Chapter 44: Mr. 4's Unexpected Intel: Vegapunk's Lab?
One month later.
Grand Line, Cactus Island. Whiskey Peak.
In the hidden Baroque Works branch, the atmosphere was solemn.
"And that, simply put, is the situation."
Ryuji stood at the front of the crowd, speaking confidently.
"So you're saying you are my Zero-chan, and you only ordered us to assassinate you to test me and these other guys?"
"And now, because you took out one of the Warlords, Crocodile, Alabasta is hunting us down, so we need to lie low for a while, right?"
In front of Ryuji, the bandaged Mr. 2 Bon Kurei rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Then...
"I get it now!"
He pounded his palm with his fist, enlightened. "I knew it! How could someone as strong as you be a nobody? And you defeated us but didn't kill us!"
Tears streamed down his face, clearly moved.
"First, while I am Mr. 0, I am not 'Zero-chan.' My name is 'Ryuji'."
"Second, I'm not asking you to lie low. I'm asking you to change your operational methods. The old ways are cancelled."
"Finally... stay away from me. You're getting snot on my robe."
Ryuji silently pushed Bon Kurei away.
Then, he looked at the others. "Any questions?"
Needless to say, the others present were the Baroque Works agents Ryuji had defeated and captured. All of them had been brought out of Alabasta by him.
"...You said earlier that Baroque Works is now a subordinate organization to a group called 'The Zodiac'?"
"And that the company's business model is going to change?"
After a long silence, Mr. 1 asked in a deep voice.
"Wrong."
Ryuji waved his hand. "To be precise, we have always been a subordinate organization of 'The Zodiac.' As for the business changes, that's orders from above. You don't need to ask questions."
"Miss All Sunday will handle the specifics... Any problems?"
Lots of problems!
Mr. 1 thought to himself.
Aside from idiots like Mr. 2, anyone with half a brain could see something was wrong.
Baroque Works has always been under 'The Zodiac'?
They had never even heard of this group before!
And the lie about Alabasta hunting them down? Ryuji had walked them right out of the prison in front of the guards.
Not to mention, he had personally seen Igaram, the captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard, sneak onto this island a while ago with a huge amount of treasure.
Although there was no proof, he was certain that treasure had gone to the man standing in front of him.
"Was the original Mr. 0... killed?"
In fact, most of the agents present had guessed the truth to some extent.
But...
"..."
Looking at Nico Robin standing beside Ryuji, everyone tacitly chose not to mention it.
Miss All Sunday had defected. The writing was on the wall.
Besides, changing bosses didn't fundamentally affect them. A job was a job.
So...
"Oh my! Is that so... So it was you all along, Boss!"
Mr. 3 Galdino drew out his words, his voice dripping with flattery. "I guessed it when we fought last time! Where else in this vast sea could we find a powerhouse as incredible as you?"
His hands were still bandaged, but he managed a firm salute. "Please, give us your orders! I am absolutely loyal to you... Right? Miss Goldenweek!"
He looked at his partner—a little girl standing beside him, the only numbered agent who hadn't participated in the siege on Ryuji.
"Mm."
Miss Goldenweek looked at Ryuji curiously but said nothing.
"No missions for now. Just keep a low profile. Also... I will assign each of you a sea area. You will gather intelligence for the organization."
Ryuji said calmly.
"Intelligence?"
"Yes. About special items. Like gold, or Devil Fruits..."
Ryuji spread out a nautical chart, marking the areas Baroque Works could cover.
He had to admit, Crocodile's business network was impressive.
Throughout the first half of the Grand Line, there were Billions and Millions working for Baroque Works almost everywhere.
With such a comprehensive intel system, and the combat strength of Mr. 1 through Mr. 5, he naturally wanted to make use of them.
"You can choose your own areas... Hmm. Mr. 4, you choose first."
Ryuji picked him simply because he was the slowest, and waiting for him would waste the most time.
Mr. 4 and his dog-gun, Lassoo, slowly walked forward.
But to Ryuji's surprise, before Mr. 4 could speak, Lassoo barked at a spot on the map. "Woof!"
"Oh... It's your hometown..."
Mr. 4 said slowly. "Then... it's decided... Boss, we choose... here."
"...Hm?"
Ryuji made a sound of confusion.
Under the mask, Roy's expression flashed with surprise.
He suddenly realized he had overlooked something.
Mr. 4's gun, 'Lassoo.'
As mentioned before, it was essentially a gun that had 'eaten' the Dog-Dog Fruit.
But the problem was—Roy had never really thought about where this gun came from.
"The technology to feed Devil Fruits to inanimate objects... Come to think of it, isn't that Vegapunk's technology?"
"How does Mr. 4 have a weapon like that?"
Thinking this, Ryuji looked at Mr. 4 and asked directly. "Hometown? You mean the place where you got that gun?"
"...Mm."
Mr. 4 nodded slowly.
He didn't hide anything and began to tell the story of him and Lassoo.
As Ryuji suspected, Lassoo hadn't always been Mr. 4's gun.
He had found it during an accidental shipwreck before he joined Baroque Works.
"I was just starting out... working as a shipwright... I don't know the details, but there was a huge tsunami... our ship sank."
He spoke in his slow,憨 voice. "But I was born stronger than others... so even though I drifted for a long time, I survived."
"A few days later... I found a small island nearby. I barely managed to land... and found a huge laboratory there."
"There were lots of strange robots inside... very dangerous... I got hurt and ran into a room."
He pointed to the dachshund-gun beside him.
"That's where I met Lassoo."
"With his help... I escaped the island."
Hearing this, Ryuji was almost certain.
A laboratory, robots, and a Devil Fruit-eating weapon.
"Was that one of Vegapunk's early labs? Like the one on Karakuri Island?"
Ryuji guessed.
Naturally, his interest was piqued.
Dr. Vegapunk—the genius scientist was an incredible figure, and his research on Devil Fruits was unparalleled.
Ryuji was very interested in anything he left behind.
"What else was in that lab? Where is the island?" he asked directly.
"...I don't know. I didn't stay long," Mr. 4 said slowly.
"As for the island..."
He looked at Lassoo. Both looked hesitant.
"You might not believe it... but after joining the company, Lassoo and I went back to look for it. But we couldn't find the island in its original location."
"Couldn't find it?" Ryuji paused.
"Mm. We're sure the coordinates were right... but there was no sign of any island."
Mr. 4 pointed to the chart as he spoke.
Ryuji looked. Mr. 4 was pointing at a blank area of the sea.
And near that area was...
"Water 7?"
Seeing the city near the coordinates, Roy's eyes flickered under his mask.
"That's... a bit of a coincidence."
He murmured in his heart.
Yes—it was quite a coincidence.
Because he knew very well.
The fruit he urgently needed to meet his clones... was also in Water 7!
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