About five minutes later, after Alucard had retracted the River of Death, Dr. Vegapunk looked around. The souls that had previously radiated an icy blue light upon the walls had now completely dimmed.
"There should be nineteen more locations like this. Once we finish with Cheese Island, there will be eighteen left."
Hardly had he spoken when the ground began to shake violently. Dr. Vegapunk quickly braced himself against a wall to keep from falling.
"What's happening?" Alucard asked, glancing sideways at his surroundings.
"Your method of absorption was a bit crude. The island's surface core has been damaged; I'm afraid it might fracture or even sink," Dr. Vegapunk said with a frown.
"It doesn't matter. This island has outlived its usefulness anyway."
Alucard turned to leave the grotto. "Let's go."
…
About an hour later, Kuzan arrived at the outskirts of Juice Island on his bicycle. He was just in time to see the distant island, the one his Eternal Pose was pointing toward, begin to split apart and subside, eventually plunging entirely into the depths of the sea.
For a moment, Kuzan's mouth hung open, speechless. After a long silence, he finally muttered, "Arara... what the hell is going on here?"
He had sensed something unusual before, and now it seemed his intuition had been correct.
…
Meanwhile, at the Holy Land, Mariejois.
Inside a secret chamber, the Gorosei stood alongside three other elders dressed in white robes.
Before them sat a massive wheel that resembled the master switch of a specialized device. On this wheel were twenty dots of light burning with ghostly blue flames, surrounding a larger central flame. Under the gaze of the eight men, one of those flames flickered and died out.
…
The island formerly ruled by Charlotte Snack, one of the Four Sweet Commanders: Cheese Island, originally known as Palom-Polom.
Dr. Vegapunk began excavations here, attempting to locate and destroy the Ryumyaku, just as they had done on Juice Island.
"Ryumyaku" was a provisional name given by Dr. Vegapunk, as he wasn't quite sure what else to call it, and Alucard had tacitly accepted the terminology.
The civilians and the members of the Big Mom Pirates who originally lived here had long since departed after Charlotte Linlin bowed her head to Alucard. On this massive island, the only living souls were Alucard, the dozens of scientists led by Dr. Vegapunk, and Aranea, who commanded a unit of Pacifistas.
Including a few other members of the Immortal Pirates, there were fewer than five hundred people in total, making Cheese Island feel incredibly desolate.
"It's so boring with so few people around."
A crew member of the Immortal Pirates lay by the city gates, eyes closed and yawning. Suddenly, he felt the sunlight hitting his face being blocked by something. He opened his eyes to see a tall man wearing sunglasses standing before him.
"Beggar, if you're looking for handouts, go somewhere else."
Automatically assuming the man was a beggar, he waved his hand dismissively and closed his eyes to resume his nap. But then, it struck him that the man looked familiar. He opened his eyes again.
This time, he jumped back in pure terror. "A-A-A-Aokiji!!"
Marine Admiral Aokiji? Why was he dressed like that?
Kuzan's face darkened at being called a beggar. He adjusted his posture and said, "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not here to fight. Is your Captain around?"
"You... you wait here!"
The crewman turned and bolted. Kuzan looked around and murmured to himself, "For such a large city... it's quite empty."
With that, he entered the city followed by his giant penguin.
…
Aranea, who was also bored and lounging in a beach chair, suddenly heard a cry. She sat up to see a perimeter crewman crawling toward her in tears. Before he could speak, Aranea spotted Kuzan following behind. Her eyes flashed with wariness, but she quickly put on a honeyed smile. "It's been a long time, Admiral Aokiji."
"Ah... long time no see, Mobile Commander Aranea."
Kuzan gave a casual two-finger salute toward Alucard as if meeting an old friend, but his expression immediately shifted to that of a lecher as he scanned Aranea's figure. He pursed his lips and said, "You're getting more and more seductive. I wonder if you're free tonight?"
Aranea grabbed the bayonet-musket beside her beach chair and snapped her fingers with her other hand. Immediately, three Pacifistas stepped out from behind the surrounding buildings.
"Sorry, I can't go on dates with the enemy. The Captain would dock my pay." Aranea kept her smile, but her battle intent began to surge.
"Wait, wait, wait! Don't be so serious," Kuzan said, quickly waving his hands. "I'm not wearing my uniform right now. Don't think of me as a Marine Admiral; I'm just here as a tourist."
"A tourist?" Aranea scoffed. "You traveled all the way here for a tour?"
"That still won't do. The Captain and Vegapunk-san are occupied with something important. A future Fleet Admiral like you cannot go inside," Aranea blocked his path.
So Alucard really is here, Kuzan thought to himself. He sat down cross-legged on the spot. "Then there's no problem if I just wait here, right?"
Aranea stared at him intensely for a long moment before nodding. "Fine. But you'll have to wear these."
At Aranea's command, a subordinate stepped forward and placed an item in front of Kuzan: Seastone handcuffs.
"Tch. How cold," Kuzan sighed as he slipped his hands into the cuffs. At that moment, his Ice-Ice Fruit powers were completely suppressed.
"Please don't make it sound like we ever had a thing. I'm not into older men," Aranea added bitingly.
About half a month later, as the Ryumyaku of Cheese Island was destroyed, the four members of the Gorosei and the three other elders in the secret room of Mariejois watched as another of the twenty blue flames on the wheel flickered out.