As mass-produced combat robots, the Pacifistas could fire laser beams from their hands and mouths, operating under Sentomaru's command.
Although they lacked the abilities of the Paw-Paw Fruit, each unit cost as much as a warship to manufacture and possessed enough strength to eliminate pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million berries single-handedly.
The sudden appearance of so many Pacifistas immediately tipped the balance of the entire battlefield heavily in the Marines' favor.
After all, these robots weren't like Kizaru, who understood how to play along and hold back when necessary. They showed absolutely no mercy when killing.
With just one coordinated volley, their explosive laser attacks killed or injured hundreds of pirates.
The pirates' only consolation was that Whitebeard had already seen through the Marines' plan to surround them with warships and restrict their movements, preventing his forces from gathering too closely together.
Otherwise, a concentrated bombardment from so many Pacifistas could easily have sent the casualties soaring from hundreds into the thousands.
Even so, once the Pacifistas entered the pirate formations, they advanced almost completely unopposed.
The situation became especially disastrous when they boarded the pirate warships.
Faced with humanoid machines possessing the firepower of entire warships, the pirates were practically helpless. Their crews were defeated with little resistance, and their ships were destroyed one after another.
As a result, the pirates' overall firepower declined sharply, finally giving the Marines' close-defense cannons an opportunity to retaliate at full strength.
Anyone could see that if the battle continued like this, the pirates were certain to lose.
Whitebeard understood the situation just as clearly. Unable to move freely himself, he issued another order.
"Everyone, advance toward the central plaza!"
At this point, their only remaining option was to rescue Ace as quickly as possible, gather everyone's strength, and break through the Marine encirclement.
...
This was the situation Makoto and Asuna encountered when they emerged from his cursed technique's spatial dimension.
By now, Sakiko was breathing heavily after fighting for so long, and several injuries had appeared across her body.
Although she had never initiated an attack against an opponent at the division commander level, those commanders had begun targeting her themselves.
Remembering Makoto's warning, Sakiko had carefully avoided confronting them directly.
Instead, she fought while retreating, holding out until the Pacifistas arrived. The division commanders were then forced to deal with those robots, temporarily abandoning their pursuit of her.
The moment Sakiko saw Makoto appear, she immediately used Geppo (Moonwalk) and rushed toward him.
Completely ignoring Asuna beside him, she grabbed Makoto by the collar and pulled him into a kiss.
Asuna stared in disbelief.
The Marines who had been following Sakiko were equally dumbfounded.
After his initial surprise, Makoto quickly understood what she was trying to do.
He reached out and activated Sky Manipulation, enveloping himself and Sakiko to give them some privacy.
At this point, Makoto had already obtained everything he wanted, so he no longer needed to worry too much about exposing some of his hidden abilities.
The instant Sky Manipulation took effect, Sakiko's lips met his in a warm kiss carrying a faint trace of blood.
The fierce expression on her face immediately softened, making Makoto feel as though she wanted nothing more than to curl up in his arms and never leave.
As for why she had done this, the answer soon became obvious.
Seven-colored light rose around them, rapidly restoring Sakiko's condition.
After just over ten seconds, she had completely recovered to her peak state.
Even the loss of rationality caused by using her dragon eyes had almost entirely disappeared after she took in Makoto's scent.
Only then did Sakiko descend and land firmly on the ground.
She gently licked her lips, her gaze still carrying a hint of wildness that almost resembled the imposing presence of a dragon.
Makoto couldn't resist teasing her.
"Don't tell me those eyes have made your impulses stronger too?"
Sakiko pouted slightly but answered with a question of her own.
"How much did you give that girl Asuna? I saw everything clearly. She's practically armed to the teeth now."
"It's complicated to explain, but basically, I've temporarily given her strength comparable to a Veteran."
Sakiko's mouth fell open.
The look she gave Makoto contained both amazement and a trace of displeasure. However, that displeasure didn't seem directed at Makoto himself.
Instead, it seemed to be aimed at Asuna.
"So you're planning to make her your teammate too?"
"We can't afford to miss out on someone with that much potential. This is about making sure we all survive longer."
Sakiko fell silent for two seconds before letting out a small huff.
"Do whatever you want. Just hurry up and erase my memories."
"All right."
Makoto gently brushed the hair away from Sakiko's forehead and erased the entire sequence of events in which she had witnessed him suddenly acquiring a new Talent and begun suspecting something unusual about his abilities.
