The Strongest Humans

Lucci's assassination strike against Sentomaru lands as the chapter opens. Luffy shouts, "Hey, axe guy!" while Sentomaru falls with a heavy "Thud!!" and civilians scream "Kyah!" Luffy apologizes, "Sorry! It's because I distracted you..." Sentomaru, coughing, answers that he saw Lucci's attack coming and thought he should have defended against it properly. Lucci calls him a fool and says not to underestimate him. Sentomaru, still alive, says that as long as a person with an authority rank remains conscious, the Seraphim can still be controlled.

Lucci understands the problem immediately: as high as Sentomaru is still conscious, CP0 will not be able to control the Seraphim. He lunges toward Sentomaru again, but Luffy stretches and grabs him while beginning a Gear 5 attack: "Gomu Gomu no..." Lucci is startled as Luffy winds up with a huge elastic motion, calling the attack "Dawn... Whip!!" The blow sends Luffy spinning wildly like a top, twisting through Egghead with absurd speed and force as Lucci dodges and prepares to keep fighting.

Luffy's spinning attack whirls out of control. Chopper and Jinbe shout after him, with Chopper yelling, "Lucci!!" and Luffy crying, "Ahhhh!! I can't stop!" Jinbe urges, "Hurry up Luffy! If you want to save this child, we must quickly go to where Vegapunk is!" Luffy admits, "I can't stop!! I'm spinning too much!!" Bonney is still being carried, and the Egghead civilians try to take refuge at the factory. Chopper panics, "Eahhh!!! Where are you going, Luffy!!!" as Luffy continues pinballing around the battlefield.

The Seraphim continue attacking CP0's forces with overwhelming power. S-Hawk, S-Snake, and S-Shark cut through agents and send them flying with impacts marked "Thud!!" and "Slash!!" The agents yell that the Seraphim are not stopping and conclude they have no choice but to deal with them through friendly fire. Seeing them rampage even as children, someone says their futures will be terrifying. The page reinforces how dangerous the Seraphim are already, even before they grow into full strength.

Inside the lab, Vegapunk begins explaining the Seraphim abilities. The crew recognizes the powers: one has the Swim-Swim Fruit ability like Senior Pink from the Donquixote Family, and another resembles the ability of a "snotty kid Jinbe." Franky says that in this world there are no two Devil Fruits that are the same and asks if Senior Pink is dead. Vegapunk says they noticed the one he is referring to is a convict in Impel Down right now. When asked whether he recreated the same Devil Fruit, Vegapunk explains that among artificial Devil Fruits, only Zoan types can be manufactured. He adds that special fruits can be reproduced too, given enough money and time, though whether they can awaken is still unconfirmed.

Vegapunk continues that he has done everything he can with Logia types, but reproducing them is very difficult. In the case of Paramecia types, however, if he can obtain the user's lineage factor he can refine and administer a special blood type that helps acquire that user's ability. He identifies that blood as the blood flowing through the Seraphim's bodies and says, "I call it 'Green Blood'!" Franky is shocked and asks, "You created that blood?!" S-Snake demonstrates the copied ability with "Mero Mero... Mellow!!!" using Hancock's power against CP0 attackers.

S-Bear uses Bartholomew Kuma's Ursus Shock while Vegapunk says, "I regard the Seraphim as... the highest peak of science! In the history of the seas... I call them, 'The Strongest Humans'!" The crew is horrified at what he has made. Sanji asks if that is why the Seven Warlords were disbanded, and Franky shouts, "What in the world have you created?!" Vegapunk's answer frames the Seraphim as the new military asset replacing the old Warlord system. Sanji concludes these beings are essentially Marine weapons, and Robin says they are basically a threat to the Straw Hats.

Back on the battlefield, Lucci is still trying to get up after being struck, and Luffy laughs wildly as he prepares another attack. Lucci uses "Soru!" or shave to move at high speed, but Luffy's Gear 5 body and expressions remain bizarrely cartoonish. Luffy stretches his mouth wide while laughing "Daaaahahahaha!" and the surrounding scenery bends around him. The page emphasizes Lucci's persistence and Luffy's absurd awakened freedom, with neither side ending the clash immediately.

