North Blue, Avista Kingdom.
Boom—!
A steel behemoth weighing several dozen tons roared as it smashed through buildings along the street. Bricks and concrete crumbled like fragile building blocks.
No structure could impede the advance of this steel tide. Tracks rolled over the ruins, flattening what was once a home.
Hundreds of tanks formed a mobile iron wall, sweeping in from the city's edge, spewing black smoke, devouring the streets like apocalyptic beasts.
Steel tracks rolled over the road, leaving deep gouges.
Turrets slowly rotated, and shells fired casually instantly engulfed distant buildings in soaring flames.
Thick smoke, like an ominous curtain, shrouded the entire city. The sunlight was dimmed and distorted by the haze.
People screamed, fleeing their homes. Panic and fear had become the city's main theme.
In the wake of the steel tide, only twisted steel bars, the burning wreckage of houses, and the final groans of collapsing load-bearing walls remained.
Above this devastation, the tank engines still rumbled low, pushing ruthlessly into the city depths, as if determined to crush everything in their path.
But in reality, the tanks' speed wasn't fast, at least fast enough for the people fleeing ahead to put some distance between themselves and the unbearable terror.
Aboard the massive steel warship floating in mid-air, Perospero looked down at the chaotic city with keen interest. The man whose tongue was long enough to hang himself with smiled and said, "Hurry up, everyone! If you don't run faster, you're going to be blasted sky-high along with this city."
Beside him, a major officer of the Charlotte Family, one of the Sweet Commanders, Charlotte Smoothie, folded her arms, looking somewhat bored. "That Roa fellow is truly dull. If he wants to destroy this country, he should just do it. What's the point of saying he wants to destroy the country but let the citizens survive?"
"Roa, he's actually not very interested in killing people. Compared to slaughter and plunder, that guy is more interested in torturing people."
Perospero licked his candy cane with his tongue, which didn't affect his speaking at all. "Back when we were on Hachinos Island, he had a coliseum. Every three days, he would toss pirates in there to fight and kill each other. The more the pirates screamed in pain, the happier he laughed."
"Tsk."
Smoothie couldn't help but click her tongue.
In the pirate industry, where the vast majority of practitioners were inhuman, Roa was one of the absolute most inhuman at the top.
So, the meaning this time is to turn this country into a ruin, and then let these residents have a survival game in the ruins, is that it?
Utterly boring.
But whether it was boring or not, Roa's orders had to be executed without fail.
All the people living in this city were expelled and confined to one side of the island.
People were terrified, afraid, pleading, and yelling, but it was all in vain.
There were brave resisters, but they were instantly shot down by the identical-looking soldiers the moment they tried to resist. Their firearms were terrifyingly powerful, and their marksmanship was terrifyingly accurate.
So, no one dared to resist anymore. Everyone could only painfully wait for the final moment of judgment to arrive.
Then.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
On the sea, heavy cannons roared from the ships!
The artillery on all the pirate ships had been upgraded, replaced with the heavy cannons manufactured by Judge over the past twenty-five years.
These heavy cannons were centuries more advanced than the mainstream cannons on the high seas. They wouldn't be out of place even on the World War II battlefields of Roa's previous life. In fact, these cannon shells were much more powerful. Just blame it on black technology!
Thus, the city, already teetering under the rampage of hundreds of tanks, was instantly engulfed by fierce artillery fire.
The people forced to gather on the shore were first terrified, thinking the shells were going to fall on them.
Only after realizing they were outside the artillery coverage did they breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Then came the bewilderment.
Why?
Why attack the city? Why let them go?
They couldn't understand.
They had no idea what this meant.
In mid-air, Perospero exclaimed in admiration, "Vinsmoke Judge, what an incredible man! These cannons, which are not even considered spare parts among his creations, actually possess such power!"
"They must be several tiers stronger than the Navy's Buster Call, right?"
If they let loose, the warships on the sea could probably turn this island into a blank slate with just a few salvoes.
Smoothie remained expressionless.
Compared to the giant flying ship beneath their feet, the cannons mounted on those warships were still too weak.
"Roar!"
Just then, a loud roar suddenly erupted from the sea in the distance.
"Hmm?"
Perospero instantly turned to look.
Smoothie also raised an eyebrow in surprise. "A Sea King? What is it barking about?"
On the sea over there, a Sea King was howling up at the sky.
And it was howling with a noticeable rhythm.
"Roar, roar-roar, roar—"
Perospero's brow gradually furrowed. "The enemy is here!"
"Huh?"
