Leo carefully navigated around the shark patrols. Even though his ship was disguised as seawater, he didn't dare approach recklessly. Fortunately, the guards didn't notice him along the way, and he managed to land safely.
He hid the ship by the shore, carrying his toolbox as he quietly slipped into the island alone. For safety, he modified Telobug into a land version, equally unique in design. It had a metal chassis with four large wheels, resembling a flatbed truck. After placing Telobug on the vehicle, he opened its eyes and remotely controlled it to scout ahead, while he kept a distance of about two hundred meters.
Watching the images transmitted back, Leo carefully avoided the patrolling mechanically-modified animals. Clearly, the doctor's research facility had tight security. Leo had no idea what was being studied here.
Fortunately, Telobug, being a mechanically enhanced creature itself, didn't attract any attention. It moved until reaching the foot of a small rocky hill, where the entrance to a cave was guarded by two upright crocodile sentries. Leo immediately knew he was in the right place.
Vegapunk was an extremely secretive person, hiding his lab in such a remote location. The intimidating guards only heightened Leo's curiosity about the secrets inside.
The next problem was figuring out how to get in. Eliminating the guards would surely alert those inside, but leaving them alive blocked the only path forward. In desperation, Leo used the ground monitoring drone to scout the area. Eventually, he found a blind spot in the surveillance, maneuvered the drone up the slope, and slowly sneaked past the crocodile guards from above.
Deep inside, the cave had only one path leading to a roughly 500-square-meter metal room. Aside from an elevator on the opposite wall, the room appeared empty. Leo didn't dare send the drone on the elevator, but fortunately, he spotted an air vent in the upper left corner.
The vent was like a maze. The ground drone circled for a long time without finding an exit. Ahead, a fork appeared. Leo had lost count of how many such intersections he had encountered. Previously, he had relied on instinct, but it proved unreliable.
Just as he was about to flip a coin to decide which way to go, a sudden burst of laughter echoed from the right corridor.
"How embarrassing… I'm a genius! Such a charming purple color! With this, the whole world will kneel before the great Caesar Claming!"
Through the vent's grille, Leo saw a man with two horns on his head, holding a glass test tube containing a wriggling purple substance. The man laughed hysterically, then walked out of the room, muttering something about "Queene being a useless idiot" and Vegapunk letting him steal the spotlight.
This guy was Caesar Claming? He seemed a bit… twisted. Could the strange smoke he created be a prototype for the Underworld Kingdom?
After a while, the corridor fell silent. Caesar had apparently left for now. Leo maneuvered the drone down from the vent. Dim lights illuminated the lab. The drone moved under a test bench, charged slightly, then leapt onto the table.
The lab was a mess—research data scattered everywhere. A test tube rack held three glass tubes, filled with black, green, and red gases. Leo instinctively wanted to stay away, but accidentally knocked over a glass vessel behind him. It shattered, releasing a gray smoke that began to rise.
Oh no! I'm doomed. What if that freak comes back? I need to deal with this smoke.
As Leo scrambled to react, the grayish-white smoke seemed to come alive, following Telobug's scent.
What?! The sudden movement startled Telobug so much its eyes nearly popped out. Leo didn't hesitate—he drove the land drone out of the lab in an instant.
The drone buzzed through the facility like a headless fly. At the end of a hallway, it cautiously peeked back. Seeing that the smoke hadn't followed, Leo finally relaxed, his awkward expression reflected on Telobug's screen.
But before he could catch his breath, a stranger's face appeared on the monitor. A man wearing sunglasses and thick lipstick stared at him.
Leo jumped. What kind of monster is this? Another of the doctor's escaped experiments? The man, dressed flamboyantly, yelled at Telobug in confusion.
"Vegapunk, is this your new toy? When did you get into peeping? Hey, hey, answer me!" He shook the monitor.
Seeing no response, the man lost interest. "Tch! Still shy, huh? Vegapunk, you know what shame is." He tossed the device to the ground, whistled, and left.
After the initial shock, Leo recognized the man. It was Queen before he gained weight. If Caesar seemed perverse, Queen seemed sleazy. Even if he became a pirate, that demeanor would never change—yet he had amassed a surprising number of fans because of it.
After dealing with Queen, the drone continued exploring and eventually found Vegapunk in a lab, arguing with Vinsmoke Judge. Their features were unmistakable—one with an exaggeratedly large head, the other with curled, coil-like eyebrows.
The argument escalated. Vegapunk stood on a stool, tugging Judge's hair with one hand while spitting on him with the other. Judge grabbed Vegapunk's coat and spat back. On a table beside them sat a Devil Fruit—an animal-type ox fruit. Leo guessed that this was what they were fighting over.
After eavesdropping for a while, Leo grew bored. Since sneaking in, he had encountered a range of people: the maniac with terrifying laughter, the wild big guy, and the thug scheming with others' spouses. None left a good impression. They seemed difficult to deal with, and he wasn't sure they would accept him if he proposed joining the lab. Hesitation crept in.
Just then, a pleasant fragrance reached him from behind, followed by two soft bodies pressing against his back. Pale arms wrapped around his neck, freezing him in place.
Leo turned his head and saw a beautiful face. "Handsome, what are you doing here? What's so special about those old men? Want me to show you some fun?"
"O-okay! Um… n-no, ma'am, you've misunderstood. I'm a refugee washed ashore by the waves, I—" Feeling the arms tighten, he quickly stopped babbling.
Seeing he had calmed, the woman released him and pointed at the screen. "Interested in these people? I'll take you in."
Leo intended to politely decline, but the woman seemed to see through him, pressing the gun barrel to his temple. In that instant, Leo changed his tone: "Alright, sister. I can't wait."
Surrounded by a beautiful woman and four unsightly men, Leo was extremely nervous. The five turned their backs to the light, scrutinizing him as if he weren't human.
Sweating profusely, Leo stammered, "Please, everyone, don't stare at me like that. I feel like I'm melting."
"Hehe, you sure know how to talk. Let's decide how to divide him," said the girl holding him, named Stussy. With no one else speaking, she took the lead. But the words made Leo even more nervous. Divide? Did she mean… dismember?
"I need a test subject who can last a few days, not weak like the others," Caesar said, ignoring everyone else and grabbing Leo.
"No way. Such a fresh subject must be ours. I disagree with that idiot Vegapunk on our experiments, so this kid is perfect to test whose theory is right," another added.
"Since you all want him, I won't fight. But I don't have enough blood for my experiments, so I'll draw 500 ml from him first," Stussy said, her tone terrifying enough to make Leo sweat profusely.
Sweat began streaming down him, soon pooling on the floor. At this rate, he could dehydrate before they even decided who got him.
Just as despair set in, an unexpected voice spoke: "Kid, do you like red bean soup?"
Queen, who seemed the most threatening, asked something surprisingly harmless. The question was so ordinary that Leo instinctively replied, "I don't eat much sweet stuff, but I like adding a bit of pepper to soup."
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "One Piece: Shadows of the Throne" is 30 chapters ahead there