"It seems that Vice Admiral Vergo holds considerable weight in their eyes," Franky remarked.
That was probably why these guys were so furious.
"Explain yourself clearly, woman!" the Marine Commander roared angrily.
"I'm just telling the truth. Believe it or not," Perona snorted coldly.
"We did indeed see that man named Vergo by Caesar's side earlier," Franky added.
With that, Franky ignored them and turned to walk toward his companions.
"Dammit, they're still saying such things..."
"Commander, give the order!"
"Commander?"
Seeing the Marine Commander's dark expression and silence, the others' voices gradually trailed off.
"What's wrong with the Commander?"
The others exchanged glances, clearly not understanding why he had become like this.
Meanwhile, the Marine Commander's mood was extremely complicated.
Because he had thought of something.
That was...
...why had Vice Admiral Vergo disappeared shortly after they landed on the island?
It was too bizarre.
But when he recalled how dutiful and responsible Vergo had always been, he didn't want to believe what those pirates said.
However...
Dammit, what the hell is going on?!
Could someone be impersonating Vice Admiral Vergo?
The Marine Commander refused to entertain the idea that Vergo might be a traitor, because... Vice Admiral Vergo was truly a good man!
After a moment of silence, the Marine Commander turned to a communications soldier and asked, "What did Vice Admiral Smoker say when we contacted him earlier?"
If they really couldn't find Vice Admiral Vergo, he could only pray that Vice Admiral Smoker would arrive in time.
He just didn't know whether Smoker would come after hearing that the Straw Hat Pirates were here.
"Vice Admiral Smoker said he understood."
The Marine Commander: ??
What does "he understood" mean?
Is he coming or not?
"That's it?"
"That's it..."
The Marine Commander:
The Marine Commander opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
After another moment of silence, he said, "Then let's focus on finding the real Vice Admiral Vergo first."
"The real one?"
The others were stunned for a moment before saying, "So you mean someone here is impersonating Vice Admiral Vergo?"
"Most likely," the Marine Commander nodded.
"I knew it. There's no way Vice Admiral Vergo could be a traitor."
"Brothers, let's find Vice Admiral Vergo together!"
"Yeah!"
Once they understood that their superior was not compromised, these Marines erupted with terrifying fighting spirit once more.
Meiser glanced at these guys and thought to himself: They just don't want to believe the truth.
Whatever, this has nothing to do with me anyway.
Shaking his head, Meiser quickly rushed toward Luffy and the others, soon arriving by Luffy's side.
"You formed an alliance with this guy, right?" Meiser said, glancing at Law not far away.
"Yep," Luffy grinned, showing his teeth.
"Glasses-ya, do you disagree?" Law looked at Meiser and said.
Meiser:
Glasses-ya?
What kind of strange address is this?
Never mind, it's not important.
"Since Luffy has already agreed to do this, I can't really say much more, but..." Meiser stared into Law's eyes and said, "I need to go with you."
Leaving the task of capturing Caesar to Luffy and the others was completely fine, so he planned to accompany Law on his mission.
Upon hearing this, Law's eyes flickered slightly, thinking to himself: Although going with him might mean my heart ends up in his hands... if I go alone, I'll likely be restrained by Vergo... or even killed!
After all, his heart was still in that guy's possession!
Having reasoned this through, Law nodded and said, "Alright, no problem."
This was a perfect opportunity to use the other's strength to reclaim his own heart!
Seeing Law agree, a smile appeared on Meiser's face as he said, "How sensible~"
In response, Law simply shrugged and said nothing more.
Meiser didn't mind and instead turned to look at Luffy, asking, "What do you plan to do?"
"Of course, I'm going to capture Caesar!"
Luffy replied without hesitation, "This time, I won't let him escape my grasp again!"
"You plan to go alone?"
"Yes."
"That won't do." Meiser shook his head. "At the very least, someone should go with you."
Hearing this, Luffy looked at Meiser with some dissatisfaction. Did this guy think he was an idiot?
