The Twelve Zodiacs! Promoted to Major!

What surprised Luo Yi was that.

After carrying his precious "Source of Life" back to the dormitory, he actually received word, just as Hina had said, that Vice Admiral Billoss wanted to see him.

And when Luo Yi curiously arrived at Vice Admiral Billoss's office, he saw that the usually irreverent vice admiral was unusually serious, staring at something on his desk.

"Kid Luo Yi, back already?"

"Yeah, haven't had a chance to report to you yet."

Luo Yi nodded: "Sorry, I couldn't find any trace of the attacker at Master Port."

He said this as a matter of course—if he was the one leading the search for "Rooster" at Master Port, it would be a miracle if they actually found anything.

"Never mind. Not finding anything might be a good thing."

Vice Admiral Billoss waved his hand: "This incident is far more complicated than we estimated."

"Oh?"

Luo Yi feigned curiosity: "What happened?"

"Have a seat first. This is one of the things I called you here to discuss."

Vice Admiral Billoss said gravely: "You and your subordinates are involved in this incident, so I have to tell you what we've discovered so far."

"Oh?"

Luo Yi grew even more 'curious': "Go on."

"First, about the attacker who stole the Celestial Gold."

Vice Admiral Billoss spoke in a low voice as he picked up something from his desk and showed it to Luo Yi.

Then, Luo Yi saw it.

"A wanted poster?"

It was a wanted poster.

Rarely, the center of the poster had no photo, but a drawing—a tall figure with dragon scales on his neck, wearing a Rooster Mask.

And on the wanted poster, it clearly read:

[WANTED]

[DEAD OR ALIVE]

[ROOSTER]

[BELLY - 170,000,000]

"170 million Belly?"

This number shocked Luo Yi.

Because this was a first-time bounty.

And among first-time bounties, even two of the current Four Emperors—Big Mom and Kaido—had only been offered 50 million Belly and 70 million Belly respectively.

170 million was an astonishing figure.

"Can't be helped."

Vice Admiral Billoss shook his head: "After all, this guy stole a massive amount of Celestial Gold. The World Government and the Kingdom of Nysmal are putting enormous pressure on us."

He sighed: "And according to Lan Li, who has woken up, the opponent possesses overwhelming power and the traits of a Zoan Devil Fruit, able to transform into an enormous Ancient Pterosaur."

"Furthermore, he believes the opponent is likely a Mythical Zoan user—because they used something similar to Elementalization in battle."

"Fortunately, it seems the opponent underestimated him. Though they pierced his abdomen with a powerful attack, they failed to kill him. That's how we got so much information, including the name 'Rooster'."

He enunciated the somewhat awkward syllables.

"The headquarters is investigating, but so far, no similar Devil Fruit has been found."

"But if what Lan Li says is true, and the opponent is a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user, then just that fruit ability alone is worth this bounty."

Luo Yi nodded, finding this reasoning fairly sound.

But then, he asked with some 'hesitation': "A Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit? Isn't that the rarest and most powerful type? And 'Rooster' doesn't sound like a real name."

"It's definitely not a real name!"

Vice Admiral Billoss's expression grew even heavier: "That's the second piece of information I need to tell you."

"The prisoner you brought back from Master Port, after interrogation by headquarters, revealed many shocking things."

"Including an organization."

At this, a flicker of 'alarm' passed through Luo Yi's eyes.

"An organization?"

"Yes. According to him, he comes from an organization and is only an outer member."

"So he doesn't know the specifics. All he knows is the organization's name—[The Twelve Zodiacs]."

Vice Admiral Billoss enunciated those four words slowly and deliberately.

"According to him, this organization has twelve high-ranking cadres and one supreme leader."

"And 'Rooster' is the code name of one of those twelve high-ranking cadres."

At that, Luo Yi shot up from his seat, his voice booming: "What!? Something like this actually happened!"

But while putting on an Oscar-worthy performance, Luo Yi thought to himself.

"That kid Alan is reliable after all."

That was right.

Everything Vice Admiral Billoss was saying now came as no surprise to Luo Yi.

The reason was simple.

Because all of this had been arranged by Luo Yi himself.

The two things he had previously sent Alan to do—first, using a clone to pilot the Kingdom of Nysmal's royal merchant ship out of G-51 branch's port.

Second, to feed the Navy exactly the 'intelligence' Vice Admiral Billoss was now stating.

As for the reason behind it, that was simple too.

Luo Yi understood clearly—to acquire enough Belly, he would inevitably rely on the power of the Slice-Slice Fruit to continuously split off Slice Clones and earn Belly through various means.

This Celestial Gold heist was only the first time, but it would absolutely not be the last.

And anything that exists will inevitably leave traces.

So, to ensure he himself wasn't discovered.

What Luo Yi needed to do was muddy the waters.

The murkier the water, the easier it was for him to fish.

Thus, he had long since formed a plan.

He would fabricate an organization—one that didn't exist, but was destined to rise to fame in the future as a 'powerful organization.'

He would divert the attention of the Navy, and even the World Government, entirely onto that organization, thereby concealing his own existence.

Compared to nameless, faceless powerful Ability Users popping up one after another.

A 'mysterious organization' that had long existed in the shadows, plotting some conspiracy, would clearly keep the World Government too busy to focus elsewhere.

This Celestial Gold Heist incident was his first attempt.

He had let that Colonel escape on Arashit Island and refrained from killing Commodore Lan Li, all to feed this information back to the Navy.

And judging from the bounty situation and Vice Admiral Billoss's current attitude—his plan had clearly been very successful.

At that moment, Vice Admiral Billoss continued speaking.

"The Criminal Investigation Department is gathering intelligence on that organization, but so far they've found nothing."

He said in a grave tone.

"So they want you to provide a detailed report of your search at Master Port, and they also asked me to remind you—"

He looked seriously at Luo Yi: "That guy named Alan will be locked up in Impel Down's fifth level. Don't mention any intelligence about him from now on."

"Until the existence of that organization called the 'Twelve Zodiacs' is proven, all intelligence on this matter will be classified."

"Yes, sir!"

And Luo Yi naturally had no objections.

He wasn't surprised by the Navy's judgment.

Relying solely on a single 'Rooster' was clearly not enough to make the Navy truly believe in the existence of the [Twelve Zodiacs] organization.

And for that, he already had his next step planned.

But what Luo Yi didn't expect was that just as he thought everything was settled, Vice Admiral Billoss suddenly changed the subject.

"Besides that, I have two more things to tell you."

"First, regarding your mission this time, I've already put in a good word for you with Sengoku."

As he spoke, he took something out from his chest.

And Luo Yi recognized it at a glance—it was a shoulder insignia exclusive to officers of colonel rank or above.

"The higher-ups believe your proactive decision to act as the temporary commander of Master Port was very brave, and the intelligence provided by the criminal you escorted back is also very important—so, as of today."

"You are now—Major Luo Yi!"