There were indeed two people standing on the roof of the palace. Dylen and King, who had traveled all the way from the New World, were standing there quietly. It wasn't easy to find this country. They were always on the move. Fortunately, the Boss had informants in various countries around the world, and the scholars of Weatheria were indeed easygoing and friendly. When they asked for their next destination, the scholars told them honestly. So, the two of them arrived at the country in advance and waited quietly for Weatheria to arrive.
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait too long. The scholars soon steered their country over. However, Dylen and King were in no hurry to make a move. Since they were here, they might as well witness the abilities of these scholars. What if they were just putting on a show and would disappoint the Boss?
But thankfully, it seemed the scholars were indeed capable. If that was the case, there was nothing to hesitate about.
"Let's go." Dylen leaped up, and in that instant, his arms had transformed into broad wings. The prehistoric beast soared into the sky. King didn't need to transform. His black wings flapped, and his speed was no less than Dylen's.
The king, who had half his body sticking out of the window, stared blankly at the two figures soaring into the sky and couldn't help but exclaim, "What a huge bird—whoa!"
He was so excited that he accidentally fell out of the window.
Dylen and King flew very fast. In a short time, they had soared into the sky and flew directly above the floating island, looking down at the entire island. It was only then that they could see that the entire island was roughly divided into three layers. Each layer was a structure of land and clouds, with many windmills, propellers, and balloons. Of course, there were also residential buildings.
"Where should we find people?" King asked. The country was not large, and the population didn't seem to be large either, but they knew nothing about this place. They didn't know who to start with in order to take over the country.
"We'll just make them come to us." Dylen's tone was indifferent. With that, he suddenly flapped his right wing. With a surge of Haki, a huge flying slash shot out. This powerful slash struck the lower layer of Weatheria, tearing apart houses, the ground, and streets. A huge crack was left in the town.
"Are you holding back?" King was a little surprised. If Dylen used his full power, he could probably tear this small island in half. It really wasn't that big.
"If nothing goes wrong, we'll need to rely on this island to return to the New World." Dylen said calmly. "Don't destroy it too much."
King nodded in agreement.
"Now, let's wait a little." Dylen said.
The people on the island had indeed started to act. The sudden attack threw the town, or rather, the village, into chaos. Even the most distinguished scholars would still be afraid and panic.
"What happened? The houses and the ground are torn apart!"
"Is it an abnormal climate? Is it some kind of special air current?"
"I've never seen anything this special! The crack in the ground looks like it was made by a huge sword!"
"A sword??"
Panic spread. It was at this moment that several white-haired scholars rushed over.
"What on earth happened? How did this happen?" These most respected scholars on the island were also dumbfounded by the sight in front of them. They had never seen a special climate that could turn a village into this!
"Could it be," a younger scholar said cautiously, "that we were attacked?"
"Attacked?" The old scholar with a beard that looked like a broom turned his head in confusion. This word was too foreign to Weatheria. Since this small sky island was created and this country of scholars was born, it had never suffered any attacks.
"It must be some kind of special climate, right?" several old scholars said in unison. Attacked? How was that possible? What did their country have that was worth—
Swoosh swoosh!
Boom boom!
Two figures suddenly descended from the sky and heavily crashed onto the street.
"Is everyone here?" An indifferent voice came from within the rising smoke. The scholars gathered here were all stunned by the voice.
"Huh? We have guests?" An old scholar wearing a pair of thick reading glasses said subconsciously.
"Are they here to make a request?" another equally old scholar guessed.
"How could that be!" The young scholar who spoke earlier couldn't help but say in a sharp voice, "No guest would arrive like this, and no one would come to make a request in this manner! They're attackers! There really are attackers!"
His voice instantly made many scholars' bodies tremble, and then their faces showed signs of panic. But, Weatheria was floating in the sky, so how did they get up here—
The smoke gradually dissipated, and Dylen and King walked out. After seeing their appearance, the previously confused scholars suddenly understood. Oh, so they had wings! Then it wasn't strange at all!
Wait!
Immediately, someone exclaimed, "Who are you people?!"
"Are you asking who we are?" King tilted his head in surprise. "Are we really that obscure?"
"We aren't the Boss. It's not possible for everyone to know who we are." Dylen didn't have much of a reaction to this.
Of course, they weren't that obscure. Immediately, a young scholar's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait, wait! They are the Demon Scion King and the Blood Hand Dylen! They are the top executives under Calamity Roa!"
"Calamity Roa!"
At this, almost all the scholars exploded. There probably weren't many people in the world today who didn't know Roa. The worst pirate in history, the monster who publicly executed a Marine Fleet Admiral! If the Roger Pirates hadn't suddenly found the Final Island and the Great Treasure, no one in the pirate world would be more famous than him.
