Raleigh took a deep drag from his cigar and slowly exhaled the smoke.
"Doctor," Raleigh said, his voice calm but piercing. "From what I understand, the Lineage Factor you and Judge are researching... it is considered the blueprint of life itself, isn't it?"
Vegapunk sat opposite him, holding a cup of hot tea. He nodded silently.
"Tell me," Raleigh continued, leaning forward through the smoke. "Do you think the World Government would ever truly permit you to study such terrifying, forbidden knowledge?"
Vegapunk's hand trembled slightly as he held his teacup.
"For the World Government," Raleigh explained, his eyes sharp, "technology isn't about being as advanced as possible. It isn't about progress. What they need is stable governance. They want control. They do not want scientists blindly pushing boundaries that could threaten their rule or the balance of the world."
Vegapunk nodded again, a look of resignation on his face. He knew this all too well.
In fact, it was precisely because of this fear—the fear of being captured and silenced by the World Government—that the MADS organization existed in the shadows.
They had wasted months raising funds, selling weapons to wars, and developing the technology to cross the Calm Belt.
They had hidden on this isolated island, surrounded by sea monsters, just to feel safe.
Vegapunk looked around his office.
To be honest, he was reluctant to abandon this base. It was well-equipped, and he had poured his blood, sweat, and illegal earnings into building it.
"However," Raleigh said, tapping the ash from his cigar, "there is another possibility."
Raleigh smiled, a relaxed expression on his face. "If the World Government sees your true capabilities... they won't kill you. They will definitely try to recruit you. They will want to own you. And if that happens, you won't have to worry about funding issues ever again, Doctor."
"Really?" Vegapunk looked skeptical. He adjusted his glasses. "You think they would spare a criminal like me?"
"Of course," Raleigh laughed softly. "The World Government may be cruel, but they aren't short-sighted fools. People like you, Doctor—geniuses who appear once in a thousand years—are exactly the kind of talent they actively seek."
Vegapunk let out a long, heavy sigh.
He took a sip of his tea, the warmth doing little to settle his nerves.
Unless pushed to the absolute limit, Vegapunk didn't want to become a government dog.
He didn't want to be constantly hunted by CP agents or watched by Marines. He had no interest in fighting or politics.
"I only want to conduct my research," Vegapunk murmured.
He looked up at the young Marine officer. "So what brings you here, Mr. Raleigh? Why tell me this?"
Hearing Vegapunk's question, Raleigh stood up.
He walked over to a large world map pinned to the wall.
He placed his hand firmly on the map.
His finger landed directly on the center of the world—the location of Mary Geoise, the home of the Celestial Dragons.
"Doctor," Raleigh said, his voice dropping to a low, magnetic whisper.
"Have you ever considered doing something that could actually change this world?"
...
Hours later, deep in the night.
The port of Chaniaral Island was quiet, save for the sound of waves lapping against the stone docks.
The sea breeze blew gently, carrying the salt of the ocean.
A lone female Marine officer stood at the end of the pier.
Gion wrapped her coat tighter around herself, her eyes eagerly scanning the dark horizon.
"Where is he?" she whispered to herself.
Suddenly, a shape emerged from the darkness.
It was a strange ship.
It had no sails, yet it moved smoothly through the water, powered by an internal engine.
Seeing this ship, Gion's eyes brightened.
She spotted a familiar tall figure standing on the bow deck, his white cloak fluttering in the wind.
It was Raleigh.
Before the ship could even dock or lower the gangplank, Gion couldn't wait any longer.
"Hah!"
She kicked off the ground.
Using the Moonwalk technique, she leaped into the air, flying gracefully over the gap between the pier and the ship.
"Raleigh! You jerk!"
Gion marched up to him, grabbed his arm, and bit it hard.
"Ouch!" Raleigh winced, though he didn't pull away.
"Next time," Gion mumbled, her face buried in his sleeve, "you can't go without me! Do you know how worried I was?"
After venting her frustration, she let go and gently hugged his arm to her chest, burying her face in his shoulder.
Raleigh smiled warmly.
"Alright," he whispered into her hair. I'm back."
The two embraced for a while, enjoying the reunion, until the commotion of the Marine soldiers below broke the moment.
