Chapter 240: The Visitors Who Arrive One After Another
In the wilderness, Louis, who was sitting on the ground eating a roasted fish, suddenly stopped, slowly turned his head, and looked far away to the other side of the shore. His gaze seemed to pierce through the dense forest and the extreme distance, landing on an area that was still not covered by vegetation.
"What is that?"
In Louis's Observation Haki, a life signature resembling a sea beast had quietly reached the coast of Terra and had dropped off something that looked like a person. Neither of these two things had any Haki to speak of. In this world, every person had the latent power of Haki in their bodies; even beasts possessed this talent. And now, at the edge of Terra, Louis had discovered something completely devoid of Haki.
Not only that, but the life signatures of the two were also quite strange. They had a faint life-like fluctuation, but also the cold feedback unique to steel.
Uta, seeing his expression, gradually realized something was wrong. She looked in the direction of his gaze and asked with some confusion, "Did something happen over there? Or did someone appear?"
"I sensed two strange things. They're not strong, but they're quite bizarre."
Because Louis had never encountered such an existence before, he did not rush to kill them with Thor, but instead intended to see what they were.
Uta heard him and fell into a brief silence.
Louis, on the other hand, took the Den Den Mushi from the dog lying beside him and, following his memory, dialed Dong Yi. Soon, the call was connected, and a series of noisy dog barks and Dong Yi's slightly aged voice came through.
"Lord Louis, is there something you need?" Dong Yi's respectful voice carried a hint of reservation, sounding a little uneasy.
"On the outskirts of the Tontatta settlement, two strange fellows have arrived. Go and find them," Louis said, his gaze on the distance, his brow slightly furrowed, his tone stern.
Dong Yi heard him and replied respectfully, "Yes, Lord Louis—"
Then, Louis hung up and turned to look at Uta, who was packing things up. "Let's go. Back to the Adam tree."
"Okay!" Uta seemed to have already anticipated this and had packed up early. When Louis proposed to return, she was ready in no time.
"Let's go!" Uta stuffed everything into the backpacks on the giant dog's sides and then cast a "done" look at Louis.
Seeing this, Louis summoned a small piece of Island Cloud from the sky. Uta and the giant dog boarded it. The next moment, the small cloud gradually rose into the air, flying straight toward the giant trunk of the Treasure Tree Adam.
As the call was cut off, the village on the branch of the Adam tree instantly became agitated. One after another, terrifyingly long howls were heard, and the originally simple and honest giant dogs instantly became incomparably fierce.
The Buccaneer warriors poured out of their settlement. They boarded their Mist Ships and, carrying over a hundred giant dogs, headed for the land of Terra, in the direction of the former island of Green Bit.
On the giant-sized Mist Ship, Dong Yi, shouldering a heavy battle halberd, had a face as black as the bottom of a pot. "How dare they sneak onto the land of Terra?"
At the edge of Green Bit, amidst an endless expanse of reefs.
A man in a long black robe, with a helmet inscribed with the number "01" on his head, stood on the ground. He quietly gazed at the ruins before him, which were covered with the marks of sea erosion and retained only faint traces of history, and subconsciously marveled. "Just as the rumors said, this seabed, lifted by the Archangel, possesses a countless wealth!"
Long ago, when the original residents of Dressrosa had set foot on this land, they had already discovered these ancient underwater civilization ruins, and the news had gradually spread to the outside world. This discovery had attracted the attention of many scholars. But due to the fact that the current master of this land was a vicious pirate, the vast majority of them had not come to explore. Only a few scholars with decent strength had come to this land, photographed everything, and brought it to the outside world, confirming the rumor.
Terra possessed a countless wealth that scholars, especially archaeologists, were eager to get their hands on. Although those people had disappeared not long after publishing their papers, and their data and papers had also been destroyed, this still attracted the attention of the current world's number one scientist, Vegapunk.
After waiting bitterly for two years, Vegapunk had finally found an opportunity to have his satellite sneak over from Punk Hazard. And the discoveries after arriving here had not disappointed him.
