High-Flying Progress! The Pink Dragon Fruit! Dr. Vegapunk's Choice!

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North Blue, Kingdom of Avista.

Boom--!

The steel behemoth, weighing tens of tons, roared and smashed into houses along the street, the bricks and concrete crumbling like fragile building blocks.

No building could stop this steel torrent's advance; its tracks crushed ruins, leveling former homes to the ground.

Hundred Plans of tanks formed a moving iron wall, sweeping in from the edge of the city, spewing black smoke, and devouring the streets like apocalyptic behemoths.

The steel tracks rolled over the road, leaving deep ruts.

The turret slowly rotated, and the randomly fired shells instantly engulfed distant buildings in flames.

Thick smoke, like an ominous curtain, enveloped the entire city, and the sunlight became dim and eerie in the smoke and dust.

People screamed as they fled their homes; panic and fear had become the dominant theme of the city.

Where the steel torrent passed, only twisted steel bars, burning house ruins, and the final groans of collapsing load-bearing walls remained.

Amidst these ruins, the engines of the tanks still roared low, relentlessly advancing into the depths of the city, as if determined to crush everything in their path.

However, in reality, the chariots did not move very fast; at least fast enough for the fleeing people ahead to create some distance amidst their indescribable terror.

Atop a massive steel warship floating in mid-air, Perospero surveyed the chaotic city below with keen interest. The man, whose tongue was long enough to hang himself, chuckled and said, "Come on, everyone, if you don't run faster, you'll be blown to bits along with this city!"

Beside him, Charlotte Smoky, a high-ranking member of the Charlotte Family and one of the Sweet Three Generals, crossed her arms and said somewhat uninterestedly, "That Roa guy is really boring. If he wants to destroy this country, he should just do it. What do you mean by destroying the country but letting the residents survive?"

"As for Roa, he's not really interested in killing. He's more interested in torturing people than in slaughter and plunder."

Perospero licked his candy cane, but that didn't stop him from speaking at all. "Back when we were on Beehive Island, he had an arena where pirates would be thrown in to fight each other every few days. The more the pirates screamed in pain, the happier he laughed."

"Tsk."

Smoky couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.

In the pirate industry, where the vast majority of practitioners are not human, Roa is also considered to be among the top non-humans.

So, the idea this time is to turn the country into ruins and then force the residents to fight a survival battle amidst the ruins?

Utterly boring.

But no matter how boring it is, Roa's orders must be carried out steadfastly.

Everyone living in the city was expelled and confined to one side of the island.

People were terrified, filled with fear, pleading, and shouting, but to no avail.

There were brave rebels, but they were all shot down the moment they resisted by those soldiers who looked exactly alike. Their weapons were incredibly powerful, and their marksmanship was terrifyingly accurate.

Therefore, no one dared to resist anymore, and everyone could only wait in agony for the final verdict.

Then.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

On the sea, heavy cannons roared from the ships!

All the cannons on the pirate ships have been upgraded and replaced with heavy cannons manufactured by Judge over the past twenty-five years.

These heavy cannons are hundreds of years more advanced than the mainstream artillery on the sea. They would not be outdated at all if placed on the battlefield of World War II in Roa's previous life. In fact, the shells of these cannons are much more powerful. They are black technology!

Thus, the city, already teetering on the brink of collapse under the rampage of hundreds of tanks, was completely engulfed by fierce artillery fire in the next instant.

The people forced to gather on the shore were initially terrified, thinking that shells were about to fall on them.

They only breathed a slight sigh of relief after discovering that they were outside the range of the artillery fire.

Then came confusion.

Why?

Why target this city? Why let them go?

I can't understand it.

I don't understand what this means.

In mid-air, Perospero exclaimed in admiration, "Vinsmoke Judge, what an incredible man! These cannons, which are barely even scraps in his works, actually have such power!"

"It's several levels better than the Navy's Buster Call, isn't it?"

If they were to unleash a full-scale bombardment, the warships at sea would only need a few salvos to turn the island into a complete wasteland.

Smoky showed no expression.

Compared to the massive airship beneath their feet, the cannons mounted on those warships were far too weak.

"Hold head high!"

Just then, a loud roar suddenly rang out from the distant sea.

"Um?"

Perospero immediately turned his head to look over.

Smoky raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Sea Beast? What's that dog barking about?"

On the other side of the sea, a Sea Beast is roaring to the sky.

Moreover, it was roaring rhythmically.

"Ang, ang ang, ang--"

Perospero's brow furrowed. "The enemy is here!"

"Ah?"

