"M, Linlin!"
"M, Gerd!"
After freshening up, Linlin and Gerd stepped out of their rooms, exging cheerful smiles and greetings. Meanwhile, El, looking as spirited as ever, was already out training with Rock, Moss, Uthan, Sak, and Little Oars, showing no signs of fatigue.
Even Nef, Stussy, and Lillian, though a bit more subdued, were up and moving without much trouble. Their resilience was undeniable, and El had gone easy on them, sidering it was their first time. Despite the previous night’s events, they joihe m workout with only slight stiffness, thanks to Nef’s care as the ship’s doctor. They performed push-ups and sit-ups alongside the others, with Linlin and Gerd notig nothing unusual.
However, Tsuru occasionally cast them an odd gnce.
"Tsuru, is something wrong?" asked Lillian, trying to a despite feeling uneasy usuru’s scrutiny.
"Nothing at all," Tsuru replied, her cheeks flushing slightly as she quickly looked away to resume her training. She couldn’t very well admit that she’d eavesdropped oe-night plotting or mentiorange dreams she’d had afterward, inspired by the bits she’d overheard. Those three were certainly… spirited.
"Young people sure do have energy to spare," Dr. Kureha ented with a knowing look, sipping her drink as she roasted some meat nearby after a light warm-up.
"True enough," El replied with a smile, gng meaningfully toward Tsuru, who was trying to train without looking in his dire. "Might as well take advantage of that energy while we’re young, right, Tsuru?"
"Wh-what? El, I… uh…" Tsuru stammered, turning red as she shifted her gaze, clearly rattled. She had the feeling El had caught on to her antics from the night before, and now her face was burning with embarrassment. She desperately wished she could disappear as Linlin and Gerd exged fused gnces. Had they missed something?
…
Days passed swiftly.
Five days ter, on Atntis, he shores of God’s Isnd Upper Yard:
"Ugh… I’m exhausted!" Ryan groaned, lying ft on the ground, spent from his efforts.
In front of him stood around a dozen newly pleted angel robots, each about two meters tall, wieldiher swords, spears, or firearms. To enhaheir agility, Ryan had kept their interiors mostly hollow, aside from essential onry like mae guns and ammunition. The outer shell, crafted from shape-memory alloy, was sturdy and thick, ensuring these new angel Homies soldiers had the best possible performander current ditions.
"Nice work, Ryan," Gerd said with a warm smile. Over the past few days, the Shandians had been hosting celebratory bas for them, and, under Ryan’s guidance as a Munch-Munch Fruit user, Atntis had amassed over five thousand angel robots of various models, all ied into the newly expanded Homies angel army.
Some of these robots were even equipped with unique shell ons collected from the isnds—everything from basic impact dials to powerful jet dials—making eveandard troops signifitly stronger. Lucifer, the six-winged fallen angel, had also undergone Ryan’s enhas, now outfitted with formidable shell onry and boasting eveer power.
"Woosh—"
Gerd stepped forward, pressing her hands onto the angel robots and activating her Soul-Soul Fruit ability to ihem with souls. Instantly, these robotigels sprang to life, as if they possessed true sentience, and k on one knee before her, saying, "Master!"
"Just call me Gerd-sama," she responded, pointing at the modified six-winged fallen angel Homies leader. "From now on, Lucifer will be your ander. He’ll guide you in your duties."
"Yes, Gerd-sama," they replied in unison.
"Incredible power… the Soul-Soul Fruit is simply astonishing," remarked Shandia warrior Leo, who had been with awe as the angelic army assembled. Over the past few days, El had granted him the Dragon Fruit, Model: Velociraptor, and trained him in Armament Haki. Now, after training alongside Rock, Moss, and the others, Leo’s strength had increased expoially. He was fident that if he faced the “god” of Skypiea again, he would easily overwhelm him.
"Great job, Ryan… here’s some roasted meat for you!" said Little Oars, now in a form over teers tall, as he brought over several gigantic, freshly roasted ks of Sea Ki, pg them before Ryan.
"Thanks! Time to dig in!" Ryan, without further hesitation, opened his enormous jaws and began dev the food, using his Munch-Munch powers to restore his energy.
"I ’t make any more angel robots for now," Ryan sighed after finishing his meal. "We’ve pletely run through our supply of rare materials, so I’ll have to go on another resource run soon."
"No rush," El replied, smiling as he approached. "We already have an impressive number of Homies troops. Besides, to ehese forces are strong enough, each of them has a full soul infused within. The navy souls Gerd collected from their fi soldiers have almost all been used up!"
To El, these Homies, unless tered by a rare skill or a particurly powerful Haki user, would be far more effective in bat than even several times their number of elite navy troops. Ryan’s angel robots, while not individually powerful, were reinforced with whole souls from trained soldiers, allowing them to exhibit surprising strength.
"El-sama, should we tiargeting mariposts?" Nef asked with a mischievous smile. Acc to their pn, the less durable wax Homies troops would be used first. Ohey acquired more materials, they would begin crafting advanced angel Homies, infusing souls in a way that would maximize their efficy. The older wax soldiers would still serve as support troops, albeit with diminished bat power due to partial souls being divided among them, but their hard, steel-like bodies would remain a formidable barrier fur marine forces.
This strategy allowed them to reserve the majority of their soul resources for more powerful Homies. Even so, El aimed to amass an army of at least 100,000 Homies of various types, so they still needed more souls.
"That won’t be necessary. I have a better pn," El said, his eyes gleaming with a dark, amused glint.
"The world’s greatest undersea prison, Impel Down?" Linlin excimed, her eyes lighting up. "Maaamaaamaa… I like it!"
Gerd licked her lips eagerly, sharing the same excitement. "How thrilling! I ’t wait!"
Impel Down, the fortress known as inescapable, where tens of thousands of prisoners were held, many of them hardened criminals with immense power. Their souls were of the highest quality—more than enough to fulfill their needs for the final preparations of the Totto Land pn.
Bleam