From the spoils of war, Lance left a portion of the treasure for Angel Town.

As for the rest, he gave it directly to Baby-5 and Rebecca, letting them splurge however they wanted in town.

"Lance, I knew you were the best to me!"

With money in hand, Baby-5 bought all kinds of beautiful clothes and shiny jewelry, living like a rich madam and spending with reckless abandon.

Rebecca wasn't the type to splurge, but under Baby-5's constant chatter and enthusiastic shopping stories, she eventually joined the ranks of spendthrift women.

Truly, spending money was a skill women seemed born with. In less than half a month, every port they docked at became another shopping spree. They spent so much that more than half of the fortune was already gone.

Two shopaholics burned through two to three hundred million Berries without batting an eye. Any ordinary person would've lost their mind.

But of course, they were traveling with Lance—interested in everything but money.

To him, no matter how much they spent, it was all just small change.

"We've arrived."

A month after leaving Angel Town, the trio finally reached their destination—Punk Hazard.

At this point, Punk Hazard had no snow or fire. Instead, it was a toxic wasteland after a failed experiment had blanketed the island in poisonous gas.

But after Caesar's arrival, all the poisonous material had been dispersed, and the prisoners on the island were being used again in cruel experiments.

However, what Lance saw now was devastation.

The island was in ruins—deep craters, destroyed facilities, utter chaos everywhere.

"Looks like Jack the Drought's forces already landed here."

Lance immediately ordered his six IBM to spread out and search for signs of the Beast Pirates… but instead of clues, they found massive hoofprints stamped across the island.

Clearly, Jack and his crew had been through here.

"But there's no trace of Jack or any of his men left."

"Did they already leave?"

After a brief inspection, it was clear—Punk Hazard was deserted. Just rubble and signs of battle.

"Donquixote's crew only had one person watching over Caesar, right? Monet, the user of the Yuki Yuki no Mi (Snow-Snow Fruit)."

"Just her alone wouldn't have been able to stop Jack… but from the battle marks here, it's clear someone else got involved."

Lance's eyes gleamed.

Things were getting interesting.

After Doflamingo's death, forces vying for Caesar had begun to move—and they weren't weaker than Jack. A battle had clearly occurred here.

"But who has the power to go toe-to-toe with Jack and the Beast Pirates?"

Lance's smirk deepened.

If Jack had run into a tough opponent, that meant he hadn't gotten Caesar yet… and wouldn't be returning anytime soon.

"Hopefully they can stall him longer… saves me the trouble of chasing him all over the world."

Just then, a voice echoed in his mind from one of the IBMs.

"Master… found… someone… alive…"

Lance's eyes sharpened. Instantly, his body dissolved into bandages and swapped with the IBM's position.

Stepping from the unraveling bandages, he emerged before a pile of rubble—where a pure white feather peeked out.

"Taiping Setsu—Hada Katana!"

Suddenly, that white feather transformed into a blade glinting coldly in the sun, shooting toward Lance like a bullet!

Clang!

Unfazed, Lance hardened a finger, coating it in Busōshoku Haki (Armament Haki), and flicked the blade away with ease.

"You've got no strength left, yet you still resist?"

"What a foolish woman."

With a wave of his hand, the earth rose and formed a stone cage—trapping within it a severely wounded woman.

Long wavy moss-green hair, golden eyes, a green vest wrapped around her alluring figure.

"Monet-neesan!"

Baby-5 ran up, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the woman trapped in the stone cage.

"Baby-5? You're here?"

"I'm so glad you're safe… The Young Master is dead, they're all dead… I thought you were too… I'm so relieved you're alive, little Baby-5…"

Monet smiled faintly through her pain, her voice weak.

"Lance, that's Monet-neesan! Can you let her go?"

Baby-5 pleaded sweetly.

"No."

Lance replied coldly, his eyes fixed on Monet.

"Tell me where Jack the Drought went."

"Who… are you…?"

"You're after Caesar too?"

"Cough… Don't waste your time. They're too powerful. Not even the Young Master could stop them."

Monet's voice trembled with exhaustion.

"They?"

"So I was right."

"Who was it that fought Jack the Drought over Caesar?"

Lance's eyes narrowed.

Monet didn't answer. Instead, she coughed up blood and collapsed, unconscious.

"Lance!"

Baby-5 cried out, panicked.

"Troublesome woman."

With a sigh, Lance dissolved the cage and turned to leave.

Baby-5 rushed forward to help Monet, lifting her onto her back. Together with Rebecca, she began treating Monet's wounds aboard the ship.

"The Big Mom Pirates…"

"They're the only ones with enough strength and reason to compete with Jack for Caesar. Most likely, one of the Four Sweet Commanders is involved."

"To run into two of the Four Emperors' top fighters back to back…"

"At last… life is getting fun."

A smile curled at the corner of Lance's mouth at the thought of fighting someone strong.

(End of Chapter)

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