Chapter 19 - Hazardous Punk Hazard (Part 3)

Before the Straw Hats arrived on Punk Hazard. Three people were of note on the island. Three people needed to be put in the spotlight.

The first of these people was Law. He was here overseeing the operations of the SAD. However, in his mind, his real objective was to destroy the whole production and kidnap the only man capable of producing the substance. If the substance's production stopped, then the golden star of the Underworld would lose his place. The Black Market's biggest name, Joker, would lose the production of his most profitable product. Smile. By losing SMILE, Joker would be in the crosshairs of an Emperor, and that was precisely what Law wanted.

On the other side of the room were two people that wanted Joker to succeed and were deeply loyal to the man himself. On one side, we had a woman with harpy characteristics by the name of Monet. She was a gorgeous green-haired woman with golden eyes. With the powers over snow, she was quite the deadly Logia, but not too strong. Law could win against her if it ever came down to it. However, it wasn't necessary anymore. She was already dealt with. She didn't know it yet. She was deeply entrenched into Joker's camp and was a special officer, ensuring that Caeser stayed in line and kept producing the substance. All transportation was safely delivered to Dressrosa. She was incorruptible and would give up her life for Joker. That was the impression given. There was no way to ever change the mind of this woman. She would live and die by Joker, Donquixote Doflamingo.

On the other hand, you had someone like Caesar Clown, a droll man with purple hair and an irritating voice. The man was tall, wearing a coat of his own gas powers, another Logia. This time it was a mere dangerous power, the power over gas, thank goodness the man was only a scientist and did not explore his powers for the purpose of fighting, he was quite pathetic in that front. A scientist under Joker's employ and the only man known to the world who could produce SAD, the main ingredient for Joker's darling product. Caesar was an enemy to many, but under Joker, he gained special protection and great compensation for his services, sop Caser was pretty loyal to Joker due to the security and the cushy lifestyle, as well as tools to advance his research and hobby.

Monet was to be eliminated if his plans were to succeed. Caesar needed to be the leverage against Joker.

The main mission was split into two parts: Destroy the SAD production here in Punk Hazard and capture Caesar Clown alive.

If Law could take out a member of the family here, then that was all the better. Law had nothing against Monet, but she was far too loyal to Doflamingo. Most, if not all, of the family members were loyal and would readily die for Doflamingo.

X❖X

"So then, we should be making use of that substance, maybe then those children, those failed experiments can be of use to something." The mad scientist Caser Clown was rambling away with his chemicals. The man liked his substances way too much. Most of the time, his experiments were for naught. He liked using live-experiments too, preferably humans. He disguised himself as a benevolent doctor to the men on this island, but it was a propagated lie in reality. He was the one causing the harm all along.

Caesar Clown made a mockery of science, medicine, and ethics. However, he was important to Joker, so Monet tolerated his existence. Her family was big on loyalty and close bonds with each other, but Caesar Clown was not a part of her family. Caser Clown was just an employed subordinate, nothing more. As long as he produced SAD, he would be tolerated. Monet loved her family a whole lot, despite all the underground mafia business, or perhaps because of that, she loved her job. However, she hated slimeballs like Caesar. She could not bring herself to like those types at all. She was very smart, and her specialty was math, of all things. Monet liked numbers. She liked them very much. She was basically the one keeping the money operations going on the black market. The black market was a painful place for her because of her gender, but she was powerful and her power intimidating. So she lived her life for Joker and Joker alone. She even started liking her job a few years back.

Though, there are so many slimy people in the underground. They are nothing like my family.

Monet also hated another type of person, backstabbers. She was a beautiful backstabber of her own, and she hated people like her—especially people who betray her family. And right now, she was diligently watching someone who wanted to betray her precious family.

Law had been spending months in Punk Hazard now. He's going to make his move soon. The boy thinks he can outsmart the Donquixote Family. Monet had a pleasant expression, but oh, how she wanted to see the brat die.

"Reports of a Navy Ship approaching the snowy island. We believe that Vice-Admiral Smoker is onboard."

"Whaaat?!" The irritating voice of the slimeball reached her ears. Caesar Clown continued his surprised noises as it almost made her have a headache. Couldn't people appreciate the pleasant quiet and the serene noises of a pen on parchment anymore? Why do people need to be so loud all the time?

Law was also very irritated by it. It was a pity the boy was a backstabber. He could have had a great future in the family. Couldn't he see that the family was worth something?

To Monet, the family was worth more than even the fabled One Piece. No amount of money or riches or fame could replace what she had right now. But then again, people put values on different things in life. She knew that Law had a troubled past and was quite the psychotic child and was never ever grateful. Years later, he returns as an accomplished pirate with a big ego and big dreams. The family never passes through his mind. Monet was four years older than him; Monet was not familiar with him when he was a child. Monet was saved by Doflamingo after Law had already left the family and the second Corazon had betrayed Joker. In her eyes, he was just a moody and edgy brat who was spiting their family over nothing but a shot at fame because now he's a "big" and "important" pirate of the Worst Generation.

In any case, Punk Hazard should not be so easily accessed by the Navy, especially after the duel between admirals. For the Navy, they rather erase this island from their memories. This place has a lot of bad history for them. Punk Hazard stayed isolated because of that sentiment. The marines wanted nothing to do with this place anymore.

"Grr... We can't let the Navy know what we are doing here. When will they arrive?" Caesar was still freaking out when he asked.

"We suspect they will arrive in 30 minutes from now." The jumpsuit soldier responded.

What followed was Caesar commanding Law to go and deal with the threat. Law was their biggest fighting force Caser had, and Caser had the leverage against Law because he had his heart as an assurance that Law wouldn't betray him. Smoker was certainly powerful; however, Law's bounty was above 900 million for a reason. While he was massively weaker than Joker, Monet had to respect that Law commanded that much fear from the Government to allow for such a high bounty.

"Alright, I'll go."

Law raised himself and silently walked out of the room to meet the navy that he would soon fight. Not realizing that Monet was smirking behind his back.

Monet smiled after he left. He didn't even know that they were prepared for his betrayal. "You do know that he will most likely use this to betray us, right Caesar?"

"Shororo~ No matter how much he thinks he's outsmarted us. I have his heart. Any sign of betrayal, and I will immediately crush it." Caesar revealed Law's beating heart in front of Monet, encased in gelatin, the heart still beats, even if removed from the body.

"I also called for some reinforcements. I thought Law would be acting soon. If this plan doesn't, then he can deal with Law, isn't that right, Vergo?"

Monet smiled as someone walked in from the shadows. Accompanied by a fighter from the family.

Vergo was an imposing man with a long and white coat. He had sunglasses with golden frames. He was quite tall and had a neat beard. He was a Vice-Admiral of the Navy, but he was always Joker's right-hand man for everything. Both grew up together and when the family was formed. Vergo offered to be Joker's inside man in the Navy. Vergo grew in the Navy and was well-respected by the top brass and loved by his subordinates. He passed off as a well-meaning gentleman, but under that exterior was a stern man doing everything he could for Joker's success in the New World. Like her, he was loyal to the family. He was also her de facto boss.

Accompanying him was Gladius, a man with spiky silver hair and a gas mask with round glasses covering his face and a dark tailcoat surrounding his body. Gladius belonged to another army in Joker's family; however, Gladius was accompanying Vergo on this mission. The New World was still reeling from the news of one of the Endpoints being destroyed. As well as the deaths of two Vice-Admirals. One by the hands of the new threat of Ain, the woman of regression. As well as the Straw Hat crew that was sailing near these waters after Kazanonsen by the reports. As well as Law's increase in power. Extra manpower here was what Joker himself wanted. You could never be too careful. Not on this crazy sea. Gladius was a man with the power over ruptures, quite the tough fighter. His paramecia fruit was quite strong, and the man has won his fair share of colosseum battles. Enough to be a darling for the public of Dressrosa.

Gladius was quite cranky to be under Vergo since Gladius himself belonged to another army in the family itself, but Joker's orders were absolute in the family.

The problem being Gladius acted all tsundere around her. Monet didn't like his crazy affection. She was more in love with Doflamingo than anything. Monet was single and all and didn't let her unrequited love get in the way of work. She was devoted to Doflamingo more than anything. So she couldn't really handle other people's feelings for her. She rather not deal with all that confusion.

By the time Law went to greet the Marines. Another concerning report came. The dragon that was roaming the island had its heart rate spiking in odd ways. The report came from those monitoring it. The dragon was another experiment made from Caesar's hobby of messing around with organisms. It was protecting something especially important to Caesar, so he was quite shocked. Vergo and Gladius were new on this island, so they didn't have the capacity to move around much without getting lost, and the gas roaming around was a problem even for the mighty Vice-Admiral Vergo. Having said that, Monet was quite the fast woman in the air. She could cross the central lake in less than a minute if needed.

Caesar was quite happy that she was going. She would take a transponder snail with her to report on any happenings to Vergo and Caesar. In any case, the dragon was quite tough; anyone messing around with it would be quite the strong intruder.

X❖X

What happened next, that was already known; Monet took a group of centaur with her. And then she spotted the Straw Hats hunting down the dragon all over the island. The preliminary ambush with the centaurs didn't work. So she called Brownbeard's forces to ambush them on the other side. And when that didn't work, she used her powers over snow to trigger a big avalanche that separated their group. And then she hunted down the Captain of the Straw Hats, Monkey D. Luffy, by herself. She was confident that she could drown him in snow in that ice cave; however, the unthinkable happened.

