"So then, will the victor be Doflamingo? Or will it be Law?"
Dr. Vegapunk sat on a sidewalk in the bustling shopping district. At that moment, Weevil stood blocking Marco and the others, preparing to test his skills. Because Weevil refused to acknowledge any "sons of Whitebeard" other than himself, he wasn't about to let the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates leave so easily, even if he couldn't completely wipe them out.
As for Vegapunk and his Science Unit, they remained temporarily neutral. The Donquixote Alliance and the Immortal Pirates maintained a cooperative relationship; Law was technically a subordinate, so there was no point in Vegapunk getting unnecessarily entangled.
Pere pere pere...
The small, watch-like Den Den Mushi on Aranea's left wrist rang. She picked up to hear Dr. Indigo's voice.
"Moshi moshi. Report: Intelligence regarding the Big Mom Pirates..."
"The Big Mom Pirates..."
Dr. Vegapunk paused for a moment before looking sideways. "Speak."
While battles erupted across Gran Tesoro, another confrontation was unfolding roughly five nautical miles away from the entertainment city.
Mad Treasure, one of the leaders of the Donquixote Alliance and a current Warlord of the Sea, was engaged in combat with the Straw Hat crew and the father-son duo from Wano.
As for the Heart Pirates, the moment they received Law's signal to begin the operation, they had submerged and infiltrated Gran Tesoro directly. Upon arrival, they sent a notification to the Straw Hat crew.
In other words, the alliance was effectively over.
From the start, Law's goal was to use the Straw Hat crew as pawns in his vendetta against Doflamingo. All that talk about Poneglyph rubbings and intelligence trades was nothing but nonsense.
Currently, Sanji, Nami, and Carina were being escorted back to the Thousand Sunny by members of the Whitebeard Pirates. Aside from Luffy, Zoro, and Franky, the rest of the Straw Hat crew was concentrated on the ship.
BOOM!!
Following a massive explosion, Sanji dodged a chain-wrapped fist from Treasure. His curly eyebrow twitched. "This guy... is he a power user who can produce chains?"
"Jarararara!!"
Treasure grinned, his voice dripping with irony. "You've caused quite a stir, you lot. Well done. But it seems you've been played for fools by that brat Trafalgar Law."
Scanning the surroundings, the Donquixote Alliance members were locked in a fierce struggle with the Straw Hats. Among them, Monet the Snow Woman and Caesar Clown had been released, but Law had hidden their hearts somewhere unknown. Consequently, the two were fighting with their hands tied, unable to go all out.
"What do you mean?" Sanji asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Still don't get it? You're just tools he's using to deal with us. Because of his blood feud with Joker, and because no one within the Immortal Pirates would support his personal vendetta, he had no choice but to recruit outsiders."
New chains burst from Treasure's skin. He swung them with expert precision, making the iron links dance through the air like living animals. "Well, the best proof is this: the moment the fighting truly started, the rest of the Heart Pirates abandoned you. That brat anticipated I would come for an attack, so he ordered his people to evacuate."
As Treasure lashed out with his chains, Sanji felt a jolt of alarm. If that were true, then the situation for Luffy, Zoro, and Franky back at Gran Tesoro, as well as Chopper, who was with Law, was dire.
They had to go support them, but... a Warlord of the Sea was no pushover.
"Dammit! That bastard Trafalgar Law! My heart... where on earth is my heart?!"
Caesar rushed out of the infirmary, shouting in a tearful frenzy. "I can't find it anywhere!!"
"He's probably carrying it on him," Monet remarked dryly.
"Curse him!" Caesar fumed. "I'm going to find that brat!"
The empty sensation in his chest left him in a state of constant anxiety.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Monet said, dodging an attack from Nami and leaping up to the Sunny's second deck beside Caesar. "Gran Tesoro is in total chaos. We can't go back yet. At the very least, we wait until the results of the duel between the Young Master and Law are clear. But the Young Master will never lose."
Monet emphasized her final words with absolute certainty.
"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Nami pointed her Clima-Tact at Monet. "Luffy won't lose either!"
"Oh ho ho, such an ignorant little girl." Monet covered her mouth and laughed, suddenly transforming into her five-meter-tall Snow Woman form, her fangs baring. "Maybe I should eat you first!"
Whoosh...
"Ship, ship, ship~"
A bizarre singing voice drifted over, accompanied by the sound of a ship cutting through the waves. Both sides of the battle turned to see a gargantuan cake-shaped vessel sailing toward them.
"That's... Big Mom's Singing Ship," Treasure exclaimed in shock.
"Another Yonko!!" Usopp felt like he was on the verge of a breakdown when he saw the flag flying from the top of the singing ship.
Aboard the vessel, the mobster Capone "Gang" Bege looked down through a telescope. "Vinsmoke Sanji and Caesar Clown spotted. Begin the capture immediately."
"Yes, Father!" shouted the ranks of black-suited mafiosi behind him.
"This is quite a big deal."
Just as Bege and his men were about to act, a cold voice drifted down. Sitting atop the sail of the cake ship was a man. He had short, spiky black hair and was covered in countless black skull tattoos. His clothing was adorned with spikes, giving off an aura of extreme gloom.
"Troublesome fellow..." Bege's face darkened as he glanced at the man. "Charlotte Katakuri, the second son of the Charlotte Family. A monster who has refined his Observation Haki to the point where he can briefly see the future."
Katakuri leaped down from the mast, casually tossing a jellybean into his mouth. "This is a major matter. Mama didn't feel comfortable leaving it to you."
Though resentful, Bege could only swallow his anger. "Fine. Then you handle it."
…
Back at the banquet table, the Den Den Mushi beside Alucard repeated Dr. Vegapunk's words: "It seems Judge is planning to join forces with Big Mom. An unstable element, that one."
"Charlotte Linlin... she's bred even more than I imagined," Alucard sneered, his tone dripping with utter contempt for Big Mom.