That piece of white flesh rapidly tumbled in the transparent liquid, as if trying to express something.
And Caesar, after a brief moment of stunned silence, immediately reacted.
"It actually works..."
He muttered something softly while pressing a button on the console nearby.
Immediately, the liquid was drained, and a living human body was delivered from the mouth of a machine beside it.
The white flesh fell onto that body, then stretched and extended like slime, quickly covering the body.
After waiting quietly for a moment, the appearance of this body had completely transformed into Orochimaru's likeness.
He wasn't dead yet.
Sitting up from the cold experiment table, Orochimaru didn't mind his current state of being completely naked.
No matter how cold it was here, how could it compare to the freezing air Yamato concentrated seriously?
That instantly appearing ice almost directly took away the sensation of ninety percent of his body… even the process of feeling pain was skipped, and he lost the ability to think.
The most fatal part was that Yamato only froze him but didn't destroy him, which also caused the parts of his body he intentionally left on Punk Hazard to be unable to 'receive' his main consciousness.
It wasn't until after the Dressrosa incident concluded and Yamato had already set sail that the flesh forgotten in some corner finally died due to long-term lack of nutritional replenishment.
And precisely because of this, the [Resurrection Plan] Orochimaru set for himself started much later than he expected.
"Shurorororo... Orochimaru, looking at you like this, things didn't go well in Dressrosa?"
Caesar wasn't particularly disappointed by Orochimaru's failure… at most, it was somewhat regrettable.
Hearing his question, Orochimaru didn't answer him but instead asked about the current time.
After learning the specific date, Orochimaru's face, which always showed a sinister smile, couldn't help but show a tense expression.
"We have to leave immediately."
'I was going to do that anyway—'
—Caesar wanted to say that, but he was more concerned about what made Orochimaru so nervous.
After all, even when proposing to return alone to the Donquixote Family's den, Orochimaru hadn't shown such a loss of composure.
"What formidable opponent have you provoked this time? Oh right! The experimental data?"
Caesar's expression also turned serious, and he began secretly considering whether to take the chance to ditch Orochimaru.
Seemingly seeing through Caesar's thoughts, Orochimaru glanced at him coldly, then revealed his signature smile.
"Indeed, it's an enemy we can't handle. But do you want to give up just because of this, Caesar-kun?"
He stepped down from the experiment table, bare feet on the cold floor, extended his index finger, and pointed at his head.
"Although the plan was terminated, our experiment did succeed. Congratulations on that."
"As for the data, as you can see, I couldn't even bring my body back."
"But they're all recorded in my mind. Given enough time, I can reproduce them again."
The implication was also clear.
Don't think about ditching me… otherwise, all previous investments go down the drain.
Caesar might be somewhat slow in other aspects, but when it came to experiments, he immediately became sharp and instantly understood Orochimaru's meaning.
"Shurorororo... That puts my mind at ease. Speaking of which, you came back just in time!"
Saying this, he proactively placed a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder. Even through the thin glove, he could feel the temperature not like that of a living person.
But he didn't show anything, just guided Orochimaru to the monitoring console, pointing at the images inside.
"I've almost finished packing everything. If nothing unexpected happens, we can depart in a day."
Silently taking Caesar's coat from a nearby chair and draping it over himself, Orochimaru looked at the images of the Tontatta Tribe and giant children helping with the moving, an inscrutable look flashing in his eyes.
But verbally, he still expressed approval.
"Very good, then let's leave as soon as possible."
"The Donquixote Family is finished. Dressrosa has now fallen into the hands of the Beasts Pirates, and they've most likely already set their sights on you."
Hearing this, Caesar's expression changed slightly.
"Beasts..."
Ignoring Caesar's muttering, Orochimaru pointed at the cargo ships carrying the experimental equipment.
"So, where do we go next? It seems you already have an idea, Caesar-kun."
Hearing this, Caesar immediately shook his head, eliminating the Vinsmoke Family from his plans.
Vinsmoke Judge, king of the scientific kingdom [Germa] in the North Blue, also once co-founded [MADS], the world's number one scientific organization, with Caesar, Vegapunk, Queen, and others.
Originally in Caesar's plan, if Orochimaru lost contact, he intended to seek refuge with Judge.
Though somewhat embarrassing, at least he wouldn't fall to being dominated by others.
In contrast, if under another Warlord or even an Emperor, he would have to repeat the 'semi-imprisoned' predicament he'd been in these years.
However, since Orochimaru had returned, the plan naturally didn't need to be arranged this way.
"—I'll leave it to you, Orochimaru. Didn't you already select a suitable candidate?"
Caesar had to admit that Orochimaru was more adept in these aspects.
"Is that so... Then let's go here."
Saying this, Orochimaru extended a finger, traced it across the world map hanging on the wall, crossing the Red Line separating the New World and Paradise, finally landing on a certain sea area.
"This is..."
Caesar looked at that area, recalling relevant information in his mind.
Unfortunately, he didn't know much about it and couldn't come up with an answer after thinking for a long time.
"Former Warlord, Gecko Moria."
Because the World Government collapsed, the former Seven Warlords of the Sea, granted 'legal plundering rights', were naturally reclassified as illegal.
That meant including Hancock, Kuma, Mihawk, Moria, and the imprisoned Doflamingo were all reclassified as 'pirates'.
Of course, they probably didn't care much about that.
As for Crocodile and Jinbe, who escaped prison, they had already been removed from the roster before the World Government collapsed.
Mentioning Moria's name, a glint of interest appeared in Orochimaru's cold snake-like eyes.
That guy, supposedly could use shadows to make corpses move again, creating zombies.
He wondered if those zombies had any connection with his own special body.
Hearing Moria's name, Caesar instinctively showed resistance.
After all, his last boss was also a Shichibukai… Moria probably wasn't much better than Doflamingo.
Seeing this, Orochimaru spoke to reassure him.
"No need to worry. I'll handle everything."
This time, Caesar didn't dare to fully believe what Orochimaru said.
The other had said the same thing before, and the outcome was still this miserable.
However, before he could say anything, the Den Den Mushi nearby suddenly rang.
"Caesar-sama! A ship! There's a ship approaching!"
The person in protective clothing shouted in the communication channel.
Simultaneously, others beside him picked up weapons, assuming combat stances.
Before Caesar could reply, Orochimaru approached the communication Den Den Mushi with interest.
"A ship? Pirates?"
Generally, whether merchant ships on long voyages or warships not on special missions, most sailed with several ships together.
A single ship like this was mostly pirates.
Hearing Orochimaru's voice in the communication channel, that person was clearly taken aback, but he still remembered this voice… it seemed to be the cloaked man beside Caesar.
So, after observing with binoculars for a while, he truthfully answered.
"No, they're not flying a pirate flag."
Others learn from one bitter experience, but Orochimaru seemed to have no intention of learning any lesson at all.
"Is that so? Then let's keep them."
Seeming to want to vent the frustration of his defeat in Dressrosa, he licked his lips and said with a hint of malice.