"Gulp…"
"A hundredfold increase or something…"
Usopp subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his eyes gradually beginning to shine.
He felt as if he had a brighter future ahead!
More-More Fruit, I love you to death!
"Looking at it this way, Usopp's Devil Fruit Ability has the greatest potential," Sanji said, stroking his chin.
"On the surface, that does seem to be the case," Meiser nodded. "But it mainly depends on whether the Ability User themselves is strong or not."
"If the Ability User isn't powerful, then no matter how amazing the ability is, it's useless."
"Not to mention anything else, Luffy could beat the crap out of Usopp right now."
Usopp: …
Usopp, who had been lost in his fantasy, was instantly rendered speechless by these words.
Hey, buddy, could you not talk like that?
He was still having a wonderful dream, damn it!
"That's true," Sanji nodded. "Usopp, you've got to work hard, you know~"
"I know!"
"You guys are so annoying!"
"Hahahaha~"
Everyone immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this, showing no sense of urgency despite being chased by poison gas.
Brownbeard:
Watching everyone's reactions, Brownbeard immediately broke out in a cold sweat, a large bead rolling down his face.
Aren't these guys being a bit too relaxed… They're running for their lives, for crying out loud!
"Oh, right."
As if remembering something, Meiser turned to look at Nami and said, "Aren't you a Logia-type Ability User? Why did you also get knocked out by Caesar?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone immediately turned their attention to Nami's face.
Nami herself wore an awkward expression.
"This…"
"Can't you say?"
"It's not that…"
Seeing Nami's slightly embarrassed expression, Brook asked curiously, "Could it be… your ability is like Merry's, unusable?"
Is the opponent's Devil Fruit Ability so powerful that it can control two of their Ability Users?
"Not exactly."
Recalling the earlier scene, Nami continued, "My ability can still be used even inside that strange space he created, but… I need to breathe."
"So…"
Although Nami didn't finish her sentence, Meiser understood what she meant.
She probably didn't have time to escape before being knocked out by Caesar's ability.
This idiot…
Shaking his head, Meiser said, "You could have completely used your ability to break out of the space Caesar created."
Clouds are different from wind, so there was a chance to break through.
"I thought of that just now too, but…" Nami said helplessly, "At the time, my mind went completely blank due to lack of oxygen, and I couldn't think of a solution."
Back then, she didn't even know what was happening, let alone think of using her ability to escape.
So…
This time, Meiser just nodded and said nothing more.
"It seems this guy is quite a troublesome opponent," Sanji said with a furrowed brow. "No wonder he has a bounty of 300 million Berries."
"300 million Berries?"
Brownbeard was taken aback, then said with disbelief, "You're saying that bastard Caesar is a wanted criminal with a bounty of 300 million Berries?"
"That's right."
Sanji gave Brownbeard a strange look. "You didn't know?"
How could someone who's been in the New World for so long not know that the person by their side was a wanted criminal with a bounty of 300 million Berries?
Brownbeard: ...
He knew nothing at all.
He only knew that bastard Caesar was a skilled scientist, not that he was a wanted criminal.
If he had known the other had such a high bounty, he wouldn't have been fooled so badly.
"Poor guy..."
Though Brownbeard didn't speak, Sanji could still read some of the information he wanted from his face.
This guy really didn't know Caesar was a wanted criminal!
Zoro, meanwhile, paid no attention to the man's reaction and instead stared into the distance, saying, "I wonder how Luffy and the others are doing over there."
"We'll find out once we get there."
Meiser fixed his gaze on the distant research facility and said, "Everyone, hold on tight! We're heading there at full speed!"
"Alright!!"
"Trafalgar, if you have something you want to do, do it quickly," Franky glanced at Law and said. "Otherwise, that poison gas will be here soon."
Though he hadn't experienced it firsthand, the livestream footage earlier showed just how terrifying that poison gas was.
So it was better to think of a way to escape as soon as possible.
"Then let's start the counterattack," Law said calmly.
"Counterattack?"
Luffy gave Law a puzzled look. "What do you mean by counterattack?"
"Of course, it's time to act..."
Law replied, "There's no point in dragging this out any longer, so let's hurry up and get the job done."
With that, Law scanned the surroundings and noticed the surveillance Den Den Mushi in the distance.
"This position will be visible to that visual Den Den Mushi over there," Law said. "Can anyone ignite the wreckage of those warships below?"
"Of course, if that's not possible, we can always force our way out."
"But if we do that, Caesar will notice our movements ahead of time."
Who knows what unexpected things he might do then.
"Ignite the wreckage below..."
Franky looked troubled as he stared at the warship wreckage below. "If I were using my own body, igniting the wreckage would be easy."
"But... Sanji's body can't do it."
Although Sanji's body can ignite his legs through friction, setting fire to the distant wreckage isn't very realistic.
Besides, he doesn't know how to use that move, so it's simply impossible.
"Then it seems we'll have to force our way through," Law said with a frown.
As he spoke, he began to move bit by bit, clearly preparing to use his ability.
"No, there's still a way," Nico Robin said. "The chains on me aren't Seastone Chains, so I can use my ability."
"Let me see if I can find any cannonballs down there."
After saying this, Nico Robin activated her Devil Fruit ability, creating pairs of eyes one after another within the warship wreckage below.
Soon, Robin found some cannonballs in a corner.
"Found them~"
A moment later...
"BOOM!!"
A terrifying explosion erupted, instantly igniting the wreckage of the warship!
"?!"
The Marines not far away stared in shock at the scene and said, "Why did the warship explode on its own?"
Could someone have set off a bomb?
"Hey, who did it?"
"Not us..."
"Then who was it?"
"Not sure..."
"Forget about that, let's hurry to the research facility!" a Marine lieutenant commander said with a grim expression. "Otherwise, we'll all die out here!"
