Lightning and flash, two yellow rays clashed fiercely in mid-air, their speed already surpassing the limits of the naked eye's ability to track, even Kuzan could only use Observation Haki to sense their positions.
"It's really intense... but doing it this way, doesn't the entire mission fall on me?"
In this three-person squad, Shaina was supposed to be the mission leader, but now the mission goal had shifted from finding the Plate to taking out the Blazing Angels.
However, Zeraora was constantly engaged in a battle with Kizaru.
This couldn't be helped. Kuzan couldn't keep Kizaru from leaving once he made up his mind to go. For Kizaru, the Blazing Angels were not within his protection scope, and if left unchecked, Kizaru would surely not stay here.
Kizaru, who believed in ambiguous justice, always looked indifferent in daily life, but he had his bonds.
Sentomaru's death could not be overlooked, as he was not some distant colleague but his direct subordinate.
The thunderstorm was spreading, with lightning replenishing from the sky. Zeraora directly activated berserk mode, and with the augmentation of Outrage, his attacks were incredibly fierce.
Even if he didn't hit the target directly, the lightning clinging to his claw's tip caused the parts of Kizaru's body that hadn't Elementalized in time to feel waves of numbness.
These two wouldn't finish anytime soon, so Kuzan had to deal with the so-called Blazing Angels.
"When the flames extinguish, the defense decreases... Let's give it a try."
In a previous battle, Kuzan also noticed that the S-Hawk and S-Serpent had very high physical Defense Power, making it difficult to achieve results with Ice Blade or Haki-imbued punches and kicks.
However, their resistance to Elemental Attack was relatively lower. If Ice Seal could be successfully implemented, there was still a significant chance of success.
"Ice Age!"
Frost covered Kuzan's body. By this time, Aeghede's ground had been ravaged by lightning and lasers, exposing the land and rocks below in full view.
Frost spread from Kuzan's feet onto the rock, freezing the moisture in the soil, turning the already compacted foundation into hard permafrost.
S-Serpent felt a chill on her face, wiped it off with her hand, revealing hexagonal snowflakes in her palm.
The snowflakes quickly melted under her body heat. This was the first time she saw snow since leaving the cultivation apparatus, and her incomplete thoughts made her more curious about the world.
The previous thundercloud still existed, but Zeraora's thunderstorm didn't bring rainfall, only pure lightning strikes. Under Kuzan's influence, Aeghede now experienced an unprecedented thunder-snow weather.
Without the countervailing ability of Akainu, Kuzan's power quickly affected the entire island, turning it into a world of ice and snow.
"Now, this place is also my home field."
Kuzan's body merged into the wind and snow, and with the extreme cold air current, a strong sense of crisis arose in the heart of the Blazing Angels.
...
As the battle on Aeghede escalated, Shaina's pursuit continued, and Vegapunk, who had escaped with S-Bear, was conducting a new experiment.
A character with a relatively large build and two-color hair was moving some heavy objects — this was Vegapunk's 05th avatar, representing the berserk Atlas.
"Where are we headed? Has S-Bear's ability been developed to this extent?"
"Not sure, S-Bear is not Kuma; besides, when he blasted the entire Punk Record away, I can only ensure a safe landing, but not determine where it will land."
Vegapunk's main body responded with his tongue out, answering his avatar's question.
"Can't we terminate this flight status early? We can land ourselves, can't we? After all, this part of Punk Record already has the ability to fly."
"It's the first time testing S-Bear's ability; there's insufficient reference data. I can't determine how long this power will last."
"Forget that for now, an unidentified object is rapidly approaching! It's accelerating and will catch up in at most a minute!"
Observing the instruments, Edison suddenly discovered an unusual situation. It was initially designed to monitor the general flight direction, to take control once S-Bear's ability wore off, but the unknown object's pursuit was beyond expectation.
"Is it Borsalino? Only he could catch up at such speed, right?"
"It's not him. Borsalino's Radio Snail still can't be reached... Hold on tight!"
Edison's form jolted, causing him to fall directly to the ground. Not only him, but Vegapunk and Atlas also failed to stand steady, and the earlier question was answered as Shaina's figure appeared on the surveillance screen once again.
The bubble created by S-Bear was destroyed by her, and the outer metal shell was broken. When Vegapunk and the others stood up again, Shaina was already in front of them.
...
During the evacuation, Vegapunk did not take the same route as ordinary researchers and workers. This flying segment had only Vegapunk and his avatars.
