The Pirate Alliance between the Straw Hat Pirates and the Heart Pirates.
Having set their first objective as "the kidnapping of Caesar Clown," their battle was stymied by Vergo, who held Law's Heart in his grasp, and by Caesar, who could manipulate the surrounding air to suffocate his opponents. At one point, nearly every key member found themselves captured, plunging the Alliance into crisis. Under the pretext of a "public experiment" for the Underworld's clients, they were locked in a cage and subjected to poison gas, driven to the very brink.
But Law had anticipated this and prepared a countermeasure. He turned the situation on its head, launching a surprise attack on Caesar's forces instead. Caesar's side couldn't venture outside, having already forced through the "experiment." Marine G-5 soldiers and Punk Hazard's Centaurs joined the fray as well, and a massive free-for-all inside the Laboratory began.
Amid the chaos, Luffy and the others sprang into action, physically smashing through every obstacle in pursuit of their respective goals.
Luffy: to capture and "kidnap" Caesar, the head of this Laboratory and the Mastermind who had been abducting children to use as test subjects.
Smoker: to defeat Vergo, who despite serving as G-5's Base Commander had been secretly connected to Doflamingo, or more precisely, had been a Pirate all along who infiltrated the Marines, and to make him pay for what he'd done.
And Law: to destroy the manufacturing equipment for SAD, the Laboratory's most critical Facility, in order to make the "worst-case scenario" he had mapped out in his mind a reality.
One scene within this larger battle.
Vergo, having learned that Law's target was SAD, was rushing toward the SAD Manufacturing Room to stop him.
He held a Den Den Mushi in his hand, connected to his true master in Dressrosa: the Underworld broker "Joker," Donquixote Doflamingo.
Having received Vergo's report on the chain of events, Doflamingo showed no particular alarm. From the other end of the Den Den Mushi came his usual fearless laugh: "Fuffuffuffu..."
"I figured he'd try something like this. That bastard Law... spent months quietly preparing for this, step by step. Even handed over his own Heart to Caesar as collateral... Fufufu, fufufufufu! Hey hey, isn't that just heartbreakingly pathetic...?"
"By conceding that much to Caesar, he thought he could hide his existence from 'Joker' as well, and operate in secret without even his current perch, the Golden Lion, catching on. He tried to use his head, I'll give him that... but when the result is failure, there's nothing more to say. Don't worry, I won't let things go his way from here on either."
"Fuffuffuffu... Yeah, I've got no worries or doubts about that. Unfortunately for Law, this is where we part ways... Make him suffer so miserably that he regrets ever being born, then kill him."
"Understood. I'll take a photo of the corpse and bring it along. With the camera I bought in Dressrosa."
"You didn't buy a camera."
"That's right, I didn't buy a camera."
Two men discussing the taking of a life with the ease of idle, everyday chatter.
In the midst of this, Doflamingo murmured as though something had just occurred to him.
"Still, though... failure. Yes, 'failure'... Fufufu."
"Hm? What is it, Doffy?"
"Nothing, just feeling even more pity for Law. What a laughably naive story... Because we 'know' the full picture, we can see it plain as day. That brat's plan is pitifully shoddy, riddled with holes... It was already doomed before he even put it into action. 'Failure' is guaranteed."
"...Come to think of it, you're absolutely right. Law's aim is the kidnapping or elimination of Caesar and the destruction of the SAD manufacturing equipment. Of course we won't let that happen, but even if he succeeded, he'd know full well it would earn our wrath... The fact that he went ahead anyway means he has some 'prospect' of a fighting force to pit against us. That would most likely be... the Golden Lion Pirates he belongs to."
"Our trade rival when it comes to funneling various Merchandise into the Dark Market. Well, in terms of aligned interests, it's not an unreasonable basis to rope them in, and Law himself seems to be in the good graces of that figurehead Lady over there. Though he certainly can't avoid being held accountable for dragging them into this mess... Fuffuffuffu, or perhaps that too is part of that brat's plan..."