Vegapunk's "Good" satellite, Shaka, knelt down, stroked the undersea ruins before him, and let out a heartfelt sigh. "These are the ruins of the ancient Dressrosa—" Shaka recalled the information he had seen in Ohara and the information his main body had secretly excavated, and his heart was certain of how the ancient civilization had perished.
"Our guess was correct—"
What Shaka didn't notice was that, in the gaps between the distant reefs, small dark shadows were hiding. In the crisscrossing gaps of the coral reefs, a series of tiny conversations were heard.
"What is this guy doing here?"
"He doesn't look like a good person!"
"Should we tell the Angel?"
"We'd better tell him!"
Shaka, carrying a backpack, shuttled back and forth among the reefs, finding one ruin after another and recording everything.
As time passed, he glanced at the land under his feet, which was far higher than the sea level. Then, he looked up at the giant Treasure Tree Adam, and a special idea came to his mind.
"Land far above sea level, a Treasure Tree Adam thousands of meters high, and an Island Cloud that floats freely in the sky... to many people, this scene would probably just make them marvel at how dreamlike this land is. But to Vegapunk, who has been secretly studying history, everything the Archangel has done is to defend against some future crisis."
"No matter how you look at it, that Archangel is preparing for a great flood that will come at some unknown time!"
"Did they also excavate some information? Or did those ancient and powerful races already leave behind a prophecy for their descendants?"
Just as Shaka was thinking, a giant Mist Ship descended from the horizon. Hundreds of giant dogs instantly spread out in an encirclement formation, using their sensitive sense of smell to search for anything unusual, and began to track him.
At the same time, Louis, who was far away on the Treasure Tree Adam, also received a call from the Tontatta tribe and learned of the intruder's identity.
"A strange black robe, a helmet with '01' on it? I understand. Thank you for your hard work." Louis's eyes flashed with understanding. "I've already sent the Buccaneers over," he told the Tontatta. "You just need to guide the giant dogs over!"
The Tontatta tribe, or the "little people" as they were called, had always lived on the island of Green Bit, next to Dressrosa. Since occupying Dressrosa, Louis had only tried to search for them once. And just as he was busy lifting the continent and had forgotten about them, they had appeared on their own after Uta's concert. Afterward, they had made contact with Louis, and after a long period of thought, they had chosen to "ally" with him.
And this time, through the Tontatta's relay, Louis already knew that this intruder was Vegapunk's "Good" satellite.
Then, Louis hung up the phone and, in turn, dialed Judge, who was conducting experiments in the former King's Plateau area.
Click. The call was quickly connected.
"Hello? I'm in the middle of an experiment. Is there something important you need to talk to me about, Lord Louis?" Louis could tell that Judge was quite dissatisfied at being interrupted, his words filled with resentment.
On the other side, Judge took the Den Den Mushi from a clone soldier with a grim face. Just as he thought Louis was calling to ask about his progress and was preparing his report, the Den Den Mushi mimicked Louis and said something that astonished him.
"A satellite of Vegapunk has come to Terra. I've already sent people to 'invite' him back. I hear he's an old acquaintance of yours. Are you interested in coming to see him?"
"..."
"I'll be right there!" Judge did not hesitate and gave his answer. With that, he hung up and, still wearing his lab coat, left the laboratory, leaving behind a group of bewildered scientists.
At the same time, far away in the ruins, Shaka slowly finished another recording and was about to get up and head for another ruin. However, just as he turned around, he came face to face with a giant dog that had snuck up on him at some unknown point. The next moment, before he could react, he had already been knocked to the ground. A pillar-like paw landed on his body, instantly immobilizing him.
Seeing this, Shaka, while calling for his sea beast through his helmet, said to himself, "Was I too engrossed in my research and was discovered at some point? This is a bit tricky!"
The next moment, a giant mechanical sea beast broke through the surface of the sea and charged straight for him.
The group of giant dogs ignored this scene, quietly sealing off all of Shaka's escape routes. Just as the mechanical sea beast was approaching, a tall figure leaped high, and with a heavy spear wreathed in Armament Haki in both hands, he chopped down at the sea beast.
RIIIP!
