"Ptui, ptui. What are these scientists doing on this island? The waste water they dump out makes my whole body tingle."
"The fish are all dead."
"…"
Osgu Island.
Using the advantage that Roger had lived here for a while, the Rocks Pirates, together with Roger and Rayleigh, slipped in through an outflow pipe on the underside of the island.
"Haha, the old man was right. Haki really is way more important than Devil Fruits. If we relied on Devil Fruits, there is no way we could pull this off."
Devil Fruit users were all sinkers. Unless you had some very special fruit, most Devil Fruit users who wanted to reach this island would have no choice but to launch a frontal assault with raw power.
"But Captain Magnus is a Devil Fruit user himself."
Shiki chimed in with a crooked grin.
He was sure Rocks was taking a jab at him, since he could not dive. He had gotten here wrapped in a coated bubble so he could follow Rocks and the others underwater.
"Compared to Devil Fruits, the old man cares way more about training Haki. Shiki, if you want to reach our level, you cannot rely too much on your fruit."
Rocks ignored the comment and tossed that reminder out casually. Shiki had only come because he listened to the old man's message, so Rocks was not petty enough to pick a fight over it with a "junior."
The relationship between Rocks and Shiki was not that deep. Shiki had only joined the White Wolf Pirates after the battle at Sabaody, by which time Rocks had already gone to sea on his own.
Even so, the fact that Shiki had a history with the White Wolf Pirates, plus that he was here on Magnus's orders, meant that as long as he did not get on Rocks's nerves, he was just a very obedient underling in Rocks's eyes.
A pretty strong underling at that.
Over the last ten years, the White Wolf Pirates had seen two waves of fresh blood. The first were the rookies Magnus raised when he rose again, with Rocks as the leader. Those first generation rookies were now fully grown titans of the sea.
Rocks, Newgate, and Linlin.
All three could clash evenly with Admiral-level strongmen, and even defeat ordinary Admirals. On the Marines' list of dangerous individuals, they ranked just below the strongest monster of all, Magnus.
The second wave were the super rookies, led by Shiki.
Although Shiki did not have much time at sea yet.
His connection to the White Wolf Pirates, plus his campaign in the Land of Steel, and his recent victory over an old established New World crew, had already earned him a place among the threats.
Bounty: 230 million.
The Marine General Staff even predicted that if Shiki kept growing, he might one day pose an even bigger threat to the Marines and the World Government than Rocks or Newgate, who were already feared worldwide.
Because Shiki could fly.
And not just himself. He could make any nonliving matter float.
His strategic value was enormous.
This time, after getting Magnus's message, Shiki had flown straight from the New World to the South Blue on his own, taking less than three days.
He arrived just as Rocks and the others were preparing to infiltrate Osgu Island.
They had originally been racking their brains over how to evacuate the scientists from the island.
Now they did not have to.
As long as they could gather the scientists together, Shiki could simply tap the ground and send the entire island into the sky with his ability.
Of course, they would need to separate the scientists from the garrison first.
"Do not get careless. According to the intel Captain Magnus sent, the World Government has at least four top tier fighters assigned here. Add in the Marine officers, and we absolutely cannot fight them head on."
Baloric reminded them quietly.
He had an innate talent for Observation Haki. His range was not as absurd as Magnus's, but as his Haki grew, fewer and fewer people could hide their presence from him.
He had already sensed several top fighters on the island. Besides Kong and Jaygarcia Saturn, whom they had clashed with before, there were now two more top tiers.
Four top fighters. Even if Rocks took two by himself, and he and Shiki teamed up on a third, the last one could still carve a bloody path through the rest of their crew.
Never mind all the powerful Marine officers on top of that. The most noteworthy were the two Marine rising stars.
Sengoku and Garp.
Their strength still lagged behind his or Shiki's, but it would still take real effort to put either of them down.
And they were already short on manpower as it was.
"Relax."
Rocks bared his teeth in a grin. "Our goal this time is to rescue the scientists, right? If we are lucky, by the time we get them out, Newgate should be here too."
"As long as he and I fight together, who cares if there are four Admirals on the other side?"
"That kid is not weaker than I am."
Newgate had once been his little brother. Rocks had to admit that by now, Newgate had completely come into his own.
The two of them had not crossed blades yet, but Rocks felt that even if Newgate was a little weaker than him, the gap would not be much.
"I am just worried you will forget our original goal."
Baloric sighed.
"If you had not spent the whole time staring at that old man last time, we would have rescued them already instead of dragging things out."
"You talk too much."
Rocks scratched his ear, looking bored.
"Anyway, that straw hat idiot over there, you said you know people on this island, right? Get them to gather everyone as soon as possible."
"Who are you calling an idiot?"
"Whoever answered is the straw hat idiot."
When it looked like Rocks and Roger were about to go at it again, Baloric and Rayleigh grabbed their respective captains. The two first mates exchanged a look and both saw the same helplessness in the other's eyes.
Life was hard. First mates had it tough.
Stuck with captains like this, their job was not easy.
Thankfully, even with their friction, they were still in enemy territory and not stupid enough to actually fight here.
Soon after, Roger found the scientist in charge of the outflow chamber.
"Roger, did you not leave already?"