Currently, she was on the newly formed river now. Monet looked at her transponder snail. The thing was melted. Poor things can't handle the heat, and she had almost burned when she was a few hundred meters away from a bright mini-sun. The poor thing couldn't survive. She was cut from communications with Vergo. That was the worst possible outcome. She had to return to the lab and call for Joker for reinforcements. This wasn't the level where they could fight back. Vergo was unbelievably strong, but there were too many enemies on the island. The Straw Hats arrival was extremely bad news. The Straw Hats had few members, but they were a group with so many high bounties. The Captain was worth 800 million berries after the events of his arrival in the New World and killing countless marines and two Rear-Admirals for fun.

In contrast, Zoro, who had killed a Vice-Admiral, had his bounty increased to 520 million berries. The other Straw Hats all had increases of 50 million berries in bounty after all that. The Navy was now taking the threat seriously since the Straw Hats were one of the darker crews in the sea currently.

There were too many high-profile enemies here. Three of the Worst Generation. Law, Luffy, and Zoro.

"Monet-sama!" the ones rushing down the mountain were not beasts like that bat creature, but the Yeti Cool Brothers instead. They were Giants that loved to hunt with their rifles. They were worth 50 million berries each. Their coat was without its frosty cover since the climate was now humid and hot. However, they still wielded their rifles on the lookout.

"Soon, Monkey D. Luffy will come looking for me. Can you stall him while I bring out reinforcements?"

"Yes, Monet-sama." The Yeti Brothers responded with a salute. Quite the foolish hunters. They weren't well aware of the world news, so they did not know what was happening here. Monet was sacrificing them so she could escape. They were basically meat shields. Surprised as they were by the island changing its weather, flora, and fauna. They did not know who the cause of such a shift was. They were about to meet the monster capable of such a thing.

They were sacrificial pawns in Monet's mind. She flew away, with them still saluting her, with grinning faces. Not knowing that only death awaited them. Not so different from Brownbeard and his crew of centaurs, she had used them against the Straw Hats, knowing that they stood no chance.

X❖X

Back at the lab, before the mini-sun lit Punk Hazard and things changed. Monet was reporting to them what she saw on the flaming island. She saw the dragon getting slain by the intruders and what intruders were they. They were the Straw Hats, with the goddamn monster at the helm Monkey D. Luffy. His exploits and recent reports of cruelty have been circulating on the underground. And his presence posed a giant risk. In any case, Vergo was confident he could snuff out the Straw Hat lives on this island and the G-5 if need be. Many different enemies were mounting up in Punk Hazard, and this was not good at all. Smoker was here, so that also jeopardized Vergo's position. If it ever got out that Vergo was a traitor, then their inside man would have to leave the Navy. That would also reflect badly upon Joker. In any case, at least the G-5 and Smoker could not leave this island alive. They needed to be dealt with before they discovered the secrets inside of the lab.

As for the Straw Hats, Monet mounted an ambush with Brownbeard, a hardy pirate captain that has been in their service for a long time. However, the unthinkable happened. The centaur pirates that were loyal to them got murdered one by one. Monet was made to realize how brutal the Straw Hats really were. It reminded her of the past days of the Donquixote Family when they were but a fledgling group wandering around the world. Nowadays, things were peaceful in Dressrosa and the bloody days of the Donquixote Family were almost over. This reminded Monet of how things really were and how fragile life could be when faced with a predator higher than them.

Monet had reported Brownbeard's death to the worry of Caesar and indifference for Vergo and Gladius. Caesar was ready to blow a gasket; there were too many fronts to this conflict. It was getting impossible to breathe easy.

Monet went with her plan of snuffing the Captain of the Straw Hats, Monkey D. Luffy, and that was the last thing they've heard from her.

Things went dark after that.

X❖X

Monet had left to deal with the intruders on the fiery island, and then she ambushed them with the forces of Brownbeard. However, at that point, any connections with her were cut after she reported Brownbeard's death. And then barrages of notices came to the room where Caser was situated. Vergo was eating his hamburger, and Gladius tapped his feet impatiently while dirking tea. There was a tension in the room, which was broken with the report. Law had betrayed them and was allying himself with the Straw Hats. Caesar was already ready to blow with anxiety and tension over the situation. And this was the perfect opportunity for his outbursts. The droll scientist picked up the heart from his sleeve and then, in a smooth motion, stabbed the heart with a knife, right at the table where both Gladius and Vergo were snacking on their lunch. Gladius complained as always; things like that soured his tea. However, Vergo was strangely relieved that the brat had died so easily like that. But then again, it was hard to pick up any emotion from the man with the shades.

However, that wasn't the whole story. Law had switched the heart with a soldier's heart, and that wasn't the only trickery he had performed ever since arriving in this place. The three henchmen of Joker were at a severe disadvantage.

And then, it happened. Lush life filled the cameras of the feed of outside. The perma-frost island turned into a lush rainforest with foggy landscapes. It was quite beautiful, but this only made Caesar's anxiety soar higher.

This time Vergo lifted himself. "I'll go monitor the SAD rooms." This was the first time he spoke ever since he arrived here. Caesar was almost surprised. He left and walked the dark corridors. Vargo wasn't familiar with the place. However, he always had good intuition. However, even then, he had a lot of pride. Even with overwhelming enemy forces, Vergo still wanted this incident resolved without even needing to call Joker. That would prove to be his eventual downfall.

"I'll go look for Monet. And find the cause of this bizarre shift." Gladius lifted himself and went to the upper floors. There should be something that caused such a shift in the ecology of the land itself. It wasn't normal. It was creepy and unsettling. The fact that Monet was not responding to their calls also worried him a lot. It wasn't like her to be quiet. She was crafty and resourceful. Monet wouldn't go quiet over this incident unless something bad happened.

X❖X

"Hrm, what to do now?"

Luffy asked Robin as he surveyed the crater.

All around the peak of one of the mountains was one big blasted off the crater. The heat was so much so that it disintegrated the ground and the icy cave they were in. And like a volcano top exploding, it launched debris across the island. Some even landing on the fairway central lake that was still icy cold. There was no telling what kinds of new biological systems were formed on the island due to his power. His power wasn't that precise to actually manipulate what news creatures, plants, and other lifeforms now existed. It was a big box of surprises in the end. In any case, a few million years passed for this island's biological lifeforms. Before, only a few wolves and leopards and furry creatures lived; however, it was now a dark verdant forest with humid grass and a large canopy. There were misty landscapes with fog so dense it was hard to see.

He had protected Robin from the Mini-Sun with a little bubbly invisible shell that was made from his own Haki. Surprising that his Haki was a bit stronger than a Mini-Sun? Well, that was to be expected. He trained both his body and will to keep up with his own powers. It would be meaningless to only focus on his devil fruits to do all the work. He wasn't that much of a weakling to only rely on them. Of course, he only had these two amazing and terrifying devil fruits for a bit under a year at this point. He was inventive and quite proficient, but he was far from being a master. In cases such as this, he could only exaggerate the results. It was hard to grasp control over these two fruits since their powers were so overwhelming. Some of the things he could do could literally end the world if he was not careful. Such was the power over exponentials and the power to transform into a literal god controlling the heavens. One thing to note is that Luffy could transform into a hybrid form and a full Zoan form of his fruit. He did not do so because they were so overkilling it wasn't funny.

Luffy had yet to meet an opponent other than dear Hancock that could warrant such a transformation.

For reference, his hybrid form called the spirit of Indra to his physical body, and the full form transformed him into an intangible spirit of a God, shedding his physical form. Luffy called the hybrid transformation, the avatar form where he became the avatar of Indra. And then the God transformation where he shed his physical form to embody the ruler of heaven.

Robin was now smiling at the result. She saw some form of flying squirrels on the canopy. They were so agile and fast they zipped around it. Some wolves were now quite tall and were scampering about in the mountains. There were some giant cousins of the cows, with eight legs bathing in the icy lake. There were so many new species.

"We need to catch up to the harpy lady, don't you think?"

"Yes, let's take it easy. Punk Hazard is an enjoyable place."

Luffy smiled at her, and both descended the mountain they were in at a pleasant pace. Not too rushed, they had nothing to fear. And they moved as if they were on vacation together. Analyzing and commenting on the new flora and fauna they encountered. The animals were really shy in nature and hid upon meeting them for the first time. But soon, the aura of the Supreme King started attracting these animals, and they all started approaching Luffy. Luffy was really good with animals. He was a hunter at heart and killed for food and gourmet reasons, but small animals weren't on his plate at all. They were just cute creatures that he liked petting once in a while.

Luffy saw a little bunny jackalope coming in. It was quite a huge animal, at least three times the size of a raccoon dog. To make things clearer, it reached the size of Robin's waist. Quite the cute little animal it was. Robin was already petting it. Luffy crouched to pet the large jackalope rabbit, and they were treated with a high-class fur that was fluffy heaven. Luffy was quite content with playing with the animal along with Robin, so much so that he even forgot to hunt down the harpy woman, such was the easygoing nature of Luffy and Robin. They were in a laidback state, not really concerning themselves with serious stuff anymore. Both wanted to relax and be at peace. And playing around with animals was a happy distraction. Much different than the anxiety-filled Donquixote Family on this island. The people with crushed pride, such as the marines. Or the serious nature of the larger Straw Hat group with Law and the situation with the children and the lady samurai named Kikunojo.

However, their good leisure time was interrupted by a sniper shot. The poor jackalope bunny was shot in the head with a large bullet. It was a precise rifle by some Giants hiding in the forest a few hundred meters away. Their fur coat was for camouflage in the blizzard, but now that the landscape had completely changed, the coats were making them the center of attention. Luffy sighed. There was nothing as bad as interrupting his good time. People really needed to learn respect and fear when it came to him. He was even letting the harpy woman go, but with the cute jackalope bunny dead, he felt disgust welling up inside.

