The CP 0 member seemed to lose his mind, desperately attempting to fire a Finger Pistol at Vegapunk. The doctor must not fall into Alabasta's hands! Even a dead CP agent had to be retrieved by the organization!
"What a lunatic!" remarked Fujitora. "This is a true madman, raised by the World Government."
Fujitora increased the gravity.
In the end, the Finger Pistol was never launched. The entire body of the CP 0 member was twisted and crushed under the terrifying gravitational force.
His flesh and blood were squeezed to the utmost, and at the very moment he tried to exert even more strength for the Finger Pistol, every blood vessel ruptured.
Ezekiel glanced at Fujitora. Even though the man was clearly suffering now, Fujitora still hadn't killed him. In the past, Fujitora rarely killed his opponents.
Should I give this man another chance? After all, he's still so young.
"My apologies, Your Majesty," Fujitora said at last, an inexplicable hesitancy in his white eyes. "He's been through the harshest training in CP 0. He's a terrifying monster. Even if I increase the gravity ten thousand times, he won't stop trying to use the Finger Pistol, not even if it means his own death."
Throughout all of this, Vegapunk continued the operation, listening to Fujitora's words with great interest.
Fujitora was silent for a moment, then sighed:
"The human body can be rebuilt, but the human soul is far harder to change. The soul of this young man is utterly hopeless."
Vegapunk couldn't deny his words.
Ezekiel smiled. He understood why Fujitora had changed. It was because he had seen the power to resurrect the dead, so now he cared little for the life and death of flesh as he once had. But what if the human soul was destroyed?
"Vegapunk," Ezekiel said, looking at Vegapunk, who was still in the midst of the operation. "I want to invite you to join Alabasta. Would you accept?"
The reason Ezekiel had come in person was because he wished to invite the world's greatest scientist himself, with the utmost respect.
"Do I even have a choice?" Vegapunk's response was listless. It made no difference to him whom he worked for—otherwise, he would never have collaborated with the World Government. For him, it was simply a new place to carry out his research. After all, all these people wanted the same thing from him. Combat weapons for killing, props for destruction, or the creation of dreadful catastrophes—all of which ultimately led to death.
People themselves were foolish, worthless creatures.
"But I have one condition: I must finish this operation, and you will not take him away." "If you agree, I promise I'll help you once we arrive in Alabasta," Vegapunk said after a pause.
"How much time do you need?" Ezekiel asked.
"Two hours," Vegapunk replied.
Ezekiel didn't know how to respond. It really should have taken less time. Was Vegapunk trying to trick him?
Sensing Ezekiel's suspicion, Vegapunk offered an explanation:
"If you just wanted me to keep him alive for now and operate again later, that would only take fifteen minutes. But since you want me to leave with you, I have to complete the entire operation here and now."
A scientist who had led the world's scientific power for five hundred years was bound to possess a wisdom beyond this world. So the conversation between him and Ezekiel was very direct and calm.
...
A few minutes later, the sounds of work still echoed through the massive laboratory.
Ezekiel sat at a small round table covered with an exquisite tablecloth beside the operating table. Watching the bloody reconstruction surgery, he calmly sipped his tea and waited.
Fujitora stood guard at the doors as the last line of defense.
No one said a word—only the lead surgeon's voice could be heard.
Still unaware of Alabasta's involvement and having no idea what was happening on the island, the World Government and Marine Patrol were locked out for two hours.
Ezekiel was acutely aware that he was just a hundred kilometers from Marineford, and the very thought sent shivers down his spine.
But he agreed.
Only because he held an absolute trump card. Though it was a shame to use it, trading it for Vegapunk was surely worth the sacrifice.
He glanced at the unconscious Bartholomew Kuma—Ezekiel was still thinking about the secret agreement between him and Vegapunk. Before coming here, Ezekiel hadn't considered rescuing Bartholomew, because he didn't know Bartholomew's true motives. Did he really need saving?
Without knowing the truth, even actions done in the name of rescue or justice might lead nowhere good.
As Vegapunk conducted the operation, he kept a sideways eye on Ezekiel.
This King had shown up here, had enough power to take him by force, and yet agreed to his arbitrary request—which was somewhat unexpected.
He seemed like the kind of King who had immense confidence in his own strength.
Meanwhile, the battle on the shoreline was heating up.
If Kizaru ended up at a disadvantage in his fight against Doc Q, then all hope would be lost for Enel. Doc Q's Logia Devil Fruit was terrifying, his strength had fully reached the level of an Admiral, and yet even that degree of power was still not enough for the enemy he faced…
Time passed, and after more than an hour, reinforcements from the Marine Patrol and World Government finally arrived.
War at Marineford was inevitable, and the Marine Patrol had gathered a tremendous force—but they hadn't expected to have to fight on a different battlefield.
Garp, Sengoku, and the others were in shock.
After all, all this was happening just a hundred kilometers from the Patrol headquarters. Thanks to the speed of the new-engine patrol ships, the distance felt quite real. They had arrived at the scene in just an hour.
Akainu couldn't wait any longer—he leapt up and rushed off the ship, appearing behind Burgess, his eyes growing darker and more menacing. The pirate in front of him was known as Burgess. He had witnessed this man's strength; Burgess had managed to fight against a Warlord of the Sea
Burgess suddenly felt an intense heat on his back. He turned his head slightly and saw Akainu, whose body had transformed into a molten stream of magma.
"So, you want to fight me?"
Akainu stared at him coldly, and his magma fist came crashing down, but Burgess counterattacked without hesitation.
Akainu was certain that, in these seas, no more than ten pirates could withstand the power of that blow.
"You dare strike me? Who do you think you are—Whitebeard? Or Roger?"
But in the blink of an eye, half of Akainu's magma body, including his fist, was punched straight through…
Through the hole left in Akainu's body, which had been pierced by the blow, Sengoku and Garp could see a massive fist and a grinning face showing off large white teeth.
"Wa-ha-ha-ha! Sorry, but I really am Roger!" (spoken by Roger)
Akainu's body began to regenerate, but bright red blood was already pouring from his mouth, and he staggered back more than ten meters. A sword struck the spot where he'd just been standing.
He had truly come close to death! What incredible Armament Haki!
With horror, he stared at Burgess, and for a while, his mind just couldn't process what had happened.
"Why does this guy seem so familiar to me?"
Garp also stared at Burgess, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity deep in his heart.
That ridiculous grin, that terrifying strength, and his way of carrying himself—somehow, Garp even felt as if being near this guy was just like being around that pirate more than twenty years ago.
Roger, disguised as Burgess thanks to the power of the Mane Mane no Mi devil fruit, grinned, slung his massive sword over his shoulders, and gazed from afar at Garp, who was standing at the bow of the ship. In that moment, Garp heard him say:
"Hey, long time no see, hero of the Marine Patrol!"
Boom!
It was as though a bolt of lightning crashed through Garp's head.
For a moment, he was speechless, then blue veins bulged on his forehead, a wild rage surged in his heart, and every muscle in his body tensed. He clenched his fists.
That man had returned.