บท 146: Chapter 146: Miserable Doflamingo

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Since Byakuya last attacked Doflamingo and the Beasts Pirates' trade site, he has learned that artificial Devil Fruits can be exchanged for World Power.

One artificial Devil Fruit was worth 100 points of World Power.

This sparked the idea in Byakuya's mind to obtain the technology to produce artificial Devil Fruits for himself.

So, he sent Sonic to the New World to search for Punk Hazard, and today, there was finally a response.

Originally, Byakuya planned to have Sonic directly raid the lab and capture Caesar.

However, knowing that Doflamingo must value the safety of the research facility highly, strict security measures were likely to be in place.

Although Sonic, with his strength equivalent to that of a Marine Vice Admiral, wouldn't be defeated by the lab's defences, he would be delayed for quite some time.

If this alerted Doflamingo and caused the mission to fail, finding Caesar again would become even harder.

After considering this, Byakuya decided to take matters into his own hands.

After all, once Lucci and the others find Law, they can head to the New World together, making things much easier for Byakuya so he won't have to handle everything personally.

As night fell, Byakuya donned a black robe, perfectly blending into the night, and left the G5 branch.

Using telekinesis to speed up his journey, he followed the system's perception of Sonic's location.

Byakuya didn't expect that shortly after his departure, Vergo knocked on his door holding a stack of documents.

The crisp sound of knocking echoed in the quiet hallway. "Base Commander Byakuya, it's Vergo. I have some information you need to see."

Hearing no response from inside, Vergo knocked again. "Base Commander Byakuya?"

Still waiting for an answer. Vergo didn't believe Byakuya was asleep, as someone as powerful as Byakuya wouldn't be so unalert, even in a safe environment.

This made Vergo wonder where Byakuya could have gone so late at night. "Could he have gone to find those two female Captains?"

The more Vergo thought about it, the more it seemed possible, and he clenched his teeth in jealousy.

"I've been stuck at the G5 branch for years like a monk, and this guy comes here and brings along two beautiful women? That's just infuriating!"

The more Vergo thought about it, the angrier he became.

He wanted to kick down Byakuya's door, but as he raised his foot, he pulled it back, realising that he wouldn't be able to explain himself if someone saw him.

However, Vergo suddenly thought he could exploit Byakuya's womanising nature.

If he could just kill Byakuya, those two beautiful female Marines wouldn't be able to escape his grasp at the G5 branch.

Thinking of Ain and Tashigi's pure faces and fiery figures, Vergo felt motivated.

He immediately returned to his room to plan with Doflamingo on how to deal with Byakuya.

By midnight, Byakuya finally reached Punk Hazard at full speed, reuniting with Sonic, whom he hadn't seen in a while.

Due to Caesar's experiments years ago, the island was filled with toxic gas.

Anyone living there had to wear gas masks and protective suits to survive. However, these measures could have been more useful to Byakuya.

His strong body immediately purified any poison he inhaled.

As for Sonic, he had undergone a special trial in his ninja village, making him immune to this level of poison.

Thus, neither of them paid any attention to the toxic gas on Punk Hazard.

"Lord Byakuya," Sonic greeted respectfully.

Byakuya took a brand-new crescent-moon black robe and a purple mask from his system space and handed them to Sonic.

"From today on, you're a member of the Night Organization. When operating in the field, you must wear this outfit and address me as Lord Night."

"The mask was something I designed casually. If it doesn't suit your taste, you can change it after this mission ends."

"No need. I like this purple mask. Thank you, Lord Night."

Once Sonic had changed into the clothes, Byakuya asked, "During your observations, were you able to gauge the level of security inside?"

Sonic shook his head. "I only saw researchers coming and going, along with a few guards. I don't know much about the inside."

That was understandable, considering Caesar's importance to Doflamingo, second only to Sugar, who controlled Dressrosa.

"No matter, we'll just charge in and deal with it head-on."

With those words, the two appeared at the entrance of the base.

The guards at the door barely had time to blink before two figures in black robes appeared like phantoms.

Without a chance to speak, they were instantly silenced by Sonic, who threw two darts that lodged in their throats.

Afterwards, Sonic retrieved an access card from one of the guards and swiped it at the door.