The elderly scientist in charge of waste management blanched when he saw him.
"You need to get out of here. An agent patrol will come to check the pipes soon. If you are still here, it will be too late."
He knew Roger was a pirate, but on Mechanism Island, the scientists had little prejudice against pirates.
You could probably thank the World Government's long-term protection for that.
Scientists tended to be a bit pure-minded.
"Too late, my ass. Uncle Arteston, I am here to rescue you…"
Roger did not get to finish before Rocks's booming voice cut over him. "Old man, it is my old man who wants to rescue you. White King Magnus, ever heard of him? He said you are providing energy for the World Government's war weapon. He hopes you will return to your homeland and stay out of his grudge with the World Government."
"What?"
Arteston's face changed.
"That is impossible."
He snapped, "We are creating clean energy for this world. Once we can create a clean energy as perfect as the sun, people will stop fighting over resources and the world will become peaceful."
"Tch."
Rocks snorted. "You call this clean energy? The waste water it produces is poisonous enough to wipe out every fish here."
He might not have much schooling, but after years with the White Wolf Pirates, he had picked up a lot from Magnus.
He did not really understand those words like wind power, ocean power, or solar power, but he grasped the basic idea.
Wind power was basically like sailing, right?
If you could harness the wind that pushed a sail, then you had clean energy with no pollution.
Ocean power and solar power were similar in principle.
Even a guy like Rocks knew that any power source that spewed toxic water and killed fish was not "clean."
"That is because we are only at the beginning…"
The scientist flushed bright red at being lectured by a wild-looking pirate.
"Once we complete our research, clean energy will definitely be realized."
He started rambling about how "waste water is not real waste, they just have not treated it properly," "after some time sitting still, the pollution will lessen," and "clean energy must exist somewhere."
Rocks understood none of it.
If Magnus had been there, he would have realized something.
The "clean energy" the old man talked about was most likely nuclear energy.
They were still in the early stages of research. Without a solid theoretical framework, they were stumbling forward blindly.
In the future, a scientist from Mechanism Island would develop a special energy source called the "Holy Mother Flame," which shone like a miniature sun.
That Holy Mother Flame might be a form of controlled nuclear fusion, while what they were working on now on Mechanism Island was probably nuclear fission.
The difference between the two was enormous.
But even if the technology was completely different, either one would be more than enough as an energy source.
If Magnus knew that the scientists of Mechanism Island were developing nuclear fission, even he would not be able to sit still.
The Heavenly King was only one weapon.
If the World Government mastered what the scientists here were building, they could create a different kind of doomsday weapon.
Nuclear bombs.
A normal nuclear bomb might not be a major threat to monsters like them, but only if they avoided the heart of the blast.
If they stood at ground zero, even Armament Haki could not completely shield them from the unbelievable heat and radiation.
The scientists of Mechanism Island had no idea they were opening a Pandora's box. In the right hands, nuclear energy could benefit the whole world.
In the wrong hands, it would become a tool to wipe out humanity.
Right now, no one understood that.
So Rocks did not bother arguing with them. He simply asked, "So, are you coming with me, or do you want to stay and finish your so-called clean energy?"
"We…"
Arteston hesitated. He and many others were willing to sacrifice themselves for clean energy, but that assumed the World Government was only funding their work, not keeping them imprisoned.
In truth, many scientists on Mechanism Island had already started to wonder if the World Government really wanted clean energy, or if what they wanted was a new type of weapon.
During their experiments, more and more of them had realized that if they could solve the pollution problem, this energy could indeed benefit the world.
But if someone wanted to turn that same technology into a weapon…
That might be as simple as flipping a switch.
"Tch. If the World Government really wanted you to make clean energy, why would they lock you up on this island? You could do that research anywhere."
Roger's words hit Arteston square in the heart.
If all they wanted was clean energy, why drag them all the way out here and keep them isolated?
Without the astronomers and marine specialists on the island, they would not even know what sea they were in.
Did you really need that level of secrecy for energy research?
Who in this world needed the World Government to be so wary?
In his heart, Arteston already knew the answer.
He stopped hesitating.
"I understand. I will contact the others, but I cannot promise I can convince everyone."
Plenty of scientists already doubted the World Government's motives, but many still believed in them.
Otherwise, when Magnus seized full control of the New World and most of its member nations defected to the White Wolf Pirates, Mechanism Island would not have held to its old stance so stubbornly.
"That is fine."
Rocks grinned, flashing a mouthful of white teeth.
"Just get them gathered in one place."
"Leave the rest to us."
Persuade scientists? What a joke. Rocks had never planned to talk anyone into anything. Why would a pirate break his brain over a problem like that?
Once Arteston had gathered everyone, Rocks could just knock them all out with Conqueror's Haki and let Shiki send them all into the sky.
His job was to "rescue" the scientists.
Whether those scientists thought they needed rescuing, and what Magnus would do with them afterward…
That was Magnus's problem.
To be blunt, Rocks had zero interest in the rescue itself. The real goal came after, when he would get to fight the strongest defenders.
He had failed the first time, which had been an embarrassment.
So this time, Rocks was serious.
"Just some Marines. This time, I will show them what I am really capable of."
(End of Chapter)
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