"Let's drop it, Doffy. We already know it's doomed to 'fail'... There's no point talking about it."
"Ah, you're right about that, Vergo... No matter how things turn from here, a plan like that can never succeed. No matter what goes right for him, the situation won't improve... After all, the 'allies' he's counting on never existed anywhere in the first place. Fuffuffuffu... fuffuffuffuffuffu!! Poor, ignorant Law! This is what happens when some know-nothing brat forgets his place and tries to play at scheming!"
"..."
"...Hm? What is it, Vergo?"
"Sorry, 'Joker'... Before I deal with Law, it seems I need to take care of an unworthy subordinate first."
Vergo, who had been running through the air with Moonwalk, stopped and dropped to the floor.
In his line of sight stood a large man with cropped white hair, visibly furious, blocking the way with a massive jutte in hand.
"I'm in a hurry right now... Think we could save this for later, Vice Admiral Smoker?"
"Nah, sooner's better... You learned it in basic training too, right? Clean up your room, especially the trash. Get it done early, don't leave it for later."
"...Ah, true enough. I see. In that case, I'll just finish you off quickly and be on my way."
***
Meanwhile, in the children's playroom, the Biscuit Room.
A woman lay collapsed there. She didn't look remotely human, but she did, at least, appear to be female.
Most of her body remained transformed into snow, and she couldn't manage to change it back. She tried to rise, only to fall and crumble apart, over and over again.
Monet had been bisected by Zoro in the earlier battle in this room. The cut hadn't been imbued with Haki, but the sheer terror hammered into her in that moment had paralyzed her, leaving her unable to control her own body. When she'd still tried to intervene, Marine Captain Tashigi's single sword stroke had cut her down, forcing her into retirement.
Even so, she had managed, with time, to suppress the fear to some degree. Enduring the pain of her wounds, she forced her body back into its Harpy form. Her movements were still sluggish, far too impaired for combat, but she began dragging herself forward, thinking about what she could still do, what she should do.
'I don't think Vergo would lose, but... if by some slim chance Master were taken, or even killed... the damage to Young Master and the Family would be immeasurable... To ensure that doesn't happen, to leave nothing to chance...'
Thinking as she went, Monet slowly made her way along the wall. She hadn't recovered enough strength to fly. Even if the trembling in her body stopped, Tashigi's blade had struck her wing, so flight would be out of the question for a while.
'To make Young Master the Pirate King... what I need to do is...'
Her thoughts crystallized, and with them, her resolve.
Monet steeled herself to push through the pain and walk toward the place where the thing she needed was kept, when...
A soft prick.
'...Huh?'
A stabbing pain at her shoulder.
Immediately after, the sensation of something foreign being pushed into her body, and at the same instant, all strength drained from Monet entirely.
This was different from the "fear" before. Will and resolve had nothing to do with it. Power was being stolen from her body, unconditionally, without appeal. Yet beyond that, there was no pain, no difficulty breathing. Hard to imagine it was poison.
Bewildered, Monet quickly arrived at the answer. She had felt this exact same sensation once before, when she'd touched a set of Seastone Chains out of curiosity.
"What... is... Seastone!? Who did this!?"
She looked around, but there was no one. Not a single person anywhere near her. No shadow, no figure, no presence she could detect.
And yet, someone was undeniably there. That someone had done something to her, most likely stabbed her with a Seastone blade or something similar, draining the power from her body. Even turning her neck to look around felt unbearably exhausting.
But Monet had been about to carry out "the last thing she could do." The thought, 'Not here! Not now!' drove her to wring out every last ounce of strength to escape this predicament, but... she still couldn't even determine where anyone was, and then...
Another prick. This time weaker than the first, at her neck.
And what flowed in this time was... a drug.
By the time she realized it, Monet's consciousness was already sinking fast. Her eyelids felt heavy as lead, impossible to keep open. It wasn't just her vision closing into darkness. Her mind itself was falling into that darkness, and she felt it with cruel, agonizing clarity, as if the descent were deliberately slowed.
Monet clenched her teeth. Not that she had any real strength left to clench them with.
