Therefore, the World Government's science division could only use Sakazuki's magma as its model, resulting in the Pacifistas being equipped with the ability to fire magma projectiles.
Their power and method of firing somewhat resembled a magma-spewing fire-dragon cannon from an old mecha cartoon.
Furthermore, because the World Government had previously concentrated its resources on the Alien Project, the development of the Pacifistas had progressed much more slowly than in the original timeline.
At present, fewer than ten units were genuinely ready for deployment on the battlefield.
To demonstrate the World Government's determination to pursue those responsible for the Celestial Dragon incident, three units had been deployed on the Sabaody Archipelago at once.
One of them was currently confronting Kid.
"Bounty: three hundred and fifteen million Beli. Pirate captain, Eustass Kid."
The Pacifista stared at Eustass Kid and spoke in a mechanical voice.
Kid glared at the Pacifista before him, his expression turning savage.
"One of the Seven Warlords? Why is a Warlord here?"
The existence of the Pacifistas had not yet been made public. Since Kid was familiar with the appearances of the Seven Warlords, he naturally mistook it for Ivankov himself.
While Kid and the Pacifista confronted each other, Apoo was seated across the rooftops of three nearby buildings, watching the battlefield.
"Tsk, tsk. A Warlord who can fire magma attacks? That is rather interesting."
"Roar of the Sea" Scratchmen Apoo, who was always recklessly eager to stir up trouble, began waving his two long arms excitedly, wanting to perform a piece of music.
Bang!
Before he could make a move, however, one of the main supports of the building beneath him was suddenly smashed apart by someone crashing through it. The entire structure began swaying unsteadily.
"Hey, hey, hey! That's Mad Monk Urouge! And why are there three Warlords here?!"
Apoo looked at Urouge, who had crashed through the building with burns covering his body, and then at the second Pacifista following closely behind him. He waved both hands and began shouting wildly.
"You are unbearably noisy. No wonder they call you 'Roar of the Sea.' You should change it to 'Racket of the Sea' instead!"
Mad Monk Urouge coughed up blood as he climbed to his feet, complaining without pause.
He then faced the Pacifista approaching him. His eyes suddenly sharpened, and his muscles and overall body size expanded dramatically.
"Karmic Punishment!"
Urouge swung an arm whose muscles and strength had clearly been enhanced, smashing his fist toward the Pacifista's enormous face!
Because the Pacifistas had been constructed in Ivankov's likeness, the distinctive features of that enormous face had also been retained.
Urouge's ability allowed him to convert the damage his body endured into tremendous physical strength, which he could then return to his opponent as a counterattack.
The prerequisite was that his body had to be capable of enduring the damage. Naturally, if the damage exceeded what he could withstand, there would be no opportunity to return it.
It was somewhat similar to the move Counter from Pokémon.
With Urouge and the second Pacifista joining the battle, the situation across the battlefield became even more chaotic and complicated.
The Pacifistas also fired several magma projectiles at Apoo from time to time, forcing him to scramble frantically to avoid them.
Just as Kid and Urouge were trading blows evenly with the Pacifistas, every Pacifista facing them suddenly stopped moving.
"Hm?"
Realizing that something was wrong, Urouge and Kid also slowed their attacks. Each of them stepped backward and watched the Pacifistas vigilantly.
After freezing in place, the Pacifistas abruptly rotated their heads ninety degrees and looked toward a position to their front-left.
Their eyes flashed repeatedly like camera shutters.
Then—
Vwoom!
Without saying anything, one of the Pacifistas fired a magma projectile directly from its mouth.
Boom!
"Did it change targets?"
Apoo revealed a puzzled expression.
He had already guessed that these two were probably not the actual Warlords but some kind of cyborg weapon.
He had also assumed that the cyborgs would prioritize opponents with higher bounties and greater threat levels.
However, they had now abruptly changed their target.
Did that mean someone in that direction presented a greater threat than either Kid or him?
Apoo and Kid had both been present at the auction house. They had witnessed Luffy punch a Celestial Dragon and send him flying, and they had subsequently fought the Marines amid the chaos.
During the conflict, they had also witnessed Rayleigh's appearance.
...
As Apoo stared uncertainly in that direction, the dust gradually dispersed.
A figure walked out from amid the smoke.
"By the way..."
Roy strolled out of the cloud of dust and looked at the Pacifista.
"Did the World Government's researchers not install a program forbidding you from attacking pirates with bounties above one hundred billion... No, above five hundred million Beli?"
"I think any pirate worth five hundred million Beli could destroy you with ease."
In the original timeline, two years later, Franky had piloted the Franky Shogun and destroyed the upgraded Pacifistas with effortless ease. No one even knew how many he had taken down!
Ace's bounty had been five hundred and fifty million Beli. He alone could have wiped out an entire group of Pacifistas.
"Hey, hey... Is this for real?!"
"Could that man possibly be...?"
"No way!"
When the pirates serving under Kid, Urouge, and Apoo saw Roy emerge, they initially froze.
A moment later, all their expressions changed dramatically, and cold sweat poured from their foreheads.
Even the expressions of Apoo, Urouge, and Kid changed.
Silence descended across the area.
The Pacifista turned around and stared at Roy before speaking in its emotionless mechanical voice.
"Bounty: ten billion Beli. Pirate captain, Thunder Emperor Roy."
Although Roy had kept a low profile and rarely appeared in public over the years, his bounty had continued rising year after year.
It had finally reached an unprecedented height!
Ten billion Beli!
It was a legend beyond legends!
The Pacifista had announced Roy's bounty in the same emotionless, synthetic voice it had used when announcing Kid's bounty.
Nevertheless, those words sent Apoo and the others' minds into complete turmoil.
Thunder Emperor Roy!
It really was him!
Why had he appeared here?!
"The strongest man in the world..."
Cold sweat covered Kid's forehead.
Even someone as proud and unruly as him could not stop his body from trembling slightly when he looked at Roy.
No matter how deeply he breathed, he could not calm himself down.
(End of Chapter)
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