"The Beasts Pirates' ships… they've all turned into submarines?"
Red the Aloof stood on the shoulder of the combined robot, looking down.
Although the result was somewhat surprising…
It was within expectations.
They had never thought Kaido was a good person.
When disaster looms, everyone flies for themselves—far too normal…
After all, that's what they would do too.
Except, right now they needed to deal with the four Logia Devil Fruit users in front of them.
"Bullet, let's begin."
"I don't need you to command me, you old fossil." Douglas Bullet let out a cold snort, and the entire combined robot immediately moved. "Marines… prepare to die!"
The moment it activated, a massive amount of Armament Haki spread through the strange substance produced by the Clank-Clank Fruit, rapidly extending across the entire robot.
A fortress of Armament Haki over a hundred meters tall appeared before everyone.
"Oi oi oi, that kind of Armament Haki is already against the rules, isn't it!?" Smoker wiped his face, teeth clenched. "Even Michael couldn't do this, right?"
"I don't know if Michael can… but Bullet did do it." Crocodile's lips curled into a dangerous smile.
"Back then I already thought this guy had cards he hadn't played… so this was his trump card."
"But… there's no need to be too scared." Stella shot a cold glance. "It's mainly the synergy between his Armament Haki and the Clank-Clank Fruit… If his Armament Haki were truly strong enough to cover such a massive body, he would've ruled the entire Grand Line already."
"In any case, the second round… begins." Enel's vacant eyes locked onto Red the Aloof. "My target… is still that guy."
"I'll help you!"
Smoker bit down on two cigars, inhaled deeply, then turned into thick smoke swirling with sparks as he charged Red the Aloof.
Unlike before, Red the Aloof didn't resist—he let Smoker wrap around him.
Looking at the smoke around him, he sighed.
"Among these four Logia Devil Fruits… your 'smoke' element should be the most useless, right?"
"Neither its attack nor control seems very impressive."
Smoker's face suddenly condensed nearby, sneering at Red the Aloof.
"That's what you think? Tch tch, you really are outdated… You've got no education at all!"
"Smoke may look like it can be blown away with a breath… but the smoke in a fire can smolder at over seven hundred degrees!"
Red the Aloof froze. He truly hadn't heard something like that.
After all, how many sailors back then learned cultural knowledge the way modern marines do?
During that brief hesitation, the smoke completely wrapped around Red the Aloof.
"SMOKE · Furnace!"
"Sixty million volts—Thunder Dragon!"
Enel struck the drums on his shoulders with his golden staff.
Lightning he created poured out from the drums, perfectly outlining a giant thunder dragon that lunged forward!
A temporary combination technique…
It worked!
But not very well!
"Oh my, young people these days really can't be underestimated."
Red the Aloof's voice echoed together with two slashes of sword aura.
They shredded the smoke furnace into pieces.
With the physical boost of his Mythical Zoan, Red the Aloof's terrifying swordsmanship and dual Haki were unleashed to their fullest.
Even Smoker's preemptive control didn't let him fully land the attack.
"Heh heh, Redfield… you're having a lot of fun, huh?" Bullet's muffled voice echoed from the combined robot. "Then next… it's my turn."
The hundred-meter combined robot raised its head, its Armament-Haki-coated fist slamming toward Crocodile and Stella in midair.
Both their brows furrowed.
Such a simple, unflashy attack… was still extremely dangerous.
Because the raw power behind it was absurd.
However, the speed wasn't as fast as expected.
Crocodile was just about to disperse, when the recently-buffed Byrnndi World spoke again.
"Multiplier—Tenfold Speed!"
The giant fist, previously at normal speed, suddenly accelerated tenfold!
Crocodile's pupils shrank!
The punch was nearly unavoidable and struck her directly!
Even though she instinctively gathered all her strength to defend, she still felt her organs shift violently!
Barely escaping by undoing her elementalization, she reappeared nearby.
"Damn it! Bullet!"
"Oh? You're Crocodile?" Bullet's voice carried a hint of surprise. "I remember you were a man back when we fought… Well, whatever. You're going to die here anyway… man or woman doesn't matter."
"Is that so?"
At that moment, several elastic, specialized clouds formed in the air.
A figure bounced rapidly between them, increasing speed with each rebound.
"Then this next punch… you'd better dodge."
"Otherwise… you'll die too."
Stella abruptly raised her head, flames burning in her eyes.
Completely different from her usual gentle, elegant demeanor—she now looked almost like…
"Isn't that face exactly like Garp's?" Smoker muttered, sweating. "I know Stella is Garp's top disciple… but she doesn't need to resemble him this much!"
Bounce after bounce, her acceleration reached its peak.
Stella's lips curled into a brilliant smile…
Then she leapt again—
Charging straight toward the massive combined robot.
The overwhelming acceleration was so fast that even Bullet's tenfold speed couldn't react.
Armament Haki condensed at the tip of Stella's right fist.
The moment it struck the robot's abdomen, it detonated!
The hundred-meter robot and Stella—an extreme mismatch in size…
But this round's winner was the smaller one.
With a single punch, she shattered all the Armament Haki covering Bullet.
The entire combined robot shook violently from the blow.
Bullet barely steadied himself, then looked up—only to find that the frail-looking woman who had previously only used long-range Logia attacks was gone…
The Stella before him was surrounded by drifting clouds.
Those clouds coiled around her body… forming a fitted exoskeleton armor.
Between the clouds, streaks of dark Armament Haki swirled.
"Arrives!"
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Fanfic is finished. 583 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg