After driving Vegapunk away, Vic then sent the giant object, which was immersed in the culture medium, along with the equipment, into the alternate dimension.
At this point, Egghead had nothing of value left except for a few Seraphim. Everything the World Government wanted had been intercepted by Vic, and would later become weapons to counterattack the World Government!
After leaving the research institute, Vic went to the beach. He checked on Rebecca and the other two and found that they had not yet found the key to breaking the demonization. He did not rush over, but instead went to find Kizaru lying on the warship!
Whether Kizaru was Luffy here by Luffy or accidentally flew here on his own, he coincidentally ended up lying on the warship and has been there ever since!
"Alright, stop pretending to be dead. The Five Elders have all left, so it's time for you to take those troublesome guys and leave this place too."
The Five Elders have all perished, so your defeat is nothing. However, you'd better not tell anyone about what happened today, or you might bring about your own demise!
As for the marines on the island? They don't need any supervision; they were already stunned by Conqueror's Haki, and they have no idea what happened afterward!
Vic stood beside Kizaru and nudged the feigning unconscious Kizaru with his foot. Although Kizaru was far from the battlefield, he had not lost his Observation Haki. Even if he didn't know the specifics of what had happened on the island, he certainly knew that a powerful figure with a different aura had arrived, a powerful figure hidden behind the Five Elders!
This involves the secrets of the Celestial Dragons, which even Marine Admiral cannot pry into. They are beings who can easily wipe out a Five Elders. Given Kizaru's character and conduct, he knows that what happened today is extremely important and absolutely cannot be spoken of!
"Huh? What are you doing here? You guys are terrifying! Is the battle over? What are you going to do with us?"
Kizaru seemed to be kicked awake, letting out an unconscious groan before opening his eyes. Upon seeing Vic, he seemed to realize that they had lost the battle, so he didn't resist and let Vic handle it.
Anyway, I'm already incapacitated, so you can do whatever you want with me. If you're willing to let me go for the sake of our ties with the Navy, that's your business. I'm pretty tough, I've never begged for mercy. As for what happened before? I have no idea. I was knocked unconscious by Straw Hat Boy Luffy, and it was Vic who woke me up!
"I'm a former navy officer, and I don't have any grudges against them. I'll let you off this time, but don't mess with me again, or you'll face the consequences! Hmph!"
You want to act, huh? Fine, I'll act with you then. As for acting skills, you, Kizaru, are an Oscar winner, but other Oscar winners call me an Oscar winner. You can judge the value of that title yourself!
" Kizaru! What are you doing here? Still not giving up on Apple Old Man?"
Vic returned to the previous battlefield, while Rebecca and the other two were still searching for a way to remove the demonic transformation, but to no avail.
Luffy was puzzled when he saw Kizaru dragging his tired body toward the battlefield. At this Luffy no longer harbored any hostility towards Kizaru. After all, he had already defeated him once before, and he no longer regarded Kizaru as an opponent. This was just Luffy's personality!
"He's here to take those navy men away. Leaving them lying here isn't a good idea. Just leave them!"
Rebecca and Hancock both glared at Kizaru with some hostility. Women are so vengeful; he was just an enemy a moment ago, and it hasn't been that long. It's unrealistic to expect them to immediately let go of their hostility. Only after Vic spoke did they stop paying attention to Kizaru's actions!
Kizaru started with the outermost marines. Since all the marines were lying on the ground, he naturally started with those closest to him. The simplest way to wake up the unconscious people was to slap them, and Kizaru was no exception!
The quiet battlefield was filled with the sound of slaps. Kabuto's effect was indeed good; those he had slapped were all sobered up. Then, those who had been awakened by Kizaru went on to slap others in the face. The number of awakened Marines increased exponentially, and soon all the Marines were awake. As for the CP Agent who had fallen to the ground, all the Marines ignored them!
" Hancock! Restore your petrified Marines as well, and let them leave intact!"
Seeing the Navy silently carrying away the petrified Marines, Vic called out to Hancock, "Since we've already reached an agreement with Kizaru, let's do it cleanly."
With just one breath, all the petrified Marines recovered. Kizaru gave Vic a deep look before leading all the Marines to the beach and boarding the warship!
"Are you guys even capable? It's been so long and you still haven't found a solution. Maybe I should just tell them. It's tiring for them to yell like that. Are you trying to exhaust them?"
Vic joked, " Rebecca, Luffy, and Hancock aren't stupid; they all have their moments of sharpness!"
Luffy needs a major crisis to spark his inspiration. Rebecca is alright, but she's a bit inflexible and doesn't know how to adapt. Hancock's mind is a bit unpredictable, so her ideas are a bit extreme, and she's not good at noticing details. Watching the three of them act made Vic want to cover his forehead in exasperation!
" Vic! Tell me quickly, I'm starving!"
Luffy's face twisted into a whiny expression, his grievances overflowing. His battle intelligence had been dormant since the battle, and no matter how much he shook his head, it was useless; it felt like his brain was empty.
" Luffy! I said you'd only get food if you found it, right? You only listen to what's best for you, don't you? You're just misunderstanding things!"
Although Vic thought the same way, regardless of whether the three of them found a solution or not, he would still cook a delicious meal and hold a farewell banquet.
" Vic! Just tell us! I know you're the best. You'd do it even if we didn't find it, right?"
"Lord Vic! I'm too stupid, I still can't figure it out!"
The two women gave up. They had been searching for so long and still hadn't found it, so there was basically no hope. If they were going to find it, they would have found it long ago. You can't come up with something without inspiration.
"Do you remember where you stood before you became demons? If you do, take a look and see what's there?"
Vic gave a brief hint.
Luffy: "There's nothing there!"
Rebecca: "No! It would be strange if there was nothing there. We were all turned into demons by that pentagram pattern, and now there's no pattern left!"
Hancock: "Yes! That's the strangest thing. Everyone else's array diagrams are still there, but ours are gone. This means..."
Rebecca: "This means that after we turn back, the pattern will disappear. They didn't recover, so the pattern is still there. If we destroy the pattern, will they be able to recover? Just like when Vic used Conqueror's Haki to destroy the pattern before?"
Luffy: "Is that so? I'll go try it out!"