"A deathbed struggle, a futile effort!"
Hancock's voice rang out, cold and haughty. She stomped her foot lightly, and a terrifying surge of Armament Haki instantly expanded, enveloping the entire ship and forcibly suppressing the 'Arakami Shiraito' from Doflamingo's awakened String-String Fruit!
What?!
Doflamingo's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. This power... just what kind of monster was she?!
The power of most awakened Devil Fruits could naturally assimilate everything around them, possessing a destructive force nearly equal to Logia-type fruits. Some powerful Paramecia-type fruits, once awakened, even far surpassed Logia-types in performance.
While the String-String Fruit wasn't exactly a god-tier fruit, both awakened Paramecia and Logia fruits were naturally suited for wide-range attacks. In this regard, Doflamingo's String-String Fruit was no exception.
As for Armament Haki... as its initial description suggested—'acting like invisible armor'—it was clearly not meant to be a wide-range ability.
Yet the stunning woman before him had just used pure Armament Haki to forcibly suppress his wide-range awakened attack! To what level had she cultivated her Armament Haki?
However, Doflamingo only had time for that single thought. As the distance between them closed, Hancock slightly curled her finger and gave it a gentle flick.
Black lightning flashed out of thin air. Doflamingo's vision went dark. His already mangled head erupted with fresh blood, his seven orifices stained red as he collapsed unconscious onto the deck.
"Young Master! Damn it, I'll kill you all!"
Monet, the Snow Woman, was the first to charge, and the other members of the Donquixote Family didn't hesitate to follow. Hancock gave a cold sneer, and a peerless, overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki suddenly swept outward!
In an instant, all the charging Donquixote Family members rolled their eyes back and fell unconscious.
After so many upgrades, Hancock's own Conqueror's Haki had reached a near-limit of strength.
When she exerted pressure with her Conqueror's Haki, it could be said that only those truly famous figures on the sea—those at the level of the Shichibukai or Marine Vice Admirals—could withstand it. Anyone below that level, if they didn't possess the potential for Conqueror's Haki themselves, would be instantly knocked out.
Clearly, Doflamingo's subordinates fell into the category of those who would be instantly defeated.
In reality, powerhouses of the Donquixote Family like Pica might have been able to withstand it if they weren't injured. But in their current state of utter exhaustion, they clearly couldn't block Hancock's Haki.
Among the crowd of unconscious people, a little girl who was shivering in fear with her head in her hands stood out as the only conscious person.
This little girl certainly couldn't have withstood Hancock's Haki, but Hancock had controlled her Conqueror's Haki with extreme precision just now. She had only knocked out the Donquixote Family members in the immediate range of the attack. Since the little girl was further away and had no intention of attacking, she didn't lose consciousness.
"Don't... don't come over! I surrender, I surrender!!"
The little girl, dressed like Little Red Riding Hood, frantically waved her hands, her face covered in tears and snot. Hancock snorted coldly but didn't continue her attack.
Instead, Violet, who was standing at the back, showed a look of barely suppressed urgency on her face.
"Be careful, Lord Vegapunk, Miss Hancock! That girl isn't a real child. Her name is Sugar, and she's a Hobi Hobi no Mi user. She's actually almost 18 years old!"
"And her Devil Fruit ability is terrifying. Anyone she touches can be turned directly into a toy and easily commanded. Most horrifying of all, everyone else's memories of the person turned into a toy will completely vanish!"
"It's best to eliminate such a dangerous person as soon as possible!"
Violet's face was flushed with emotion, while Sugar shivered even harder, crying out:
"No, don't kill me! My ability is very useful! I can work for you!"
Despite being 18, Sugar's actual mental age was only around ten due to the influence of the Hobi Hobi no Mi. Although she was a troublesome brat, she was truly quite cowardly.
Hancock turned her head slightly to look at Vegapunk, who chuckled.
"Hobi Hobi no Mi? Sounds quite interesting! Spare her life."
Violet bit her lip, seemingly wanting to say more. Vegapunk looked at her and smiled lightly.
"You must be hiding something from me, aren't you? Otherwise, why would you be so agitated just seeing Sugar?"
Violet froze, her face turning pale. She lowered her head, realizing her behavior had sparked suspicion—or perhaps Vegapunk had known all along.
Hadn't Vegapunk already seen her memories? If so, her attempt at concealment was actually useless... "Helping you solve the toy problem in Dressrosa isn't a difficult task..."
"However, I really hate it when people lie to me!"
Violet's body shook. Before she could say anything, Vegapunk waved his hand. Under the control of gravity, all the unconscious members of the Donquixote Family floated up and were tossed directly into a Space Wormhole.
"Alright, next we should go find that fellow Caesar! Violet, you lead the way!"
Vegapunk clapped his hands, acting as if nothing had happened, moving past the topic of Sugar. Violet opened her mouth, but in the end, not a word came out. She could only activate her Devil Fruit ability again to start guiding Vegapunk.
As for Sugar, the only one from the Donquixote Family who hadn't fainted, she walked over with a fawning expression, though she didn't get close to anyone—she knew her ability was highly feared and was afraid that getting too close would cause a misunderstanding.
Of course, she wouldn't leave their sight either. If the others thought she was trying to escape, things would likely get even worse.
Soon, Violet located Caesar. He was still at Punk Hazard conducting experiments. Although he hadn't broken ties with the World Government yet, he was already secretly in close contact with Doflamingo, which was why Doflamingo considered Caesar his subordinate.
