Meanwhile.
On the other side of the island, beneath a volcano where flames and magma stretched for miles, a path paved with ice and snow miraculously appeared.
"Shulolololo, what a spectacular sight."
"Half volcano and half snow mountain. To think that such island terrain was born from a battle between two people... it's simply unbelievable."
"Let's hurry up and get moving. We still have a lot of work to handle once we return to the lab."
Three figures walked along the snowy path. The woman leading the way had green hair and golden eyes, her arms and legs modified into the wings and talons of a bird.
Monet flapped her wings, flying at a low altitude while conjuring blizzards to extinguish the flames blocking their path.
Behind her, Caesar and Vergo followed the snowy trail she laid out.
"The climate here seems to have been permanently altered. I can't imagine I actually have to work in a place like this."
Glancing back at the snowy path melting away in the flames behind them, Caesar could not help but sigh. Then, his expression shifted, and he suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter.
"Though it wasn't exactly great here before either, shulolololo!"
"If your experiment hadn't failed two years ago, causing a poison gas leak that turned this entire island into a lifeless wasteland, the Marine Admirals might not have chosen this place for their duel."
Vergo kept a straight face, speaking in a flat tone. "I even had to risk blowing my cover to help you evacuate, and then escort you back after the Admirals finished their battle."
"My, my, that's not the right way to put it, Vergo. This isn't just my business; it concerns your interests as well."
Caesar curled his lips into a grin and retorted.
"Besides, if it weren't for that incident, the World Government's science division wouldn't have moved out of Punk Hazard, leaving me such a perfect experimental base to collaborate with you guys."
"Of course, I still have to thank you for tipping us off. Otherwise, we might have been killed in the crossfire of the Admirals' duel, shulolololo!"
"Stop chatting, Caesar. We're here."
Monet suddenly called out from the front. Caesar turned to look and realized that, without noticing, they had already left the perimeter of the flaming mountains and arrived at the foot of the snowy peaks.
A massive steel door was half-exposed beneath the thick blanket of snow.
"The experimental base doesn't seem to have suffered much damage. We should be able to resume work after a little cleanup. Let's go."
Monet made her assessment with a glance, flapping her wings as she took the lead and flew forward.
Stopping in front of the door, her talons touched the ground. Just as Monet was about to punch in the passcode to open the gate, Vergo's voice suddenly rang out from behind her.
"Wait a moment, Monet. It seems a few rats have snuck into the house."
"What do you mean? Did someone infiltrate the island?"
Monet paused her movements upon hearing this. She turned back to look at Vergo and found him staring intently at a snow-covered rock not far away.
Monet's expression grew serious. "Did they wander in by mistake, or has the experimental base been exposed?"
"I'm not sure. Six people, behind the rock. They've probably already seen me."
Vergo lowered his voice. A segment of bamboo slipped out from the sleeve of his white coat. Gripping it in his right hand, his face gradually darkened.
"No matter who they are, we absolutely cannot let them leave here alive."
"Understood."
Monet and Vergo exchanged a glance and nodded.
The next second, both of them dashed forward simultaneously!
"Bamboo Bullet!!"
Vergo raised the bamboo to his mouth, aimed the other end at the rock, and blew forcefully. A projectile the size of a ping-pong ball shot out in a flash!
"Dodge!!"
Boom!!
An urgent shout came from behind the rock! The projectile landed, shattering the rock into an explosive burst of debris as several figures quickly leaped backward!
"Peaceful Snow: Feather Spear!!"
Flying into the air, Monet's eyes turned cold. The moment she spotted the figures, she shouted and flapped her wings, sending a massive barrage of feathers that transformed into ice crystal needles shooting toward them!
"Quick, notify the captain and the others!!"
Gin yelled as he leaped forward, blocking the path in front of his squad and rapidly swinging his twin tonfas!
Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!
The ice crystal needles were violently smashed to pieces. Gin landed back on the ground as shards of ice scattered across the surrounding snow.
Screech—!!
Accompanied by a piercing sound, a flare emitting a blazing red light shot straight into the sky, trailing a long tail of fire.
"Damn it! It's a signal flare!"
Seeing this, Monet's face changed. "Vergo! Caesar, take them out quickly!"
"Shulolololo! It's just a few people. With you two here, there's no need for a scientific researcher like me to join the fight, right?"
Caesar laughed arrogantly.
Monet had no time to argue with him. With a powerful flap of her wings, she rapidly dove down.
Vergo, on the other hand, hesitated after seeing Gin's face. His expression grew solemn, lost in thought.
However, his hesitation lasted less than a second. His gaze sharpened, and he charged forward.
"Snow Rabbits!!"
