The ruins trembled.
Cracks spiderwebbed through the walls as the ancient facility responded to Kael's transformation. Energy pulsed from his core—red and blue tendrils of light warping reality around him. Floors bent unnaturally, doors melted into the walls, and the air rippled like heat waves.
"Something's changing," Robin said, eyes narrowing. "The Core isn't just controlling him. It's expanding."
Kael stood motionless for a moment, the light around him intensifying. Then he moved, launching forward with supernatural speed. Zoro stepped up to intercept.
"I've got him!" Zoro shouted, blades flashing.
Their swords clashed—Zoro's strength against Kael's raw, Core-enhanced precision. Sparks lit up the dim hallway.
Sanji grabbed Franky by the collar. "Whatever you're building, hurry up!"
"I'm working as fast as I can!" Franky barked, pulling scraps of machinery and glowing cables from broken panels. "There's a schematic back there—some kind of failsafe harmonic disruptor. If I can rig it up, it might short out the Core!"
As Zoro and Kael fought, the Core's influence continued warping their surroundings. One moment the ground beneath them twisted like taffy, the next it solidified into jagged obsidian.
Inside Kael's mind, a battle of a different kind raged.
Kael's Memory
Noel stood before him, smiling.
"You always had a strong will, Kael. Don't let anyone take that from you."
Flashes of their past blinked in and out—training on Marine grounds, hunting bounties together, and finally, the sound of screams during the Buster Call.
He reached out toward her memory—but the Core pulled him back into silence.
Outside, Robin examined the runes etched into the walls of the lab. Her fingers traced a symbol that glowed faintly in response.
"These are from the Void Century," she murmured. "It's not just technology. This entire structure—this power—comes from a forgotten civilization. This might be older than the Ancient Weapons."
Usopp paled. "You're telling me that robot inside Kael is made of... cursed century-old alien metal or something?!"
"Not cursed," Robin said. "But deliberately erased."
Luffy turned, watching the fight. "We're wasting time. I'm going in."
"Wait!" Chopper ran forward. "You'll get pulled into the distortion!"
But Luffy was already stretching his arms. "I'm not letting Kael get lost in there!"
Kael turned to face him. In his eyes, for just a second, Luffy saw a flicker of fear.
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol!"
The punch landed—but Kael barely moved. He countered with a swipe of his arm, creating a ripple in the air that sent Luffy flying sideways into a wall.
"LUFFY!"
Franky shouted, "Just a bit longer!" He connected two wires, and a device in his hands began humming—a harmonic frequency emitter pulsing with energy.
"Robin, I need a clear shot at his core!"
Robin summoned limbs to lift debris and guide Franky's aim. "Now, Franky!"
He hurled the device forward. As it struck the ground near Kael, it released a concentrated pulse of sonic energy.
The distortion flickered.
Kael staggered. The red glow in his veins dimmed, replaced with a flicker of blue. He dropped to one knee.
Inside his mind, Noel's voice returned.
"Keep fighting."
But before the Straw Hats could close in—
A boom echoed through the chamber.
From a collapsing side wall, a figure stepped out—tall, in white robes, masked with the emblem of the Celestial Dragons.
"CP0," Robin hissed.
The figure raised a sleek rifle and scanned the scene. "Straw Hats. You've seen too much."
"Who the hell are you?" Sanji snapped.
"The Hellix Core was to remain buried. That directive still stands."
"Too late!" Franky yelled. "Your toy already woke up!"
The CP0 agent raised his rifle, but the ground shook violently. All eyes turned as Kael rose again, the pulse of the Core now fully reignited. The disruptor had only bought moments.
His voice, now mechanical, echoed with two tones: "Protocol Override: Begin Expansion Phase."
The island itself began to shift—walls bending outward, mechanical limbs emerging from deep within the structure. The lab was becoming something else. Alive.
Robin gasped. "The core is trying to reshape reality around itself—into a machine world. An ancient one."
Kael's hands lifted. The sky above cracked as the air shimmered.
Zoro raised his swords again. "Then we cut through this nightmare."
Luffy stood up, bruised but grinning. "And I'll punch reality back to normal!"
The Straw Hats surged forward.