"What the hell is going on?! Why is Kuma here—has the World Government discovered me?!"
Inside the surveillance room, Caesar was completely panicked.
He had already been back for some time, restarting part of the facilities with his abilities and resuming portions of his research.
Through that, he'd reconnected with the Donquixote Family, planning to use the artificial Devil Fruit project to fund his research into chemical weapons.
Everything had been going smoothly.
Who could've imagined a Shichibukai would suddenly show up?!
And not just any Shichibukai—but Bartholomew Kuma, the one who had always faithfully carried out World Government orders!
"No good. If the World Government's onto me, I need to get out of here now!"
Cursing under his breath, Caesar hurriedly prepared to flee—planning to blow up the research facility on his way out.
"That bastard Vegapunk! He must've guessed I'd come back and deliberately sent Kuma to capture me, huh?!Hmph, idiot! You think I didn't prepare for this?!"
Clearly, the ever–self-assured Caesar placed the blame squarely on the only person he believed capable of this—Vegapunk.
What he could never have imagined was that everything unfolding here stemmed from the guidance of a so-called prophet.
He located a red button.
Yet just as Caesar finished preparing to press the self-destruct—hoping to buy himself time to escape—he suddenly saw something on the monitor.
Kuma compressed an enormous paw-shaped shockwave into his hands, brought his palms together, twisted, then thrust them outward.
"Ursus Shock!"
BOOM—!
A blinding white flash erupted, and the surveillance screens instantly went black.
What followed was a quake-like tremor.The research facility—reinforced steel and all—shook violently, as if it were made of clay.
Kuma stood in an open area as an overwhelmingly powerful shockwave burst from his palms, expanding outward in a circular wave of force capable of tearing steel apart.
Pirates attempting to fight back, defensive mechanisms, even the research facility itself—
All were annihilated amid the ear-splitting screech of twisted metal.
In less than a second, the research complex—spanning several thousand square meters—began to collapse.
Roof, framework, equipment, rooms, corridors—
Everything was ripped into the sky as if caught in a colossal storm.
When the destruction ended, only ruin remained.
Poison gas from outside flooded into the area.
Forced into gaseous form, Caesar crawled out from the rubble, staring blankly at the red self-destruct button that had fallen at his feet.
"…Guess I don't need this anymore."
The entire facility was already gone.
"You're here."
Without a sound, Kuma teleported nearby, calmly looking at Caesar.
"Wait! Don't attack! I'll go back with you!"
Caesar raised his hands and walked forward, forcing a helpless smile."You guys are really something—catching me even like this.
"Yeah, I came back to continue my research, but hear me out—you could report this upstairs.
"My chemical weapons research is extremely useful! You've seen this island's condition, right? Why not keep investing in it?"
He carefully avoided mentioning the other projects—giantification and artificial Devil Fruits.
As long as he could find another opportunity on the way, he might still come back.
"You've left out quite a lot," Kuma said flatly."Hand over the data on artificial Devil Fruits. Voluntarily."
Caesar froze mid-step, staring at him in shock.
How does he know that?!
"What are you talking about? Artificial Devil Fruits are an ongoing project.Wasn't that Vegapunk's research? After mine was labeled a failure, I only worked on poison."
Caesar looked utterly confused.
"…Is that so?"
Whoosh—
Kuma vanished, reappearing behind Caesar in an instant.
Caesar's pupils shrank. Before he could react, a Haki-coated palm struck him squarely.
A violent repulsive force detonated in the air.
A paw-shaped imprint appeared on Caesar's body, while the ground in front of him collapsed into a deep paw-shaped crater.
"Wait! I get it—I get it!"
Caesar spat out a mouthful of blood, waving frantically."It's in the underground lab! I'll take you there! Don't kill me!"
"If you cooperate, I won't kill you," Kuma said, slowly withdrawing his hand.
His massive frame loomed like a mountain.
"There's someone who wishes to meet you. That's why you're allowed to live instead of dying here.
"But if you try anything foolish… that's another matter."
The threat was unmistakable.
Yet Caesar barely registered it—his face suddenly lit up in excitement.
"What? Someone wants to see me? You should've said so earlier!"
He laughed wildly, blood still spilling from his mouth.
"Shurorororo! I knew it! My weapons were bound to catch someone's eye!
"Vegapunk's Pacifista cost as much as a warship—how could they compare to my weapons of mass destruction?
