"Shanks, we're completely behind now," Benn Beckman said with a deep sigh, leaning on the railing of the Red Force.
The red-haired man nodded silently beside him.
He felt an immense pressure.
Kaido and Big Mom had formed an alliance and, with the help of the Vinsmoke family, had created Emperor 1 Seraphim that surpassed the Marine's previous models.
The Marines themselves were even more terrifying, having developed a Seraphim that could single-handedly fight both Kaido and Big Mom to a standstill.
Even Whitebeard was moving faster, acquiring his own Seraphim.
At present, only the Red Hair Pirates had been left in the dust.
How could Shanks not feel anxious?
Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the ship.
"Hm?" Shanks and the others hurried to look.
The source of the explosion was Limejuice's workshop.
"What happened?"
"I don't know! Is Limejuice developing something?"
Just as everyone was wondering, Limejuice stumbled out of the workshop.
"Cough, cough..." His entire body was covered in soot, and his clothes were tattered.
Seeing this, Shanks couldn't help but laugh.
"Limejuice, what on earth were you doing... huh?! Is that... a Seraphim?!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw a figure appear behind Limejuice.
It had white hair, brown skin, black wings wreathed in flames, and its face was clearly that of a young Shanks.
It was a Seraphim!
Benn Beckman also looked over, his face etched with shock.
"Limejuice, did you... build this?" Benn Beckman asked in disbelief.
"Cough, I tried to tinker with it and barely succeeded. I'm not a professional after all," Limejuice said, scratching his head in embarrassment.
"But isn't this a success?" Shanks asked, his face lighting up with joy.
He never expected Limejuice to have this kind of ability.
"No, strictly speaking, it's not a success," Limejuice sighed. "The Seraphim I copied only has about 20% of the original's power."
"Only 20%? That's a huge gap," someone muttered.
The surprise on everyone's faces faded, replaced by a sigh of disappointment.
With only a fraction of the original's strength, it wouldn't make much of a difference to their crew's overall power.
"It seems the Vinsmoke family's technology is far superior," Yasopp couldn't help but say.
"Their copies have at least 70% of the original's strength."
"Yeah, but they made their name in technology. It's not easy for us to catch up," another crewmate added.
"I heard their leader, Judge, once worked with Vegapunk, along with Queen from the Beast Pirates and Caesar Clown."
"The Vinsmokes aren't the truly powerful ones. The real monster is Dr. Leon," Limejuice said, shaking his head.
"I've seen the original Seraphim; they're perfect in every aspect. The imitations made by Big Mom, and even the ones we could custom order, are just barely catching up to his originals."
Just as he was speaking, a gust of wind blew across the deck.
"Hm?" Shanks's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly turned his head to look into the distance.
A huge sailboat was speeding toward them.
Benn Beckman extinguished the cigarette in his hand, his face turning solemn.
"Everyone, get ready," he ordered.
In an instant, the entire crew was on high alert.
The distant ship slowly approached.
A man stood at its bow: Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
"The Revolutionary Army..." Shanks said in a low voice. "Have you come for me?"
"Red-Hair," Dragon said with a calm smile. "Don't be nervous. We mean no harm. Forgive our unannounced arrival, but the matter is urgent."
He paused, then continued, "We came here to propose a partnership."
With a glance over his shoulder, Dragon ordered.
"Bring out the Seraphim."
....
Soon, a Seraphim walked out.
It was a young version of Bartholomew Kuma.
"Huh?!" Shanks and his crew were stunned.
They never expected the Revolutionary Army to have successfully replicated a Seraphim.
"Hehe, this was jointly developed by our commanders, Lindbergh and Karasu," Dragon said confidently.
"It has the combat power of a perfect Warlord-class model."
"Perfect?" Shanks and Benn Beckman exchanged a shocked glance.
[Big mom counterfeit warlord seraphim only have 70% strength of the original in case you forgot]
"Limejuice, go appraise it," Benn Beckman said.
Shanks gestured for him to go.
Limejuice walked forward and carefully inspected the Kuma Seraphim.
After a moment, his face filled with amazement.
"It was indeed perfectly recreated... It's even stronger than the knockoff Seraphim jointly developed by the Vinsmokes!"
Hearing Limejuice's assessment, Shanks and the others were greatly surprised.
They never imagined the Revolutionary Army possessed such talent.
"So, what do you say, Red-Hair?" Dragon smiled, a strategic glint in his eyes.
"Can we cooperate?"
Benn Beckman gave a silent nod to his captain.
Shanks understood.
In this new era, to fall behind in technology meant certain defeat.
The Marines had grown rapidly with their high-tech weapons, and now the Red Hair Pirates were the only major power without a technology ally.
The Revolutionary Army was the perfect fit.
