Law the Tool, Caesar's Confidence

You have a wicked plan!

It's just a Luffy into helping you deal with Doflamingo.

Roman, standing beneath the White Knight's armor, was speechless. Who would have thought that such a cool and aloof Roman would make empty promises?

Even if the raw materials for 'Artificial Devil Fruit' are cut off, at most it will just allow an enraged Kaido to vent his anger on Doflamingo. —Even if Doflamingo's family has Sugar as a 'trump card,' how can Sugar possibly outmaneuver Kaido, who possesses top-tier Three Types of Haki Kaido?

Don't let Kaido's usual passive, tanky demeanor fool you; his Observation Haki is top-tier! He can instantly dodge attacks from Luffy that could injure him, proving he's no mindless brute. And with Sugar's strength, she'd probably be knocked unconscious by a single Conqueror's Haki Impact against Kaido.

In summary: Doflamingo's family is on the run again, but the Four Emperors are definitely unharmed.

This is Luo's plan.

"Hey, hey, hey, Luffy!"

Realizing what was happening, Usopp grabbed Luffy and shook him violently.

"Wake up! We're going to find 'candy'! Don't just do something out of the blue! And I won't be able to sleep if we ally with some terrifying, unknown figure!"

"Isn't it too early to aim for the Four Emperors now?"

Sanji calmly took a drag of his cigarette.

"Luffy, we didn't set sail just to fight, did we?"

Even Nami tried to dissuade them, since the Straw Hat crew is essentially an 'adventure crew' rather than a 'battle crew'.

"What's the connection?"

Zoro, who always looked ready to fight, tilted his head at the White Knight beside him.

"Don't you think so, Roman?"

"I already told you not to call me by my real name in front of outsiders... Never mind, I don't care."

In any case, a battle with the Four Emperors is inevitable sooner or later. After all, Big Mom and Kaido possess the Poneglyph that lead to Laugh Tale, so Roman won't stop the alliance with Law.

"Luffy, I respect your decision. But—"

Having witnessed the treacherous nature of human hearts, Robin was considering a different issue:

"Betrayal is commonplace among the Pirate Alliance. Your tendency to trust others too easily might make you vulnerable to exploitation."

"Huh? Would you betray me?"

Faced with Luffy's blunt question, Law sighed.

Would anyone answer this question immediately after forming an alliance?... What if I suddenly feel a little regretful?

"Won't."

"Hehehe, look."

Usopp was furious when Luffy said, "I've already confirmed it!"

"Are you an idiot?!"

"Anyway, Pirate Alliance sounds like a lot of fun! And Trafalgar isn't a bad guy, besides—"

Luffy smiled confidently at the Straw Hat crew.

"Aren't you all here with me?"

········

"Ha, even if you don't tell us, we will cut through any obstacle!"

"That's the truth, of course we can be relied upon—"

"Luffy, leave it to me! Even if Zoro and the others are scared, I'll take care of those enemies!"

"... Sigh, thinking about it carefully, this is exactly how we've come to be."

?

Law's aloof demeanor was almost crumbling. So this is the real Straw Hat crew?! They're not just all show and no go...

Is it too late to leave the league now?

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"What did you mean when you said you were looking for 'candy'?"

Helpless, Luo had no choice but to change the subject, and Roman, wearing White Knight armor, stepped forward to explain to him.

And so on, and so forth.

"... So that's how it is. I advise you not to worry about those kids; they're all sickly."

"We know, but those children are crying and begging us for help." Nami shook her head firmly. "I can't just stand by and do nothing!"

"By the way, didn't we form an alliance?"

While picking his nose, the 'clever' Luffy came up with another great idea.

"Luo, why don't you come and help too?"

?!

"Law, Luffy's understanding of 'alliance' might be a tiny bit different from yours." The White Knight shrugged, giving a helpless look.

"Yeah, Luffy is just so single-minded," Usopp advised seriously. "In terms of his stubbornness, he's at least at the level of Four Emperors!"

"Hey... this is your companion's business, it has nothing to do with our alliance, right?"

Then, faced with Luffy's serious expression, Law gave in after a second of eye contact.

"Alright, I'll go investigate the drugs the children were given; I'll leave the capture of Caesar to you."

Poor Law, his compromises, like his cross-dressing, are either zero times or countless times. You'll have to deal with Luffy's tantrums from now on~~~ Roman welcomes Law's alliance, after all:

Putting aside the fact that they're fighting the Four Emperors together, just seeing another 'victim' is a good thing.

Building one's own happiness on the suffering of others, for example.

How delightful!

I'm relieved to hear you haven't been doing well lately.

This is the true essence of 'friends'.

"Let's go, let's kidnap that Caesar guy!"

"You don't need to shout so loudly,"

"You scared everyone away..."

Just as the group of people were walking casually towards the previous base:

"Whoosh... whoosh... what kind of monster is this?!"

In the laboratory control room,

With a forced smile, Caesar Courland took a step back and slumped onto the sofa. Before him, a dense array of monitors displayed the terrifying sight of the slowly rising mushroom cloud from various angles, while several other screens remained black.