"In terms of killing efficiency, nothing beats my Land of Death! One deployment and any pirate is guaranteed to drop dead!
"And if uncontrolled spread is an issue, you can just let inanimate objects eat Zoan-type Devil Fruits to control them!
"That technique might've been Vegapunk's first—but I can do it too!"
Overexcited, Caesar ignored his injuries entirely and eagerly began leading the way.
"Come on, this way! Let's wrap things up and go meet that important person.
"By the way… which one of the Five Elders is it?"
"..."
Kuma didn't respond. Behind his glasses, his gaze was oddly complex.
The one who had sent him wasn't one of the Five Elders of Mary Geoise.
The reason Kuma called him "someone worthy of respect" was entirely personal.
After witnessing everything unfold exactly as foretold, Kuma had changed the way he referred to him.
Only then could he truly grasp how fortunate he was—
To encounter someone so powerful, yet willing to guide him out of despair.
"Oh, can't say it, huh? I get it, I get it."
Seeing Kuma stay silent, Caesar awkwardly laughed and changed the subject.
"If this was the goal from the start, I wouldn't have bothered dealing with those—uh, cough, cough.
"Anyway, if the World Government had just spoken up earlier and stopped Vegapunk from persecuting me, I wouldn't have turned the whole island into this mess."
"This was your doing?" Kuma asked, surveying the ruins.
The pirates he had injured earlier now lay collapsed on the ground.
The reason was obvious—the poison gas saturating the island.
Kuma raised his hand, releasing repulsive force into the air, clearing out a toxin-free zone.
"Let me handle that. I'm a Gas-Gas Fruit user, after all."
Caesar hurriedly activated his ability, dispersing the gas with controlled air currents, all while boasting:
"People up top might not understand, but my Land of Death spreads incredibly fast.
"It clings to targets, invades through the skin, paralyzes the body, knocks them unconscious, and then forms a petrified shell around them.
"Look at these guys—even with their physiques, they'll be dead soon."
He stepped over the body of a former subordinate, adding regretfully:
"Too bad you attacked so suddenly.
"If we'd taken them with us, they'd make great test subjects.
"And there are still some kids on this island. If the new place lacks materials, I can use them for a while."
"They've already been sent away," Kuma said coldly.
"What? Why?! I worked hard to get those!"
"You don't need to know."
Veins bulged on Kuma's forehead as he cut him off."Hurry up and lead the way. My time is limited."
"All right, all right—no need to get angry. We're almost there."
Sensing the Shichibukai's foul mood, Caesar quickened his pace toward the underground facility.
Soon, they descended deep below ground, arriving at an industrial-like complex.
Massive tanks and thick pipelines filled the area, carrying unknown fluids.
"Shurorororo! Behold—one of my greatest inventions: the artificial Devil Fruit solution!"
Caesar proudly gestured as he explained.
"That project over there is artificial Devil Fruits.
"You know Devil Fruits, right?
"Any competent scientist would want to study them—to replicate that miraculous power.
"But no one's succeeded so far.
"Vegapunk tried himself, and all he produced was a failure.
"But I'm different. I developed a mass-producible solution—SAD!
"Use it to irrigate land and cultivate specific trees, and you'll grow fruits that grant Zoan-type abilities!"
The sly scientist still tried to conceal the truth.
He believed that displaying enough value would secure his importance in the eyes of powerful figures.
Vegapunk might call SAD a failure—but Caesar certainly didn't.
However, the Shichibukai before him showed no hesitation in exposing the lie.
"I know more than you think," Kuma said coldly.
"The success rate is extremely low. Repeated consumption leads to death.
"Even consuming it once—if it fails—robs the user of all expressions except laughter.Anger, sorrow, crying… all replaced by smiles."
Caesar's smug grin froze solid.
Damn it.
How does he know this?Did Vegapunk submit the data after all?!
'Ren was right… again.'
Kuma silently observed Caesar's reaction.
Everything—from his behavior to his abilities—matched Ren's words precisely.
That wasn't surprising.
After all, he was following the guidance of a prophet.
As the silence stretched on, Caesar cursed inwardly.
'Vegapunk! You bastard! You deny my success, then submit my data anyway?!
Trying to show off your superiority?! You failed too, didn't you?!
Damn it… damn it all—#%*&…%￥'