harleyscars Chapter 304 Mystery, The End is Near
Chapter 304 Mystery, The End is Near
Chapter 304 Mystery, The End is Near
Punk Hazard, on the frozen coast, three ships struggled to break through the ice floes and docked at a relatively intact pier on the edge of the island.
The anticipated attack did not occur.
The entire island was shrouded in a deathly white silence, with only the ceaseless howling of the wind and snow, and the strangely shaped ruins of buildings covered in ice crystals in the distance.
"Something's not right about how quiet this is." Luo stepped onto the ice, Ghost Cry hanging from his shoulder, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.
Asclepius, the god of medicine, followed closely behind, lightly tapping the ground with his caduceus, and an invisible ripple spread outwards.
"The life force is concentrated in the central area, but—it's very orderly, like livestock being herded. That powerful source of ice and snow magic is observing us from higher up."
Luffy craned his neck, curiously examining the eerie trees frozen into ice sculptures and the mechanical wreckage half-buried in the snow.
"Hey, does anyone actually live in a place like this?"
"There used to be many," Diamanti said in a complicated tone. "Scientists, guards, prisoners—now, I'm afraid only Monet and her men remain."
He looked up at the tallest building in the center of the island, which resembled a giant metal skull and had once been one of Vegapunk's main laboratories.
Sasaki Kojiro, with his hand on his sword, slowly walked off the boat, his footsteps making no sound as he stepped onto the snow.
"Let them observe. Since they have no intention of drawing their swords, I'm too lazy to go looking for trouble."
He looked at Luo, "Weren't you looking for something? Lead the way."
Luo ignored the implicit warning in Diamanti's words; his goal was clear.
According to the intelligence he obtained through his investigation, as well as information exchanged through certain channels, deep within Punk Hazard lies Vegapunk's highest-level original data backup regarding "bloodline factors" and "life blueprints."
That might be the key to the miracle of resurrection.
"Follow me. Stay alert, but—unless you are attacked, do not provoke the master of this place."
Luo led the way to a passage half-hidden by ice and snow. The crew of the polar diver began to establish a temporary perimeter with practiced ease.
Luffy and his crew exchanged glances with the Crusaders and followed.
Roger walked in the middle of the group, his brows slightly furrowed, as if listening to some kind of voice from the depths of the island that even the wind and snow could not conceal.
Wang Hassan's figure was sometimes clear and sometimes blurry, as if he had blended into the shadow of the building.
The process of getting inside the abandoned research institute went surprisingly smoothly.
There were no traps, no ambushes, only the omnipresent cold and the aura of death.
They passed by the ruins of massive incubation tanks, filled with the frozen remains of unidentifiable organisms; they walked through corridors strewn with icicles, the walls bearing the marks of violent explosions and corrosion. Everything indicated a horrific catastrophe had occurred here.
"Poison gas leak—" Nami pulled her clothes tighter, her face pale. "Is it true?"
"It's true, but not all of it." Luo stopped in front of a huge metal door bearing the insignia of the World Government's Science Force, but it had been slashed open by some kind of sharp weapon.
"It's just a cover-up by the government. The deeper reason is—" He pushed open the door.
Behind the door was a relatively intact central data room. Countless screens were black, and server racks were covered in frost, but a large, independent terminal in the center seemed to still have a faint energy response.
More importantly, there was a person standing in the room.
Monet.
With her back to everyone, her snow-white, wing-like arms swayed gently, maintaining an eerie balance in the room.
It was cold, but not cold enough to freeze the precision equipment; it was quiet, but you could hear the very low-frequency whirring of the server fans.
"You really came, Luo." Monet didn't turn around, his voice hollow.
"Dover—no, the Crusaders are here too. And the Pirate King—"
"Monet!" Diamanti snapped. "What are you doing here? Dover's orders were for you to monitor, not to occupy this place!"
"An order?" Monet slowly turned around, her face almost expressionless, her golden pupils reflecting no image.
"The orders have changed, Diamanti. When that great one arrives, the old loyalty and orders seem insignificant and laughable. I have found a new meaning."
Her gaze swept over Diamante, landed on Law, paused for a moment, then swept over Roger, Luffy, and Kojiro before finally settling on the God of Healing.
"Luo, you came here to reverse death, right? The information here does contain some fragments about the essence of life. But—"
She stepped aside, revealing a faintly glowing data interface on the terminal behind her.
