Perona and the Gathering at the G-2 Branch!

Just as Ivan was looking around, a girl of about twenty years old, dressed in a Gothic Lolita dress, appeared beside him.

Upon seeing the girl, Ivan was stunned. He immediately recognized her as Ghost Princess Perona.

But isn't this little girl on Thriller Bark right now? How did she end up here?

Could it be that Moria also wants those two Devil Fruits?

Just as Ivan was slightly stunned, Perona floated in mid-air with her small umbrella, came to his side, swayed her pink twin tails gently, and asked, "Hey, do you want to join my team?"

She tilted her head, her tone slightly arrogant, and offered what she thought was an enticing deal, "After the mission, I can give you a treasure worth fifty million Beli."

Ivan snapped out of his reverie, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Why are you looking for me?"

Perona put her hands on her hips, snorted matter-of-factly, and looked him up and down. "Because I feel like you're pretty strong."

Upon hearing this, Ivan suddenly chuckled and said, "Since I'm so strong, won't you give me a Devil Fruit?"

Perona immediately wrinkled her nose, tossed her head back, and said haughtily, "Of course, the Devil Fruit should be left to Lord Moria! He still needs it to research an even more powerful Zombie Army!"

Besides, your strength is definitely inferior to mine, ho ho ho ho----"

Ivan silently thought to himself:

I was right.

Moria has been researching stronger zombies, and Perona's presence in this place is to obtain a new Devil Fruit to enhance Moria's zombies.

"Alright, now tell me, what abilities do you have?" Perona crossed her arms and stared curiously at Ivan O.

Ivan replied casually, "I can control the earth, and my Taijutsu are decent too."

Perona paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up, and she leaned closer excitedly. "Are you also Devil Fruit User? And with the ability to manipulate soil, just like the Fox in the Shadow Garden?"

It must be his lower-level ability, but it's not bad. With you here, my confidence in obtaining the Devil Fruit has increased even more!

Ivan accepted Perona's invitation to travel with her, but Ivan was not satisfied with Perona's arrangements.

He raised a question, "That's right, I feel I still have some ability. How about this, in the upcoming missions, we'll let our strength speak for itself. Whoever contributes the most will have the right to choose Devil Fruit, how about that?"

Perona agreed without hesitation, "Of course! This is no different from our current allocation, and my contribution will definitely be greater, ho ho ho ho----"

Looking at the confident Perona, Ivan smiled just as brightly.

I just hope you can be this confident in the future.

Because two important Devil Fruit are located in the G-2 Branch, the martial law in the G-2 Branch is even more stringent.

The martial law level for the entire branch has now increased several times over compared to the past.

On the sea, naval frigates were deployed in a circular blockade formation, with all their gun barrels pointing outwards, their black barrels gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

The lookout on the mast kept watch day and night, the telescopes were locked on every wave, and even seabirds flying by were closely monitored.

The entire base was shrouded in a somber atmosphere, with even the wind hesitant to howl, as if foreshadowing a Stormfront powerful enough to shake the New World about to begin.

This mission requires the deployment of Seastone powder, which has a powerful suppressive effect on Seastone users, including the Three Admirals.

Therefore, none of the Three Admirals were present during this operation; instead, Garp, who is not Devil Fruit User, was in charge.

Inside the G-2 Branch command office, Garp sat on a stool, still chewing on a rice cracker.

Below, Ivan and Onigumo stood by the window, surveying the changes in the G-2 Branch from their elevated position.

Suddenly, Onigumo's gaze sharpened, and a chilling killing intent instantly emanated from his body.

He pointed to the shadowy area below the window, where several pirates were lurking in the bushes.

Although they were very skilled at hiding and difficult to detect, they could not escape the observation of Observation Haki.

After confirming the identities of these pirates, Onigumo nodded repeatedly, his tone even carrying a hint of approval. "Vice Admiral Ivan, your idea is quite good."

Look, some foolish pirates have already sneaked in, including big shots like the Happo Navy and the Sweet Commanders!

Even if we don't manage to lure out the Shadow Garden, simply killing these infiltrated pirates would be a great achievement.

Ivan was also surprised by the arrival of the Happo Navy and the Sweet Commanders.

But he soon understood.

In the Pirate King anime, only a little over two hundred Devil Fruit User have appeared, which shows how precious Devil Fruit are.

In the Dressrosa Arc, a single Flame-Flame Fruit attracted a fierce struggle among numerous factions; how much more so would two Devil Fruits, considered the foundation of the Navy?

He said calmly, "Devil Fruit are the treasures of the sea, extremely important strategic resources. It's perfectly normal for the Happo Navy and Big Mom Pirates to be eyeing them."

Upon hearing this, Garp simply waved his hand dismissively, looked directly at Ivan, and got straight to the point. "Never mind these bastards, I'm asking you, have the people from Shadow Garden arrived yet?"

Compared to Shadow Garden, even the Sweet Three Sweet Commanders are just small fry!

Ivan slowly turned around, his tone certain. "We've definitely arrived. They're hidden deep within a corner of the G-2 Branch."

Garp raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, and asked casually, "You seem quite confident, but what makes you so sure?"

Ivan slightly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the two of them, and slowly spoke, his tone calm yet full of confidence. "My Observation Haki is very special, unlike ordinary Observation Haki, it possesses extremely keen perception."

Although I couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the target or identify who it was, I could clearly sense the aura of all the powerful individuals within this area, as well as their varying levels of strength.

He paused, then added, his eyes becoming more serious:

Now, within the entire G-2 Branch, besides you, Mr. Garp, there is a monster whose aura far surpasses that of everyone else.

That aura was something these infiltrated pirates could never possess, nor could it be matched by the branch's naval officers. Aside from the top experts of Shadow Garden, there couldn't be another like it.

A brief silence fell over the office. He knew that this game, using Seastone powder as bait, was finally about to begin.

Before they knew it, night had fallen. From time to time, the sounds of clashing blades and pitiful screams could be heard from the outskirts of the G-2 Branch.

Even the surrounding air was filled with the stench of blood.

In a corner, Ivan and Perona hid behind the bushes, looking down and seeing the entire G-2 Branch.

Perona's beautiful eyes narrowed as she muttered, "This is troublesome. The defenses are so tight; many famous pirate crews have been wiped out. How are we going to sneak in?"

Ivan suggested, "I have a way. I can manipulate the soil, and we can go underground."

Perona's eyes lit up. "That's great! Let's go!"