"Beep!" The entrance to the research facility slowly opened.

The facility was built underground to remain concealed, with the upper floors serving as quarters for the guards.

The moment they entered, they caught the attention of all the guards on the first floor.

Raising their guns, the guards shouted at Byakuya and Sonic, "Who are you?"

Sonic ignored the question, turning instead to Byakuya for instructions.

"Kill them all. No one in this base is to survive except those we must take." Byakuya's cold tone sent a shiver down the guards' spines.

Sonic hurled an explosive shuriken as they fired a shot, reducing them to pieces.

However, before dying, one of the guards managed to trigger the red alert for intruders. It was their final act.

"Alert! Alert! Intruder detected!" The research facility was filled with blaring sirens and flashing red warning lights.

Steel plates nearly two meters thick sealed off all access between floors.

On the first basement level, Caesar froze in the middle of an experiment as he heard the alarm.

His hand trembled, causing the artificial Devil Fruit he was working on to turn into a waste pile.

Enraged, Caesar yelled toward the door, "Guards! Where are the guards? What's going on?"

The lab door opened to reveal a beautiful young woman with bird-like legs, her voice cold as ice.

"Sorry, Caesar, it seems the guards on the first floor triggered the security alert."

"Is it an enemy invasion?" Caesar asked, panicked. "It's not the Big Mom Pirates, is it?"

Despite his situation, Caesar had proven to be a ruthless individual.

Back when he opposed Vegapunk, he was captured by the Marines and eventually escaped from prison with a bounty of 300 million berries on his head.

Fresh out of jail, Caesar wanted to continue his research, but no one would fund a wanted man.

With nowhere to turn, Caesar hatched a bold plan. He sought financial backing from one of the Four Emperors, the Big Mom Pirates.

Knowing Big Mom's desire to gain recognition from the Giants, Caesar claimed he could develop a drug that would grant normal humans the size of giants, but he needed ample funding to conduct his experiments.

Big Mom was ecstatic and immediately gave Caesar 500 million berries to carry out the research.

However, instead of working on the gigantification drug, Caesar devoted most of his time and resources to studying artificial Devil Fruits.

Over time, Big Mom grew impatient with Caesar's lack of results and set a deadline.

If Caesar failed to produce the gigantification drug by the deadline, she would have him killed.

Caesar knew he could never successfully develop a gigantification serum, so he took advantage of a moment when his guards were off guard and escaped directly from the Totto Land territory.

This infuriated Big Mom, who immediately issued a public bounty in the New World to capture Caesar.

While hiding and evading capture, Caesar encountered Doflamingo, and the two quickly allied.

Doflamingo promised to protect him and fund his experiments in exchange for Caesar accelerating the production of artificial Devil Fruits and creating more.

Their cooperation had been going quite smoothly for a while.

So, when Caesar heard about an intrusion in the laboratory, his first thought was that it might be members of Big Mom's crew.

Caesar floated toward the control panel as he said this, intending to check the surveillance cameras spread throughout the lab to see who dared to come here.

The images of Byakuya and Sonic appeared on the monitor. Caesar leaned closer to the screen, thinking,

"Black robes and masks? This doesn't look like Big Mom's crew. Good!

Caesar kept patting his chest, trying to calm his heart, which had been racing just moments earlier.

However, Monet, standing beside him, muttered, "Black robes? Masks?"

Suddenly, an organisation that matched this description flashed through her mind.

The mysterious new group that had recently appeared on the seas—Night! Monet's face instantly turned pale. Caesar might not know, but she did.

The Night organisation had made a name for themselves by killing Crocodile, a fellow Warlord of the Sea, alongside Doflamingo.

How did these people manage to find their way here? Could they target the Young Master's status as a Warlord of the Sea?

The more Monet thought about it, the more panicked she became. She turned to Caesar and said, "You must find a way to escape quickly.

I'll stop them." Seeing Monet so anxious, Caesar laughed and said,

"Shulala, we don't need to run. Two-meter-thick steel plates seal off all the passages in the lab. They can't get down here."

"Plus, Doflamingo will also be alerted once the alarms go off. He should already be on his way with reinforcements."

