"Tankodon!!"
*Swish!! Swish!!*
King shouted, flapping his wings to violently unleash two slashes that tore through the air with an ear-piercing howl!
"Tempest Kick: Chaos!!"
Lucci's eyes darkened. He kicked his leg into countless afterimages, firing off dozens—no, hundreds—of wind sickles in rapid succession!
*Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!*
The two sets of slashes collided and exploded in midair. Turbulent air currents violently expanded outward, sending a massive amount of wood splinters flying.
Lucci quickly glanced at Stussy. Just as he was about to move and bring her back, his pupils shrank in shock. He whipped his head toward the outside, only to find a massive Brachiosaurus standing on the street, raising its tail and aiming right at him!
*Pew!!*
Golden light bloomed from the tip of the Brachiosaurus's tail! Three laser beams containing terrifying energy fired in rapid succession, piercing through space and arriving in an instant!
"Paper Art!!"
Seeing this, Lucci's expression shifted in alarm. He hastily relaxed his tense muscles, softening his entire body as his form rapidly swayed in midair, leaving behind countless afterimages.
*Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!*
The lasers passed right through Lucci's afterimages and struck the wall behind him, detonating with a deafening roar. Intense flames and the shockwave of the explosion rippled outward!
"There's no time, Lucci! Kaku, we have to leave right now!!"
From within the Spatial Door, Blueno hurriedly shouted at Kaku and Lucci.
Lucci and Kaku gritted their teeth. They took one last look at Stussy not far away, then glanced at the pirates continuously pouring out of the banquet hall across the street.
"Let's go!"
With that said, Lucci and Kaku quickly jumped into the Spatial Door.
"Don't even think about leaving!!"
King roared furiously, bursting forward at extreme speed.
Blueno's face paled in panic, and he hastily waved his hand to close the Spatial Door.
*Boom!!!*
The square door emitting a strange green light vanished into thin air. King's kick missed, landing on the floor instead, and the erupting flames violently collapsed the entire building!
"What kind of ability is this?! Damn it, they definitely overheard our conversation!"
Staring at the spot where the Spatial Door had disappeared, King's face was incredibly gloomy. He turned and barked at his subordinates behind him, "Take some men and search! They are very likely still in Wano Country. We absolutely cannot let them return!"
"There's no need."
At that moment, several figures walked out of the banquet hall.
Allen stepped forward, his tone flat. "The enemy is using the Door-Door Fruit's ability. They can perform spatial movement at any time. No matter how many people you send, you won't find them."
"Well~ calm down, King. Even if the World Government finds out, it doesn't matter," Kaido said with a dismissive look.
Setting aside the fact that they hadn't even finalized an alliance to oppose the World Government yet, even if they had, would the World Government really dare to send troops to crusade against them?
The combined might of three Emperor-level factions was no joke. If the World Government dared to send troops, they would just annihilate them all!
"Boss, what do we do about that one?"
At this time, a pirate suddenly spoke to Kaido, pointing a finger not far away.
Allen and the others turned their heads to look. Over there was a petite figure surrounded by Queen and the Tobi Roppo, holding her hands up in surrender.
"Is that... the Queen of the Pleasure District?!"
"Huh? Why is she with CP0? Was she captured?"
"Look at her clothes, idiot! It's obvious she's a CP0 member."
"Eh?! She's an intelligence agent for the World Government?!"
The crowd present was shocked and found it unbelievable.
At an abandoned port in Udon, Lucci and the others jumped out of the Spatial Door.
Kaku clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, punching the air. "Damn it!"
"What do we do now? Should we head straight back to the Holy Land, or try to find a way to rescue Stussy?" Blueno asked aloud.
Lucci's gaze was thoughtful.
"This matter isn't that simple. That woman... is definitely hiding something from us."
Lucci's voice was deep, and his expression was even uglier.
No matter how he thought about it, he felt Stussy's behavior was abnormal. Even if she didn't want to return to the Holy Land, she could have come out with them first and figured things out later.
All that talk about not wanting to implicate them was, in his eyes, nothing more than an excuse.
"We'll head back first. We'll just say Stussy was exposed and captured."
After saying that, Lucci walked toward a small boat docked at the abandoned port without looking back.
In the Flower Capital.
"Don't be rash, everyone. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even know we were hiding here eavesdropping."