These people couldn't let sleeping dragons lie, could they?

Robin was also truly angry, perhaps angrier than even he was. She was seething by his side—she was a woman who appreciated all things cute, and having such a cute little bunny shot by a rifle made her seethe hard. She wanted the snipers dead.

Another shot came towards Robin's head, But Luffy raised his arm, and the bullet shattered upon contact with his biceps, protecting Robin. They not only shoot the bunny, but now they were shooting dear Robin instead.

These people had an excessively big death wish.

Luffy approached them without fear, with Robin on top of his left shoulder. She used her power and slapped both rifles away. No matter how much they used traps or bullets, nothing would have worked without a powerful Haki that could pierce Luffy's hard skin. They were both on the ground and looking at the monster approaching them.

"You know, I am not really keen on killing you, Giants. I always liked you people."

"Monet-sama told us to kill you. You are in her way. And in the way of our business on this island!" One of the brothers yelled on the ground and tried to lift himself but was just slapped by a bigger hand than his own body—courtesy of Robin's scary powers.

"Oh, do you hear that? The harpy woman is named Monet, Luffy." Robin smiled. There was still a vengeful glint in her eyes.

"We have business with this Monet. Can you lead us to her? If you do so, I promise you, we won't kill you or her." Luffy opened his hands and offered a fine proposal. The harpy was a unique woman. He definitely wanted someone like that on his crew, if possible.

However, the two Giants did not want to give Monet's location away. They were stubborn, even while knocked on the ground and faced with greater threats than themselves. Robin's smile became larger and darker.

Luffy groaned. He pressed his hands on her thighs. She was sitting on his shoulder with that cruel smile. "I guess it's that time. I really respect the Giants and don't normally go killing them, but..."

Robin also had a great deal of debt towards the Giants, more specifically Saul, who was a very important person in her past. However, there was no helping them. These people interrupted them in their leisure time, tried to kill her, and then kept being stubborn when Luffy only wanted information. They were still struggling and not surrendering. There was no helping it, no at all.

A Giant was superior to humans by nature. They were born with strong bodies and had a culture of warriors surrounding their whole existence. In any case, there was no way that normal humans could match a giant in physical prowess. However, Luffy was different. He wasn't born with the strength of Giants, but he trained himself so he could move mountains with his hands and break down islands with his fists. A Giant who only relied on his natural strength was at a disadvantage against Luffy; it never worked. Luffy approached them on the ground as Robin kept slapping them down. Luffy extended his arm to the side like a spear and then struck the first brother on the neck. Making a cave-in of bone and organs in the Giant's chest. The spinal cord was ripped off from behind. That's how powerful the blow from just one fist was. Then he turned to stare at the other giant and then picked him up. Luffy increased the throw's velocity by using his power over exponentials and then lobbed the Giant across the sky.

The Giant was like a shooting star as his body burned by the atmosphere all around it.

Before he could exit the stratosphere of the planet, his body disintegrated from the high heat.

He was thrown so fast he burned like an inverse meteorite.

Forgive me, Giants of Elbaph, I just killed two of your people. Luffy sighed. He only had a problem with marines, and those that crossed over the line and continuously shooting their high-precision rifles at dear Robin were overly crossing the line. Even then, he gave them a chance to make up for their mistakes, and they had rejected it entirely.

Robin smiled and put one of her legs in his other shoulder and was playing with his hair. "Fufufu~, one benefit of you being so tall is that I can tease you from up here~?"

Luffy grinned and put his hands on her thighs to support her weight. He then rushed through the forest, towards the lab under the mountains. It was still far off, and he wanted to hunt down that harpy woman at all costs. And now he had a name for the elusive green-haired harpy, Monet. On the way, he gathered a knapsack of a few different fruits—Just in case negotiations break down. A Snow Logia was an interesting acquisition.

Time to hunt you down, Monet.

Luffy thought as he cruised through the jungle his power had created, seeing so many new and different species along the way.

X❖X

While the confusion with Luffy and Robin was happening. After the snowy island had turned to a verdant jungle. The children started getting more and more sick due to not having the drug in their bodies anymore. This time they were not angry; they were just filled with severe fever and other harsh symptoms ravaging their bodies. Law extracted the rest of the toxins that the body couldn't normally process, but that didn't mean that these children were out of the woods yet. They had consumed a highly addictive drug for more than a year almost. Their brian were fundamentally altered to crave that stuff. And when the brain did not have that stuff, it made the children feel unwanted and dangerous symptoms.

The Straw Hats decided to infiltrate the lab once more. One, in search of the research notes for the drug. If Chopper had that, he could synthesize a better stimulant that wasn't physically addictive. Second, they were in search of a better room so they could rest. This humid jungle had a nicer climate than the cold but still far from a medical ward. Third, to capture Caesar, too many antsy Straw Hats wanted to dish out some sort of revenge on the scientist that caused the children's suffering. Fourth, Kikunojo requested to find her ward, who was lost inside the lab by some of the children's accounts. Fifth, to destroy the SAD production. There were many goals and enough people to accomplish them.

And so they entered the lab, splitting up once again. With some getting lost, and some going alone, as usual with the Straw Hats.

X❖X

The marines were all situated in the forest. And they all saw the smiling gecko on the other side of the pond. And then, globs of poison launched themselves across the giant central lake and landed on the beautiful forest created by his powers. These little slimes formed little geckos, each step congealing the land. Making plants and animals petrified with a pus-like substance. It was horrible. Even that scary bat monster species was helpless against it. Even though the large bat monsters were more than ten times the size of an alligator and more vicious than any animal. Every time they bit into the geckos, they would splash on the ground. And a cloud of purple gas would surge and make the vicious creatures die off. However, once the red slime geckos turned into that purple gas, they wouldn't turn back either. So it was like an army versus an army. Each hit was an instant death from both sides. The bat monsters wouldn't give up. They were also masters of toxin and had the potential to deliver at least one fatal bite to the damn geckos.

However, the poisonous gas invaded the forests and then pursued the soldiers. Smoker was still unconscious after being beaten by Sora, one of the most shameful losses of his career. And he was still being carried by his officer Tashigi. They needed to flee the gas as it ravaged the beautiful jungle forest.

"Honestly, what the hell is happening in Punk Hazard." Tashigi was completely hysterical. They had no control whatsoever and no information on what was happening on this island. And with no option of retreating because they didn't have any ship to leave the island. They were completely stranded.

First, they lose against Law, the 900 million "Surgeon of Death." Then they meet the "Black Leg," A simple chef for the Straw Hat crew that absolutely decimated them and left with a strong warning of never meeting their captain. Then a bright light almost blinds them, and the previously snow-filled island turns into a deep verdant jungle with a cool climate and foggy landscapes. And then, to top it off, a red slime gecko, the size of a fortress, is now shooting poison across the pond.

Tashigi felt so frustrated—everything was out of their control.

Punk Hazard, there was too much chaos suddenly happening that they couldn't even keep up.

Oh, that's right, I always feel frustrated when that crew is involved. It's always that crew, isn't it? They are the worst. They are the absolute worst. Tashigi bit her mouth.

After they entered the lab again through one of its entrances. They found a place to rest with a vista towards the jungle and the island of fire. They monitored the slimy gecko on that front. And then, a flash so bright it made them close their eyes again. And then, the island of fire, where that gecko was, was gone. The ground and sea were obliterated out of existence. And when they opened their eyes. All that was left was a massive sea of glass. Literal glass. That massive gecko was completely gone. Even Smoker, who was waking up, looked at the scenery with complete shock. The island that Akainu had transformed the weather off was gone.

And then, the aftershocks of that explosion crumbled the hall they were in, separating the soldiers of their unit completely. Tashigi was again feeling the frustration mounting on her body, it was like a God was playing with this island, and they were just bystanders feeling the consequences of someone's actions.

"Hey guys, are you still there!?" Tashigi screamed as the rubble blocked her pat. Some of the soldiers were on the other side. Still stranded. Hundreds of them were separated from the main group.

"Yes, we're still fine. Some got hurt, but can walk still!"

"Don't worry, Captain-chan, we are meeting on the other end of the lab, right?"

"Yes, this lab is immense, so be careful to not get lost."

Tashigi was with but a few soldiers. Only 72 soldiers out of their entire unit. And Smoker wasn't in good health either. His bones were severely sprained, some were badly fractured, and the swelling made things worse for him. And he was still reeling from having his heart removed and placed back so suddenly. It was up to Tashigi to make plans to reconvene. All they could do was follow the needles of their log poses and reconvene at the ends of the lab under the mountains. This place was filled with dangers. However, she had faith in her men that they wouldn't enter into a conflict where they knew they could not win.

X❖X

"Hahaha…"

"You're having a lot of fun, aren't you, Luffy?" Robin asked.

"Hahahaha..."

Luffy just kept laughing as he increased his speed by a lot. Maneuvering through the jungle wasn't a thing he wasn't doing anymore. He was just dive-bombing hard into any obstacle in his path as he zeroed out on Monet's presence. All the while, Robin was able is shoulders and carrying the knapsack with fruits that she had collected. He was like a machine mowing down both trees, beasts, and rocks on his way. Luffy zeroed out her position on the facility's top towers and ran with a big smiling face. He kept running and running, faster and faster. While Robin just giggled as she managed her flowing hair on the wind as she enjoyed the sensation of being carried by her Captain. Then he protected both of them once again with Haki and then jumped higher and higher like some sort of bouncing ball. Cracking the earth with his naked foot. He then jumped with his 6'8" body and then dive-bombed into the tower while still laughing for joy. The two that turned to look at him in despair were Monet and some spiky-haired guy with dark clothing in the room.

