Before Saturn's Den Den Mushi completely shut down, Sanders arrived at the doors of Research Lab No. 8.
Other than the four people inside and Sanders himself, everyone on the island—Marines and World Government personnel—had already fallen unconscious.
With powerful Observation Haki, he instantly sensed the four inside.
In a corner of the lab, he found the surveillance Den Den Mushi left by Saturn.
Suddenly, his Conqueror's Haki burst out.
All the Den Den Mushi, as well as Bonney and Sentomaru, who were playing around, instantly rolled their eyes and fainted.
Bonney swayed and was about to fall.
Kuma, who had been watching over his daughter, immediately flashed to her side and caught her.
At first, he thought she'd passed out because of her illness— but then he noticed Sentomaru had collapsed too.
Kuma's expression changed instantly.
His gentle eyes locked firmly onto the lab door, his whole body tensed like he was preparing for an attack.
"What's going on?"
"What just happened?"
Vegapunk also reacted, full of confusion.
Just then, a hearty voice came from outside the lab.
"Long time no see!"
"Dr. Vegapunk!"
At that moment, the door was pushed open.
Sanders walked in, smiling.
He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and beach shorts, flip-flops on his feet, with snowflakes drifting from his shoulders and hair.
The moment he appeared, Kuma became visibly nervous—he immediately recognized the man.
Thunder God Sanders!
The pirate with the highest bounty among all currently living pirates!
The man who defeated the legendary pirate Whitebeard!
Why was he here?!
And even more terrifying—he had reached them without being noticed!
Too terrifying!
Even Dragon probably couldn't appear at his side completely undetected like this.
Kuma was on high alert.
He quickly and carefully laid Bonney down on Sentomaru's belly, then flashed forward to stand between Sanders and Vegapunk, shielding the scientist and the others behind him.
Bonney was someone he absolutely had to protect.
Vegapunk was the hope for curing Bonney.
He wouldn't allow anyone to hurt either of them.
Kuma stood tall like a mother bear protecting her cubs, his aura surging—ready to strike the moment Sanders made a move.
Sanders, however, acted as though he didn't even see the imposing bear in front of him.
He casually closed the lab door, brushed some of the snow off his head and shoulders,
and said with a smile:
"Man, it's cold out there."
"It really is cold in here, Dr. Vegapunk~."
"Way worse than the environment in Punk Hazard's restricted zone!"
"Hey, Tyrant?"
"No need to be so tense. I didn't come with any hostility."
Sanders turned his head to look at the tense and vigilant Kuma.
"Sanders?"
"Why are you here?"
At this moment, Vegapunk spoke up.
"Is this a new friend of yours?"
"Tell him to relax a bit."
"If I really wanted to harm any of you, not even the three Admirals of the Marines could stop me."
Sanders didn't answer. He just pointed at Kuma and laughed.
Earlier, he had used a technique from the manga—Shanks' "Observation Haki Suppression",
a power that can completely block the opponent's use of Observation Haki.
That's why, despite Kuma's strength, he hadn't noticed Sanders' arrival at all.
It was the result of Sanders' recent training— and this was the first time he had actually used it.
The effect… was pretty damn good.
"Kuma, it's okay. He counts as a friend too."
Vegapunk stepped out from behind Kuma, realizing with a sigh that he had done this same movement twice today— the only difference was that the person shielding him had changed from Sentomaru to Kuma.
"Using Conqueror's Haki to knock others out… that's not exactly what I'd call 'no hostility.'"
Kuma still remained alert.
"Oh, you mean that?"
"Haha, sorry about that."
"They'll wake up soon."
"It's just that I couldn't let them know I came here."
Sanders scratched the back of his head with an apologetic smile.
Upon hearing Sanders apologize, Kuma's stern expression softened slightly, and his tense muscles relaxed a bit.
"Vegapunk, your head's even bigger now—it's kinda gross."
Sanders glanced up at Vegapunk's towering brain that reached all the way to the ceiling and laughed.
"You rude little brat! No manners at all!"
Vegapunk shouted in anger.
Kuma, standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh.
He remembered Bonney had said something similar.
Though Vegapunk's reaction back then was very different.
As expected, cute little girls are still the most charming.
"Hahaha."
"You've changed, Vegapunk. You're no longer the scientist who used to beg me to help you with your research."
Sanders said with a cheerful grin.
During those years in the Marines, because of his Devil Fruit abilities, Sanders had often been dragged by Vegapunk to participate in research.
At the mention of "research,"
Vegapunk's eyes immediately lit up.
He had heard the rumors— that this brat, Sanders, possessed multiple Devil Fruit powers.
After learning about this, he had contacted the Five Elders, urging them to do everything they could to obtain a blood sample from Sanders.
But Sanders was simply too powerful.
Even Marine Admirals couldn't do anything about him— no one had ever managed to get a blood or tissue sample from him.
Even if they had, it would have already been scorched by lightning, rendering it completely useless for research.
And now, Sanders was right in front of him.
Vegapunk was burning with the desire to study him.
Not just his blood— he wanted to study Sanders' entire body.
In Vegapunk's eyes, Sanders being alive while wielding so many Devil Fruit powers was a miracle of humanity.
"Let me examine you—how exactly are you able to hold so many powers?"
Vegapunk asked eagerly.
"Cut it out. There's no way I'm letting you do that."
Sanders refused flatly.
"I'm a pirate. You're with the World Government."
"If you manage to discover anything from studying me, wouldn't that just help my enemies grow stronger?"
"You're hindering the progress of science!"
Vegapunk shot back.
"Progress, my ass."
"If it's not my science, any 'progress' is just garbage."
Sanders retorted sharply.
Watching the two bicker, Kuma finally relaxed completely.
He looked at Sanders with growing curiosity.
He hadn't expected that the man who shook the seas, the one called the strongest man on the ocean, would be like this in private.
He actually seemed… approachable.
Should I contact Dragon?
Maybe he and Sanders could work together somehow?
Kuma stroked his chin in thought.
Even though he had left the Revolutionary Army, he still cared deeply about Dragon and the others, and often thought about ways to help his old friends.
If they could secretly form an alliance with one of the Five Emperors— Thunder God Sanders— then the Revolutionaries' position would become much more secure...
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