"Vegapunk, I'm here to collect a debt."
"A survivor of the Lunarians Race? If I'm not mistaken, your name should be Shaina, right? Where's the boy who was with you back then?"
"Ha, you remember quite clearly. Oh, no, as I didn't use a false name. Maybe I should've made one up back then."
Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, two laser beams shot out from the side. They were the same type of laser cannons used by the Peacekeeper. Vegapunk was not a pacifist. Back in the MADS days, he would carry a gun and fight alongside others.
Shaina's menacing demeanor was definitely not for a picnic. The fact that she chased all the way here from Aeghede already indicated the anger within her.
But when the laser cannon hit Shaina, it had no effect at all. After the smoke cleared, Shaina was still standing there unscathed.
"It's useless. You should know our abilities since you manufactured those weapons using our genes. And now, I'm even stronger.
Still, after all these years, you've managed to find quite a few loyal subordinates."
With a single wing sweep, Atlas, who was operating the weapons, and Edison, who was reporting the situation, were ripped into pieces by a terrifying wind blade. Their metal bodies were ineffective, leaving only a pile of metal debris.
"Robots? Boring, I thought they were your subordinates like Sentomaru."
When they were still in the laboratory, Vegapunk hadn't created these avatars, so Shaina wasn't aware of their situation and just considered them ordinary robots.
"So you came here to kill me, didn't you."
"What else? Did you think I came to have tea with you?"
"That's really a pity, but I was already on the verge of death, so I'm not entirely opposed to dying a bit earlier."
Facing Shaina's death threat, Vegapunk's face showed no fear, only calmness, as if all this was within his expectations.
He chose to escape because he had unfinished business, but if he truly had nowhere to run, he could accept that.
However, this attitude upset Shaina greatly.
She came for revenge, yet her enemy was indifferent to it. Killing someone who doesn't fear death won't help her vent her anger.
"Your calm demeanor... it makes me furious!"
In an instant, Shaina appeared in front of Vegapunk, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him up.
Vegapunk was originally of considerable height, but that was mainly due to his large head. After having undergone surgery to separate it, Vegapunk had become quite short.
"Cough, cough, I know you're angry, but it was just research, and it was the World Government's orders.
My research held no personal emotions, only for the sake of science."
"World Government or you, you're all the same. Whether the one issuing the orders or carrying them out, your fate is the same. Soon, I'll send them to meet you."
Shaina slammed Vegapunk to the ground. Compared to ordinary humans, Vegapunk's body was not much different, and this slam made him dizzy, even bending the antenna on his head.
With the antenna damaged, the entire Punk Record flickered with electrical sparks, seemingly malfunctioning.
"Speaking of which, you even need such a thing to escape, so you must value it greatly? Then it should be interesting to destroy it before your eyes."
Shaina seemed to have thought of something and immediately planned to attack the Punk Record above.
Neither the news of Sentomaru's death nor Shaina's intent to kill him greatly changed Vegapunk's emotions, but Shaina's new plan unsettled him.
"Wait! That records all my research data! Even for you, the information is significant; it's incredibly valuable and could be considered humanity's future.
Take it as a trophy, and you'll gain so much from it!"
"So it's such a precious thing, huh? Too bad, I don't need it."
With a flap of her wings, the wind fueled the flames, and soon the Punk Record turned into a sea of fire, with all of Vegapunk's memories and knowledge plunging into the inferno.
Vegapunk is a Brain-Brain Fruit ability user; the Punk Record constituted of his separated brain. The ability user's powers disappear when they lose consciousness, but what the user creates doesn't.
According to Vegapunk's research, even if he dies here, the Punk Record won't vanish. It, along with other data, will be passed on forever.
Even for enemies, such a treasure shouldn't be refused.
"Do you know what you're doing? These studies..."
"I'm very aware. I admit you're an excellent scientist, but once you made those dirty things like the Blazing Angels using us as experimental subjects, we're locked in an unending hatred.
What you want to do is what I must stop. Our future doesn't need you.
We will create a new world, but everything in this world has no connection to Vegapunk. Your research will vanish forever into the darkness with you, never to see the light of day again!"
Vegapunk's abilities are impressive, this Shaina doesn't deny. His honors are unmatched in the world, making Aeghede unique with the power of technology.
But he committed a taboo. No matter how powerful he is, it pales in comparison to racial hatred. Since his leadership of the Blazing Angels experiment, it was all destined.