Smoky looked at her older brother in astonishment, "How did you figure that out? Brother Perospero, do you understand the language of the Sea Beast?"

"I don't understand, but Roa does."

Perospero said, "To facilitate communication, he and the Sea Beast devised some secret codes, using different rhythms to transmit different messages."

Smoky looked on with a puzzled expression. "So what you just said meant that the enemy has arrived?"

"Upon arriving at this island, many Sea Beast dispersed to the surrounding waters to keep watch; it seems they've discovered something! Could it be the Divine Knight?"

Perospero's lips curled into a smile. "Perfect timing! I've been wanting to see if the Divine Knight can still achieve anything against such power!!"

To the northwest of this country, about twenty nautical miles from the island, a sizable fleet is rapidly heading towards the Kingdom of Avista.

This fleet consisted of a large, extravagantly sized ocean-going vessel and a dozen or so smaller naval warships.

"Has that country already collapsed so quickly?"

At the very front of the fleet, on the deck of a massive seagoing vessel that was clearly different from the other warships.

A middle-aged man in a cloak and formal attire was talking to someone on Den Den Mushi), muttering, "Damn it! Those scum wouldn't have already left before I arrived, would they?!"

So you'd better hurry.

"Okay, okay, stop rushing me, Shamrock!"

"Oh, right, there's something else that's been bothering me. The Kingdom of Avista's fleet was supposedly destroyed by a group of Sea Beast."

"Sea Beast?"

The man in the formal attire, the one known as the Divine Knight, visibly looked astonished. "How could they be Sea Beast? Did they wander over here because we're near the Calm Belt?"

"If it's just a coincidence, that's fine, but if it's not—"

The Divine Knight's expression turned serious.

This was naturally no secret to these Divine Knights.

Joy Boy's companion back then, the being known as Aquaman, possessed the ability to manipulate—

"Boom!!"

The entire ship suddenly began to shake violently.

"What?"

Because he was on a call, the Divine Knight, who hadn't yet reacted, looked down in astonishment.

Something enormous struck the bottom of the ship, and the powerful force instantly caused it to capsize.

Everything on the deck was falling towards the sea.

Especially those enormous Demon Giant, which crashed into the sea with a deafening roar, creating huge waves.

That's not all!

Behind them, even more Sea Beast rose from beneath the surface, relentlessly attacking the Marine warship.

These warships are only those belonging to the local Marine Branch in the North Blue.

Previously, in order to escape the massacre by pirates, the marines from various Marine Branch in the West Blue and North Blue abandoned their branch bases on warships.

After the arrival of the Divine Knight, these warships naturally came in handy.

Of course, the navy of the Four Seas has virtually no combat capability; its role is merely to maintain appearances.

For example, right now, facing the attacking Sea Beast, these marines were completely powerless to fight back. Their warships were torn to shreds in an instant, and all the marines either perished in the sea or sank into the ocean.

"Damn it!!"

Only the Divine Knight rose into the air, striding through the air as he roared incredulously, holding Den Den Mushi, "Shamrock! Sea Beast! A Sea Beast has attacked my fleet!"

"It's no coincidence!"

The Divine Knight nearly ground his teeth to powder. "They really have the power to control Sea Beast!"

"..."

Silence fell instantly on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, followed by a few seconds of serious voice, "This is... this is really troublesome!"

Boom!

The giant monsters are still frolicking on the sea surface.

Several Sea Beast simultaneously crashed into the massive warship that had already capsized.

Even the flagship of the Divine Knight could not withstand the brute force of these deep-sea behemoths and was instantly shattered into pieces.

The Demon Giant that fell into the sea attempted to fight back.

However, the number of Sea Beast far exceeded theirs. A Sea Beast immediately rushed over, and in the blink of an eye, the several Demon Giants were devoured.

"You bastard!!"

The Divine Knight was furious and was about to launch an attack on the Sea Beast below when...

Boom!

Thunder roared across the sky.

Huge cannonballs rained down directly on the Divine Knight.

The Divine Knight hurriedly dodged while raising his head.

In the sky, a massive steel ship floated silently, and figures leaped down from its side.

"Hateful!!"

With a gritted jaw, the Divine Knight finally shook his head in resignation. "Call me back, Shamrock. More enemies are coming! Without a magic circle inscribed on the ground, I alone cannot stand a chance against them!"

"... good."

Then, the Divine Knight took one last, deep look at the creatures that had descended from the sky.

"Don't get too cocky, you scum!"

Then, he transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished suddenly from the sky.

