Chapter 36

The metallic corridors of Section B echoed with the sound of alarms. The "Straw Hat-Heart-Clockwork" Alliance—a chaotic mess of pirates, body-swapped sailors, and a time-traveling Marine—sprinted toward the Central Control Room.

"Something is wrong," Kurumi muttered, checking her pocket watch. Her Clock Eye was twitching nervously. "The timeline isn't just shifting; it's breaking. In the original history, we just had to worry about slime and gas. Why do I feel a threat level equivalent to a Buster Call?"

"Stop mumbling and run!" Nami (in Franky's heavy cyborg body) panted, crashing through a locked door. "Luffy took off ahead of us! He's going to eat the poison gas if we don't stop him!"

They burst into a massive, dome-shaped hangar. In the center stood a large, cylindrical containment unit marked with the symbol of Vegapunk: SSG – PROTOTYPE 0.

"SSG?" Robin (running beside them) narrowed her eyes. "That’s the Special Science Group. But they aren't supposed to be active yet."

The cylinder hissed. Steam vented.

"Intruders detected," a robotic voice echoed. "Initiating Protocol: Extinction."

The door of the cylinder flew off. Stepping out was not a lumbering PX-series Pacifista. It was a sleek, human-sized android with metallic white skin, glowing blue lines running along its torso, and wings made of hard light.

It looked eerily like a young Kuma, but faster. Much faster.

The Vegapunk Legacy

"A Seraphim?!" Kurumi gasped. "No… too early. A prototype. A 'White Pacifista'!"

The android raised a hand. No charge time.

Beep.

A beam of light—thinner and more concentrated than Kizaru’s lasers—sliced through the air.

"Duck!" Zoro (in Sanji's body) shoved Nami-Franky out of the way.

The beam cut cleanly through the reinforced steel wall behind them, melting it like butter.

"Threat Analysis: Pirate Hunter Zoro. Bounty: 120 Million. Devil Fruit Probability: 0%," the android droned. It turned its head to Kurumi. "Subject: Kurumi. Status: Deceased. Anomaly detected. Priority: ELIMINATE."

"It knows me?" Kurumi drew her guns. "Vegapunk left a watchdog. And it’s smarter than the ones at Sabaody."

The Intruder

Before the android could fire a second shot, the ceiling above them exploded.

Debris rained down. A massive figure crashed onto the floor, shaking the entire facility. He wore a Luchador mask and a championship belt.

"WIIIIHAHAHAHA!"

The laugh was loud, boisterous, and terrifying.

"I found you, Caesar!" the giant man bellowed, ignoring the android and the pirates. "Captain Blackbeard wants a word about your fruit production!"

Kurumi’s blood ran cold.

Jesus Burgess. The Captain of the First Ship of the Blackbeard Pirates.

"What is he doing here?!" Carmen hissed, her hands lighting up with heat. "He’s supposed to be hunting Devil Fruits in the New World, not baby-sitting a scientist!"

"The timeline…" Kurumi realized with horror. "Because Whitebeard didn't stab Akainu… because the war ended differently… Blackbeard moved faster. He's accelerating his plans."

Burgess spotted Luffy (who had just arrived, sliding in from a side tunnel).

"Straw Hat!" Burgess grinned, flexing his massive arms. "I heard you were dead! But here you are! WEEHAHA! Perfect! I’ll take your rubber fruit as a souvenir for the Captain!"

The Three-Way Deadlock

The situation was a nightmare.

* The Prototype Pacifista (PX-White): Targeting everyone as an intruder.

* Jesus Burgess: Targeting Luffy and Caesar.

* Caesar Clown: Watching from a monitor above, laughing maniacally as he prepared to flood the room with gas.

"This is bad," Sanji (in Nami's body) lit a cigarette, looking ridiculous in a bikini top. "That wrestler guy… his Haki is huge."

"Focus on the robot!" Kurumi ordered. "Burgess doesn't know my power. That’s our only edge."

The Fight Begins

"ELIMINATE."

The PX-White launched itself at Burgess.

"Get out of my way, tin can!" Burgess roared.

Hado Elbow!

He slammed his elbow, coated in Armament Haki, into the android. The shockwave shattered the floor plates.

But the android didn't budge. It caught the elbow with one hand. Its blue eyes flashed.

Shockwave Discharge.

A pulse of electricity blasted Burgess backward.

