"To think such things happened after we left." Meiser frowned as he spoke. "It seems we were targeted from the very beginning."
From the current situation, Robin's earlier suspicion was correct—that strange call was indeed a trap.
"The enemy is probably from the World Government," Zoro stated.
They were currently in World Government territory, so the ones who captured Nami and the others were likely World Government agents.
Thinking this, a trace of disgust flickered in Zoro's eyes.
The World Government really was infuriating.
"Not sure."
Usopp shook his head first, then said with a grimace, "But I hope our enemies are humans..."
Recalling the things they had encountered recently, Usopp's eyelids twitched.
Dragons, Half-Humans, bird-people, and Centaurs...
If the enemies were those kinds of beings, he would feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Humans, huh..."
Glancing at the leopard-leg man below who had suddenly started arguing with Luffy, the others fell into thought.
Were there even any humans left on this island?
"Damn you, how dare you trick me!" The leopard-leg man holding a Den Den Mushi glared angrily at Luffy. "You intruder!"
As he spoke, the leopard-leg man raised his Spiked Club and swung it down, clearly intending to smash Luffy to death.
Seeing this, Luffy performed a backflip to dodge the attack, then kicked the opponent over.
After doing this, Luffy put his hat back on his head with a headache and said, "Wouldn't it be nice to be friends? Why attack me all of a sudden?"
Just then, a Giraffe-Leg Man ran over, raising the long sword in his hand to strike.
"Die, intruder!"
Noticing the sound, Luffy frowned and prepared to knock the other down.
Seeing this, Meiser quickly shouted, "Leave one alive!"
As he spoke, Meiser vanished from his spot with a whoosh.
When he reappeared, he was already beside Luffy.
The next moment...
Clang!
"Wha...?!"
Seeing Meiser raise his arm to block his attack, the Giraffe-Leg Man's eyes instantly filled with shock.
How could this man block his large blade with just his flesh?
Was that even reasonable?
"Who's he?" Luffy frowned, looking at the Giraffe-Leg Man. "Why attack me?"
"Probably a guard or something for this island," Meiser said.
"Bastards, are you two ignoring me?!" the Giraffe-Leg Man roared angrily.
Chatting right in front of him?
How much did they look down on him?!
Thinking this, the Giraffe-Leg Man intended to raise his large blade and chop off their heads.
But before he could act, he saw Meiser reach out and grab his large blade, then... crush the blade with his bare hand!
Crack~
Snap!
Giraffe-Leg Man: !!
"Wha...?!"
Looking at the crushed blade, the Giraffe-Leg Man's eyes were filled with disbelief.
He actually crushed his weapon with his bare hand?
Wasn't... wasn't this guy a monster?
As if realizing the gap between them, fear suddenly surfaced in the Giraffe-Leg Man's eyes.
He... was no match for this opponent!
Thinking this, the Giraffe-Leg Man instinctively took a few steps back, looking as if he wanted to flee.
Seeing this, Meiser sneered, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Damn intruder, don't get cocky," the Giraffe-Leg Man gritted his teeth. "When our boss, Brownbeard, gets here, you'll all die!"
"Brownbeard?"
Hearing these words, Meiser was momentarily stunned. Who would name themselves that?
Was it because of Uncle Whitebeard?
After Uncle Whitebeard died, all sorts of colored beards started popping up?
This...
Meanwhile, the Giraffe-Leg Man seemed to misunderstand something, his eyes lighting up as he said, "So you've heard of Lord Brownbeard's name too!
"In that case, you should obediently..."
Before he could finish, Meiser punched him in the face, sending his teeth flying.
Giraffe-Leg Man: !!
What now? What happened this time?
"Who knows him," Meiser said disdainfully.
Did he really think having a name like that made him strong?
"First a leopard, now a giraffe," Zoro stared at the Giraffe-Leg Man. "What exactly is going on with this island?"
"Though I don't know what's happening, it's interesting, isn't it?"
Looking at Luffy grinning with his teeth bared, Usopp scratched his head in frustration. He didn't find anything interesting about it.
"Luffy, why did he suddenly attack you?" Merry pointed at the leopard-leg man Luffy had taken down.
"He seemed to get angry after receiving a call," Luffy glanced at the leopard-leg man.
"A call?"
"Whose call?"
"Not sure," Luffy shook his head.
How would he know who called the leopard-leg man? He hadn't even clearly heard what was said through the Den Den Mushi.
"No need to dwell on that," Meiser glanced at the Giraffe-Leg Man, who was looking at them with terrified eyes. "We still have a live one here.
"That's true~"
Hearing Meiser's words, the others nodded, then turned to the Giraffe-Leg Man with "very friendly" smiles.
