"Oh my, we switched back so quickly?"
The sensation of overflowing power rushed back into Ozz's mind. He clenched his fist, confirmed that he had returned to his own body, and could not help sighing.
He had not played enough yet.
On the other side, there was movement in a distant snowdrift.
Law, who had dodged that terrifying slash in the final instant before his ROOM was violently shattered by Haki, crawled out while gasping for breath. His face was drenched in cold sweat.
What kind of slash was that?!
It had almost made his ROOM itself unable to exist.
"Was that... Haki?"
"And their bodies even switched back automatically."
Looking at the confused Kuina, Law quickly made his judgment. Then his gaze locked onto Ozz in the distance.
"That's right. I didn't expect that using a little too much Haki would end up ruining this small bit of fun."
Residual Haki coiled around Ozz's hand. Black-red arcs of electricity faintly crackled in midair.
In truth, even if he had not used an excessive amount of Conqueror's Haki, he still would have returned to his own body.
Did anyone really think Ozz would put himself in danger?
The instant he appeared inside the laboratory, he had already seen the future.
It was a complete image.
A massive amount of Haki had been stored in his body beforehand. His perspective shifted into Kuina's body. After that Haki was released, the Devil Fruit ability was successfully undone.
Ozz trusted his Observation Haki. That was why he dared to gamble his life on amusement so boldly.
In other words, even if Ozz had done nothing at all, once the time came, the Haki stored deep inside his body would have erupted instantly, enough to shake and fracture the entire sea region.
When that happened, his body would naturally return to its original state.
Seeing Ozz's calm, unhurried expression from beginning to end, Law fell silent for a moment before finally sighing.
"That calmness that never disappears means nothing has ever truly escaped your control..."
He looked at Ozz's smiling face. In his mind, that expression overlapped with the calm figure from his childhood memories.
"Should I call it terrifying Observation Haki... no, terrifying strength?"
"Then what is someone like you doing on Punk Hazard?"
Law was deeply puzzled. He could not understand why Ozz had appeared here.
"Mm, I just came to relax."
Ozz smiled.
In reality, he had only come because he was bored. He wanted to look for the Pink Dragon Fruit, and while he was at it, visit Doflamingo and Kuzan.
The retirement life of an old man was just that simple and plain.
"See you."
Ozz waved and prepared to leave. Kuina hurriedly followed.
Far away, Smoker was still kneeling on one knee while clutching his wound. Beside him, Tashigi was wrapping bandages around him.
"What are you doing?!"
Looking at his chest, which had been wrapped into something like a flower, Smoker could not help roaring.
That instantly startled Tashigi, who had still been distracted.
She quickly apologized, but her thoughts were still elsewhere.
That woman who looked exactly like her just now had such terrifying swordsmanship...
Could a female swordsman really become that powerful?!
Unlike Tashigi, Smoker's focus was elsewhere. His face turned ugly.
"It looks like this won't be simple..."
"Judging by Black Gun's movements over the past few decades, he would never appear somewhere without a reason."
"Punk Hazard may be far more troublesome than we imagined."
Elsewhere, through the live Den Den Mushi, Monet and the others had also learned of Ozz's arrival.
"Wha... wha... whaaaat?!"
Caesar's tongue and eyes stretched out absurdly far. His already gaseous body instantly swelled several sizes.
"Why would Mr. Ozz appear here?!"
It had already been a year or two since the Dark Sun God experiment ended. Caesar had long since been sent back and continued working for Doflamingo.
Now, he was on Punk Hazard to continue completing his poison gas experiments.
This was a project that had already begun long ago. Though he had spent the past few years assisting Vegapunk with experiments, whenever he had free time, he had never forgotten his "weapon of death."
He had even contacted many big names and brokers in the underworld, inviting them to watch a live broadcast of his weapon's effects.
"I'm doomed, doomed, doomed!"
Caesar was already panicking, while Monet remained a little calmer.
"Mr. Ozz is here. Why are you so scared?"
"That's obviously because..."
Caesar was about to say something, but then he suddenly froze.
Right.
What was he panicking for?
Whether it was himself or the Joker behind him, they were all on the same side.
His long-standing fear of Ozz had turned Caesar, a despicable little man, into a startled bird. But after reacting, he immediately laughed.
"Shurororororo!"
"That's right! Mr. Ozz must be here to witness my great achievement!"
"But I still have to welcome him properly."
As the surveillance Den Den Mushi searched quickly, it soon found Ozz inside the laboratory.
Caesar transformed into gas and flew over. Monet followed closely behind.
"Ah, isn't this Lord Ozz?"
Caesar's old face smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum as he moved toward Ozz. Monet flew over as well and greeted him respectfully.
But long before they appeared, Ozz had already noticed them.
"Caesar, let me ask you something."
"Please ask."
Caesar rubbed his hands together and smiled.
"Never mind."
A red light flashed in Ozz's eyes. He had already seen in advance what Caesar was going to say, so he took Kuina and headed toward another part of the laboratory.
"This..."
Caesar was stunned. He had no idea what Ozz was doing.
But soon, he saw a bird fly over and hover in midair, staring coldly at him.
"Could it be..."
Monet, who stood to the side, showed a hint of surprise when she saw the seagull.
She had once followed information about the Summit War.
"Could this be the Seagull King that always stays by Mr. Ozz's side?"
"The Seagull King?"
Because of years spent shut away in experiments, Caesar was not especially informed about outside events.
"Yes. It is said that it once fought the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander, the right hand of a Yonko, to a standstill."
When Caesar heard that, his goat-like face instantly split into a wide grin.
"Shurororororo!"
"Mr. Ozz must have sent it here to help us!"
"The experiment will definitely be a huge success!"
"No, I have to report this good news to Joker!"
Elsewhere, Doflamingo received the call with a blank expression.
"Mr. Ozz?"
That man he had known for decades...
Since when had he become so kind?
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The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.
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