Naturally, he also implanted memories explaining that he possessed a three-in-one forging Talent, along with his new understanding of all three types of Haki and swordsmanship at the level of the World's Greatest Swordsman.
Only then did Sakiko look surprised.
"You have a Talent like that, and you didn't use it sooner?"
"We still need enough materials to make use of it!"
Sakiko nodded.
Now that her suspicions about Makoto's Talent had disappeared, her attention naturally returned to Asuna.
"You... you only see her as a teammate, right?"
Makoto froze slightly.
Only then did he remember what he had said to Asuna earlier.
'Wait, could what I said have created some kind of misunderstanding?'
He was just about to explain when Sakiko gave another small huff, rose onto her tiptoes, and puckered her lips as she leaned toward him.
This time, however, she left a small kiss mark on his chin.
Makoto pretended to cry out in pain, earning himself a slight eye roll from Sakiko.
"I don't care how you intend to maintain this team, but I have only one condition."
Sakiko's voice was calm and steady.
Makoto rubbed his chin and asked curiously.
"What condition?"
"When I need you, you'll come to me and stay by my side."
"At your command, my lady."
Makoto answered with a serious expression.
Only then did Sakiko finally smile.
She gently brushed a hand across her face, and a blue lace mask appeared.
Almost instantly, Sakiko's aura surged dramatically.
This was the power she had gained by solidifying her killing intent into a mask.
"From now on, I'm going after those division commanders. Don't stop me this time, Makoto-kun."
Naturally, Makoto had no intention of stopping her.
He immediately withdrew Sky Manipulation and stepped aside to clear a path.
Sakiko wasn't familiar with those division commanders in the slightest, so she had no reason to show them any mercy.
A pair of enormous flaming wings erupted from her back.
She soared into the sky like a fire dragon before diving toward Speed Jiru and Curiel.
Sakiko's explosive display of power attracted considerable attention.
However, the Pacifistas had already torn the battlefield into countless scattered pockets of fighting.
With the entire war in chaos, nobody had the time to deal with Sakiko simply because she was displaying combat strength comparable to a Marine Vice Admiral.
Only then did Asuna's somewhat timid voice reach Makoto.
She covered her mouth with one hand and asked cautiously.
"Did I... make Togawa-san unhappy?"
Naturally, Makoto couldn't tell her that Sakiko was jealous.
He could only offer another explanation.
"Her fighting style relies on manipulating emotions, so you don't need to worry too much about her mood changes."
"Besides, I can promise you that she won't object to you joining us."
Makoto had naturally meant joining their team.
Unfortunately, Asuna reacted like a startled rabbit.
She hurriedly straightened her back, turned her gaze aside, and avoided meeting his eyes.
After all, discussing something like joining Makoto's family was still far too overwhelming for her.
Unfortunately, reality didn't give Asuna much time to indulge in such thoughts.
A group of pirates suddenly charged toward them.
Seeing this, the Marines who had been following Sakiko hurriedly formed a defensive line in front of Makoto and Asuna.
Although they knew perfectly well that their strength was nowhere near Makoto's, protecting their commanding officers was simply a soldier's duty.
Asuna immediately tightened her grip on her sword and aimed it toward the approaching pirates, her expression tense.
Countless techniques and abilities flashed through her mind. All she needed was a single thought to put them into practice.
Nevertheless, her body continued trembling instinctively.
After all, this was the first time a sheltered young lady like her had faced a genuine life-or-death battle.
No, more accurately, it was the first time she had ever experienced violence at such close range.
The fact that she could still stand there with her sword raised was already an impressive display of courage.
Noticing her condition, Makoto erected several spatial barriers beneath the charging pirates' feet, disrupting their formation and giving the Marine soldiers enough room to respond.
At the same time, he grabbed Asuna's wrist and spoke calmly.
"Don't think of them as people. Just imagine you're killing monsters in a game..."
"I haven't even killed any monsters in a game yet..."
Asuna answered weakly.
Only then did Makoto remember that, back in SAO, Asuna had still been hiding inside an inn in the Town of Beginnings on the first floor.
She hadn't even ventured outside yet.
Makoto decided there was no point explaining further.
Instead, he held her wrist and guided her sword through a powerful slash, releasing a wave of sword energy.
The pirates running at the front were instantly decapitated.
Blood sprayed into the air, leaving Asuna's mind completely blank as her stomach began to churn violently.
Only then did Makoto release her hand.
