Gal lay sprawled on the sand, face pressed against the cool grains, muttering the word "trouble" in his mind eight hundred times.
He could feel all the strength in his body being sucked away like a sponge; even lifting a finger felt exhausting. Yet at the thought of the sketch in Doflamingo's study labeled "Ancient Energy Source," and the familiar patterns on the pottery shard, he grit his teeth and fumbled for his communicator.
This device, specially made for the black market and impervious to seawater, was now his only lifeline.
"Hello… this is Gal…"
His voice was broken and choppy, like a scratched radio; each word took effort to squeeze out.
"Warmwave Island… target located… but there's a devil fruit user… send backup… with thrusters… must resist… resist abilities!"
An impatient voice came through: "Got it, got it! Why the rush? The backup team's already on their way, wait ten more minutes!"
Gal exhaled in relief. Just as he was about to pocket the communicator, a lazy voice floated from above.
"Too noisy. Even lying down, you're restless."
He struggled to lift his head and saw Renzo squatting beside him, nibbling on half a red bean cake he had "borrowed" from Potts, eyes on the communicator like it was a troublesome stone.
"You… don't touch that!"
Gal panicked, reaching out to grab it, but his hand slammed heavily into the sand, making him grimace in pain.
Renzo chewed the cake and mumbled, "So what if I touch it? Make it too lazy to work and you won't need to call for backup, much easier."
Then, he actually reached out and lightly tapped the communicator.
The screen, which had been lit, clicked off, completely unresponsive to Gal's frantic pressing.
Gal nearly fainted. "You! You destroyed my communicator! Lord Doflamingo won't forgive you!"
"Oh." Renzo seemed entirely unbothered, tossing the cake wrapper to Potts.
"Keep it safe; don't let the wind blow it away."
Potts caught it quickly, still clutching the pottery shard. The patterns on the shard glowed even more vividly now, like fireflies trapped inside. He exchanged a look with Sanji, and both silently acknowledged, this thing isn't simple.
Sanji, crouched nearby cleaning the overturned stove, groaned over the spilled sauce and broken eggshells: "These bastards! My hot spring moss sauce! And the hot spring eggs I saved for dessert!"
Anger rising, he stood to confront Gal, but before he could take more than two steps, a louder engine roar echoed from the bay, this time stronger, like a swarm of locusts riding flaming wheels.
"They're here! The backup team's arrived!"
Gal's eyes lit up, finding some strength to push himself up, pointing toward the shore:
"You're dead! If your thrusters can resist his ability, we'll capture you all and hand you over to Lord Doflamingo for experiments!"
They looked toward the sea. Three larger speedboats surged forward. The passengers wore silver-white armor, each equipped with rocket-like thrusters on their backs, and the "Donquixote" insignia marked their arms.
As they leapt ashore, the thrusters shot blue flames, unaffected by Renzo's "laziness" domain, standing firmly on the sand and moving quickly.
"Those are 'Ability-Resistant Thrusters'! The latest black market tech, mechanically countering ability effects!"
Pale-faced, Potts tugged at Sanji's sleeve: "Sanji, let's run! There are too many of them!"
Sanji gritted his teeth, hand on his chef's knife: "Run? My ingredients are still here! And the hot spring, we can't let them take it!"
Renzo frowned, sensing that the thrusters emitted mechanical energy that slowed his laziness domain. Not immunity, but the effect was delayed; enemies who would normally collapse in three seconds now took ten, and could still barely move.
"Annoying," Renzo muttered, rising for the second time today, already feeling stiff. "Potts, you and Sanji hide further back. Don't get caught."
Sanji opened his mouth to argue, but Renzo pushed him toward the deeper part of the valley: "Don't get in the way. If you get caught, who makes dinner?"
Sanji's weak spot hit, he hesitated, then dragged Potts along into the valley.
They ran until they spotted a hidden cave, the entrance masked by vines, nearly invisible.
"Let's hide in there!"
They slipped inside. Once steady, they froze in awe.
The cave walls were covered in patterns identical to those on the pottery shard. When touched by the hot spring steam drifting inside, the patterns emitted a faint green glow, like luminous vines stretching into the cave's depths.