"That sir said you can take whatever you want."
"This island will soon sink completely into the icy sea. The last experimental samples have been transferred; here—only remnants remain."
"Experimental samples? What kind of experiment?" Luo keenly grasped the key words.
Monet's lips twitched very slightly, as if mimicking a smile.
"Using living variables to test the world's compatibility and controllability—isn't that interesting? Unfortunately, most of them break down."
A chill, more biting than the surrounding low temperature, crept up everyone's spine.
It wasn't for the experiment itself, but for Monet's tone, which was completely devoid of human emotion.
"She's stalling for time." King Hassan's voice rang directly in Luffy and Roger's minds, deep and certain.
"Or perhaps, it is carrying out some kind of handover, and this body senses that the being above is leaving."
Almost as soon as Wang Hassan finished speaking, a very faint, crisp sound, like ice crystals shattering and reforming, came from above the island.
A massive, cold, and seemingly inhuman magical energy surged and vanished in a flash, disappearing into the howling wind and snow of the sky.
Monet's body trembled slightly, and a faint look of bewilderment flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by emptiness.
"She's gone," she stated calmly. "My mission is over too. You can take the data yourselves. This island—will initiate its self-destruct sequence in three hours. Whether you take the data and leave, or stay and explore these meaningless ruins, is up to you."
After saying that, she actually turned into snowflakes and disappeared through the ventilation vents of the data room, leaving no trace of her intention to fight.
"————" Everyone fell silent.
"Tch, what a charade." Zoro snorted, but his grip on the sword remained firm.
Luo rushed to the terminal, took out a specially made storage device from his pocket, and quickly connected it.
The screen lit up, and the complex password system and firewall were useless against him; he had prepared for this for far too long.
"Lord Asclepius, please assist me in sifting through the documents!"
The God of Healing stepped forward, tapping his serpent staff on the terminal, his eyes gleaming with a blue light like flowing data.
"Understood. Begin parallel decoding and filtering. Efficiency is expected to increase by 400%."
"Let's see if there's anything else useful!" Usopp shouted, and he, Franky, Nami, and the others began searching other corners of the room for any paper or physical documents that might have been left behind.
Roger crossed his arms and stared thoughtfully at the rapidly scrolling code and images on the terminal screen. Those diagrams about the essence of life seemed to have touched some distant memories in him.
Luffy looked left and right, then scratched his head: "It seems like... we can't fight anymore?"
"Never mind then, let's go to the next island! Dressrosa, right? I heard there are lots of toys and delicious food there!"
Diamante took a deep breath, suppressing his doubts about Monet's abnormal state and his unease about the so-called experiments on the island, and nodded to Luffy.
"That's right. The Crusades have an official presence in Dressrosa; Dover and Hawkeye are there."
"Once we get there, we can share more intelligence about the Holy Grail War and the World Government's movements."
He glanced at Luo, who was focused on his game, and added.
"Since Law's goals don't seem to conflict with yours, and he has an alliance with Dover, going to Dressrosa together is the best option."
An hour later, Luo successfully downloaded all the target data, and the God of Medicine confirmed that it contained key fragments of the theory he needed.
Everyone quickly evacuated the central data room and returned to the ship.
Less than ten minutes after the three ships left Punk Hazard, a muffled explosion was heard from deep within the island, followed by a chain reaction of collapses.
A massive mushroom cloud of ice and fire, mixed with lingering toxic fumes, rose up, burying the sinister research institute beneath boiling seawater and solid ice.
Standing at the stern, which was gradually moving away, everyone silently watched the scene of destruction. They all knew that this was not just about burying ruins, but also symbolized a new phase.
The chaotic and disorderly phase of wild experimentation has come to an end.
The New World, Dressrosa, the port city of Acacia.
Sunshine, flowers, and enthusiastic dance and music.
Dressrosa still retains its image as a land of love and passion.
But those with keen senses could notice that the number of toy soldiers patrolling the streets had increased, ships entering and leaving the port were being inspected more strictly, and a tense atmosphere was subtly permeating the air.
The Sunny, the Polar Diving, and the Crusaders ships entered the busy port one after another.
Doflamingo's iconic smiling flag and Hawkeye's black sword cross flag fly side by side in a prominent position in the port, proclaiming control of the area.
"Fufufufuru————Welcome to my kingdom, Straw Hat Boy, and————Law."
