The nano-robot, a speck of advanced technology Alex had deployed with practiced subtlety, clung to a shadowed ventilation grate overlooking Kael's brutalist control room. Audio and video streamed directly to Alex's crimson smartphone, painting a vivid, damning picture.
Kael, a scarred behemoth radiating pure, unrestrained violence, was pacing like a caged beast before a large, central viewscreen. On it, Portia's image smirked – a vision of dark leather, predatory grace, and eyes that promised exquisite pain.
"Still playing with your little flesh puppets in Mock Town, Kael, you disgusting pig?" Portia's voice, a silken caress laced with pure venom, dripped from the screen's speakers. "Lord Shiki doesn't pay you to dip your filthy prick into unauthorized side ventures that stink up his entire network! One more disease-ridden whore you 'export' squeals to the wrong ears, and it's my pretty neck on the line for your pig-headed stupidity!"
Kael roared, slamming a gauntleted fist onto a steel console, making sparks fly. "Watch your damn mouth, you slit-eyed bitch! Those 'whores' and 'runts' bring in more untraceable Beri than your prissy Gate fees! And I fill Shiki's quotas for the 'Grand Design' every damn cycle! This shithole island bleeds for him! Don't you forget who wields the fucking axe around here, girl!"
Portia's smirk widened into something truly cruel. "Oh, I haven't forgotten your… enthusiasm for swinging that oversized toothpick, darling. Quite the artist with entrails, I hear. But enthusiasm doesn't excuse rank incompetence. And now this… this Goa Kingdom wet dream you've been slobbering over? You seriously think Lord Shiki will sanction diverting his prime insect assets and my Gate for some backwater king-making fantasy hatched by those sniveling 'Crimson Reaver' cowards who came crawling back from the Grand Line with their tails between their legs?"
Kael's face, already a roadmap of brutality, contorted further. "It's a goddamn goldmine, you blind cunt! The Reavers know the layout, the defenses are shit! We install a puppet, bleed the kingdom dry! Resources, slaves, a strategic port right under the World Government's fucking nose! It's my initiative! My score!"
"Goa Kingdom…" Alex's mind processed the name with lightning speed. Luffy's homeland. A World Government affiliate. Vulnerable. The potential resources, the strategic value… a kingdom ripe for the taking. His system immediately began running projections, a cold, ambitious light flickering in his eyes, unseen by his tense crewmates hiding in the service tunnels.
Portia's laughter was a brittle, chilling sound. "It's your funeral, Kael, if you dare touch official assets without direct sanction. Shiki will have you strung up by your own guts and fed to your pet freaks. If you want to play kingmaker with those Reaver jackals, use your own pigsty's refuse. Don't you dare compromise Consignment Primus or the integrity of my Gate for this piss-ant scheme of yours."
The nano-robot's camera then panned, catching a glimpse of a reinforced cell door just off the main control room. Inside, slumped against the wall, was Agent Viper. He was alive, barely. Bruised, bloodied, his Guild-issue gear torn. Portia's shadow fell over him for a moment on the feed. She means to silence him permanently, Alex concluded.
Simultaneously, the diversionary tactics Alex had set in motion through Nami, Usopp, and Sanji erupted. Deep within the insect holding pens, a series of precisely timed chemical reactions, triggered by Usopp's pellets, created a cascade of noxious, disorienting fumes. Containment fields flickered and failed. The less lethal, but highly aggressive and swarming, "Razor-Wing Locusts" – a species Alex's system had identified as being particularly susceptible to the fumes – poured out of their enclosures, a chittering, biting tide of chaos sweeping through the lower levels.
Alarms shrieked across Isle Chimera.
"What in the seven hells is that?!" Kael bellowed, his attention ripped from Portia. Reports of pandemonium in the locust pens flooded his comms.
Portia's eyes narrowed on her screen. "Your rabble can't even manage basic containment, Kael? Perhaps Lord Shiki overestimates your… capabilities."
"Shut your hole, witch!" Kael roared, then barked into his own comms, "All units, Sector Gamma is compromised! Swarming locusts! Seal it off! Send in the Crusher Beetles to clear them out! And find out who the fuck is responsible! I want heads on pikes!"
