Master Caesar Clown

In the snowy wreckage outside the research facility, Smoker begins piecing the larger case together while trapped in Tashigi's body. "IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS... THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF CHILD KIDNAPPING INCIDENTS ON THE ISLANDS AROUND THIS AREA." The G-5 Marines react in shock: "KIDNAPPINGS?!" Their immediate concern, however, is practical and embarrassing. "MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE CAN'T GET USED TO YOU LIKE THIS, CAPTAIN-CHAN!!" one cries. Smoker snaps back, "I CAN'T HELP IT, CAN I?! JUST BEAR WITH IT FOR THE MOMENT!!" Tashigi, now in Smoker's body, presses the point: "OI, TASHIGI, WHAT'S THIS ABOUT KIDNAPPINGS? I NEVER HEARD ABOUT ANY KIDS GETTING ABDUCTED." She also adds, "CAN YOU PLEASE FASTEN UP THAT SHIRT, SMOKER-SAN?!" while Smoker complains, "AND THIS VERY 'OPEN' CAPTAIN-CHAN HAS ALL THE LOOKS... BUT WHAT'S INSIDE IS TOO SCARY!!!"

Smoker continues the investigation aloud as the Marines move through the ice and wreckage. "THE ONLY INCIDENTS I REMEMBER CROPPING UP A LOT IN THESE PARTS ARE SHIPWRECKS," he says. "THOUGH COME TO THINK OF IT, I DO REMEMBER THINKING THAT KIDS SEEM TO DIE A LOT AROUND HERE." Tashigi realizes the pattern too: "NOW YOU MENTION IT, I'VE NOTICED THAT TOO!" Smoker explains why the truth has been hidden: "THE THING IS, I'VE BEEN SPENDING A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME IN THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT... AND I CAN TELL YOU FOR A FACT THAT G-5 RECEIVES A LOT OF REPORTS OF CHILD KIDNAPPINGS." The public version is different: "BUT BY THE TIME THESE INCIDENTS MAKE IT INTO THE NEWSPAPERS... THEY ARE ALWAYS REPORTED AS ACCIDENTS AT SEA, OR PIRATE RAIDS, OR SIMPLE DISAPPEARANCES." Smoker admits those reports may include wild assumptions, but says, "EVEN SO... THERE MAY BE THE SLIGHT POSSIBILITY..." before Tashigi cuts in: "ENOUGH STUMBLING OVER YOUR WORDS, TASHIGI!!"

Smoker, frustrated by hesitation, demands clarity: "IF YOU HAVE A THEORY TO VOICE, THEN TELL IT TO ME LOUD AND CLEAR!!!" Tashigi states what the evidence implies: "I PRESUME YOU'RE TRYING TO SAY THAT AFTER THE CROWD OF CHILDREN WE JUST WITNESSED... YOU SUSPECT THAT THE KIDNAPPING REPORTS MAY HAVE BEEN RIGHT ON THE MARK AFTER ALL." Smoker follows the implication to its worst point: "AND THE KIDNAPPER RESPONSIBLE MAY BE SOMEWHERE ON THIS ISLAND." Tashigi adds the cover-up angle: "IT IMPLIES THE INFORMATION THAT GOT OUT TO THE PUBLIC WAS FAKED. IN OTHER WORDS... SOMEONE INSIDE G-5 HAS BEEN COVERING UP ALL THESE KIDNAPPINGS...!!" The Marines are horrified: "YOU MEAN... SOMEONE INSIDE G-5 IS WORKING FOR THE KIDNAPPER?!" Smoker tells them not to collapse into paranoia: "NOW HOLD ON THERE, SMOKE-SAN! WE CAN'T HAVE YOU LOOKING DOWN ON US LIKE THAT! SURE, WE MAY BE A BUNCH OF MISFITS... BUT WE STILL HAVE SOME PRIDE IN OUR STATION AS MARINES!!"

The G-5 Marines panic at the thought of suspicion inside their own ranks. "YOU REALLY THINK I CAN BE BOTHERED WITH SUSPECTING A BUNCH OF IDIOTS LIKE YOU?!" Smoker shouts, and the men recoil with cries of "WHAAA!!" "TOO SCARY!!" and "SHUT UP!!!" Tashigi, still in Smoker's body, sharpens the lesson into a Marine principle: "AS LONG AS HUMANITY DIVIDES ITSELF INTO FACTIONS, NO ORGANISATION IN THIS WORLD CAN BE PERFECT...!! MAKE ASSUMPTIONS, AND THE ENEMY WILL SLIP THROUGH YOUR GRASP!! DON'T BE TAKEN IN BY APPEARANCES!!" The Marines finally remember themselves and answer, "YES SIR, CAPTAIN-CHAN!!" Then the absurd body swap undercuts the seriousness: a voice mutters, "...OH, FORGET IT. I'M THE CAPTAIN!" and another remembers, "OH, YEAH!! WE WERE TAKEN IN BY APPEARANCES...!!!"

