Punk Hazard.
Monet, the beauty who took Vergo's call.
She hung up the receiver and pushed up her thick, bottle-bottom glasses, her golden pupils reflecting a unique intellect.
Lowering her hand, Monet turned her head, gazing at the research base hidden in the distant mountains, a gentle smile gracing her face.
The young master's regard for Caesar was unprecedented, sending her here constantly. Even Vergo, a top executive who had always been with the Marines, was in this sea. The Marines, pirates, Emperors, and Shichibukai all supported his experiments from behind the scenes.
Thinking of Caesar, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.
"I hope you don't disappoint the young master."
Her current identity was Caesar's secretary, a spy placed by the young master. No one outside the family's executives knew.
...
"Hmm... Interesting."
Atop the mast of a ship undetectable to anyone, a handsome young man lounged in mid-air. The space around his body was like a giant bubble, transparent from the outside, allowing no one to discover him.
The handsome youth was Kouta.
After leaving Geratrac, they sailed for a day and arrived near Punk Hazard. As soon as he got here, he discovered this ship and Monet, a beauty who ranked high in the original work. Compared to three years later, Monet now hadn't had her bird wings and claws swapped by Law. With her thick glasses, she exuded a gentle, intellectual aura, making her look much prettier than she would three years later.
She couldn't understand her reasoning. Possessing the Snow-Snow Fruit, an Logia type, she still let Law turn her into a monster. Although she gained the ability to fly after getting wings, there was no need to replace her hands and feet with claws! She chose to be a monster instead of remaining human.
He had arrived first, intending to see if Caesar's experiments had begun. Upon arrival, he immediately swept Punk Hazard with his Kenbunshoku Haki. In an underground laboratory, he detected Caesar's presence and also the frightened children confined in another room. Fortunately, although the children were frightened, he observed that the Giantification experiment likely hadn't started yet. He didn't sense much power from them; they still possessed the aura of ordinary human children. This discovery relieved him. If he could save them, he certainly wished to save the children before they were tortured and turned into monsters by Caesar.
As for Monet and Vergo's conversation, he had heard it all. He was even considering whether to pay a visit to the G5 Marine branch alone to kill Vergo after dealing with matters here. Now, the man was coming to him. It was a case of "the gates of hell are open and you walk right in." Well, to put it simply: "lighting a lamp in the latrine..."
With that thought, Kouta chuckled and shook his head, then raised his sake gourd and took a drink, turning his gaze towards the outer sea. He had only arrived here in advance; the Freedom was not far away, and its shadow could already be seen. As time passed, the Freedom slowly grew from a small black dot into a larger presence, eventually being spotted even by the pirates transporting machinery.
"A ship, there's a ship."
Upon hearing the shout, Monet turned and walked to the outside of the ship, pushed up her glasses, and glared out at the open sea. It was indeed a ship.
"Hmm..."
When she saw the prow of the approaching ship, she seemed to realize something, her face suddenly changed drastically. She even took a step back, her golden pupils showing a rare panic for her. The unique windmill head of the Freedom was now known throughout the New World. Wasn't the Silver Hair Pirates supposed to have departed from Sabaody Archipelago over a month ago and entered the New World? After more than a month, he was still loitering in this sea area? Loitering was one thing, but coming to Punk Hazard and being encountered by her was another. Thinking of Pica, a top executive of the family who disappeared during the Sabaody Archipelago incident a month ago, and Gladius, her heart sank to the abyss. Others might be wary of the Shichibukai or the Emperors, but the Silver Hair Pirates clearly were not. They even dared to kill Celestial Dragons; what else could they be afraid of?
"Retreat, find Caesar, and escape with him."
Monet quickly turned and ran towards the distant base. She could die, but Caesar could not. Caesar was the link between the Emperors and the young master. If Caesar died here, the wrath of the Emperors would fall upon him, and the anger of two Emperors at that. As a high-ranking member of the Donquixote Family, she knew very well how important Caesar's research was to the Emperors, especially for the transaction between Kaido and the young master.
"Hmm... Trying to run?"
Kouta watched Monet's retreating figure, his lips curling into a mocking smile, then he shook his head, and his figure vanished from the spot.
Creak...
Monet reached the other side of the ship and was about to jump off when suddenly, a handsome silver-haired man in a white shirt and colorful shorts appeared abruptly on the railing in front of her. The man sat on the railing, leaning forward, his legs crossed, his right leg resting on his left, wearing slippers on his feet, and observing her with amused azure eyes. He seemed as if he had always been sitting there, appearing without a sound.
Staring at the man, Monet's heart stopped beating. In that moment, she felt time around her freeze. In her ears, all surrounding sounds disappeared, leaving only the sound of her own heartbeat. In her vision, the man's presence replaced everything, becoming incredibly imposing. And behind the man, she seemed to see a rotating starry sky, radiating an oppressive aura that suppressed heaven and earth.
Swallowing hard, Monet opened her mouth and took a deep breath. She was afraid she would suffocate if she didn't exhale soon. This profound aura, like the starry sky, was the terror of a world-class powerhouse, wasn't it? Even though Kouta hadn't made a move, just sitting there made her body cold, as if her soul were about to freeze. She was a Logia type, a Snow-Snow Fruit user! Even she felt like she was freezing, which showed the immense pressure Kouta was exerting. It surpassed her comprehension. In all her years, even the Emperors had not brought her as much pressure as this young man.
Monet froze in place, but the pirates around her did not. Even though they found the little brat sitting on the railing somewhat familiar, who were they? They were from the Seven Warlords, Donquixote Doflamingo's Donquixote Family; were they afraid of such a little brat?
"Brat, what are you doing here?"
"Do you want to die?"
The pirates, gripping their weapons, quickly surrounded them, their gazes filled with cruelty as they looked at Kouta.