Although Buffalo didn't know what Baby 5 intended to do, he chose to trust her.
After that, he steadied himself and took flight again, carrying Baby 5 toward the distant sea.
Seeing this, Perona raised an eyebrow and said, "I didn't expect them to keep flying after taking one of my attacks."
"In that case... I'll use another move."
With that thought, Perona chased after the two, releasing a large number of Negative Spirits.
Seeing this, Baby 5's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks.
"Again?"
No, this couldn't go on. She had to act immediately!
Thinking this, Baby 5 didn't hesitate to transform her arm into a cannon barrel and fired a shell toward Perona.
"Bang!"
"Useless!"
Seeing Baby 5's action, Perona snorted and said, "Your weapons are no..."
Before she could finish her sentence, she noticed the incoming shell had exploded, causing her to instinctively halt her flight and assume a defensive stance.
"Boom!!"
"Huh?"
"A smoke bomb?"
Looking at the smoke covering the area, Perona was stunned.
No wonder the shell exploded without even reaching her—it was a smoke bomb!
"So this is your plan," Perona said calmly, frowning as she looked in the direction the two had fled. "Aren't you underestimating me a little too much?"
Her Soul-Soul Fruit wasn't something that could only be activated by her physical presence!
With a cold laugh, Perona hovered in mid-air, calmly waiting.
Meanwhile, Baby 5, seeing that Perona hadn't pursued them, instinctively let out a sigh of relief.
"Great, she didn't chase us."
"Alright, I understand," Buffalo replied.
Now was their chance to escape this dangerous place as quickly as possible!
Just then, several Negative Spirits rushed toward them from below and behind, moving at incredible speed!
Baby 5, looking ahead, and Buffalo, focused on flying, both failed to notice this.
Until... the Negative Spirits were right in their faces.
"This..."
Watching the approaching Negative Spirits, Buffalo's pupils shrank to their smallest.
The speed was so fast he didn't even have time to warn Baby 5!
The next moment...
"Hum~"
The Negative Spirits passed through Buffalo's body without any resistance, causing his expression to turn utterly despondent.
Then, without slowing down, the Negative Spirits passed through Baby 5's body as well.
"Hum~"
"If possible, I'd like to be a paramecium in my next life..."
"I'm such a fool for trusting others so easily..."
Touched by the Negative Spirits, the two became completely despondent and began plummeting toward the sea below, eventually falling into the ocean.
"Splash~"
"Splash~"
"Hara hara hara~"
Perona, who had flown from the smoke to the sky above the cruise ship, placed her hands on her hips and said, "See? This is my power!"
Did they really think they could escape with such shoddy tricks?
Don't be ridiculous!
No one can escape from her, the Ghost Princess!
Hara hara hara~
After laughing heartily, Perona glanced down at the stunned Marines and said, "You lot, go fish those two out for me!"
Clearly, Perona remembered the request Law, their ally, had mentioned earlier, so she needed someone to capture those two enemies.
"Yes, Miss Ghost Princess!"
The few who understood Perona's terrifying power quickly jumped off the yacht without any hesitation.
Soon, with the Marines' efforts, the two fools who were nearly drowning were successfully rescued and brought ashore.
After instructing the soldiers in protective suits to lock them up with Seastone Handcuffs, Usopp asked, "By the way, who are these two?"
They just showed up out of nowhere to cause trouble... Could they be Caesar's people?
"According to Law, these two are Joker's people," Meiser said.
"Joker?"
Hearing this, Usopp was momentarily stunned, and an image of a clown involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
A clown?
Could it be that Clown Buggy they encountered back in East Blue?
It wasn't impossible.
After all, that guy had become one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, so it made sense for him to have such formidable subordinates.
Meanwhile, Nico Robin furrowed her brow and said, "If I remember correctly, this Joker is one of the Underground Kings, right?"
And a very famous one at that.
"Yes, that's right," Meiser nodded. "That guy is Caesar's backer."
Caesar used to love boasting about how his backer was Joker.
"Doesn't that mean..."
Usopp glanced at Baby 5 and Buffalo and said, "These two are assassins sent by that Joker?!"
As if he had thought of something, a look of fear appeared on Usopp's face.
Wait, isn't the enemy's reaction a bit too fast?
They just captured Caesar, and the enemy is already here?
"Maybe," Meiser shrugged. "But we'll know the details once Law comes out."
Come to think of it, Law hadn't told them the specifics of the plan yet.
After pondering for a moment, Meiser decided to ask him properly later.
Even though they were allies, the Straw Hat Pirates needed to know the details of the plan, didn't they!
"Law..."
Nico Robin, staring at the huge building in the distance, instinctively narrowed her eyes.
Meiser was right—they really needed to ask him properly later.
There were things Luffy might not care about, but they had to help him figure them out!
Just then, Chopper rushed out of the huge building in the distance, his face filled with terror.
"That bastard Law killed someone!"
"Huh?"
Looking at Chopper, who was clinging to her leg and shouting, Nami's face immediately filled with question marks.
What did he mean by "Law killed someone"?
In the distance, Meiser heard the commotion and exchanged glances with Nico Robin and the others before immediately running over.
Perona, hovering in mid-air, thought for a moment and then flew over as well.
Upon arriving, Meiser asked, "What's going on?"
"It's Law!"
"It's Law!"
Chopper exclaimed excitedly, "He cut all the children's bodies open!"
"He's practically a devil!"
Recalling the scenes from earlier, Chopper felt his blood run cold.
That bastard was simply inhuman!
Upon hearing Chopper's words, Perona's expression instantly changed.