As he spoke, he glanced at the purple mist spreading across the mountain.
If they were touched by that stuff, they might all die!
"Right!"
Understanding the severity of the situation, everyone immediately ran toward the research facility.
Meanwhile, Luffy and the others were coughing uncontrollably from the smoke.
"Hey, Torao," Franky said. "Whatever you plan to do, do it quickly, or we'll all choke to death."
Hearing this, the others also looked up at Law, curious about his next move.
"Got it."
With that, Law effortlessly removed the chains binding him.
"?"
"!!"
Luffy stared at Law in surprise and said, "How were you able to take off the chains?"
"Because mine were ordinary chains from the start," Law replied calmly. "So I could easily undo them with my ability."
"Ordinary chains?"
"Yeah," Law nodded. "To avoid getting caught if things went wrong, I specifically replaced a few of the Seastone Chains with ordinary ones."
"The same goes for Nico-ya's chains."
That was why he had remained so composed all along.
"No wonder Robin could use her ability," Luffy said with a look of sudden realization. "So the chains on you two were ordinary all along."
"That's so sneaky!"
"It's called tactics!"
Law gave Luffy a speechless look. Did this guy even know how to talk?
Sneaky? This was tactics, alright!
Whatever, no point arguing with someone who didn't seem very bright.
"Alright, we can move now," Law said, glancing toward the research facility. "With the smoke as cover, Caesar won't notice us for a while."
"ROOM!"
As he spoke, a circle of his ability appeared around him, covering certain areas of the research facility.
Then, Law's weapon appeared in his hand.
After scanning the Seastone Chains on the others, Law activated his ability again, slicing through all their chains.
Seeing this, Luffy blinked, then stood up happily and shouted, "Hahaha, we're free!"
"Don't shout so loudly, idiot," Law grumbled.
Even if they were discovered, it wouldn't mean total defeat, but sneaking in quietly was still the best option.
Unfortunately, Luffy ignored Law and laughed even more joyfully.
Law:
Does this guy really have no brain?
"Freedom really does feel good," Perona said, clenching her fists. "I never want to be tied up with Seastone Chains again!"
That feeling of helplessness was just too awful!
"Then let's carry out the plan perfectly," Law said. "That way, it won't be us trapped by Seastone Chains."
As he spoke, Law ran through the plan once more in his mind.
Yes, no problems.
Then, Law turned to Luffy and the others and said, "Alright, next we'll—"
Before he could finish, he saw Luffy tear open the cage and step outside, saying, "I'm going out to check the situation!"
"Yahooo~"
Law: ??
Watching Luffy leap out without even looking back, several question marks instantly appeared above Law's head.
Does this idiot not know what the word "plan" means?
Huh?
What the hell is he doing?!
"This bastard..."
"Our captain tends to act recklessly if you take your eyes off him for even a moment~" Nico Robin said with a chuckle.
"That's true."
Franky also nodded with a smile. "I remember Usopp specifically warned you about it."
Law: ...
It did seem like something like that happened, but... who could have imagined this guy would be so outrageous?!
For a moment, Law was at a loss for words.
"Well, since Luffy has already charged out, there's no point hesitating anymore," Perona said. "If you want to do something, do it now."
Hearing this, Law fell silent for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.
What else could he say?
He was the one who proposed the alliance, so... he had to keep going.
After taking a deep breath to calm himself, Law said, "Let's go. We'll head to Straw Hat-ya's side first."
With that, Law jumped down from the high ground and rushed toward Luffy on the tower.
"Torao."
Luffy, holding onto his hat, glanced back at Law, who had arrived beside him, and said, "How are we getting into the research facility?"
"Of course, we'll use my ability to get in," Law said calmly. "But once we're inside, don't you dare start shouting, got it?!"
"There are Surveillance Den Den Mushi in there!"
"Got it, got it," Luffy said, picking his nose. "Hurry up and start already."
"Crack~"
A few veins bulged on Law's forehead. Why was this bastard so infuriating?
Alright, alright, calm down, calm down.
After taking another deep breath to steady himself, Law activated his ability.
"ROOM!"
"Slaughterhouse!"
"What exactly is going on?"
Monet, staring at the live feed, frowned and said, "Why did the warship outside suddenly explode?"
Now, the smoke was so thick that they couldn't even see what was happening inside the cage.
"Perhaps the Marines accidentally set it off themselves," Vergo said calmly. "Those guys are even more careless than you think."
As a Navy Vice Admiral of the G-5 Branch, he knew all too well what kind of people they were.
"Careless, huh..."
After glancing at Vergo's appearance, Monet twitched the corner of her mouth. How could this guy, who still had steak stuck to his face, say something like that with a straight face?
Shaking her head to dismiss the thought, Monet said, "What I meant was, could Law and his group be up to something?"
"They're bound by Seastone Chains. What could they possibly do?" Caesar waved his hand dismissively.
As a scientist, he knew exactly what Sea Stone meant for Ability Users, so he wasn't worried about them escaping.
Monet thought about it and agreed. With the Seastone Chains, there was nothing they could do.
"But this way..." Caesar frowned, "We won't be able to witness them being killed by the poison gas firsthand."
"Having their corpses is just as good," Monet said.
Using the bodies to prove to the world that Caesar's poison gas had killed a Warlord of the Sea and the Straw Hat Pirates was just as effective.
Caesar thought it over and realized that was true, so he stopped worrying about it.
Then, grinning widely, he said, "No matter. There are plenty of test subjects on this island to demonstrate with anyway. Using them to showcase the effects is just as good~"
"Shurororororo~"
The other members of the Straw Hat Pirates and the Marines from the G-5 Branch—these guys combined will be more than enough!
Shurororororo~
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