Those smiles made the Giraffe-Leg Man shudder.
But remembering who was backing him, the Giraffe-Leg Man forcibly suppressed his fear and stubbornly said, "Y-you... you won't get any information from me!"
"Hah, we don't need your permission to get information," Meiser sneered.
With that, Meiser took off his sunglasses and walked step by step toward the Giraffe-Leg Man.
Giraffe-Leg Man: ??
The Giraffe-Leg Man looked at Meiser in confusion. What did he mean by not needing his permission?
How could they get information without his permission?
Wouldn't they need him to talk?
Thinking this, the Giraffe-Leg Man was about to say something, but before he could speak, he saw a flash of red light in Meiser's eyes, then lost consciousness.
Seeing this, Nico Robin sighed in admiration. "Having the Sharingan sure is convenient."
A single glance and the other person becomes compliant... this ability is truly amazing!
"Indeed."
The others nodded in agreement. Meiser's ability was incredibly convenient for interrogating information!
Hearing this, Meiser smiled slightly, then looked down at the Giraffe-Leg Man and said, "Tell me, what exactly is going on here?"
"And, are the people who captured our companions part of your group?"
"You have missing companions?"
"Yes."
Meiser nodded. "Not long ago, the companions we left on the pirate ship disappeared. I heard they vanished near Ice Island."
As he spoke, Meiser pointed toward the distant Ice Island.
"Wait..."
Luffy looked puzzled. "Someone was captured?"
How did he not know about this?
"What were you listening to earlier..." Usopp complained.
They had been talking with Brook via Den Den Mushi for a while, and Luffy didn't hear any of it?
"I was chatting with that leopard guy," Luffy scratched his head. "So I didn't know about it."
Usopp sighed upon hearing this. He was really at a loss with this guy.
"Everyone we left on the Thousand Sunny was captured," Merry reminded him.
"What?!"
Luffy's eyes widened. "Nami and the others were all captured?"
"Yes..."
"How did this happen?"
"Then we'll have to ask him," Meiser turned to look at the Giraffe-Leg Man.
The specifics would require asking this guy.
Hearing this, the Giraffe-Leg Man spoke: "I don't know why this island became like this because it was already like this when I arrived."
"As for your companions... they were probably taken by our people using Hypnotic Gas. We do this often."
"Often?"
Usopp was taken aback, then said with a grimace, "So you frequently use traps to lure pirates here?"
"Traps?"
The Giraffe-Leg Man looked at Usopp in confusion. "What traps?"
"That distress signal from the Den Den Mushi," Usopp said. "Wasn't that your doing?"
"No."
The Giraffe-Leg Man shook his head. "We don't intentionally lure pirates here. That would expose the master's secret."
"Master?"
Nico Robin keenly caught these two words, then said, "What do you mean by 'master'?"
Could this place be some powerful person's private garden?
"Exactly what it means."
The Giraffe-Leg Man said, "He is the master of all of us, the savior who gave us a second life!"
"It's because of him that we regained the ability to live."
As if recalling something, a look of admiration appeared on the Giraffe-Leg Man's face, clearly showing great reverence for this master.
"Who is your master?" Meiser asked.
"I've only seen the master once and don't know his name," the Giraffe-Leg Man shook his head.
He had only been on this island for a little over half a year, so he didn't know the master's real name.
"It seems this person he calls 'master' is quite cautious," Nico Robin said.
Otherwise, this guy wouldn't even know the other's name.
"After all, this is World Government territory," Zoro said.
Hearing this, Nico Robin was momentarily stunned, then said in surprise, "You think that person isn't from the World Government?"
"Didn't the place we came from earlier have a World Government sign?" Zoro pointed toward where they had come from. "So I think that person might be from the World Government."
Listening to Zoro, Nico Robin fell into thought.
That was possible too.
"We can just ask him about it."
After saying this, Meiser glanced at the Giraffe-Leg Man, signaling him to speak.
He was also curious whether the person referred to as "master" was from the World Government.
"Though I don't know who the master is, we are definitely not from the World Government," the Giraffe-Leg Man said.
He had learned this accurate information from Boss Brownbeard.
"Not from the World Government, huh..."
Nico Robin lowered her head in thought, then said, "Then he must be some ambitious figure from the New World."
She just didn't know why this person was creating so many strange Half-Human Towels.
They weren't even that strong in combat.
"Why did you attack us?" Merry asked curiously.
"To prevent you from exposing the secrets here, of course," the Giraffe-Leg Man said. "Any pirates who come here are dealt with by us!!"
This was something they did regularly.
"It seems there are unimaginable secrets hidden here."
Zoro turned to look at the distant Ice Island, narrowing his eyes. "Interesting."
