Hearing the dissatisfied shout from the blonde beauty standing atop the open cockpit of the giant robot,
Yuuki turned his head and looked at her calmly.
His voice was flat as he said,
"So, are you planning to ask me for compensation?"
"O-of cou—"
The blonde beauty had barely opened her mouth to respond when—
Whoosh!
A streak of golden light flashed through the air and appeared at her throat in an instant.
It was a sword of light.
The tip of the blade rested against the pale skin of her neck, sending a faint sting through her body.
"Of course not."
A sheen of cold sweat instantly formed on her forehead as she hurriedly corrected herself, her voice trembling slightly.
"Excellent."
"It seems we won't need to go through any troublesome negotiations."
Yuuki nodded.
The golden sword pressed against her throat dissolved into specks of light and quickly faded away.
Haa…
The blonde woman let out a breath of relief.
Looking at Yuuki and Robin, she quickly searched through her memory for information on the two before speaking with a more serious expression.
"This old woman is the humble genius scientist employed by the World Government—Vegapunk."
The sight of a young, beautiful blonde woman referring to herself as this old woman created an undeniably strange sense of dissonance.
"Vegapunk?"
Robin's dark blue eyes widened, her expression filled with unconcealed suspicion.
"I've never heard that Vegapunk was a woman."
"And based on his public history, your age clearly doesn't match either."
Her face was full of caution as she immediately rejected the claim, while also explaining the reason for her doubts to Yuuki.
"Hmph."
The blonde woman snorted lightly.
Ordinarily, she would not have bothered explaining herself to anyone.
But since the original body had already decided to meet them personally, she chose to elaborate.
"Of course I'm not the original."
"As a genius scientist like us, you couldn't possibly understand how many ideas and research concepts are born in our minds every single day."
"There are too many research ideas, and too little time."
"So, the original created six satellites to assist with the work."
"I am one of them—"
"Lilith, the embodiment of Evil."
Robin looked stunned, clearly unable to fully process the situation.
"To create satellites with independent thought and consciousness…"
"That truly is both a bold and genius idea."
Yuuki murmured in admiration.
He had long known that Vegapunk possessed six satellites, so this revelation did not surprise him much.
"Hurry up and get on."
"You made such a huge commotion destroying the Pacifistas just now that it's bound to attract the attention of the World Government personnel on the island."
"I'd rather not let them find out that the original is meeting dangerous people like you."
Although Lilith had clearly reined in her temper after being frightened by Yuuki's attack, there was still a trace of arrogance in her voice.
"There's no need."
"Just lead the way."
Yuuki replied calmly.
Lilith paused for a moment, then said nothing more and returned to the robot.
Boom!
Powerful streams of air burst from the robot's back and feet as it rapidly ascended into the sky.
Yuuki's thoughts stirred.
Wind Magic wrapped itself around Robin, and the two rose into the air as well.
In the blink of an eye, they had already caught up with the giant robot that had taken off first.
"To think such a massive robot can fly so easily…"
"That's incredible."
Robin looked at the giant machine rising beside them.
Even with her usual composed personality, she could not help but voice her amazement again and again.
"This is the power of science!"
Lilith's voice came through the robot's external speakers.
Despite the distance between them in the air—and the roar of the wind around them—
Lilith, from inside the robot, could still clearly hear what Robin had said.
"This machine, Vegaforce-01, uses the jet unit on its back for propulsion and remains airborne through an anti-gravity system."
"At present, it can only function because of the island-wide air-conditioning system."
"But one day, this technology will be used all across the world."
Lilith's voice was brimming with excitement and confidence.
"That's remarkable."
Robin fell silent for a moment before speaking.
Yuuki, meanwhile, lifted his gaze toward the clouds above.
It was as if he could already see the egg-shaped structure hidden beyond them.
His eyes flickered faintly.
In a world like One Piece, where personal combat power ruled supreme,
Vegapunk's technological tree might have developed in a rather unconventional direction—
and yet, by his own strength alone, he had pushed the technological level of this world to an almost unimaginable height.
Even compared to the world Yuuki had lived in before transmigrating,
its technology had not reached this level.
In Yuuki's eyes,
a person like Vegapunk was the most valuable kind of talent in the entire world.
As they climbed higher and higher,
the thick white clouds hanging above the island's center became clearer.
These were not naturally formed clouds.
They were artificial clouds.
Because directly beneath them—
vast masses of cloud and mist were continuously being expelled from a towering structure over a hundred meters tall, shaped rather absurdly like a giant bottle.
The clouds were constantly being pumped upward to feed the artificial cloud layer above.
The design of the building was…
frankly difficult to praise.
Boom!
The giant robot piloted by Lilith landed atop the cloud layer with a thunderous crash.
Yuuki and Robin descended as well, stepping onto the cloud-like surface.
Feeling the strange combination of softness and solidity beneath her feet, Robin looked startled.
