The new type of Pacifista had been tested in actual combat and displayed extremely powerful defensive capabilities.
At the same time, they had given Smoker and the other Marines a tremendous boost of confidence.
But in the blink of an eye—
The arc-shaped sword energy Maud unleashed cleaved every new type of Pacifista on the battlefield in half with overwhelming ease.
This sudden turn of events left the Marines utterly stunned.
"Maud."
Jaya looked at the figure before her and revealed a faint smile.
His build and appearance were still the same, but the White Weasel had become Shusui.
This meant that Maud had just swapped positions with his Shadow Clone, creating the scene of him destroying all the new Pacifista with a single slash.
Although Jaya had not noticed the change in the weapon in Maud's hand right away, the instant Maud unleashed that slash, she knew that the Maud before her was not the Shadow Clone, but the real one.
"Go to Urouge's location. I'll cover you."
With his back to Jaya, Maud split his attention, observing the situation on the battlefield while keeping a constant eye on Kizaru's side.
Swapping positions with the Shadow Clone meant that he could move freely between the two battle zones.
Wherever reinforcements were needed, his real body could go there.
But his opponent on the other side was Kizaru, after all. The Shadow Clone's overall strength alone was not enough to suppress him.
In other words—
Maud could not allow any of his Shadow Shifts to take too long.
If he delayed for too long, the reins clenched in his hands would be broken free by Kizaru.
After speaking to Jaya, Maud decisively swapped positions with the Shadow Clone.
Amid a tremor of shadows, the long blade in his hand changed