MR4's unexpected intelligence, Vegapunk's laboratory?

Chapter 44: MR.4's Unexpected Intel, Vegapunk's Laboratory?

One month later.

Grand Line, Cactus Island, Whiskey Peak.

Inside the Baroque Works branch hidden here, the atmosphere was somewhat solemn.

"Simply put, that's how things are."

Dragon of the Rat stood before the crowd, speaking eloquently.

"You're saying you are My Mr.0, and that you had us try to assassinate you before just to test my and these guys' strength?"

"And now that you've taken down one of the Shichibukai, Crocodile, Alabasta is hunting us, so we have to lie low for a while, right?"

In front of Dragon of the Rat, MR.2 Feng Kley, still bandaged, rubbed his chin with one hand.

Then...

"So that's how it is!"

He smacked his hand, realizing it with a sudden enlightenment. "I knew it! How could someone as powerful as you be unknown? And you clearly defeated us but didn't kill us."

Tears streamed down his face, looking quite moved.

"First, although I was MR.0, I am not Mr.0. My name is 'Dragon of the Rat'."

"Second, I'm not asking you to lie low, just to change your methods of operation. The old ways have been canceled."

"Third. Stay away from me, your snot is getting on me."

Dragon of the Rat silently pushed Feng Kley away.

Then, he looked at the others present. "And you all—do you have any other questions about this?"

Needless to say.

The others present were all Baroque Works assassins previously defeated and captured by Dragon of the Rat.

Without exception, they were all brought out of Alabasta by Dragon of the Rat.

"...You just said that our Baroque Works is now a subordinate organization of a group called the 'Twelve Zodiacs'?"

"And that the company's business will also be adjusted next?"

After a long silence, MR.1 asked in a deep voice.

"Wrong."

Dragon of the Rat waved his hand: "To be precise, we have always been subordinates of the 'Twelve Zodiacs' -- as for the recent adjustments to our work, they are also in accordance with superior orders. You don't need to ask too many questions."

"Miss. Allsunday will arrange the specific details for you. Is that okay?"

It's not okay at all!

MR.1 thought to himself.

Apart from guys like MR.2 with not-so-bright minds, even the most careless person could clearly tell something was wrong, right?

Baroque Works is a subordinate organization under the recently renowned 'Twelve Zodiacs'?

They had never even heard of such a thing before!

And what about the nonsense that Alabasta was currently looking for them -- they were directly taken out of prison by Dragon of the Rat in front of the jailers.

Not to mention that not long ago, he personally saw Alabasta's Captain of the Guards, 'Igaram', arrive on this island with a large sum of money.

Although there was no evidence, and he didn't know where the treasure went, he was certain that the person in front of him had taken it.

"Was the original MR.0 eliminated?"

In fact, the assassins present could all guess something to some extent.

But...

"."

Seeing Nico Robin standing right beside Dragon of the Rat, everyone tacitly didn't bring up such matters.

Miss. Allsunday had already defected, and everyone could see that the situation was settled.

Moreover, changing bosses wouldn't fundamentally affect them -- who they worked for was still working, wasn't it?

So...

"Oh! It really is you, BOSS!"

MR.3 Gardino stretched out his voice and said obsequiously, "The last time we clashed, I guessed it -- where on the great sea could we find another Strong Person with such incredible power as yours?"

His hand was still bandaged, but he still resolutely raised his hand and saluted: "Please issue your orders, I am absolutely loyal to you. Right? Miss. Golden Week!"

As he said this, he also looked at his partner -- a little girl standing beside him, who was the only numbered assassin who had not participated in the encirclement of Dragon of the Rat earlier.

"Mm."

Miss. Golden Week glanced at Dragon of the Rat with some curiosity, but said nothing.

"There are no specific tasks, just that you all need to keep a low profile recently. Additionally, I will assign each of you a sea area to collect some intelligence for the organization."

Dragon of the Rat said calmly.

"Information?"

"Yes—about some special items, like gold, Devil Fruits, and so on."