"...Who... are... you...?"
Naturally, no one was kind enough to answer such a desperate, dying whisper of a question.
---
"...Asleep? ...Okay, asleep."
After Monet's consciousness had faded completely, a voice echoed through the empty corridor. Though even if someone happened to pass by and hear it, very few would be able to actually "notice" it.
"Seastone microchip is implanted, and on top of that I've administered a sedative... She won't wake up for a full day. Good... let me hurry up and carry her out. ...Ugh, her body shape is so unusual, she's really hard to hold... She's tall, her wings are huge, and her legs are weirdly long..."
Muttering to herself, Lupupu extended her own Shadow into Monet's shadow, just as she'd done with Kuma before, making Monet's presence "fade" so that others would be unable to perceive her, just like Lupupu herself. Before long, Monet too had become an existence that no one could "notice," even standing right in front of them.
All surveillance Den Den Mushi along the route had been removed in advance. No obstacles remained. Watching only for poison gas that might leak out, Lupupu carried her captured "prey" away.
"...Oh, right, I need to file a report too. Um, Den Den Mushi, Den Den Mushi... Hello? This is Lupupu. Operations Headquarters, please respond."
"Yes yes, this is Kuromi at Headquarters. What is it, Lupupu-chan?"
"Reporting in. Currently in a corridor near the Biscuit Room inside the Laboratory. Catalog Number 62, Donquixote Family member 'Monet,' secured. Also, the research documents from this location have already been collected. I'm bringing both back now."
"Roger that! Great work, Lupupu-chan. I have a message from the Boss: 'Whoever brings back the best stuff gets first dibs on eating.' So hurry on back, okay?"
"Understood! Heading back at full speed, so please have everything ready and waiting!"
"Everything, specifically?"
"Bed! Bath! Assorted toys!"
"Rest easy, it's all prepared. Ready to go at any time!"
"That's Kuromi-san for you!"
And so, without the knowledge of enemies like Zoro or Tashigi, or even her own master, the Young Master, Monet was collected and "taken home." Quietly, without anyone realizing it, she was permanently retired from the stage.
Where she disappeared to after this, what became of her... no one knows. Except for the tiny handful of people who were directly involved in her "fate."
***
The scene shifts back once more to the corridor leading to the SAD Manufacturing Room.
Heavy, metallic clangs rang out as Smoker and Vergo traded blows, fists and weapons colliding.
For Vergo, a Haki User, Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit Powers posed no problem. If anything, the increased surface area just made Smoker an easier target. Understanding this, Smoker limited his use of Smoke to the bare minimum for evasion and movement, relying almost entirely on Haki-enhanced hand-to-hand combat for his attacks.
A thunderous crash, like two masses of iron slamming together. Smoker's and Vergo's fists crossed, each burying into the other's face.
Smoker staggered from the impact. Vergo, the sturdier of the two, merely rocked backward before planting himself like a guardian deity, immovable. His counterattack came fast. He immediately coated the bamboo stick in his hand with Armament Haki, dyeing it black, and swung it overhead.
"Demon Bamboo!"
Swung with a hardness and destructive force impossible for a mere bamboo stick, the blow sent numbing shockwaves through Smoker's arm even after he'd punched it aside and deflected it through his jutte.
The deflected Shockwave alone was enough to dent, warp, and collapse an entire section of the corridor with a sickening crunch. A direct hit would have been fatal, or at the very least completely incapacitating.
"You're more tenacious than I expected... By my estimate, I should have killed you quickly and gone after that little shit Law by now. You're tougher than I imagined, Smoker-kun."
The same calm, measured voice as always.
But anyone who knew Vergo well enough would have detected considerable irritation and anger lurking beneath those composed tones.
"As your Base Commander, it's embarrassing that I failed to accurately assess my subordinate's abilities. You really never do what I want, do you? Same as always."
"Before I found out what you really are, I did feel bad about giving you trouble, at least a little... Now I just feel like that sympathy was wasted."
