The corridor was a blur of steel and warning lights. The klaxons blared a rhythmic, deafening pulse that matched the frantic heartbeats of the escapees. Behind them, the purple fog of Shinokuni rolled through the facility like a living avalanche, hissing as it consumed the metal floor and turned the very air into stone.
Luffy ran at the front, the small pink dragon Momonosuke clinging tightly to his hair.
"Faster!" Momonosuke screamed, looking back at the encroaching death. "The purple cloud is gaining on us! We will be statues!"
"Hold on tight, Eel!" Luffy shouted, accelerating.
"I am a dragon!" Momonosuke corrected, biting Luffy's forehead.
"Ouch!" Luffy laughed. "You have sharp teeth! You really are a dragon!"
Running beside him, Law glanced at the peculiar pair. "Straw Hat-ya, this is not the time to play with the wildlife. We are heading straight for Sector B. That is the central junction. From there, we can access the main lab in Sector R."
"We just have to kick down every door, right?" Luffy asked.
"Preferably we open them," Law sighed. "But knowing you, kicking is inevitable."
Behind them, the rest of the group struggled to keep up. Smoker, propelled by his smoke, carried the still-dismembered Tashigi. The G-5 Marines, who had regrouped with Sanji and Franky, were running for their lives, carrying the sedated giant children on makeshift stretchers made of floating debris Law had tactfully assembled.
"Move it, you lazy bums!" Sanji kicked a marine in the rear to speed him up. "If those kids get turned to stone, I will turn you into mincemeat!"
"Yes, Black Leg-san!" The marines cried, terrified of both the gas and the cook.
They burst into the Sector B junction, a massive circular hall with multiple blast doors leading to different wings of the facility.
But they were not alone.
Standing in the center of the hall, calm and composed, was a man in a white marine coat. He held a bamboo stick in his hand. At his feet lay three G-5 marines, beaten and bloody, groaning in pain.
"Base Commander?" One of the running marines stopped, gasping. "Vergo-san! You are here! Thank goodness! We need help! The gas is coming!"
Vergo did not smile. He did not move to help. He simply adjusted his dark sunglasses. On his cheek, a piece of leftover hamburger steak was stuck, defying gravity.
"Vergo," Smoker landed, his smoke dissipating. He placed Tashigi gently on the ground. His eyes were hidden behind his own goggles, but the tension in his jaw was visible.
"Smoker-kun," Vergo said, his voice deep and devoid of emotion. "You are making a mess. Working with pirates? That is against protocol."
"Protocol?" Smoker spat the cigar from his mouth. "You are killing my men, Vergo. Is that protocol?"
The G-5 marines froze. "What? No! Vergo-san is a hero! He wouldn't—"
Vergo moved.
It was a burst of speed that defied his stoic appearance. He appeared in front of the nearest marine—a young ensign reaching out for help.
Wham.
The bamboo stick, coated in invisible, hardened Haki, struck the marine's neck. The sound of breaking bone echoed in the hall. The marine collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
"Disorderly conduct," Vergo stated flatly. "Punishment is required."
Silence descended on the hall. The G-5 marines stared in horror. Their hero, the man they idolized, had just assaulted one of their own without hesitation.
"You bastard!" Smoker roared. His arm turned into smoke, launching a White Blow at Vergo's face.
Vergo didn't dodge. He raised his left hand. His arm turned shiny black—Busoshoku Haki. He caught Smoker's smoke fist and crushed it.
"Your Haki is weak, Smoker-kun," Vergo said. "You rely too much on your Logia powers."
He swung the bamboo stick. Smoker blocked with his jitte, but the force of the blow sent him skidding back ten meters, his boots carving grooves into the metal floor.
"Traffy!" Luffy shouted. "Is that the guy?"
"Yes," Law stepped forward, his face pale but his eyes burning with hatred. "Vergo. The Joker's Executive."
Vergo looked at Law. He reached into his coat pocket.
"Law," Vergo said. "You have grown impudent."
He pulled out a small, pulsating cube. A heart encased in a transparent membrane.
Law froze. He clutched his chest, gasping.
"My heart," Law whispered.
Vergo squeezed.
"Gah!" Law fell to his knees, vomiting blood. The pain was immediate and crippling. It felt like his chest was being crushed by a hydraulic press.
"Law-san!" Bepo (in spirit) would have screamed, but here, it was Chopper who yelled. "Stop it! You are killing him!"
"You thought you could outsmart the Young Master?" Vergo walked toward the kneeling Warlord. He squeezed the heart again.
"Argh!" Law curled up on the floor, shaking uncontrollably.