Smoothie looked at her older brother in astonishment. "How can you tell? Brother Peros, do you understand the language of Sea Kings?"
"I don't understand, but Roa does."
Perospero explained, "For the convenience of communication, he and the Sea Kings established a set of secret codes, conveying different messages through different rhythms of cries."
Smoothie wore a mystified expression. "So, the meaning just now was, the enemy is here?"
"When we arrived at this island, quite a few Sea Kings were dispersed to patrol the surrounding waters. It seems they've discovered something! Are they the God's Knights?"
Perospero's lips curved. "Perfect timing! I was just wondering if the God's Knights could still achieve anything in the face of such power!!"
To the northwest of this country, about twenty nautical miles from the island, a sizable fleet was rapidly approaching the Avista Kingdom.
The fleet consisted of one unusually large sea vessel and a dozen smaller Navy warships.
"Has that country already been wiped out so quickly?"
On the deck of the giant sea vessel at the front of the fleet, a middle-aged man in a suit and a cape was talking on a Transponder Snail. "Damn it! The scum wouldn't have retreated before this Great Lord even arrived, would they?"
"So you need to hurry up."
"I know, I know! Stop rushing me, Shamrock!"
"By the way, there's one thing I'm very concerned about. The Avista Kingdom's fleet was allegedly destroyed by a group of Sea Kings."
"Sea Kings?"
The man in the suit, the man known as a God's Knight, visibly paled in surprise. "How could it be Sea Kings? Did they stray here because they were close to the Calm Belt?"
"If it's just a coincidence, that's fine, but if it's not—"
The God's Knight's expression grew serious.
It was naturally no secret to them, the God's Knights.
The power held by Joy Boy's companion back then, the one crowned with the title Sea King, was the ability to control—
"Boom!!"
The entire ship suddenly began to shake violently.
"What?"
The God's Knight, still on the call and yet to react, looked down in surprise.
Something massive had struck the bottom of the ship. The immense force instantly caused the ship to capsize.
Everything on the deck was plunging into the sea.
Especially the massive Demon Giants, they crashed into the ocean, splashing huge waves.
And that's not all!
Behind them, more Sea Kings emerged from beneath the surface, ruthlessly attacking the Navy warships.
These warships were just from the North Blue's local Navy branch.
Previously, to evade the pirates' massacre, the Marines from various Navy branches in the West Blue and North Blue had abandoned their branch bases, fleeing on their warships.
Now that the God's Knights had arrived, these warships naturally found a use.
Of course, the Navies of the Four Seas basically had no combat power. Their only role was simply to put on a show.
Just like in this moment, facing the attacking Sea Kings, these Marines had no power to fight back. The warships were all torn apart instantly. All the Marines were either swallowed by the fish or drowned in the sea.
"Damn it!!"
Only the God's Knight soared into the air, stepping on the air, roaring into his Transponder Snail in disbelief. "Shamrock! Sea Kings! A group of Sea Kings attacked my fleet!"
"It's not a coincidence!"
The God's Knight's teeth were nearly ground to dust. "They truly possess the power to control Sea Kings!"
"..."
The other end of the Transponder Snail went silent instantly. A few seconds later, a grave voice responded, "This is truly troublesome!"
Boom!
The giant beasts were still rampaging on the sea.
Several Sea Kings simultaneously slammed into the giant warship that had already flipped over.
Even the God's Knight's flagship couldn't resist the brute force of these deep-sea behemoths, and it was shattered into pieces in an instant.
The Demon Giants who fell into the sea attempted to counterattack.
But the Sea Kings outnumbered them significantly. A swarm of Sea Kings immediately descended, and the few Demon Giants were devoured within the blink of an eye.
"You bastards!!"
The God's Knight was furious and was about to attack the Sea Kings below.
Boom!
Thunder exploded in the sky.
Giant cannonballs directly hurtled toward the God's Knight.
The God's Knight hurriedly dodged while raising his head.
In the sky, the steel warship floated silently. And from the side of that ship, figures had already leaped down.
"Blast it!!"
With a sound of gritted teeth, the God's Knight finally shook his head in resignation. "Call me back, Shamrock! More enemies are coming! Without a place to engrave the magic array, I can't face them alone!"
"...Alright."
Then, the God's Knight took one last deep look at the figures descending from the sky.
"Don't celebrate too early, you scums!"
Then, he transformed into a wisp of black smoke and suddenly vanished from the sky.
Perospero, descending from the sky, shook his head helplessly. "Not only is he immortal, but he also possesses such an unreasonable teleportation ability!"