"When he arrives, we'll capture these two intruders and use them as materials for my gigantification experiments."

"The last batch of children exploded during testing, and the next group hasn't arrived yet."

"Without them, my gigantification serum experiments have had no progress lately."

Frustrated by Caesar's ignorance of the threat posed by the "Night" organisation, Monet warned, "They're from the Night organisation!"

"The steel plates won't stop them. You need to escape now!"

Now slightly alarmed by Monet's behaviour, Caesar asked tremblingly, "What is this 'Night' organisation? I've never heard of them!"

Before Monet could explain, the entire lab began to shake violently, as if struck by an earthquake.

Caesar panicked, "What's happening?"

With a deafening crash, the steel plates above them, designed to provide isolation, were suddenly torn apart, blossoming open like a flower under an immense force.

A cold voice echoed between Caesar and Monet, "I'll show you what the 'Night' organisation is."

The two black-robed figures suddenly appeared in front of Caesar and Monet, having bypassed all the layers of security.

Now, Caesar finally understood why Monet had been so terrified earlier.

In a shaky voice, he stammered, "What do you want? I'm Doflamingo's partner, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea! If you harm me, Doflamingo will never forgive you!"

"Caesar, there's no need to say more. They've likely come for the Young Master," Monet sighed.

Byakuya smiled at her and said, "Seems like you know quite a bit about our Night organisation."

While Monet possessed the powers of the Snow-Snow Fruit, a Logia-type fruit, it was considered an inferior version of the Ice-Ice Fruit.

However, if developed properly, her strength could easily rival a Warlord's. She might even reach the level of an Admiral.

But instead of honing her abilities, Monet had resorted to shortcuts, turning herself into this bird-like form for a minor increase in power.

Her once beautiful legs had become skinny bird claws, disgusting to look at.

Byakuya couldn't help but think how wasteful Doflamingo had been with such potential.

As Byakuya lamented, Caesar glared at the two intruders, thinking, 'Damn it! If you're after Doflamingo, find him!'

'What do you want with me? I'm just a weak and helpless scientist!'

Monet, knowing that both she and Caesar would inevitably fall into the hands of the Night organisation, decided to make a last-ditch effort.

Despite her fate, she knew how important Caesar was to Doflamingo. Out of loyalty, she chose to risk her life to give Caesar a chance to escape.

With a piercing cry, huge snow wings formed behind Monet, and her face began to transform into that of a bird, with her mouth turning into a sharp beak.

She became even more grotesque, an alarming sight.

The underground lab, hundreds of meters below, was suddenly filled with cold snowflakes, and the temperature plummeted.

Monet said in a raspy voice from her bird-like mouth, "Caesar, go! I'll hold them off—"

Splat!

Before she could finish, a black orb shot across the right side of her head, tearing through her skull, carrying with it fragments of bone and splashes of crimson blood.

The wind and snow abruptly stopped as Monet's pupils widened.

Blood streamed down her face as she collapsed, not even knowing how she had died.

Caesar froze, horrified. I haven't even run yet, and she's already dead?

His eyes darted to the black orb floating beside Byakuya. Suddenly, he understood what had happened.

In a calm voice, Byakuya said, "Too annoying and weak. No reason to let her live." His gaze then shifted to Caesar, the black orb quivering ominously.

Cold sweat poured down Caesar's back as he stammered, "Please... don't kill me. I'm useful!"

"I can provide you with the technology for Smile Fruits, and I'm also developing a gigantification serum."

"I've also made some powerful biochemical agents—just one vial can wipe out an entire town. Surely, that could be useful to your organisation."

Terrified of meeting the same fate as Monet, Caesar spilt all his secrets like beans from a jar.

Byakuya smirked, "Seems like you are useful after all."

Caesar nodded desperately, "Yes, yes! As long as you don't kill me, I'll serve you loyally. From now on, I'll be a member of the Night organisation!"

Byakuya scoffed, "You're not worthy of joining the Night organisation."

Undeterred by the insult, Caesar smiled obsequiously, "You're right! I'll work twice as hard to earn my place in the organisation!"

Byakuya, uninterested in wasting more time, asked, "Is there anything here worth taking? If not, we can leave now."