He didn't offer any unnecessary words of comfort, because this was a hurdle Asuna needed to overcome.
However, something suddenly occurred to him.
Makoto hurriedly pulled Asuna upright.
"Asuna, are you all right?"
"Huh?!"
The sudden change in his attitude was so unexpected that Asuna momentarily forgot her nausea and fear.
She stared at him in confusion.
"I mean, you're assigned to the pirate faction. Is it really okay for you to kill pirates?"
Only now had Makoto remembered that Asuna was technically a Player on the pirates' side.
She had just participated in killing several pirates. Would the Main God Space punish her for attacking members of her own faction?
Fortunately, Asuna's answer put his mind at ease.
"I haven't received any punishment from the Main God Space, but I haven't received any rewards either. Is that normal? I honestly can't tell."
"That's not exactly normal. This is my first time participating in Battlefield Mode too, but I think it's one of its special rules."
"You can kill enemies freely, and apparently, you can even kill your own teammates. However, the final settlement depends on your contribution."
Makoto finally understood why Battlefield Mode used a special Contribution Points system rather than directly rewarding Players whenever they killed an enemy.
The reason was simple.
On a battlefield, Players couldn't always guarantee that their attacks wouldn't accidentally injure members of their own faction, or even their teammates.
But if the rules worked this way, didn't that mean Players couldn't completely trust even their own faction members or teammates during a battle?
A chill ran through Makoto's heart.
He suddenly realized something important.
This was his first time participating in Battlefield Mode, but other Players might already understand its rules perfectly.
At that moment, Makoto abruptly turned his head.
His Observation Haki had detected the appearance of a particular character.
Squard, also known as the Maelstrom Spider.
He was the captain of the Maelstrom Spider Pirates, with a bounty of 210 million berries.
Squard was one of the captains of the forty-three pirate crews serving under Whitebeard.
He had a long-standing grudge against Gol D. Roger. His former pirate crew had been completely wiped out by the Roger Pirates, after which Whitebeard recruited him into his forces.
Squard had served Whitebeard for somewhere between twenty-two and twenty-six years.
As a veteran member of his fleet, he had earned Whitebeard's considerable trust.
Under normal circumstances, someone like Squard would undoubtedly be fiercely loyal to Whitebeard.
That loyalty was also why he had joined the operation to rescue Ace.
Unfortunately, Akainu had exploited Squard's hatred of Roger to drive a wedge between them.
He revealed that Ace was Roger's son and falsely claimed that Whitebeard had already made a secret agreement with the Marines.
According to that lie, Whitebeard intended to sacrifice the lives of his allied pirate crews in exchange for Ace's survival.
Deceived by Akainu and driven by hatred, Squard had stabbed Whitebeard through the chest.
That betrayal had caused the pirate forces, which had barely been managing to resist the Marines, to collapse almost immediately.
Whitebeard had subsequently been forced to enter the battle personally, fighting the Marine Admirals with his already wounded body before ultimately dying.
It could be said that Squard's stab had directly determined the outcome of the war.
Although Whitebeard had already been nearing the end of his life, being stabbed by one of his own sons was undoubtedly a terrible humiliation for a man who had remained proud and unyielding throughout his entire life.
And now, it seemed that moment had finally arrived.
"For the sake of the Whitebeard Pirates, I won't hesitate to do my duty."
As Squard spoke those words, he aimed the blade in his hands directly at Whitebeard's chest and thrust forward with all his strength.
Even someone as powerful as Whitebeard failed to react at that moment.
Or perhaps he simply couldn't understand why one of his own sons would betray him.
Even until the very last moment, he had chosen to trust his son.
However, just as Squard's blade was about to strike, a small figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
It was a masked woman with a single white ponytail.
She held a small dagger in her hand and didn't look particularly intimidating.
Yet somehow, she effortlessly intercepted Squard's long sword with that tiny blade.
Squard stared at the woman in disbelief.
He had absolutely no idea who she was.
There was no such person among the pirates, and she wasn't wearing a Marine uniform either.
She didn't seem to belong to the Marines at all.
But at that moment, the woman finally spoke.
"Shoot to Kill, Shinso."
In an instant, the short blade in her hand transformed into an extraordinarily long sword that could extend seemingly without limit.
The blade pierced straight through Squard's chest, effortlessly severing his sword in the process.
A pirate with a bounty exceeding 200 million berries had been completely powerless to resist this mysterious woman!
…