Kyros.
"Exist."
You go first.
"A squad of Devil Fruit User will lift the fleet up."
Kyros nodded, turned and jumped off the Pluton No. 1.
Several users who had eaten replicas of the Float-Float Fruit flew out from various ships and formed an arc at the entrance of the passage.
Kyros stood in the center, arms outstretched, unleashing the full power of the Float-Float Fruit.
"Rise--!"
The vast fleet jolted, then slowly departed from the sea.
The water gushed down from the bottom of the boat, like a torrential downpour.
The fleet rose higher and higher, the flags on the masts fluttering in the rising air currents.
The soldiers gripped the ship's gunwale, watching the sea recede into the distance and the entrance to the passage draw ever closer.
Roy stood at the bow of the ship, his black trench coat billowing backward in the airflow.
He glanced down at the shrinking sea below, then looked up, his gaze passing through the entrance to the passage to the white building complex shrouded in mist at the top of the Red Line.
Mary Geoise.
Eight hundred years.
It's time to put an end to this.
···················
The moment the fleet entered the passage, everyone felt a heavy sense of oppression.
The passage was wider than it appeared from the outside, with dark red rock strata on both sides, the surface of which was so rough that it looked as if it had been gnawed by something.
Every few hundred meters along the rock face is a gun emplacement, with all the cannons pointed towards the entrance of the passage, densely packed like a honeycomb.
But all of these gun emplacements were empty.
The World Government withdrew all its personnel, leaving only these empty shells.
"They evacuated everyone to Sabaody."
Kyros's voice came through the communicator.
The first half of the passage is completely undefended.
Roy's Observation Haki extended forward along the passage, quickly capturing the situation ahead. He frowned.
"No. There's something ahead."
The fleet continued its advance.
After ascending for about ten more minutes, the passage suddenly narrowed, with the rock walls on both sides converging inward, leaving only a narrow gap in the middle that could barely accommodate five warships passing side by side.
Behind that crevice, rows upon rows of densely packed human figures stood, stretching from the bottom of the passage all the way to a depth invisible to the naked eye.
A white body, a bear-like shape, with outstretched arms and palms glowing with yellow light.
Pacifista.
"A considerable number."
Bullet walked over to Roy, squinting as he looked ahead.
"At least tens of thousands of units."
"More than."
Roy's Observation Haki clearly scanned the area ahead, his voice calm.
"There were about two thousand units crammed into that section of the passage alone."
The World Government has brought out its entire fortune.
Kyros's messenger bug has gone off again:
"Lord Roy, the passage is too narrow; the fleet cannot rush through directly."
Those Pacifista have blocked the passage.
"Then let's switch to our mechanical army."
Roy turned to look at Tesoro.
Are you ready?
Tesoro adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, a smirk playing on his lips.
"It's been prepared for a long time."
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
In the rear fleet, dozens of seemingly ordinary transport ships suddenly opened their side hatches, revealing countless black metal humanoid figures inside.
Each one is over three meters tall, entirely black, with a dark red sheen at the joints.
A fist-sized energy core was embedded in his chest, and a small energy cannon was mounted on each of his arms.
"Mechanical soldiers, activate." Tesoro's voice echoed across all the transport ships via Den Den Mushi.
The next second, tens of thousands of dark red eyes lit up simultaneously.
The mechanical soldiers jumped out of the hatch and landed on the floor of the passageway, making a dense, metallic clanging sound.
They don't need to line up or wait for orders; once they land, they automatically rush towards the depths of the passage, their footsteps echoing in unison.
The first mechanical soldier charged towards the Pacifista.
The Pacifista lit up his palm with a laser, and a yellow beam shot out, striking the mechanical soldier precisely in the chest.
The mechanical soldier was knocked back two steps, and a charred mark appeared on its chest armor, but its Seastone core remained intact.
It steadied itself, raised its right arm, and the energy cannon's muzzle glowed blue.
A muffled thud.
The blue energy ricocheted out and slammed into the Pacifista's shoulder.
The Pacifista's massive body was thrown backward by the blast, a large chunk of armor on its shoulder shattered, revealing the mechanical skeleton beneath.
Immediately afterwards,
Second, third, tenth
The hundredth mechanical soldier charged forward.
The entire passageway instantly transformed into a sea of lasers and energy cannons.
Yellow laser beams and blue energy projectiles flew in a staggered pattern, striking the rock walls and sending up a shower of debris, while exploding into blinding sparks upon hitting the metal bodies.
Pacifista need to charge their lasers before firing, and it takes several seconds to fire a single shot.
The mechanical soldiers' energy cannons have almost no cooldown time, firing one shot after another at a rate several times faster.
"Did you see that?"
Tesoro stood on the deck of the Pluton No. 1, pointing to the battlefield ahead, a hint of smugness in his voice.
"That Vegapunk guy has thoroughly studied all the weaknesses of the Pacifista."
Slow laser charge and limited joint rotation angle—our mechanical soldiers were modified specifically to address these weaknesses.
Bullet crossed his arms and watched as the Pacifista' vehicles were blown up one after another, then grinned.
"That old man is actually quite capable."
"He is the only super brain in World Government for hundreds of years."
Roy stood at the bow of the ship, watching the battle ahead, his tone calm.
Bringing him back to Hachinosu was definitely the right choice.
The battle continues deep within the passage.
Although the number of Pacifista was not small, they were completely outmatched by the pace of the mechanical soldiers.
They are bulky, slow, and have a slow reaction time. They have to stop every time they fire a laser, while mechanical soldiers are much more agile. They can run, jump, and roll, and can move to a different location after firing a shot.
Many Pacifista didn't even get close to the mechanical soldiers before their cores were destroyed by energy cannons from a distance.
In less than twenty minutes, the passageway was filled with the remains of Pacifista.
White armor fragments were scattered all over the ground, the mechanical skeleton was twisted and deformed, and the blue smoke from the shattered Seastone core filled the air, making people cough.
The mechanical soldiers suffered negligible casualties; only a few dozen were destroyed after being hit head-on by the laser at their core.
"All cleaned up."
Kyros's voice came through the communicator again.
"The passage is clear; you may continue."
"Walk."
Roy waved his hand, and the fleet continued to ascend.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the temporary naval command post in the Sabaody Archipelago was extremely tense.
Akainu stood in front of the command platform, his fists clenched, lava dripping from between his fingers, scalding the ground with small, smoking craters.
In front of him was a row of communication screens, each displaying real-time images transmitted from various parts of the corridor.
On the screen in the very center, a scene was playing where Pacifista were being crushed by mechanical soldiers.
" The Pacifista are all wiped out."
A Vice Admiral reported in a low, hoarse voice.
"Not a single one is left."