Incidentally, after gaining the title of Pirate King, Roger not only surpassed Roa in fame but also in bounty. Roger now had an unprecedented bounty of 5.5 billion Berries. Even the late Rocks had not reached the 5 billion mark.
"Why are Roa's executives here?!" The scholars' faces were deathly pale.
"It's time to change the environment for your experiments, scholars," Dylen took a step forward. "The Boss needs your help. From today on, Weatheria is the Calamity Company's meteorological research institution. You should feel lucky, as from now on, you won't have to worry about research funds."
"Really?" A white-haired old scholar's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously took a step forward. "Are the funds really sufficient?"
"Dr. Fermat! Are you senile?! They are the great villains!" A younger scholar quickly stopped him, his face almost turning into a shark's face. "Working for them is like helping a tyrant do evil!"
"That's right! We must not give in to them!" The other scholars also reacted. Their scholarly integrity and the education they received would not allow them to bow to evil forces!
"Hurry and use the miraculous weather devices—"
Whoosh!
Flames shot into the sky and then condensed into a gigantic fire dragon several hundred meters long, coiling its massive body and quietly looking down at the scholars below.
The scholars went silent. King held his beloved Ame no Habakiri, which was surrounded by a blazing flame, and said calmly, "Helping a tyrant do evil. That's a good word. When the Boss wants someone to be his evil accomplice, they should be eager to agree."
"What do you think?"
The scholars looked at each other.
"Join or be destroyed, it's a simple question." Dylen said. "Do you want all your years of research to go to waste? They are the treasures of the world."
After being taught by the Boss, he knew how to get a hold of these simple, research-loving scholars.
And so.
"We surrender!"
They bowed their heads.
And so, Weatheria was successfully taken. The floating island became the ship for King and Dylen to return home. It was very steady and comfortable, much more comfortable than when the two of them came over. The speed was also decent. This island was powered by the wind. Usually, it would drift with the wind, but only when they needed to earn money would the scholars control the wind to determine the island's flight direction.
At this time, under the orders of the two, the scholars began to create wind with all their might, making the floating island's speed reach its limit. However, the floating island did not return directly to the New World. There was another place to go and another person to bring back.
In the first half of the Grand Line, Paradise, on an island called Magno Island. This island was a winter island with a cold climate. It snowed all year round, and the entire island was covered in a layer of white snow. Almost no one knew that there was a large research base underground on this almost uninhabited island. This was the third research institute of the Marine Science Division. A large number of scholars were gathered here, silently engaging in research work for a long time.
And the man who stood above all the scientists in this base was named—
"Dr. Caesar, my calculations are completely off. Can you take a look?"
"Shulololololo, you mediocre talent should go and reflect on your own stupidity. A genius like me doesn't have time to waste on you!" In a corridor of the research institute, a man with a pair of horns on his head, who floated in mid-air like a ghost, just mocked his colleague who was asking for help. He had no intention of helping and just flew away on his own.
The scholar who had mustered up the courage to ask for help was left with a flushed face and a look of humiliation. Behind him, another colleague walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "I've told you before, Caesar is notoriously arrogant. Only Dr. Vegapunk is in his eyes."
"I'm just not willing to accept it…"
"Not willing to accept it? Although he's not as good as Dr. Vegapunk, Caesar is the undisputed second-in-command of the Marine Science Division. What can you do?" The insulted scholar's face, which was red from his colleague's words, finally turned pale. Although he was not as good as Vegapunk, Caesar was a genius scientist that they couldn't hope to reach.
Caesar Clown floated forward in the wide corridor. Everyone he encountered along the way, whether they were scholars, guards, or Marines, all respectfully greeted him. Caesar's vanity was greatly satisfied, and his strange "Shulololololo" laugh flowed all the way. Maybe being transferred to the third research institute wasn't so bad? He was far away from that annoying Vegapunk and had become the head of the institute. He could do whatever he wanted, and no one could stop him!
He had originally been researching with Vegapunk at Punk Hazard in the New World, but the pirates' crazy actions shocked the World Government. All the scholars were evacuated, and Punk Hazard was completely abandoned. After returning to Paradise, all the scholars who had been withdrawn from the New World were redistributed to other research institutes. Caesar Clown was sent to the third research institute because he used to always get into arguments with Chief Scientist Vegapunk at Punk Hazard, so this time, the higher-ups simply separated them.
Caesar was very satisfied with his life at the third research institute. What should he research next? That guy Vegapunk was researching artificial Devil Fruits and artificial ancient giants. A genius like him couldn't fall behind!
Just as he was thinking this.
Boom! The entire base shook.
"Huh?" Caesar was stunned. An earthquake?
