Sakazuki's indifferent voice rang out:
"Take him away."
A few soldiers, trembling, carried him off.
The rest had already been dealt with by Enel earlier, tossed into the nutrient pods as material to be hauled away.
Only then did Sakazuki turn his gaze to Rosinante aboard the warship:
"Anything else?"
Rosinante froze for a moment:
"No more…"
Sakazuki raised an eyebrow:
"Then get down here."
Rosinante finally snapped back to his senses:
"Oh, oh."
"Come on, Law."
He directly picked up the trembling Law by the arm. Law was dumbfounded:
"Wha… what?"
"Ahhhhh!!!"
Held by Rosinante, he was dragged straight off the deck of the warship and down.
The moment he hit the ground, Law collapsed to the floor, unable to stop himself from shouting at Rosinante:
"Are you an idiot?!"
"That was so high! You just jumped down like that?!"
Rosinante realized belatedly:
"Ah! Sorry!"
Suddenly, a massive shadow loomed over Law.
He turned his head to see Sakazuki's towering figure casting his shadow over him.
Swallowing nervously, Law instinctively grabbed at Rosinante's pant leg.
Sakazuki glanced at Law:
"So this is the kid who ate that fruit worth fifty billion."
Rosinante scratched his head awkwardly:
"Yes…"
After all, he had stolen that fruit on his own initiative and given it to Law.
And the information had even come from his foster father, Sengoku. In a sense, it was already a betrayal of Sengoku.
Although Sengoku later took the blame for that failed transaction and never blamed him.
Deep down, Rosinante still felt guilty toward Sengoku, and mentioning this matter made him uneasy.
Sakazuki shook his head with a faint smile:
"Don't worry. Sengoku won't blame you."
"Kids are bound to be mischievous sometimes."
"Do you really think Sengoku's feelings for you are worth less than some Devil Fruit?"
"Don't dwell on it."
"There's nothing much to see on this island anyway."
"As for the medical field…"
"You could go check out Research Institute No. 3."
"The researchers there study biology, anatomy, bacteria and the like."
"There should be some overlap."
"I'll have Enel take you there later."
Rosinante nodded:
"Thank you, Admiral Sakazuki."
"Get up, Law."
He bent down to pull Law up.
Law also stood and, following Rosinante's example, thanked Sakazuki.
Sakazuki gave a soft "Hm," then turned and left with Karol.
Enel grinned mischievously:
"Let's go."
The just-standing Law was scooped up again…
Whoosh!
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
Rosinante gave a helpless smile:
"Soru!"
He dashed toward Research Institute No. 3.
...
Research Institute No. 3.
As soon as they entered, the dizzy Law stopped dead.
Everywhere he looked, massive containers were neatly arranged. The bottom halves were iron, the tops glass, filled with nutrient fluid.
Countless creatures of all kinds slumbered inside.
Law even spotted quite a few grotesque, misshapen humans…
Staring at this place that looked like the lair of an evil organization, Law was so shocked he stammered:
"Th-this… this…"
"Are you guys really Marines?!"
"This is way too…"
Smack!
Enel flicked Law's forehead:
"What are you thinking."
"Most of the creatures in here were cultivated from cells."
"They aren't alive."
"They're only for analysis and records."
"As for those humans, every single one of them is sea scum."
"Each of them has enough blood on their hands to deserve the death penalty."
"This is the only way they can make even the smallest contribution to the world."
"To die in an experiment… is a form of atonement."
Whoosh—
Rosinante appeared at the entrance, looking at the frozen Law:
"Why aren't you going in?"
He glanced at Enel with some confusion. Enel tilted his head to the side twice in indication:
"Maybe… he just can't handle it yet."
"You were the same back then, weren't you?"
Rosinante looked at the giant containers:
"I see…"
He scratched his head. Indeed…
When Enel first brought him here, he couldn't accept it either.
But…
After Enel showed him the crimes those experimented humans had committed—
He even felt… dying in experiments… was too merciful for them!
"Come on, Law."
"They're just heinous pirates."
"You wouldn't want to see their shocking crimes anyway."
"Research Institute No. 3 has gathered the world's top group of biologists and bacteriologists."
"Most of them study biology and bacteria."
"You might learn something useful—apply what you know to new fields."
In an instant, Law forgot all about the experimental tanks. His eyes lit up:
"Really?!"
For Law, who had loved studying since he was a child, he couldn't wait!
Rosinante smiled:
"Come on, I'll take you to meet them."
He led Law deeper into the laboratory:
"Enel, aren't you coming?"
Enel waved his hand:
"No."
"I'm going to find that bastard Caesar."
Just the thought of it made anger rise in him again.
He had asked Rosinante afterward.
That virus, once triggered, hadn't spread at all. Even when they escaped on Funkfreed, they were quickly chased down.
If Funkfreed hadn't taken a few shots for them and bought some time…
They wouldn't have lasted until Enel arrived.
Whoosh!
Enel vanished in an instant.
Without turning into lightning… after all, the memory of blowing up the lab last time was still fresh.
Not long after…
From the deepest laboratory came earth-shattering screams and wails.
...
In the high-tech laboratory.
The researchers had all backed away to a safe distance.
Watching the two in the center.
Caesar, bruised and battered, was pinned beneath Enel:
"Damn it!"
"What the hell happened?!"
"Give me a reason!!!"
"Lightning bastard!"
Enel snorted coldly and tossed out a pendant:
"This thing of yours doesn't work at all."
"You gave me a fake, huh?"
Pinned beneath him, Caesar jumped up in protest:
"Impossible!!!"
"You can question my character!"
"But you can't question my scientific results!"
He reached for the pendant, pressing a tiny button that activated it instantly.
Hiss—
A burst of compressed gas hissed out. Both their eyes widened, and Caesar instantly shut the button off.
Caesar shouted:
"Everyone out! Seal the lab!!!"
Only after everyone, including the two of them, had fled outside—
Did he close the doors and start the air purification system, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Holding the pendant, Caesar glared at Enel:
"You bastard! See? It works!!!"
Enel's face darkened:
"So you're saying I lied to you."
Caesar snorted:
"Tell me exactly what happened."
As Enel described the events, Caesar's face grew darker and darker… until he realized the cause:
"Enough, no need to go on."
"I know what went wrong."
"It's the temperature…"
"A common flaw of most bacteria."
"The higher the temperature, the faster they reproduce."
"If the temperature is right, they can sweep across an island in no time."
"But the activation took place on an island below minus ten degrees…"
"Damn…"
He turned to his researchers:
"Everyone! Drop what you're doing."
"Start researching how to make bacteria reproduce in low temperatures!!!"
...
Late night, Punk Hazard.
Deep beneath the island's center, nearly a hundred meters underground…
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total