"They're coming! Board the enemy ship and seize control! All hands, prepare for battle!"
Germa.
The soldiers created using Vinsmoke Judge's cloning technology knew no fear. They had no concept of it. Therefore, they never faltered. On the battlefield, only when their words are cut off mid-sentence—
"—Get out of the way, grunt."
Only when they die.
A man in a black suit and glasses appeared out of nowhere. With a single flash of his peculiar gloves, each adorned with five blade-like extensions—the clone soldier who had been leading the charge was cut down instantly.
At the same time, a water column resembling a surfboard launched onto the deck. The clone soldiers, identifying it as hostile, all aimed their weapons. Those equipped with rifles began firing, but not a single bullet penetrated the board floating in midair.
The water column, erupting like a fountain, fell back to the deck along with the board, following gravity's pull. As it landed, every clone surrounding the board was cut down along with it.
"...I see. With that first strike that took down three of them, he instantly measured the distance."
The soldiers who narrowly dodged the sudden slash shifted into combat stance, raising their short spears. But the moment they did, the five at the front were swiftly cut down.
"They've definitely enhanced their muscles and bones. Compared to the enemies we've faced so far, they're tougher and the blade doesn't cut through easily. I was planning to slice them in half."
"I thought you had a smarter way of winning, but this is pretty brutal."
The suit-clad pirate, who had cut down several squads with silent strikes that even the clone soldiers with enhanced hearing couldn't detect, spoke to the swordsman with disbelief in his voice.
"When fighting for your life, you can't always be elegant."
"Well, I suppose that's true."
The swordsman readied what appeared to be a legendary sword, while the pirate adjusted his glasses with his palm.
"Then—let's go."
"Soru."
***
(This is... the unstoppable state...!!)
Fun! So much fun! This is the best, by far!
Lately, aside from some worthless scum, I've been fighting nothing but Mihawk nonstop, so I didn't realize how strong I'd become!
"Enemy life force reversal—"
"Unable to lock on, we'll draw them into a wide-area attack along with us—"
The enemy soldiers show no intention of fleeing, instead using every trick in the book to capture us. Some use their fallen comrades as human shields to pin us down. Others strain their enhanced muscles to the limit, trying to stop my movements along with their blades. Still others fire Gatling guns, aiming to finish off both their comrades and us.
But all of them are too slow. Too slow and too fragile.
At this rate, even Mihawk or Daz would be no match for us, let alone Toya, who can blow them away with his Fish-Man Karate area attacks. Amis can now launch slashes too, so she can cut them down with her first strike.
(Even that Germa, twenty years ago, wasn't at this level of skill.)
If this were Mihawk, he would read their movements and strike with a slash, or target the moment they slowed down to prepare for a direction change, or even have a slash that should have come from the side suddenly come from above.
But these guys can't do that.
Their physical abilities are strong, but the precise judgment required to fight someone of a higher caliber—well, they can probably manage it, but they're too slow to execute it.
If they're trying to kill both allies and enemies, they need wider and denser attacks. Besides, the durability of the Germa clones acts as an obstacle, making their attacks less effective.
If you want to stop me, do something like Mihawk and show off a 360-degree slash in an instant. The first time I experienced that, I felt a moment of despair. He just came up with a combat-ready technique on the spot, claiming it was inspired by watching my near-death experience.
(...It's fun, but I can't afford to enjoy it too much. In reality, as a standard combat force, they're far from just a nuisance.)
In fact, even if it were the Navy's main force, a unit commanded by a vice admiral would likely be scattered by them. Our pirate crew could probably hold our own against them if we deployed our second and third ships, but beyond that, we'd be outmatched. It's impossible. We'd definitely be overwhelmed.
(We need to eliminate as many of them as possible, as quickly as possible, or our losses will mount.)
Focusing on eliminating the weaker enemies was the right choice. Hancock and her sisters, along with Perona's mini-hollow bombardment, Negative Hollow wasn't completely useless, but it wasn't very effective, are providing mobile support, but this will be the first real test for the ordinary crew members.
"Robin, what's the situation?"
I asked Robin, the operator who holds one of the most important positions in our Black Cat Pirates, and her voice came through behind my ear.
"Captain and Mihawk created an opening, and now Daz and the personal guard are charging in to widen the breach."
"What about Hancock and the others?"
"They're repelling soldiers trying to drop ladders and ropes—oh, Toya's unit has just joined the support!"
Good. If the personal guard can deploy, they'll help maintain the front lines. First, we need to weaken the enemy's forces on this ship and use it as a foothold... It'll be tough to take on such a massive ship with just our vessel alone.
(...Mihawk has already confirmed their strength, so maybe it's time I taught Amis and the others some advanced footwork.)
"Robin, keep monitoring the situation. Once the personal guard and the soldiers from the second and third ships have finished deploying on our side, ask Hack or someone else to bring you and Perona over here. We can't spare any forces for defense this time."
"Got it. What are the targets for Bege's ship and the sixth and seventh ships?"
"Focus on any ships that show movement. Buy us time until we take down this ship. If it looks impossible, report immediately. I'll rush over and board their ship myself."
Robin replied that she understood, and by the time the conversation ended, how many had I killed? The cat's paws, blackened by Haki, didn't feel strained at all. The blade's sharpness hadn't diminished in the slightest.
It was probably thanks to Robin reading various books and listening to Mihawk's stories, then carefully selecting this blade. Glancing sideways, I saw Mihawk making short work of the Germa forces with an terrifying expression on his face.