"You are just a brat I beat into submission thirteen years ago," Vergo raised his bamboo stick, coating it in Haki until it was black as night. "I will break you again."
He swung the stick down, aiming to shatter Law's skull.
CLANG.
The stick stopped inches from Law's head.
Vergo's eyes widened slightly behind his sunglasses.
A sandal. A simple straw sandal, attached to a leg clad in black Haki, had stopped his strike.
Luffy stood over Law, his leg raised in a blocking stance. He looked at Vergo. His expression was not angry. It was disappointed.
"You are boring," Luffy said.
"Straw Hat," Vergo applied more pressure. "Do not interfere."
"You are bullying a guy who can't fight back," Luffy said. "That is boring."
Luffy pushed. His leg overpowered Vergo's arm. Vergo was forced to jump back to maintain his balance.
Luffy reached down and grabbed Law by the collar, hauling him to his feet.
"Traffy," Luffy said. "Can you stand?"
"My... heart..." Law wheezed, wiping blood from his mouth. "He has it."
"Then get it back," Luffy said simply. "You are a Warlord, aren't you? Don't let a piece of steak-face beat you."
Luffy turned to Smoker.
"Smokey. He is your boss, right?"
"He was," Smoker stood up, smoke billowing from his shoulders. His jitte was drawn, the Sea Prism Stone tip glinting. "Now he is just trash."
"Good," Luffy pointed at Vergo. "You two take him. I have a date with a clown."
"You are leaving us?" Law asked, surprised. "He is a Haki master. Smoker and I... without my heart..."
"You will figure it out," Luffy grinned. "Trust me. Or trust yourself."
Luffy turned to his crew.
"Sanji! Franky! Take the kids and the marines to the ship! Find the exit! Zoro, Robin, you are with me!"
"Aye, Captain!" Sanji saluted, kicking a vent open. "Everyone! Follow the Love Cook! Ladies first!"
"Straw Hat-ya!" Law shouted as Luffy began to run.
Luffy didn't stop. He sprinted past Vergo.
Vergo tried to intercept him. "Demon Bamboo!"
He thrust the stick at Luffy's midsection.
Slash.
A wall of white smoke blocked Vergo's path. Smoker stood there, his jitte locked against the bamboo.
"Your opponent is me, Vergo," Smoker growled.
"And me," Law stood up, leaning on his sword. His face was pale, but his eyes were sharp. "I have waited thirteen years for this."
Luffy, Zoro, and Robin disappeared down the corridor leading to Sector R.
Sector R - The Gate of Ice
The path to the main lab was colder than the rest of the facility. Ice coated the walls, thick and jagged.
"It is getting colder," Robin remarked, pulling the centaur coat tighter. "This unnatural cold... it feels intentional."
"It is her," Luffy said.
They reached a large, cavernous room filled with snow. It was snowing indoors. Standing in the center of the room, blocking the massive blast door to the Control Room, was a woman.
She had long green hair, wings for arms, and harpy talons for feet. She was beautiful, in a terrifying way.
Monet.
"Ara," Monet smiled, adjusting her glasses. "Straw Hat Luffy. Pirate Hunter Zoro. Devil Child Robin. You made it past the gas."
"Move," Luffy said. "I'm in a hurry."
"I cannot do that," Monet giggled, covering her mouth with a wing. "Master Caesar is busy preparing the broadcast. If I let you pass, I would be a bad secretary."
She waved her wing.
"Kamakura (Snow Hut)."
Layers of hard, compressed snow erupted from the ground, forming a massive dome around the exit, sealing it completely.
"Snow?" Usopp poked the wall. "It is hard as steel!"
"Logia," Zoro identified it immediately. "Snow-Snow Fruit."
Monet flapped her wings. The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees instantly. A blizzard began to swirl around her.
"If you stay here, you will freeze to death," Monet said sweetly. "Or I can hug you until your hearts stop. Which do you prefer?"
Luffy stepped forward. Steam rose from his body as his internal temperature fought the cold.
"Zoro," Luffy said.
"Yeah," Zoro stepped up, tying his bandana. He drew Shusui.
"I need to save my energy for Caesar," Luffy said. "Can you handle the snow lady?"
Zoro looked at Monet. He looked at her wings. He looked at the snow.
"She is a Logia," Zoro said calmly. "And she is a woman."
"So?" Luffy asked.
"So it will be annoying," Zoro grinned, placing Wado Ichimonji in his mouth. "But I will cut her."
"Robin," Luffy turned to the archaeologist. "Help Zoro. Make sure she doesn't sneak away."
"Understood," Robin crossed her arms.
"I am going," Luffy said.
