"Roger, Shanks, time to eat!" Rouge called out to them from afar, one hand resting on her flat stomach.
The two sweat-soaked men heard her call and stopped their attacks in unison. Shanks in particular wore an expression of sheer relief.
"Coming, Rouge!" Roger shouted, then led Shanks toward her.
"I'm telling you, Captain, you go way too hard." Shanks complained, his face battered and bruised.
"If you can't even handle this level, it doesn't count as training." Roger completely denied any suggestion that he occasionally failed to control his strength during Shanks's training.
"You two really are like father and son." Rouge watched them approach—despite their vastly different sizes, walking as though they had their arms around each other's shoulders—and couldn't help but laugh.
"Well, I did watch Shanks grow up, after all." Roger laughed. Shanks had been on his ship since he was a baby, and which crew member back then hadn't changed his diapers?
"Hehe." Shanks scratched his head and laughed too.
"That's wonderful. When we have a child someday, Shanks can be a big brother." Rouge said happily.
"When can I be a big brother?!" Shanks perked up at her words, asking eagerly.
"Well... I'm working on it..." Roger scratched his head awkwardly, a rare blush spreading across his face.
"Don't be so impatient, Shanks. By the way, would you prefer a little brother or a little sister?"
"Hmm... can't I have both?"
Shanks wanted it all.
Under the cover of night, hundreds of warriors dressed in black stealth garb hid among the low bushes far from the quarry.
The environment in Udon was harsh. There wasn't much vegetation to begin with, and the soil beneath their feet was not only barren but shallow, with bare rock exposed everywhere.
After Kaido arrived, Udon's environment had deteriorated even further. Many mountain peaks had been hollowed out, and countless deep pits now scarred the surface.
"Perfect, it's very dark!" Raizo said with satisfaction. Since it was the beginning of the lunar month, only a razor-thin crescent moon hung in the sky.
The weather was also cooperating, with clouds drifting across at regular intervals.
"How many guards are at the quarry?"
"According to our intelligence, at least a hundred, including quite a few skilled fighters." Hyogoro replied. Shimotsuki Yasuie hadn't joined them on this mission, so Hyogoro had taken command of the group.
Kozuki Oden was present too, but asking him to formulate plans or analyze enemy intelligence was asking too much. He was better off simply being a fighter.
The Shinuchi and core members of the Beasts Pirates at this time were obviously not the same ones from over twenty years later. But that didn't mean these nameless nobodies were pushovers who could be defeated effortlessly.
"Leave those Autonomous Machines to us."
The Kijin Corps members sent by Ren nodded to Hyogoro, then turned their gaze toward the enormous monsters patrolling endlessly along the quarry's outer cliff walls.
Those creatures wandered mindlessly as if devoid of consciousness, the cores at the center of their bodies emitting intense light in the darkness.
"Be careful. There aren't just those long-limbed monsters over there—there are also some things that crawl along the ground." Hyogoro warned.
He was referring to the Patrols and other Autonomous Machines.
The man codenamed Tiger nodded. Of course he understood the machines his own side produced better than Hyogoro did. In truth, the four types of Autonomous Machines in the Patrol generation all possessed unique abilities.
They might not match Ruin Guards in firepower, but they could deploy energy shields for defense and burrow into the ground to create suction fields—making them virtually impossible to guard against.
Five people broke away from the main force. As Tiger ran, he entered his Kijin state.
The Kijin state was quite similar to a standard Zoan half-beast transformation, but with some differences. His pupils turned amber in the night, his hands and feet became powerful claws, and a thick, striped tail sprouted from behind him.
The ears on the sides of his head vanished, replaced by two round ears on top.
This made him look like a darker-colored version of Rob Lucci, though slightly more human by comparison.
"Crane, go take out the second-generation Autonomous Machines on the walls." Tiger appeared to be the leader of the five, issuing orders as he ran.
The Kijin codenamed Crane was a woman.
After entering her Kijin form, she grew wings on her back like Yayoi. Her hands remained fully functional—an advantage the Kijin possessed over ordinary Devil Fruit users.
"Leave it to me." She leapt lightly, riding the wind and soaring into the sky. Her slender legs transformed into seemingly delicate but rock-hard crane talons, and a sharp mask resembling a crane's face appeared on her own.
She beat her wings and reached the airspace above the quarry almost instantly. The stale air rushed past her body as she looked down at the second-generation Autonomous Machines patrolling the walls below.
The four types including the Patrols were known within Inazuma as second-generation machines. The first generation consisted of Ruin Guards and Ruin Graders. As for the third generation, those were the Ruin Hunters and the two types of Ruin Drakes.
"Three on the east side, one on the west, one on the north?" After confirming the positions, several feathers appeared in Crane's hands.
Under the influence of her Haki, the feathers instantly turned black.
"Feather Flurry."
She swept her hand and launched the feathers—harder than steel—silently taking out all five Autonomous Machines.
"All targets hit. But with my level of Armament Haki, even striking the core won't destroy them completely. These machines will only be disabled for a while."
She pulled out a Den Den Mushi and relayed the information to Tiger.
"That's enough."
Tiger's reply came through the Den Den Mushi. Still airborne, Crane glanced toward his direction and could barely make out three speeding figures.
Bear, that fool, falling behind again?
She rubbed her forehead, exasperated by that lumbering oaf.
At the same time, on the outer perimeter of the quarry, the first battle had finally begun!
Tiger lunged directly at the nearest machine. His claws, dyed pitch-black by Armament Haki, moved with deadly precision straight toward the Ruin Guard's vital point!
"Crack—"
His claws pierced straight through the Ruin Guard's chest, ripping out the scorching Chaotic Core.
[
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