Smoker decides the Marines cannot leave Punk Hazard yet. Tashigi says, "BUT, SMOKER-SAN, I... I REALLY CAN'T SAY WITH ANY CONFIDENCE..." Smoker answers, "DON'T FRET YOURSELF. IT'S A THEORY WORTH KEEPING IN MIND, THAT'S ALL." His own problem is immediate: "AT ANY RATE, LAW HAS TAKEN MY HEART AND MY BODY FROM ME. I CAN'T LEAVE THIS ISLAND JUST YET. ONE-THIRD OF YOU SHOULD LEAVE THE ISLAND NOW AND REPORT WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE." The Marines protest, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, VICE-ADMIRAL?!! OUR SHIP HAS BEEN SLICED TO PIECES...!" Smoker replies, "I TOLD YOU THE ENEMY HAS A SHIP, DIDN'T I? SO STEAL IT." The men cheer at the logic: "OF COURSE!! WHY DIDN'T WE THINK OF THAT?! YOU'RE A VILLAIN THROUGH AND THROUGH!!" Smoker concludes, "BUT TAKE IT SLOW AND CAREFUL. BEFORE THIS GETS OUT AND BECOMES A MAJOR INCIDENT, I INTEND TO TAKE BACK MY HEART AND BODY... AND EXPOSE THE TRUE MASTERMIND BEHIND ALL THIS!!!"

Inside the former Vegapunk research facility, Caesar Clown's side finally receives its orders. A report comes in: "FINALLY, WE'VE RECEIVED WORD." Caesar speaks through his subordinates with cold confidence: "WE HAVE PERMISSION TO TAKE THEIR LIVES. THE STRAW HAT CREW... THE MARINES OF G-5... AND KITSUNEBI NO KIN'EMON. NO MATTER WHO DIES ON THIS ISLAND... JOKER WILL MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A MERE ACCIDENT AT SEA. THAT'S JUST WHAT I WAS HOPING TO HEAR...!!" He also wants survivors for experiments: "CAPTURE AS MANY OF THEM AS POSSIBLE. WE CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY SUBJECTS FOR OUR EXPERIMENTS...!!" His men answer, "YES, MASTER!!" Caesar adds, "HOWEVER, IF SOME PROVE TOO DIFFICULT TO CAPTURE ALIVE, FEEL FREE TO POISON THEM TO DEATH." When someone asks where Law is, Moné says, "HE LEFT THE ROOM JUST NOW AND..." Caesar dismisses the concern: "NO MATTER. IT SEEMS WE'RE UP AGAINST AN ENEMY WITH A 400 MILLION BOUNTY. DON'T PUSH YOURSELVES TOO HARD."

Moné reports what she has learned about the Straw Hats. "THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CREW ARE ALSO ALL BOUNTY HEADS... WITH BOUNTY VALUES RANGING FROM 120 MILLION TO 50 BELI. THE TOTAL BOUNTY OF THE CREW AMOUNTS TO 800 MILLION AND 50 BELI." She adds a warning: "HOWEVER, FOR A PERIOD OF APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS... THROUGH AS ALWAYS, I SEE, MONÉ... IT SEEMS THE CREW HAS BEEN ENTIRELY INACTIVE. THEIR BOUNTIES HAVE NOT BEEN RAISED DURING THIS PERIOD, SO THEIR ACTUAL STRENGTH MAY EXCEED WHAT THE NUMBERS WOULD SUGGEST." At that moment, the cold and battered children arrive with pleas for Caesar: "MASTER!!" "OH...? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? DID YOU JUST COME IN FROM THE FREEZING COLD WITHOUT EVEN A COAT FOR PROTECTION?!" Brownbeard begs, "THEY WENT AND KIDNAPPED OUR BOSS, BROWNBEARD...!! PLEASE... YOU HAVE TO HELP HIM...!!" Caesar performs sympathy: "DEAR ME, HOW TERRIBLE THAT MUST HAVE BEEN...! BUT NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT BROWNBEARD. I WILL TAKE HIM BACK, MARK MY WORDS...!! FOR NOW, HEAD INTO THE INNER CHAMBER. YOU ARE VERY LUCKY; AS IT HAPPENS, I HAVE JUST PERFECTED A NEW MEDICINE. IT WILL WARM YOUR BODY AND SOOTHE YOUR WOUNDS...!!"

