The reinforced assessment ground cleared before the Pacifistas entered it.
Marine observers withdrew behind the third marker, and armored shutters descended around the recording shelters while leaving the visual Den Den Mushi's eyes exposed.
The Oni Slayer remained at Dock Three beyond the direct firing line, Dorry and Brogy's longship stayed anchored behind the outer breakwater, and the Government transport shifted until its bow faced away from both vessels.
Whatever else CP0 intended, the second stage had at least been designed with controlled lanes of fire.
Gion studied the positions.
"Those machines were placed to surround the candidates without aiming toward the harbor."
Yamakaji held the cigar between two fingers.
"That will matter only as long as the person commanding them follows the plan."
Monkey limped to a raised control station beside the Government transport. Dog and Bear remained with him rather than rejoining the fight.
Neither had recovered enough to move safely at Soru speed, and the first stage had already recorded what direct engagement accomplished.
Inside the assessment ground, Dorry rolled his shoulder and adjusted his grip on the new sword.
Brogy examined the scorched edge of his helmet where Dog's Rankyaku had clipped it.
"I still want a new horn."
"You can carve one after this," Dorry said.
"From the metal men?"
"If the little masked men allow it."
Monkey raised one hand.
"The second stage begins."
The Pacifistas spread into two ranks.
Light gathered inside four open mouths, while the remaining units lifted their palms and locked their mechanical joints into firing position.
The weapons were derived from Admiral Borsalino's light-based attacks, but the machines did not possess his instincts, mobility, or control.
Their lasers traveled in straight lines according to calculated targeting solutions.
That made them deadly.
It also made them predictable to experienced Observation Haki users.
The first volley fired.
Dorry saw two paths crossing at his upper chest and a third aimed toward Brogy's head.
He turned his sword across his body, Armament Haki darkening only the reinforced edge needed to receive the attacks.
Two lasers struck the blade.
Heat spread through the Island Eater bone and ignited the outer ironwood layer, but the weapon did not break.
Dorry changed the angle before the energy could burn through, sending both beams upward over the empty sea.
Brogy stepped inside the third line and used the broad side of his axe to intercept the shot intended for his face.
The impact drove one knee into the stone, and a scorched channel appeared across the weapon, yet the laser was deflected into the ground beyond the marked boundary where no one stood.
The fourth beam passed through the space he had abandoned a heartbeat earlier.
"Better than fleas," Brogy said, rising.
Dorry grinned.
"Much better."
The second rank fired before the smoke cleared.
This time the giants moved.
They did not vanish, cross space, or become faster than light.
Their Observation Haki gave them the first fraction of warning, and their enormous leg strength turned that warning into short, violent bursts across the assessment ground.
Every step cracked stone beneath their feet, but neither left the marked area.
Dorry advanced behind the broad face of his sword while Brogy moved along his opposite side.
The Pacifistas adjusted, red lenses tracking the change, and concentrated their next barrage on Dorry.
Brogy read the shift first.
He hooked one Pacifista around the waist with the inside curve of his axe and dragged it across the firing line.
Three lasers struck PX-02 instead of Dorry, blasting open its shoulder plating and destroying the emitter in its mouth.
Brogy laughed.
"Gababababa! They make fine shields!"
PX-02 turned its damaged head toward him.
Brogy struck the back of its knees with the axe haft. The joints collapsed, and the machine fell without its central body being destroyed.
Dorry reached PX-01 at the same time.
He did not cut through the torso where its power source was likely housed.
His sword came down across the weapon's forearms, severing both laser-equipped hands before the return fire could begin.
A second controlled strike split the mouth emitter and disabled its targeting lens.
The Pacifista remained upright for two seconds before its systems failed and it toppled backward.
Monkey gripped the controls.
"Units three through eight, increase movement speed. Maintain crossfire."
The remaining machines advanced.
PX-03 and PX-04 moved toward Dorry from opposite sides, while PX-05 through PX-08 concentrated on Brogy.
Heavy feet struck the assessment ground in synchronized rhythm, each unit firing as soon as its targeting system calculated a safe line.
One beam caught Dorry across the side of his armor.
The metal plate glowed red and burned through, leaving a scorched line along the skin beneath before his Armament Haki stopped it from going deeper.