The surrounded Stussy chuckled lightly with her hands raised. Facing the current situation, not a trace of panic could be seen on her face.
Queen, transformed into a Brachiosaurus, had golden light blooming from the tip of his thick tail. The laser was aimed at Stussy, ready to fire at any moment. He said with a gloomy face, "To think the Queen of the Pleasure District is actually a World Government agent. Stussy... doesn't that mean whenever I went to the Pleasure District to drink in the past, I was constantly under the World Government's surveillance?"
"Oh my, about that..."
Stussy smiled faintly, the implication self-evident. She then changed the subject, "More importantly, could you let me meet with Demon Lion? There is a very important matter I must tell him personally. I believe he will want to hear it."
Hearing this, the Tobi Roppo surrounding her exchanged glances before turning their heads in unison to look at Allen not far away.
"You intentionally exposed yourself and got captured just to avoid the other CP0 members and meet with me alone?"
Back in the banquet hall, Allen sat cross-legged in the seat of honor, looking down at Stussy below.
"To be precise, the one who wants to meet you isn't me, but Dr. Vegapunk..."
Stussy looked at Allen and said, "If the Five Elders were to find out about this, it would definitely pose a threat to his life. I had no choice but to do this."
In fact, as early as a year ago, when Allen defeated Big Mom and ascended to the throne of an Emperor, Vegapunk had wanted to meet him.
However, Egghead was constantly under the strict surveillance of the World Government. Vegapunk had to be extremely careful just to secretly contact the outside world. Leaving directly or having Allen's crew come over was completely impossible.
It wasn't until recently, when Vegapunk felt he didn't have much time left to wait, that he secretly contacted Stussy, asking her to try and arrange a meeting between him and Allen.
Coincidentally, a few days later, Allen's crew made a move. Upon learning that they were gathering forces in Wano Country, the Five Elders wanted to send CP0 to infiltrate and monitor the situation.
Stussy took the opportunity to volunteer, resulting in her team replacing Guernica's squad, which was originally scheduled to be sent. This ultimately led to the events that had just transpired.
Beside Allen, Nami frowned and pressed, "You're saying Vegapunk wants to meet us? Why? And what does he mean by feeling he doesn't have much time left to wait?"
"It means exactly what it sounds like. He sensed that the World Government might be preparing to make a move against him. As for why he wants to meet you..."
Stussy paused for a moment before explaining, "Strictly speaking, he wants to join you. You don't need to ask about the rest, because he didn't tell me any other information."
"He wants to join us?!"
Her words couldn't help but surprise Sanji and the others.
The world's greatest scientist, Vegapunk, who was said to possess technology 500 years ahead of the rest of the world, actually wanted to willingly join a pirate crew?!
This sounded truly unbelievable.
Allen furrowed his brows slightly.
He could understand Vegapunk knowing his death was approaching; he had probably realized that his secret research into the World Government's forbidden history might have been exposed.
But wanting to join them...
Was he seeking asylum for himself?
If there was anyone who could protect him from the World Government's persecution, the Four Emperors were indeed one of the factions with that kind of power.
But for Vegapunk, his old acquaintances in the Revolutionary Army should have been a better choice. After all, what decent person would prioritize working under pirates?
Or perhaps...
Could it be that Vegapunk thought the Revolutionary Army was too poor?
It might sound a bit absurd, but knowing that old geezer Vegapunk, it was highly likely he heavily considered this factor.
After all, scientific research required money. As an ultimate research maniac, wasn't the reason Vegapunk rejected Dragon back then simply because the World Government offered more?
Thinking of this, Allen somewhat understood Vegapunk's possible thought process.
He looked Stussy up and down and said with interest, "So you're braving the wolf's den alone to save Vegapunk? If we refuse Vegapunk's request, your life will be forfeit right here."
"There are naturally risks, but I firmly believe you will accept Vegapunk. His mind will definitely bring you many benefits," Stussy smiled, her expression natural.
Allen stared into her eyes. After a moment, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Stussy hadn't bet wrong. He would indeed accept Vegapunk.
People were the most important resource in the world, and talented individuals were even more precious and rare.
If he didn't even want Vegapunk, then there was no talent in this world worthy of his attention.
Stussy added, "Also, I hope you can move quickly."
"What you're planning will soon reach the ears of the Five Elders. I don't know exactly how they will act, but it's a certainty that they will try everything in their power to dismantle and destroy you."