Eager to show his value, Caesar quickly responded, "These things here aren't important."

"The real valuable stuff is in my head. As long as we have money, I can replicate everything elsewhere."

He was trying to make it clear that if they killed him, they'd lose all the knowledge and research stored in his brain.

Byakuya, seeing through Caesar's ploy but choosing not to call him out, asked, "Are there any Smile or artificial Devil Fruits here that haven't been shipped out yet? If so, where are they?"

Hearing this, Caesar immediately realised that the Night organisation knew quite a lot about the artificial Devil Fruits, perhaps even Doflamingo's deals with the Beasts Pirates.

He thought to himself that they were probably here because of him. It seemed he wouldn't be able to stall until Doflamingo arrived.

As Caesar was deep in thought, a flash of black light suddenly streaked before him.

He felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, followed by overwhelming weakness.

His body, which had been sustained by gas, suddenly reverted to its damaged, frail form—the result of his time in captivity.

Byakuya spoke in his usual calm tone, "I don't like liars. So, I've implanted a piece of Seastone in your stomach."

"Try anything funny, and I'll throw you at Big Mom's doorstep or into Marine headquarters. I'm sure both would love to have you."

Hearing this, Caesar's face turned deathly pale. If Big Mom got her hands on him, she'd suck the life right out of him, giving him no chance to escape.

If he were turned over to the Marines, his crimes would ensure a lifetime in Impel Down, the darkest, most torturous prison.

Either way, both outcomes were unbearable for Caesar. Finally realising the Night organisation's ruthlessness, Caesar pleaded, "I was wrong! I know where the artificial Devil Fruits are stored."

He obediently led Byakuya to a large, reinforced iron door.

With a flattering smile, Caesar said, "Inside are the completed artificial Devil Fruits."

"Only my access card can open this iron door—ordinary people can't get in."

He added nervously, "Please, sir, could you remove the Seastone from my body? Without it, I don't have the strength to take the card out of my clothes."

"No need," came the cold response, muffled from behind Byakuya's dark mask.

Without another word, Byakuya slammed his foot into the thick iron door.

The door instantly bent, warping into a C-shape and embedding itself deep into the wall behind it.

Caesar's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the open storage room.

He finally understood how the two members of the Night organisation had appeared so easily, moving from the first floor directly to the third.

It wasn't an elaborate technique but just raw, overwhelming power.

Byakuya stepped into the storage room and, as expected, found dozens of Smile Fruits.

After a quick count, there were seventy-five, equivalent to 7,500 points of world energy. It's a good haul for this mission.

Byakuya figured these were likely the fruits Doflamingo had spent the last two months producing, though the shipment still needed to be completed.

To think he had completely intercepted it!

Byakuya chuckled, imagining the chaos unfolding when Doflamingo tried to trade these fruits with the Beasts Pirates, only for Kaido to find that the Devil Fruits had disappeared.

Kaido would tear Doflamingo apart in a fit of rage! Byakuya didn't realise these fruits were the first batch produced since the Marines seized the last shipment.

They were the ones Kaido had fiercely demanded Doflamingo deliver after the previous deal had gone up in smoke.

Had Byakuya known, he would have been even more amused. Meanwhile, Doflamingo, who was on his way to Punk Hazard, was already on edge.

His heart was pounding as if it were about to leap out of his throat.

His plans to manipulate Byakuya had failed, and now Kaido was demanding the artificial Devil Fruits—without paying for them.

When things couldn't get worse, he received news that something had gone wrong at the research lab in Punk Hazard.

All these mounting problems gave even a mastermind like Doflamingo a massive headache.

If anything happened to the lab, not only would the artificial Devil Fruits be lost, but Caesar, the scientist capable of producing them, would also be gone.

That would be a devastating blow for Doflamingo. He could already imagine Kaido killing him when he learned about this disaster.

To prevent this catastrophe, Doflamingo, upon hearing of the trouble at the lab, used his Devil Fruit ability to attach invisible strings to the clouds in the sky, allowing him to fly at high speed through the air.

As he soared, his eyes filled with worry. "Please, let nothing go wrong!" he muttered anxiously.

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