Spectators

On the ice side near the first and second research facilities, the Nami and Usopp team faces Caesar again. The children call out "MASTER...!!" as Caesar appears, and Sanji realizes, "...M... 'MASTER'...?!!" Nami accuses him immediately: "THEN YOU'RE THE ONE WHO ABDUCTED ALL THESE CHILDREN?!!" and demands, "WHY DID YOU BRING THESE CHILDREN HERE?!! CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT THEY ARE SUFFERING?!!" Sanji warns her to stop because Law said Caesar is "A LOGIA USER WITH A 300 MILLION BELI BOUNTY," but Nami will not back down. Caesar only smiles and says, "SHURORO... I DON'T SEE ANY CHILDREN ASKING TO GO HOME, NOW, DO YOU...?"

Sanji, in Nami's body, explodes with anger at Caesar. He shouts, "HOW DARE YOU FEED SUCH YOUNG CHILDREN YOUR SICK DRUGS?!!" He understands what the children really want: "THEY ALL JUST WANT TO GO BACK TO THEIR HOMES!!! AND I'M SURE THEIR PARENTS ARE THE SAME WAY!! THEY MUST STILL BE SEARCHING FOR THEIR LOST CHILDREN!! I'LL TAKE THEM OFF THIS ISLAND IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" Caesar calmly claims that he sees no child asking to leave. The children, overtaken by withdrawal, rush toward him instead and scream, "MASTER!!!" "GIVE US THE CANDY!!!" and "THE CANDY WE ALWAYS HAVE!!!" Usopp tries to hold them back, yelling, "HEY, HOLD IT!! DON'T GO TO HIM!!! DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT LAB?!!"

Caesar tightens his control over the children, saying, "THAT'S RIGHT, MY CHILDREN... COME BACK TO ME...!!" Sanji shouts, "WAIT, ALL OF YOU!! YOU MUSTN'T GO BACK TO HIM!!!" but the children are already striking out. One child hits Usopp, and Nami cries, "USOPP!!!" Another child knocks Sanji down while Caesar taunts, "DON'T YOU WANT TO GO BACK HOME?!!" Sanji yells through the chaos, "GET OFF ME, COCK-ROACH!!!" and Nami is slammed hard enough to cry out. Even the attempt to rescue the children becomes dangerous because Caesar has turned their pain into obedience.

Usopp prepares to fight back, but Nami stops him: "NO, USOPP!!! YOU MUSTN'T!!!" Sanji argues while being attacked, "UGH...! GET OFF ME!! WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO NOW BUT STOP THEM BY FORCE?!! THEY'RE SO FAR GONE, THEY'RE HALLUCINATING!! DIDN'T YOU HEAR THAT KID CALL YOU A COCK-ROACH?!" Nami refuses to forget the children behind the violence. She remembers their pleas: "I WANT TO SEE MY DADDY AND MUMMY AGAIN!!" and "PLEASE, LADY, COME BACK FOR US!! PROMISE YOU'LL COME BACK!!" She insists, "THESE CHILDREN... ARE VICTIMS...!!! THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG!!!" Meanwhile the children scream, "SOMEONE UNDO THESE CHAINS!!" "IT HURTS!!" "LET US GO!!" and "GET THESE CHAINS OFF US!!!"

The children's withdrawal surges beyond the restraints. They roar and pull until their chains tear apart, making Nami and Usopp recoil in shock. Caesar laughs, "SHURORORORO RO!! HOW WONDERFUL!! SO THEY HAVE ALREADY ACHIEVED SUCH LEVELS OF STRENGTH!!" Usopp stares at the broken metal and shouts, "AAAGHHH!! YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING! THEY TORE THE CHAINS APART?!" Caesar has proof that his experiments have made the children physically terrifying. Usopp decides he knows how to deal with gas and yells, "...YOU JUST WAIT, YOU GASSY BASTARD ...!!" He fires "FIREBIRD STAR!!" and tells the children, "GET AWAY, KIDS!!!"