Luffy smiled like a demon.

"We found you, now let's talk, shall we, Monet?"

Monet looked at him with an afraid look. But she held steadfastly. On his shoulders was Robin, who was smiling contently. Her captain was extremely happy, and so was she. Punk Hazard was a big box of surprises that did not relent. The big tower was circular, and so was the room, with a high ceiling and thick walls of steel. However, the one that Luffy dive-bombed through had a big open hole with the metal sticking out with spiky p[points. Some debris inevitably fell as he crushed the tubes that were coming from the wall. So both water and electricity were spewing from the open steel wall. Monet might not be so happy to see him. However, Luffy was oh so happy to see her. There were two things on this island that held his undivided attention—the lady samurai and now the harpy woman with powers over snow.

"So you finally arrived Straw Hat, no matter, you will soon die." The one who responded was a guy with a dark coat and spiky white hair. He had a gas mask that hid his features. However, he was quite the pale man.

"And who are you?"

"My name is Gladius. But no matter, look there, on the hole you just created, can you see that?"

Luffy smiled and turned around to see where Fladius was pointing. In the distance was a slime creature in the form of a gecko, a mountain's size. It was situated on the fiery island, still far away. However, it was now spewing globs of slime over to the island.

"That is Caesar's secret weapon. The Land of the Dead. Not even you can survive?"

Luffy cranked his neck. "So you think a little slime can kill little old me? I'm hurt. Hey Robin, they think that cute little ball of poison can kill me."

"Ufufu~, what are you going to do this time."

"This..."

Luffy was jolly today. He was in a good mood, so he was unusually unrestrained with his powers. He aimed his hand and closed thunder nad lighting, rumbling and turning around like a ball, churning more power and superheating the gas into plasma. He then threw the unstable thing across the pond. Like some sort of fantasy football, he lobbed the ball. And then he created another and then threw. Both collided in the air, and then...

The island of fire was gone. And everything behind it was gone as well. The sea turned to glass immediately. The sky vanished entirely. The little gecko slime friend and his island were completely gone. The power of it crumbled the earth and created a shockwave so large that it hit the new island with so much force that it rippled the lab under the mountains so hard. There was no Tsunami in a sea of glass. Only shallow waters were permeating above the glass, making quite the beautiful scenery. The island that Akainu created with his powers, the fiery island with altered weather, was completely gone in a blink. This was the power of a god combined with the incredible power over exponentials. This was a world-destroyer. This was a man that gave the Ancient weapons a run for their money. There was nowhere to hide. There was nowhere to run. Their minds could only accept this power as the truth.

This was the same attack that crumbled the G-1 base a year ago. There were witnesses, but they were not believed. This was the power that was so strong it crumbled and made a giant hole in the Redline. This was the power of Monkey D. Luffy after two years. The incarnation of Indra in the real world.

The ones watching were the leaders of the Black Market that Caesar wanted to sell his weapon. They were treated to an attack that could destroy whole kingdoms. However, that wasn't the Land of the Dead. That attack was made by a person. Instead, it was the worst pirate of the Worst Generation, Monkey D. Luffy, the son of Dragon and the Grandson of the legendary Garp.

Barely arrived in the new world, and that damn crew of his was already making unneeded waves. His presence alone threatened to shake the world. It was a wonder why the Five Elder Stars hesitated to place a higher bounty on his head, despite the Navy wanting to. Unfortunately, the bureaucratic reason he didn't have a higher bounty for his actions at the G-1 was that he hasn't made any trouble in the New World' So he wasn't worthy of having a higher bounty than 1 billion then. However, now seeing this footage. The black market had to question the sanity of the World Government.

Monet had to run away from him. She had to get out. His presence washed over the room. That tall and muscular man was intimidating, and she could only feel death and despair if she tried to face him. Gladius expanded his arm like balloons and ripped the air across the room. Making an explosion of dust that covered the room. They were about to make their exit from here and warn Doflamingo. However, Luffy was instantly on the other side of the room.

The other side was Robin, circling them with a predatory look. She threw the sack with fruits of all kinds. They were normal fruits. Monet and Gladius both saw the sack of fruits.

They suddenly understood the meaning of that—they understood it all too well.

Both Robin and Luffy also understood the meaning of that sack of normal fruits and what it signified. It was both a threat and a promise to any devil fruit user. It was quite rare that someone knew how the process of a devil fruit appearing and how to manipulate that. Luffy knew it from his battle with World himself, the man who wielded exponentials before him. Robin was familiar with it because of her experiences with the Revolutionary Army.

"You can't leave without answering a simple question, Monet. Will you join my crew?"

Luffy genuinely asked the woman with his large open hands, with fingers that could dig out a human skull. His presence washed over the room that was filling with soldiers with their little yellow jumpsuits. To hide their goat legs, Luffy wagered.

X❖X

Sora was walking through the dark corridors of the place. There were three missions to be accomplished. To kidnap the master of this place. Caesar Clown would be the leverage against the true master of operations, Joker, or more precisely, Donquixote Doflamingo. The second mission was treating the children and finding them a way off this island. Punk Hazard was no place for them. They deserved to be reunited with their parents for what it was worth. The third mission was to destroy the SAD production. The ingredient used in the artificial devil fruits circulating on the black market was not good; they needed to target that. With all these missions in place, Sora wondered what her Captain would think. Luffy was more of an action and feelings first kind of guy. He really hated covert plans like these and preferred to face his opponents from the front. If Luffy was to fight Dofloamingo and the Emperors, he would prefer to go front and center without hiding anything. That was the sort of man Luffy was.

Right now, the Straw Hats were entertaining Law's plans because it aligned with the plan to save the children, but the fluffy-hat man would really have to try hard to pass through the stone wall that was Luffy's will. Law appeared to be a smart man with big plans. However, that all would crumble soon when he properly faced Luffy and understood what kind of man he was. Plans upon plans, logic upon logic, rational actions, and more. That did not vibe well with the Straw Hats—this crew did things based on their feelings and what they wanted to do. That sort of attitude bit them in the ass so many times in the past. Sora was quite understanding if Law ever comes to not like how the crew does things. The crew had split themselves and were looking for different things.

As for Sora, well, she was looking for the master of this place. The group was split up by the earthquake that made the lab crumble, they were separated, and even now, this metal lab was creaking. This place would not have a lot of time before it crumbled entirely. She wanted to find Caesar Clown and defeat him quickly. The man was liable to escape before long. That could not happen. That's why Sora was roaming the dark upper halls searching for the man with the power over gas.

And that was why she avoided a kick from a man with a white coat and white pants. He was tall, as tall as Brook. His kick bent the metal wall out of shape. His strong presence washed over her. Her observation made her avoid the subsequent punches and kicks.

"You're quite the silent man, are you? What's that uneaten food no your cheek?"

Sora asked. She almost burst a vein when she saw a cold piece of steak on his cheek, uneaten. She hated wasted food.

"You are "Black Leg," So you really changed your gender in these two years, have you? Well, the Navy is talking a lot about you. There are some rumors that you're connected to the Vinsmoke Family, well?"

"You, who are you?"

Sora glared hard. Her presence washed over the place. She was about to burst with rage. She wanted to kill this man really badly.

"A Vice-Admiral of the Navy, commander of the G-5, Vergo-san." He introduced himself briefly.

Sora was not stupid. She already connected the dots. The Straw Hats were filled with hyper-competent people. It wasn't just Robin who was smart.

"...I see, so the little flamingo has an inside man."

Sora was, of course, talking about Donquixote Doflamingo. This Vergo was definitely a subordinate to him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be on this island, and the fact that Smoker hadn't spoken about this man while Sora beat the shit out of him made her question things.

"You do know that Smoker is on the island, right?"

Sora asked him.

"I know, I'm not planning on letting my subordinates escape this island alive. Of course, I will be killing you and the rest of the Straw Hats while I'm at it."

Smoker, you better have already left the island. There are too many elements here that want you dead—Luffy, for example, and this shitty Vergo guy in front of me. And if you didn't leave yet, then I'm going to be the one beating the hell out of you. That's a promise.

Sora had limits to her patience. Sora was doing too many favors for damn Smoker of all people, she already warned the G-5 about Luffy, and now she was going to deal with this Vergo guy. The fact that he knew she was from that damn family almost made her burst with rage. That connection should have been forgotten, but the memories of her childhood were flooding back. She faced Vergo with cold eyes and a face made of marble. Her intent was now completely clear.

"My work isn't being rewarded. And now I have to deal with all these complicated feelings. That moss head actually killed a Vice-Admiral, I need to do the same, or I'll get left behind. If you understand that, then get ready to die, shitface."

Sora immediately closed the distance and kicked where he was. However, Vergo avoided it with his Haki. Her shoes met the metal wall and disintegrated the pipes completely, and cold gas rushed, forming a mist in that lonely and dark corridor. Sora avoided his kick and then tried kicking him again. However, he blocked it and then thrust his fingers towards her stomach in an attempt to mimic those techniques used by the CP9 way back then. She avoided those thrusts and every time his fingers went through the air. The air cracked, and it exploded somewhat. She kicked him in the shoulder. However, he blocked it with his Haki. She was then punched across the stomach three times. She spat some of her salivae as she was thrown across the room. However, before she could, She kicked him in the leg hard. Making his knees dislocate. She felt her intestines hurt. There was definitely some damage. However, she couldn't feel it right now. All that Sora could feel was the giddiness of a great fight. She was in a hole in the wall, with the metal bent all around her. The man beat his own leg on the ground and made his knees go back into the right place. Not caring that the bone itself was fractured. What a guy. he had a very high threshold of pain. Finally, some opponent that could actually make her try. Sora rushed Vergo and kicked him in the face. However, he blocked it with his two hands. He then picked up a bamboo from behind him. And then struck the ground. Making it bent out of shape. Crumbling the floor. All-around and letting the dirt combine in. Sora then kicked again. However, he blocked each f her kicks with his enhanced bamboo stick. She felt happy. Vergo was giving her quite the fight.

