In battles between top-tier powerhouses, any carelessness is fatal. The Blazing Angels still lacked sufficient combat experience; every experiment was a learning process, and this time, they were dragged into a clash between three extremely powerful fighters.
Zeraora's lightning and Kizaru's lasers were both incredibly fast Elemental Attacks. In a fight like this, neither of them could possibly worry about where their excess shots were landing, so it was inevitable that the Blazing Angels would be caught in the crossfire.
If they didn't switch modes, the lightning and the lasers would paralyze their bodies, and Kuzan would seize the opportunity to strike. If they wanted to evade both lightning and light, they had no choice but to switch modes, and once their Defense Power dropped, that likewise opened a window for Kuzan.
Having lost their command and having only just taken the field without much fine-tuning, the Blazing Angels inevitably exposed a certain weakness.
Crack...
S-Serpent and S-Hawk's bodies were shattered by Kuzan, but judging from the expressions on the ice statues, there was no trace of fear. As bio-weapons, the Blazing Angels at this point had no understanding of the meaning of their own existence.
Receive orders, execute orders—that was the entirety of the Blazing Angels' cognition. To them, death only meant mission failure.
Crack.
Another sharp sound as Kuzan stepped on the ice chunks that had fallen to the ground. Even for a Blazing Angel, once completely Ice Sealed, the toughness of their body was no different from ordinary ice.
After being smashed into shards, even if they were thawed, there was no possibility of restoring them.
"Borsalino, this should be over. I don't want to keep fighting you."
"You say you don't want to fight, but your actions don't really match your words, Kuzan."
"Can't be helped. If you still want to fight, then I can only keep you company.
Those weapons have been eliminated, our mission is already complete, and the person you wanted to protect isn't here anymore. Dragging this out does you no good at all."
Kizaru didn't answer Kuzan; instead, he analyzed the situation. The signals had been jammed by Zeraora, so no messages could get out, and given Aeghede's location, reinforcements were not going to walk into a trap on their own.
With two Blazing Angels defeated, Kuzan was now unrestrained, and with Zeraora's speed able to keep up with him, it would cause tremendous trouble if Kuzan seriously decided to attack him.
Likewise, if he chose to retreat, Zeraora had the ability to follow and tangle with him, but Kuzan could not. The gap in Fruit Abilities meant Kuzan simply couldn't sustain long-term combat at high altitude.
Kizaru couldn't pin down a Zeraora determined to leave, and Zeraora couldn't stop a Kizaru resolved to retreat.
"Kuzan, you really haven't changed."
Kizaru's gaze shifted to where Sentomaru lay. It was one of the few intact areas left on Aeghede, now transformed by Kuzan's powers into an icy mausoleum where Sentomaru's corpse was preserved in one piece.
"But with what you're doing now, it's already certain we stand as enemies."
"Who can really say how these things go..."
Aeghede fell silent once more; only the swirling blizzard and Thunderstorm bore witness to what had happened here. In the end, Kizaru took Sentomaru's body and left Aeghede—there was no meaning in staying here alone any longer.
Zeraora likewise wasted no time on Kizaru. After finding Wailord's position, he returned to Wano Kuni together with Kuzan.
Lilith, in the nearby sea, did not return to Aeghede. While the battle was still raging, she had piloted the robots to other bases. Cut off from information, she had no idea that the main body and the other satellites had all run into trouble; now, only a scheming York remained.
...
Compared to Shaina, who had gained the power of the Sky Plate, Wailord was far too slow. And on the way back, they didn't continue staying inside Wailord's belly; instead they sat on its back, making their way back to Wano Kuni at a leisurely, outing-like pace.
Compared to the two of them, Shaina actually returned to Ghost Island first.
On the rooftop of Ghost Island, a terrace had been specially prepared as a landing zone for those officers capable of flight; there was even a runway for takeoffs, meant for certain special personnel who needed a running start to get airborne smoothly.
As Shaina landed, the Sky Plate that had been lodging within her body also responded to Arceus's summons and separated from her.
Drawn by this aura, nearby Pokemon revealed themselves as well. Beautifly circled the Sky Plate in curiosity, their desire tinged with a trace of reverence, and in the end they merely flew around nearby.
It was late morning now, originally the usual sleep time for Dustox, yet they, too, were awakened and guided by this aura, rousing from their slumber to form two clearly distinct flocks alongside the Beautifly.
A few blue birds directly perched on Shaina's shoulders. Her body still carried residual traces of the Sky Plate's aura, which had an immense attraction for Flying Type Pokemon.
Some Swablu were peeking at Shaina curiously from the clouds above, while the little birds on her shoulders were of a bolder species.
