We're Friends Now

Xia Le sighed softly.

He truly hadn't expected anyone to witness that scene. The alley was narrow, less than a meter wide, and the exit directly ahead was filled with kneeling figures.

Faced with Celestial Dragons, how many people would dare raise their heads to look ahead?

Yet, as it turned out, Crocodile had been right there.

"Yes!"

Crocodile nodded again.

"Then what are your thoughts?"

Xia Le smiled faintly, looking at his uniformed subordinate.

Crocodile fell silent, thinking.

Someone who could strike down a Celestial Dragon without hesitation possessed unimaginable courage and audacity. Such a man would never be content to remain a mere rear admiral. In fact, his future might not stop at the Navy.

After a long while, Crocodile raised his head.

"Whatever ambitions or aspirations you hold in your heart, one thing is certain."

"You still need a group of people you can trust to help you."

Drawing a deep breath, he looked solemnly into Xia Le's eyes.

"I am willing to become your most reliable, most powerful ally!"

His former self might have dreamed of becoming a great pirate, or even the Pirate King. But those memories had shattered, leaving him with only scattered fragments through which to recall who he had been.

Now, he valued what lay before him more, just as Xia Le had said at their commissioning ceremony.

Live in the present!

Xia Le smiled, then burst into laughter as he looked at Crocodile.

The others exchanged glances, unsure what cryptic exchange the two were having.

"Hey, Crocodile, what's going on? What exactly are you talking to Commander Xia Le about?"

Rosinante ran over, threw an arm around Crocodile's shoulders, and asked curiously.

Evens and the others also turned around, their eyes full of interest.

"I discovered one of our commander's secrets!"

Crocodile pressed his lips together, then said with a smile.

"What secret?"

"Can you tell us?"

Mina asked.

Crocodile smiled, glanced at Xia Le, then spoke with another smile.

"Our commander..."

"He's killed a Celestial Dragon!"

In an instant, the entire ship fell silent.

Rosinante's pupils contracted, the smile still frozen on his face, while everyone else's expression changed.

But when they saw Xia Le standing before them with his arms folded, watching them with a smile, they quickly put their smiles back on.

"Hahahaha!"

"What kind of ridiculous joke are you making?"

"That isn't funny at all."

"You just scared the hell out of me!"

They all laughed and cursed at him.

None of them took Crocodile's words seriously, because their commander hadn't admitted to anything.

Only Evens, when he happened to turn his head, abruptly lost his smile. Fear and shock replaced it.

He didn't deny it either!!!

But soon, everyone put the matter out of their minds.

It was as though nothing had happened.

Next, they became more curious about what was inside the wooden box Evens was holding.

"What could it be?"

"The commander said headquarters considers this mission very important."

"Whatever's inside must be worth a fortune, right?"

"It has to be something beyond our imagination."

Curiosity ate at them, but regulations kept them from casually unlocking the wooden box.

"If you want to know what's inside, just open it."

Xia Le smiled.

He wasn't particularly interested in the contents himself, since he already had a good idea of what they were.

Most likely, it was a Devil Fruit.

By now, Vegapunk should have begun a series of studies into Devil Fruits and the lineage factor.

"Can we open it?"

"Isn't this mission supposed to be strictly confidential?"

T Bone asked in surprise.

"If none of us tells anyone, aren't we keeping it confidential?"

"Little Bones, don't be so rigid! You'll pay dearly for it someday!"

Xia Le countered, then turned to Crocodile.

"Little Sand, use your power to open it!"

Crocodile smiled at that. "That's easy."

A moment later, grains of sand slipped into the lock's keyhole and quickly solidified into a key.

With the sound of the lock turning, the wooden box opened.

Evens lifted the lid, and everyone looked inside together. A fruit covered in strange patterns immediately came into view.

"It's a Devil Fruit!"

Slo exclaimed in shock.

"Our mission this time was to escort a Devil Fruit?"

Kira spoke up as well.

Everyone was astonished, but Xia Le remained calm.

He knew full well that after the Navy gained control of Vegapunk, the scientist began a series of studies into Devil Fruits and produced numerous breakthroughs.

"Close it."

After a glance around revealed the longing in everyone's eyes, Xia Le spoke again in an even tone.

Evens snapped the box shut without hesitation.

"Heh, if you want powers like that, we can go earn them ourselves in the future."

"This fruit is our mission cargo."

Only after hearing those words did the longing fade from Slo's and the others' eyes.

Egghead wasn't particularly close to their location, but it wasn't too far away either.

Ten days later, the warship finally entered the island's harbor.

As Xia Le had expected, Egghead was heavily guarded, and a vice admiral was assigned to receive them.

"My apologies, Rear Admiral Xia Le. Regulations prohibit anyone from outside this island from entering."

The vice admiral spoke gravely.

"What about me, then?"

Xia Le took the wooden box Evens handed him, then continued.

"My orders were to deliver this item to Vegapunk personally."

The vice admiral fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

"As the disciple of Vice Admiral Garp, the Hero of the Navy, I believe you can be trusted."

"But as I just said, only you may enter with the mission cargo."

Xia Le nodded.

Then he passed through the harbor, where numerous elite marines stood guard, and entered the island.

Without question, Egghead was now a tightly secured research base.

As he passed through the base entrance, Xia Le saw not only marines but also mysterious figures dressed in black, their expressions cold and their vigilance high.

About seven minutes later, he met Vegapunk in a waiting room.

"Come with me, Rear Admiral Xia Le."

Upon seeing him, Vegapunk beckoned, then turned and left.

Xia Le paused, then followed with the box in hand.

We're friends now

Vegapunk looked very much like Einstein, a great scientist from Xia Le's previous life.

Now middle-aged, he had an enormous, towering head that almost reached the ceiling.

Xia Le followed quietly behind him until they entered a laboratory filled with papers and instruments of every kind.

"It's so stifling here!"

Vegapunk walked over to a collection of test tubes and began tinkering with them amid a series of clinks.

"They captured me and brought me here."

"At the time, I was researching the 'lineage factor' with Vinsmoke Judge."

"The World Government decided what I was doing was too dangerous, brought me here, and bought off my team."

"But later, I decided this wasn't so bad. At least I no longer had to worry about the vast amounts of resources and money my experiments required!"

At that, Vegapunk gave a seemingly self-deprecating chuckle.

Xia Le listened quietly, feeling somewhat surprised.

He wasn't actually familiar with Vegapunk, and most of what he knew came from his previous world.

"If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to work with the World Government. Besides, you could say everything I do here is forced upon me."

Vegapunk continued.

"Are you allowed to say all this?"

Xia Le asked curiously.

"The room is pretty well soundproofed. Besides, they don't care what I say."

"The World Government is much more interested in my research findings."

"All they want are results!"

Vegapunk said with a smile.