Using the high-speed flapping of her wings, Monet instantly released multiple snowballs shaped like white rabbits from the tips of her feathers!
"Paper Art!!"
Gin let out a low shout. His body became as flexible as a piece of paper, swaying with the wind to continuously dodge the attacks.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
When those snow rabbits crashed into the ground from high above, their gravitational acceleration easily smashed deep craters into the snow. Their destructive power was almost comparable to solid cannonballs.
Monet raised her wings again, preparing to launch another attack.
This time, however, Gin quickly drew a pistol from his waist and aimed it right at her!
Against someone using long-range attacks, firearms were always a solid answer.
"More-More: Tenfold Pistol!!"
Gin's eyes darkened as he instantly activated his ability. A strange purple glow emanated from the pistol.
Bang!!
He pulled the trigger, and the bullet shot out. In the blink of an eye, it expanded to the size of an egg, its speed instantly breaking past Mach 10!
Splat!!
Before anyone present could react, Monet's body was instantly snapped in two. The lower half of her torso, from below her chest to above her thighs, completely shattered and exploded on the spot!
"H-How...!"
Caesar's eyes widened. His mouth hung open, but he was too shocked to speak. He stared at the scene before him, his face full of disbelief.
Indeed, Gin had eaten the More-More Fruit just a few days ago.
Using nothing but a common revolver and the most ordinary of bullets.
Under the tenfold amplification of the More-More Fruit, its power was several times greater than even a Barrett sniper cannon!
However.
As a user of the Snow-Snow Fruit, Monet wasn't going to die just like that. Even though her body had been blown in half, she hadn't actually taken any real damage.
Her fallen body elementalized and merged with the snow on the ground. Then, a mound of white snow slowly rose, gradually reforming into Monet's true body.
"She recovered. A Logia type?"
Seeing this, Gin couldn't help but look surprised, his brow furrowing.
Reacting quickly, he flicked his wrist to swing out the cylinder, dumping the spent casings while reaching for his waist to grab Seastone bullets.
Noticing Gin's movements, Vergo, who was charging forward, realized something. He hurriedly stopped and shouted:
"Wait! Stop right there, Monet!!"
"You're the Second Division Commander of the Demon Lion Pirates, right? We are members of the Donquixote Family."
After stopping Monet from counterattacking, Vergo turned to Gin and spoke rapidly.
"Donquixote?"
"You guys are with the Demon Lion?"
Hearing this, both Gin and Monet paused, simultaneously halting their actions.
Seeing that both had stopped, Vergo breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. His face returned to its calm demeanor as he explained in a flat tone:
"That's right. This is one of our family's territories. We're practically in an alliance now, so what just happened was all a misunderstanding."
In truth, he had recognized Gin at first glance.
Having been undercover in the Marines for so long, there was hardly a wanted pirate he couldn't recognize.
Not to mention, less than a week ago, he had attended the meeting regarding the updated bounties for Allen's crew.
The reason he had continued to attack wasn't to silence them.
The signal flare had already been fired, and there was no telling how quickly the enemy's reinforcements would arrive. Vergo wasn't arrogant enough to think he could take on Allen's entire crew by himself.
He merely wanted to subdue Gin first to gain the upper hand in the ensuing conversation. After all, his identity was a vulnerability for Doffy.
If the Marines found out that a Vice Admiral was actually a mole planted by a Warlord of the Sea years ago, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble for Doffy.
But Gin's gunshot just now instantly made him abandon that idea.
Even if his Observation Haki could predict the attack, Vergo didn't believe for a second that he could dodge it. That terrifying projectile speed far exceeded his reaction time, let alone Monet's.
Vergo's gaze fell to Gin's waist as he asked, "Were you just about to switch to Seastone bullets?"
"Yeah. Speaking of which, we managed to get our hands on such rare items through your channels."
Gin replied casually, though his gaze remained hostile as he stared at Vergo.
Let alone the fact that their identities hadn't been verified yet, if the other party dared to make a sudden move, even if they really were Doflamingo's subordinates, he would finish all three of them off on the spot.
"You say this is Donquixote territory? Also, how come I've never heard of you three being under Doffy?"
"Our identities need to be kept secret. Is your captain on the island too? I can have Doffy contact him. As for anything else, it's inconvenient to disclose at the moment," Vergo said.
Hearing this, Gin believed him a little more and finally holstered his pistol.
Right at that moment, several figures began to appear over the snowy slope. Allen, Nami, and the others had finally arrived.
...
A short while later, inside a lounge within the experimental base.
"So this is a secret base for your research, and you two are in charge of security here?"