Sora then thrust her legs like a spear and broke through his defenses, and then kicked in eight in the jaw, making him lose three teeth along with fracturing his jaw. She felt actual pain in her legs despite being able to kick through steel. His Haki was quite something but then again. She was a purely physical fighter who relied on her legs' strength and the strength of her Haki. She was prideful enough in those areas. She wouldn't lose to anyone else when it came to physical fights.

"You're good. However..." Vergo approached her and tried to spear her neck with his finger. Coated in Haki. However, she immediately went down and then kicked up again towards his chest. She wanted to cave-in his lungs and make him unable to breathe. However, his hand got in the way. He thought he could stop her foot with his palm. He also had a lot of pride in his physical body, it seemed. However useless. A palm could not block her kick. Her foot crushed Vergo's fingers, and he somersaulted back without a peep of pain. He looked at his ruined hand, grabbed his broken fingers with the other hand, and pushed them back into place.

"You are good too. However, you still are underestimating me. Didn't you understand when I first called you about. that idiot moss head killed a Vice-Admiral? I need to do the same. And you're the prime target."

"I see. Demon Bamboo."

Vergo slashed the air around with the bamboo stick without any previous warning. He was quite good at catching people by surprise. the air force came towards her. Sora had no other way than to escape the attack by jumping towards a lower floor. The ensuing wind ripped apart the metal walls and pillars all around. Making a cloud of dust even more intense. Sora jumped in the air, confusing him, and then in one motion, she struck like a spear. This time, her leg was finally metallic. She was finally using armament to kill him. He matched her with a punch with his own brand of armament, and both met. The ensuing attack rippled the air and reality around them. The metal ground imploded into a crater. The walls all crumbled. And then his knuckle broke. And the bones were displaced. Blood poured out from his fist, and he finally groaned in pain. Sora had won in a contest of armament, Vergo felt some of his pride take a hit. However, she wasn't done. She roundhouse-kicked him in the ribs with her athleticism. She ripped off his coat and also ripped the bones and the skin apart.

However, his other hand came like a pistol and pierced Sora's stomach—that damn CP9 technique.

Vergo fell to the ground. Looked at his broken hand and felt his rips piercing his lung. And then he fled. Vergo actually took the chance he had to flee without any sort of indication on his part. He was a weird man.

Sora tended to her puncture wound on the stomach, it was bleeding slightly, but it was nothing to be scared of. As Sora oversaw the destruction of the place, she thought to herself. Anyone seeing this fight would say that Sora was the overall winner. She did more damage, and he had retreated as fast as he arrived. However, Sora wasn't done by a longshot. This Vergo was quite desperate. However, she would be the one to hunt him and finish him.

You waste food, You betray your marine comrades, and then you mention my shitty-ass family. I'm coming for you, shitface.

X❖X

"No, I'll never join your crew." Monet was dumbfounded that the monster with the straw hat even asked that question.

"If you ever thought you could pry our family apart, you're dead wrong. Straw Hat."

Despite being faced by deadly odds, The decks all stacked against the two. Monet and Gladius denied every single word coming out of Luffy's mouth. In Gladius's eyes were the rage and frustration for even attempting to recruit a family member. In Monet's eyes were sadness and resolution. No matter what, she would remain forever loyal to Doffy. Doffy had saved Monet and her sister. It was a debt Monet could never repay. No matter how many times she would sacrifice herself, it wouldn't be enough. Her loyalty and love for Doffy were second to none. However, there was no way to win against the monster in front of her. The monster wearing a straw hat. And she showed her conviction by filling the hall of the tower with snow.

After that, Luffy was forced to fight a tag-team of two family members. He thought long and well and saw the conviction in their eyes. There was no way that he could ever break that loyalty. He was even stupid to ask. The harpy lady would never be on his ship, no matter what he tried. There was no way he could ever convince her. It was different from the others he strongarmed. She was more liable to commit suicide than ever think of betraying her master. It was challenging to find loyalty like this. The man called Gladiusy was like that as well. In any case, they fought well and hard. Both members always avoiding Luffy;'s massive hands. If they ever caught them, they would be completely pulverized. They fought a losing battle, but they fought. They wanted their conviction to be realized.

Robin was carefully avoiding the man named Gladius. They expertly recognized that attacking Luffy head-on was a complete mistake and went for her instead. And so Luffy fought a battle protecting her. The harpy had turned into snow and went down to the snowy floor. It was hard to even pinpoint her location. As for the man with the dark coat and gas mask named Gladius, he expanded his arms and legs like balloons, and every hit ruptured the floor. Crashing the snow and disintegrating it. Thankfully Robin evaded all of his attacks. It was quite a strong Paramecia. It was really one of the most powerful ones she saw. Expanding and rupturing things. However, his power was not applied correctly. He was quite weak because he did not know how to apply his power correctly.

"Monet, I will make an opportunity so you can run away. Alert the young master. We cannot let the Straw Hats get away scot-free." Gladius spoke and extended his arms forward. His forehead crinkled, and he glared at both Robin and Luffy.

He ruptured the snow, covering the hall with hail and an impenetrable cloud. Monet was a Logia, so she swiftly infiltrated the snow cloud and became a snow sculpture of a woman with giant teeth. She appeared right next to Robin, however a hand slapped the snow sculpture to the ground. Snow was quite hard when clumped up; however, the hand was that of a small Giant. Even the heaviest snow couldn't' deal with that.

Gladius used Monet's attack and ruptured the floor, making the tower even more unstable. "Get out of here now, Monet!" Gladius told Monet, and then Monet used that to escape the room. Using the snow cloud. The man of ruptures lunged towards Robin, prepared to end the demon child and rupture the space on her stomach. However, Gladius forgot one important fact: Luffy was an insane man and a beast of pure physical might and endurance. Luffy appeared in front of Robin and blocked the fist of ruptures with his own stomach. The fist expanded and ruptured the target. An implosion happened. And then Luffy laughed. The impact site was his abdomen, and it was completely fine after the implosion and rupture because he had coated his abdomen black. "No matter how powerful fruit is, it is meaningless if someone has impossibly hard armament Haki as I do. You should really start applying a bit of Haki to your attacks. If you had added just a tiny bit, then even my Haki wouldn't be able to handle that attack. That's how strong your fruit is."

"Wha—You—" Gladius exclaimed while Luffy grabbed his shoulders with his massive hands.

"If you have armament…" Luffy's entire head turned metallic black. The white smile was completely terrifying as even his eyes turned pure black.

"YOU."

Luffy reared his head back and then struck Gladius's own head.

"CAN."

A normal headbutt that flattened the man's head broke his metal gas mask and crushed his skull into his own brain. Making the head bleed from holes appearing from wrangling a tomato.

"DO."

Luffy kept hitting and hitting the man;'s crushed head like some sort of fun game and kept hitting and hitting the same spot again and again. There was no hard skull anymore. Gladius's head was like a punctured beach ball.

"SOMETHING."

Gladius's neck and head were broken, and the head went behind, hanging low on the man's back. That's how broken the neck was. Blood kept pouring out of his broken head.

"LIKE."

Luffy struck a headbutt on Gladius's chest next and hit so hard the dead man's spine was ripped out. It looked like a gory coat hanger, still attacked to the neck and the tailbone, but the spine was out of Gladius's body. The chest was blown apart, and the heart was exposed with the ribs completely bent, out of their original shape, or completely ripped off. Some were even digging on into the muscles and the skin on the back. It was almost inversed. Luffy's black metallic head was full of blood at this point, soaking up the metallic hair.

"THIS."

Luffy's final blow to an already dead man was to rip the man's arm, use it with armament, and punctured off the man's penis, balls, and his own asshole with his own detached arm. It was almost like a sort of spear made out of armament using a dead man's body part as a weapon. And then finally, he struct the metallic arm through the man's busted chest and impaled him on the snowy ground. Luffy was holding off his anger, that both Monet and Gladius targetted Robin while using dirty tactics so they could ignore him. Luffy disliked that a lot and held back his anger successfully because he respected their loyalty to their young master or whatever. However, Luffy had limits to his patience. And he unloaded the frustrations on this fight on poor old Gladius. He was completely dead after the first strike. A man whose only worth was his powerful fruit would never have a slight chance against Luffy.

"Hey, Luffy, you talked about armament. Can you tell me more about it?" Robin had a slight blush. She was sadistic enough that she enjoyed how Luffy dealt with Gladius.

"Oh, you're interested in Haki. Wanna learn a bit after this is over?" Luffy never thought about it, but some of his crew could definitely benefit from learning Haki, Robin, and Franky were the main ones.

"I would love to." Robin had mirth in her eyes.

Luffy grinned. He imagined Robin with armament. Now that was a scary thought. However, it took time to learn. It was not something that could be grasped in a few days. Well, Luffy was the exception since he mastered armament in over two weeks. However, he had the excuse of being a battle genius. Robin and Luffy smiled more when one of the fruits in the sack transformed into a devil Fruit. The fruit of ruptures. A devil fruit is what you make of it. Different people throughout time having the same power led to extremely different results, in both how the power works, its application, and the path to power. Everything was different. The fruit is what you make of it. The power over ruptures could be very different depending on the person who ate it. Depending on the new user, this fruit could possibly become as powerful as the fruit of exponentials in some limited areas.