He was growing more and more curious about this island.
"What secrets do you have here?" Luffy also asked curiously.
"Not sure," the Giraffe-Leg Man shook his head. "The master ordered us not to let anyone leave here, but he didn't tell us the specific reason, only that we mustn't let the secrets here leak out."
After saying this, the Giraffe-Leg Man paused, then continued, "But I suspect it might be about the disappearance of the poison gas on Punk Hazard."
"Poison gas?"
"Yes."
The Giraffe-Leg Man nodded. "I heard from others that this place was filled with poison gas a few years ago."
"Poison gas, huh..."
Hearing the Giraffe-Leg Man's words, Meiser glanced around at the still-burning buildings.
Then, Meiser stroked his chin and said, "Then there must have been an experimental leak incident here."
"These things might have been caused by a massive explosion."
"Then what about the Ice Island opposite?" Luffy asked, puzzled.
Explosions only burn things, right? Why would it make the opposite side cold?
"You remember what Left Minister said, right?" Meiser said.
"Left Minister , huh..."
Luffy tilted his head and thought seriously for a moment, then said, "What did he say?"
Meiser: ...
If you didn't remember, why think so seriously?
"You mean the magnetic field, right?" Nico Robin said.
"Yes, the magnetic field!"
Meiser nodded. "This island might have had its magnetic field disrupted because of that incident."
"That's why there's an Ice Island and a Fire Island."
Though this seemed somewhat far-fetched, this world did have illogical things like Devil Fruits, so the island becoming like this due to magnetic field changes became plausible.
"An explosion powerful enough to affect an entire island's magnetic field?" Merry said in shock. "How terrifying must that explosion have been?"
Wasn't that a bit exaggerated?
"I don't know about that," Meiser shook his head.
Honestly, he had never seen an explosion that could affect an island's magnetic field, so he couldn't imagine how terrifying its power must have been.
"Then how were the buildings preserved?" Usopp asked, puzzled.
Could an explosion powerful enough to affect an island's magnetic field not destroy buildings?
"Maybe those buildings were made with some Special Mercury Metal," Meiser said.
After a pause, he continued, "Of course, it's also possible the explosion wasn't that powerful, but just happened to occur in a specific location that disrupted the island's magnetic field."
"That's why the buildings remained."
"Special Mercury Metal..."
Usopp lowered his head in thought, then turned to the Giraffe-Leg Man. "Are your buildings made of Special Mining Metal?"
What kind of Special Eternal Metal could withstand an explosion powerful enough to affect the magnetic field?
He was very curious.
"Not sure," the Giraffe-Leg Man shook his head. "But the building walls are indeed very sturdy; even cannons can't blast through them."
As for whether it was Special Seeking Metal, he didn't know, as he never paid attention to such things.
"Then what about you?" Zoro pointed at the Giraffe-Leg Man's giraffe legs. "Are you from the Half-Human tribe?"
"Half-Human?"
The Giraffe-Leg Man was clearly taken aback, then shook his head. "We're not from any Half-Human tribe. We're pure humans."
"Humans?"
"Yes."
The Giraffe-Leg Man nodded. "I became like this because of the master's modifications."
"Human experimentation, huh..."
Hearing the Giraffe-Leg Man's words, a look of disgust reappeared on Nico Robin's face.
Just as she suspected, people here were conducting human experimentation.
"I don't know if it's human experimentation, but my legs were destroyed before," the Giraffe-Leg Man said. "If the master hadn't installed these legs for me, I wouldn't have regained my mobility."
"So I'm very grateful to my master!"
By the end, excitement showed on the Giraffe-Leg Man's face, clearly expressing great gratitude toward Caesar.
"Then this person you call 'master' is a good guy!" Luffy said in surprise.
In that case, Nami and the others probably weren't in danger.
Hmm, they were probably invited by that "master" guy for a meal.
Thinking this, Luffy even nodded affirmatively.
Meiser: ??
What kind of thought process was that?
And nodding?
"Of course!"
The Giraffe-Leg Man said without hesitation. "If not for the master, we paralyzed from the waist down wouldn't have regained our mobility."
"So the master is truly a good person!"
Hearing the Giraffe-Leg Man's explanation, a smile immediately appeared on Luffy's face.
"A good person called 'master'... I really want to meet him."
"Don't be fooled by him, Luffy," Nico Robin frowned. "Though he makes that person sound like a good guy, the fact remains that he captured our companions."
"True," Meiser nodded. "If I'm not mistaken, the person he calls 'master' wants to use our companions for experiments."
Otherwise, why go through the trouble of capturing Nami and the others alive? Killing them would be simpler.
So Meiser concluded that the other party likely wanted to use Nami and the others for some experiment.
