"I don't know if this is right or wrong, but that guy Kuma... shouldn't have to suffer like this..." The doctor muttered to himself, looking at the empty room.
A personality that has been erased is very difficult to recover. However, the command modification program could allow Kuma to behave as much like a human as possible.
The doctor had told Rosen this.
"The Revolutionary Army?" The doctor recalled what Kuma had once told him, and thought about the mysterious person from earlier. If the World Government couldn't use his abilities for peace, would the Revolutionary Army be a good alternative?
And that person... who was he?
It seemed he needed to pay more attention to the news at sea. If things were going wrong, perhaps it was time for him to correct them. He absolutely could not allow a tragedy where millions of lives were destroyed because of his knowledge to happen again.
Weapons could bring killing, but they should instead bring peace.
On the coast of Kamikage Island.
"The people? Didn't you say there was a pirate invasion?" Sentomaru rushed over urgently with three Pacifistas, but all he saw was the aftermath: personnel beaten and wounded everywhere, with not a single enemy in sight.
"Captain, that woman just ran off."
"A woman?"
"Sir, report! There's an unregistered warship departing from the east coast. Should we intercept?" A major ran over from a short distance to report.
"Intercept! It must be those pirates trying to escape! Kamikage batteries, confirm there are no allied soldiers in the area, then open fire with full force! Everyone else, prepare a warship immediately and set sail!" Sentomaru's expression was grim. He was a man who aimed to become a full-fledged Marine, after all.
This incident wasn't extremely serious, but it wasn't trivial either. Letting them escape would ultimately be a loss of face.
"Sir!"
But how could Hathaway and Rosen, who had prepared for this, be easily caught? No matter how powerful the cannon fire, they could defend against it.
"Captain! Big trouble! The Pacifista... no, not that! The Shichibukai docked on the new battleship, Bartholomew Kuma, is gone?!"
"What?!" If Sentomaru had been relatively calm just moments ago, he was now completely losing his composure.
Although Bartholomew Kuma's value had been fully exploited, he was still the prototype for the Pacifistas. If he fell into someone else's hands and they managed to research something from him, it would be very troublesome.
Moreover, back when they convinced Kuma to willingly become a test subject, the Science Division, Marine Headquarters, and even the World Government had all paid a considerable price.
They had agreed to all of Kuma's not-too-excessive requests, all because the compatibility between Kuma's genes and the modified genes was exceptionally high.
"Dispatch all available forces! Chase down that ship and bring it back. Now!" Sentomaru grabbed a Den Den Mushi and roared.
Magellan also came flying over from a short distance, wrapped in his Venom Demon. "What's going on?"
"The intruders have taken Bartholomew Kuma!"
"What?! Who did this? Could it be the Revolutionary Army?"
"No, it can't be the Revolutionary Army. If it were them, they wouldn't act so recklessly and alert us. They'd more likely wait for an opportunity to take us all out at once. It's probably just some ordinary fugitive pirates, but they have good eyesight, taking something so valuable... I hope they don't know more than that, or we'll be in trouble. Strengthen patrols in the sea area for the time being, and report this information upward immediately." Despite his anger, Sentomaru hadn't lost his rationality.
Out at sea.
"Are they chasing us?" Rosen was carrying Bartholomew Kuma. Hathaway looked at this man, who had once meant well but caused harm, now reduced to a machine devoid of human emotion. Her expression was unavoidably complex.
"They won't catch us. Let's not follow the direction the navigation birds indicate for now; that route is too obvious. Besides, apart from following that route, they probably wouldn't dare to pursue us recklessly from other directions. This will also confuse them, making them think we don't know the correct way out..." Hathaway steered the helm, analyzing calmly.
In other sea areas, there were plenty of Sea Kings, and who knew which direction they might flee?
"Mm." Rosen didn't see any problem with that.
"The friend-or-foe system has been adjusted by the doctor. He's registered as friendly now and won't attack. But like this, is there really hope he can regain his humanity?" Rosen looked at Kuma, who stood silently by the ship's edge like a machine, and couldn't help but feel doubtful. Even if a new personality were born, it would probably be different from the original one, right?
