Chapter 58: Aqua Laguna? The Only Answer!
Water 7, at night.
The city was still bustling. Groups of tipsy patrons, arms around each other's shoulders, shouted and laughed as they headed to the next bar.
Tap. Tap.
A man in a rat mask, carrying two blood-stained bundles, walked along the streets.
The late-night revelers didn't seem to notice him at all.
Vmmm!
Silently, the man walked through the body of a drunkard.
"The Door-Door Fruit... truly convenient."
Under the mask, Roy sighed in appreciation.
In his vision, the glowing screen explained the scene.
[Door-Door Fruit LV3: Can open doors to a pocket dimension and hide within it, while maintaining vision of the outside world.]
Yes.
After acquiring the Door-Door Fruit, Roy had decisively upgraded it to LV3.
This fulfilled his primary goal for coming to Water 7.
"With enough time, Nezumi can bring any clone to meet the main body and refresh their status without anyone knowing."
This alone was worth the trip.
So, why did Nezumi go to the 'Blue Station' bar?
Two reasons.
"Just as I guessed, the pocket dimension of the Door-Door Fruit is shared."
This was the first reason. A shared dimension meant Blueno could discover Roy's secret. So Blueno had to die.
The second reason was...
"This clone's next plan requires your heads."
"But before that..."
Murmuring, Nezumi looked ahead.
Without realizing it, he had reached the edge of Water 7.
Before him... the surging waves of the ocean.
Nezumi didn't stop.
He stepped onto the sea, waves crashing beneath his feet.
But the water couldn't touch him.
This was the power of the Door-Door Fruit—inside the pocket dimension, he was unaffected by the outside world.
Finally...
"..."
Nezumi stopped.
"According to Mr. 4's coordinates, it should be around here."
He looked at the sea. No island. No laboratory.
Just empty ocean.
It was just as Mr. 4 had said—if he hadn't experienced it himself, he wouldn't believe an island existed here.
In fact, Nezumi had been skeptical too.
He hadn't really expected to find the lab.
But now, things were different.
"What a coincidence."
Nezumi sighed, pulling a piece of paper from his sleeve.
"Of all things, the intel those two CP9 agents brought contained something interesting."
Nezumi hadn't expected to stumble upon Fukurou and Blueno's intelligence exchange when he went to kill Blueno.
He hadn't had high hopes for the briefcase. He knew their main mission was the blueprints for Pluton.
And Nezumi already knew everything there was to know about Pluton.
So he assumed the intel would be useless.
But reality surprised him.
While most of the documents were indeed useless to him, one page caught his eye.
[Government and Marine Personnel Entry/Exit Record for Water 7 - Year 1503]
[April, 1503: Marine Captain Doberman arrived for warship repairs. Stayed 3 days.]
[May, 1503: CP9 operations ship arrived for routine maintenance. Stayed 1 day.]
[...]
Among these mundane records from 14 years ago:
[July, 1503: Dr. Vegapunk and his mechanical assistants arrived on the 'Special Science Ship' for research.]
[Due to the onset of the 'Aqua Laguna' ebb tide, the science ship was lost in the waters south of Water 7. Five government ships searched for a month without success. Finally, after a high-ranking official arrived to take command, Dr. Vegapunk was found stranded in nearby waters.]
Yes—on this page, Nezumi saw the name 'Vegapunk'.
And the content was fascinating.
"Lost for a month in the waters south of Water 7..."
The coincidence was striking—the area Mr. 4 described... was also south of Water 7!
And if you ignored the word 'lost,' Nezumi could summarize the intel differently.
"Vegapunk disappeared near Water 7 for over a month without the Marines knowing his location!"
This was why he was here.
If his guess was correct, and Vegapunk spent that month at the lab on Mr. 4's island...
Then this intel was crucial for finding the lab.
Especially the key phrase: "Aqua Laguna's ebb tide."
Nezumi whispered the name.
Aqua Laguna. The massive tsunami that struck Water 7 every year.
Because its cause was unknown but its power was godlike, it earned the name 'Water of the Gods.'
It arrived around June and receded in July.
During this time, the waters around Water 7 changed drastically. June was the 'High Tide,' and July was the 'Ebb Tide.'
For these two months, the seas were extremely dangerous.
Ships entering during the High Tide risked being swallowed by tsunamis.
Ships entering during the Ebb Tide risked being sucked into the depths by the receding waters.
Only after the Ebb Tide passed would the sea return to normal.
"Vegapunk arrived at the start of the 'Ebb Tide,' got 'lost' for a month, and was found right when the Ebb Tide ended."
"Mr. 4 said he wrecked during a massive tsunami at the end of June—that would be the last Aqua Laguna of that year."
"After the wreck, it was July—the Ebb Tide. That's when Mr. 4 survived and found the island."
It was too coincidental. The truth was practically screaming at him.
"There's only one answer."
Whispering, Nezumi tossed the two heads into the pocket dimension.
Then, he raised his hand.
Click.
He opened a door to the outside world.
Salty sea air filled his nose. Nezumi looked down at the water.
And without hesitation... he jumped!
He believed in the answer he had found.
"It's an island that only appears during the extreme instability of Aqua Laguna."
"It rises to the shallows during the High Tide, breaches the surface during the Ebb Tide, and vanishes after Aqua Laguna ends."
"The only explanation is... that island... has always been underwater!"
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