"Tough little toy!" Burgess laughed, wiping blood from his lip. "But I'm a Champion!"

He charged again.

Meanwhile, Caesar’s voice boomed over the speakers.

"Shurorororo! Welcome to my playground, guinea pigs! Since you're all here, why not test my new pets?"

The floor vents opened. From the darkness, two massive shadows emerged. The Yeti Cool Brothers. But they weren't the sleepy giants from the anime. Their fur was matted with blood, their eyes glowing red with a drug-induced rage.

"Kill…" the Yetis growled, leveling muskets the size of cannons.

The Clockwork Gamble

"Luffy! Handle the wrestler!" Kurumi shouted. "Zoro, Sanji—take the giants! I'll deal with the robot!"

"You're taking the robot alone?!" Usopp screamed.

"I have the tools," Kurumi said, her voice steady.

She sprinted toward the PX-White. The android swiveled its head.

"Target: Anomaly."

It fired a laser barrage.

Zafkiel: First Bullet – Aleph.

Kurumi accelerated. To the others, she became a blur of red and black. She wove between the lasers, closing the distance.

"You're fast," the android analyzed. "Calculating trajectory."

It predicted her movement and punched. A fist of solid titanium aimed right at her face.

Kurumi didn't dodge. She aimed her musket at the robot.

Zafkiel: Second Bullet – Bet (Slow).

The bullet hit the android's joint. The hydraulics in its arm slowed to a crawl. The punch drifted past her face in slow motion.

"System Error. Chronal desynchronization detected."

"Your processor is fast," Kurumi whispered, placing her other gun against its chest core. "But your hardware is lagging."

Bang.

She fired a Sea Prism Stone bullet point-blank into the core.

The android stuttered. Sparks flew. But it didn't shut down. It grabbed her wrist with its other hand.

"Capture mode."

"Let go!" Kurumi struggled.

Suddenly, a shockwave hit them both.

"WEEHAHAHA!"

Burgess had grown bored of Luffy dodging and decided to simply destroy the entire room. He leaped into the air.

Galleon Lariat!

He swung his massive arm, creating a tornado of air pressure that ripped the android (and Kurumi) off the ground and slammed them into the wall.

Kurumi coughed blood, sliding down the dented steel. The android was dented but functional.

Burgess landed in front of her.

"Hey, little lady," Burgess loomed over her. "You move weird. Is that a fruit? Captain Blackbeard loves collecting rare fruits."

He reached for her throat.

"I don't know what you are," Burgess grinned, his teeth missing. "But I bet if I kill you, a nice fruit will spawn nearby."

Kurumi looked up. Her guns were knocked away. Her stamina was low from the impact.

She smiled. A terrifying, insane smile.

"You want my time, Champion?"

Her left eye—the golden clock—began to spin backward violently.

"Then let's see how you handle yesterday."

Zafkiel: Fourth Bullet – Dalet (Rewind).

She didn't rewind herself. She aimed her hand at the debris falling from the ceiling—the massive steel beams Burgess had dislodged earlier.

Rewind.

The beams flew upward, reversing their fall, catching Burgess completely off guard as the floor reassembled itself under his feet violently, throwing him off balance.

"What the—?!"

"Luffy! NOW!" Kurumi screamed.

Luffy, seeing the opening, bit his thumb.

Gear Third.

His arm inflated to the size of a giant's. He coated it in Haki.

"GOMU GOMU NO… ELEPHANT GUN!"

Luffy’s massive fist slammed into the off-balance Burgess, driving the Blackbeard Commander through three layers of reinforced steel walls and out into the frozen wasteland.

The Escape

"Run!" Kurumi picked up her guns.

The PX-White was rebooting. The Yeti Brothers were fighting Zoro and Sanji to a standstill. The gas was leaking in.

"We can't win this here!" Kurumi yelled. "We need to get to Caesar's main lab! We need to bottleneck them!"

"Shurorororo!" Caesar’s voice taunted them. "Run, rats! Run until your lungs melt!"

As they fled down the corridor, Kurumi wiped blood from her forehead.

This isn't the story I know, she thought, her heart pounding. Burgess is here. The Pacifista is top-tier. And Caesar… he's not just a clown. He's a monster who invited the world to watch us die.

She looked at her shaking hands.

I need more time. Or I need to eat something with a lot of souls.