He tried his best to calm his beating heart and adjusted his breathing.
"It's alright, everyone. Captain Kronos has just passed out..."
Hashirama checked Kronos's condition, and after confirming his state, he sighed in relief and informed the others.
"Lord Kronos!!" Albedo was the first to rush over, gently taking Kronos from Hashirama's arms.
"It's a relief that Lord Kronos is safe!"
After checking Kronos herself and confirming that he was merely unconscious with no visible injuries, Albedo finally felt reassured. She hugged him tightly to her chest, her face full of worry and affection.
Of course, Kronos, being unconscious, couldn't feel any of it.
"Hashirama, are you alright?"
Everyone gathered around Hashirama. Uchiha Madara extended a hand and helped him up from the ground, asking with concern.
Hearing Madara's question, Hashirama forced a bitter smile.
"I'm fine. I just... felt an overwhelming fear of death from the captain that I've never experienced before."
Upon hearing that, Madara couldn't help but smile wryly in return. He glanced toward Kronos, who was lying unconscious in Albedo's arms, and murmured:
"To think the captain could emit such a terrifying aura even in that state..."
"Let's get out of here. We should bring Captain Kronos back to the ship first," Konan suggested.
Everyone quickly agreed.
This place, after all, was frozen over by Aokiji's final technique. If not for Kronos, none of them would have wanted to stay here for long.
Now that Kronos had been retrieved, there was no reason to linger.
Payne raised his hand and summoned the Yatagarasu. Placing the unconscious Kronos on the back of the eight-headed crow summon, the group made their way back toward the Angel of Redemption.
Deep underground in one of the Marine's top-secret bases...
The area was filled with massive and bizarre-looking machinery. All around were strange vats like petri dishes, filled with a dark green fluid. Suspended within were the corpses of mutated lions, wolves, and other creatures.
There were also countless strange weapons and experimental machines lined up across the walls.
Without a doubt, this was one of the World Government's hidden research laboratories.
Inside, a man wearing a white coat, glasses, and a surgical mask looked at the severely injured body lying on the operating table and sighed.
"The damage is too severe…"
"We shouldn't have let him join the battle so soon... He wasn't even the complete experimental version yet."
"The results are clear—though he gained powerful abilities, his mental state deteriorated."
"Looks like IQ is definitely affected…"
He sighed again. "What the hell were the Five Elders thinking?"
The man on the operating table was Kabalu—the same one who had fought against Kronos not long ago.
Now, Kabalu was only alive thanks to life support systems. He wore a breathing mask, and his body was connected to various monitoring instruments. His heartbeat and breathing were barely detectable.
If the life support systems were removed, he would almost certainly die on the spot.
"Right arm is missing... Penetrating wound in the left chest... Severe damage to internal organs…" the man in the lab coat muttered as he assessed Kabalu's injuries.
Standing behind him were two CP organization agents, both dressed in black suits and dark sunglasses. They spoke up helplessly:
"Dr. Vegapunk, we did everything we could just to bring him back alive…"
"…We even had to sacrifice Admiral Aokiji for it."
Hearing that, Vegapunk fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally spoke in a quiet voice:
"Aokiji, huh..."
Though he had only met Aokiji a few times due to work-related affairs, Vegapunk had always felt that he was a respectable and capable person.
He couldn't help but recall what he told Aokiji before the mission: not to let Kabalu die.
And now... Aokiji was gone.
His emotions grew more complicated. If he hadn't said those words, perhaps Aokiji wouldn't have paid such a price...
Still, as a scientist, Vegapunk's rationality eventually prevailed.
He sighed heavily and said weakly:
"Leave me. Since Admiral Aokiji gave his life to retrieve the experimental subject... I can't let that effort be wasted."
He looked at Kabalu, who lay barely alive on the operating table.
"I'll make sure this guy survives."
The two CP agents nodded and left without a word.
Vegapunk stood silently beside the table, staring at Kabalu's broken body.
"…What a pity. He was a good man…"
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