"These are clouds from the Sky Islands?"
Click.
The glass canopy on the robot's head opened, and Lilith leapt down lightly.
"Oh?"
"I didn't expect you to know about Sky Islands."
Lilith looked at Robin in surprise before proudly continuing,
"By using the island-wide temperature control system, we can regulate the salt crystal condensation nuclei and the density of the moisture."
"That allows us to recreate both Island Clouds and Sea Clouds from the Sky Islands."
"To be honest, even we didn't expect it at first."
"Hahaha!"
"So, in other words…"
"A man-made Sky Island."
Yuuki said calmly.
"Exactly!"
Lilith grinned brightly before sweeping a hand toward the strange structure now standing before them.
"Inside here is the Labophase, the cloud-top research layer."
"It is the core of all of Egghead."
"And below the cloud layer, on the surface, is the Fabriophase, where all the researchers and workers are stationed."
"Well then."
"I'll lead you this far."
"Someone else will guide you into the Labophase from here."
As she spoke, a glass-enclosed automatic elevator rose up through the clouds.
At this point, Robin's face no longer showed much outward shock.
Instead, she instinctively glanced toward Yuuki beside her.
"Captain?"
She asked softly.
"Since we're already here…"
"Let's go."
Yuuki smiled faintly and stepped into the elevator with Robin.
As the two entered,
all manner of advanced equipment and devices unfolded before their eyes.
The overwhelming atmosphere of science fiction pressed in from every direction.
Though in Yuuki's eyes,
many of the devices lacked refinement and still seemed somewhat rough in design,
that did not diminish their value in the slightest.
Thinking of how some kingdoms in this world still resembled ancient societies,
while Egghead looked like something out of a futuristic civilization,
Yuuki could not help but feel a strange sense of dissonance.
The automatic elevator carried them into the Labophase.
At the end of the lift,
a figure clad in a hooded coat and wearing a helmet marked 01 was already waiting.
"I am one of Vegapunk's satellites."
"You may call me Shaka."
"Welcome."
"To the captain of the Magic Eye Pirates, Yuuki."
"And the survivor of Ohara… Robin."
Shaka's gaze lingered on Robin for a brief moment, as though recalling something.
Robin looked surprised.
From the way Shaka had spoken, it almost sounded as though he already knew her.
"It seems…"
"You already knew I would come."
Yuuki stepped out of the elevator, a faint smile on his lips.
After meeting two of Vegapunk's satellites in succession,
he had already realized that the other party had long anticipated his arrival.
It was not because of Kuma.
After all, he had never told Kuma he intended to come here.
Shaka nodded without the slightest attempt to hide it.
"The incident you caused at Sabaody Archipelago was deeply shocking."
"To escape so calmly from a Marine siege and the encirclement of various forces before entering the New World…"
"I imagine every major faction was astonished by the sudden appearance of a powerhouse like you."
Shaka praised him first before continuing,
"But compared to all that…"
"What interests this old man more is your method of broadcasting live to the entire world."
"Even this place was easily infiltrated by your signal."
"After analysis, it was indeed the signal of a standard visual Den Den Mushi."
"But there is no way an ordinary visual Den Den Mushi could achieve that."
"So, this old man concluded…"
"That you were using the power you call magic."
Shaka's voice gradually grew more excited.
He was clearly extremely interested in this topic.
He even raised a hand and tapped his helmet, as if troubled by the mystery of this so-called magical power.
"The World Government has always suspected that you possess some kind of special Devil Fruit."
"But this old man does not agree."
"The fluctuations of that power are completely different from those of a Devil Fruit."
"For that reason, I even personally requested the item known as the Magic Eye Cross that had been seized at Sabaody from the Five Elders."
"Unfortunately, they refused."
"They said such an item carried too much uncertainty."
"Until several days ago, when Kuma returned here…"
"And brought back a Magic Eye Cross."
"And now that the two of you have appeared…"
"It only proves this old man's hypothesis."
"Mr. Yuuki deliberately spread those Magic Eye Crosses across the world, didn't he?"
Shaka stopped there.
He did not continue.
But the meaning behind his words was already obvious.
"To have my little scheme seen through…"
"How embarrassing."
Yuuki shrugged.
"You don't look embarrassed at all."
Shaka replied flatly.
"Heh. The people at the top of the World Government, hm?"
"You mean the Five Elders."
"Even if they couldn't guess my true purpose, that level of caution really is fitting for old monsters like them."
Yuuki let out a light laugh.
He had somewhat underestimated the true rulers of the World Government.
"This old man belongs to the World Government."
"The way you're speaking is rather disrespectful."
Shaka said.
"I'm a pirate."
"Aren't I?"
Yuuki spread his hands.
"That's true."
Shaka nodded in agreement.
Then he gestured for Yuuki and Robin to follow him and began walking ahead.
(End of Chapter)
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