Now the problem was finding someone to consume the fruit of ruptures.

In any case, it was time to explore this lab. And hunt down Monet, who had escaped, while they were at it.

I'm sorry, Gladius.

Monet had taken the opportunity to flee the tower and went towards the lower floors of the lab. So Monet did not have the chance to witness the death of one of her family. But Monet promised something. She promised that the family would avenge Gladius, no matter what. No matter what, Doffy would hunt each and every single Straw Hat and deliver a slow and torturous death to each and every one of them.

X❖X

Before Luffy exploded the fiery island, there was something that needed to be explained. The poisonous red gecko, the size of a fortress. Where did it come from, and what purpose did it serve? For that to be answered, Caesar, Clown, the man with the power over all types of gases, was in his control room minutes before the snowy island changed completely.

This couldn't be the worst moment for all of these things to happen. And all I have is useless soldiers who can't even kill a single enemy. Monet, Gladius, and Vergo are gone, and I am left all alone. The feed shows me how many enemies are left. And there is a lot. Perhaps it's time I do that?

Yes, I need to show my 'Land of the Dead' I need to get more and more kings of the underworld on my side if my brand is to increase. I need their loyalty in case things with Joker blows up. I made myself the enemy of the government. However, that was not my fault in the end. Those pricks only made me their enemy because they can't directly use my services. And looking at the pirate side of the story. Big Mom is still gunning for my head, even though I made considerable progress into my Gigantification project. It;'s a pity that this batch of children will also die like the last. But I was able to make at least five of them grow into Giants through medicine alone. If I can harness both the strength of a Giant and its longevity, I can make billions selling this to people worldwide. After all, who doesn't want to live more than 300 years?

I suspect those World Nobles would drool over that.

In any case, I need to deal with these intruders.

Caesar did not have time to wait for Vergo, Gladius, or Monet to eliminate the enemies crawling in this place. He had to act quickly. He was a bit sorry for them, but they should have cleaned up the house faster. Now he had to contend with the Navy and the Straw hats and Law, who did not die. Caesar knew that.

"Alright, men! Light up the feed and contact the people of the underworld to watch the show. Unleash Smiley. Shorororo~. And let's watch them all die!"

"B—But master, our comrades are still..."

"Are you talking back to me?" Caesar used his sociopathy to make wild expressions of hurt at his subordinate's word. "Don't worry, I have a plan that will save them. You should trust me a little more." He smiled benevolently at his subordinate.

"Ye—Yes! Of course! We could never doubt you."

Fools. I don't care if everybody else dies. I'm made of gas. Even if it spreads to everything around Punk Hazard, I will still be fine.

Returning to the present.

Caesar looked at his Smiley before it was blown to bits, along with the Fiery island, with the sea turning to solid glass. Punk Hazard had lost half its landmass.

Okay, let's run away. Caesar had snot running down his face as sweat ran down his brow. He looked at what was happening in Punk Hazzard and made the correct choice. There was no need for pride when the enemy was that overwhelming.

He flew out of the room at record speeds. He ran towards the sea where the ice floes were previously. He raced through his lab towards that location. There was still la tanker there for transport. If he could explode the Straw Hat's ship on the way, he would lose them, and they would be stranded on Punk Hazard. That was the plan.

However, right as he passed down a hall on the lower level. The earthquake of the explosion rocked the lab with full force. The rebound from the explosion destroyed an entire island off the face of the Earth's crust. This lab was equipped with seismic protectors. However, t wasn't enough. The earthquake was that terrible. Even a gas man was pushed to the ground as the lab rocked back and forth. Sand started seep[ing through the cracks of the ceiling. The metal walls were creaking badly. And the ground Caesar was, crumbled. Caesar was caught by sur[prose as he fell down further and further. He ell into the trash. Organic and liquid trash stained his clothes as he raised himself to look at all the heaps of trash accumulated in this chute. It was 20 meters wide in diameter and was 40 meters deep with smooth walls.

Oh, on I said I can fly, but I can only hover a few feet off the ground.

He could not fly vertically, at least not so high up. And transforming himself into lighter gas than air was quite dangerous without proper training.

Caesare was a scientist, not a fighter. He developed his powers with science in mind, so he wasn't much of a fighter. Of course, he had some pretty dangerous moves cooked up. However, mobility wasn't something he focused on. Caesar procrastinated on the development of his powerful fruit, and that was starting to bite him in the ass. Caesar was strander down here in the trash.

In a land far away from Punk Hazard, there was a queendom of pleasure.

Stussy put her chair up. It was an elegant white chair. During all outside, she could hear the moans of her girls. As they pleasured all kinds of people, men, women, in-between. A wondrous land of sexual pleasure. Two girls hugged her as she watched the show from a distant island. The Queen of Pleasure watched the show uninterrupted with a smile. Caesar always made the best shows. The shows where he humiliated himself. However, they were always a fun watch because she loved watching people embarrass themselves in front of her. It drove her unbelievable pleasure from it. That's why she was so loving of her job as the biggest name in the red-light business in the whole world. The Queen of Pleasures smiled as she drank some wine. However, something happened later on that made her almost smile in glee. She saw her biggest enemy. The government's biggest enemy on screen. Oh, how adorable and beautiful he was. She almost felt sorry for him. However, the government would have to deal with him sooner or later. There was nowhere to go for him. Stussy felt almost sorry. She laughed as the man with the Straw Hat played around with that island. Stussy was quite taken by his power. What a wonderful enemy the government has made.

Stussy smiled. He would definitely go on a rampage against the government, and the government would suffer. Their supremacy would be shaken by him. It would be a battle where there could be no assurances as to what the victor would be. And that was completely fine in Stussy's mind. A battle where the victor was already decided was boring. A battle where both sides incurred massive losses and have massive stakes behind it, now that was a legendary conflict. Stussy almost orgasmed, thinking about it while her girls kissed her breasts and sucked on her nipples.

Exciting times are what make life worth living, come challenge us, break our ranks. Crush our forces to dust. And when we take you down, that will be the best climax one can ask for.

Another King of the Underworld was also watching the demonstration of the "Land of the Dead" and its subsequent failure. And then he saw it. Standing atop everything and everyone. That man with the Straw Hat. It was like he was witnessing a miracle being unfolded. So much so that the bird-man raised his wings as his reporters all started at the screen in disbelief. It was like they were watching a God playing with a landmass without any regard to motives or consequences.

"As expected, that family is either cursed or blessed. There isn't a single individual in that family who isn't legendary. Now, this is big news! Show me more, show me how you live. Monkey D. Luffy."

Many other notorious figures were also paying close attention.

X❖X

At this moment, Tashigi and the other marines met the group of Straw Hats and Law again. That discussion remained heated, and the Straw Hats were imploring the Navy o get off this island. Luffy was here, and they didn't want to see the marines that they knew of getting slaughtered one by one. Tashigi had her pride shattered completely before.

However, there was a chance to restore her pride.

She noticed the children again, all sickly, and after being informed of the situation, she chose to aid the Straw Hats in the hopes that she could save the children. This way, she could exercise her justice. She could take control of what was happening and redeem her pride a little by saving these children. What was astonishing was that these children, all their names were on the missing children's list from the G-5 region—the region they commanded. Smoker and Tashigi got a lot more involved after that. The G-5 was commanded by a man known as Vergo, Smoker was a subordinate of his, and SMopker always been suspicious of the lackadaisical approach to kidnapped children. And their region had, on average, more missing children per year than other Navy regions.

Something was very wrong.

X❖X

Robin and Luffy were exploring the upper tower, being careful that it did not crumble. The place was already beaten up because of the earthquake from blowing up the fiery island. Robin wondered about this place. There was a lot of money invested in building such a place. Money that could not come up from just one group. She explored the abandoned rooms, where they found lab equipment and more. And on one of them, Luffy and Robin had a surprise for the ages. A small pink snake python was crawling there, hidden from view. However, Luffy had observation Haki. He could never mistake such a presence. It wasn't like the dragon at the entrance of the now-destroyed fiery island. This time, this little pink snake dragon was, in fact, a human. It was a human with a Zoan fruit, resembling a pink dragon, or a python, or an eel.

"What are you doing here?" Luffy crouched down.

"..." The little snake dragon was a bit shy., It was definitely a child. After a few minutes prodding the little guy, he answered both Robin and Luffy. He was a child and was in hiding from the master of this place. That is to say Caesar Clown. The man who was quite famous in the underground as a great scientist. The little dragon sp[oke politely, despite being scared. However, there was a little stubbornness only found in old people. It might be the way he was raised. However, Luffy did not care.

It seems the little guy was having problems with his devil fruit. It certainly was a Zoan. Sometimes children have a hard time grasping their powers. Luffy had a lot of trouble with the fruit of rubber when he was young. Conversely, adults pick upon the powers of the fruit faster.

It seems the little boy had a fear of dragons when he was, in fact, one. The little dragon told them that he had eaten a fruit of some kind not two days ago. He was in search of two people, either Kikunojo or Kin'emon. They were separated after the conflicts of Dressrosa. He had arrived on this island by some sort of mistake. However, now that he was here, he had a goal to achieve. Liberate the children of Punk Hazard. Luffy helped the little boy dragon, all the while he tearfully spoke about his situation. The kid was a bit tough and stubborn, not willing to show sadness or weakness to strangers. After a few minutes, Luffy and Robin finally made the boy turn back into his original human form. Zoan fruits are incredibly hard to master, Luffy would know.

