The King of the Land of Death

Chapter 691 begins under the title "CHAPTER 691 - THE KING OF THE LAND OF DEATH." Inside the collapsing Punk Hazard laboratory, the escape route becomes even worse. The ceiling suddenly rises instead of holding steady, and the survivors panic as the structure groans above them. Voices cry, "THE CEILING JUST ROSE UP!!!" and the frightened crowd breaks into screams: "UWAH HHHHHHHHHH" and "KYA AHHH HH!!" The change is not a rescue; it opens the space for the poison to spread. The fugitives, already running from Shinokuni, understand that the lab itself is shifting around them and that every second spent hesitating gives the deadly gas more room to enter.

The danger becomes visible as Shinokuni begins seeping through the cracks. Someone shouts, "AND THE GAS STARTED SEEPING IN THROUGH THE CRACKS!!" while another realizes, "THIS IS BAD." The children cry, "I'M SCARED, MISS" and "WAH HHH HH!!" but the G-5 Marines bark them forward: "HEY THIS IS NO TIME TO BE GETTING SCARED, YOU BRATS!! GET UP AND KEEP RUNNING!!" Then the fleeing column runs into Zoro coming from the opposite direction, carrying Tashigi. The Marines are relieved and confused at once: "THANK GOD YOU'RE ALRIGHT!!! I GUESS YOU BEAT THAT BIRD-WOMAN?" and "AH!! IT'S CAPTAIN-CHAN!!" They ask, "BUT WHY ARE YOU RUNNING AT US FROM THE FRONT!? I THOUGHT YOU WERE COVERING FOR US FROM BEHIND!!" Zoro has indeed come the wrong way. Tashigi snaps from his arms, "P... PUT ME DOWN PLEASE! THIS IS EMBARRASSING!!" as the route problem becomes another crisis inside the gas-filled maze.

Sanji immediately notices Zoro carrying Tashigi and explodes with jealousy: "YOU ASS-HOLE! WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO CARRY TASHIGI-CHAN!!" Nami ignores the argument and focuses on survival, ordering, "ZORO! TURN AROUND! THE OTHER WAY!!" and "HURRY, EVERYONE!!" The scene cuts to "B-BLOCK, 2ND FLOOR - EXAMINATION ROOM," where the ceiling is also failing. The people inside shout, "THE CEILING IS COLLAPSING!!" and "CHOPPER-YAN!! WE CAN'T STAY HERE ANYMORE!!" Chopper answers, "RIGHT!! I'VE DONE ALL I CAN FOR NOW!! LET'S HURRY TO R-BLOCK!!" The others promise, "OF COURSE, JUST LEAVE IT TO US!!" and carry the giant Mocha, urging, "MOCHYA!! HANG IN THERE!! WE'RE GONNA ESCAPE." Mocha coughs and pants, still alive after taking the poisoned candy, while the whole group moves because stopping to treat her further would mean dying with the room.

In "D-BLOCK - S.A.D. ROOM," the victory over Vergo has left the production chamber ruined. The huge S.A.D. tank has been sliced apart and the room is moments from destruction. Smoker, bruised but alive, looks at the damage and mutters with grim irritation, "...SHIT. HOW AM I GOING TO EAT BREAKFAST TOMORROW..." Then he turns the remark into a judgment on Law's work: "YOU'VE DONE A THOROUGH JOB... LAW." Law walks away from Vergo's defeated body and answers coolly, "THIS WAS QUITE UNEXPECTED..." The page holds the aftermath rather than another attack. Vergo has fallen, the S.A.D. line has been cut, and Smoker sees clearly that Law did not merely win a duel; he struck at the hidden system feeding Doflamingo's weapons trade.

Vergo is beaten, but his loyalty to Joker remains absolute. He warns Law, "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING OF JOKER'S PAST AND THAT WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL!!" The words carry through the Den Den Mushi to Doflamingo, whose grin makes the threat feel larger than Punk Hazard. Vergo continues, "THE WORLD IS NOT SO SHALLOW AS TO BE OVERTURNED BY A ROOKIE WHO'S MADE A BIT OF A NAME FOR HIMSELF." He adds, "TELL HIM, SMOKER," and declares, "A COUPLE OF BRATS WITH JUST A BIT OF POWER ARE NOTHING IN THE SCOPE OF THIS WORLD...!!" Law does not argue. He tells Smoker, "YOU DON'T NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT ME. WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF FOR NOW..." Smoker walks out under his Marine coat and leaves Vergo with a final dismissal: "THIS ROOM IS ABOUT TO BE BLOWN AWAY. LATER... 'PIRATE' VERGO." The room is about to erase the defeated traitor and the S.A.D. facility together.

