The morning sun cast long shadows across the town of Vellora, but the crew of the Thousand Sunny felt no warmth from its light.
"So... we're really going underground?" Usopp asked, clutching his bag of tools.
"Yup!" Luffy said, grinning with excitement, hands behind his head. "Spooky tunnel adventure! Maybe there's treasure! Or a monster! Or monster treasure!"
"That's not... how I would describe it," Robin murmured as she unrolled a parchment map.
The map was crude, based on Usopp and Chopper's hurried sketches from the day before. Still, it was enough.
"We enter through the collapsed temple ruin," Robin said. "There should be a shaft that leads to the laboratory floor."
Zoro cracked his neck. "Let's hope no one's waiting for us."
"Or worse," Nami added, arms crossed. "Let's not forget Kael isn't the only unknown."
"Don't worry, Nami-swan! I will protect you with my life!" Sanji declared, spinning into a heart-eyed stance.
"Yohoho, perhaps we'll find some ghosts! I've always wanted to meet a skeleton cousin," Brook chuckled.
"Especially if they smell like death," Chopper mumbled, ears twitching.
The group moved quickly, cloaked in plain clothes to avoid attracting attention. The townsfolk pretended not to notice, though fear clung to their eyes like smoke.
As they reached the edge of the ruins, Franky knelt by the mechanical gate.
"This tech… it's decades old, but it still runs off a basic Marine power grid. Give me thirty seconds."
He pressed a panel hidden beneath broken stone. Gears ground. Dust fell. With a deep, bone-shaking rumble, the gate cracked open.
"Smells like old socks and oil," Luffy said, scrunching up his nose. "Definitely monster treasure."
Chopper gagged. "Something's definitely decaying down there."
Robin lit a lantern. "Let's stay together."
The descent was steep. Cold.
As they moved deeper, the walls grew smoother, more structured. Ancient pipes wove through the stone like veins. Sigils lit up in response to their presence, casting faint blue glows on their faces.
"This is definitely pre-Enies Lobby," Robin whispered. "I'd say it predates Vegapunk's era."
"So, like, ancient robot stuff?" Luffy asked. "Can we take one with us?"
Usopp gripped his slingshot tighter. "Why would the Marines abandon a place like this?"
"Because they were afraid of what they made," Robin said.
They reached the main chamber. Just like Chopper described, it was a massive stone vault lit by crystalline orbs and lined with strange capsules. Each pod housed a figure—some barely human.
Chopper shivered. "These aren't just failed experiments... these were people."
Nami slowly walked past a row. "Why keep them frozen?"
Robin read from a nearby console. "Test Group B: Failed genetic stabilizers. Awaiting final disposal."
Sanji clenched his fists. "Disposal... like trash."
"These weren't pirates," Robin added. "These were civilians. Recruits."
"It's disgusting," Zoro muttered. "They weren't warriors. Just victims."
"It's not just unethical," Franky said. "It's SUPER messed up."
"People in jars. That's messed up," Luffy muttered, turning away.
The crew reached a secondary tunnel. The hallway tilted slightly, as if the foundation had sunk.
Franky spotted old generators. "These could still work. Give me a few minutes."
While Franky fiddled, Robin accessed another data terminal.
"Project Helix," she read aloud. "Objective: Create obedient fighters using the Lineage Factor harvested from unregistered populations."
Usopp turned pale. "That's... human trafficking."
"With science," Sanji spat.
Franky got the lights running. The chamber brightened.
"WOO! SUPER!" Franky shouted, striking a pose. "This place is crazy, but I gotta admit—it's kinda cool!"
In the far end of the lab was a steel vault door marked with the cipher of the World Government. A warning was etched beneath it:
'DO NOT UNSEAL. CONTAINMENT FAILURE WILL RESULT IN GLOBAL THREAT.'
Zoro put a hand on his sword. "I don't like the sound of that."
Luffy walked up to the door, staring at it with mild interest.
"We're not opening this."
Everyone looked at him.
"Why not?" Brook asked.
Luffy shrugged. "I dunno. Just feels like it's empty. Like, boring empty. If it was alive, it'd be yelling or something."
Robin nodded slowly. "That may be wise. For now."
Unseen by the crew, Kael watched from a shadowed vent above. His blue eyes glinted as he listened.
The Straw Hats were deeper than expected.
Behind him, one of the cloaked figures from earlier stood silent.
"They know," the figure said.
Kael turned. "Then we find out what else they want."
Back at the Sunny, a soft pulse came from the Log Pose. Nami's backup dial sparked once.
The island's magnetic field was shifting.