Vegapunk wasn't surprised by Caesar's actions. Among his three assistants, Caesar was a classic fence-sitter, an expert at playing multiple sides to scam for funding... "Shurorororororo! My newest poison gas, Shinokuni... will definitely give everyone a shock! If I keep developing it like this, surpassing that Vegapunk is only a matter of time!"
"Shurorororororo! As expected, with Vegapunk dead, I, Caesar, should be the number one scientist!"
With a pale face, horns on his head, and messy hair, Caesar looked like a demon from Japanese legend. He was currently cackling and boasting while fine-tuning his experimental poison gas.
Behind him, a pitch-black circular hole opened, and Vegapunk and the others quickly stepped through.
Unaware of this, Caesar continued adjusting his gas. Vegapunk walked over to the lab bench and began accessing the computer data using electromagnetic force.
"What a load of rubbish... Is this just poison gas created through a brute-force search method, relying on the convenience of a Devil Fruit ability?"
"You want to surpass me with this idiotic junk? It seems your brain is getting more and more foolish, Caesar!"
Vegapunk curled his lip, dismissive of Caesar's research. The so-called Shinokuni poison gas was, at most, just a more potent biochemical gas; it didn't represent any fundamental breakthrough.
In comparison, if one truly wanted to kill, highly infectious and replicable bacteria, radiation that directly attacks the human genome, or large-scale natural disasters created through the butterfly effect were all far superior to this so-called poison gas.
The only advantage of Caesar researching biochemical gas was that his own Devil Fruit ability was a perfect match for it. This allowed him to avoid many detours during research, and the process of studying the gas also allowed him to develop his fruit's abilities. In essence, it served a similar purpose to Vegapunk's electromagnetic abilities.
However, Vegapunk's electromagnetic power was a grand path leading directly to the four fundamental forces of the universe. Theoretically, at its peak, it could control all motion of matter in the universe, making him the 'God' of the physics world. Caesar's poison gas, on the other hand, had a final potential that was just... mediocre.
"Who is it?! Who dares to belittle the greatest scientist of the century, Caesar!"
Caesar spun around and was instantly startled. A large group of people was standing behind him, looking curious. The Blond Youth at the head of the group was holding a half-finished sample of his poison gas, seemingly studying it closely, though his expression was full of disdain.
"The greatest scientist of the century... Pfft! That's truly the funniest joke of the century!"
Seeing so many people had arrived, especially the tall Katakuri and Charlotte Smoothie, Caesar instantly felt a bit intimidated. However, hearing Vegapunk's mocking voice, his face turned bright red.
"Do you have some kind of problem with me?! My poison gas can wipe out an entire island in an instant!"
"Yes, yes, fine, whatever makes you happy... By the way, it's been a long time, Caesar. You really are still just like a clown!"
"Who the hell are you?!! Am I close with you?!! That tone... that tone is truly detestable! It reminds me of the person I hate most in the world!"
Caesar bared his fangs and roared. Vegapunk released his Chakra, blocking the spit that almost hit his face, and shook his head helplessly.
"I didn't realize I was so hated by you before. Every time we met, you were so respectful, trying every trick in the book to learn something from me..."
The roaring Caesar suddenly froze, as if he had thought of something inconceivable. He looked at the Blond Youth before him, his facial expression twisting into something quite comical.
"You, you, you... could you be... Ve-ve-ve... Vegapunk?!"
"Alright, stop backing away, and don't press the emergency button behind you. This place has long been enveloped by my electromagnetic force. Even if you press that button until it explodes, you won't be able to notify the guards outside!"
Vegapunk looked at the shivering Caesar, who had shrunk into a corner and seemed terrified to the extreme, and spoke with a smile. Caesar's face instantly stiffened.
Indeed, as Vegapunk's former lab assistant and a fellow evil, mad scientist, no matter how pathetic Caesar was, he shouldn't have been scared to this point... Well, even if he was this scared, he wouldn't be without any thought of resistance.
On the surface, he was backing away in fear after learning Vegapunk's identity, but in reality, Caesar was using his body to hide the fact that he was frantically pressing the emergency notification button behind him. Punk Hazard was currently still a Marine base, and there were a large number of Marines stationed here.
However, Caesar's lab was a top-secret area. He didn't want others seeing his research, so there were no surveillance monitors. Furthermore, since poison gas research was incredibly dangerous, ordinary Marines wouldn't be stupid enough to patrol here.
This led to the blunder where Vegapunk and the others could walk right in and confront Caesar face-to-face without any Marines coming to stop them.
The emergency button Caesar was pressing represented the highest level of distress signal. Theoretically, once the signal was sent, the Marines of the entire base should have mobilized urgently to come to his rescue.
Unfortunately, in an experimental base built on electricity and metal, Vegapunk, with his electromagnetic powers, was essentially a god. He easily controlled all electromagnetic signals within the base. Caesar's so-called call for help was just a pipe dream that never reached the outside world.
Hearing Vegapunk's words, Caesar's expression changed, and finally... he fell to his knees. He crawled forward and hugged Vegapunk's leg:
"Doctor! I was forced! I was forced by those two bastards, Judge and Queen! I didn't want to run away, but those two bastards kidnapped me, so I had no choice but to go!"
"Even after I escaped, I always wanted to return to your side, Lord Vegapunk! It's just that I was being watched by these Marines, so I never found the chance to come back to you!"
Caesar's face was covered in snot and tears as he lied through his teeth, leaving everyone stunned. This guy's skin was impressively thick!
Vegapunk, however, wasn't surprised at all. None of his three lab assistants were good people, and they were all the type to act tough on the surface while being as cowardly as mice. But even among the three, if one had to name the most shameless, it was definitely Caesar. His current behavior was perfectly normal to Vegapunk.
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