"How is it?" Sentomaru boarded a warship, contacting the ship that had given chase first.
"Sir, report. No sign of the enemy vessel. It's very likely they don't know the real way to leave this sea area. If the Nostra Castra was on the correct course, there's no way it could outrun our top-of-the-line warships."
"Sir, report! It seems the doctor's guards came under an unexpected attack."
"What happened? How is the doctor?"
"The doctor is fine. We found them near the cafeteria. They might have gone out to pursue the enemy."
"I'm heading back immediately." After thinking for a moment, Sentomaru gave up the chase. The doctor was the most important thing, after all.
Since the enemy wasn't on the established course, pursuing them further would be pointless. He could only have the warships follow the course for a symbolic search. But if they weren't on the course, no matter how strong they were, it seemed impossible for them to find their way out of this mist-shrouded sea.
The Marines had only discovered this island by sheer coincidence back then. Countless ships had been lost in these waters.
"Take this back and give it to Leah. If you feel anything physically unusual, wait until we confirm this is safe, and then you should take it too." Rosen handed Hathaway a piece of paper.
On it was the mixing ratio for various agents. Rosen couldn't understand it; probably only Leah, who was skilled in research, would know.
"You went to see that so-called doctor for this?" Hathaway was moved.
"Yeah. The research from your people in Landis originated from him... Wait... What are you doing... Don't go back! Even though the research concept came from him, he refused and disagreed with it. It's not his fault..." Rosen quickly stopped Hathaway. Going back now would be walking right into the tiger's den.
"Hmph, since he's such a dangerous element, why didn't you just take care of him while you were at it?" Hathaway was a bit displeased.
"Science itself isn't inherently good or bad. Only the user is." Rosen reasoned.
Hathaway fell silent. She was just feeling slightly uncomfortable. After all, the real culprit had already been dealt with. The only mountain left to overcome was the World Government.
...
Karakuri Island, an island only about the size of a medium town. In the central plaza, over thirty members of the Kuja Pirates were tied up together and casually thrown onto the road.
A tall, imposing pirate sat on a stone block, while another stood nearby.
Among those captured was Hancock's sister, Sandersonia!
The standing pirate was Abalo Pizarro. Beside him was another infamous, albeit aging, great pirate from a bygone era, Byrnndi World.
The two had been active in the same era and knew each other.
World didn't have his former comrades with him, only himself. This was a villain whose bounty didn't reflect his true threat level. The World Government, fearing his power, had kept him in a state of suspended animation through freezing for 30 years in Impel Down. Upon release, however, his strength was no longer what it once was.
Even Whitebeard would likely be weakened if frozen and imprisoned for decades.
"Aren't you with that Blackbeard in the New World?" World glanced coldly at Pizarro. In his grand plan for revenge, even if he was alone, it was enough.
But he hadn't expected Pizarro to propose an alliance.
"That was the plan, yeah. But that guy Blackbeard's abilities are just average, and he wasn't willing to hand the captain's seat over to me. So we ended up fighting. Last time I suggested you join up with Blackbeard, you refused. If the two of us had teamed up back then, killing him wouldn't have been a problem. Then I wouldn't be half-dead now and barely able to escape." Pizarro said with a laugh.
"Hmph, I'm enough on my own. Blackbeard? I don't know who he thinks he is, wanting me to submit to him. Overestimating himself." World was extremely disdainful. If he hadn't been frozen for thirty years, drastically reducing his physical capabilities, he probably would have destroyed Blackbeard himself when he first woke up on the sixth level of Impel Down.
"Hahaha, you can't say that. That younger generation does have some real power and ambition. It's a shame his operation failed, or I might have stuck with him to the end. But for now, making an example of a Shichibukai to announce our return to the world isn't a bad idea." Pizarro chuckled.
"I wonder if this so-called Pirate Empress will come to save them. If she doesn't, this will be a real waste of time. Summoning the Shichibukai to capture me? Let's see if they have what it takes." World said coldly. The Shichibukai? Are they really that strong? Uniting just to deal with me?
(End of Chapter)