"By the way, do you know where Egghead is?"
Caelan asked Stussy.
"I do. Dr. Vegapunk gave me Egghead's coordinates," Stussy replied with a frown, a trace of an odd taste lingering in her mouth. "But due to the sea's magnetic interference, it's not easy to reach."
She couldn't help but drink another cup of tea to rinse her mouth.
"So we can't pinpoint the location directly." Caelan thought for a moment, then remembered a certain lazy old man. "But maybe I have a way."
Not long after, Caelan brought Stussy to see Kizaru, who was reviewing documents at Neo Navy Headquarters.
Despite the thin stack of papers, Kizaru had been at it for half an hour. Whether he was truly working or just slacking was anyone's guess.
"Admiral Kizaru, you're really diligent,"
Caelan said with a smile.
"Commander Caelan, please don't tease me. This kind of work isn't exactly difficult,"
Kizaru replied, looking embarrassed as he signed the document, then looked up.
Just his luck to be caught goofing off by the boss.
But it wasn't entirely his fault. There were too many former Navy colleagues around. He had adapted quickly to the Neo Navy's systems and was handling things smoothly.
With nothing pressing left, he just relaxed a little.
"Mm." Caelan didn't comment and didn't press him about slacking off.
He had already expected this kind of behavior when he brought Kizaru in.
As long as he didn't mess up when it mattered, letting the man take it easy wasn't a problem. He was already 56, after all.
Caelan got straight to the point.
"Admiral Kizaru, I want to go to Egghead to rescue Vegapunk. Do you know the way?"
Kizaru was surprised but quickly nodded in agreement.
"I used to be stationed with the Navy's science division on Egghead. I still have the Log Pose for it."
As one of the World Government's top-secret locations, Egghead didn't allow outsiders to bring Log Poses in.
But as a former admiral and head of the Navy's scientific forces, Kizaru had special access.
Egghead was where his good friend Vegapunk and his adopted nephew Sentomaru were.
He had planned to rescue them after the final battle with the World Government, but Caelan bringing it up first worked out perfectly.
Kizaru carefully pulled out a Log Pose and handed it to Caelan, then asked cautiously,
"I'd like to come along to Egghead, if that's alright?"
Caelan considered it, then nodded.
"Come with us. You're more familiar with the area anyway."
"Thank you, Commander Caelan!"
Kizaru beamed with joy, then glanced at Stussy and asked curiously,
"By the way, what's the deal with the Queen of Pleasure Street?"
Caelan looked at Stussy and gave a fitting reply.
"She's Vegapunk's daughter. She came to ask me to save him."
Stussy nodded slightly in affirmation.
"...Huh?"
Kizaru was stunned, as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard.
Old Vegapunk… you've got an illegitimate daughter out there?
After briefly checking in with Gion and the others, Caelan, Stussy, and Kizaru boarded a warship bound for Egghead.
…
New World, Egghead Island.
In this city that was 500 years ahead of the outside world, Vegapunk and his six clones worked tirelessly in the lab, not daring to slack off for even a moment.
Inside, Figarland Garling leaned against a rapier, drinking tea as he supervised them.
"Dr. Vegapunk, I didn't expect you to enjoy studying history."
Garling eyed Vegapunk with sarcasm.
It was an unexpected discovery. The world's top scientist was secretly researching history forbidden by the World Government.
Lord Imu's judgment was right. If someone like this was allowed to keep digging, rebellion would be inevitable.
Vegapunk must die.
"I was just curious about who left behind the ancient scientific relics on Egghead. I meant no disrespect to the World Government,"
Vegapunk answered in a fluster, cold sweat on his brow.
Garling had arrived too quickly, catching him completely unprepared and exposing things that shouldn't have been seen.
"Even if it's just curiosity, investigating the Void Century is a capital crime."
Garling sneered.
"Dr. Vegapunk, how long until the Mother Flame is finished?"
"You must complete it within two weeks. Only then will I consider letting you live."
"It's nearly done. I promise I'll finish within two weeks,"
Vegapunk replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead, clearly exhausted.
But he didn't believe Garling's promise. With surveillance around the clock and no privacy, he had no illusions about survival.
Even if he completed the Mother Flame, Garling would not let him go.
Besides, from what he'd uncovered about the Void Century, he knew that letting the World Government obtain the Mother Flame would be a disaster.
So during this time, he hadn't made any progress on the project and only pretended to be working.
His sixth clone, York, had betrayed him and now obeyed Garling's orders.
Luckily, Vegapunk had used his superior expertise to lead the research down a false path, one York couldn't detect.
But this tactic could only buy him two weeks at most. After that, death was certain.
Yet, he didn't want to die. He still dreamed of using infinite energy to benefit all mankind.
He silently counted the days, praying for rescue.
Two days ago, he had secretly contacted Stussy.
If everything went well, she should be bringing Caelan soon.
…
Off the coast of Egghead.
A warship cut through the waves. Three thousand meters ahead, a vague outline of an island appeared.
"Lord Caelan, should we sail the ship straight in?"
Stussy asked.
"Sailing in might alert the enemy. We'll fly instead," Caelan said, shaking his head.
"We need to get in as fast as possible, before the World Government has time to destroy the research data."
"Admiral Kizaru, follow closely."
With that, Caelan released his Observation Haki, scanning the entirety of Egghead from three thousand meters away, locking onto a blind spot in surveillance.
Then, golden-red flames erupted beneath his feet. Holding tightly onto Stussy, he soared through the air.
[Personal Skill]: Mana Burst (Flame) (A), enabled him to fly at the speed of sound.
"Commander Caelan's speed… what kind of ability is that? I never heard of him eating a Devil Fruit," Kizaru murmured with a mix of awe and doubt.
He turned into golden light and followed swiftly.
Two beams of light streaked across the sky, covering the three-thousand-meter gap in seconds, and broke into Egghead.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)