"Biological weapons? What are you talking about? Weren't you supposed to look for the Plate for Lord Arceus? How did it come to this?"
Queen felt a sense of foreboding, and instead of immediately answering Shaina's question, he wanted to figure out the situation first.
"I got rid of that big-headed freak along the way; the new edition of the newspaper hasn't arrived yet. You'll know once you see it."
"That big-headed freak... wait, you took out Vegapunk? Didn't you just finish your mission?"
"We just finished up with Zeraora. We split up and acted separately before that; it's been a day now by my count.
Lord Arceus lent me some power, so I returned a bit earlier."
Shaina's answer resolved Queen's confusion, and it explained why Shaina returned to Ghost Island so early. However, the news of Vegapunk's death still left him somewhat astonished.
"You just... took him out directly?"
"Yeah, is there a problem? I'll never forget what happened at Punk Hazard in my lifetime, especially since that bastard manufactured biological weapons using our bloodline.
You hadn't left at that time; you must know about this to some extent."
Shaina's words stirred up memories for Queen of decades past, when the MADS group was still adventuring on The Sea, with funding from Du Feld, a loan shark in the Underworld.
As for Vegapunk, Queen didn't have any sentimental feelings; MADS was merely a temporary alliance due to mutual interests, and the relationships weren't close.
The members were almost mutually antagonistic, with everyone looking down on the others, all believing themselves to be the most outstanding.
And after capturing the Lunarians...
[The legendary divine race said to survive in any environment, their resistance truly is terrifying.]
[Integrating their genes into Modified People should yield strong results.]
Queen recalled the World Government's command, and with the previous discussions, he immediately understood why Shaina unhesitatingly took out Vegapunk. It was fortunate she hadn't directly sliced him up.
Now, for Queen, it didn't matter whether Vegapunk was done for or not; the important thing was how he should extricate himself.
Admit...
No, he absolutely cannot admit!
"Never heard of it. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even know what those weapons look like."
"Characteristics of Lunarians—white hair, brown skin, black wings, flames burning behind them like us, yet resembles a young Hancock and Hawkeye, even inheriting some Fruit Ability traits.
Honestly, after beating you all these years, I wouldn't kill you either."
In less than a tenth of a second, Queen caught the key point in Shaina's words: not killing is different from not attacking; she only mentioned not killing, but didn't say no hitting.
Then, terrifying images appeared in Queen's mind. In order to prevent those images from coming true and to stop Hawkins' black sign from manifesting, Queen resolutely denied this matter.
"You just instinctively denied twice in a row; that's not like you. You're lying."
"What nonsense are you talking, woman? I don't understand... fine, I've seen it in experiment records, but I didn't take part in it. Even if Vegapunk succeeded, it was after I left."
Seeing that repeated denials failed to dispel Shaina's doubts, Queen also sensed something amiss. It seemed Shaina's grudge wasn't relieved even by executing Vegapunk, and she was looking for someone else to continue pounding.
If he couldn't escape, he must clarify his non-involvement in this matter.
If Shaina misunderstood that he too participated in the biological weapons experiment, he'd be doomed.
Beaten by King in the morning, pummeled by Shaina in the afternoon, and Omastar might seize the opportunity to launch a Spike Cannon at night.
"You're indeed lying; I almost believed you."
"..."
"Evidence, how can you prove you didn't participate in this affair?"
"You're forcing me..."
"What, you want to fight? I don't mind; the brief power lent by the holy beast taught me many things. You can try."
Shaina adopted a fighting stance, but Queen's next words greatly surprised her.
"I don't have the ability."
"What... what did you say?"
"I said I don't have the ability; compared to Vegapunk, I'm like a useless person. You know my technical skills; even if I wanted to do it, I couldn't create such things, so I never participated.
If I have to say something, it's that I simply don't have the capability to be involved.
Even if I wanted to, I couldn't, and besides, I don't want to at all!"
After saying this, Queen seemed drained of energy, his plump body appearing weak.
This was something MADS members were unwilling to admit, yet had to face: they were no match for Vegapunk, neither in knowledge nor ability.
Vegapunk could achieve things they might not, even with the same research approach. Vegapunk could easily produce a Mythical Fruit indistinguishable from the original except in color.