"We must take action!"

Beside her, Monet, a beautiful woman with long, wavy green hair and wings, also turned serious. If something went wrong here, her own death was a minor matter; ruining the 'young master's' plans was a much bigger deal! She hadn't expected the Straw Hat crew to be so strong—

The 'Snowman Killer Brothers' sent out didn't even get a chance to show their faces before being blasted to smithereens! Judging by the strength that White Knight displayed, even a high-ranking family member...

"Whoosh, they're just a bunch of muscle-bound brutes who rely on their strength to show off."

Overconfident, Caesar stood up and, after calming down, believed that with the unique nature of his abilities, he might be able to defeat his opponent with a single 'first impression'. Moreover:

"Start the plan and bring 'Smiley' here."

Caesar's sinister laughter echoed in the room.

"It's time for my 'little cutie' to make her appearance, whoosh whoosh whoosh~~"

This man...

Monet, with wings and bird legs, pushed up his heavy glasses: arrogant, cruel, insane... but undeniably a genius scientist. For the sake of the 'young master,' he can't be allowed to die here. It seems:

I must fight now.

"Vice Admiral Smoker, what do we do?"

With their warships destroyed and their Den Den Mushi confiscated, the G-5 branch of the Navy was essentially trapped on the island. The mere thought of fighting the Shichibukai was enough to deter even the ordinary Navy from putting up a fight.

It's not that they don't try, it's just that the gap in ability is too big.

"What do we do? Of course, we keep fighting!"

After a short rest, Smoker led the Navy to attack again. Although Law used his ability to take out his heart, it did not have much impact on his strength.

This time, with the opponents being the half-human, half-animal guards from the laboratory, Smoker finally displayed the level expected of a 'Vice Admiral,' sweeping through the enemy with unstoppable momentum. Just as the enemy was being pushed back in disarray:

"Wow, it's so lively here!!"

"Idiot, is this a spectacle? This is a battlefield!"

Amidst the sounds of grumbling, the Straw Hat crew, seemingly playing casually, approached the battlefield from the other side, catching both sides off guard.

Although Smoker is strong, he only has one capable fighter under his command, Colonel Tashigi; while the defending side does not have any particularly strong fighters, but they have several leaders with bounties of seventy or eighty million, all of whom are former prisoner captains who were imprisoned here.

"Iron Bar" Smokey, "Gourd" Van Burke, and "Rope Controller" Chape, while not particularly strong, were not Devil Fruit users either. Their thick skin and tough flesh allowed them to barely hold off Smoker for the time being.

"Straw Hat Luffy! What exactly are you planning to do on this island?!"

Luffy was pleasantly surprised to see Smoker suddenly turn around and charge at him with such ferocity.

"It's Smoker! Are you alright? I saw you lying on the ground earlier."

"I'm perfectly fine,"

"You're the one in trouble!!"

The weapon 'Jitte,' inlaid with Seastone, suddenly slashed at Luffy, emitting a heart-wrenching, piercing whistle! Luffy had suffered greatly from this weapon before, but now:

"Gear Second!"

Brush,

In a flash, Luffy, now in Luffy Gear Second, swayed in place, easily dodging Smoker's thrust! With a snap, one arm, covered in Armament Haki, grabbed Smoker's weapon, while the other landed on his shoulder, pressing down:

Click!

The ground suddenly exploded, cracking open with countless radial fissures, and Smoker's legs sank deep into the concrete in front of the base. Luffy, having defeated him in one blow, chuckled.

"I'll fight you again next time. You're not in good shape right now, are you? There's no point in fighting like this."

!?

"Don't give me that nonsense!!"

Smoker was furious that the 'enemy' had shown him sympathy. How had this Straw Hat Kid gotten so much stronger in just two years?

"Luffy, the gate is open."

On the other side, the White Knight, who had used his "Door-Door Fruit ability" to "push open" a small door on the laboratory's main door Guotou.

"If you don't leave now, we'll go inside first."

"Ah!! Wait for me! Kidnapping Caesar is something I have to have—"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh, who are you trying to kidnap?"

!?

Amidst the chaos, a tall, slender figure appeared on the ruins of a nearby warship. White smoke billowed around him, giving him quite the imposing presence of a boss.

"Straw Hat Pirates, G-5 Branch, come and witness my magnificent invention!"

As the newcomer arrogantly spoke with outstretched arms, huge jelly-like venom rained down from the sky, causing the three combatants to scatter in fear.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy my art of death—?!"

"I caught him!"

Just as Caesar was reciting his entrance lines, Luffy instantly flew onto the ruins of the warship using Gear Second and captured him in his arms with a Strongman Lock!

"Huh?!?!"

······

Wow, you really are 'kidnapping' people.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to beat someone half to death first?

If it weren't for the need to give others some experience in gas warfare, Caesar, a guy with absolutely no Haki, would have been instantly killed by Roman the moment he appeared. What was the point of all that effort?