The Tiny Bird Pokemon—Rookidee.
It looked like a round blue little bird; rather than a bird, it resembled a ball, but the face and the black fur connecting chest and belly formed a mask-like ornament.
Its eyes appeared very large, but that was actually an illusion. The white area around their eyes wasn't part of the eyes but markings, within which lay patterns invisible to the naked human eye that could instill fear in timid Pokemon.
These Rookidee weren't created by Arceus recently; they're chicks hatched by a Corviknight flock. Though their final form is incredibly imposing, their initial form is as tender as ordinary sparrows.
But if you underestimate them because of that appearance, you're in for trouble. Rookidee use their small bodies to fly at high speed.
They'll challenge enemies several times their own size, and even if they lose, as long as they're still alive, they'll grow rapidly and learn from the experience.
By the way, Rookidee are neat freaks who cherish their feathers. If you dirty their plumage, you'll incur their revenge—and they... also don't like Tinkaton.
The chirping of the Rookidee reached Shaina's ears, and at the same time a few larger birds flew over in front of her, with even a basket clutched in their talons.
They were Corvisquire, the evolved form of Rookidee. With a bit more training, they would become newly promoted Corviknight.
As the name suggests, Corvisquire look like blue-and-black crows, with white markings around their eyes inherited from their Rookidee stage. They're also much smarter, with more dexterous claws—Corvisquire can even handle rope and finish packing cargo on their own during transport.
These Corvisquire carrying baskets were gearing up for their future taxi jobs. In a sense, you could call it child labor.
"All right, make way, I'm going to see Lord Holy Beast."
Shaina knew very well that these Pokemon weren't being friendly because of her, but because of the lingering aura of the Arceus Plate.
Once she smoothly entered Ghost Island, those Pokemon likewise began circling around Ghost Island in flight, but didn't come inside.
...
"Lord Holy Beast, I've come to plead guilty."
As soon as she arrived before Arceus, Shaina stated her purpose. She wasn't here to claim credit, but to seek punishment.
"You brought back the Plate. You did very well. What guilt could there be?"
"No, this was my selfishness. I destroyed Vegapunk's cherished research records. Those studies and inventions might have contained many valuable things, but..."
"Sorry, I couldn't hold back my rage. Those biological weapons made from the Lunarians Race bloodline... they filled me with utter disgust."
"It doesn't matter. Just petty technology. There's not much difference between having it and not having it. This world is vast; it won't stop turning because it's missing one Vegapunk. Compared to you all, he's worthless."
"But..."
"No buts. Since you're asking for punishment, then your punishment is to put your work down for now and go take a proper break for me. Many things are about to come to an end—just be patient and wait a little longer."
As Arceus spoke, it also drew the Sky Plate back into its body. A strange vortex suddenly formed in the sky above Ghost Island. In Shaina's senses, Arceus at that moment was like the center of a star sea, with a vast cosmos stretching out behind it.
A peculiar monsoon spread out from Ghost Island as its center, affecting almost half the New World. Wherever the monsoon passed, fallen leaves and petals danced in the air, composing a bizarre scroll across the sky.
On Dressrosa, New Fishman Island, Cake Island, Sphinx Island, and many other islands, the inhabitants all became aware of this sudden warm gale.
Meanwhile, on Baltigo, Dragon's gaze turned toward the source of the wind.
"This world... is about to get windy."
He set the newspaper in his hand down on the table. The news of Vegapunk, the genius scientist, dying had already begun to spread across the world...
The brewing of this news would still take some time, and Shaina began aimlessly wandering around Wano Kuni.
Her "punishment" was to rest, but once she was idle she had nothing to do. She had wanted to chat with King, but King was currently out roaming around with Kaidou, nowhere to be found.
And it was at this time that someone appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time and ran into the wrong person.
Staring at Shaina in front of him, Queen froze, then immediately turned to bolt. Never in his life did he expect Shaina to already be back.
He'd clearly just finished a call with Zeraora, and Zeraora had personally told him they were still five days away from Ghost Island.
Yet not even five minutes had passed since he hung up that call, and Shaina was now standing right in front of him.
Queen had hung up in such a hurry earlier that he hadn't heard what Zeraora said afterward before disconnecting. He had no idea that Shaina and Zeraora's group had already split up.
"Queen, you stop right there! Why are you running when you see me? What shady crap have you done this time?"
"Don't slander me! I haven't gone anywhere these days—what could I possibly have done?!"
"You'd better not have done anything. But I suddenly have a question now, and you're going to answer me honestly. You bastard, did you know about Vegapunk's biological weapons project, and how much did you take part in it?"