But that said, Luffy had already done many things in the past that were even more typical of the Marines than the Marines themselves.
"What's so funny?! Hurry up and contact your master!"
Caesar gnashed his teeth, suddenly remembered something, and calmed down a little: "By the way, I tricked Big Mom and secured a lot of research funding. If he kills me, all that funding will have been wasted. The Straw Hat Luffy probably doesn't want to provoke that woman."
From panic, to reluctance in accepting reality, to the stage of self-hypnosis.
Then he muttered to himself again: "I'll just hide. I'll come back when they leave the island!"
After saying that, Caesar actually ran away!
Turning into a cloud of gas, Caesar slipped through the gap in the gate and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Monet was speechless for a moment.
She then picked up her den den mushi and dialed a number.
What Caesar feared might not necessarily happen, but if it did, it would be troublesome.
"Monet?"
Once the call connected, Doflamingo's deep voice echoed from the receiver.
"My lord, Straw Hat Luffy has just landed on this island…"
Monet briefly explained the situation, including the fact that Caesar was about to run away.
"Fufurfurfurfur… that is indeed something that man would do."
Doflamingo couldn't help but chuckle. "Caesar's concern is well-founded."
"What should we do?" Monet asked.
"Hiding is useless. I was told that Straw Hat's Observation Haki — and that of his crew — is quite powerful. As long as you're on Punk Hazard, you won't be able to hide."
Doflamingo's tone turned serious: "Find a way to buy time. I'll go there right now."
"Understood." Monet nodded.
But how could she stall them?
A blizzard wouldn't hold them off for long, and although she had led them to the dragon created by Vegapunk, the dragon hadn't lasted more than a few minutes.
No, maybe only a few seconds?
---xXx---
Dressrosa, the royal palace.
Doflamingo opened the window, and the night wind suddenly rushed in, making the curtains dance.
"Straw Hats… how did they even get to Punk Hazard?"
Though it was easy to say, he had to rush there immediately.
But running there wouldn't help.
Doflamingo grabbed a bottle of red wine and downed it in one gulp.
The buyer of the artificial Devil Fruits was Kaido, one of the Yonko.
If the Straw Hats were also after them, he was in serious trouble.
Caught between two Yonko, there was no such delicious option as "pleasing both sides."
Because production was limited!
If a fight broke out between them, he was the one who would lose everything.
"Fufurfurfur… let's hope… it doesn't come to that!"
Doflamingo let out a dry laugh and flew out of the palace.
He leapt into the air.
With the power of his Devil Fruit, he could stretch thin threads — invisible to the naked eye — up into the clouds, allowing him to move through the air by anchoring himself to them.
At that moment, he shot off in the direction of Punk Hazard.
---xXx---
Punk Hazard.
The dragon had been turned into a corpse.
Thanks to Sanji's extraordinary culinary skills, its meat had been transformed into delicious grilled dragon meat, satisfying the hunger of the entire Straw Hat crew.
Robin ate very little, supposedly to stay in shape.
She walked toward some ruins, lifted a piece of debris with her hands, and touched several other fragments.
"Luffy, something's wrong with this place. Judging by the damage to the ruins, it was likely caused by a massive explosion, and… it was relatively recent."
Are you an archaeologist or a detective?! Luffy complained inwardly.
"This is a government research base. Two years ago, a huge accident occurred — an explosion capable of producing a mushroom-shaped cloud," Luffy explained.
"An explosion? No wonder it's so damaged. This area… was a city?"
Sanji handed a piece of grilled meat to Luffy.
"What's the deal with that dragon? Does a creature like that really exist in this world?" Nojiko said incredulously. "What if it's someone who ate a Devil Fruit?"
The moment those words were spoken, everyone froze.
Everyone sitting around the campfire covered their mouths.
"Shishishishi, don't worry, it's an artificial creature. Created by Vegapunk. It's meant to protect the island."
Luffy munched on the dragon meat.
He had to admit — Vegapunk really knew what he was doing. That dragon meat tasted amazing.
Not only thanks to Sanji's cooking, but because the ingredient itself was outstanding.
"I see…"
Everyone let out a sigh of relief and continued eating.
Uta couldn't even finish a few pieces, so she handed the meat to Luffy, stood up, and said:
"I'm still curious about that Yuki-onna! Luffy, come on, she's gone too far."
Hearing that, Luffy immediately finished the meat.
Then he stood up, smiled, and said: "You guys eat slowly and rest for now. Uta and I will go ahead."
After saying that, he took Uta and went after Monet.
As they left, the Straw Hats by the fire all stared intensely at the grill.
"Hey! What do you mean 'eat slowly'? You ate everything already!" Sanji clenched his fist.
---xXx---
A short while later.
Luffy and Uta arrived at the gate of the institute.
Bang bang bang!
Uta knocked on the door and shouted: "Hey, is anyone there? I'm Uta! Please open the door!"
From a corner above the gate, only a monitoring device slowly observed her.
Apparently aware of its presence, Uta even threw a peace sign at the camera.
"There's definitely someone in there! Hurry and open the door!"
She clapped her hands again.
Luffy had no choice but to step forward, grab her hand, and say helplessly: "If you keep doing that, no one's going to answer."
"Why?" Uta asked, confused.
"Because they're running away…"
Luffy patted his little diva's head, then flicked the door with his finger.
BOOM!
In an instant, the massive iron gate shattered under the force of the vibration.
"Let's go."
Uta fixed her hair and hurried after him.
As soon as they entered the research institute, they walked down the long, dark hallway. Suddenly, a figure appeared before them.
Monet knelt.
"I'm sorry. I caused the blizzard earlier, and that caused trouble for you."
"The Snow Girl~!" Uta's eyes sparkled.
Monet didn't raise her head.
Luffy activated his mind-reading ability.
[Doflamingo asked me to delay Straw Hat, but how am I supposed to do that?]
[If I kneel here for half an hour, maybe I can hold Luffy back?]
[I have no idea where that bastard went to hide.]
"If you mean Caesar, you can go straight to the coast," Luffy answered her thoughts.
Monet's body trembled.
[Impossible… he can tell what I'm thinking?]
"Yes."
Monet: "…"
What kind of terrifying ability was that!?
Was this… also a Yonko's power!?
(End of chapter)