Due to his obsessive compulsions and the environment he's in, he insists it's a failure.
If the World Government knew he had truly created a Mythical Fruit, he would have no time for other research, as he'd be forced to mass-produce them.
But for Caesar, even ordinary Zoan-type Fruits have become such abominations, yet he still regards them as successful experiments.
At this moment, Queen is confronting his own weakness.
"You're ruthless..."
Queen used the perfect excuse to absolve himself, akin to a regular business vehemently claiming innocence when suspected of food fraud, stating they're not technically capable of using such high-tech additives.
"Wait, where are you going?"
Seeing Shaina had no intention of taking action, Queen instead became more anxious.
"On vacation, consider my accusations against you dropped this time."
"Come back, shouldn't you come up with some random excuse next and then beat me up? What are you leaving like this for?"
"Do you have some kind of problem? If you're really itching for a beating, you can go to Machamp's gym; they'd welcome you as their new punching bag."
After speaking, she no longer paid attention to Queen and flew directly into the high sky.
Watching Shaina depart, Queen pondered for a moment, then pulled out a Radio Snail.
"Hello, Hawkins? Get back to Ghost Island immediately. The mission? Forget the mission, have someone else do it; you need to return as fast as possible!"
Queen originally assumed this matter was the bad sign from Hawkins' fortune-telling, and the defense was merely to reduce the level of misfortune. Unexpectedly, he defended too well, leading Shaina to simply let it go.
Based on past predictions, things that haven't happened don't count as completely resolved, meaning there's an even more dangerous issue awaiting him, one that is truly the disaster destined for him.
Something scarier than Shaina must be either Yamato or Kaidou. Based on experience, Yamato may talk tough, but rarely follows through, leaving only Kaidou as the remaining possibility.
Since the Rumble Ball Q1.0 experiment, Kaidou hasn't confronted him, but after such a long interval, Queen wonders what new tricks Kaidou will come up with.
...
"Tch, it's a pity Shaina didn't take any action."
At the top of the Pokemon Center, Yamato put down the binoculars. She could swear she was just bored, watching the scenery of the Inner Sea and counting Magikarp, discovering Queen was purely by chance.
Due to the distance, she couldn't hear what Queen and Shaina were saying, but instinctively felt Shaina would make a move, only to be somewhat disappointed by the outcome.
"Hey, Derack, why are you here?"
"To have lunch, the patient meals here taste quite good."
Derack held a meal tray, treating the place like a cafeteria for lunch.
"Didn't your godfather give you an unlimited-expense black card for living?"
"Yes, but non-patient meals do charge. If not for being able to swipe that card, I couldn't afford it."
"But... wasn't yesterday payday? You didn't even treat us."
"Oh, well, I spent all the leftover money after settling debts."
Derack mentioned her depleted wallet without any resentment, instead a bit proud, then pulled out a pile of already scratched lottery tickets from her pocket.
Sold to promote financial circulation, these lottery tickets are available inside Wano Kuni as well, yet they're merely regular lottery tickets here, without any additional purpose.
Taking the lottery tickets handed by Derack, Yamato quickly counted them, ultimately coming to a not-so-pleasant conclusion.
"It seems you're losing money."
"No worries, though I spent more than earned, I gained the joy of winning."
"But you've lost all your money."
"Hehe, you see, young lady, you don't understand. The human brain protects its owner and actively forgets unhappy things.
Money can always be spent, but happiness is different.
As time passes, you only remember the joy of winning and forget the disappointment of not winning. Isn't that a gain?"
Derack's economic theory always makes people feel dumbfounded; even the daily managing Mandfeish doesn't get it, not to mention Yamato who can't comprehend how she persists.
"But... the brain doesn't protect your wallet. When seeing an empty wallet, it would remind you of the past pains."
"It doesn't matter, my wallet is never full; seeing it emptily doesn't affect me. That feeling I'll never experience, and you probably can't relate, young lady."
"Hmm... hard to imagine."
Derack said something Yamato never considered, given her wallet's never been empty.
Just then, another direction towards the Hidden Port made sounds, with the port chains moving. The Shadow Fox once again appeared on Ghost Island, as Olga returned from vacation bringing Nightin.....