Dorry's expression sharpened.
"That one counts."
He pivoted and struck PX-03 with the flat of his sword.
The machine flew across the platform and collided with PX-04 hard enough to damage both sets of legs.
Before either could rise, Dorry drove the sword point between their shoulder assemblies and severed the cables controlling the laser systems.
On the other side, Brogy blocked one beam, ducked beneath another, and allowed a third to graze the outer edge of his shield-like axe head rather than cross toward the observers.
PX-05 moved into close range and swung a metal fist.
Brogy caught the wrist.
The impact shoved him backward one step, proving the machine possessed more raw force than its expressionless appearance suggested.
Brogy's grin widened.
He twisted the arm until the joint tore free, then used the detached limb as a club against PX-06's head.
Dorry barked his distinctive laugh from across the platform.
"Gegyagyagyagya! You finally found an opponent as ugly as your fighting style!"
Brogy smashed PX-06's targeting lens.
"Gababababa! Yours all fell over because they got tired of looking at you!"
The two remaining Pacifistas fired together.
Dorry and Brogy turned their weapons in the same instant.
Sword and axe crossed, their Armament-coated edges meeting the twin lasers and redirecting them into the open sky.
The recoil drove both giants' feet deeper into the stone.
Then they separated.
Dorry cut through PX-07's hip assembly and let the machine fall without touching its torso.
Brogy brought the flat of his axe down across PX-08's shoulders, burying it waist-deep in the platform and crushing the weapon systems housed in its head.
Silence returned.
All eight Pacifistas had been disabled.
Not one had been obliterated beyond recognition, and the power cores inside their torsos remained intact.
The visual Den Den Mushi had recorded exactly what CP0 requested: the giants' defense against lasers, their reactions under sustained fire, their ability to protect the surroundings, and the control required to disable valuable Government equipment without detonating it.
Gion looked toward Monkey.
"The second stage is over."
Yamakaji nodded.
"They passed."
Monkey's hands remained on the control console.
The cracked mask hid his face, but the tendons in his wrists stood out beneath his gloves.
Dog moved closer.
"The combat data is complete. We should end the test."
Bear said nothing, though his damaged arms remained held stiffly at his sides.
Monkey stared across the platform at Dorry and Brogy, then toward Zaraki.
The War Demon had not drawn Nozarashi, given a command, or stepped into the assessment ground.
He had simply watched while the candidates dismantled everything CP0 placed before them.
The official recording had preserved Monkey's defeat twice.
"The output limitations were too conservative," he said.
Gion's head snapped toward him.
"The machines are disabled."
"They are still active enough to continue."
Monkey entered a command.
Red warning bars appeared across the control panel.
Dog caught his wrist.
"That is not part of the assessment."
Monkey tore free.
"The Five Elders ordered us to determine whether these candidates can survive the Government's scientific weapons. Disabled limbs and damaged emitters do not complete the test."
Yamakaji walked toward the control station.
"The Marine observers have declared the combat stage complete."
"You are observers," Monkey replied. "Not examiners."
He entered a second command.
Across the assessment ground, the lights in the fallen Pacifistas' chests changed from steady yellow to pulsing red.
Law's voice came sharply through Zaraki's relay snail.
"He activated an emergency core purge."
Zaraki stood.
Monkey pulled a circular authorization key from beneath his suit and pressed it against the console.
The device existed to destroy experimental components if a prototype was captured. Under normal procedure, units were purged individually after evacuation and separation.
Monkey had linked all eight.
Gion drew Konpira completely.
"Cancel it."
"No."
"There are Marines inside the outer perimeter."
"There should not be. The combat zone was cleared."
"The ships, recording crews, and mangrove roots are still within the projected blast radius."
Monkey's shoulders shook once.
Whether the movement came from pain, fury, or fear no longer mattered.
"The candidates claim they can control their strength. Let them prove they can survive the consequences of destroying Government property."
Dog stared at him.
"This will kill the observers as well."
"Then move."
The control panel chimed.
**Emergency purge accepted.**
A countdown appeared above the eight disabled units.
Ten seconds.
The visual Den Den Mushi recorded Monkey's hand still pressed against the authorization key.