"My name is Momonosuke. Thank you, Luffytaro, Orobi. The master of this land is vile—both he and the man on top of that country named Dressrosa. I've been trying to find a way for the children to escape. However, it is a samurai's shame. I looked out for my hunger more than saving my unfortunate peers." Not even ten years old, and this child had quite the formal way of talking. He wore a pink kimono and had a shaved head, with a tuft of hair made into a bun. He also carried small blades shaped like Katanas. Luffy and Robin clued in hard on that. It seems that the mystery behind the lady samurai was being solved. The lady came here in search of this boy. It had to be.

"Tell me more about these children," Luffy asked.

"It's terrible. I've uncovered these yellow jumpsuits give some sort of substance to the kids. That controls their thoughts. They keep asking for more of that terrible thing every day. I refused because it is obviously poison. They also bring children to a room and cut their skin and stuff. They also keep injecting them with weird things. And I also saw some of them being led by those yellow jumpers to some rooms. They do unspeakable things inside."

"What sort of unspeakable things?" Luffy asked.

"Th—They led the smaller children to their rooms, and they make them cry naked. I don't know what was happening, I just watched from a distance, but I know it was bad. They take boys and girls, but it's mostly girls. I'm speaking the truth. Those yellow jumpsuits are evil Luffytaro!"

Even as a child, he still made his thoughts known.

Luffy sighed and pet the head of the little boy. Robin looked away, her hands closed and her nails digging into her own skin hard. For the first time, Luffy was starting to regret ever asking someone to be on his crew. Luffy regretted ever asking Monet to be on his crew. The little boy called Momonosuke spoke about two different things. Firstly, the poison he spoke about was most likely an addictive substance if the children asked for more. The second part infuriated Luffy even more. These yellow jumpsuits, or at least some of them, were sexually abusing the smaller kids.

"Can you please save them, Luffytaro! They just want to… meet their parents again." Momonosuke asked him that. Luffy was still crouching down to the child's level.

"Of course."

Robin smiled by his side. She was also angry.

Luffy always did things that he wanted to do. He did not care about morals or justifications. He always did what he felt like, if it's bashing the face of an enemy is or saving some children from a bad situation. He always acted out of his own emotions and his own heart. Some may say that he was wildly unpredictable, but he was, in fact, the complete opposite. To people who knew Luffy, he was just an open book. Things like complicated plans or logical arguments, or morals were not his style at all. Luffy just did what he wanted to do. Nothing more and nothing else. Luffy did not concern himself with the consequences. He just did things.

And right now, he wanted to save these children. Break the face of Caesar Clown and the Joker guy in. And tear out the wings of that damn harpy.

And also decimate every single piece of shit wearing a yellow jumpsuit.

X❖X

This lab was huge. It was under the mountains and had many towers such as this one. And when Luffy and Robin got to the bottom, someone was waiting for them. It was a very tall woman with a ponytail and a black demon mask. Her whole body was surrounded by tough-looking armor, and she carried around a sword longer than even Mihawk's. Luffy internally laughed at that. This was the samurai woman he wanted to meet ever since he arrived at this place. And now, seeing her up close, he was surprised at how powerful she was. As tough as Zoro or Sora from a cursory glance. It seems that the New World was something else. Just stumbling along and finding people as powerful as those two was extremely rare, almost unheard of in the other ocean. However, in the New World, it was almost expected. Luffy was pretty happy with the New World so far. However, this ocean had a lack of people on his level though.

Perhaps there were only four people left in the ocean who were a bit of a challenge. The emperors, now that was something Luffy was looking forward to.

"So you're the lady samurai, I've wanted to meet you—"

However, the blade passed through Luffy's ear. It cut it slightly, quite the strong armament on that long blade. It was even able to nick his ear. Blades couldn't normally harm his skin. His passive Haki was so strong that the blade was liable to break. Even weak Haki couldn't normally get through, and yet this sword was able to easily take a piece of his flesh—quite impressive.

If you wanted to harm Luffy, the most comprehensive tactic was sinking him into the deepest part of the sea and stabbing him there. Or make a spear of the highest concentrated Sea Stone and infuse that with Haki and pierce his brian with it, that would probably kill him, maybe.

"Wait, Okiku—"

The little child in Robin's bosom cried out. It seemed there was a big misunderstanding. This lady samurai misunderstood what kind of people they were. She was in attack mode to defend the child, but they hadn't kidnapped him whatsoever.

However, before Momonosuke could make his voice heard. She was instantly pinned to the ground hard.

"I did this to your legs, too,"

Luffy whispered. And then he concentrated all his presence on her. Every bit of his Haki of the supreme king, a Haki so strong it could be considered akin to God's will. A human, even a tough one like her, had no chance of withstanding it. Every path of Haki has some sort of outliers, some legendary users who push a path to its ultimate extreme. Luffy had pushed his will to untold levels. His presence of spirit was unbeatable. And he could even kill weak ones he wished to kill with a glare.

However, that wasn't even a little bit of fun.

"What are you doing to me?"

Kikunojo asked while pressed down. To the ground, she looked at him and only saw magnificence. Her eyes dilated as his presence washed over her. She felt her legs tremble and stop moving entirely, almost as if her legs were betraying her somehow. And perhaps she imagined it. But there was a bright sun behind him, and there were golden clouds. She tightened her lips. She felt somewhat euphoric. That quality of presence, that commanding look, it felt just like the past, as if she were looking at her Lord. Her precious Lord, that person, that legendary man she served 20 years ago. Kozuki Oden-sama. This savage beast reminded her of her lord. However, this beast was more akin to a savage caveman than that honorable lord.

"We found Momo hidden on this tower. He was alone and had consumed a devil fruit by the time we found him. Are you the one he calls Kikunojo?"

Luffy released his knees ff her body. He had instantaneously defeated her while she was wide-open because of her emotions towards Momonosuke. His Haki did most of the work in making her calm down for a bit. He released her and helped her up.

"Yes, I am called Kikunojo of the Snow. I do not have a family name."

"So you two hail from Wano?" Robin asked with a smile. Still carrying Momo in her arms.

"…"

Kikunojo was a bit apprehensive. However, these two had saved her Lord's son. And she had made a mistake. This man was quite possibly the Captain of those individuals who helped her earlier on. This lab was fraught with dangers lurking about, and she had faced dozens of soldiers on her way exploring this castle. After a while, she got a bit reckless, which led her to make a terrible mistake in attacking these two without even hearing their story. Kikunojo felt ashamed. There was nothing she could do to make up for it. She was already indebted to those kind individuals from earlier. And there was a feeling inside of her chest that would stop. She felt ashamed and was filled with guilt, the worst feeling for a samurai to have.

"You can trust them, Okiku," Momo spoke to her with a small smile. Momonosukem was mostly stern and did not show much emotion. It was rare to see him smile, even if it was just a small upturn at the ends of his mouth.

Kikunojo did not know why. But she bowed to the three of them and started her story. Which was quite funny because she was almost 12' tall, and even while bowing, she was bigger than both Luffy and Robin, and Luffy was already tall. She rehashed her tale to them. However, she did not tell them of Wano, just of Dressrosa and Punk Hazard. And the missing pieces of the puzzle were finally coming to both Robin and Luffy.

X❖X

Luffy separated from Robin, Momo, and Kikunojo. He felt that Kiku was strong enough to handle anything coming her way. Luffy was still carrying the sack of fruits. And one of them had already turned into the fruit of ruptures, a Paramecia with great potential. Before Kiku left, she told him that his crew was in this lab and that they were running rampant, looking for a man named Caesar, the master of this lab. The one that was employed by Joker, the star of the underworld. And that this Caesar had a Logia. Quite the bountiful results, he would not let either Monet or Caesar escape with their lives. They would die here in this lab.

Luffy was looking for the diseased children, afflicted with the drugs as well. He promised Momo that they would be saved after all.

It was at this moment when he found an interesting site. Two of his most favorite kinds of people showed up. Their hardened warcries filled the lab's massive room while steam continuously poured in the ceiling's pipes.

Marines and yellow jumpsuits fighting each other in a big skirmish. The pieces of shit from the government, and the pieces of shit that raped literal children. How nice.

How nice.

How nice.

How nice.

HOW NICE.

"I—It's the Straw Hat!"

"Wh—What is he… doing here?"

The Navy soldiers were all scared to of their wits. Earlier today, the G-5 witnessed Smoker being beaten by that bitch "Black Leg." And didn't she warn them about something? Something about her words unsettled the marine soldiers, something about her captain being different after two years. A warning about ever meeting the captain of the Straw Hats?

Something about a deep grudge or another?

"He killed Brownbeard!"

"Monet-sama has already retreated. You cannot find her anymore, you deviant!"

The yellow jumpsuits all taunted the man with the Straw Hat, and there was a rage in their eyes as well—anxiety in one camp and rage in another.

And now.

Luffy entered the battlefield with a smile.

He approached a Navy soldier and then crouched down. He stared at the G-5 soldier with a big smile with closed eyes. Honestly, that creeped out everyone, and they held their arms, closely pointed at Luffy. There comes the point where people needed to understand that bullets wouldn't work against a monster. Nobody shoots mere pellets at a wall, thinking it will eventually crumble.

"Hey, will you change your occupation for something else?"

"Huh?"

"I killed so many marines, so I thought I'd just ask, will you promise me to change jobs once you leave this island?"

"Wh—What are you saying? Of course not! I have a wife to take care of and children to fee—"

The random Navy soldier of G-5 answered badly. Luffy did not have a problem with individual marine soldiers or the lower ranks. However, he held a big hatred towards the organization known as the World Government as a whole. The Navy was the Government's dog, and when a dog gets sickly with no other treatments available, all you got to do is put it down. He had no real hatred towards rank-and-file men doing their job. But Luffy did not care about if he hated normal soldiers or not. It's about sticking a message. "If you work here, you will get massacred."