Outside, the Straw Hats inspect what Usopp has done to simplify the body-swap mess. Someone asks, "AND WHAT THE HELL DO YOU CALL THIS, USOPP?!" The crew now wears matching coats and identifying labels. Sanji, in Nami's body, snaps, "YOU'RE SPOILING NAMI-SAN'S BEAUTIFUL LOOKS!!" Franky, in Chopper's body, beams, "I FEEL QUITE SUPER!!" Nami, in Franky's body, grumbles, "I DON'T EVEN CARE ANY MORE..." Usopp explains, "SORRY, BUT THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO STOP US ALL GETTING TOTALLY CONFUSED!!" Chopper thanks him: "THANKS FOR THIS, USOPP!!" Then the topic returns to Brownbeard. Luffy asks, "'BROWN BEARD'?" Brownbeard, tied up and furious, insists, "THAT'S RIGHT! I'M SURE YOU'VE HEARD IT BEFORE. THAT'S THE NAME I USED TO GO BY!!" Luffy answers bluntly, "NOPE, NEVER HEARD OF IT." Brownbeard explodes: "THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

Brownbeard takes offense at being forgotten and launches into the story of his generation. Zoro asks, "WHAT'S MADE YOU SO TALKATIVE ALL OF A SUDDEN...?" Brownbeard says, "YOU PEOPLE ARE ALL GOING TO BE KILLED SOON ENOUGH. LAW IS GOING TO COME AND SAVE ME, YOU WAIT AND SEE!! WOHOHO!! I CAN'T STAND MOST PIRATES OF YOUR GENERATION, BUT LAW IS AN EXCEPTION!" Luffy asks, "WHAT D'YOU MEAN, 'OUR GENERATION'?" Brownbeard snaps, "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW?! IGNORANT FOOL!! THOSE CRAZY ROOKIES WHO GATHERED ON SHABONDY ISLAND TWO YEARS AGO... ALL ELEVEN OF YOU WITH BOUNTIES ABOVE 100 MILLION, THAT IS, PLUS BLACKBEARD... ARE KNOWN TO THE WORLD AS THE TERRIBLE GENERATION!!!" He explains the aftershocks: "AFTER THE FALL OF WHITEBEARD, THEY STORMED INTO THE NEW WORLD AND LEFT CHAOS AND TURMOIL IN THEIR WAKE...!!" He names examples: "BLACKBEARD!! KIDD!! LAW!! DRAKE!! HAWKINS!!" and remembers, "THAT ACCURSED BASIL HAWKINS WAS THE MAN WHO ANNIHILATED MY CREW, THE BROWNBEARD PIRATES!!"

Brownbeard describes how his downfall led him to Punk Hazard. "THANKS TO HIM, I LOST MY LEGS AND WAS NO LONGER ABLE TO CONTINUE MY LIFE OF PIRACY...!! MY WHOLE CREW DEVASTATED, I FLED DESPERATELY FOR MY LIFE... AND THIS PLACE, PUNK HAZARD, IS WHERE I WOUND UP!! DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN REALISE WHAT THIS PLACE IS?!" Luffy, Zoro, and the others look out over the impossible mixture of frozen ruin and buried facility. Brownbeard says, "LONG AGO, THEY SAY IT WAS A VERITABLE TREASURE TROVE OF GREENERY AND LIFE..." Luffy asks, "GREENERY AND LIFE? HERE?!" Zoro mutters, "THAT'S HARD TO BELIEVE." Brownbeard explains the old ownership: "THE FACILITIES YOU SEE HERE ORIGINALLY BELONGED TO THE GOVERNMENT SCIENTIST, VEGAPUNK. HE USED THEM TO FURTHER HIS RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTATION INTO ALL KINDS OF WEAPONRY AND DRUGS. HE HAD MANY PRISONERS BROUGHT HERE INSTEAD OF BEING TAKEN TO JAIL, AND USED THEM IN HIS HORRIFIC EXPERIMENTS...!!!"

