Chapter 822: Dead End, Desperate Struggle
This was Ian's first time meeting Vegapunk in person. He had originally been thinking about how to greet this world-renowned scientist and what to say.
But unexpectedly, the moment they met, Vegapunk came out with that line, completely shutting down whatever Ian had been about to say.
Looking at the "iron nail" Vegapunk handed him, Ian was puzzled and was just about to ask what it was when, at that moment, a massive tremor and explosion suddenly rocked the research facility.
"What happened?"
Vegapunk's expression changed instantly as he realized what was happening. The research facility's guard forces, unable to hold back the Revolutionary Army's breakthrough any longer, had simply blown up the facility!
These people were ruthless enough. The facility was underwater. Once breached, the immense water pressure would rush in and kill everyone inside. But to prevent Vegapunk from falling into the Revolutionary Army's hands, they had resolutely chosen this mutual destruction.
"Quick! Go!" Vegapunk shoved Ian, but... he didn't budge!
He didn't have time to dwell on it, though, and continued: "Don't worry about me! You have to get this thing out of here!"
Ian looked at the iron nail in his hand, then at Vegapunk and Kuma beside him. Suddenly, he smiled and said: "Dr. Vegapunk, don't worry. You're not going to die!"
With that, ignoring Vegapunk's reaction, he tucked the iron nail under his left arm, grabbed Vegapunk under his right armpit, and turned to Kuma: "Kuma, follow me!"
Kuma, who normally only took orders from Vegapunk, emitted a series of beeping sounds from within his body. Ian wasn't sure if he understood, but he couldn't explain further. He could already hear the roaring sound of seawater rushing in from the upper levels.
"You... what are you doing!?" Vegapunk was completely bewildered, dangling under Ian's arm.
Ian didn't answer. Black Flame Wings suddenly erupted from his back, and with a thunderous boom, he shot upward!
The solid floor of the facility shattered as he crashed through it, layer after layer, flying straight up until he burst through the topmost level and plunged into the seawater!
Vegapunk hadn't expected Ian to break out this way and immediately choked on the water. Just as he thought he was about to drown, all the seawater around him suddenly vanished, and air rushed back into his lungs.
Looking up, he found himself above a stretch of blue sea!
Vegapunk was stunned. He never imagined Ian could fly, and at such incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, they had broken through the facility and shot out from beneath the surface!
Hovering in midair, Ian looked down at the sea. The white spray from his emergence hadn't even settled when, a second later, a massive figure surfaced. It was Kuma!
Although Kuma was a Devil Fruit user, his body had long been modified by Vegapunk. Thanks to the propulsion systems built into his mechanical frame, seawater had little effect on him. Following Ian through the facility's top, he too emerged from the surface.
The facility's guards probably never imagined that blowing up the facility and letting the seawater rush in would only kill themselves. For Vegapunk and the Revolutionary Army, it caused no harm at all.
Because Fish-Men can't drown...
This made Ian realize that Dragon had probably foreseen this when he assigned these Fish-Man Revolutionary Army members to accompany him.
"We're out? Amazing!" Vegapunk snapped out of his daze, his eyes lighting up as he looked at Ian. "You can fly!? Young man, would you cooperate with my research?"
Hearing this, Ian inexplicably shuddered and quickly said: "No way!"
"Don't be like that!" Vegapunk said. "Since ancient times, humans have dreamed of flying through the sky. You know, I've always wanted to develop a simple, mass-producible flying vehicle for carrying people. If you'd cooperate with my research, I'm confident I could build it!"
"We'll... we'll talk later!" Ian cut him off. "Let me take you to the Revolutionary Army's ship first!"
With that, not giving Vegapunk a chance to speak, Ian turned and flew toward the distant battlefield where the Marine Science Unit and the Revolutionary Army were clashing.
Kuma was still in the water. Ian would drop Vegapunk off first, then come back for him...
Standing at the bow of his ship, Dragon saw Ian flying in from afar and knew his mission was complete. He immediately ordered the Revolutionary Army members to prepare to receive Ian and Vegapunk.
By now, the first twelve ships of the Marine Science Unit had already been annihilated by the Revolutionary Army. The forces currently engaging them were reinforcements that had arrived after receiving word. Although the Revolutionary Army was confident they could wipe out the entire Marine Science Unit, Dragon didn't want to linger here too long. So once Ian brought Kuma back and the Fish-Man Revolutionary Army members had returned to their respective ships, Dragon made his move.
"Storm!"