"Even if we deprive him of a foothold, preventing him from calling for help, he can still teleport away at any moment."
How can an enemy like this be defeated?
Can we only pin our hopes on that new-era Conqueror's Haki Roa mentioned?
"But regardless,"
Smoothie said, "I suppose we've won, haven't we?"
Although the God's Knight fled, this sea area was indeed now theirs.
Moving forward, the Sea Kings would attack all ships in this area indiscriminately, absolutely preventing the God's Knights from approaching.
The conflict that happened here was not isolated.
In the West Blue and North Blue, Roa had divided ten fleets across the two battlefields.
At the same time as Perospero's operation began, two other fleets also occupied two other countries.
Naturally, they also encountered the God's Knights' punitive expeditions.
Then, just like here, the Sea Kings gave the God's Knights on those two fronts a surprise as well.
New World, Velvet Island.
Due to the recent series of major incidents, this famous entertainment district in the New World had become somewhat desolate.
In the center of the city, on the top floor of the building known as the Sleepless City, on the office floor that no guests should be able to reach.
Roa was leisurely leaning back in a wide office chair, reading a thick pile of documents with keen interest.
"Hmm,"
He nodded solemnly, "I still completely don't understand it."
Even after fully evolving to an inhuman degree, he was equally bewildered when faced with documents full of specialized terms and all sorts of complex theories.
"Such a heartless man. I went to all that trouble to get these things for you, and you won't even spare me a second glance?"
Behind him, Stussy massaged Roa's shoulders, her tone filled with resentment.
"So the data for the artificial Devil Fruits and energy manufacturing is all here, right?"
Roa remained unconcerned, simply stating calmly.
"The Doctor said,"
Stussy spoke wistfully, "This is the limit he could give."
"Oh?"
Roa raised an eyebrow and looked back. "So, does Dr. Vegapunk have an issue with me?"
"Honestly, Brother Roa,"
Stussy's expression at this moment could be described as theatrical and affected, her exquisite face now bearing what could be called a saccharine smile, "Don't you have a correct self-perception? The Doctor has always been very worried about you."
"Is that so?"
Roa nodded lightly. "So, what is Dr. Vegapunk's opinion on my previous suggestion?"
He had previously asked Stussy to convey a suggestion to Vegapunk. He said that the World Government was conducting energy research to revive a weapon capable of destroying the world, and he hoped Dr. Vegapunk would add a little something extra during the research process.
"The Doctor said he would consider it,"
Stussy said, "Exactly how, I probably won't have the opportunity to know anymore."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
Roa asked again, a bit surprised. "Did Dr. Vegapunk commit suicide? He didn't have to go that far, did he?"
Does he truly love this world so deeply? The thought of his research being used to destroy the world was enough to make him choose suicide?
"Of course not."
Stussy's smile visibly stiffened for a moment. She whispered, "The Doctor has been transferred by the World Government. My communication with him has been cut off. I don't know when I'll be able to contact him again."
"Is that right?"
Roa stroked his smooth chin. "It seems this is because of what we did at Mariejois?"
So, what was he transferred to research this time?
"Forget it, it doesn't matter."
Roa picked up a small box from the side, took out the pink-colored fruit inside, and a slight curve played on his lips. "It's enough."
With Dr. Vegapunk's research data on artificial Devil Fruits, plus this fruit, which was most likely a successful replica of the Azure Dragon Fruit, Judge and the others' research on artificial Devil Fruits would certainly advance significantly.
Not to mention, the research data for the Mother Flame was also acquired.
That Vegapunk guy surely didn't pull any tricks in the documents, right?
On the other side of the world, atop the Red Line, inside that peculiar large ship beneath the Sun Tree Eve.
In a laboratory cluttered with various instruments.
The man with the large head, Vegapunk, was fiddling with a container with a look of melancholy. The world's number one scientist seemed distracted at the moment.
Roa was absolutely right. The World Government did possess a destructive weapon, and the energy he had been constantly manufacturing was meant to revive it.
To revive the giant ship beneath their feet!
This was a terrifying thing.
Vegapunk felt great pain about it. His original intention was for the energy system, which he named the Mother Flame, to be a force to drive the world forward, to eliminate warfare, and to make the world a better place.
But what the World Government wanted was only a power capable of destroying everything!
And it wasn't just the World Government.
There was also Roa.
That guy was an absolute monster.
Vegapunk didn't need to guess why Roa wanted the energy research data.
The flying battleships that Judge manufactured were no longer a secret.
So.
"It should be a good thing for this world if neither side gets the energy they want, right?"
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