"Big words... even though the trouble I went through was real enough. I was going to say this to Law afterward too, but... don't push my..."
"Did someone call for me, Vergo?"
A voice, sudden and unexpected, from behind the panting Smoker.
Vergo leaned slightly to one side to look past him and saw the speaker walking toward them at a leisurely pace.
"Trafalgar... Are you finished with your business?"
"Yeah... And time's up, White Hunter. Move. I'm tagging in."
"..."
Surprisingly, Smoker yielded the path without a word. Law and Vergo now stood facing each other directly.
"Law..."
"You never showed up no matter how long I waited, so I came to you, Vergo. Seems you've been taking your sweet time."
"...Answer me, Law. What did you just do in the room back there?"
"What a thoroughly pointless question. Why bother asking when you already know the answer?"
Both spoke in calm, quiet tones, as if this were nothing more than casual conversation on a street corner. At least on the surface.
The very next instant:
A deep, grinding rumble.
The crash of breaking, the crack of shattering, the boom of something crumbling.
Explosions.
Bubbling. Rushing liquid.
A cacophony containing every conceivable sound of destruction, all bundled together.
It was coming from the far end of the corridor Law had just walked through.
"...You little shit...!"
At last, Vergo stopped hiding his fury, letting it show in his expression and the tremor in his voice.
"This is catastrophic... I can't even begin to think of how to apologize to 'Joker.'"
"..."
"But... you should have just run. The sheer stupidity of showing yourself in front of me... I'm grateful for that. Thanks to you, I can see a way to bring 'Joker' a gift after all. Show him your mangled corpse and it might cheer him up a little. After that I'll need to recover Caesar and silence everyone else... Busy, busy."
"Is that shortsightedness something you inherited from the Young Master? Impressive, in a way, that you can still believe you have any chance of winning at this point."
"..."
"I'm sure you're thinking that as long as you recover Caesar, you can just make more SAD, and there's still room for recovery... Unfortunately, things aren't going your way anymore. The time when you'll ever be useful to 'Joker' again is never coming. This is where you retire permanently. Straw Hat-ya will take down Caesar. Your time of laughing from your high horse is over. How about you start understanding that?"
Without a word, Vergo slowly removed his coat, baring his upper body. He coated every inch of himself in an overwhelming surge of Armament Haki, transforming from head to toe into a gleaming black weapon made flesh.
He was furious. Unmistakably so.
No indication he intended to speak. As if words were no longer necessary, rage and Haki erupted from his entire being. He kicked off the floor hard enough to crack it, leapt, and raised the jet-black bamboo stick high overhead to smash the skull of the insolent little shit standing before him.
...Exactly one minute later.
There lay Vergo, his entire body dismantled into separate pieces, scattered across the floor.
"A full-body gleaming black monster... As a one-trick act, it was decent enough, Vergo-san."
Law, by contrast, was completely unscathed.
A short time before this.
Vergo's bamboo stick, swung with killing intent, had been effortlessly caught on Law's beloved sword, Demon Cry.
The punch aimed at blowing a hole through Law's face had been read and dodged with ease.
The sweeping kick meant to split him in half had been deflected by a casual kick from Law and redirected.
Nothing connected. Nothing came close. On Vergo's gleaming black face, something like panic surfaced, as if to say he couldn't believe what was happening.
"...Unfortunately, I'm not the same person I used to be either. Especially this past year and some months... I trained hard."
And in the very next instant, Vergo's entire body had been cut apart. Not even the Armament Haki coating every inch of him could withstand it.
"Someone harder than you... someone faster than you... someone more skilled than you... and above all, someone stronger than you... I've had so many chances to Experience all of them, I'm sick of it. Maybe once upon a time, but now? Asking me to be scared of you at this point is just unreasonable."
In the end, it was over before anything resembling a real fight could take place. Law sheathed his sword in its Scabbard without ever changing the tone of his voice.
"There... The gears are broken. Now... no one can stop this...!"
***
A dull thud.
'Shurororororo... You're coming with me... Die, Smoker...!!'
To be continued...