"Alright, I agree," Shanks declared. "The Red Hair Pirates will cooperate with the Revolutionary Army. However, we still need to discuss the specific terms..."
"That's natural," Dragon smiled. "Benn Beckman, you will be responsible for negotiating the details with my Chief of Staff."
Soon, the two sides reached a preliminary agreement.
They understood that mere imitation would always be limited by the original; only true innovation could lead to surpassing their rivals.
Therefore, the Red Hair Pirates would be responsible for obtaining genetic samples of strong individuals, while the Revolutionary Army would handle the technological development and production.
Then, Dragon revealed his trump card: they had the remote technical support of Dr. Vegapunk himself.
That was how their Seraphim could be copied so perfectly.
Hearing this, the joy on the faces of Shanks and his crew intensified.
They never imagined the connection between the Revolutionary Army and the world's greatest scientist ran so deep.
With that, a temporary alliance was formed to jointly resist the Marines.
*****
Florian Triangle
"Kishihihi... Straw Hat Luffy! Hold still!" Gecko Moria cackled, watching the battle before him with a smug expression.
The Straw Hat crew was fighting a Seraphim version of Moria himself, and they were losing badly.
"Damn it, how is this monster so strong!" Luffy gritted his teeth.
"Lion's Song!" Zoro unleashed a powerful slash, leaving a terrible wound on the Seraphim, but it recovered at a visibly rapid pace.
This Seraphim was far stronger than the one they had struggled against before.
Combined with its abnormal recovery and fearsome ability to learn, their situation was becoming dire.
"Kishishishi! Seraphim, the Straw Hat's head is yours!" Moria ordered leisurely.
"Get rid of them!"
Hearing the command, the Moria Seraphim launched an even fiercer assault.
Its fist, glowing with Armament Haki, shot towards Luffy with the speed of the Six Powers' Soru.
BOOM!
Luffy was sent flying back like a cannonball, hitting the ground hard as blood splattered from his mouth.
"LUFFYY!" Zoro and the others shouted in anger.
But as they turned, a beam of light shot directly at them.
"Not good!"
They showed terrified expressions, but the attack was too fast to dodge.
They could only instinctively throw their hands up to block.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion sounded, but it was off in the distance.
The laser had suddenly changed direction.
"Huh? Are we okay?" Nami and the others opened their eyes to see a burly man standing in front of them.
"The Warlord, Bartholomew Kuma?!"
"Ah? Kuma, why are you here?" Moria asked harshly.
"This is my island!"
"Gecko Moria," Kuma said expressionlessly.
"If you were to go on a trip, where would you like to go?"
"Hmph, it's none of your business! Now get out of my way before I take your head too!" Moria snarled, noticing Kuma had come alone.
However, Kuma just shook his head slightly.
"Then don't blame me for being ruthless!" Moria snorted.
"Seraphim, help me defeat him!"
The Seraphim immediately fired lasers at Kuma, who stood quietly in place.
He simply stretched out a paw-like palm, and the laser beams touched it and were instantly repelled, deflecting and causing massive explosions in the distance.
"Damn you, Kuma!" Moria roared angrily.
Suddenly, a cold voice echoed through the area.
"Looks like it's lively here."
Everyone turned to see a man in a suit looking at them coldly.
Behind him were several familiar figures.
Usopp immediately exclaimed, "CP9?!"
The newcomers were Rob Lucci, Jabra, and the others.
Lucci looked coldly at Gecko Moria.
"We all serve the World Government. You will handle Bartholomew Kuma. We will deal with Straw Hat Luffy."
Hearing this, Moria grinned.
"Alright!"
Kuma's face darkened.
This situation had just become much more complicated.
"Heh, Kuma! Let's see how you protect them now!" Moria shouted.
"Seraphim, get him!"
The Seraphim flew at Kuma, firing lasers and slashing with blade-like fingers.
Kuma deflected every attack, but Moria joined the fray, using his Devil Fruit to create a shadow clone to fight alongside the Seraphim while his real body launched harassing attacks from a distance.
For a time, even the powerful Kuma was tied down.
"Luffy, we're in danger," Zoro said, enduring his injuries as he stood up, his three swords ready.
They were all seriously injured and near exhaustion.
In contrast, Lucci and the others were fully healed and at their peak strength.
The situation was extremely unfavorable.
"Straw Hat, we meet again," Rob Lucci spoke, his voice dripping with venom.
"Losing to you broke my undefeated record. This time, I'm going to take back every bit of that humiliation."
As he finished speaking, Lucci crouched down, his legs pumping.
The next moment, his entire body turned bright red as steam gushed from his skin.
Sanji's eyes widened in horror.
"What? That's... that's Luffy's Gear Second!!"
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