"Move it! Get up!"
Raleigh pulled away gently.
He turned to his subordinates.
"Take this criminal back first. Lock him up in the same cell as Caesar Clown."
Raleigh pointed to the cabin.
Two soldiers dragged out a bound, bruised, and very unhappy Queen. The fat scientist was grumbling as he was shoved down the gangplank.
Gion watched Queen being taken away.
"Raleigh," she asked, "with your abilities, that fat man shouldn't have been able to escape into the Calm Belt. Why did it take so long? And why did you come back with a strange ship?"
Raleigh sighed.
He reached out and rubbed Gion's head affectionately.
"It's complicated," Raleigh said softly. "I recognized their identities. They are all members of the MADS organization."
"MADS?" Gion tilted her head.
"Yes. A group of mad scientists," Raleigh explained as they walked off the ship. "The people in it are among the world's rare scientific geniuses. But the reason I'm interested in them is because of their leader... a man named Vegapunk."
"Vegapunk?"
"He is a legend," Raleigh said. "A genius from the Karakuri island. The Marines have been trying to contact him for years, but he is arrogant. He looks down on everyone. After he disappeared a few years ago, no one knew where he went."
"So," Gion asked, looking at the strange ship, "what is he doing now? Did you find him?"
Raleigh remained silent for a moment.
He stopped walking and looked out at the dark ocean.
He did not answer Gion's question immediately.
In truth, inside Vegapunk's laboratory, Raleigh had seen things that would make a normal person vomit.
He saw blueprints for weapons of mass destruction.
Worse, he saw the cages.
He saw the experimental subjects used for researching the Lineage Factor.
Civilians who had been kidnapped, cut open, and mutated. Their lives had been made utterly miserable in the name of science.
Raleigh felt disgust when he saw it.
But he had forced himself to harden his heart. He pretended not to see the cruelty. He pretended not to notice the blood on the floor.
Why? Because he needed their power.
To overthrow the World Government, he needed Vegapunk's brain. So, he buried his conscience deep in his heart.
"Did those people... did they do something unspeakable?" Gion asked sharply.
She sensed his hesitation.
Her intuition was telling her something was wrong.
Raleigh looked away from her searching eyes.
"Before the World Government issues a warrant for their arrest," Raleigh said carefully, "we have no authority to judge them. We cannot capture them officially without orders."
"But Raleigh—"
"Besides," Raleigh interrupted, his voice firm. "I don't think the World Government would want us to eliminate them. Although they are madmen, they possess technology far beyond this era. Any organization—the Marines, the Government, even the Revolutionaries—would desperately try to seize them."
Raleigh clenched his fist. "Because whoever controls their fate... controls the future."
He turned to Gion.
The bright moon that had been hanging in the sky was suddenly obscured by a drifting dark cloud.
The light vanished, plunging them into shadow.
"Gion," Raleigh asked quietly. "How would you choose?"
Gion's heart was tangled in conflict.
She opened her mouth to argue, to say that justice must be served regardless of talent, but the words got stuck in her throat.
"In my view," Raleigh continued, looking at the clouded moon, "these scientists are dangerous. When left unsupervised, they will recklessly pursue forbidden knowledge. They will hurt people."
"But..." Raleigh's voice softened. "Once we have them under control... we can use them."
He stomped his foot on the deck of the paddle-ship.
"Look at this ship. The Calm Belt blocks communication between the Four Seas. It isolates the world. Yet, this ship can cross it safely. This is merely the tip of the iceberg of their research."
Raleigh looked at Gion intensely.
"If we have them develop high-yield grains? If they create crops that can grow in deserts or winter islands? Then people will no longer suffer from hunger. Wars over resources would end."
"We can trade the suffering of a few... for the salvation of the many."
Raleigh stepped closer. "So tell me, Gion. Between punishment and progress... how would you choose?"
Gion stood there in the darkness.
She gritted her teeth until they creaked. Her hands balled into fists at her sides.
She wanted to say "Justice." She wanted to say "Punish them."
But she looked at the ship.
She thought about the starving villages she had seen.
She thought about the endless wars.
She couldn't utter the words.
Because in this dark, gray world, even Justice had a price.
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