Vic retrieved a small lump of bronze from his Dimensional Space and casually crafted it into a bronze mirror the size of a watch, which he then wore on his wrist. He was about to assist Frodeku and the others in their cultivation within the illusionary realm. The small mirror on his wrist would allow Ban to contact him promptly if he noticed anything amiss. After finishing this, he got up and headed towards the camp.
Vic silently pulled all his companions into the illusion, except for Bullet, of course. In the time that followed, Rebecca and the others were plunged into the most desperate and painful trial!
This is the simplest and most effective way to strengthen one's will. It can even withstand absolute pain and despair. I can't imagine how strong one's will must be to sustain it. At such times, death is the greatest mercy!
But with Vic, there was no such option. The more free and carefree Rebecca and the others were before, the more desperate and painful they became now, because they had no idea that this was an illusion; they only believed that it was something that happened after Vic returned!
One day after Vic returned, the World Government discovered their eternal youth and suspected they possessed the secret to eternal youth. They came to Vic demanding that he hand it over. Given Vic's personality, he naturally refused, and so, under Vic's leadership, they went to war with the World Government!
However, the World Government was too powerful, and a group of strong individuals at Vic's level emerged. Vic knew that he was no match for them and that things would not end well, so he forcibly unleashed all his power to hold off all the strong individuals and force them to scatter and escape.
To cover their retreat, Vic's body was maimed, even worse than when Whitebeard was at Marineford. Everyone witnessed this, their eyes wide with fury, yet utterly helpless!
Although it seemed like everyone managed to escape in the end, only they knew that they were caught after running for a short time. Their opponents were too strong, on a completely different level, and they were suppressed in just a few moves. Until they were captured, they didn't know what had happened to the others!
However, when their Pure Gold jewelry was taken away and they were subjected to severe torture to find out the whereabouts of the others, they learned that everyone except themselves had escaped. They were extremely relieved but determined not to betray their comrades. In return, they were subjected to even more vicious torture that made them wish they were dead.
They endured the pain without uttering a word, and they never thought of death. They just struggled on, only thinking about finding a chance to escape, cultivate themselves to become powerful, and then return to avenge Vic, or avenge others who might be captured!
This belief will never change, and it is the driving force that keeps them going. They just don't know that they are all going through this process at the same time, because what Vic wants is for them all to improve and become stronger together!
But that wasn't the end of it. While they were suffering agonizing torment, a mangled corpse appeared before them. The familiar clothes and figure, the remaining half of the face—these images had haunted their minds day and night for some time now. At that moment, they were so desperate that they wanted to end their own lives!
But they couldn't. They had to leave hope for Vic to avenge himself, even if they couldn't, they had to take a piece of flesh from the Celestial Dragons. They couldn't die now, no matter how painful it was! This was the roar in their hearts!
However, Vic's corpse was just the beginning. Every few days, a familiar corpse would appear before them. These were their comrades who had escaped before, now lying dead with their eyes wide open. The hatred they carried grew heavier and heavier until the death of their last comrade!
The deaths of their comrades, coupled with physical torture, caused them to waver several times. Not because they wanted to betray their comrades, but because they wanted to give up on living. After several internal struggles, they finally pulled through. Revenge had to be taken, and the Celestial Dragons had to die. This was their last source of strength!
With all their comrades dead, they became numb. No matter how the enemy tortured them, they wouldn't even flinch. It was as if the torture hadn't been inflicted on them, or perhaps the pain had been transmitted to another dimension.
The hatred emanating from them was almost tangible; their icy gazes seemed capable of freezing the executioner. The only thing left in their hearts was to avenge their comrades. Pain and despair were the fuel for their self-strengthening!
While Vic was helping everyone temper their will, Luffy and his crew arrived in Zou, only to learn that Sanji was going to marry Four Emperors Big Mom's daughter.
At this point, they weren't entirely clear about the hidden story, but they knew that Sanji must have some reason for his actions. Even if Sanji really didn't want to be a pirate anymore, he would explain things to them and part ways amicably!
Luffy is just that kind of stubborn person; he has to find out the truth. Nami is like that, Robin is like that, and now Sanji is the same. So Luffy split his men into two groups. He took Nami, Chopper, Brook, and the Mink Tribe Pedro and Carrot with him to Whole Cake Island, the stronghold of Four Emperors Big Mom.
" Luffy! Didn't Vic appear in Dressrosa? Did you see him?"
On the Thousand Sunny, Nami asked Luffy, while Chopper listened attentively beside her. They had once again split into two groups, with the others already heading to Wano Country. Nami had learned about Vic's situation from the newspaper, and she felt she had missed it again!
"Has Vic shown up in Dressrosa? I haven't seen him."
Luffy is very hungry right now, and he's listless and speaking weakly.
"It's all in the newspapers. He even clashed with Marine Admiral Fujitora and former Fleet Admiral Sengoku. The newspapers are saying that Straw Hat Boy was able to escape because one of the Four Emperors Vic, held off the Marine Admiral. Didn't you notice anything when you escaped?"
The newspaper reports were in line with Fujitora's wishes, attributing his act of secretly letting the Straw Hat Pirates go to dealing with the sudden appearance of the Four Emperors Vic.
On the surface, that was indeed the case. Fujitora was chasing Straw Hat Boy when he suddenly spotted the Four Emperors Vic lurking nearby. The two exchanged a blow before disappearing from sight.
Reporters speculated that they were afraid the battle would be too intense and destroy the island of Dressrosa, so they changed the battlefield. At that time, Vic's side had former Marine Admiral Aokiji, while Fujitora's side had former Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Chief of Staff Tsuru. Both sides were among the strongest of the strong.
If a fight breaks out, the entire Dressrosa will be sunk. This was the reporter's speculation, and he wrote part of it in the newspaper. So, in Nami's view, it was Vic who was covering Luffy's escape from the Navy's capture!
"There seemed to be a huge commotion. A meteorite suddenly fell, and I thought it was going to hit the island. But it all turned into lightning and disappeared. Oh, right... lightning! Was that Vic's ability? So Vic was there too. It's a pity I didn't run into him!"
Luffy's reaction was really slow. There were so many people on the ship at the time, Zoro, Robin, Franky, Law and others all recognized that it was Vic's ability. No meteorite can turn into Inazuma on its own. Only Luffy was shouting and looking on in amazement. Now, after Nami's reminder, he finally realized what was going on.
"Of course it's him! Even Robin recognized him. This time, our target is Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors and one of the World's Strongest!"
Luffy! How about we ask Vic for help? This mission is incredibly difficult and fraught with danger for us, but as one of the Four Emperors, he could help us get Sanji back with just a word!
Now that he's in Dressrosa protecting you, he's probably been watching you all along. Maybe if you shout, he'll hear you!
"Yeah! Luffy! Vic is a really nice guy; he even taught me some medical skills before!"
Nami can be tough at times, but she can also be cowardly at others. And now her enemy is Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors. Having heard so many legends, she is genuinely terrified!
But if she really needs to fight to win back her comrades, she can overcome her fear and do everything she can to achieve victory, which is another rare strength of hers!