Meeting Caesar

"A desperate struggle, all for naught!"

A haughty yet aloof voice came from Hancock's mouth. She lightly stomped her feet, and a terrifying Armament Haki instantly extended out, enveloping the entire ship and forcefully suppressing the Raging White Line after Doflamingo's String-String Fruit Devil Fruit Awakening!

What?!

Doflamingo's eyes narrowed slightly behind his sunglasses. What kind of monster possessed such power?!

Most Devil Fruit Awakening possess the innate ability to assimilate all things, with their power almost approaching that of Logia Devil Fruits. Some powerful Paramecia Devil Fruits, in particular, exhibit performance far exceeding that of Logia fruits after Awakening.

While the String-String Fruit isn't an overpowered Devil Fruit, both Awakening Paramecia Devil Fruit and Logia Devil Fruits are naturally adept at large-scale attacks, and Doflamingo's String-String Fruit is no exception.

As for Armament Haki... just from the initial description of it, we can tell that it "acts like an invisible armor," which is obviously not a wide-range ability.

The stunningly beautiful woman before me had actually managed to suppress the area attack of my Devil Fruit Awakening ability using only Armament Haki! Just how far had her Armament Haki been trained?

However, that was all Doflamingo could think of. As the two drew closer, Hancock curled her fingers slightly and flicked them lightly.

Black Inazuma appeared out of nowhere, and Doflamingo felt his vision go black. His head, which had already been smashed flat, suddenly gushed blood, staining all seven orifices red. He fell unconscious on the deck.

"Young Master! Damn it, I'll fight you to the death!"

Monet the Snow Woman, rushed forward immediately, and the other Donquixote Family members also rushed forward without hesitation. Hancock sneered and unleashed an incomparably powerful Conqueror's Haki!

In an instant, all the Donquixote Family members who rushed up rolled their eyes back and fainted.

Having undergone so many upgrades, Hancock's Conqueror 'Conqueror's Haki has almost reached its limit.

When it unleashes its Conqueror's Haki to exert pressure, it can be said that only those truly famous figures on the sea, such as the Shichibukai and Marine Vice Admiral, can withstand it. Anyone below that level, without the potential for Conqueror's Haki, would be instantly killed.

Clearly, these Doflamingo's subordinates in front of them were within the range of being instantly killed.

In reality, strong members of the Donquixote Family like Pica, if they weren't injured, wouldn't necessarily be unable to withstand it, but in their current exhausted state, they clearly couldn't stop Hancock's Haki.

Among this group of unconscious people, a little girl who was trembling and clutching her head in fear stood out as the only conscious person.

Of course, this little girl couldn't withstand Hancock's Haki. However, Hancock had controlled her Conqueror's Haki with great precision, keeping it within her immediate vicinity, which stunned the attacking Donquixote Family. The little girl, being far away and having no intention of fighting back, was thus spared from losing consciousness.

"No... don't come any closer! I surrender, I surrender!!"

The little girl, dressed like Little Red Riding Hood, hurriedly waved her hands, her face covered in tears and snot. Hancock snorted coldly but didn't continue to attack.

On the contrary, Violet, who was standing at the back, showed an expression of barely suppressed impatience:

"Watch out, Lord Vegapunk, Miss Hancock! This little girl isn't a real child. Her name is Sugar, and she's a Hobby- Devil Fruit User. She's almost 18 years old now!"

"Moreover, her Devil Fruit ability is terrifying. Anyone she touches can be turned into a toy and easily commanded. The most terrifying thing is that everyone else's memory of being turned into a toy will be completely erased!"

"It would be best to get rid of this dangerous person as soon as possible!"

Violet's face showed excitement, while Sugar trembled with fear and cried out:

"No, don't kill me! My abilities are very useful! I can do things for you!"

Despite being 18 years old, Sugar's actual mental age is only around ten years old due to the influence of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit. Although she is a naughty brat, she is actually quite timid.

Hancock turned her head slightly, her gaze falling on Vegapunk, Vegapunk smiled slightly.

"Hobby-Hobby Fruit? That sounds interesting! Spare her life!"

Violet gently bit her lip, as if she wanted to say something. Vegapunk looked at her and chuckled softly.

"You must be hiding something from me! Otherwise, why would you get so excited when you see Sugar?"

Violet paused for a moment, her face turning pale. She lowered her head, realizing that her behavior had aroused suspicion—or perhaps Vegapunk already knew all along.

Didn't Vegapunk already see my memories? In that case, my concealment is actually pointless...

"Helping you solve those toy problems in Dressrosa isn't a difficult task..."

"However, I really hate it when people lie to me!"

Violet's body trembled, and she wanted to say something, but Vegapunk had already waved his hand. Under the control of gravity, all the unconscious members of the Donquixote Family had floated up and were thrown directly into a spatial Wormhole.

"Alright, next we should go find that Caesar guy! Violet, you show us the way!"

Clap his hands, Vegapunk nonchalantly changed the subject from Sugar. Violet opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing, and could only activate her Devil Fruit ability again to guide Vegapunk.

As for the Donquixote Family, Sugar, the only one who wasn't unconscious, also walked over with a fawning expression, but she didn't get close to anyone—she knew that her abilities were very intimidating, and naturally she was afraid that if she got too close, others would misunderstand her.

Of course, she wouldn't leave their sight; if the others misunderstood that she was trying to escape, things would probably get even worse.

Violet quickly located Caesar's position. Caesar was still conducting experiments at Punk Hazard. Although he hadn't yet fallen out with the World Government, he had already established considerable contact with Doflamingo in private, which was why Doflamingo considered Caesar his subordinate.

