That night, none of the residents of Angel Isnd could sleep. The day's terrifyis hauhem, leaving them anxious and filled with restless fear.

  Meanwhile, on the neighb Shandora Isnd, it was a night of celebration. Bonfires illumihe isnd as the Shandians sang, danced, and rejoiced. Having finally returo their aral nd, tless Shandians shed tears of joy, overwhelmed with emotion.

  As the ones who made this homeing possible, El and his crew from the Fallen Angel Pirates were honored by the Shandians with a grand bonfire ba. El, their leader, graciously accepted the hospitality of the Shandian chieftain. Ever sihe Fallen Angel Pirates had revealed themselves openly to the world, they had been embroiled in endless skirmishes with the Wover, with no time for celebrations—even when new crew members joined, no proper wele was held. This ba was a rare opportunity for his crew to rex, enjoy themselves, and streheir bonds.

  Before the festivities began, he had his crew bring fresh provisions, fruits, and special supplies from the ship. With the voracious appetites of people like him, Linlin, Gerd, and Lily, the Shandians' food stores wouldn’t have sted long.

  “Yo-ho-ho-ho~~~ Yo-ho-ho-ho~~~”

  “Yo-ho-ho-ho~~~ Yo-ho-ho-ho~~~”

  “Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo.”

  “Umikaze kimakase namimakase~.”

  “Shio no mukou de, yuuhi mo sawagu.”

  “Sora nya wa o kaku, tori no uta~.”

  Around the enormous bonfire, Shandians and Fallen Angel Pirates joined hands, dang joyfully in a circle as they sang “Binks no Sake,” a popur pirate tuh a catchy melody that even those without a sense of pitch could sing along with ease.

  “El, let’s daogether!” The beautiful Gerd, her face glowing with happiness, ran rabbing his hand and pulling him up. She had shrunk to nearly match his height, clearly prepared for this moment.

  “What?” Sitting beside El and mung on food, Linlin’s eyes widened with surprise and mild annoyance. “Gerd, that’s not fair…”

  “Hey, you were too slow to react!” Gerd replied cheerfully, unfazed, and offered with a grin, “Why don’t you join us?”

  “Fine, hehe…” Linlin’s smile returned as she took El’s other hand. She wouldn’t normally share this ce with anyone, but Gerd was an exception.

  “Alright, alright, I’ll dah you,” El ughed. He didn’t like putting on airs, and in rexed moments like these, he was always open and lighthearted. Holding both women’s hands, he joihe lively crowd around the bzing fire, keeping pace with the Shandians’ rhythm.

  “Stussy, quit staring already…”

  Nef, holding a bottle of wine, waved a hand in front of Stussy’s face, who was fixated on El’s t figure with wide-eyed admiratioaunted her with a smirk, “Dream all you want, but you’ve got no shot.”

  “Hmph, as if you do?” Stussy’s expression darkened, her gaze turning defiant as she straightened and gred back.

  “Oh, showing off just because you’re well-endowed, huh?” Nef muttered, eyes twitg in annoyance. “I could easily match you, but I wouldn’t stoop to something so… shameless.”

  As someone skilled in pharmacology, Nef khat with the right mixtures, she could amplify her appearance. But she preferred her natural self and saw no need for such theatrics.

  “Alright, bickering here won’t get us anywhere… You’re hoping for a ce with him too, aren’t you?” Stussy rolled her eyes, gng around before leaning in to whisper spiratorially, “After all, a man like that would never be tied down to just one or two women. So let’s work together, shall we?”

  “What do you mean?” Nef raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

  “We ’t drug someone as resistant as El…” Stussy lowered her voice. “But do you have anything that could knock out Linlin and Gerd? Just enough to make them feel like they’ve had too much to drink and drift off peacefully. If they’re sleeping soundly, we’d have our moment, don’t you think?”

  Nef’s eyes widened in shock, looking at Stussy cautiously. “Are you serious?”

  “Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Stussy sighed at Nef’s suspicious gaze. “I don’t mean anything drastic. Just enough for them to feel sleepy and doze off. Then we’d have our moment, don’t you think?”

  After all, Stussy was aware that El’s ambitioended far beyond a siionship. He was itted to the rger legacy of reviving the Lunarian line, which would likely involve more than a few people by his side.

