"Ahhh. Welcome back" Shakki remarked seeing the Straw Hats entering her bar, returning with Rayleigh. There the old man held a short conversation with the crew: he even told them a little about his past, him Gold Roger's vice-captain. The crew's faces shifted through awe, curiosity, and that bright, hungry grin only Luffy could wear.
Rayleigh's voice was steady as he answered their questions—about the Poneglyph on Sky Island, about Roger's choice to surrender. When Usopp blurted the question everyone wanted answered, the room held its breath: Is the One Piece real? Luffy cut in before anyone could answer, voice simple and fierce: "That's what we'll find out." Rayleigh only smiled and, after a few practical instructions about the coater and an Admiral possibly on the island, tore his vivre card into ten pieces. "Three days," he said. "We'll meet after the coating." The old man's farewell was quiet, but it left the crew charged and ready.
They hadn't gone far when a familiar silhouette froze them in place. "Huh? What is he doing here?" Nami hissed. "Lucas—send him away." Usopp's voice trembled between fear and excitement. Lucas's eyes glittered instead. Lucas's eyes gleamed. "Guys… can you believe this? A Pacifista walked up to me. It's practically offering itself to my collection!"
"Paci-whatta?" Luffy tilted his head.
Before anyone could react, the Pacifista's gauntlet slid off with a metallic click and a laser lanced toward Luffy. The beam sizzled the air; Luffy ducked with a grin, Chopper squealed, and Lucas's pupils narrowed in delighted shock. "A beam!" they said in a breathless chorus.
"Not now, you idiots!" Usopp barked. Zoro and Sanji moved like twin blades—Sanji's kick met steel and rebounded with a clang. He grunted, jaw tight. "Is that thing made of iron or what?" he spat.
Lucas didn't wait. He stepped between the Straw Hats and the machine, voice high with possessive glee. "Hey—don't damage my new toy!" He shifted, morphing into a short green form—UpRigg—the fusion of Upgrade and Jurry Rigg, he then leapt onto the Pacifista. In a purple whirlwind he dismantled the Pacifista, gears and servos spinning into a tornado of metal. Then within the same instant he reconstructed a new robot using the Pacifista's parts and final purple spark he was finished.
Lucas hopped back down, morphing to human form. "Aaaand… finished. Presenting… The Destroyer 2.0!" Destroyer 2.0, a hulking, ringed automaton with face-mounted beam ports and a chassis built to twist and pivot like a living siege engine, modelled after the MCU Asgardian Destroyer.
"Hoooo!" Luffy and Chopper clapped like children.
Nami and Usopp gawked. "What… did you just do!?"
Lucas smirked. "This isn't the original Kuma. It's a robot that mimics Admiral abilities. I rebuilt it from scratch—reprogrammed it to work for us." , eyes wide. Nami and Usopp exchanged alarmed looks. "And are you certain that thing is safe?" Nami asked. Lucas's grin was calm, almost proud. "Relaaax. I rebuilt and reprogrammed it. It'll follow our orders now." Usopp's voice trembled with caution. "Are you really sure it won't go berserk? It's even scarier than before"
Luffy ambled up and, with the casual authority of a captain, told the Destroyer to sit. The machine folded into a classic seiza pose with mechanical grace. "Roll over," Luffy added. The automaton obeyed, metal joints whirring. The crew watched, half-amazed, half-worried.
The ground thudded as two figures dropped into the square. One landed with a shout—Hoisaaah!—and planted a broadaxe into the cobbles. Sentoumaru, Marine HQ science unit captain, loomed in a cloud of dust, a second Pacifista standing like a sentinel behind him.
"PX-4… where are you?" Sentoumaru muttered.
"Uwaaah! There's another one!" Usopp and Chopper screamed.
"That guy… did he just say PX-4?" Nami noted.
"It's most likely the one Lucas took over," Robin replied calmly.
"Oi! Broadaxe! Who the hell are you?" Franky yelled.
Sentoumaru scowled. "…Huh!? Who do you think you are, calling me by my weapon's name?" He slammed the axe into the ground. "Doesn't matter. I've got nothing to tell you. I'm the best guard in the world—even my mouth is hard."
"So you won't even tell us your name?" Nami asked.
Sentoumaru's voice was a dry rasp. "I'm the man with the hardest mouth in the world—Sentoumaru!" He spat the words like a warning. Nami's reply was a clipped, "So it's Sentoumaru, huh." He blinked, flustered for a second, then barked orders. "PX-1!" The Pacifista behind him stretched its arm and fired a clean, white laser that carved the air with a sound like a struck bell.
Lucas didn't hesitate. "Destroyer 2.0—your turn." The new automaton's face-ports flared violet.
The square quickly became a battlefield of metal and dust.
Destroyer 2.0 moved like a living fortress—rings along its torso spun, reorienting its armor plates. It fired twin face-beams in a synchronized arc; the beams met the Pacifista's white laser in a shower of sparks and steam. The collision sent a shockwave that rattled nearby shutters and sent pigeons scattering like confetti.
"Sooo cooool!" Luffy and Chopper watched the battle with awe.
Destroyer's ringed torso twisted, using gyroscopic force to dodge a sweeping arm strike from PX-1; metal plates slid and reformed with a grinding whirr. The Pacifista countered with a grappling arm, cables snapping like whips; Destroyer's sensors flared, mapping weak points, and it answered with a Nova Palm—a concussive burst that dented the Pacifista's chest plating and sent it skidding into a fountain.
Sentoumaru moved like a human anvil—axe swinging in wide, practiced arcs. He met Luffy in a flurry of blows. Luffy's rubber body blurred—Gum-Gum Jet Pistol—a fist that struck like a piston. Sentoumaru absorbed the hit, axe ringing, then countered with a sweeping backhand that sent Luffy spinning through the air. Dust plumes rose with each impact; shattered cobbles skittered like rain. Sparks from clashing beams painted the air purple and white.
Sentoumaru and Luffy traded blows in a brutal rhythm—metal against rubber, precision against improvisation. Sentoumaru's axe carved arcs through the air; Luffy's body stretched and snapped, but he couldn't keep up. Sentoumaru's blows were injuring Luffy and quickly Luffy realised he couldn't defeat his foe.
Meanwhile, Destroyer 2.0 and the Pacifista had become a blur of metal—spinning rings, flashing beams, and brutal grapples. The Pacifista tried to lock Destroyer's joints with a hydraulic clamp; Destroyer's sensors flared and it executed a Gyro Break, twisting free and slamming its shoulder into the Pacifista's core. The impact sent the Pacifista reeling, sparks showering like a meteor strike.
Luffy staggered back, chest heaving, eyes bright with a fierce clarity. "Everyone—run!" he yelled, voice cutting through the din. "Meet back here in three days! I don't think we can win this one!"