the unusual Hera, then returned the life force she had just drained back into Rear Admiral Mace. He reverted to his younger self, but his body remained skeletal, his skin sagging like a dried corpse after losing most of his blood. Linlin tossed him toward Hera, chuckling, "I'll leave the rest to you."
Before they had set off, Gerd had created a special soul clone, different from a typical Homie, using part of her own soul. This clone could temporarily inhabit Hera and inherit some of Gerd's abilities, allowing her to manipulate fear and incapacitate her targets, making it easy to extract their souls.
'Zap... zap…'
In a flash, Hera, under the control of Gerd's soul fragment, transformed into battle mode, with a menacing, demon-like face. A large hand, glowing with eerie light, emerged from Hera and passed through Mace's lifeless body, extracting his soul.
"Aaah!" Mace let out a final scream as his lifeless body fell to the ground.
'Zap... zap...'
Electricity crackled as Hera grinned wickedly, her demonic form diving toward the terrified Marines who had witnessed the scene, paralyzed with fear. "Now... let's feast!"
"Rear Admiral Mace!!"
"What is that thing?"
"Damn it, avenge the Rear Admiral!"
The Marines, overwhelmed by fear and rage, fired at Linlin and Hera, some even charging with their weapons drawn. But no matter what they did, their attacks had no effect.
"What's happening? Our attacks aren't working!" they shouted in confusion.
Bullets and blades simply passed through Hera's body, while cannon explosions did nothing to stop her advance. Their weapons were useless.
"Life or death?" Hera's eyes gleamed as an invisible wave of soul energy burst forth.
"What... what's going on?"
"I can't move…"
"No—!"
In an instant, the Marines within a ten-meter radius froze in place. Their souls began to rise from their bodies as if being forcibly torn away.
A massive, eerie hand reached out from above, sweeping over them. "Soul Harvest!!!"