Punk Hassad

After repelling Crocodile, Rock's spent two enjoyable days with Whitebeard's crew on the Moby Dick. Then, he bid farewell to Whitebeard.

"Hey, Marco, how about joining my crew?" Rock suddenly turned around before leaving, smiling, and asking Marco seriously.

"Hmm?" Marco looked surprised, probably because he was taken aback. After confirming that Rock wasn't joking, Marco impatiently waved his hand.

"Stop fooling around, Lock's. I won't leave Pops. So, don't catch my attention."

"Hehe, I see. But my crew will always welcome you," Rock responded, unsurprised by Marco's refusal. 

Among Whitebeard's crew, Marco probably had the most profound bond with Whitebeard. Jumping ship while Whitebeard was alive was out of the question.

"That damn Rock's brat! Roger took Oden away from me, and now you want to take my son too!" Whitebeard heard Rock's words and suddenly became angry, ready for a serious fight.

Seeing Whitebeard's reaction, Rock's suddenly found this man quite cute. "Hehehe, alright, Whitebeard. Thanks for the last two days. We'll meet again someday."

Locke's waved to Whitebeard, then jumped off the Moby Dick and returned to his ship. "Gurarararara, hurry up and leave! You've eaten so much of my food and fine wine these days; do you know how much I cherish those?" 

Whitebeard grumbled, but the smile on his lips revealed he was in a good mood. "Locke's brat, we'll have a drink together next time!" Locke's smiled at the robust and gallant Whitebeard on the Moby Dick.

"Ah, we'll see each other again next time. When that happens, come to my turf. You can have as much wine as you want; I'm not as stingy as you are."

With that, Rock's crew ordered his crew to set sail, and they departed. "Gurarararara, it's a deal, Rock's! Next time, I'll ensure you drink all my finest wine."

As he watched the pirate ship get farther away, Whitebeard's mood suddenly became nostalgic and sad. He didn't know why, but it felt like the next time he and Locke would meet, it might be a long time away.

"Men! Raise the sails and set sail! The adventure continues!"

"Ooh!"

"Long live Pops!"

"Set sail! Off on a new adventure!"

...

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed since Rock left Whitebeard. During their continuous voyage, Locke's finally arrived at his destination, Punk Hazard.

As an island without magnetic fields, it was almost impossible to find without a unique compass guiding the way. At Punk Hazard's harbor, a group of soldiers awaited Locke's arrival.

These soldiers all looked identical: tall and muscular, dressed in black military uniforms, and wearing black military hats. These were the modified humans created by Vegapunk through genetic engineering.

Each of these modified soldiers had the power to defeat a pirate with a bounty of over a hundred million. 

Furthermore, they were all equipped with the latest weapons developed by Dr Vegapunk, capable of rivalling a standard Marine warship's firepower.

However, creating these modified soldiers was an expensive endeavour. Even with the financial support Rock and his crew provided, only two hundred of them had been produced.

These two hundred modified soldiers had become the island's security force, guarding Punk Hazard.

"Mhahahaha, Captain Rock's, welcome to Punk Hazard!"

As the stationed officer on Punk Hazard, Queena performed a ridiculous and amusing dance while singing loudly to welcome Rock.

Seeing Queena's clownish behaviour, Rock didn't know how to respond.

"All right, Queena, enough with the antics. Take me to Dr. Vegapunk." Locke disembarked and made a direct request.

"Mhahahaha, understood, Captain Rock's! Dr. Vegapunk is currently adjusting the equipment, waiting for you!"

"Is that so? That guy claims to be busy but seems to have some free time after all," Locke commented.

"Uh-huh, that guy may say he's busy, but his body tells a different story." Queena smiled.

"Yeah, that's right. I trust my crew, after all."

After all, Locke's had entrusted the management of Punk Hazard to Dr. Vegapunk from the beginning. He only needed to provide funding and receive the latest scientific research results from Vegapunk. 

This had been one of the conditions Locke's had agreed to with Vegapunk. Besides, Locke had no knowledge or interest in these research matters. As for worrying about Vegapunk's betrayal, Locke had complete faith in his companions.

After all, Barrett had joined Punk Hazard as a stationed officer six months ago. As for Queena, he was more interested in developing powerful weapons than ensuring security.

In these six months, Queena had developed numerous powerful and highly destructive biochemical weapons.

"By the way, Queena, before you joined my crew, didn't you spend some time with Kaido?"

"Well."