Brownbeard continues the island's history. "BUT THEN, FOUR YEARS AGO, AN EXPERIMENT INVOLVING A CHEMICAL WEAPON VEGAPUNK WAS DEVELOPING WENT HORRIBLY WRONG... AND TWO OF THE THREE RESEARCH FACILITIES ON THE ISLAND WERE LAID TO RUBBLE!!" The crew stares at the remains around them, and someone says, "NO WONDER IT'S SO MESSED UP...!" Brownbeard clarifies, "THE PLACE WE'RE STANDING NOW... IS THE REMAINS OF ONE OF THOSE FACILITIES!!!" The disaster reshaped the entire island: "THE EXPLOSION COVERED THE ISLAND WITH SCORCHING HEAT AND POISONOUS CHEMICALS, WIPING OUT ALL TRACES OF LIFE. BUT THE GOVERNMENT RESEARCHERS SAILED AWAY WITHOUT A THOUGHT FOR ALL THE PRISONERS THEY LEFT BEHIND... AND SEALED OFF THE ISLAND COMPLETELY!" Some prisoners survived only barely: "DUE TO A POWERFUL NERVE GAS, EVEN THOSE WHO DIDN'T DIE OUTRIGHT WERE MOSTLY PARALYSED FROM THE WAIST DOWN... AND THEIR FUTURES SEEMED BLEAK AT BEST...!!" They escaped into the one remaining lab for shelter.

Brownbeard remembers the arrival of the man he calls salvation. "BUT THEN, ONE YEAR AFTER THE ACCIDENT, A MAN ARRIVED ON THE ISLAND ONCE MORE. THAT MAN WAS NONE OTHER THAN OUR GREAT AND MERCIFUL MASTER...!" Caesar is shown floating with gas balloons, cleaning the island in Brownbeard's memory. Brownbeard says, "USING HIS SPECIAL ABILITIES, HE CLEANSED THE ISLAND OF THE POISONOUS GASES THAT PLAGUED IT... AND WITH THE POWER OF SCIENCE, HE GRANTED US THE USE OF THEIR LEGS THE FREEDOM TO MOVE ONCE MORE, TAKING THEM IN AS HIS OWN SUBORDINATES!!" He had been too weak to keep living until Caesar arrived: "I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE STRENGTH OR WILL TO GO ON LIVING. I THOUGHT MY LIFE WAS OVER THEN AND THERE. BUT THEN THEY APPEARED BEFORE ME... THE FORMER PRISONERS WHO HAD LOST THEIR LEGS, JUST LIKE I HAD... AND THEIR MASTER...!!!" Brownbeard's loyalty becomes religious: "THANKS TO HIS KINDNESS, MY LIFE WAS SAVED JUST AS THEIRS HAD BEEN BEFORE ME...! IF THE EVIL VEGAPUNK WHO STOLE MY COMRADES' LEGS IS A DEMON... THEN OUR MASTER IS A BENEVOLENT GOD AND SAVIOUR...!!!"

Brownbeard says a second savior came later: "AND FINALLY, JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO... OUR SECOND SAVIOUR ARRIVED. TRAFALGAR LAW, WHO HAD BECOME A MEMBER OF THE SHICHIBUKAI... CAME TO THIS ISLAND." Law, in Brownbeard's telling, pitied the prisoners who had lost their legs and used his ability to replace them with animal bodies: "HE TOOK PITY ON ME AND MY COMRADES WHO HAD LOST OUR LEGS... AND USED HIS ABILITY TO REPLACE THEM WITH WONDERFUL NEW LEGS!! THE LEGS OF ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS!!" The centaurs weep at the memory: "WE HAD LONG SINCE GIVEN UP ALL HOPE OF EVER WALKING AGAIN... THE JOY OF IT BROUGHT US ALL TO TEARS!!!" Luffy says, "I KNOW TRA-DUDE WAS A NICE GUY REALLY! HE HELPED ME OUT TOO, AFTER ALL." Nami, still processing the artificial creatures of the island, says, "I NEVER KNEW VEGAPUNK WAS SUCH A MONSTER...!!! THE GOAT-LEGGED PEOPLE WE SAW AT THE FACILITY MUST HAVE BEEN CREATED WITH HIS ABILITY, TOO..."

Brownbeard also explains the dragon. When asked, "WHAT ABOUT THE DRAGON?" he replies, "OH, YOU SAW THE DRAGON, DID YOU? THAT THING IS AN ARTIFICIALLY-ENGINEERED CREATURE ORIGINALLY CREATED BY VEGAPUNK TO GUARD THIS ISLAND. IT CAN SURVIVE IN ANY HARSH CLIMATE. I SEEM TO RECALL THE TENRYUUBITO TOOK A LIKING TO IT AND GAVE IT SOME KIND OF NAME... I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT, THOUGH." Usopp mutters that if they see it again they should run, but someone answers, "WE ALREADY ATE IT, THOUGH..." Brownbeard then reveals Caesar's territorial confidence: "AT ANY RATE, I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND NOW WHO CALLS THE SHOTS ON THIS ISLAND. WE WON'T ALLOW ANYONE ELSE TO INVADE OUR TERRITORY! PUNK HAZARD BELONGS TO OUR MASTER, AND OUR MASTER ALONE!!" He laughs, "WOHOHO HOHOHO HO...!! YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY!!!" because, as he says, "OUR MASTER IS CARRYING OUT A GRAND RESEARCH PROJECT FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY'S FUTURE...!! ALL OF YOU WILL GET TO BECOME RESEARCH SUBJECTS FOR THE SAKE OF HIS GLORIOUS GOAL!! THERE'S NO ESCAPE FOR YOU NOW!!!"