Then, a sharp alarm suddenly went off. The red light released by the alarm instantly turned the entire corridor a bright red.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
The broadcast came with the announcer's panicked voice. "It's, it's the Calamity Company! Blood Hand Dylen, one of Roa's top executives, has breached the port!"
"What?!" Caesar was instantly dumbfounded. The Calamity Company? Why would those monsters come here? And Blood Hand Dylen, Roa's right-hand man, came in person?
No! I have to run!
Caesar scurried back to his laboratory.
"Vice Admiral Naderi has gone to intercept! All other personnel, please prepare for evacuation immediately!" The voice from the broadcast made the anxious Caesar sigh with relief. No matter what, a Vice Admiral, even if he couldn't win, could definitely buy some time—
"Vice Admiral Naderi has been taken down! All Marines and guards, go and block the enemy! Scholars, please head to the second port as soon as possible. Ships are already prepared!"
"What a bunch of garbage!" Caesar couldn't help but curse loudly as he listened to the broadcast. "Did he even last a minute?" And he was a Marine Vice Admiral! Just a useless loser!
In a certain area of the base, a pterodactyl on two legs was casually flapping its wings. Each flap sent a huge flying slash out of nowhere, splitting the surrounding walls and buildings into pieces.
"Is there no one a little more powerful?" Dylen muttered to himself. Far behind him, the corpse of a man wearing a Vice Admiral's epaulet lay on the ground, cut in half at the waist.
"However," he looked up, and his gaze seemed to penetrate the thick rock layers and see the sky above the island. "That should be enough, right?"
At the second port of the base. It was already quite crowded. The frightened scholars and the terrified officials were all desperately pushing forward, wanting to get on a ship and escape as soon as possible. The Vice Admiral in charge here was taken down. Who else could stop that monster from the Calamity Company?! Staying here was a dead end! At this moment, no one cared about hierarchy anymore. They just pushed forward with all their might.
But the more they pushed, the more difficult it was for everyone to move forward.
And it was at this time.
"Shulololololo! You mediocre talents! Just keep pushing!" A human-shaped gas flew overhead, leaving a mocking remark, and then landed directly on the deck of the outermost ship in the port.
Without even having time to put down his packed luggage, Caesar couldn't wait to urge the Marines on the deck. "What are you standing around for?! Hurry and sail this genius out of here!"
The soldiers were stunned. "But Dr. Caesar, we still need to pick up the other scholars." There was only one person on the ship!
"Stop talking nonsense! This is an order from me, the head of the institute!" Caesar grabbed the Marine soldier by the collar and said angrily, "No one's orders here are more effective than mine, a genius! All the mediocrities here combined are not worth a single strand of my hair! If we delay any longer and this genius is taken down, who will take the responsibility?"
"...Yes, sir!" A look of struggle appeared on the Marine's face, but he finally nodded hard. Dr. Caesar was indeed the highest-ranking officer of the institute. Especially after Vice Admiral Naderi's death, no one could restrain him.
But, if they left one ship behind, how many fewer people would be able to escape? The Marine didn't dare to think any further and immediately gave the order to set sail.
And so, the large ship slowly started, heading toward the tightly closed port gate not far away. On the shore, the crowded people also noticed the large ship sailing away on its own.
"Dr. Caesar! He's running away by himself!"
"Damn you, Caesar! That ship can still hold a lot of people!"
"Dr. Caesar is running away! This base is done for! Get out of my way! Let me get on the ship!"
"Don't push, don't push—waaah!"
The port became even more chaotic. And Caesar.
"Shulololololo, goodbye, you mediocre talents!" Caesar stood triumphantly at the stern of the large ship, looking at the chaotic port. "You can all stay here and be buried with this base."
The Marine soldier behind him had a look of disgust on his face. This kind of person was a genius scientist, and the government and Marines valued him greatly.
In any case, the heavy port gates opened, and the ship successfully sailed out of the port and into the sea.
Caesar suddenly shivered, and his whole body shuddered. He instinctively looked up, and snowflakes fluttered down. "So it's just snowing outside and the temperature is low. I thought some monster was after me."
"The Boss said that Caesar Clown is a selfish and cowardly guy. If he encounters danger, he will be the first to run away." A voice full of interest came from the sky. "So, we came up with this plan."
Caesar's head snapped around. "Who dares to speak ill of this genius?"
"It looks like the plan was a success." The person flapped his wings and landed on the deck. "It's nice to see you again. Also, welcome to the Calamity Company, Caesar Clown."
Caesar finally saw the other person's appearance. Brown skin, tattoos on his face, snow-white hair, and wide wings.
Caesar's cheek twitched, and he was dumbfounded. After a long time, a scream finally tore through the loneliness of the snow.
"King!!!"