Sitting on the sofa, Nami cast a skeptical look at Vergo and Monet sitting opposite them.
Then, she looked at Caesar, the bizarre-looking man beside them wearing a white coat like a scientist, and asked:
"What are you researching here? If I remember correctly, Punk Hazard is a World Government research facility. How did it fall into your hands?"
"Shulolololo! You've got quite the curiosity, little lady. You're right, this place used to be World Government territory."
Caesar laughed. His body, elementalized into gas, expanded and grew larger. He spread his arms wide, gesturing to the entire experimental base as he explained:
"But they moved to Egghead two years ago. Because of a tiny little mistake in my experiment, I was arrested. A year later, I escaped and came back here..."
Through his explanation, Nami and the others gradually understood the sequence of events.
To summarize: experiment failure — poison gas leak — personnel evacuation — Caesar's arrest — prison escape and return — continuation of secret experiments — teaming up with Doffy to produce SAD.
"It's the raw material for Artificial Devil Fruits. Because of Kaido, Doffy and I, who holds the SAD production technology..."
"Enough, Caesar. You've said more than enough."
Vergo interrupted the rambling Caesar. He turned his gaze to the other side, looking at Allen, who was sitting leisurely on a single sofa with his legs crossed.
"We've told you everything you need to know. Rather than interrogating us, you should be explaining your actions of trespassing on someone else's territory and having your subordinates ransack the place."
"Even though Doffy has some cooperative ties with you, that doesn't mean he'd agree to let you run wild here. Aren't you going to explain yourself, or are you planning to tear up our alliance?"
Vergo's tone gradually lowered, his eyes staring coldly at Allen.
From the corridor outside, the sounds of rummaging and searching echoed intermittently.
Smoke from the cigar in Allen's mouth curled upward. He cast a slight sideways glance at him, suddenly curling his lips into a smile, and said:
"That's a bit harsh. I've always respected my partners. How could I possibly do such a thing?"
"I came here for a certain item left behind by Vegapunk. As for your secret research here, I had no idea. It's all just a coincidence."
"Once I get my hands on the item, I'll naturally leave. I won't interfere with your work. If you're busy, you can even get up and leave right now."
Saying that, Allen stood up from the sofa, walked over to Vergo, and leaned in close. He blew a puff of smoke right into his face, the corners of his mouth lifting into a light chuckle.
"As allies, you wouldn't interfere with my work either, right? Hehehehe."
Looking at Allen's teasing smile, a vein bulged slightly on Vergo's forehead. Even though he was furious inside, he still tried hard to restrain himself and maintain his composure.
Allen returned to the sofa, leaned back, and closed his eyes to rest. For a time, the lounge fell into dead silence.
Until quite a while had passed.
"Found it, Boss!"
"We found this in the scrapyard!"
Excited voices rang out from outside the door, finally breaking the heavy silence.
Allen opened his eyes and turned to look at the door, only to see Buchi and Sham rushing in with a few subordinates, their faces filled with excitement.
Buchi was holding a fruit that resembled a dragon fruit. The tip of each scale bore a tiny spiral pattern—undoubtedly the unique characteristic of a Devil Fruit.
A faint smile finally appeared on Allen's face.
He had previously mentioned the Artificial Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon Fruit to Vegapunk, and he had been worried that the old man might send someone to retrieve it ahead of time.
Now that he saw the Devil Fruit, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Perhaps in the other party's eyes, an imperfect Devil Fruit wasn't important at all.
Instead, things like the Pacifistas—which, while not overwhelmingly powerful, could be mass-produced to truly change the world—were far more appealing to Vegapunk.
Or perhaps Vegapunk had other plans?
Allen couldn't fathom what went on inside the head of someone like that. Regardless of the reason, as long as he got what he came for, that was all that mattered.
"Alright, gather the others. We're leaving."
Allen stood up and said. He took the fruit from Buchi's hands, glanced at it, tossed it up to weigh it in his palm, and turned back to Vergo with a smile.
"I won't disturb your work any longer, Vice Admiral Vergo..."
"..."
Vergo didn't respond. He merely stared into Allen's eyes, silently clenching his fists.
Although he wasn't wearing his uniform today and hadn't revealed a single hint about his current identity as a Marine, his rank was still Vice Admiral.
It was to be expected that Allen, who had once been at Marine Headquarters, would recognize him.
"See yourself out."
Vergo said in an emotionless tone.
It wasn't until Allen and his men had completely left the premises that he turned a cold glare toward Caesar.
"What's the deal with the Devil Fruit Vegapunk left behind here? Why have I never heard you mention this?"
"Eh?"
Caesar looked bewildered and threw his hands up. "Because I didn't know either!"