Outside *Gear Pier Town, along the coast of Gear Country*, chaos erupted across the harbor.
"Wuaaaah!!!"
More than a dozen towering mechanical beasts, each five or six stories tall, released thunderous mechanical roars as they charged forward. Their massive metal bodies stormed across the pier, violently attacking the mechanical soldiers who had landed there.
Under the control of the Mechanical Knights, each mechanical beast demonstrated its unique function.
One of the largest was a gigantic mechanical western dragon. Franky had originally built it for something far more peaceful, it was meant to breathe controlled fire for cooking on a massive scale. Now it had become a terrifying weapon of war.
Its metal jaws opened wide.
A torrent of blazing molten fire erupted outward.
The destructive flames instantly swept across the mechanical soldiers charging the dock.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
One after another, the mechanical soldiers were engulfed by the overwhelming heat. Their metal bodies corroded under the intense temperature as sparks and smoke burst out from their joints.
They collapsed onto the ground as burning, writhing figures of twisted metal. Their bodies melted and twisted while the flames devoured them.
"Warning, warning, temperature too high..."
Nearby, another giant mechanical beast moved forward.
It was a massive mechanical rhinoceros.
Franky had originally created it to irrigate farmland across Gear Country, designed to pump and distribute enormous amounts of water.
Now, on the battlefield, that same function had turned into a powerful weapon.
The rhinoceros lowered its head and unleashed a violent stream of icy water jets.
The freezing torrents blasted across the mechanical soldiers who were still melting from the dragon's flames.
"War...ning...war..."
Creak.
Their bodies rapidly cooled under the sudden drop in temperature. The metal contracted violently after the extreme heat.
Cracks spread across their frames.
In the next instant their bodies shattered layer by layer.
The mechanical soldiers collapsed into piles of broken scrap metal scattered across the pier.
A few mechanical soldiers were lucky enough to avoid the combined attacks of fire and freezing water.
Their eyes flashed mechanically as they rushed forward again, raising their weapons. Sharp rotating mechanical gears spun wildly in their hands as they attempted to attack the massive beasts.
Unfortunately for them, they had failed to notice something hidden along their path.
A thick mechanical earth python lay motionless across the battlefield, its camouflage plating blending perfectly with the terrain.
"Buzz. Enemy detected."
The mechanical soldiers only realized the danger when their path was suddenly blocked by the enormous metal body.
"Hiss... hiss..."
The mechanical python moved.
Its massive steel body coiled rapidly, wrapping around the mechanical soldiers before they could react.
Inside the hidden control chamber of the mechanical beast, the Mechanical Knight controlling it revealed a sinister grin.
Unlike the other Mechanical Knights who rode openly atop their machines, he remained completely hidden inside the python's armored body.
"Hahaha! Die!"
He activated the attack mechanism.
Coiling, Strangling.
This mechanical earth python had originally been designed by Franky to dig underground and mine precious metals for Gear Country. Because of that purpose, its metal scales were extremely sharp and its propulsion system incredibly powerful.
Now those same features turned it into a deadly battlefield weapon.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The trapped mechanical soldiers struggled violently.
They slashed at the python's body with the weapons in their hands, trying desperately to escape.
But those weapons, which were deadly against ordinary people, shattered instantly when they struck the razor sharp metal scales covering the python's body.
Grind. Grind.
The mechanical python tightened its coils.
Layer after layer of sharp scales pressed inward.
In seconds the trapped mechanical soldiers were crushed and torn apart. Their bodies were shredded into dozens of broken pieces that scattered across the ground.
Sizzle. Sizzle.
Fragments of the destroyed soldiers flickered with dying electronic light.
From the wreckage, a strange mixture of fresh red blood and blue liquid slowly flowed out.
These mechanical soldiers were not simple machines.
They were cyborgs.
They had been created by the former tyrant king of Gear Country.
