Atop the Red Line, in the holy land of Mary Geoise.
Inside Pangaea Castle, the seat of the world's highest authority, the heavy wooden doors of the Room of Authority swung open.
A sweat-soaked intelligence officer in a crisp black suit, the World Government cross emblem pinned to his chest, rushed in. He didn't even stop to straighten himself. He dropped straight to one knee on the priceless carpet.
"Five Elders! Emergency!"
Inside the sprawling chamber, the five old men who governed the world paused their discussion.
Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, the Warrior God of Finance, lifted his head. The Shodai Kitetsu rested at his side as his sharp eyes, hidden behind round spectacles, cut toward the officer.
"What warrants this panic."
"Punk Hazard. It's gone dark."
The officer swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "We've only just discovered that the Science Defense Unit stationed around the island, along with the internal surveillance network, has failed to send any routine reports to headquarters for a full twenty-four hours."
"At first we attributed it to the hostile magnetic interference common to the New World. But moments ago, we attempted to contact Commander Sentomaru and the embedded CP0 operatives using our highest-priority backup frequencies. Still no response. Even the patrol warships ringing the island have fallen silent."
"Punk Hazard has been dark for an entire day?"
Shepherd Ju Peter, the Warrior God of Agriculture, furrowed his brow beneath his short blond hair.
"That island houses Vegapunk's primary laboratory. Even a sudden natural disaster wouldn't prevent a distress signal from getting out. What exactly were those patrol fleets and science defense units doing?"
"Sir." The officer's head dropped lower. Cold sweat dripped from his chin onto the carpet. "No combat logs or radar alerts were ever transmitted. The entire island was severed from all external communication in what appears to be a single instant. We still have no confirmation of who the intruders are, or whether some kind of internal revolt is underway."
A deathly silence gripped the chamber for several long seconds.
"Destroyed before they could even scream for help."
Topman Warcury, the Warrior God of Legal Affairs, leaned on his cane. The birthmark across his forehead darkened as he let out a cold snort and drove the cane hard against the floor.
"Could one of the Four Emperors have set their sights on Vegapunk's mind? Moved personally? No. None of the four could take a fortress like that without leaving a trace."
Marcus Mars, the Warrior God of Environment, sat on the long sofa stroking his beard. He turned toward the far side of the chamber.
"Saturn. Vegapunk and the Science Unit fall under your jurisdiction."
Jaygarcia Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, rose slowly from the shadows. He leaned on a black cane. His deeply lined face betrayed no open fury, but his eyes were cold. Colder than ancient ice.
"Bring me my black encrypted Den Den Mushi."
Saturn's voice was frigid as he addressed the intelligence officer. "Whoever dares lay a hand on the World Government's scientific lifeline will not leave that island alive."
Meanwhile.
The New World. Punk Hazard. Vegapunk's central laboratory.
A full day had passed since the Eclipse descended on this island.
Inside the lab, Jeno had shifted into his multi-armed cyborg configuration. He directed a team of cargo robots, scavenged from Caesar's facility, as they carefully detached a sterile stem-cell cultivation pod from its base mounts.
Chopper hovered at his side, meticulously cross-referencing every vial of nutrient solution and cell-separation reagent on Vegapunk's inventory.
"Easy, Jeno! The blue tube. Do not snap the blue tube. That's the main pump keeping the cell cultures viable!"
"Yeah, yeah. My hands are surgically steady." Jeno didn't look back. His mechanical arms worked in smooth synchronization, guiding the heavy equipment out toward the Eclipse's lower cargo bay.
Ace leaned back on the lab's lounge sofa, a cup of black tea in hand, taking in the scene of organized chaos.
Nearby, Kuma stood quietly beside Bonnie's custom mech. He was sorting through genetic stabilization research notes gathered from the lab's archives.
Then.
Buru buru buru. Buru buru buru.
From deep on the workbench, inside a specially shielded metal housing, a pure-gold Den Den Mushi erupted into a shrill, urgent ringing.
Every sound in the lab stopped. The hauling. The chatter. All of it.
Vegapunk lifted his oversized head from the terminal where he'd been logging data. He adjusted his glasses.
"Mary Geoise's maximum-encryption channel. It seems the World Government's response time was slower than I predicted. They've finally noticed something is wrong."
Ace set his teacup down. He rose and walked unhurried to the workbench.
He didn't let Vegapunk take the call. He flipped open the metal housing himself and picked up the receiver.
"Yeah. Who is this." His tone was flat. A man asking about the weather.
