"…"
Ozz sat with his arms folded across his chest, facing Vegapunk's terrified stare as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
He even looked like he was calmly thinking about something, eyes closed.
Time stretched.
Vegapunk swallowed hard. He could not shake the feeling that Ozz was about to say something earth shattering, something that would rewrite the world itself.
Instead, Ozz slowly opened his eyes, glanced at him, and said,
"More importantly, you seem to have other guests on this island."
"???"
Vegapunk nearly fell over.
His mouth twitched nonstop.
Right now, what could possibly be more important than the two world breaking items sitting on this table?
And that name, Joy Boy…
But when he saw that Ozz clearly had no intention of answering, only gestured lazily toward the outside, Vegapunk could only admit defeat.
He hurriedly gathered his things and headed for the door.
Ozz put the materials away and walked out as well.
There were Government personnel stationed here, but none of them reacted strangely to Ozz's presence.
The Five Elders had known about the connection between Ozz and Vegapunk ever since Ozz first had him modify his rifle.
Knowing was one thing. Stopping it was another.
They had simply assumed this young man was interested in Vegapunk's advanced inventions.
So aside from the Mother Flame and the Seraphim, they had not locked down the rest of Vegapunk's work. Sometimes, they even supplied additional funding.
After all, Ozz was far richer than they were. If Vegapunk ever got sick of them and ran away to work under Ozz instead, that would be their real nightmare.
Even in the original timeline, Vegapunk had enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy. He held direct authority over his own cybernetic units and weapons.
Now that Ozz was backing him, there was even less reason for him to fear the Navy or the World Government.
In another lab, they ran into Kuma.
A young Sentomaru was there as well.
"Oh. What a magnificent physique. May I study your body?"
Since Ozz had said, "Handle this first," Vegapunk simply put his questions aside and focused entirely on the new arrivals.
Kuma, for his part, was still reeling from the sight of Vegapunk's enormous head when a knocking sound came from the giant pack on his back.
He unstrapped the container. The lid opened, and a short haired woman climbed out.
If you looked closely, you could see that she was cradling a child in her arms.
Kuma set Ginny carefully down. He pointed at the crystalline growths on her face.
"You are the one who is sick?"
"Yes. But it is very likely my child will be affected too."
Ginny's complexion was poor. The once bright and energetic commander of the Eastern Army no longer carried the sharpness she had on the battlefield.
The baby in her arms slept peacefully. Her eyes, however, were full of warmth and tenderness.
Once upon a time, she had only ever cared about Kuma. Now there was someone else in the world who mattered to her.
Fortunately, Kuma did not resent that. He was only grateful that both mother and child were alive.
"Blue stone scale disease, hmm? Thankfully the spread is still limited."
Vegapunk examined the crystalline patches on Ginny's face. His expression did not change much.
That alone was enough to give them hope.
"Can you cure it?" Kuma asked, unable to keep the tremor out of his voice.
"Of course," Vegapunk replied, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
He was not the one Kuma should really be grateful to.
Standing in front of Ginny, Ozz's tall figure blocked out the lab lights. He pinched his chin, gaze falling not on Ginny herself, but on the baby in her arms.
"Hey. Ozz sir."
Ginny had yet to react, but Kuma was already panicking, hands fidgeting unconsciously.
Ozz's sudden appearance had clearly shaken him.
Once Ginny caught up, however, her eyes lit up. She grabbed the hand Ozz had reached out to tease little Bonney and held it tight, her expression full of gratitude.
"I heard it from Kuma. You are the one who saved my life, right?
"I cannot thank you enough. We are complete strangers, but you still went so far to help us…"
Strictly speaking, this was not actually their first meeting. The last time they had seen each other was during the God Valley incident.
Vegapunk clearly knew that much as well. He watched them with a smile.
"Who knows. Maybe you two have already met once before."
…
And so, Kuma stayed on Egghead for a while. Ozz did not leave either.
From time to time, he would ask Vegapunk what the experiments still needed, and whether there were any other materials required to reach his goal.
Of course, he also occasionally teased little Bonney.
Ozz's reputation in this regard was well earned. He loved playing with children, but he hated looking after them.
In other words: let me borrow them for fun. If they cry, I will give them back.
That day, Ozz was drinking juice and talking shop with Vegapunk, while Kuma sat off to the side teaching Bonney how to speak.
In the middle of their conversation, the lab door swung open.
"Oh. What a lively scene."
Ozz glanced over, the straw still between his lips. His expression did not change in the slightest.
He had already sensed the visitor approaching long before the door opened.
He even knew exactly what the man would say next.
As Ozz's Observation Haki grew stronger, the future he could glimpse became broader and clearer, closer and closer to the true final outcome.
If multiple people tried to use future sight at the same time and their choices created branching possibilities, Ozz's vision would still be the one that aligned most closely with reality.
"Sashi buri dana, Borsalino."
"Oh, even Ozz saint is here. How terribly rude of me."
Despite his words, Borsalino's expression was the same leering, lazy mask as always. There was not a hint of honest surprise on his face.
Ozz did not bother to waste words on him.
Instead, he snapped his fingers lightly.
A special Den Den Mushi appeared in his hand.
For the first time, Borsalino's perennially unruffled, sleazy face changed.
He patted his coat and found that the Den Den Mushi he had brought with him was gone.
Right in front of everyone, Ozz raised the receiver, completely unconcerned about anyone overhearing, and looked calmly at the snail's face.
On the other side, in the Holy Land of Mariejois…
Saturn sat in his chair. He had considered the possibility of having to deal with Ozz, but he had not expected to be connected directly to him the moment the line opened.
"Long time no see, Saturn."
"Ozz. It really has been a while. However, I called today to speak with Vegapunk."
When Saturn addressed Ozz, there was none of his usual condescension or arrogance.
If it had been Vegapunk or Borsalino on the other end, his tone would have been very different.
"You are looking for Vegapunk? Is it about the cyborg modification project?"
"…"
Saturn fell silent.
For a moment, he did not know how to respond.
Had the World Government's internal information really been leaking that badly?
"If it is about that, things might be a little tricky.
"Vegapunk already agreed to something for me. His research workload is very heavy right now."
Saturn stared at Ozz through the Den Den Mushi, trying to figure out what exactly Ozz wanted to create.
Only Vegapunk, who knew the truth of everything, understood what these two were really talking about.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
Because what Ozz wanted him to build was a masterpiece so terrifying…
That even the one seated upon the Empty Throne,
Lord Imu,
Would feel a chill of fear.
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