Vladimir let out a cold snort, his expression extremely grim. "A bunch of idiots! Just now, Shadow Fiend appeared here and took Nicholas away!"
"What?" Everyone was shocked.
An hour ago, Mynogear was captured. The government had specifically increased patrol strength. Yet, only an hour later, another Celestial Dragon disappeared.
"Father?!" At this moment, a cry of alarm came from the doorway. The Celestial Dragon who had left earlier appeared, his face full of panic.
However, his panic seemed not to be for his father, but for his own safety.
Vladimir glanced at him and noticed that the servant behind him was holding two small boxes.
Those must be Devil Fruits!
Taking a deep breath, Vladimir looked at the leader, his face ashen. "You bunch of useless fools! Go and gather all the ability users, especially that idiotic early-warning one!"
With that, he flicked his sleeve and left, leaning on his cane, radiating immense fury.
Everyone's hearts tightened. This was the Five Elders' fury, and those guys were likely in for punishment.
"Damn it!" the leader thought irritably. "I was nearby, my Observation Haki covering a thousand-meter radius, but in an instant, Nicholas's presence just vanished…"
Shadow Fiend was truly terrifying!
Shivering, he immediately went to notify the other ability user members.
Meanwhile, Vladimir left Mynogear's mansion.
He walked along, but the old man's furious shouts echoed in his mind.
"You lunatic!! How dare you do such a thing!! You're trying to instill a sense of crisis in all the Celestial Dragons, forcing them to reveal the 'national treasure'!"
"Shut up, old man. Didn't anyone tell you that you're annoying? You've been babbling non-stop since a moment ago."
He paused, then couldn't help but chuckle. "Besides, this has nothing to do with me. It was 'you' who did it!"
"Bastard!"
The old man with the cane was consumed by rage, wishing he could tear Shadow Fiend to shreds.
However, he could only imagine it. He was being controlled and had no way to resist.
...
Soon, the news of Nicholas being captured by Shadow Fiend spread throughout the Holy Land. All the Celestial Dragons learned of it, living in fear. Many had already gone to the World Government building to denounce the government's incompetence.
In the conference room of the building, the five old men who held the world's highest authority gathered once more.
However, this time, no one spoke. Their faces were all extremely grim.
"Madmen! A bunch of madmen! All madmen!"
After a long silence, the old man with the sword muttered fiercely, seemingly at no one in particular.
Vladimir also put on a grim expression, but inwardly, he was secretly laughing.
...
The atmosphere in the conference room was extremely heavy.
The Five Elders sat around the round table, their faces looking extremely grim. Especially Vladimir, who seemed to be seething with rage.
"Hateful!"
Vladimir swept his gaze over the other four and said hatefully, "That damned Shadow Fiend, he abducted Nicholas right in front of me! That guy is trying to threaten us with this!"
"Two Celestial Dragons have been captured consecutively. Now, a group of Celestial Dragons has gathered below the government building, and they're panicking, demanding we handle this quickly!"
"How do we handle it? That guy can traverse space; he's impossible to catch!"
"We can only protect the Celestial Dragons… Shadow Fiend's direct combat power isn't strong. As long as they aren't alone, he won't have a chance to attack!"
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.
Vladimir chuckled inwardly. He had no interest in capturing Celestial Dragons. Capturing Nicholas was due to the deal with Mynogear.
His objective was still Devil Fruits.
With this thought, he asked in a deep voice, "What about the Devil Fruits? The government's Devil Fruits are safe, but the Celestial Dragons each have some, more or less. Shadow Fiend will target those fruits!"
"Have them hand them over and store them with us uniformly, to be returned later," the square-faced old man suggested, but then shook his head himself.
"How can Celestial Dragons possibly hand over their fruits? Even if some are willing, others won't agree."
"Then, those who are willing can hand them over, and those who aren't can fend for themselves."
"Alright, it's decided. Have someone notify them."
The blond, square-faced old man nodded and immediately summoned a soldier to relay the matter.
At the same time, he ordered the ability user corps to be summoned.
Not long after, a group of people wearing white-bordered robes entered the conference room. On the backs of their robes was a special corps emblem.
This emblem was not the Celestial Dragon flag, nor the World Government flag, but a shield with a cross star.
After listening for a while, Vladimir had learned about them.
This elite unit was called the "Holy Guard," an army specifically tasked with protecting the Holy Land, directly under the Commander-in-Chief, and also obeying the Five Elders.
The Holy Guard consisted of 22 members. The commander was Kong, there was one vice-commander with a rank equivalent to a Navy Admiral, and the remaining twenty were all "Major General" rank.
Every single one of them was an ability user!
Vladimir sized up this group and nodded inwardly. This army alone was a formidable force. Although far from Marine Headquarters, it was more than sufficient to protect the Holy Land.
If the Phantom Organization were to launch a full-scale assault, they would likely need to deploy at least two Dominator-level executives, considering the five unknown Five Elders.
Of course, if it were a five-star Sea Dragon, perhaps one would be enough.
"Greetings, Five Elders!"
____________________
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