The tyrant had captured strong young men from across the nation and forcibly transformed them into mechanical soldiers. Their bodies were modified until they became obedient cyborg puppets who followed only his commands.
Like Franky once had been, they were mechanical beings who had lost their sense of self.
That was one of the main reasons the citizens of Gear Country despised their former ruler and called him a tyrant.
For years the people of this nation had suffered.
Many families lost their loved ones when their sons were taken and turned into mechanical soldiers.
Almost every generation had experienced this tragedy.
Hatred toward the tyrant had grown deep within the people, but no one could resist him. He monopolized all advanced knowledge and controlled an entire army of mechanical soldiers.
Everything changed a few months ago.
Franky arrived.
With overwhelming power he destroyed the tyrant's mechanical army and liberated the country from the rule that had suffocated it for years.
The citizens hoped Franky would become their king.
It was not only gratitude that drove them.
Franky possessed incredible knowledge of mechanical engineering. The people hoped he would share that knowledge and allow Gear Country to regain its lost brilliance.
Long ago, Gear Country had been famous for its mechanical scholars.
But when the tyrant seized the throne, he hunted down every scholar in the country.
His mechanical soldiers dragged them to the palace one by one.
There, the scholars were forced to teach him everything they knew.
Once their knowledge had been taken, they were executed without mercy.
For years the people of this country had been deprived of knowledge and power.
Their longing to learn mechanical engineering had grown into a burning obsession far beyond what outsiders could understand.
Far above the battlefield, a massive mechanical gear shaped warship floated on the sea.
A flag bearing the symbol of a mechanical knight and sword waved in the wind.
"What?!"
A furious roar erupted from the deck.
All of my mechanical warriors have been destroyed?!
A young man wearing a massive mechanical crown stared through a mechanical telescope that extended directly from his eyes.
His face twisted with rage.
He grabbed his terrified first mate by the collar and slammed him against the ship's metal wall again and again.
"Those damned criminals!"
"Where did they get such powerful machinery?!"
"This is treason! A rebellion against the king!"
His voice grew more hysterical.
"All powerful machinery belongs to me!"
"I am the King of Machines!"
Beside him stood a beautiful woman wearing a small mechanical crown.
She looked toward the distant battlefield with sadness in her eyes.
"It's... too tragic."
Below them the mechanical soldiers were being destroyed one after another by the Mechanical Knights commanding the giant mechanical beasts.
The once massive army had already been reduced to almost nothing.
In the end only a single enemy remained standing against them.
Nearby, a tall burly man stood calmly with his hands in his pockets.
His curly green hair swayed slightly in the sea breeze.
He wore dark sunglasses, and a sword rested casually at his waist.
Across his bare chest was a tattoo reading "Shigekawa Shinju".
Green grass and small flowers grew beneath his feet as if the earth itself welcomed his presence.
A cigarette hung loosely from his lips.
Behind him, the Marine coat of justice fluttered gently in the wind.
"Hmm."
He observed the battlefield with mild curiosity.
"So these are the mechanical cyborg soldiers the World Government is interested in."
"They look pretty fragile."
"They were destroyed surprisingly fast."
He exhaled a slow stream of smoke.
Then his eyes shifted toward the massive mechanical beasts approaching him.
"However..."
A faint smile appeared.
"These machines look quite impressive."
"They might actually be useful in war."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"If we used these flashy machines to intimidate the citizens of member nations that betrayed the World Government, it would work perfectly."
His voice carried lazily across the battlefield.
"Hey, you commoners."
"The Marines will be taking these machines."
"You should obediently kneel."
The man speaking was none other than the newly promoted Marine Admiral.
Admiral *Green Bull, Aramaki*.
He watched the approaching mechanical beasts with complete indifference.
"Honestly..."
He sighed.
"An enemy made up of weak commoners doesn't even deserve my attention."
"And yet they sent a Marine Admiral all the way here."
He shook his head slightly.
"They're seriously underestimating me."