Chapter 203: Aftermath and Shadows on Cake Island

“Where am I?” Vegapunk finally came to his senses after the fighting had ended.

But staring at the ruins around him, he felt a headache coming on. For a moment, he wondered if he was seeing things.

Perospero rushed up to him. “Dr. Vegapunk, how are you feeling?”

He was terrified something bad might have happened to Vegapunk. After all, Vegapunk was now the most valuable asset of the Rocks Family.

Just the act of transferring Karl’s Lineage Factor into their bodies was reason enough for the entire Rocks Family to protect him at all costs.

“I’m just a little dizzy. What exactly happened here?” Vegapunk was still in the lab earlier. After several rounds of fighting, he’d lost consciousness—his lack of battle experience had caught up with him. Anything after being knocked out by World Government agents was a complete blank.

Perospero quickly helped him up and calmly filled him in on everything that had transpired.

After hearing the explanation, Vegapunk nodded in deep thought.

“Quick, get that Fishman to the lab. I can save him!”

Only now did Vegapunk remember Halil and immediately ordered people to carry him inside. He called Quinn and Caesar over to prepare for surgery.

He wouldn’t have dared to try this before, but now that Halil was in such critical shape, there was no harm in trying. He wanted to directly overlay Karl’s Life Factor onto Halil.

This technique was an evolved version of the Lineage Factor—it let him replicate an entire bloodline into another body. The only problem: he’d never tested it on a living subject. Whether it would work, he had no idea.

What’s more, Halil was a Fishman. He didn’t know if there’d be a rejection reaction with human blood. But this was the only way to save his limbs.

If Halil hadn’t risked himself, Vegapunk might have already been snatched away by the World Government. So he was determined to do whatever it took to save him.

Even though the fight ended in an abrupt and somewhat sloppy way, Perospero couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

How did the World Government find the lab so precisely?

Was it something they noticed back when they went to fetch Vegapunk?

Or did someone on the island tip them off?

He glanced around the area near the lab and instantly spotted a flash of light coming from a nearby cottage.

“Katakuri!” he called out to his brother, who was busy giving orders.

Katakuri heard him and hurried over. “What’s up, big bro?”

Seeing Perospero’s serious expression, Katakuri felt his own nerves tighten.

“Do you see that? Isn’t there a flash over there?” Perospero pointed at a distant room with his right hand.

Following Perospero’s gesture, Katakuri spotted the glimmer as well—but it vanished a moment later.

“Big bro, you’re thinking there’s a spy, aren’t you?”

“Why guess? Go check it out for yourself.” Perospero licked a nearby lollipop and closed his eyes, savoring the moment.

He had absolute faith in Katakuri. And frankly, he didn’t believe any rat hiding in the shadows could slip through Katakuri’s hands.

Katakuri nodded solemnly, said nothing, and raced toward the area where the light had flashed.

“Crap, I’ve been found!” a terrified voice shrieked inside the room.

Abandoning everything, the person dove out the back window, running for the edge of the island—the only shot at escape.

“Boom!” Katakuri smashed right through the door.

But the room was already empty when he arrived. The only thing left was a telescope propped on the sill, aimed straight at the laboratory’s main entrance.

“Damn it, you’re not getting away.”

He scanned the area and spotted an open window at the back. A black-clad figure was fleeing in the distance.

“Blade Burst!” Katakuri formed bullets from glutinous rice and coated them in Armament Haki.

“Pft!”

The sound had barely faded when the black mochi bullets punched through the spy’s legs, sending him sprawling headlong into the dirt.

“Aah!”

“My legs!” the stranger wailed, clutching his legs tight. The pain was so blinding he forgot all about running.

Thud, thud, thud…

Hearing footsteps approach, the man broke down sobbing. “Please, let me go!”

Tears streamed down his face. Seeing Katakuri closing in, he still tried crawling toward the shore, clawing at the ground with bloodied hands.

He didn’t even dare to imagine what kind of torture awaited if he got dragged back. Desperation took over—he wanted nothing but to survive.

“So you’re the spy?”

Katakuri looked him up and down. He really didn’t seem bright enough for espionage.

Was this guy really qualified to be a spy?

A few steps later, Katakuri stood right over him.

“I’ll tell you who sent me—just please, just make it quick!”

The black-clad figure groveled, hands pressed together, forehead buried deep in the dirt.

“Like I get to decide that,” Katakuri snorted.

Not so easily fooled, Katakuri didn’t know if the man was lying. Not caring about his pain, Katakuri grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back to Perospero.

“Big bro, looks like this one’s our spy. He left a telescope in the room, pointing right at us.”

Perospero’s gaze lingered on the distant cottage while his mind raced.

“That used to be a security booth,” he mused. “After they built the lab, the factory moved but the security hut stayed.”

“Talk. Who are you, and how did you know Vegapunk was in the lab?”

“I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you everything!”

The man stammered out his reply.

“I’m one of Lord Rufid’s men. I tracked you here from the first half of the Grand Line.”

“Dr. Vegapunk was originally sponsored by Lord Rufid, but a few years ago, pirates kidnapped him from Machinery Island.”

“They sent agents like me to keep tabs on Vegapunk, so we’d know where he was taken.”

At this, the man glanced nervously at Perospero.

He hadn’t wasted his time on the island. He’d learned Perospero acted kind around family, but was absolutely ruthless in battle.

At least a third of the Rocks Family’s current territory had been wrested back by Perospero himself, leading from the front.

“But once we found out it was Karl who took him, Lord Rufid knew he couldn’t win a direct fight, so he dropped it. I just kept hiding here for the next few years.”

“But a few days ago, the World Government showed up to see Lord Rufid.”

“Whatever deal they struck, the news that Vegapunk was on Cake Island got leaked. They told me to keep him under surveillance.”

“That’s all I know. Please, spare my life!”

He finished, banging his head against the ground over and over.

After all, when you can live, who really wants to die?

“If you’re lying, you know what happens. Take him away.”

Perospero signaled and two squads of Fishmen pinned the man and hauled him to the dungeon.

“Spare me, let me live!” the man kept screaming as the Fishmen dragged him off, leaving long streaks of blood behind them.

“So you want to mess with the Rocks Family? Let’s see how tough Lord Rufid really is.”

Perospero took in the bloody scene, a red light flickering deep in his eyes.