"At this point, whether your alliance is officially formed or not makes no difference in the eyes of the Five Elders. They will absolutely not ignore a threat of this magnitude."
As her voice fell, Ace couldn't help but fall into thought.
No one could have anticipated that their conversation was being eavesdropped on. With things having developed to this point, if they didn't form an alliance, their situation would be truly dangerous.
In that case, didn't it mean they had no choice but to ally with them?
"Hmph! I couldn't care less about the Five Elders," Kaido snorted coldly, then grinned, his eyes burning with intensity. "But I'm quite interested in taking on the World Government. You can count me in for the alliance, but before that, I need to make a trip to Totto Land."
Hearing this, Allen couldn't help but give him an extra glance.
He kept calling her an old hag, but wasn't he actually quite concerned about her?
However, he didn't care about the past affections between Kaido and Big Mom. He turned to Ace and said, "I've said enough. I'm preparing to set off for Egghead first thing tomorrow morning. You guys think it over carefully."
Ace and Marco exchanged a glance and nodded at each other. He turned back to Allen and said, "This is a matter of great importance. We can't promise anything right now. We need to leave here for a bit and can only give you our decision in a few days."
"That's your freedom. But I'm curious about what you're planning to do. Of course, if you don't want to say, forget it."
Facing Allen's inquiry, Ace didn't hold anything back and said bluntly, "It's nothing. I'm just planning to go see Luffy and Red Hair."
"Luffy and Red Hair..."
Hearing these two names, Allen understood perfectly. He smiled faintly and said, "I see. I understand. I look forward to your answer."
At this point, Allen already knew Ace's answer in his heart.
It might sound a bit ominous, but no matter how you looked at it, Ace's behavior clearly showed he was preparing to get his affairs in order first.
Afterward, Allen took out two agreements and said to Kaido and Ace, "Next, regarding your responsibilities and benefits for joining and maintaining the New World Alliance, we've already drafted an agreement. Have your people take a look at it."
The banquet and negotiations proceeded simultaneously. The sounds of revelry and arguments intertwined, echoing through the hall until they gradually died down late into the night.
At noon the next day.
Bright sunlight fell from the clear sky, and the sea sparkled. The *Freewill*, docked at the port, slowly pulled away from the shore.
Early this morning, Ace had left with the Whitebeard Pirates. Soon after, Kaido also took the Animal Kingdom Pirates and headed for Totto Land.
After leaving behind Doffy and the executives of the Donquixote Family, Allen's group also packed their things and departed.
"Time really passes slowly. Come to think of it, we only arrived here yesterday morning."
On the aft deck, Sanji stood by the railing, smoking a cigarette. As he watched the landmass of Wano Country gradually recede, he sighed with a look of regret, "It's just a pity that we have to leave before I could properly experience the local customs and culture of Wano."
"Give me a break. If you want to visit a brothel, just say so."
Beside him, Allen couldn't help but shoot him a look.
Hearing this, Sanji immediately rolled his eyes and glared over, baring his sharp teeth as he yelled angrily, "What do you know?! I call that appreciating the talents of the geisha!"
Allen coldly twitched the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with disdain. "You mean they're good in bed, right?"
Hearing this, Sanji seemed to recall some lewd images. He immediately put on a lovestruck expression, intoxicated by the memories in his mind, his limbs swaying softly like noodles.
"Hehe~~ Hahaha~~ Hehe~~"
Allen couldn't be bothered with him. He felt a bit embarrassed just standing next to him, so he turned and left, leaving the lovestruck fool planted there fluttering like a human flag.
Arriving at the ship's superstructure, he happened to bump into Nami walking out of the navigation room.
"Is the course set?"
"Yeah. If everything goes smoothly, at our speed, we should arrive the afternoon after tomorrow," Nami nodded in reply.
When they were preparing to set off this morning, Stussy had already contacted Vegapunk through a secure channel, informing him that Allen's crew was on their way.
Although this matter came up rather suddenly, everyone placed great importance on taking in Vegapunk, especially Allen.
That didn't just represent the most cutting-edge science and technology of the present; it also represented the future development trend of the world.
With his knowledge, it was hard not to deeply understand one fact: technology truly possessed the power to completely change the world.
By taking in Vegapunk, he wasn't just getting a scientist, but a blueprint for the future world!