As Dragon raised his hand, a sudden, violent hurricane blasted toward the Marine Science Unit!
The wind was so fierce that it instantly whipped up massive waves, crashing against the Marine warships. Even though the warships were enormous, they were violently rocked by the giant swells.
Soldiers on the ships screamed in terror, sliding across the tilted decks, crashing into railings, or being thrown overboard to be devoured by the Sea Kings lurking beneath the surface.
"D-damn it! This is the Calm Belt! How can there be such a powerful hurricane!?"
The Marine Science Unit officer leading the fleet cursed frantically. With their ships on the verge of capsizing, they had no time to worry about fighting the Revolutionary Army.
The sky had also turned pitch black. Dark clouds, seemingly from nowhere, had already covered the sea where the Marine ships were. The world was shrouded in gloom. With the hurricane came a downpour of rain, the icy water soaking the soldiers and making them shiver. Everyone clung desperately to anything that could keep them steady, their faces pale with terror.
Some ships that couldn't hold out were already capsized and sunk into the sea...
No one knew how long it lasted. When the storm finally subsided, they breathed a sigh of relief, carefully straightened up, and looked out at the distant sea.
But there, the dense formation of Revolutionary Army ships had vanished without a trace...
……………………
The secret research facility breached, Dr. Vegapunk taken by the Revolutionary Army, the Marine Science Unit suffering heavy losses—these events quickly reached the ears of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
Upon hearing the news, not only the World Government but even the Celestial Dragons turned pale with fury!
Vegapunk had never developed the Guide instrument. For the Celestial Dragons, this was a thunderbolt! They had placed their last hope of recalling Uranus on Vegapunk. Now that he had been taken by the Revolutionary Army, they felt like a widow who had lost her son—utterly hopeless!
"Suppress the news! We must suppress this news!" The heads of the various Celestial Dragon families said in unison during their meeting.
Suppressing the news from the public was simple enough, but the World Government was a different matter!
With Uranus no longer in the Celestial Dragons' hands, they had lost their greatest trump card. They no longer had any means to check the World Government!
In the past, the World Government had dared not defy the Celestial Dragons' wishes because the Celestial Dragons held Uranus, an Ancient Weapon capable of destroying the world. But now that this Ancient Weapon was gone, would the Five Elders continue to treat the Celestial Dragons as before? That was a question worth pondering deeply.
As the supreme rulers of the world, the Five Elders were no fools. They would surely seize this opportunity to reclaim true power from the Celestial Dragons!
The heads of the various Celestial Dragon families voiced their opinions.
"Without Uranus, we still have other things!" one family head said. "First, our wealth. Second, the intelligence networks we control. These are our bargaining chips with the World Government! As long as the Five Elders are willing to acknowledge our status as World Nobles, we can share some of these with them!"
"Exactly!" another head nodded. "The World Government and we are tied together. Don't forget, the World Government was established with the support of us World Nobles. Without us, the so-called World Government would have no reason to exist. Now that the Revolutionary Army has suddenly started making such high-profile moves, they are a major threat to the World Government. With a common enemy, the Five Elders can't ignore this. Only by preserving our title as World Nobles can we continue to guarantee the supply of Heavenly Tribute. In return, we can increase the military funding the World Government needs. This is a win-win situation!"
"Right! And there's the World Conference. Our World Nobles' influence in many countries' noble circles must also be considered!"
"Let's return some power to them. We and the World Government rise and fall together. Compromise is necessary!" another head said. "But we must also prepare a backup plan. Without Vegapunk, we need to find someone else to build the Guide instrument. However, the Five Elders might try to obstruct us, so this must be done in secret!"
"Damn it!" one head suddenly cursed. "Who would have thought that the Four Emperors Ian was secretly a member of the Revolutionary Army, and that he hid it so deeply! We were all fooled by him! I wonder where that Uranus is flying around the world now. If only it could kill that commoner Ian!"
"What's the use of saying all this useless stuff now!?" another head said angrily. "Our most important task now is to get through this World Conference. As long as the conference goes smoothly and the member nations believe Uranus is still in our hands, we can continue to receive a steady stream of Heavenly Tribute for at least the next four years. That's how we maintain our status as World Nobles!"
Amid the clamor, the heads of the Celestial Dragon families began drafting their plans for the upcoming World Conference.
The only saving grace was that no other member nation knew Uranus had slipped out of the Celestial Dragons' control. So what the Celestial Dragons needed to do now was set up another deception at the World Conference to fool all the member nation leaders.
And deceiving the world—wasn't that their specialty?...