Could it be that Law wasn't properly treating the children but instead harming them?
At this thought, Perona grew furious.
"Law!"
"Wait a moment!" Meiser shouted.
Hearing this, Perona, who was about to move, immediately stopped and looked at Meiser with a puzzled expression, not understanding why he was stopping her.
"Have you all forgotten Law's Devil Fruit ability?" Meiser said. "His ability allows him to cut people open without killing them!"
Listening to Meiser's words, the others instinctively recalled Kin'emon's appearance.
Thinking about it carefully, when Law used his ability to cut people open, he indeed didn't kill them.
Seeing that everyone showed signs of understanding, Meiser continued, "So... he likely cut the children's bodies open to remove the toxins from their bodies."
This was probably also the reason Law didn't allow others to watch his treatment process—it was simply too horrifying!
"So that's how it is."
Nami wore an expression of sudden realization. No wonder Law had acted that way—it was all because of this.
Chopper, however, frowned and said, "So... he wasn't harming the children?"
But wasn't that treatment method a bit too...
"Exactly, after all, doing so would bring him no benefit," Meiser said.
He believed Law was a smart person and wouldn't do anything to harm the children.
After all... that would anger the Straw Hat Pirates!
So he thought Law wouldn't do such a thing.
With Meiser saying so, everyone relaxed.
However, none of them left. Instead, they eagerly looked toward the nearby large house, silently waiting for Law's surgery to end.
They looked just like family members waiting for a loved one's surgery to finish.
"Where exactly is that place that bastard mentioned?" Kin'emon said with red eyes.
They had been searching for so long—why hadn't they found it yet?
"Let me think..."
Brook tilted his head in thought before saying, "Zoro, do you remember the place where we reunited with Luffy and the others earlier?"
"Ah, I remember."
Zoro said calmly, "Go left."
They had been there not long ago, so he remembered it clearly.
"That's not right!"
Little Merry raised her hand and said, "It's clearly to the right!"
"Zoro, you're getting lost again."
As she spoke, Merry gave him a look as if he were an idiot.
Zoro: ...
He should have kept his mouth shut.
"Yohohohoho~"
"In that case, let's go search to the right," Brook said with a chuckle.
After speaking, he turned his gaze to the ruins on the right, then pondered what Usopp had said earlier.
Usopp mentioned that the other party had found that special secret room on the second floor.
That meant... the garbage dump was directly below that area!
Thinking this, Brook continued, "Merry, let's search on the right."
"If I'm not mistaken, that garbage dump is directly beneath there."
Upon hearing this, Kin'emon's eyes immediately lit up.
"Mr. Corpse, is that true?!" Kin'emon exclaimed excitedly.
"If what Caesar said is correct, then it should be," Brook replied.
As for whether it actually was... they would know once they went there!
"Then... please, Miss Merry, take me there," Kin'emon said eagerly. "I am deeply grateful."
"Alright, I'll take you there right away."
With that, Merry waved her hand, manipulating the Power of Wind to carry the three of them toward the distant ruins of the research facility. They soon arrived at the place they had been before.
After looking around, Merry said somewhat uncertainly, "It should... be around here."
Although the general direction had been confirmed, since the area had turned into ruins, pinpointing the exact location was no easy task.
"It's roughly here," Brook nodded. "Let's go down and take a look."
"No, since we've confirmed the location, there's no need to go down now," Merry said.
"What do you mean?"
Kin'emon was taken aback. Why was there no need to go down now?
How could they rescue anyone without going down?
"Because there's too much debris down there," Merry explained. "So I need to move these things away first."
Without clearing the debris, going down would be pointless, so they had to take it step by step.
"I see. Then I leave it to you, Miss Merry."
"Leave it to me," Merry said with a smile.
After a brief pause, she continued, "However, while I'm moving the debris, it would be best if you used Observation Haki to sense any presence."
"That way, we can thoroughly confirm whether there's anyone inside the debris."
Although her Power of Wind could detect some things, there was no guarantee of avoiding oversight, so it was better to use Observation Haki simultaneously for perception.
This would also make it easier to search for the child named Momonosuke.
"I'll handle that," Kin'emon said seriously.
His Observation Haki was fairly reliable.
Zoro also nodded, indicating he would pay attention.
As for Brook, he felt somewhat awkward—he didn't seem to possess the ability to use Observation Haki...
But it didn't matter; he had a Devil Fruit Ability!!
Thinking this, Brook said, "I'll use my ability to take a look instead."
Once everyone's attention was on him, Brook explained, "I'll release my soul and go down to see if I can find Mr. Kin'emon's son."
"Then I leave it to you, Mr. Corpse!!"
"Leave it to me," Brook said cheerfully.
With that, he unhesitatingly activated his ability, releasing his soul.
Then, he plunged straight into the ground below.
Seeing that Brook had also begun to act, Merry started her own work.
She first attempted to lift a massive wreckage using the power of wind. After confirming it felt manageable, she moved the wreckage in front of Kin'emon and Zoro.
The two used Observation Haki to sense it, and upon finding nothing unusual, they both shook their heads, indicating there were no survivors inside.
Merry nodded, then turned and used the wind to hurl the enormous wreckage into a distant pile of rubble.
Since these remnants were no longer of any use, discarding them there posed no issue.
After completing this task, Merry turned her attention to the other wreckage.
To ensure no collapses occurred, she had to proceed with caution!
And so, Merry, Zoro, and Kin'emon worked like three diligent laborers, busying themselves across the area.
Meanwhile, Brook's soul swiftly darted through the ruins below, searching for any signs of life!!
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