But even the weakest of them would not yield.
They would stand and fight without hesitation, because they were Marines.
They were the last line of defense against the chaos that threatened to consume the world.
Vice Admiral Onigumo stood at the very front, his swords drawn, his heart filled with the grim determination to die for his cause.
"Your courage is admirable," a sneering voice rumbled as Douglas Bullet charged to the front of the pirate line.
"A pity it's completely wasted."
"The fate of the Marines was sealed the moment we arrived! You're too fragile to resist us!" he roared.
"As soon as you're dead, no one will be left to stand in our way! So just die!"
His massive fist, a literal chunk of steel and flesh, slammed down toward Onigumo's head.
But it never connected.
CLANG!
An arm, impossibly thin compared to his own, blocked the titanic fist.
Bullet froze, looking down to see a figure, much shorter than him but radiating an unspeakable sense of pressure, standing where the Vice Admiral had been.
"So, it's you," Bullet grinned, a hint of contempt in his eyes.
"PX000, right?"
Alone, he might have been wary of this Seraphim.
But he wasn't alone.
The pirates' collective power was enough to crush the world.
What were three of these Seraphim against them? There were nearly ten pirates here with the power of three Devil Fruits, each one an Emperor-level threat.
A sneer formed on his lips.
If these machines wanted to stand in their way, he would personally teach them the price of defiance.
"BOOM!"
Bullet's body swelled once more.
The powers of the More-More Fruit and the Combine-Combine Fruit activated in unison, and the burly pirate transformed into a fit giant dozens of meters tall.
He raised a fist composed of countless tons of battlefield wreckage and brought it crashing down.
"ROAR!"
The punch tore through the air with terrifying force, collapsing everything in its path.
In front of this world-ending blow, the seemingly insignificant Seraphim slowly raised its own fist to meet it.
BOOM!!
The impact created a colossal explosion, and a shockwave ripped across the battlefield for miles in every direction
. At its epicenter, a deep black crater formed, a swirling vortex of dust and debris.
When the dust settled, both fighters had been thrown back several steps.
The very ground beneath them had collapsed.
A deep, bloody gash was carved into Bullet's massive fist.
The Seraphim arm was twisted at an unnatural, broken angle, but it was still standing.
The surprise in Bullet's eyes was undeniable.
'This small, thin machine possessed such terrifying power?'
As Bullet stared, a grim look flashed in Rocks's eyes.
He remembered his own fruitless battle against these things; he had been unable to truly damage them.
Then, to the astonishment of every pirate watching, the Seraphim reached over with its good hand and grabbed its own twisted arm.
CLICK. CLACK.
With two sharp, mechanical sounds, it snapped the limb back into its original state.
Bullet, whose own fist was still bleeding, could only stare in wide-eyed disbelief.
This machine's ability to self-repair was more outrageous than an awakened Zoan user's regeneration.
The Seraphim voice, cold and synthetic, echoed in the silence.
"PX-005. Self-repair sequence in progress. Completion rate: 85.79%. Combat functions remain optimal."
Hearing that, Rocks frowned.
He distinctly remembered the Seraphim he fought before were designated PX-000, 001, and 002.
This was PX-005.
The moment he processed the detail, a flicker of unease appeared in his eyes.
Just as he was about to order his forces to swarm the lone machine, five more figures strode out from the depths of Mariejois.
Five more special Seraphim, each with their own unique characteristics, formed a new line of defense.
The pirates' expressions turned grim.
A fierce battle was now unavoidable.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?" Rocks taunted, his eyes burning with ambition.
"Don't tell me the great pirates of the sea are afraid of a few robots!"
"Gahahahaha! Only six of them? What's there to worry about?!" Kaido roared, transforming into a colossal dragon and launching a storm of wind blades.
The battle erupted.
Shanks, wreathed in phoenix flames, slashed with his sword.
Whitebeard shattered space with his fists.
Big Mom rained down thunder and fire. Bullet's giant form unleashed indiscriminate attacks.
The Golden Lion threw entire chunks of the battlefield
. And at the center of it all, Rocks manipulated the power of darkness, his gravitational force pulling at the Seraphim, disrupting their formations and leaving them open to attack.
Even for the Adamantium Seraphims, the odds were impossible.
Each Seraphim faced two Emperor-level opponents.
Their mission was not to win, but to stall.
To buy precious time.
.....
In the highest chamber of the World Government, the Five Elders were holding a single vial of dark green liquid, admiring it like a priceless treasure.
"So this is it," one said. "The potion that seals the power of Devil Fruits. It holds the beauty of victory itself."
"This is all thanks to Dr. Leon," another added. "Without his sleepless research, we would never have mastered such a shocking technology so quickly."
The despair they had felt upon hearing of the Marines' defeat was gone.
They knew that once this technology was deployed, the pirates' greatest advantage would be erased.
They would all be brought back to the same starting line.
"Dr. Leon is truly magnificent! I can't wait to see the looks on those pirates' faces when their powers vanish!"
As they celebrated, a report came in.
"The first batch of the reagent has been produced! It is being shipped to the front lines at maximum speed!"
"Hahahaha! Excellent! The dawn of our victory has arrived!"
....
In Leon top-secret laboratory, Admiral Kizaru scratched his head in confusion.
"Hey, Leon" he said, after downing a bottle of "all-purpose recovery potion" his brother had given him.
The potion sent a surge of vitality through his body, healing his injuries.
"I know I'm your big brother and all, but this is a real crisis. I love slacking off, but even I know I should be out there fighting."
"Brother," Leon said, walking up to him. "How about you try out my new invention?"
He gestured to a large, reinforced box.
As it opened, Kizaru's usually lazy eyes went wide.
Sengoku and Garp, who were also in the room, were so shocked their jaws hit the floor.
"What... what in the world is that?" Kizaru stammered.
...
The battle had raged for nearly an hour.
The Red Line was a cratered wasteland.
In the center of it all, Rocks, in perfect coordination with Whitebeard and Shanks, finally landed a decisive blow, smashing one of the six Seraphim into the ground and shattering it beyond repair.
It was the pirates' first real victory, and their morale soared.
As they pressed their advantage, the ambition in Rocks's eyes burned like a wildfire.
The world was his for the taking.
But as the pirates surged forward, a single red-and-yellow streak shot onto the battlefield at a speed that defied comprehension.