Usopp's Firebird Star tears toward Caesar, but Caesar only laughs, "SHURORORORO!!" The flame seems to vanish before touching him. Caesar explains, "DID YOU EXPECT ME TO CATCH FIRE AND EXPLODE? YOU WERE AWARE THAT I AM A GAS-BASED FRUIT USER, YES?" He apologizes mockingly: "SO SORRY TO DISAPPOINT YOU... BUT I PUT OUT THE FIRE BEFORE IT EVEN TOUCHED MY BODY!!" Then he reveals the real danger of the Gas-Gas Fruit. "POISON GAS ISN'T THE ONLY GAS IN THE WORLD, YOU KNOW!!" he says. "ALL OF THE AIR THAT SURROUNDS US IS GAS AS WELL!! I CAN EVEN CONTROL THE VERY AIR WITHIN A CERTAIN RANGE AROUND ME!! BY SIMPLY REMOVING THE OXYGEN, I CAN PUT OUT ANY FIRE!! AND IN THE SAME WAY, I CAN PREVENT YOU FROM BREATHING!!"

Caesar demonstrates his power immediately. He sweeps into range and says, "JUST LIKE THIS!!" Usopp clutches his throat and gasps, "AAHHH...!!" while Sanji cries, "USOPP!!" Usopp realizes too late, "HUH?! WHEN DID HE...?!!" and then "I... CAN'T...!!!" Sanji attacks with "BLACK BALL!!" but Caesar counters with "RAUN!!" and overwhelms him too. Sanji collapses with "UUGH HH...!!" while Caesar laughs, "SHURORORORO..." The page makes Caesar's threat explicit: he does not need poison to defeat them if he can simply take away the oxygen around their bodies.

Caesar looks over the defeated rescuers and remembers Usopp's earlier attempt to sneak past him. "NOW, THEN... I BELIEVE I HEARD YOU SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT ME SLIPPING PAST STRAW HAT, YES...?" he says. Usopp admits, "AS IT HAPPENS... I MET HIM ALREADY...!! I RAN INTO STRAW HAT AND ANOTHER TWO OF YOUR FRIENDS... AND SUFFOCATED THEM JUST LIKE I'M DOING TO YOU NOW!" The children keep begging, "MASTER!!! GIVE US THE CANDY!!" and "WE WANT THE CANDY THAT MAKES US HAPPY!!" Caesar tells them, "COME ALONG, CHILDREN! I'LL GIVE YOU YOUR CANDY ONCE YOU COME BACK TO THE FACILITY LIKE GOOD BOYS AND GIRLS..." He says they must wait a little longer, but first he wants them to attack "THESE VICIOUS DEVILS WHO ABDUCTED YOU" and smash their heads open with the giant pipe.

A child swings the giant pipe with a scream of "CAAAAEEESAAAARR!!" The blow crashes down near Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, but Brownbeard intercepts the attack. He wedges himself under the pipe and takes the impact with a stunned "HAA" and a hard "HMM?" from Caesar's side of the battlefield. Brownbeard has been badly wounded and burned, but he is still moving. The action stops the children from crushing the rescuers and shifts the scene: Caesar's former subordinate is no longer just a fallen henchman or comic centaur, but someone choosing to stand between Caesar and the victims.

Brownbeard fights through pain and pushes against the enormous pipe while the children strain against him. He coughs and screams, and Nami gasps, "BROWNY?!!" Sanji realizes, "HE'S CALLED 'BROWN-BEARD'!!" and admits, "...THAT WAS TOO CLOSE!!" Brownbeard, barely able to breathe, says, "MY EYES HAVE BEEN OPENED NOW...!!" Caesar recognizes him and asks, "NOW WHO WERE YOU AGAIN...? OH, THAT'S RIGHT MY VALUABLE SUBORDINATE, BROWNBEARD!!" Then he notices the damage and mocks him: "WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED TO YOU...? WHY YOU'RE BURNED ALL OVER!!! I CAN HARDLY BEAR TO LOOK...!!!" Brownbeard pants, "STRAW HAT PIRATES..." as he stays in front of the children.