Meanwhile - The Gate Chamber
Smoker and Tashigi, having navigated the labyrinthine tunnels with grim determination, found themselves in a vast, subterranean cavern. The air hummed with immense, barely contained power. In the center, bathed in an eerie, pulsing blue light, stood the Gate – a colossal, 20-meter ring of interlocking, alien metal, its surface etched with glowing glyphs that defied comprehension. Portia's personal technicians, clad in sterile, dark uniforms, moved around its base, making adjustments to a complex control console.
"Consignment Primus arrival window is in T-minus twelve hours, Overseer Portia," one technician reported, his voice tight with stress. "Local transit logs from Kael's… unsanctioned activities are proving difficult to fully purge without triggering system-wide integrity alerts."
Portia, who had just arrived in the chamber, her expression thunderous after her exchange with Kael, stalked towards the console. "Then trigger the damn alerts and deal with them! Lord Shiki wants a clean slate before Primus makes transit. No trace of Kael's filth. Is the Master Key interfaced for diagnostic?"
"Y-yes, Overseer. Kael released it, reluctantly."
Smoker watched from the shadows of a massive support pillar, his eyes wide. This Gate… it was technology beyond anything he'd imagined, even for the Grand Line. This changed everything. "Tashigi," he whispered, "if Shiki can move forces like this… the world is in even more danger than we thought. We need to disable this thing. Now."
The Solaris - Offshore
Kael's island-wide alert had sent his patrol boats swarming. Three heavily armed, iron-prowed vessels, bristling with cannons, were converging on the Solaris's hidden anchorage.
"They found us!" Nami yelled from the crow's nest, where she was using her enhanced telescope.
Luffy grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Finally! Some action! Shishishi!" Zoro was already by the railing, his hand on his swords, a predatory gleam in his one good eye.
"Hold the ship at all costs!" Alex's voice came through Luffy's earpiece – a direct, secure link from his smartphone. "Do not let them board! Do not let them get a clear shot at the engine! This is not a drill!"
The first cannonball screamed past their bow, exploding against the cliff face.
Isle Chimera - High-Security Cell Block, near Kael's Control Room
The diversion was working. Most of the elite guards around Kael's control tower had been pulled towards the chaos in the locust pens or to reinforce the Gate chamber on Kael's panicked orders.
"Now," Alex breathed to his team, who had regrouped near Viper's suspected cell block. "Usopp, your EMP charge – target that junction box. It should disable local surveillance and magnetic locks for precisely sixty seconds. Sanji, you're on door breach and immediate threat neutralization. Nami, be ready to guide Viper out through the chaos. I will secure any intel from Viper's cell."
Usopp, sweating bullets but his aim surprisingly steady, launched the small EMP device with his slingshot. It struck the junction box with a satisfying crackle of blue energy. Lights flickered and died in their corridor. Magnetic locks on several cell doors, including one marked with a barely visible 'V', clicked open.
Sanji kicked open Viper's cell door. Inside, Portia stood over the battered agent, a cruel, silver scalpel in her hand, a look of sadistic anticipation on her face. Two of her personal, black-clad guards flanked her.
"Well, well," Portia purred, her eyes flicking from the disheveled Viper to Sanji, a slow, appreciative smirk spreading across her lips as she took in his appearance. "Unexpected company. And such a handsome specimen. Kael really does have the most interesting vermin scurrying through his little hellhole. Perhaps after I'm done with this one, you'd care to… entertain me?" Her gaze lingered on Sanji in a way that made his skin crawl despite her beauty.
Before Sanji could react, Alex was there, emerging from the shadows behind him. "Apologies for interrupting your… recreation, Overseer Portia. But Agent Viper is an asset of the Straw Hat Guild. And we have a prior claim."
In the Gate Chamber, the EMP's ripple effect caused secondary systems to flicker. Smoker saw his chance. "Tashigi! That main power conduit! If we can sever it—"
Just then, Kael himself, his massive axe dripping with fresh insect blood, stormed into the Gate Chamber, his eyes burning with manic rage. "PORTIA! What is the meaning of this sabotage?! My island is crawling with locusts, and your pretty toy is blinking like a whorehouse on payday! Are you behind this, you scheming bitch?!"
The air crackled. Kael's forces, Portia's guards, Alex's team facing Portia over Viper, and Smoker's team about to make a move on the Gate – all were converging, a powder keg with a dozen lit fuses.