With a teeth-grating sound, the giant sea beast was instantly split in two. Flesh, blood, and mechanical parts scattered everywhere.
"What?!" Shaka felt that this was not good. He gradually realized the identity of the person who had come. Just then, a series of footsteps drew near. Shaka looked at the one after another small giants, each with surging muscles and an average height of 7 meters, and the answer was confirmed in his mind.
"A huge build, terrifying strength, and considerable speed... just as the World Government speculated. These people... their features match those of the legendary Buccaneer race."
Just then, Shaka was released by the giant dog. Immediately after, a giant fist was reflected in his helmet.
Shaka sat on a blood-stained chair, tested the iron chains that bound his body, and confirmed that he had no chance of escaping. Just as he was thinking about whether to self-destruct, the rusty gate was slowly pushed open. A tall, winged figure walked in, carrying a toolbox.
This scene made Shaka, who had been planning to self-destruct, become interested, and he silently postponed the process. Due to a certain special technology, he wanted to learn more about the real Lunarian race. Given the World Government's level of apprehension toward the Archangel and Kaido of the Beasts, Shaka believed that this might be his only chance. Then, he silently watched the tall woman in front of him, dressed as a priest and wearing a hood, silently collecting information about the Lunarian race.
Under his gaze, Asmodai casually opened the toolbox, took out a long, thick needle, and walked toward him step by step.
Seeing the approaching Asmodai, Shaka couldn't help but speak. "Are you going to interrogate me? You're going straight to torture without even asking anything?"
To this, a dead-serious expression appeared on Asmodai's grim face. "It doesn't matter. You'll confess everything later anyway." Then, the rusty and blood-stained steel needle pierced through his clothes and plunged directly into his body. Asmodai, following her past experience, pierced Shaka's lung.
However, the feedback from the steel needle made her raise an eyebrow, and she directly gave up all her subsequent actions.
"You bastard... so you're a machine?"
Asmodai looked at Shaka, whose wound was crackling with electricity, and felt a headache coming on. Her methods were of no use against these guys who had barely any flesh on them!
After thinking for a moment, she walked out of the interrogation room, leaving Shaka there.
In a room not far away, Louis and Judge sat on a sofa, quietly watching the scene projected by the Den Den Mushi.
Soon, Asmodai returned, leading a ten-year-old girl straight to Shaka's side.
Shaka looked at the third eye on the little girl's forehead and subconsciously spoke. "The Three-Eye Tribe? This is truly rare! Even I thought you were all extinct! I never thought the Archangel would have a member of the Three-Eye Tribe under his command."
Asmodai ignored Shaka's words and instead signaled the little girl to make a move. And the little girl with brown hair in twin tails saw this and, without hesitation, extended a hand, plunged it into Shaka's head, and instantly silenced him. Then, she pulled a long, film-like memory from Shaka's mind and placed it in front of Asmodai.
Seeing this, the corners of Asmodai's mouth turned up slightly. She then put away the grim expression on her face and stroked the little girl's head. "Make a copy and give it to that lord."
"Okay!" The little brown-haired girl nodded and, after tearing off an identical layer from Shaka's memory film, skipped out.
Then, Asmodai turned and drew her weapon, preparing to make a move.
Just then, Shaka, who had just recovered from the feeling of his memories being stripped, spoke. "Wait! I have a question! This is the first time we've met, right? I want to know why you're going to kill me."
"Probably because of the inhumane experiments you performed on Alber!" Asmodai replied casually, preparing to swing her blade.
On the other side, Judge watched this scene and raised an eyebrow. He then looked at Louis, who had taken a section of the film from the little girl and was looking through it, and a look of confusion appeared on his face. "If you were going to kill him, what was the point of calling me over?"
To this, Louis handed one end of the memory film he had roughly glanced at to Judge. "For you to see if there's anything worth learning from his memories."
Just then, the Shaka in the projection suddenly retorted, "King the Conflagration? But when he was rescued by Kaido of the Beasts, I hadn't even joined the World Government yet!"
At the same time, a merchant ship slowly docked at the port of Terra. A particularly tall figure, holding a barrel covered in black cloth, set foot on this land.
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