On "R-BLOCK, FIRST FLOOR," Caesar realizes something has gone terribly wrong elsewhere in the lab. He fumes, "THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD HAVE DONE THIS...!! IS LAW, RIGHT...!!?" His subordinates crowd around him, calling, "MASTER!!" and asking, "MASTER!! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?" One reports, "OUR COMRADE IS STUCK UNDER THIS RUBBLE." Caesar spits, "PEH... WHAT THE HELL IS VERGO DOING...!!" and then curses everyone who ruined his operation: "SHIT! YOU BASTARDS WENT AND SCREWED UP MY PARADISE...!!" Nearby, Luffy, Brownbeard, and Momonosuke are caught in the same confusion. Luffy asks, "WHAT'S GOING ON NOW?" and someone worries, "I HOPE EVERYONE'S ALRIGHT..." Caesar grabs the broadcast system and calls the "SECRET ROOM": "GIVE ME A RESPONSE CAN YOU HEAR ME UP ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF R-BLOCK!?" A subordinate answers, "Y... YES, MASTER. WHAT'S HAPPENING...!?" Caesar is already turning the disaster into a new order.

Caesar's order is immediate and monstrous. He commands the secret room, "OPEN THE VENTS IMMEDIATELY!!" and adds, "LET SHINOKUNI FLOW INTO THIS ROOM!!!" His logic is simple: "I WON'T DIE, BECAUSE I'M 'GAS' ITSELF." The men hesitate because survivors remain below, but Caesar screams, "I SAID IMMEDIATELY!! STOP DRAGGING YOUR FEET ABOUT IT!!" and insists, "SHINOKUNI WILL BE MY TRUE POWER!!!" When someone protests, "BUT THERE ARE STILL OVER 100 MEN DOWN THERE..." Caesar shows what those men mean to him. He snarls, "DO YOU THINK I CARE, FOOL!? NO MATTER HOW MANY HUNDREDS OF YOU GUINEA PIGS DIE, NO ONE WILL SHED A TEAR FOR THE LOSS OF SOCIETY'S FILTH!!" His subordinates hear the truth directly: their "master" is willing to kill them all as experimental waste.

From the control room, Caesar continues to scream over the broadcast: "HURRY UP AND DO IT!! ARE YOU HEARING ME!!?" and "I CAN ALWAYS REPLACE ANY NUMBER OF YOU!!" The words land in front of the very soldiers who have worshiped him. They stare at the monitors and finally see Zoro, the others, and their own comrades running from the gas, while Brownbeard watches from below and realizes the same thing. He thinks, "BUT AT LEAST THEY SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT ME," and then, looking at the screen, "I THINK I CAN SEE ZORO AND THE OTHERS ON THAT MONITOR...!! LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE RUNNING FROM THE GAS." He wonders, "I WONDER IF I CAN ALSO OPERATE THE GATE FROM UP HERE?" Around him, the betrayed men mutter, "YOWCH..." and "WHAT A MEEK BUNCH..." but the important shift has happened: Caesar's cruelty has been made visible to the people who still believed in him.

Caesar's followers almost turn their doubt into denial. The room freezes as Luffy stands nearby and the soldiers ask, "?" and "!!!" One tries to cover the shock with, "EH... IT'S... IT'S NOTHING," while Caesar snaps, "HUH... OI..." and "WHAT'S WITH THAT LOOK..." Then Caesar laughs as if he has solved the problem himself: "AH, SO THAT'S IT!! I GOT IT!!" His men eagerly accept the excuse he gives them. They say, "IT'S ALL AN ACT TO FOOL MASTER'S ENEMIES...!!" "RIGHT! THAT'S IT!" and "THE KILLER GAS IS ALL PART OF HIS STRATEGY, TOO." Another insists, "A GUY WHO WOULD HARM HIS MEN!? OUR MASTER!?" and one concludes, "WE'VE HURT MASTER'S FEELINGS BY DOUBTING HIM LIKE THIS!!" The page shows how deep Caesar's manipulation has gone: even after hearing him call them replaceable guinea pigs, they try to protect the image of the master they need to believe in.

The vents open and Caesar draws Shinokuni into himself. A voice reports, "MASTER!! WE'VE OPENED THE VENTS!!" and the white poison pours into R-66. The soldiers scream, "UWAHH HHH!! THE DEADLY GAS IS COMING IN!!" Caesar praises them: "VERY GOOD. YOU SHOULD HAVE FOLLOWED MY ORDERS FROM THE START. THERE IS NO NEED FOR TRASH TO BE THINKING." Then he absorbs the gas, saying, "NOW BECAME MY POWER, SHINOKUNI!!" The transformation swells him into a huge black-and-white poison form. He laughs, "SHURA RORORO RORA!!" and boasts, "THIS IS MY POWER OF SCIENCE!!" He explains that his experiment has turned two peaceful countries into examples of his weapon's value: "THANKS TO THE SHOWING OF MY EXPERIMENT, TWO COUNTRIES HAVE ALREADY PUT IN FOR MY WEAPON, 'SHINOKUNI'--TWO PARTICULARLY PEACEFUL COUNTRIES." Luffy watches as Caesar declares that "THE KING OF THE LAND OF DEATH" will fill the world with weapons.