Inside the facility, Caesar tests his new medicine on the children. The children cough and cry, "MASTER...!!" "MASTER, IT HURTS!! WHAAAA... GHHH..." and "YOU'VE GOTTA... AGHHHHH... LET ME... URGHH... OUT..." Someone asks, "WHAT KIND OF... UGHHH... MEDICINE IS THIS...P!!" Caesar watches like a doctor and a torturer at once. "HOW DO YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW?!" he asks. "RETCHING... COUGHING... I SEE, VERY GOOD!!" When a child says, "IT HURTS... THE PAINNN..." he asks, "DOES YOUR HEAD HURT?! HOW ABOUT YOUR EYES? ARE YOU SEEING ANY HALLUCINATIONS?!" The room is "FULL OF... GIANT SNAKES...!!!" Caesar promises, "SHURORORO... OF COURSE IT ISN'T. THAT'S ENOUGH. I'LL PUT YOU OUT OF YOUR MISERY." Moné observes coldly, "A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING." Caesar rejects the idea of failure: "DID YOU SAY 'FAILURE'?! DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT WORD!! NO EXPERIMENT OF MINE HAS EVER BEEN A FAILURE!! AND THAT INCLUDES MY EXPERIMENT FOUR YEARS AGO!!"

Caesar appears in full, his gas body curling around him as he rejects the word failure entirely. "FAILED EXPERIMENT?! HAH! MY WEAPON WIPED OUT ALL LIFE ON THIS ENTIRE ISLAND...!!!" he boasts. "AND YOU CALL THAT A FAILURE, WORLD GOVERNMENT?!!! I CAN KILL MY ENEMIES MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN ANYONE ELSE!!!" The page introduces him directly: "FORMER GOVERNMENT SCIENTIST 'MASTER' CAESAR CLOWN, BOUNTY 300,000,000 BELI, USER OF THE GAS-GAS NO MI." Caesar relishes having victims again: "SHURORORORO...!! I HAVE EVEN TAKEN THE TROUBLE TO MONITOR AND INSPECT THE STATE OF MY WEAPON'S VICTIMS...!!! YOU JUST WAIT... SOON ENOUGH, I WILL SHOW YOU ALL WHO IS TRULY THE WORLD'S GREATEST SCIENTIST!!!" The truth overturns Brownbeard's faith: the man worshiped as a savior is the scientist who caused the disaster.

The G-5 Marines put Caesar's past into official context. The caption returns to "THE MARINES" as one of them says, "HUHHH?! BUT THEN, SMOKE-SAN...!! THE ONE WHO WAS REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT MASSIVE ACCIDENT WAS...?!" Smoker answers through Tashigi's body, "IT WAS CAESAR CLOWN WHO CREATED THE WEAPON, AND CAESAR CLOWN WHO SET IT OFF." He explains why Caesar matters: "HE HELD THE NO. 2 POSITION IN THE RESEARCH TEAM BACK THEN, BUT HE ALWAYS HAD THE MOST TWISTED IDEAS. HE NEVER SAW EYE-TO-EYE WITH VEGAPUNK; THE TWO WERE BITTER RIVALS. VEGAPUNK WAS ONLY HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCIDENT BECAUSE HE HAD SENIORITY." The weapon itself was illegal: "NATURALLY, THE DEVELOPMENT OF WEAPONS THAT SERVE NO PURPOSE BUT TO FLOOD AN ENTIRE ISLAND WITH DEADLY POISON GAS IS AGAINST THE LAW." Caesar was arrested, but "HIS ABILITY WAS TOO MUCH FOR HIS CAPTORS." He escaped and has not been seen since. Smoker concludes, "IF CAESAR REALLY IS HERE ON THIS ISLAND, CONTINUING HIS RESEARCH... THEN WE HAVE TO STOP HIM, NOW. BECAUSE WHATEVER HE'S WORKING ON, YOU CAN BET THE RESULTS AREN'T GOING TO BE PRETTY...!!!"

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