What's that? A massacre exhibition? Scary...
***
"Hmm. He's causing quite the commotion too."
The deck of the giant ship, which had originally served as a temporary staging area for soldiers preparing to board enemy vessels, had become a battlefield.
Mihawk, standing on the opposite side from where Kuro was attacking, watched the enemy soldiers being swept up like a whirlwind of blades, sustaining fatal wounds, and let out a faint sigh of admiration.
"This is nothing but a massacre. He's trained well in such a short time."
Despite being a guest general under Kuro, the man who had once been his rival, Mihawk seemed satisfied with Kuro's rampage.
The aversion to taking life that Kuro had always possessed, it was important for those who needed to fight, but too much of it dulled one's resolve. Mihawk realized that Kuro, as a warrior who could both lead men and fight, was beginning to find the perfect balance.
(With these clone soldiers, I won't even break a sweat.)
While cutting down the enemies who were overwhelming him in numbers, Mihawk recalled the pirate who had challenged him knowing the difference in their strength on that day. For him, it had been a rare encounter.
If he had only heard about it, he probably wouldn't have believed it—a warrior who had almost reached the realm of divine speed. And a pirate who didn't dare to challenge the World Government head-on.
"—Personal Guard, draw your swords! Expand the front lines! Forward!"
"Hah!!!"
"Hmm, they've arrived."
From behind, the voices of the elite soldiers who had followed Mihawk's rigorous training could be heard.
(Come to think of it, they too were a rare encounter.)
Those who had taught him the joy of teaching others to wield a sword, an experience he had never known before. Especially those like Amis, who take on command roles, have grown remarkably. A few can even keep up with Mihawk for several minutes, even when he's using a practice sword.
And without exception, every member of the personal guard grows stronger with each defeat. They're still far beyond his current level, but if they keep training, perhaps one day they can reach his caliber.
Even now, a few members of the personal guard could easily defeat a mediocre pirate crew.
(At this level, Amis and the others wouldn't lose, but the problem is the other soldiers.)
Amis and the others being trained by Mihawk occasionally train other crew members. As a result, the Black Cat Pirates' crew is more stable as a fighting force compared to other pirate crews, but they aren't outstanding. With time, they'll improve, but for now, they're at best upper-middle tier.
"Alright, let's step it up. Show them what you've got, soldiers of science!"
"—Amis, there's a red mist, terrible noise, and a foul smell over there. Could that be Mihawk—"
"—It's just a hunting ground. Don't get near it! Hold your positions at all costs!!"
***
"What the hell is this?!"
Even as an initial production batch, these soldiers possess both sufficient combat prowess and durability, making them the strongest troops available. The army formed from them should be the most powerful force possible.
Yet that very unit, endorsed by Vinsmoke Judge himself, is being utterly routed.
"I understand that the ship's terrain makes it difficult to deploy all our forces at once. But we outnumber them overwhelmingly!"
Losing to the pirates they were supposed to defeat is still acceptable. It's within the realm of understanding. They knew it would be difficult to easily defeat pirates who had earned such bounties at such a young age.
That's why their initial strategy was to focus on eliminating the enemy crew members first.
But—
"You couldn't even break through their rank-and-file defenders?!"
A group of men clad in black suits wielding swords. Following the two men believed to be the captain, "Quick-Draw," and "Surgeon of Death," they boarded the ship. Though they were likely the elite among the crew, the soldiers sent to block the enemy's entry points were unable to defeat a single crew member and fell one after another.
Before long, enemy soldiers began boarding the ship in droves, and before they knew it, the deck of one ship tasked with defending the outer perimeter had been overrun, with half of it now under pirate control.
"Your Majesty, the enemy ships positioned at mid-range continue their cannon fire—"
"Ignore them! If they can't penetrate our armor, their cannons are no better than pea shooters!"
Grasping his spear, Judge stood up.
"Sink the approaching ships! Quickly reduce their numbers and send all our forces to that ship!"
"Yes!"
After this is over, Judge decides to use every means at his disposal to eliminate Mogwa and the others who commissioned this mission, while securing their equipment.
"I'm going too! We must stop 'Quick-Draw' at all costs!"
If their ship is sunk, the number of soldiers will decrease. The problem lies with the named enemies like 'Quick-Draw,' but if they eliminate the other soldiers supporting them, they can overwhelm them.
That judgment would have been correct for a typical pirate crew, and if Germa had mobilized all its forces, even 'Quick-Draw' would have been helpless.
Bringing his pregnant wife, who had consumed poison, to the battlefield was a mistake, especially since the battlefield was in the West Blue, which couldn't be reached by simply crossing the Red Line from the North Blue.
The forces he brought were a small but elite group. Even so, they had enough power to easily crush one or two countries.
However, the king of the Germa Kingdom had not yet realized just how vastly his enemy outclassed them.
Current Estimated Strength of the Personal Guard
Captain Amis: Approximately 100 million bounty equivalent
Captain's Assistants (Toya and 3 others): 70 to 90 million bounty equivalent
General Personal Guard Members (currently 20): 20 to 40 million bounty equivalent
The general personal guard members specialize in coordination and defense, with particular strength in two-man or three-man cell formations, though this is rather minor worldbuilding detail.
I initially thought using original characters was tacky, so I plan to only feature named members of the personal guard—Amis, the female swordswoman, and Toya, the male martial artist. However, I might occasionally give names to some of the generic members just for fun.
...But if I do that, they'll end up becoming named characters in the end, won't they?