Potts held the shard, realizing its patterns matched those on the wall. Pressing it against the wall, the lights merged, illuminating a metallic device deep within.
The device resembled a giant shell, etched with intricate designs, a slit revealing a faint green glow inside.
"What… what is this? An ancient machine?"
Potts staggered back, nearly hitting Sanji.
Sanji approached, examining it closely: "Looks like some kind of energy container… These patterns resemble the energy fluctuations around Renzo when he activates his ability, just more complex, even harder to understand than his sleeping face."
Suddenly, a loud "boom" sounded outside, followed by Gal shouting:
"Quick! They must be in there! Smash that machine too! Lord Doflamingo wants it!"
Sanji and Potts' faces fell. Gal had followed them!
Sure enough, the next moment, the vines were ripped away as Gal and five thruster-equipped backup members stormed in, the thruster flames turning the cave red.
"Got you!"
Gal sneered, swinging his iron hook at Sanji: "Hand over the shard and the ancient machine, or die!"
Sanji dodged, drawing his chef's knife to block the hook. A sharp clang rang out; his arm tingled. Gal's Armament Haki is stronger than expected.
"Potts! Hide behind the device!" Sanji shouted.
Potts dashed behind the metallic device, clutching the shard, trembling as he watched the fight, heart racing like ants on a hot pan: "Commodore! Commodore, hurry!"
Outside, Renzo was tangled with several backup members.
Though slowed by the thrusters, their persistence made them dangerous; swinging swords forced Renzo to dodge, preventing him from helping Sanji immediately.
"Annoying."
Renzo frowned, finally showing a bit of seriousness. He pointed at a thruster: "Don't move. Fixing it is troublesome."
Immediately, the thruster hissed, the flame went out, and with a click the gears jammed. The member collapsed like a cut kite.
With the first one down, the rest fell easily. Renzo touched the others; their thrusters either stalled or sparked, and soon all were lying helpless.
Renzo strolled into the cave. At the entrance, Gal's hook nearly touched Sanji's shoulder, Sanji was cornered by the metallic device.
"Enough."
Renzo's calm voice froze Gal's motion.
Gal looked back, saw Renzo entering, panic rising. "Don't come closer! I have the ancient machine! I'll destroy it if you do!"
He raised his hook to smash the device.
Renzo squinted, saying only: "Too lazy to move."
The hook instantly became impossibly heavy; no matter how Gal swung, it slammed into the nearby rock.
Clang! The hook wedged into the rock, immovable.
Gal stared at his hand, then Renzo, terror in his eyes: "You… what kind of monster are you?"
Renzo ignored him, moving beside Sanji, glancing at the metallic device and the shard in Potts' hands, frowning: "This thing is noisy. Can we make it too lazy to glow?"
Before Sanji could explain, a green flash flickered from the device's slit. The cave trembled slightly, the shard's patterns flickering in response.
Potts' voice trembled: "Commodore… they don't want the ingredients, they want the machine! Gal said… Doflamingo wants to experiment on it!"
Renzo nodded calmly, looking at Gal stuck in the rock: "So that's what you came to steal?"
Gal turned pale, speechless. He now understood he was no match for this lazy one; surviving, let alone stealing the device, was uncertain.
Renzo ignored him, touching the metallic device lightly.
It felt cold, like a stone in the hot spring. He muttered: "Troublesome thing… better let it keep sleeping."
He said aloud, "Too lazy to wake up. Keep sleeping."
Miraculously, the green light in the slit dimmed, the cave stopped trembling, and the shard's patterns returned to their previous glow.
Sanji and Potts stared in disbelief. Potts whispered: "Commodore… you can communicate with ancient machines?"
Renzo yawned, turning toward the exit: "Not communicating, just telling it not to misbehave. Come on out. I'm hungry. Sanji, make dinner. After all that action today, you need a proper meal."
Sanji froze, then laughed and cried: "Three fingers of work is too much? You're way too lazy!"
Still, he followed Renzo outside. Passing Gal stuck in the rock, he kicked the hook: "Don't think about causing trouble again, or next time it won't just be a stuck hook!"
No one knew that inside the ancient machine Renzo "put to sleep," a faint green light pulsed slowly, waiting for the moment it would be truly awakened.