Doflamingo stood on the dock with his arms outstretched, wearing a pink feather coat and sporting his signature wicked grin.
Standing beside him were the stern-faced Hawkeye Mihawk and Shakespeare.
"Doflamingo." Law's expression didn't change much; he simply nodded slightly. Luffy, on the other hand, jumped off the ship with a nonchalant air.
"This is Dressrosa! Meat! I want meat!"
"Food is plentiful, Fufu." Doflamingo smiled, his pupils slightly contracting as his gaze swept over Roger and King Hassan, but his smile remained unchanged.
"Gentlemen, you have come from afar, please rest well first. We will discuss the latest information on the Holy Grail War later. Diamante, take our guests to their prepared accommodations."
"Yes, Dover."
Just as Luffy and his crew settled down and were preparing to meet with the high-ranking members of the Cross Society, new visitors were approaching in the waters outside Dressrosa.
The spacious room, decorated with flowers and vines, had an atmosphere quite different from the bright sunlight outside the window and the faint sound of dance music drifting in.
Seated on one side of the long table were the core members of the Cross Guild: Doflamingo, Hawkeye Mihawk, and Rebecca, who had just been introduced.
Their respective spirits stood beside them.
On the other side of the long table were Luffy and Roger, representatives of the Straw Hat crew, along with their temporary allies Trafalgar Law and the doctor Asclepius.
Zoro, Sanji, and the others rested and kept watch in the next room.
Wang Hassan's figure remains hidden, seemingly nonexistent, yet omnipresent.
"Fufufu eh—————— Well then, let's first share the most crucial information we know."
Doflamingo placed his fingers on the table, a playful smile on his face.
"The initiator of the Holy Grail War, Dilt. That guy's goal was definitely not just a game of killing between Heroic Spirits."
"Based on the information from Shanks' side, and an analysis of the trajectory of Shakespeare's fate—"
The spirit of Shakespeare beside him immediately stood up, brandishing his quill, and spoke in a theatrical tone.
"Ah! Indeed! That magnificent script! The intertwined threads of fate! We glimpse the curtains of two worlds rubbing against and eroding each other!"
"This is not a metaphor, but a fact that is happening right now! This law and its origin are undergoing a terrible collision and fusion due to some unknowable great being or calamity!"
"Dilt, that self-proclaimed invincible director, the stage he set for the Holy Grail War is quite intriguing."
"Perhaps this is a desperate gamble—a last-ditch effort to forcibly rewrite the ending in the final act of this collapsing drama!"
The room was silent. Roger stroked his chin, his eyes sharp.
"The collision of worlds—no wonder, I always felt there was some noise, some concepts that shouldn't have appeared on this ocean have become unusually active."
"And what you guessed is also very much in line with that old guy's character."
Luo said in a deep voice, "Therefore, the very existence of heroic spirits is a manifestation of corruption."
"The Holy Grail War is both a catalyst that accelerates this process and perhaps a crucible for finding solutions?"
"Exactly!" Shakespeare exclaimed excitedly. "Red, Black, Chaos—all the Masters and Servants involved, regardless of their wishes, have become chips in this high-stakes gamble! And across the table sits—the very crisis of world destruction!"
Hawkeye spoke slowly, his voice steady: "The World Government, or rather Im, clearly knows part of the truth."
"But we don't yet know the path they've chosen." He looked at Luffy and the others.
"Based on your experiences in Punk Hazard and reports from our informants across the globe, the Navy is conducting a massive and efficient manhunt for all Masters outside of government."
"This is not simply about eliminating destabilizing factors, but rather about carrying out a kind of harvest."
"Harvest the variables, concentrate the possibilities," Luo continued, his eyes cold.
"Then, they will use these powers to implement their so-called Absolute Order plan."
"To suppress all resistance, all accidents, and all variables that may be brought about by free will, and to solidify the world in a form that they consider safe, even if that form may be an eternal cage, in order to resist or adapt to the collision and erosion of the two worlds."
Luffy adjusted his straw hat, his expression unusually serious: "So, whether it's to defeat those annoying guys or to prevent this world from becoming utterly boring, we have to stop them, right?"
"That's right," Doflamingo laughed.
"This is why our Cross Society has chosen to temporarily align with the Red Team's objectives."
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"Absolute order means the rigidity of business, it means there is no future to manipulate, which does not fit my aesthetics, Fufu."
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