"Exactly, I do think you're an idiot," Meiser said flatly.
Luffy: !!
Could Meiser read minds?!
"I don't have mind-reading Technique," Meiser said, his lips twitching. "But everything you're thinking is written all over your face."
Luffy tilted his head. "Is that so?"
His thoughts were written all over his face.
Behind them, Law shook his head speechlessly. What kind of captain is this...
Meanwhile, Nico Robin wore a mature smile, clearly finding the conversation between the two amusing.
"Of course," Meiser said, somewhat exasperated. "Did you really think I had mind-reading Technique?"
After saying this, Meiser turned to Robin and continued, "Robin, I'll go with Law. You go with Luffy."
"No."
Nico Robin shook her head. "I need to take care of something. Luffy requested it."
Hearing this, Meiser showed a puzzled expression. Luffy asked her to do something?
Was there such a thing?
When Meiser looked at him, Luffy nodded and said, "Yes!"
"Then let's switch someone else."
Meiser walked to the edge and looked down at the crew below, calling out, "Hey, someone come with Luffy on this trip."
"I'll go."
Hearing the voice, Franky stepped forward and said, "I'll go with Luffy."
"Will that work?"
Nami showed a worried expression, considering they had just been captured by the enemy not long ago.
"Don't worry, there won't be any problems this time!" Franky grinned. "After all, I'm using my own body this time!"
The last time things went wrong was because he wasn't using his own body. Otherwise, there's no way they would've been wiped out!
So... this time, there definitely won't be any problems!
Seeing how confident Franky was, Nami didn't say anything more.
After seeing Franky off, Nami turned to look deeper into the research facility and said, "Everyone, let's go find those children!"
"Then we'll head to R-66 and leave this place together, got it?"
"Got it."
Everyone nodded, then followed Nami as they ran toward the distant corridor.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
The Marine lieutenant colonel shouted, "You've been talking about children over and over—what exactly do you mean?"
Why do these people keep emphasizing children?
Could it be that they've kidnapped some children?
Thinking this, he instinctively glanced at Merry.
But recalling what she had said earlier, he shifted his gaze back to Nami and the others.
"Let me explain," said Merry, feeling that her relationship with the Marines was still fairly amicable, as she approached the lieutenant colonel. "Not long ago, we encountered some children who had been abducted and brought here by Caesar."
"For the past few years, they've been subjected to Caesar's experiments, forced to eat highly toxic candy every day."
"Now, their bodies have grown abnormally large due to the effects of the drugs."
"So we plan to cure them and send them back home."
After finishing, Merry paused for a moment, then tilted her head slightly and asked, "Do you understand now?"
Although it was unclear how long it would take to treat these children, since Nami and the others had made their decision, the Straw Hat Pirates would see it through to the end!
"Th-there's actually something like this?"
Hearing Merry's words, veins bulged on the lieutenant colonel's face, and his expression flushed red with anger.
He had never imagined such a heinous thing happening here!
Abducting children?
Using children for experiments?
That guy named Caesar deserves to die!
"What a joke!" a Marine from the G-5 Branch said angrily. "Why does the world have such despicable scum?"
"That's right, that guy deserves to die!"
"Lieutenant Colonel, please give the order!"
"Yes, let's go save those children together!"
"Miss Merry definitely wouldn't lie to us—we should all go together!"
Listening to his subordinates' impassioned cries, the lieutenant colonel took a deep breath to calm himself down.
As the only leader of this unit, he absolutely could not lose his composure due to anger.
After a moment of thought, he said, "You're right. We absolutely cannot abandon those innocent children."
"However, we also can't give up on searching for Vice Admiral Vergo."
"Here's what we'll do."
As he spoke, the lieutenant colonel stepped forward a few paces and looked toward Nami in the distance. "You also can't confirm the exact location of those children right now, can you?"
"That's right," Nami nodded.
