Ryo was crouched over Itsuki's unconscious body, lazily poking the assassin's forehead with one finger. His expression was flat with boredom, tail swaying idly behind him.
In the distance, faint but unmistakable, came the sound of drums.
Ryo (bored): oh luffy must have used fifth gear to fight lucci, don't know why he needed to use a form that strong, compared to us now these two were pushovers, gotta say I do feel kinda drained from using Kyokitsune
He yawned, shoulders relaxing as the storm energy finally settled.
Then—
His ears twitched.
A strange mechanical chime echoed through the air, followed by a loud, repeating alarm that made his head throb slightly.
Female Announcer: Vacuum rocket departing in 1 minute
Ryo blinked, confused.
Ryo (thinking): ...a vacuum what now?
A sharp ringing followed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a miniature transponder snail.
Ryo: Hey what's up?
Jimbei's voice burst through, loud and urgent.
Jimbei: Ryo! Is that you?!
Ryo: Yup it's me, I've got an unconscious assassin here, what do I do with him?
The tone on the other end shifted instantly.
Jimbei: There's no time for that!!, Leave him and catch that rocket?!
Ryo winced and held the snail away from his ear.
Ryo: Uh right got it!
He snapped the snail shut, glanced down at Itsuki one last time, and shrugged.
Ryo: see ya around scorpy!
Lightning cracked beneath his feet as he vanished, bounding across rooftops in rapid flashes. He spotted a capsule-like vehicle ahead — sleek, glass-roofed, with ROCKET stamped across its side. The top was lifted open like a train carriage.
Inside, he spotted Jimbei, Chopper, an unconscious Jewelry Bonney, and a massive unconscious girl taking up nearly half the space.
Chopper: Ryo!
Ryo smirked, launched himself off a nearby building, flipped midair, and landed cleanly into an empty seat.
Ryo: wait where's luffy?
Chopper: we told him to come! But he's not here yet!
A countdown blared.
Three seconds.
Suddenly—
Like a living cannonball, Luffy appeared in midair, Gear Fifth blazing. White hair, red eyes, a grin so wide it looked painful.
Announcer: Door's closing..
The roof began sliding shut.
Luffy shot forward and barely squeezed inside before it sealed — immediately deflating into a shriveled, old-man version of himself, tongue lolling out.
Announcer: for your safety, please remain seated and fasten your seatbelts, all engines at full power, prepare to launch
Ryo strapped himself in, eyes flicking forward as the capsule aligned with a massive tube.
Chopper, in Kung Fu Point, was practically vibrating in his seat.
Chooper: haha, this is so neat!
The rocket fired.
Everyone slammed back into their seats as the capsule shot forward like a bullet. Bonney jolted awake with a gasp.
They whipped through turns, corkscrews, and sudden drops — even flipping upside down.
Jimbei: It's certainly something alright!
Bonney: where am I? What happened to vegapunk?!
She turned—and froze.
Beside her sat shriveled Luffy, shaking his fists.
Luffy (in an old voice): where's pigeon guy! Let me at em?!
Bonney's eyes bulged.
Bonney: wow! Who the hell is this?!
Ryo leaned back, unfazed.
Ryo: believe it or not, it's my brother, he's just tired, it'll take way too long to explain?!
Bonney turned—and froze again.
Bonney: ah! Dragonkiller Ryo! When'd you get here! How long was I passed out?!
The capsule continued hurtling through the tube.
Announcer: departing Fabriophase. Entering Labophase
They burst through clouds into blinding sunlight.
Announcer: transit duration, 32 seconds
Almost immediately—
Announcer: you have arrived
Bonney blinked.
Bonney: already?
Announcer: all subsequent rockets are cancelled.
The voice abruptly shifted—calm, male, ominous.
Announcer: labophase under lockdown, frontier down security system engaged, hostile intruder alert, all researchers evacuate to the factory immediately and seal all entry points
The doors opened.
They stepped out into Labophase. Jimbei carefully lifted the massive unconscious girl from the capsule.
Ryo took her in—she was enormous, easily Kaido-sized, yet strangely young-looking. Floppy downward ears, blue eyes, short curly hair split white on one side and pink on the other. Long curled locks reached her belly. A thick bushy tail rested behind her. She wore a short pink dress marked PUNK-05, pink DOM shoes, and brown gloves with white sleeves.
Ryo (thinking): this must be another one of the satellites that lilith mentioned
A swarm of small screw-headed robots rushed over.
Robot: oh no! Atlas!
Robot 2: this is serious, she's not moving at all
Robot 1: don't worry, we'll save you
They circled her, scanning rapidly.
Robot 1: Ready a repair session immediately! Patient incoming, thank you for bringing her in, you can leave the rest to us
Jimbei nodded.
Jimbei: of course, good luck
Bonney suddenly snapped.
Bonney: hey screws for brains! Where the hell is vegapunk! I know he's in here somewhere, tell me now!
She crouched toward the robots, who recoiled in panic.
Ryo (thinking): Ok..I've clearly missed something, wait since when is she even here, what is even going on anymore
Jimbei placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
Jimbei: Bonney! You need to calm down!
Ryo glanced over at Luffy.
Ryo: so Luffy, what's bonney's issue with vegapunk
Luffy scratched his cheek.
Luffy: he turned her father into a cyborg
Ryo paused.
Ryo: oh..yeah, that would make anyone mad, wait whose her father?
Luffy answered casually.
Luffy: uh that bear guy that separated us two years ago and protected the sunny on sabaody, kuma I think his name was
Ryo froze.
His eyes widened.
Ryo: Huh?!
And that's a wrap
Gotta love this
