February 30, Year 1518 of the Haiyuan Calendar.New World – Punk Hazard.
"Caesar, you bastard! How dare you secretly tamper with the bloodline factors of Experiment 88—and now you're planning to unleash such a dangerous poison gas experiment on this island! You're nothing but a lawless, inhuman scum!"
An old man with a massive, bulb-shaped head and an unnaturally long tongue roared furiously at a horned man floating in midair.
"It's over! Experiment 88 was the World Government's most prized subject—and that bastard Caesar used him for a bloodline factor experiment and killed him!"
"What do we do now? What do we do?! The World Government will never spare us for this!"
The other scientists of the Government's Science Division glared at Caesar Clown, anger and fear mixing in their eyes.
They were furious—but also terrified. To fail the World Government was to invite punishment far worse than death. Even the world's top scientists could be executed—or see their families wiped out entirely.
"I… I couldn't have known No. 88 would die this time! Every one of your previous transformations worked just fine! This was—this was just an accident!"
Caesar shouted, guilt flickering across his face. He had only wanted to prove he was no weaker than Vegapunk—he hadn't meant to kill Subject 88.
But the hatred and suspicion in the eyes of the other researchers pressed down on him like a weight. Desperate, he decided he needed to produce another "success" to offset the crime of killing No. 88.
"Out of my way! Out of my way! I still have to finish my Slime poison gas experiment! The test subjects are just common prisoners—if they die, then they die. Don't lecture me about morality or risk."
Caesar waved them off impatiently. He had no time to waste on their whining. All that mattered now was achieving his greatest result.
"Caesar," Vegapunk's face darkened, his voice cold as steel, "we'll settle the matter of Subject 88 later. But you will not proceed with this gas experiment. It's too dangerous—it will harm countless innocents!"
He could no longer tolerate Caesar's madness.
"Cheh. If someone's foolish enough to get caught in my experiment, that just proves they're an idiot. People like that can die for all I care."
Caesar sneered. He had already killed Subject 88—what difference did it make if more prisoners or even a few guards perished?
"Bastard! Filth! Marines! Seize this wretch! I'll have Caesar expelled from the Science Division at once!"
Vegapunk's fury blazed. He loathed those who treated life so carelessly. Today, Caesar would face justice.
At his command, several rear admirals—armed with seastone chains and clad in Armament Haki—rushed forward. On Punk Hazard, their orders came directly from Vegapunk, the World Government's chief scientist.
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm the world's second greatest scientist! My results will surpass Vegapunk's! Don't you dare lay a hand on me!"
Caesar's panic showed as the admirals charged. He hadn't believed Vegapunk would truly act against him. But when he saw that cold, merciless face, rage boiled up inside him.
All the jealousy, all the bitterness he had buried, now exploded.
"You forced me into this!!"
In a frenzy, Caesar whipped out a device and slammed a button.
A deafening explosion shook the island as his Slime poison gas bomb detonated.
A colossal mushroom cloud of purple gas billowed upward, spreading across Punk Hazard with terrifying speed. Two of the island's three great research institutes were annihilated instantly, reduced to rubble.
The shockwave and toxic cloud swept across the surface, eradicating nearly all life in its path.
"Caesar—you—!!"
Vegapunk and the scientists collapsed in terror as the ground heaved beneath them. Even Caesar himself froze in shock.
He had actually pressed the detonator.
And the blast—the devastation—was far beyond anything he had imagined.
The admirals recovered first. Their expressions hardened as they surged forward, seizing Caesar in iron grips. Seastone shackles snapped around his wrists, and his gaseous lower body solidified back into legs, his Gas-Gas powers sealed.
"Guh—! I didn't want this! I swear I didn't mean it!"
Caesar stammered weakly, pale and drenched in cold sweat. His words rang hollow.
The island shook with aftershocks, alarms blaring. Red warning lights strobed through the last remaining research facility.
"It's no good! Doctor, we have to go! The gas has spread across the entire island!"
A burly man wielding a giant axe burst into the room, shouting at Vegapunk.
"Caesar! You criminal! You'll rot in Impel Down for this!" Vegapunk bellowed. "Everyone, listen—grab the most vital research documents and evacuate immediately! Leave everything else behind!"
Scientists scrambled in panic, seizing what data they could. Vegapunk himself was dragged out by Sentomaru, retreating at full speed. Caesar, head hung low, was dragged along by the two rear admirals.
The once-proud research hub dissolved into chaos.
Meanwhile, in a sealed laboratory deep inside the complex—
A man floated motionless in a transparent pod, his body cold and lifeless.
Then—through the tremors and alarms—his heart gave the faintest thump.
His eyelids fluttered. Memories of agony surged through his mind. His chest burned, his veins pulsed purple.
Then—he opened his eyes.
Purple blotches across his skin began to fade, replaced by natural flesh—though strange violet markings now traced his muscles like glowing scars.
"Pain… unbearable pain…"
His left eye, once dull, reformed its black pupil. His right eye blazed with golden light.
"Caesar… you bastard!!!"
Grinding his teeth, Souta Kiryuu roared in fury.
The suppressants in his veins burned away. Suddenly—
Fwoosh!
An eerie flame erupted from his body, hissing violently in the nutrient fluid, boiling it like water.
His muscles bulged, veins writhing like serpents. Chains snapped as his arms swelled threefold. With a violent pull, Souta shattered his restraints.
"RAAHHHH!!"
With a single punch, he shattered the glass pod. Nutrient fluid gushed across the floor.
Alarms screamed. His eyes blazed red and gold as a laser burst from his right eye—obliterating the nearest alarm system in a blast of smoke and sparks.
Climbing from the wreckage, Souta landed heavily, cracking the floor beneath him. He snatched a lab coat from a hook, tying it around his waist.
The heavy steel doors barred his way. He drew back a foot—and BOOM!—kicked them straight off their hinges.
The door slammed into fleeing researchers, crushing them in a spray of blood and screams. Papers burst into the air, fluttering through smoke and fire.
A tall, muscular figure emerged from the haze—eyes burning with crimson rage and golden wrath.
"It's you—Subject 88! You're alive?!"
A surviving researcher gaped in shock. Then his face twisted in greedy excitement. "If I deliver you to the World Government, I'll be—"
His words choked off. A hand marked with violet streaks clamped around his throat.
"I remember you… trash."
With a snap, Souta broke his neck. The man's terrified expression froze forever.
"I told you all… you would regret this."
Souta's lips curled in a vicious grin. Bloodlust radiated from him as he strode forward, eyes gleaming with vengeance.
Papers fluttered to the floor, stained with blood. One landed face-up:
Subject 88: Name – Souta Kiryuu. Male, 21. Batch Two Experimental Prisoner.
Project: Oni Bloodline Modification – Success. Sole survivor.
Project: Lion Mink Bloodline Modification – Failure. Sole survivor.
Project: Fishman Bloodline Modification – Failure. Sole survivor.
Project: Seraphim Phase One – Lunarian Bloodline Modification – Success. Special survivor. Lead: Vegapunk.
Project: Giantification Phase Two – Ancient Giant Bloodline Modification – Failure. Unique survivor. Lead: Vegapunk.
Project: Bio-Weapon – Laser Eye Modification – Success. Lead: Vegapunk.
Project: Bloodline Factor Modification – Dual Toxin/Transparency Genes – Failure. Subject killed. Lead: Caesar.
The reports painted his nightmare in cold ink.
But now—Souta Kiryuu had awakened.
And the world would pay.