A lot of people get something wrong about me. They expect me to reach for a peaceful ending. That I'll just defeat the top dogs and be done with it. But no, I'll work from the very bottom until I reach them, a very long, very bloody quest that leaves them with no one to protect them. There will be no one to enforce their nobility. And when that happens. I will drag each and every one of them to hell.

"In the end, it is all about spite. It is all about the heart,"

Luffy said as the random Navy soldier pointed his rifle at Luffy's lips.

"You're coming with us, "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy!" The soldier announced his victory. They thought that having a rifle pointed at the lips was enough to make him surrender. The yellow jumpsuits geared up to fight the marines again—they also wouldn't let the Straw Hat go so easily. He had to pay for killing their leader Brownbeard. The Navy men were now cocky and roared and then started taunting the yellow jumpsuits.

However, they heard a crunch. They looked to the soldier who had pointed the gun at Luffy's lips. The rifle's barrel was cut in half, with gnashing teeth marks. And Luffy was chewing on metal with black metallic teeth full of armament Haki.

"Arrrhgh, monster, What are you?!"

Those black teeth triggered fear into the marine soldiers that were nearby, as for the man himself. He was catatonic, looking into his rifle.

"I said before. It is all about the heart. It is all about spite."

Luffy smiled, and a shard piece of metal was on his lips. He breathed and then spat out the singular shard. A tiny little shard that was exponentially increased in size and speed. It cut through the Navy soldier that pointed at him with his rifle. And then through three more soldiers, before the piece of metal that was now 20 meters in height started burning by the incredible relativistic speed. The sonic boom whiplashed across the room, making the stomachs of those close to it burst open because of the vibrations. It was so incredibly close to them that their bodies just burst open. It was a wonder their heads did not explode. The burning piece of metal became melted and traveled throughout the lab. Eventually digging itself throughout the ocean and stopping a few miles away. The power of exponentials could never be understated. How badly this power could shake the foundations of the world. And it was wielded now by a monster that was all about spite. Luffy did not care for plans, or logic, or anything else. He always did what he wanted to do. And that made him extremely dangerous. And extremely psychotic.

"Come here, I'll kill you now. It will be easy and painless." Luffy opened his large and long arms to welcome the survivors, lives that were still in the hundreds. The soldiers who survived, from both sides, did the most sensible thing. They screamed bloody murder and ran out. However, the hall was incredibly large. They would die before they reached the exits.

Luffy stretched his long and thick legs. And crouched, he was in a position to run. He closed his eyes and smiled largely. His white teeth had returned to normal. However, that did not make that smile less terrifying. "Game. Ready. Set!"

What happened next was pretty simple. Anyone could imagine it.

Simply put, there are no survivors against the Captain of the soon-to-be worst crew in history.

X❖X

"So you really will help us treat these children?" Chopper said while being accompanied by Nami, Brook, and Usopp. The children were all being carried by hordes f marines that were still left. Their bodies were still in bad shape. However, thankfully, Law had acted and taken out the toxins from their bodies. Even so, their bodies were still struggling even now, especially since the toxins were removed. They needed a place they could rest. And a place where Chopper could treat them.

"Yes." The one who responded was Tashigi.

Tashigi was done. She was done being helpless. She needed one thing, at least one thing she could have control of. And saving children from their helpless situation was the most justice-minded action she could perform right now. Tashigi realized that she was stroking her own ego. But at least not as much as Law and the stronger Straw Hats were, as they pranced about, thinking they were right and they were justice, just because they had more strength. Smoker had disappeared earlier. He caught wind from Sora that Vergo was circulating the premises from the snail transponder message she left the Straw Hats. Tashigi couldn't believe it. The leader of G-5 was involved with this. He was involved with both Caesar Clown, a notorious enemy of the government, and Joker, a broker superstar from the black market. Smoker wasn't in a tip-top shape after the battles from today. Tashigi was worried.

Please stay safe, Smoker-san. Everyone knows that Vergo is strong.

Both Tashigi and the soldiers of G-5 did not know that Luffy had killed their lost comrades in this lab yet.

They did not know how vicious he could be to Navy men.

X❖X

I won't die here. I can't die here. The family will succeed. I will sacrifice my everything so it can succeed, but nothing good will come of me sacrificing myself here. Doffy won't benefit from this. He'll only lose.

There was no way for Monet to kill all of the Straw Hats running about. There was no way for her to kill Law or kill the Navy soldiers. Vergo was already lost in the base, and she could not contact him. Monet was able to make hasty contact with Doffy. However, before any meaningful conversation, Monet was attacked by the samurai wearing a demon's mask.

Another one was "Pirate Hunter" Zoro, he was also here. However, he was just a bystander. He wasn't willing to fight. And just stood on the sidelines as he watched their fight unfold. Monet was caught in a bad place. She was in the communication hall. Which meant there wasn't much room for their fight. And all of the entrances were opposite to the control panel, which meant that she would have to fight both the samurai and then Zoro if she wanted to leave. There was the button of assured annihilation, a self-destruct sequence. However, that would still be a bad idea. Doffy would still be sending reinforcements, SAD was produced here, and the explosion could possibly kill Caesar if he wasn't expecting it. Losing both the production and means of production in one blow while also losing her life in the process. That was a bad idea.

However, Monet did not see anything that could be done in this situation. Perhaps she could maybe injure the samurai and use that panic to escape somehow. In any case, this was the most difficult fight f her life. There were too many Straw Hats crawling about the lab, and meeting Monkey D. Luffy was a death sentence. There was just a small chance of escaping. However, Monet would take it. She had nothing else.

Monet made countless snow sculptures. She filled the room with snow as it felt and coated the ground with its layer. The snowflakes were loudly passing by as the room turned into a blizzard. She was producing snow and covering the ground with it. She blended her body with the snow floor. And turned herself into a giant sculpture herself with sharp teeth. She flapped her snow wings, and the whole place was filled with a snow mist that covered any attempts at spotting her. She was obfuscating their vision, taking away one f their most important senses. Mo0net wanted to do this, she wanted to survive, and for that, she had to pass these two monsters.

Starting with the samurai, wounding her would make the "Pirate Hunter" worry.

Monet smiled. She could do this.

Monet swam ever closer. As the snow sculptures all surrounded the samurai and were primed to attack. Monet launched herself as well. Just one bite would be enough, just one bite. Monet was in the air, with her mouth open like a lamprey, with sharp teeth made of snow. "Prepare to die, samurai!"

"It seems I cannot see during this snowstorm. However, to rely on one sense is a shame for a red scabbard. You have lost, harpy woman."

The long katana was still in its sheath. And then, a millimeter before Monet's attack hit, Kikunojo's sword gathered snowflakes, and it lit her sword with a bluish hue of cold death. After that tiny millisecond, Kikunojo disappeared. And blue slashes were made, one horizontal across the room, one vertical that reached the ceiling and the floor. That's how long Kikunojo's strikes were.

Doffy… I love you. Take care of my younger sister.

"Iai: Cold Death Slash."

Monet did not have time to flinch because something was glaringly simple to see. Every single snowflake was cut into four pieces. Monet's head was separated from her neck, her long hair was also cut horizontally, and so perfectly, it looked like a painting with cold colors framing her face. The blood followed a horizontal line and was frigid black in color. And then, followed a few seconds later, Monet's whole body was sliced vertically, from her crotch to the top of her head. From her vagina and asshole and tailbone. To her spine and intestines and her spleen and diaphragm. To her tailbone and trachea. To her removed head and brain. Monet was decapitated and then cut vertically. All with the use of extremely advanced armament Haki. That meant that even with Monet being a Logia, there was no escape and no mercy. Monet's body parts fell into her own snow, and they stained the bright white snow with frigid black blood, courtesy of Kikunojo's strike.

"In my land, I am known as Kikunojo of the Snow. You may produce snow as you wish. Nevertheless, even you cannot escape the cold embrace of death. And those slashed by this blade of mine won't have an easy afterlife, I can promise you that."

Zoro was just watching and was a bit stunned by her use of Haki. Perhaps this samurai was even tougher than he thought.

"I shall repay my debts to Monkey D. Luffy. He reunited me with the son of my Lord. Kindness shall be repaid with my services until I return to Wano."

Zoro was once again impressed at how Luffy gathers these powerful people to his side by just existing.

Kikunojo put her hand on her demon mask and smiled underneath it.

X❖X

"Hmm?"

Luffy looked at his sack of fruits, and one turned into a light blue fruit. The fruit of snow. A Logia. And by its side was the already captured fruit of rupture—a strong Paramecia. The appearance of a devil fruit could mean only one thing, the previous user was dead. That's how it happened with his fruit of rubber. Luffy had once died, and it appeared in the forests of Amazon Lily. And now, the fruit of rubber was given to the Kujas for safekeeping. Safekeeping until he met Shanks and returned that fruit to him.

So you died before I could rip your wings. Well, that was disappointing, Monet. In the end, this devil fruit haul is quite the big one, now who do I want to give these fruits to?

The snow one is a standard Logia, and the rupture one is a powerful Paramecia with unlimited potential.

Is there anyone in my crew that wishes to eat one of them?

Luffy would present these fruits to them once this was over. If they wanted to eat them, then he would allow it. If none wanted the powers of a devil fruit, then that was fine as well.

"Hrm? Oh, it's you. I didn't think I'd find you on this island." Luffy said. Luffy faced his savior, the man Luffy owed his life to.

Law approached from the dark halls.

"I've wanted to have a talk with you as well. Monkey D. Luffy."

The discussion between two of the worst generation began. The plan was to take down one of the four emperors. As well as to take down a warlord along the way.