Dragon of the Rat said, then spread out a Sea Chart, marking the sea areas Baroque Works could be involved in.

It had to be said, Crocodile's business was indeed quite large.

The entire first half of the Grand Line had, more or less, Billionaires and Millionaires under Baroque Works.

With such a complete intelligence system, plus the fact that MR.1 to MR.5 were all quite capable, he naturally had to utilize them.

"You can each choose the sea area you are responsible for. Hmm—MR.4, you choose first."

Dragon of the Rat called out a name—mainly because this person was the slowest and would waste the most time.

Thus, MR.4 and his dog Lassoo slowly walked forward.

But to Dragon of the Rat's surprise, before MR.4 could speak, Lassoo barked at a certain spot on the Sea Chart.

"Oh, it's your hometown."

MR.4 slowly said, "Then it's decided, Boss, we've chosen."

"...Hmm?"

Dragon of the Rat let out a confused sound.

Then, a hint of surprise flashed across Luo Yi's face beneath his mask.

Because at this moment, he suddenly realized that he had overlooked a problem before.

That was MR.4's gun named 'Lassoo'.

As mentioned before, its essence was a gun, but it had eaten the Inu Inu Fruit and transformed into its current state.

But the problem was—Luo Yi had never really thought about where this gun came from.

"The technique of making weapons eat Devil Fruits. Come to think of it, isn't this an effect achievable only with Vegapunk's technology?"

"How does MR.4 have such a weapon?"

With this thought, Dragon of the Rat looked at MR.4 and asked directly, "Hometown? You mean where you got this gun?"

"...Yes."

MR.4 nodded slowly.

Subsequently, he didn't hide anything and directly began to recount the story between him and Lassoo.

And just as Dragon of the Rat had guessed.

Lassoo was not initially MR.4's gun.

On the contrary, he obtained this gun during an accidental shipwreck before he even joined Baroque Works.

"I had just set sail at the time, working as a ship's carpenter. I don't know the specifics, only that there seemed to be a massive tsunami that sank our ship."

He said foolishly, "But my body was naturally stronger than others, so even though I drifted at sea for a long time, I was lucky to survive."

"It wasn't until a few days later that I discovered a small island nearby. I managed to land there and then found a huge Research Institute."

"There were many strange robots inside that Research Institute, and they were very dangerous. After being injured by them, I fled into one of the rooms."

Speaking to this point, he pointed to the dachshund-like gun beside him.

"There, I met Lassoo."

"With its help, I was able to successfully escape that island."

And when he said this, Dragon of the Rat's heart was almost certain.

Research Institute, robots, and weapons that ate Devil Fruits.

"Was that an early Research Institute of Vegapunk? Like Balkimore's Research Institute?"

Dragon of the Rat had already formed this guess in his mind.

Subsequently, he naturally became interested.

Vegapunk—this genius scientist was an extraordinary figure, and his research on Devil Fruits was unparalleled.

Dragon of the Rat was naturally very interested in anything he left behind.

"What else was in that Research Institute? And where is that island?"

So he asked directly.

"I don't know. I didn't stay in that Research Institute for too long."

MR.4 still said slowly.

"As for that island..."

Speaking to this point, he exchanged a glance with Lassoo, both of them looking hesitant.

"You might not believe this—after joining the company, Lassoo and I went back to look for it, but we couldn't find the island in its original location."

"Can't find it?"

Dragon of the Chen's words paused.

"Yeah, Lassoo and I both confirmed the coordinates are correct, but there's no trace of any island nearby."

MR.4 said, pointing at the Sea Chart.

As Dragon of the Chen's gaze followed, he saw that where MR.4's finger pointed was a blank expanse of sea on the Sea Chart.

And near that sea area, was...

"Water 7?"

Upon seeing the city near that coordinate, beneath his mask, Luo Yi's eyes flickered slightly.

"This is quite... a coincidence."

He murmured inwardly.

That's right—it was indeed a coincidence.

Because he knew very well.

The fruit he desperately needed right now, the one that would allow him to meet his clones at will, was also in Water 7!