Although they had encountered the children in the candy house earlier, there was no telling whether Caesar might have moved them elsewhere, so she couldn't determine their precise whereabouts.
"I see..."
The lieutenant colonel said, "Then we'll split into several teams to search for them while also looking for Vice Admiral Vergo."
As soon as he said this, Nami's expression immediately changed.
"Are you planning to turn on us as soon as you find that Vergo?" Nami frowned.
"I don't think so," the Navy lieutenant commander said without hesitation. "But whether Vice Admiral Vergo would give such an order, I don't know."
At the very least, he had no intention of taking action against these guys right now.
"Then do as you please," Nami snorted coldly. "Anyway, you're no match for us."
A Navy Vice Admiral?
Someone of that level could no longer pose a threat to their Straw Hat Pirates!
With that, Nami turned and ran toward the distance without looking back, calling for her companions to follow.
"Everyone, let's hurry and try to find the children as soon as possible!"
"Right!"
Watching her companions leave, Merry turned to the Navy lieutenant commander and said, "I'll go with you."
She needed to confirm whether these Marines were truly as they claimed.
"Huh?"
The Navy lieutenant commander was taken aback, then showed an incredulous expression.
Was this little girl really not afraid of them?
Although they had shown an intense fondness for this little one, she was still a pirate at the end of the day.
"You... aren't afraid of us?"
"Why should I be?"
Merry tilted her head and said, "After all, you can't beat me."
"Besides... I'm not staying here alone."
As she spoke, Merry glanced back at Sanji, who was waiting for her not far away, a slight smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
With Sanji here, she wasn't afraid of any Navy Vice Admiral.
"So it's Black Leg Sanji who gives you this confidence."
The Navy lieutenant commander automatically ignored the first part of Merry's statement—after all, how capable could a little girl a few years old be?
So he naturally assumed it was Sanji who gave Merry her confidence.
Merry didn't argue, as few would believe she was powerful before seeing her in action.
"Then let's go," the Navy lieutenant commander said, waving his hand. "According to the plan, we'll split up at Building B. While searching for Vice Admiral Vergo, we'll also look for those innocent children."
"Finally... we'll regroup at the R-66 gate!"
"Right!!"
The Marines who received the order roared in unison, then charged forward with loud shouts.
Seeing this, Merry smiled and flew effortlessly to Sanji's side.
"You little rascal," Sanji said, looking at Merry with some helplessness. "Aren't you afraid they might attack you?"
Although these Marines seemed decent enough, they were still Marines—natural enemies of pirates like them.
"I'm not afraid."
Merry said matter-of-factly, "Don't forget, I'm pretty strong too."
Hearing this, Sanji recalled what had happened earlier on Fish-Man Island and nodded in agreement.
This little Merry was indeed very powerful. If she went all out, she could easily take down these Marines single-handedly.
However...
"Even so, I still can't let you go with them alone," Sanji lit a cigarette for himself and said. "Don't forget who they're looking for."
Although that guy had become Caesar's subordinate, there was no guarantee he wouldn't show up here.
So he had to follow along.
This time, Merry didn't argue but obediently nodded.
If she had to admit it, she might not necessarily be a match for a Navy Vice Admiral.
"By the way, where are Nami and the others?" Merry glanced toward the tunnel and said, "I can't see their Shadows anywhere."
Are they really that fast?
"Ah, them."
Sanji took a quick look at the tunnel behind them and replied, "They rode Brownbeard."
That guy runs pretty fast, so it's normal not to see them now.
"Rode Brownbeard?"
Several question marks popped up above Merry's head. Why wouldn't they just run on their own at a time like this?
Perhaps sensing Merry's confusion, Sanji chuckled and said, "I guess everyone wanted to conserve their energy."
He couldn't think of any other possibility.
Hearing this, Merry felt a bit helpless. Truly... her crewmates.
"Let's go, Miss Merry, Black Leg pirate!" the Marine ahead called out.
"Call me Sanji, you bastard!"
"Hahahaha~"
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