Two seconds of silence on the other end. Whoever was calling had clearly expected Vegapunk, or at least Sentomaru.
Then the Den Den Mushi's face twisted. It reshaped into the visage of an old man, heavily wrinkled, long-bearded, radiating the absolute pressure of supreme authority.
"Portgas D. Ace."
Jaygarcia Saturn's rasping, ice-cold voice traveled through the encrypted signal and into the lab. The recognition came with a flicker of surprise, but the Five Elders' intelligence network had long since catalogued the face and voice that had wreaked havoc on the Sabaody Archipelago.
"It's you. I'll grant you some credit. Slipping into Punk Hazard without a whisper takes a certain skill."
"Your watchdogs were sleeping too soundly. I didn't want to be rude and wake them." Ace leaned against the workbench, receiver in hand.
"Do you understand what you are doing." Saturn's voice had no inflection. A man stating an immutable truth.
"I do. Negotiating." Ace answered without hesitation.
"The World Government does not negotiate with pirates."
"That's because you've never heard my terms."
Ace smiled. It was the easy, fearless confidence of the truly powerful.
"I have no interest in your World Government's internal mess, and I'm not here to wreck this big-headed old man's lab. He already turned down my invitation to join my crew. I don't force people who don't want to come."
"I'm here on personal business."
Ace glanced over at Kuma and Bonnie, still helping with the loading. "Someone on my ship has a complicated medical condition. I'm borrowing a few pieces of your medical equipment. Don't worry, I've already paid. Ten billion in cash, stacked in the old man's office."
"Once my ship's doctor and mechanic finish hauling this scrap metal out, we're gone. You can get back to your gigantification experiments and clone programs. We stay out of your way. You stay out of ours."
Silence swallowed the other end of the line again.
Saturn listened to this unabashed pirate logic, his fingers tightening around the shaft of his cane.
A wanted criminal. A pirate who had quietly dismantled Sentomaru's entire defense force without a single alert. And now he stood there, brazenly claiming he'd "paid" and proposing they simply coexist.
He was treating the dignity of the World Government like trash beneath his boot.
"Vegapunk's mind. Every blueprint in this laboratory. Every piece of equipment. They belong to the World Government. They do not belong to him. And they certainly do not belong to you."
Saturn's voice sank lower. The murderous intent was no longer veiled.
"You have crossed the line, pirate. Put down every piece of equipment. Get off Punk Hazard. Now. Refuse, and what awaits you is a full Buster Call from Marine Headquarters. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, that black ship of yours has only one destination. The bottom of the ocean."
Ace's eyes went cold at the threat.
"Old man."
He spoke into the receiver, each word enunciated with a chill that could make the blood freeze.
"You don't want to talk this out like adults. Fine."
"You want to protect this island's technology. You want to protect this old man's life."
"Then drag yourself out to the New World and take them. That is, if you've got the strength to back it up."
Click.
Ace didn't give Saturn the chance to speak again. He slammed the receiver back onto the Den Den Mushi, cutting the connection by force.
"Ace. Hanging up on one of the Five Elders like that. They're probably losing their minds right now."
Sabo walked in from the corridor, the Flame Dragon Staff resting on his shoulder. A fierce grin crossed his face.
"Losing their minds is the goal."
Ace turned around. His gaze swept across the crew still hauling equipment. "Tell everyone to pick up the pace. We're about to have some high-profile guests."
Mary Geoise. The Room of Authority.
The golden Den Den Mushi's eyes slid shut. A dead, droning dial tone filled the silence.
Jaygarcia Saturn stood motionless. His face, unreadable for what felt like an eternity, finally twisted. A vein of cold, dark fury surfaced beneath the mask.
A pirate. A pirate had hung up on him. Had dared to spit in the face of the world's supreme authority.
"Alert Marine Headquarters."
Saturn turned toward the intelligence officer still frozen by the door. His voice cut like a gale from the underworld.
"Tell Kizaru to mobilize the New World rapid-response fleet. Prepare to depart immediately."
"Saturn. You intend to leave the Holy Land?" Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro lifted his head, the Shodai Kitetsu shifting in his grip. A rare note of surprise crossed his features. The Five Elders almost never set foot outside Mary Geoise in person.
"Vegapunk's technology. His mind. Neither can be permitted to fall. Not even for a moment."
Saturn strode toward the doors, his cane striking the floor in a steady, ominous rhythm. A dangerous light flickered in those pitiless eyes.
"That brat named Ace has become an uncontrollable variable."
"I will go to Punk Hazard personally. And I will erase these reckless pirates, and their ship, from existence."
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