Morgans carried on with his daily work as if nothing had happened.
Everything stayed normal until nightfall. Once he returned home, he seemed to have remembered something. Not long after stepping through the door, he rushed back out again.
* * *
In the basement of Morgans' house, monitors covered an entire wall. They watched every corner of the island, even the most hidden spots.
The one who had just walked out was only a double.
As one of the kings of the underworld, Morgans had more than enough ways to protect himself, especially someone like him who had offended many people.
He stared at the screens again and again, carefully checking every image to see if someone had slipped in.
The news bird carrying the listening device had already been sent out that afternoon.
"Who could it be... the World Government? The Marines? Or the Revo—"
Shing!
His head flew off.
As his sight spun and flipped, his pupils shrank.
"Wh—"
Crack.
Enel reached out and pinched his beak, answering the question for him.
"The answer is the Marines."
The pressure on his beak grew so strong it even made cracking sounds.
Law stepped out from behind Enel. His long blade swept across, and Morgans' body floated apart in clean pieces.
Law pointed at his chest.
"Scalpel."
Using his long-range ability, he pulled the heart out and shaped it into a cube. It thumped inside the floating block.
With a slight tug of his finger, the cube appeared in his hand. He squeezed it lightly.
Morgans struggled violently in pain, cold sweat continuously flowing from his head.
Enel held him up by the beak and smiled. "Pretty clever. Even using a double. Too bad tricks like that don't work on real fighters."
He let go and looked at him without concern.
Suspended in the air, Morgans forced himself to speak. "What do you want?"
Fear filled his voice. He didn't dare move rashly. Having his heart squeezed felt unbearable… he really might die here.
Enel chuckled softly. "What do we want? Everything you have, idiot."
A chill shot up Morgans' spine. "What do you mean..."
The smile faded from Enel's face. "Time to get down to business. Make him shut up."
Law nodded and flicked his wrist, making a large equipment case appear on the floor. He then aimed the sword in his hand at Morgans' head and cleaved down vertically, splitting the entire head directly in two.
The added anesthesia from his power knocked Morgans out instantly.
Law coated his hand with his Devil Fruit ability and reached in, pulling the brain out.
Enel opened the large case, took the brain, and placed it on the machine.
Mechanical arms latched onto the nerves and began to work.
They implanted a chip inside and altered his brain repeatedly. The current technology wasn't advanced enough to turn him into a full robot without being noticed, so they only installed a hidden chip. It would allow them to control him at key moments, listen when needed, and guide his thoughts in secret.
It wouldn't take over his daily actions.
Half an hour later, green light lit up on the machine's screen, showing the modification was successful.
The arms drew back in orderly motion. Enel took the altered brain and tossed it to Law.
"Done. Let's go."
Law gave a nod and moved his finger.
Broken body parts drifted through the air, fitting together piece by piece. A complete Morgans reformed and stood still with eyes closed.
Then he opened them, a little mechanical, and turned toward the screens.
Shing!
Law activated his power, and both he and Enel vanished.
A few seconds later, Morgans seemed to regain his senses. He looked at the monitors, checking them one by one, trying to see if any suspicious person had appeared.
"Who could it be... the World Government? The Marines? Or the Revolutionary Army..."
The words repeated, but in his mind it felt like his last thought.
Reset.
Perfectly natural.
* * *
On the ark in the sky.
Enel yawned. "Haa~ all done. We're heading for the New World. Keep an eye on the course."
Law twitched his lips. "I mean... what are we even doing? Aside from running all over the world doing dirty work, we don't seem to be training at all."
Enel gave him a strange look. "Not training? Last time at Kaido's place, who was scared and sweating like crazy?"
A vein bulged on Law's forehead. "That's because you didn't warn me beforehand, idiot! Who would think a marine officer would walk straight into an Emperor's base and start trouble!"
Enel just grinned. "That's how you grow. If I told you everything, what's the point? If you don't feel real danger, that real pressure when a death crisis approaches, what kind of training is that? And you faced two of Kaido's top officers and didn't take any real damage. Not bad."
Law's expression darkened. True, he wasn't hurt... but still... this bastard…
Enel saw his face, smiled, and closed his eyes.
"Alright, I'm going to sleep first. We'll reach the New World soon for a fight. One of the Emperors will be waiting. I'll give you one night. Try to guess who it is."
With that, his breathing calmed and he drifted into sleep.
Law raised a brow and tightened his grip on the controls. He steered the ark forward while thinking about which Emperor it might be.
Hmm... first, take Kaido off the list…
* * *
Grand Line, Alabasta.
Inside the secret base of the Sand Sand Gang, Princess Vivi pulled on an angry young man.
"Wait, Koza! It's not what you think!"
Koza shook off her hand and roared, "Not what I think?!"
* * *
Behind a large boulder in the distance, Cobra, who had followed Vivi in disguise, almost rushed out. His voice was low and burning with anger.
"This brat! How dare he!"
Igaram grabbed him quickly and said, "Please stay calm, Your Majesty! If you go out now, everything will be exposed!"
* * *
In the base.
Koza glared at Vivi. "Then tell me! Why has every city except the capital stopped raining! Alabasta doesn't get much rain, but only one thing can cause drought on this scale!"
He stormed to the side, grabbed a bag, and hurled it at her feet.
"Look at this! All of this was found in Alubarna! This is Dance Powder! Do I need to explain why the whole country is drying up?!
"And you used the excuse that rain is controlled by the gods, claiming humans can't interfere, just to fool the people! Is this fun to you?!
"The royal family's fake smiles... they're so...disgusting."
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