Vegapunk wasn't surprised by Caesar's actions. Among his three assistants, Caesar was the most opportunistic, and his forte was to hedge his bets and swindle funding.

"Whoosh! My latest poison gas Land of Death... it will definitely scare everyone! If we keep developing it like this, it'll only be a matter of time before it surpasses Vegapunk!"

"Whoosh! As expected, after Vegapunk's death, I, Caesar, should be the number one scientist!"

With a pale face, a horny headpiece, and messy hair, he looked like a monster from Japanese folklore, Caesar, who was adjusting his experimental poison gas while laughing and boasting.

Behind him, a dark, round hole had opened, and Vegapunk and the others quickly entered.

Unaware of this, Caesar was still controlling his poison gas when Vegapunk walked to the experimental table and began to manipulate the data in the computer using electromagnetic force.

"What kind of nonsense is this... Is it just poison gas created by exhaustive search, taking advantage of the convenience of Devil Fruit abilities?"

"This idiot thinks he can surpass me? Caesar, your brain is getting dumber and dumber!"

Vegapunk dismissed Caesar's research with a shrug. The so-called Land of Death Gas was at most a more potent biochemical gas, with no fundamental changes.

In comparison, if one really wanted to kill someone, highly infectious and replicative pathogens, radiation that directly attacks the human body's genes, or creating a large-scale natural disaster through the butterfly effect would be far more effective than this so-called poison gas.

The only advantage of Caesar's research into biochemical poison gas is that his Devil Fruit ability is extremely compatible with the poison gas, which allows him to avoid many detours during his research. At the same time, the process of researching poison gas can also help him develop his Devil Fruit ability, which is essentially similar to Vegapunk's Electromagnetic Ability.

However, Vegapunk's Electromagnetic Ability is a gateway to the heavens, leading directly to the four fundamental forces of the universe. Theoretically, if he reaches the end of it, he can control all the movement of matter in the universe, making him a god in the physics world. As for Caesar's poison gas, its potential, in the end, is just so-so.

"Who?! Who is belittling Caesar, the greatest scientist of this century?!"

Caesar turned around and was immediately startled. He saw a large group of people standing behind him, looking on with curiosity. The Blond Boy at the head of the group was holding the half-finished poison gas that Caesar had prepared, seemingly studying it carefully, but his expression was full of disdain.

"The greatest scientist of this century... Pfft! That's the funniest joke of the century!"

Seeing so many people arriving, especially the towering Katakuri and Charlotte Smoothie, Caesar instantly felt a bit intimidated. However, upon hearing Vegapunk's mocking voice, his face turned bright red.

"Do you have some grievance against me?! My poison gas can wipe out an entire island in an instant!"

"Yes, yes, yes, good, good, whatever makes you happy... Speaking of which, it's been a long time, Caesar, you really are still just like a clown!"

"Who are you?! Do you think we're that close?! That tone, that tone is absolutely infuriating! It reminds me of someone I hate the most!"

Caesar bared his sharp teeth and roared. Vegapunk released his Chakra to block the spittle that almost hit his face and shook his head helplessly.

"I never imagined that I was someone you hated so much before. Every time we met, you were so respectful to me and tried Hundred Plans to learn something from me..."

Caesar, who was roaring, suddenly paused, as if he had thought of something unbelievable. He looked at the Blond Young Man in front of him, his face contorted in a comical expression.

"Y-you-you, could you be... Bebebe... Vegapunk?!"

"Alright, stop backing up and stop pressing the emergency button behind you. This place is already enveloped by my electromagnetic force. Even if you press that damn button until it explodes, it won't notify the guards outside!"

Vegapunk looked at Caesar, who was trembling and Caesar in a corner, seemingly terrified. He smiled and spoke, Caesar's face stiffening slightly.

Indeed, as Vegapunk's experimental assistant and an equally evil and mad scientist, no matter how incompetent Caesar, he shouldn't have been so terrified by Vegapunk... Well, even if he was terrified like this, he wouldn't be without any thoughts of resistance.

On the surface, Caesar retreated out of fear upon learning Vegapunk's identity, but in reality, he was using his body as cover to keep pressing the emergency notification button behind him— Punk Hazard is still a naval base, and there are a large number of naval personnel stationed there.

However, Caesar's Laboratory was top secret, and he didn't want others to see his research. There was no surveillance, and since these poison gas studies were extremely dangerous, ordinary navy personnel wouldn't be so foolish as to patrol here.

This led to the Oolong situation where Vegapunk and his crew stormed into Caesar's heart, getting right up against him, without any Marines intervening to stop them.

The emergency notification button that Caesar pressed represented the highest level of distress signal. In theory, once the signal was sent, the entire navy at the base should be mobilized to rescue him.

Unfortunately, in this Research Base based on electricity and metal, Vegapunk, who possessed Electromagnetic Abilities, was a true Deity. He easily controlled all the electromagnetic signals within the base, and Caesar's so-called plea for help was nothing but a mirage, never reaching the outside world.

Upon hearing Vegapunk's words, Caesar's expression changed, and finally... he knelt down, throwing himself on his knees and grabbing Vegapunk's leg:

"Doctor! I was forced! I was forced by those two bastards Judge and Queen! I didn't want to run away, but those two bastards kidnapped me and forced me to leave."

"Even though I escaped, I always wanted to return to your side, but I was guarded by these marines, so I didn't have the chance to go back to you!"

Caesar, with snot and tears streaming down his face, loudly argued his case, leaving everyone stunned. His shamelessness was astonishing!

Vegapunk was not surprised at all. None of his three experimental assistants were good people, and they were all cowards who appeared tough on the surface but were actually cowards. But even so, among the three, the most shameless one was definitely Caesar. His current behavior was perfectly normal to Vegapunk.