"Experiments?" Luffy asked, puzzled. "What experiments?"
"Experiments that could lead to death."
Hearing this, Luffy's expression immediately turned serious.
"That won't do!"
"I won't allow anyone to experiment on my companions!"
He couldn't accept any of his companions dying here, so... he wouldn't allow that "master" guy to conduct experiments!
Then Luffy said, "Let's go, we need to rescue them quickly."
He wanted to find that bad guy called "master" as soon as possible and punch him away!
"Being hasty isn't the way," Meiser said. "Let me finish asking questions first, so we don't have to gather information over there."
With such a useful guy here, they should squeeze out all his value before leaving.
"Alright."
Hearing this, Luffy sat on the ground with a displeased look. "Then hurry up."
Seeing this, Meiser shook his head helplessly. This guy really was impatient.
Then Meiser looked at the Giraffe-Leg Man and said, "Tell me the exact location of your base, and... where might our companions have been taken?"
"Our base is in the building on the front side of Punk Hazard," the Giraffe-Leg Man said. "You'll see the huge building as soon as you go to the front; it's very noticeable."
"As for your companions..."
At this point, the Giraffe-Leg Man paused, as if searching his memory.
After a moment, he said, "I heard from some comrades that after capturing pirates suitable for experiments, they lock them in special steel rooms inside the building."
"But the exact location of those rooms... I don't know."
After all, he was just a low-ranking soldier on patrol duty, not very familiar with internal affairs, so he couldn't tell these people about the situation there.
Hearing this, Zoro frowned and glanced at Meiser. "Did this guy break free from the Illusion Technique?"
"Impossible," Meiser said without hesitation. "How could a small fry like him possibly break free from my illusion?"
"Then this..."
"It means he really doesn't know," Meiser said somewhat helplessly.
He could tell that this Giraffe-Leg Man indeed didn't know much.
The others sighed upon hearing this. It seemed they couldn't get more information from this guy.
But getting this much information was better than knowing nothing.
"Based on what Brook said earlier..." Merry said, "our pirate ship should also be in front of that building."
"Yes."
The Giraffe-Leg Man said, "Ships that are seized are usually taken to the Berthing Port at the front."
As for how these ships were handled, he didn't know. They just disappeared after a while.
Merry nodded upon hearing this and said nothing more.
Meanwhile, Nico Robin seemed to recall something and continued asking, "Is there a Seven Warlords of the Sea here?"
"Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
The Giraffe-Leg Man was taken aback for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "I don't know. I haven't seen any Seven Warlords of the Sea."
He had been on this island for about half a year but had never seen any of the Seven Warlords of the Sea appear here.
"Is that so..."
Nico Robin frowned deeply. Then why did that Lower-Body Person mention the Seven Warlords of the Sea?
As if sensing Nico Robin's confusion, Meiser said, "It's probably because his authority isn't high enough, so he doesn't know that a Seven Warlords of the Sea is hidden on this island."
After saying this, Meiser paused briefly before continuing, "Of course, it's also possible that the Seven Warlords of the Sea hasn't been here for long, so people haven't found out yet."
Nico Robin nodded upon hearing this, then said somewhat helplessly, "It seems we'll have to go there and see for ourselves."
The only question was, who was that Seven Warlords of the Sea?
"Yeah, that's all we can do."
Meiser nodded, then glanced at his companions and asked, "Does anyone else have anything to ask?"
"If not, we'll set off immediately to rescue them."
Everyone shook their heads upon hearing this. They had already asked everything they needed to, so there was no need to say anything more.
"Then let's go," Meiser said.
Since there was nothing left to ask, there was no point wasting time here. They needed to hurry and save people.
Upon hearing this, Usopp immediately stood up and said, "Let's go! We're off to rescue Nami and the others!"
"Alright!"
With that, Usopp and the others followed Usopp as they headed toward Ice Island.
However, Meiser didn't leave immediately. Instead, he activated the Earth Release Technique, tearing open a crack in the ground and swallowing the enemy whole!!
The next moment...
"Crack!"
The split ground suddenly closed up, and the enemy vanished completely.
After doing this, Meiser clapped his hands and said, "Now there's nothing to worry about."
After speaking, he nodded in satisfaction, clearly pleased with his own idea.
Seeing this, Nico Robin slowly lowered her hand.
"It seems I don't need to take action," Nico Robin said softly.
"Don't forget who he is," Zoro said with a smirk, crossing his arms. "When it comes to meticulous thinking... none of us can match him!!"
"That's true."
Nico Robin smiled, agreeing with Zoro's words.
"Hey, Meiser, stop daydreaming and hurry up!" Usopp called out.
"Alright, coming!!"
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "LegendaryTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!