Lucci charges again and snarls, "Straw Hat!!" Luffy, still bouncing and warping the environment around him, dodges and counters. His body puffs and stretches while he plays with the momentum of the fight, then he suddenly shoots forward. The impact slams Lucci through the area, showing Luffy's attacks combining rubbery slapstick movement with real destructive force. Lucci is battered but keeps fighting, while Luffy remains gleeful and unpredictable in his Nika-like form.

Luffy grabs onto a huge pipe and winds himself around it, stretching across Egghead as he calls, "Gomu Gomu no..." The rubbery pipe and Luffy both stretch, then he clicks himself into launch position and pops off with "Whoosh!" The attack is named "Rocket!!!" and Luffy launches like a projectile straight into Lucci. The impact catches Lucci hard and sends him flying again, while Luffy uses the environment itself as a toy-like weapon under Gear 5.

Lucci reels from the Rocket attack and wonders, "What the hell... Is this power?" Luffy's form starts to slip as he says, "My consciousness... is fading..." but the evacuation keeps moving. S-Snake directs the Straw Hats, saying, "It's through here, hurry up!" and points them toward the vacuum rocket. Jinbe comments that S-Snake is much kinder than Hancock, but S-Snake angrily replies, "You insolent being! I'm just following orders, that's all!" Chopper shouts for Luffy to hurry because there is only one minute before departure.

The vacuum rocket announces, "Please refrain from last-minute boarding..." Sentomaru calls out to Luffy as "Straw Hat!" and entrusts old man Punk to him. Luffy answers, "Okay! We'll definitely get him off this island!" The rocket departs, and the ride is violently fast. Bonney wakes up confused, asking where she is and where Vegapunk went. The others tell her they are in the vacuum rocket and that a lot has happened, with Luffy promising to explain later. Bonney reacts in shock, asking who the people around her are as the rocket hurtles upward.

The vacuum rocket races from the Fabriophase to the Labophase in only 32 seconds, with everyone screaming at the speed. Inside the Labophase, the system announces that they have arrived and that subsequent trips are canceled. The Frontier Dome is fortified, and a danger alert declares an intruder alert. The factory prepares to initiate lockdown once all researchers are inside. Egghead's defenses shift from open evacuation to sealed containment, while the Straw Hats and Bonney successfully reach the upper level.

Sentomaru is left below, and someone says he fulfilled his duty as Vegapunk's bodyguard, calling him commendable. Lucci sees the situation and says, "Too bad... Sentomaru!" because CP0 had been ordered to wait for the Marines, but if they wait, the Straw Hats will most likely escape. In the Labophase, Vegapunk is asked whether he is really being targeted and told he is the smartest man alive, so being an asset for the Government should be obvious. Vegapunk says he has no intention of being like that, and when someone says they should not easily say "eliminate" him, he insists that an Emperor's crew arriving at this exact time can only be considered fate.

Vegapunk's side prepares for escape in the Labophase. Luffy welcomes the Vegapunks onto the ship and Sanji yells that Vegapunk is more than welcome, while Nami worries he will be a burden and asks him to remove their foot shackles. Bonney leaves the group, saying she will leave Atlas's medical treatment and repairs to them, but if Vegapunk ignores restoring her father to normal then killing him is the only option; Sanji says that is just venting anger. Outside, CP0 orders every escape route from the island blocked. Kaku asks whether all six Vegapunks are included, and Stussy says the defense system is formidable. Lucci declares, "I won't let a single soul escape from this island!" The Marines hear that the Straw Hat crew have become Vegapunk's allies, and Kizaru orders them to proceed as planned, bring as many warships as possible to Egghead, and notes that things may not go the way the Straw Hats think. The chapter ends with "The supreme military strength of the Marines approaches!"

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