"Going?" Monet laughed. "The door is sealed with ten layers of steel snow! You cannot—"
"Gomu Gomu no..."
Luffy ignored her. He ignored the blizzard. He ran straight at the snow wall.
He pulled his arm back. His fist turned black, then burst into flames.
"...Red Hawk!"
BOOM.
The impact was explosive. The heat of the attack vaporized the snow instantly. The steel door behind it melted into slag. Luffy punched a tunnel straight through the barrier.
Monet's eyes widened. "He melted my Kamakura?!"
Luffy ran through the hole. "See ya, Zoro! Robin!"
"Wait!" Monet screeched, taking flight. She transformed into a snow monster, a jagged maw of ice forming to bite Luffy's head off. "You are not leaving!"
"One Sword Style," a voice cut through the blizzard.
Zoro appeared in her path. He didn't swing his sword. He just held it up.
"Great Dragon Shock."
He released his killing intent. It wasn't Haki. It was pure, primal fear.
Monet froze. Her snow body stiffened. She looked into Zoro's eye and saw a beast. A predator that viewed her not as an enemy, but as meat.
She couldn't move. Her Logia instincts screamed at her to flee, to disperse, but she was paralyzed.
Luffy sprinted past her frozen form, disappearing into the smoke of the melted door.
Zoro sheathed his sword partially.
"You thought you could bite the Captain?" Zoro asked, his voice low and dangerous. "You are just a snowman. Don't get ahead of yourself."
Monet fell to the ground, gasping for air, her form trembling. "He... he didn't even use Haki... why couldn't I move?"
Robin walked up beside Zoro. "That was unkind, Swordsman-san. You scared her half to death."
"She is an enemy," Zoro grunted. "And we are pirates."
Control Room
Caesar Clown was pacing back and forth, biting his fingernails.
"Monet isn't answering! Vergo isn't answering! The Yeti Brothers are silent!" Caesar screamed at his subordinates. "What is happening?!"
"Master!" A hazmat subordinate yelled. "Sector R door has been breached! Someone melted it!"
"Melted?!" Caesar floated up. "Who?! Who is it?!"
The smoke from the destroyed door cleared.
Luffy stood there. He dusted off his centaur coat. He looked around the room, spotting Caesar floating near the console.
"Found you," Luffy said.
Caesar panicked. He pressed a button on the console.
"Close the blast shutters! Vent the air! Suffocate him!"
"Gastanet!" Caesar snapped his fingers. Castanets filled with volatile gas exploded around Luffy.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The room shook. Fire engulfed the entrance.
"Shurororororo!" Caesar laughed. "Stupid rubber man! You walked right into my trap! Without air, you cannot fight! Without oxygen, your fire attacks are useless!"
The smoke cleared.
Luffy was standing there. He was inhaling deeply. His chest expanded like a balloon.
"You took the air?" Luffy asked, his voice distorted by his inflated lungs.
"What?" Caesar blinked. "How are you breathing?"
"I held my breath," Luffy exhaled, the gust clearing the remaining smoke. "I can hold it for a long time."
He walked forward.
Caesar floated back. "Stay away! I am a Logia! I am Gas! You cannot touch me without—"
Luffy disappeared.
He utilized Soru. He appeared directly in front of Caesar.
"You hurt the kids," Luffy said.
He grabbed Caesar's gas robe. His hand was black.
"You hurt my friends."
Caesar tried to turn into gas to escape, but the grip was solid. "Let go! I am a genius! I am the greatest scientist in the world! You cannot treat me like this!"
"You are not a genius," Luffy pulled his other fist back.
"You are just a balloon filled with bad air."
"Gomu Gomu no..."
"Wait! I have backing! I have Joker! I have Kaido!" Caesar shrieked. "If you hit me, you start a war!"
Luffy's eyes flashed.
"I already started it."
"...Grizzly Magnum!"
BAM.
Both of Luffy's giant, Haki-clad palms slammed into Caesar's face.
The impact was catastrophic. Caesar's face crumpled. His gas body was compressed and then launched backward. He flew through the control room, smashing through the monitors, the consoles, and finally the back wall.
He flew out of the facility entirely, crashing into the snow outside.
Luffy stood in the ruined control room. The subordinates were shaking, dropping their weapons.
Luffy adjusted his hat.
"Next time," Luffy said to the terrified scientists. "Don't drug kids."
He looked at the hole in the wall. The blizzard was blowing in.
"Now," Luffy cracked his neck. "Time to go pick up the garbage."
He walked toward the hole to retrieve the unconscious Caesar. The first domino had fallen. And the sound of its fall would echo all the way to Dressrosa.