Vegapunk: Real or Fake?

The blade light flickered in Minos's hand, carving wound after wound across Momotaro's body. Thanks to his formidable Armament Haki, these cuts only barely broke the skin. But Minos believed that if he kept grinding him down like this, victory would be his.

In truth, this was also thanks to the Golden Scales and that Artificial Azure Dragon Fruit he'd consumed before the fight—they had boosted both his strength and his Armament Haki considerably. Otherwise, Minos's attacks against Momotaro would have been nothing more than a light scratch.

Wildly swinging his giant axe, Momotaro's eyes grew wider and his breathing heavier as he fought. The axe whirled like a tornado.

Minos, however, seemed to dance within that very tornado, turning into a pure afterimage. Every so often, a flash of his blade would send a thin line of blood flying.

Momotaro's attention was now entirely focused on Minos. His mind wasn't the sharpest, and he completely forgot about Baby5, who was frantically destroying the ground.

With no one to stop her, in less than half a minute, a thunderous crash rang out as the entire floor was finally blasted through by Baby5's attacks.

Minos didn't want to waste any more time with Momotaro. Who knew when other Marines or Kizaru might show up? Given Momotaro's physique and Haki, beating him would take at least a dozen hours of attrition—an impossibility. He didn't have that kind of time to burn.

A flicker of his figure, and Minos grabbed Baby5. The two of them jumped straight down through the hole that had been blown open.

Momotaro let out a roar: "Don't think you can escape! I'm the man called the Bronze Wall, Iron Fortress!" He then leaped toward the hole as well.

...And got stuck right in the middle of it, like a cork, plugging the entire opening tight. His body was two sizes too big for the hole, and no matter how he squirmed, he couldn't squeeze through.

"Huh? D-dammit, I should've eaten a few less Sea Beast Ribs at lunch!" Momotaro stared blankly, muttering to himself.

...Though judging by his build, even if he'd started fasting yesterday, there was no way he'd ever fit through that hole.

Beneath Punk Hazard's experimental base, there was a massive cavern carved out by seawater erosion. At this moment, Dr. Vegapunk was walking toward a submarine, flanked by two masked agents.

With a rumbling crash, Minos and Baby5 smashed through the wall and finally found their target. The two agents exchanged a glance and charged without a word.

Blade light flashed. Minos had expected these agents to be fairly strong fighters, but as soon as they engaged, he realized they weren't even on par with the CP9 agents who specialized in the Six Powers. A few moves, and he cut them both down.

But thinking it over, Minos understood. With Kizaru, a Marine Admiral, and his direct Science Guard Corps providing protection, Dr. Vegapunk wouldn't normally be in any real danger. These two agents were probably more for surveillance than protection, so they didn't need high combat ability.

As for Baby5, she raised her leg and fired. A fist-sized bullet slammed into the submarine with a thunderous boom. Vegapunk immediately raised his hands in surrender.

Minos studied Dr. Vegapunk. On the surface, the doctor looked no different from an ordinary human—glasses, slightly messy hair, the appearance of a typical researcher.

Minos had no idea if this was the real Vegapunk or one of his clones. But either way, he was probably important... right?

Still, with his Observation Haki, Minos vaguely felt as though he were facing some kind of ferocious beast. Because of his experience with the Path of Utmost Sincerity in National Arts—which allowed him to sense danger in advance—the greatest trait Minos had developed in his Observation Haki was the ability to foresee threats. It was a completely different direction from future sight or mind reading.

Right now, Minos could sense that Vegapunk himself didn't seem to have any ill intentions. Yet the aura emanating from him already made Minos shudder.

"This Dr. Vegapunk... seems a bit stronger than I thought. By a few billion points... This feeling already surpasses Katakuri!"

"I think I forgot something... In this pirate world, scientists aren't exactly weak in combat."

But Baby5, completely oblivious, swaggered up. "You're the head of this science base, right? You're our hostage now!"

Vegapunk performed a French Military Salute while giving a slight shrug. "Alright, I surrender. What are you planning to do? Kidnap me?"

"No, Dr. Vegapunk." Minos swallowed slightly and shook his head. "Just stay put as a hostage. Once we achieve our goal, we'll return you to the Marines."

Hearing this, a flicker of disappointment passed through Vegapunk's eyes. "Fine, I see. You want to use me to negotiate with the Marines?"

Minos remained silent. He had a vague feeling that the relationship between Vegapunk, the Marines, and the World Government was complicated. The fact that Vegapunk wasn't just killing him outright was probably to maintain the appearance of being helpless before the Marines and the World Government.

He understood this in his heart, but if Vegapunk wanted to put on an act, Minos was more than happy to go along with it. If Vegapunk caught on to something wrong, Minos felt he'd be typing "GG" right then and there.

"Dr. Vegapunk, you should have a Den Den Mushi that can directly contact Admiral Kizaru, right? Can you tell him to stand down now?"

Minos spoke directly. The three Katakuri brothers were no pushovers, and with Kizaru not at his peak, they might be at a disadvantage for a while. But being easily crushed was out of the question.

Vegapunk nodded, reached into his sleeve, pulled out a red Den Den Mushi, and dialed.

After a moment, no one answered. Vegapunk shrugged. "That Kizaru guy probably picked the wrong Den Den Mushi again."

"You're not messing with us, are you? Who would pick the wrong Den Den Mushi?" Baby5 said, unconvinced. Minos, however, could easily believe Kizaru would do something like that. He pulled out his own Den Den Mushi and called Katakuri directly.

"Hey, Captain Katakuri! Tell Kizaru that Vegapunk is in our hands now!"

Listening to the rumbling noise on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Minos spoke quickly. After a moment, Katakuri's panting voice came through: "Alright, I understand."

A little while later, the sounds of battle outside gradually ceased. Minos simply led Vegapunk out of the entire base.

As for Baby5, she was carrying a large bag stuffed with Vegapunk's research data.