Caesar's new body terrifies even his own men. The soldiers call, "MASTER" and stagger back with "EH..." while Luffy tells his allies, "MOMO... BROWNBEARD, STAY PUT AND WATCH!!" Momonosuke and Brownbeard stare at the impossible sight, one asking, "EH!? UNDERSTOOD" and another, "WH... WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT," before Brownbeard can only mutter, "BE IT A MAN...?" Caesar has not merely released poison; he has become a moving mass of Shinokuni, dragging petrifying death behind him. Luffy's expression hardens rather than retreats. The page is the moment where Caesar's scientific pride becomes visible as a body, and Luffy makes sure the people Caesar used as tools are watching the monster reveal itself.

Caesar chases Luffy through the corridor in his Shinokuni form, laughing, "SHURORORO RORORA!! THIS IS INCREDIBLE, IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF!!" He boasts about the weapon's terrifying speed: "THE SPEED AT WHICH I CAN AFFECT THEIR BODIES' NERVES IS TRULY SOMETHING." Behind him, the soldiers realize the betrayal has not been a misunderstanding. They scream, "UWAH HHHHH HHH!!" and one asks, "HE GOT THEM!! OUR COMRADES!!! WHAT'S HE THINKING, MASTER?!" Another says, "DOES HE REALLY JUST SEE US AS NOTHING MORE THAN GUINEA PIGS...!?" Caesar keeps moving, sneering at Luffy, "OI!! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, STRAWHAT LUFFY!! SHURORORA!!" and mocking him: "GET COLD FEET ALL OF A SUDDEN!? WHAT A DISGRACEFUL GUY!!" He also traps the others strategically: "BUT, B-BLOCK, WHICH THAT CORRIDOR LEADS TO, IS ALREADY NEARLY FILLED WITH SHINOKUNI!!! THERE'S NOWHERE LEFT FOR YOU TO RUN TO ON THIS ISLAND. IT'S OVER FOR ALL OF YOU!!"

Usopp is still at the control panel and refuses to leave it. He says, "SORRY TO BREAK THIS TO YOU IN YOUR MOMENT OF GRIEF, BUT I'M GOING TO NEED YOU TO HAND OVER THAT CONTROL PANEL," because he needs the gate controls to help his friends survive. He also remembers the broader situation: "!?... OH RIGHT, THAT GUY IS STILL HERE!! THE STRAWHAT CREW MEMBER!!" Then Usopp gives his reason for staying: "I NEED TO PROTECT MY FRIENDS FROM THE GAS!!" Caesar's men turn on him with rage and shame. They shout, "YOU SAW ALL OF THAT JUST NOW, RIGHT, YOU BASTARD?" and "WE'VE JUST BEEN HORRIBLY BETRAYED." Another says, "DIDN'T YOU JUST SEE YOUR CAPTAIN RUNNING AWAY FROM CAESAR!? BUT...!! YOU GUYS ARE IN THE SAME BOAT, RIGHT!?" They accuse Luffy of abandoning everyone: "IT SEEMS LIKE HE'S ABANDONED YOU AND GONE OFF TO MAKE HIS ESCAPE." Usopp stands firm and answers the insult with contempt: "HEY, HEY, DON'T THINK YOU CAN GO AND BADMOUTH MY CAPTAIN TO MY FACE...!!"

Usopp understands Luffy more clearly than Caesar's men understand their master. Even with Shinokuni behind Luffy, Usopp says, "EVEN IF WE MAY WANT TO TURN TAIL AND RUN!!" He then explains why the Straw Hats keep moving forward: "BECAUSE THERE IS NO LIMIT TO HIS BELIEF IN US..." and "WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO GIVE IN AND MOVE FORWARD!!" The statement turns into a vow: "SO AS LONG AS WE LIVE WE WILL ANSWER HIS CALL!!" The Caesar soldiers watch Luffy on the monitor and Usopp tells them, "TAKE A LOOK. CAESAR IS THE TYPE OF MAN WHO LUFFY HATES THE MOST!!" The page contrasts two kinds of command. Caesar controls people through lies and disposability; Luffy trusts his crew so completely that they feel compelled to meet that trust, even while scared.

The chapter ends with Luffy proving Usopp right. Instead of fleeing, he has stretched away only to build force, and he launches himself back at Caesar's Shinokuni body. Usopp's words ring over the scene: "LUFFY WON'T FORGIVE CAESAR!!" Luffy's own fury is simple and direct: "I'M SICK OF SEEING YOUR FACE!!" He rockets across the room with his leg and arm extended, aiming straight into the monstrous poison form while Caesar's men watch in shock. The final image is not a retreat but a charge: Luffy has no interest in Caesar's science, excuses, underworld backers, or theatrical title as king of death. He sees the man who hurt children, used his followers, and filled the island with poison, and he goes in to hit him again.

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