Perospero, who was descending from the sky, shook his head helplessly upon seeing this. "Immortality is one thing, but to possess such an unreasonable teleportation ability is another!"

Even if he's deprived of his foothold and can't call for help, he can still teleport away at any time.

How can we possibly defeat such an enemy?

Is our only hope to rely on that so-called new energy Conqueror's Haki that Roa mentioned?

"However, in any case,"

Smoky said, "Shouldn't we have won?"

Although the Divine Knight has fled, this sea area now truly belongs to them.

Next, the Sea Beast will indiscriminately attack all ships in this area, ensuring that the Divine Knight have no chance to get close.

The conflict that occurred here is not an isolated incident.

In the West Blue and the North Blue, on the two battlefields, Roa deployed a total of ten fleets.

While Perospero's forces were taking action, two other fleets also occupied two other countries.

Naturally, they also faced the wrath of the Divine Knight.

Then, just like on this side, the Sea Beast also gave the two Divine Knight a surprise.

The New World, Velvet Island.

Because of the recent series of major events, this Daimyo Pleasure District in New World has become somewhat deserted.

In the heart of the city, on the top floor of the building known as the City That Never Sleeps, there should have been no visitors allowed to access the office floor.

Roa sat leisurely in a large office chair, flipping through a thick stack of documents with great interest.

"Um,"

He nodded solemnly, "I still can't understand it at all."

Even if one has evolved to a completely inhuman level, one is still bewildered when faced with information full of technical terms and all sorts of messy theories.

"What a heartless man! People went to so much trouble to get these things for you, and you won't even give them a second glance?"

Behind him, Stussy massaged Roa's shoulders while speaking in a resentful tone.

"The data on Artificial Devil Fruit and energy creation are all here, right?"

Roa didn't care at all, and simply said calmly.

"The doctor said,"

Stussy spoke softly, "This is the limit he can give."

"Oh?"

Roa raised an eyebrow and turned around. "So, Dr. Vegapunk has a problem with me?"

"Really, Brother Roa,"

Stussy's expression at this moment could be described as affected, and her beautiful smile could now be called greasy. "Don't you have any proper self-awareness? As for the Doctor, I've always been worried about you."

"I see?"

Roa nodded slightly. "So, what is Dr. Vegapunk's opinion on my previous suggestion?"

He had previously asked Stussy to convey a suggestion to Vegapunk: the World Government was conducting energy research to revive a weapon capable of destroying the world, and therefore hoped that Dr. Vegapunk would add something extra to the research process.

"The doctor said he would consider it,"

Stussy said, "I probably won't have the chance to find out the specifics."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Roa asked again, somewhat surprised, "Did Dr. Vegapunk commit suicide? There was no need to go to such lengths, was there?"

Did he really love this world that deeply? The thought that his research would be used to destroy the world drove him to suicide?

"Of course not."

Stussy's lips visibly stiffened. She said softly, "The Doctor has been transferred by the World Government. Communication between us has been cut off, and I don't know when we'll be able to get in touch again."

Is that so?

Roa stroked his smooth chin. "So, it's because of what we did in Mary Geoise?"

So, what was he reassigned to research this time?

"Never mind, it doesn't matter."

Roa picked up a small box from the side, took out the pink fruit from it, and smiled slightly. "That's enough."

With Vegapunk's research data on Artificial Devil Fruit, plus this copy of the Azure Dragon Fruit which is likely a success, Judge and his team will undoubtedly take their research on Artificial Devil Fruit a significant step forward.

Not to mention, the research data on the Mother Flame has also been obtained.

Vegapunk shouldn't have messed up the data, right?

On the other side of the world, atop the Red Line, aboard a strange, large ship beneath the Eve Tree.

Inside a laboratory filled with various instruments.

The man with the enormous head, Vegapunk, fiddled with a container with a melancholy expression; the world's greatest scientist seemed somewhat distracted at this moment.

Roa was absolutely right. The World Government does indeed possess a devastating weapon, and the energy it has been generating is precisely for the purpose of reviving it.

Revive this great ship beneath our feet!

This is a terrible thing.

Vegapunk felt deeply pained by this. His original intention was to make the energy system, which he named the Mother Flame, a force that would propel the world forward, to eliminate war, and to make the world a better place.

But what the World Government wants is power enough to destroy everything!

Moreover, it's not just World Government.

And there's Roa.

That guy is a living devil.

Vegapunk knew without a doubt what his motive was for wanting energy research data.

It's no secret that Judge has built those airships.

So.

"If neither side gets the energy they want, shouldn't that be a good thing for the world?"