Caesar hides cruelty behind praise. He says, "SHURORORO DON'T GET SO ANGRY, NOW. I'M QUITE SURPRISED THAT YOU'RE STILL ALIVE... AFTER BEING ATTACKED BY THE YETI COOL BROTHERS...!!" Brownbeard snaps back that Caesar's orders were to kill him too. "DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO GAVE THE ORDER!!! AND TO THINK I TRUSTED YOU!!!" Caesar turns toward the children and says, "RUN, CHILDREN!! IT IS DANGEROUS HERE!! THE FLYING GAS BALLOON IS JUST OUTSIDE... YOU MUST ALL GET ON BOARD!!! IT'S TIME FOR US TO FLEE THIS PLACE!!!" The children panic about "A GIANT SNAKE" and "ZOMBIES ON THE GROUND," but Brownbeard tells Caesar, "BUT YOU'RE GONNA... GIVE ME BACK MY MEN!!!" and remembers, "I WON'T LET YOU DO THE SAME TO THEM AS YOU DID TO ME...!!!"

Brownbeard finally understands Caesar's betrayal and screams, "EHH?" as Caesar casually explains that all of Brownbeard's men are already lost. Caesar calls him a "BRAINLESS DOLT" and asks if he truly thinks he still has men of his own. "ALL OF YOU HAVE BECOME MY SUBORDINATES NOW, DON'T YOU RECALL?!! YOUR DAYS AS CAPTAIN ARE LONG GONE!!" he says. To Caesar, Brownbeard is a worthless pirate who could not survive in the New World. He says Brownbeard's old crew still believes he is their glorious savior only because he keeps them like "guinea pigs." Sanji and Nami decide not to waste the opening: "NAMI! LET'S GO AFTER THE CHILDREN!! HEAD OUTSIDE!!"

Brownbeard still refuses to let Caesar escape unchallenged. Caesar asks "WHY, YOU!!!" and snaps his fingers. With "GASTANET!!" he detonates a blast directly against Brownbeard, throwing fire and debris across the snow. Nami and Sanji look back in shock as the explosion swallows Brownbeard's body. The page is almost wordless after the attack, using silence and impact to show the cost of Brownbeard's choice. He bought the rescuers a brief chance to chase the children, but Caesar's punishment is immediate and overwhelming.

A flying gas balloon waits in the snow, and Caesar reports through the broadcast, "THIS IS CAESAR... I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY RECOVERED THE CHILDREN...!!" The children recognize the prize inside the balloon and scream, "CANDY!!" and "THE CANDY...!!" Caesar contacts Monet directly: "MONE'!! HAVE YOU PREPARED THE FOOD FOR SMILEY?!" Monet answers, "THIS IS MONE'. I HAVE PERFORMED ALL THE PREPARATIONS AS YOU INSTRUCTED, MASTER." Caesar says that all that remains is to wait for Smiley's arrival and orders her to connect him to all of the transmission receivers. Monet replies, "YES, MASTER." The experiment is no longer private; Caesar is preparing an audience.

Caesar addresses the hidden world watching him. "AHEM. ILLEGAL BROKERS FAR AND WIDE!" he says, then apologizes for the sudden experiment because everyone is "lucky to have the privilege of witnessing it." He announces that the poison gas weapon he is about to demonstrate has "newly added effects compared to the version from four years ago" and is "far beyond anything those government imbeciles could ever hope to achieve...!!" Inside the facility, the captured prisoners sit tied up while Monet and Vergo stand nearby. Caesar is turning Punk Hazard into a sales demonstration, with Luffy, Law, Robin, Smoker, Tashigi, and the others trapped as unwilling proof of his control.

Caesar explains why the broadcast matters. Today, he says, "A NUMBER OF UNWANTED VISITORS HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY ONTO MY ISLAND" and he has chosen to take the opportunity to perform his experiment. He speaks of a revolution "TO WAR... TO DOMINATION..." and says the potential applications are many, across "VARIOUS ISLANDS AROUND THE NEW WORLD." If the spectators find the demonstration to their liking, he invites them to strike a deal. In dark rooms and distant locations, the illegal brokers watch from screens. One asks, "BOSS... ARE YOU INTERESTED IN THIS SLAUGHTER WEAPON...?" Another suggests, "WHY DON'T WE STRIKE OURSELVES A DEAL...?!!" A shadowed figure answers, "NAH... BUT IT CAN'T HURT TO KNOW ABOUT IT, RIGHT?!"

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