Twin Cape

Punk Hazard Laboratory

After the test, Ace was still immersed in the realization of that intense power, while Roy had already taken him back to the Laboratory.

At this moment, Vegapunk was frantically writing at the control panel, his excited breathing echoing in the space. "A chain reaction of Logia and Paramecia... This completely overturns the law of conservation of energy!!"

This is not just an accumulation of power, but a qualitative change in energy!

The Six Great Satellites frantically recorded data around their respective screens, causing even the air to tremble with the data surge.

Roy interrupted his reverie, casually saying, "Alright, Doctor, you'll have plenty of time to study later. What about that pink-haired guy?"

Vegapunk snapped back to reality, his long tongue twitching. "Oh—you had that skeleton delivered it last time?"

"After investigating, it turns out he's just an ordinary Gum-Gum Devil Fruit User."

"Cowardly, timid, nothing worth studying... He'd be better off in that cage down there, not as interesting as Brook the skeleton."

At this point, he gave Roy a meaningful look and lowered his voice, "However, I think Brook's identity before his death... wasn't so simple."

Roy nodded, his expression impassive. "Is that so..."

He thought to himself, "As expected, Koby failed to Awakening Nika..."

He smiled slightly, his thoughts drifting back to memories from eight hundred years ago.

"Even if Awakening, she'll just be Nika. Someone like Joy Boy isn't someone anyone can easily replicate."

Roy regained his composure and said calmly, "That pink-haired girl is useless; I'm taking her with me. Doctor, if the World Government really puts pressure on you, contact me directly."

Vegapunk waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, I'm not that fragile."

Besides, Sentomaru is here too. Borsalino often comes here to slack off.

Roy said no more, turned around, and with a flick of his wrist, he lifted Koby, who was trembling with fear, into his hand.

The sea breeze howled as the Warship slowly sailed away.

Roy's gaze was icy as he stared at the boy, whose crotch was soaked and who didn't even dare to lift his head. A hint of disgust flashed in his eyes.

"The King of the Deserters, an act of cowardice."

"Secret Extraction."

"Pfft--!"

A purple spiral pattern of energy was forcibly ripped out, Koby screamed in agony before fainting on the spot.

Roy flicked his wrist, casually tossing him into the sea, where he was instantly swallowed by a sea monster amidst the churning waves.

At the same time, a brand new [Gum-Gum Fruit] slowly condensed in Roy's palm with the help of dark power.

Ace stared curiously at the fruit. "Roy, are we going back to Sabaody now? Luffy's Concert should be starting soon, right?"

Roy opened his palm, his gaze deep, a faint smile appearing on his lips, "No rush."

We're going to see someone--

Who are you seeing?

He paused, then gently rotated the surface of the fruit with his fingertips; the spiral patterns gleamed mysteriously in the sunlight.

"An ambitious individual who might truly Awakening the potential of this fruit."

Twin Cape--

Under the blazing sun, the sea breeze, carrying a salty dampness, lapped against the lighthouse standing on the shore.

In the courtyard next to the lighthouse, an elderly man reclines leisurely on a sun lounger, the sunlight reflecting off his Glasses.

Kuro, former doctor of the Roger Pirates

On the small table beside me sat a half-cup of lukewarm black tea and a newspaper fluttering in the wind.

His peculiar hairstyle resembled a blooming saffron, with purple and yellow intertwined to form strange "petals" encircling his head. Only the white hair hanging down the back of his head, along with his white eyebrows and Whitebeard, outlined the marks left by time.

Despite his advanced age, he remained robust, with a broad jaw and a mountain-like back.

A conspicuous old scar ran across his left arm, and the green gemstone bracelet on his wrist shimmered in the sunlight.

His pink shirt billowed in the wind, covered with yellow and green patterns, and his casual light blue shorts and simple sandals made him look like an ordinary old man.

But he is not ordinary.

He is none other than Crocus, the former ship's doctor of the Roger Pirates and now the lighthouse keeper.

"Rayleigh... Shanks... Buggy..."

He murmured to himself, his eyes fixed on the shocking headline in the newspaper: [The Four Emperors are utterly destroyed; Dark King Rayleigh, is executed]

Those cold, black words were like nails driven into his heart, filling him with an indescribable bitterness.

"It's all over now..."

He slowly closed the newspaper, sighed, and looked up at the sky, as if trying to see those long-gone figures through the dazzling sun.

"Everything before felt like a dream..."

In the quiet afternoon, his brows suddenly furrowed.

--Observation Haki detected an unfamiliar aura.

The aura was calm, yet carried an invisible sense of oppression, like a cold current slowly approaching.

Crocus sat up straight instantly, his movements slow but with the alertness of an old lion.

He slowly rose to his feet, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, fixed intently on the direction behind him.

"Da--Da--"

Footsteps echoed on the stone path, steady and unhurried.

As the figure gradually emerged from the gap between the sea breeze and the light and shadow, Crocus's pupils suddenly contracted, and an incredulous shock appeared in his eyes.

His Adam's apple bobbed, his voice was low and trembling:

"Who are you...?!!"

Meanwhile, in the coastal waters along the Red Line—

The surging waves rolled and churned, and the sky was shrouded in shadow.

A colossal creature sped across the sea, its body resembling a small island, stirring up towering waves like a tsunami.

"Thump--!"

Its forehead slammed into the towering, wall-like Red Line, causing the sea to roar and the air to tremble.

That enormous shadow was none other than Laboon, a former member of the Rumbar Pirates.

Its massive forehead was covered in scars, its thick shell stained with blood, and bright red blood scattered along the seawater, forming dazzling red ripples.

But it still wouldn't stop.

Time and time again, day after day, year after year.

It's as if they're trying to tear down this insurmountable barrier in the most clumsy way.

Its cry was low and mournful, startling the birds into flight and causing the waves to crash against the shore. "Woo--woo-woo!!"

That was a cry for help.

A kind of waiting.

Its owners, the crewmates of the Rumbar Pirates, perished deep in the Grand Line decades ago.

But Laboon never left, stubbornly guarding this sea area.

It doesn't understand life and death.

All it knew was that its owners had promised it would return.

So it waits.

Even with blood flowing endlessly, even with flesh already riddled with holes, it stubbornly continued to charge forward again and again.

Now, it gathers its strength once more, its massive body whipping up a tsunami as it furiously crashes into the unchanging continent!

However--

Just then...

"Laboon!! Stop!!"

A deep and majestic voice suddenly Heaven Breaker!

The voice, imbued with Haki, boomed like thunder, reverberating deep within Laboon's heart.

"Huh--?!"

The whale's massive body jolted violently, freezing in mid-air as waves surged around it.

Its huge pupils widened instantly, and tears welled up in its eyes.

It recognized it.

That's... the master's... voice!

The call it had waited for decades has finally, finally sounded again.

Its mournful cry suddenly turned into a trembling sound, its enormous body hovering on the sea surface, its tears mingling with the seawater, making the entire ocean seem to tremble.

--It arrived.