Inside the roaring shower, upbeat, high-energy music suddenly blared through the steam-filled room.
Behind the fogged-up glass door, Queen's rotund silhouette swayed to the rhythm with surprising enthusiasm.
He grabbed the showerhead like a microphone and began singing in a deep, dramatic voice:
"Zelo zelo zelo zelo..."
"If I lost weight... I'd be way more popular..."
"But I'm the kind who doesn't lose weight on purpose... FUNK!!"
"Round as I look, it's all muscle underneath!!"
His jiggling shadow flailed its arms wildly as the music built up in excitement.
"I'm the type who sings and dances... FUNK!!"
"Are you feeling it!?"
But just as Queen was immersed in his own musical performance—
A thunderous explosion erupted in the distance. The entire lab trembled violently, and the shockwave blasted the glass windows into shards.
Startled, Queen yanked open the glass door and stuck his dripping head out.
A Beasts Pirates crewman, wearing a horned helmet, came running in, panic-stricken and shaking.
"Queen-sama!! The furnace at Armory No. 3 in Area A just exploded!!"
Queen's eyes bulged. He yanked a towel off the rack to wrap around his lower half and waddled over to the shattered window, his massive frame bouncing with every step.
What he saw outside made his jaw hit the floor.
One of the distant armories was engulfed in flames. A towering inferno raged skyward, sending thick black smoke spiraling into a massive mushroom cloud. The colossal smokestacks—dozens of meters high—were toppling and crumbling under the force of the explosion.
The area around the facility was pure chaos. All around, members of the Beasts Pirates and laborers had turned into human torches, wailing in agony as they flailed and burned.
"What the hell happened!? You idiots!!"
Queen grabbed the panicked pirate by the collar, eyes bloodshot, gritting his teeth.
"Why does this crap always happen when I'm around!? If Kaidou-sama comes back to this, he's gonna kill me!!"
The crewman trembled, face pale.
"I-I don't know... someone threw explosives into one of the furnaces! People are already trying to put out the fire!"
Queen saw reinforcements rushing toward the blaze from all directions—riding beast-driven chariots that kicked up clouds of dust.
There were only eight armories in total across the base, split between Areas A, B, and C.
They were the Beasts Pirates' main economic pillar—Kaidou's hard-earned legacy.
If this fire spread to the other armories, Queen was sure he'd lose his head—literally.
No time to think. He grabbed a pair of overalls and tried to shove himself into them on the spot. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel⚑fire.net
But he was too round.
After a minute of frantic struggling, he still couldn't squeeze in. His face flushed red with panic and frustration.
"You idiot! What are you standing around for? Get over here and help!"
Queen snapped at the subordinate staring blankly beside him.
The pirate rushed over and, sweating profusely, finally managed to squeeze Queen into his overalls.
Queen yanked the straps into place, hastily lit a cigar, and bolted from the lab without another word.
"If this triggers a chain reaction and spreads to the other armories, I'm done for!!"
The pirate shivered and scrambled to catch up. With someone as petty and ruthless as Queen, if things went south, none of his underlings would walk away unscathed.
A burst of steam shot from the beast-powered war chariot as the engine roared to life, ramping up to full throttle.
It tore across the ground like an unchained beast, kicking up thick plumes of dust and leaving deep tire tracks behind as it sped toward the explosion site.
Inside the lab, the showerhead continued to spray hot water.
Dense steam had filled the room.
Suddenly, ripples shimmered across the wall.
Senor emerged from it, gasping for breath, face pale.
He glanced toward the direction Queen had vanished, where massive fire pillars shot into the sky—erupting from the detonation site like blazing fireworks.
"Daren-sama's plan... worked."
Senor steadied his breathing.
Explosives were everywhere on this island. After all, this was the Beasts Pirates' main base and one of the largest arms hubs in the underworld.
As someone born into a mafia family, Senor only needed to make a few subtle modifications to the explosives to create a timed detonation.
Leveling an entire building required a significant amount of firepower.
But to blow up a furnace in an armory? All it took was a single spark.
And with one major explosion, Queen was guaranteed to rush to the scene.
Senor's gaze quickly landed on a ring of keys hanging on the wall hook.
The key to the Seastone shackles!
"Daren-sama was spot on. A scientist like Queen would never tolerate having blood all over himself—he'd definitely take off the key while showering."
"And once the explosion hit, it'd draw his full attention. There's a good chance he'd forget the keys entirely and run straight for the scene."
"And with his focus split like that, even his Observation Haki wouldn't pick up on me sneaking in..."
Senor muttered, admiration for the Marine deepening once more.
He grabbed the keyring with one hand.
"All right... this is it. The final life-or-death sprint."
With a sharp glint in his eyes, Senor dove headfirst into the liquefied ground and began swimming toward the prison at top speed!
If he were sprinting on land, it would take about a minute to reach the prison from the lab.
But using the power of the Sui Sui no Mi, his swimming speed was somewhat slower.
Senor clenched his teeth.
He had to get the shackle key to Daren before that oversized bastard Queen realized what had happened!
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