  A few months ago, wheook a break from her studies iure try auro the Calm Belt, Stussy had noticed some distaween Sally and someone else. It seemed she’d already succeeded, which made Stussy more than a little envious.

  “Oh, I see...” Nef rexed visibly. Just moments before, she had been ready to take Stussy down, thinking she lotting something eous.

  “Hehe, I heard everything...” Lillian appeared beside them, smiling mischievously as she draped her arms around their shoulders. Her third eye, hiddeh a headband, sparkled with a peculiar gleam as she seemed to pick up on their ihoughts. “What sneaky little pns are you two whispering about?”

  “Ahem... nothing much,” Nef and Stussy replied, beads of sweat f on their foreheads. They exged gnces and quickly de in unison. Though El likely wouldn’t mind, they dreaded what Linlin and Gerd might do if they found out.

  “Oh, I clearly heard you saying something about knog out… 'ahem'...” Before she could finish, Nef and Stussy quickly cmped their hands over Lillian’s mouth, each taking one arm as they led her off into the forest.

  “Lillian, cut the nonsense. Don’t you like El-sama too?” Stussy whispered directly to her, still holding her mouth. “So... are you in?”

  Over the past few days, Stussy had learned about the new recruits. She khis young Three-Eyed Tribe girl was a huge admirer of El-sama, so she was fident Lillian would be ied.

  “Mm-hmm!” Lillian’s eyes widened as she nodded, uo speak. Of course, she liked El-sama. Who wouldn’t admire someone so perfed powerful?

  “Are we really going to do this?” As Nef and Stussy slowly released her mouth, her face flushed bright red as if caught in a guilty secret. g her fists, she asked in a nervous, excited voice, “Won’t we get caught?”

  “If we miss this ce, who knows when we’ll get another...” Stussy licked her lips, her voice low. “I’ve heard that El-sama pns to split the group. Linlin will lead some of us to a pce called Birka to find a supposedly powerful Devil Fruit…”

  “And he might be leaving Sky Isnd soon, taking Gerd, Uthan, and Ryan with him for something big!”

  “Really?” Lillian asked, wide-eyed in surprise. Tilting her head, she asked curiously, “But how exactly are you two pnning to knock out Linlin and Gerd? Linlin’s... well, practically inhuman, and Gerd’s Soul-Soul Fruit is crazy strong.”

  Just the thought of Linlin, with her incredible strength, and Gerd, whose Soul-Soul Fruit could render most poisons iive, made her skeptical. Gerd could simply i her soul into anything she ied, turning it into a Homie and expelling it.

  “That’s why I’m asking Nef...” Stussy said, casting an intense gaze at her.

  “If you’re set on doing this, it wouldn’t require any actual drugs,” Nef replied after a pause. Her eyes gleamed with a hint of mischief. “All we’d need is a bit of Elbaf’s giant-distilled ‘Absihat liquor is s even giants ’t ha. It’d knock them right out.”

  “Absinthe?” Lillian’s eyes widened in amazement.

  Stussy wasn’t as surprised. “The Absihey call ‘Green Fairy’? Isn’t that only avaible at our New World base or in Elbaf itself? And it’s s it causes halluations... It might be risky.”

  She khat this legendary liquor, potent enough to intoxicate even giants, could have bizarre effects if ed in excess. After witnessing Hajrudin and Witt drink themselves into a stupor ouff, she didn’t want to risk Linlin erd doing anything humiliating. If they found out someone was behind it, they’d be out for blood—and El-sama wouldn’t take it lightly either.

  “Fortunately, I’ve studied Absinthe’s properties,” Nef said with a sly grin. “I eveed a modified powder that mimics its effects. Dissolve it in any ordinary drink, and in about ten minutes, it’ll turn it into an Absinthe variant.”

  “It tastes slightly different, but it won’t raise suspis,” she tinued, clearly proud of her creation. “Uraditional Absi won’t induce heavy halluations. Instead, it’s desigo match the drinker’s desires and induce a dream-like state. I call it ‘Dreams e True’!”

  “I tested it on Hajrudin and the others—every time, they’d end up sleeping like logs, pletely tent. They’d wake up the day with no side effects.”