Before Pluton had completely left the waters of Totto Land Whole Cake Island, the sweet air above the island was torn apart by a completely different aura. The sharp alarm did not come from the Sea Kings or the storm, but from the special Tone Dial in Sabo's hand, which had been modified by the Revolutionary Army —the highest level of emergency distress signal, pointing to a coordinate that had been almost forgotten by the world.
"It's the Resistance army of the Sorbet Kingdom (near the ruins of the Lulusia Kingdom )!" Sabo's expression was grave. His Omniscient Domain analyzed the fragmented information in the signal at an unprecedented speed. " Imu's ' Purification Unit ' are forcibly executing ' Order Formatting ' there! They are systematically eradicating... all traces of 'non-compliant' life and civilization!"
"Format? Erase?" Luffy clenched his fists, his rubber arm trembling slightly with rage. "Just like they did to Lulusia before?!"
"Perhaps even worse." Allen's Time Perception caught a brief but intense sense of spacetime distortion in the signal. "The flow of time there is being... forcibly straightened, the anomaly smoothed out. It's an extreme form of ordered transformation."
Without a moment's hesitation, Pluton turned the ship around, tore through space, and sped off toward the direction from which the distress signal had come.
When they arrived, the sight before them sent a chill down their spines, even those who had experienced the Paramount War and the Mary Geoise raids.
The once-thriving Sorbet Kingdom (or a similar island) is now unrecognizable. The lush island is covered by cold, silver-gray metal foundations, and massive, geometrically shaped buildings rise like steel jungles, their lines perfectly straight, their angles precise, devoid of any decoration or redundancy. On the streets, people in uniform move with the precision of gears, their steps synchronized, their faces expressionless, their eyes vacant, performing their assigned tasks. The air is thick with the smells of engine oil, ozone, and a faint, disinfectant-like odor; the cloying sweetness of the Totto Land is completely purified here, leaving only the cold, hard reality of "efficiency."
There was no clamor, no noise, only the low hum of machines and the monotonous responses of people obeying orders with absolute obedience. The whole city was like a huge, sophisticated machine at work.
"Time here... it's almost frozen." Allen felt a suffocating sense of oppression. "All natural fluctuations, emotional ups and downs, chance... are suppressed to the extreme."
"More terrifying than Big Mom's sweet trap..." Ace's flames seemed somewhat dimmed in this environment. "There is no 'assimilation' here, only... complete 'deletion' and 'replacement'."
The allied forces attempted to infiltrate, but they quickly discovered that in this "mechanical city," nothing could hide from the "anomaly."
• Absolute surveillance: Ubiquitous miniature hovering reconnaissance devices (similar to Pacifista but smaller) form an inescapable net, scanning the biosignals, energy fluctuations, and even emotional spectrum of every living being.
• Order Guards: The new Pacifista ( PX-Z Series?) are no longer bulky bear-shaped, but more streamlined and efficient humanoid killing machines. They are equipped with "Adaptive Armor" developed based on the Lunarian Tribe Lineage Factor and "High-Speed Movement Module" developed based on Jhin's abilities, making them far more powerful than previous models.
• Rule Force Field: A powerful force field extends from the core area of the city, greatly suppressing or even backfiring any ability that does not conform to the "preset rules". Luffy's rubber transformation becomes difficult, Ace's flame temperature inexplicably decreases, and Sabo's Omniscient Domain is interfered with by chaotic information.
They witnessed the workings of the " Purification Unit ": not killing, but "processing." Those who did not meet the "standards"—whether in terms of physical indicators, work efficiency, or ideological fluctuations—were forcibly taken away and sent to a massive "order reformation center," emerging as one of those zombie-like individuals. Resistants were instantly "eliminated" by the new Pacifista.
"They're creating a 'perfect world' without pain, chaos, but also without any passion, creativity, or surprises!" Sabo analyzed the energy patterns of the force field and the transformation center, feeling a chill run down his spine. " Imu is trying to erase all uncertainty from the world!"
Battle inevitably broke out. The Allied Forces clashed fiercely with the new Pacifista forces and the Order Guards. But these enemies were extremely difficult to deal with: they would self-destruct after being destroyed, generating a strong disruptive magnetic field; they could quickly learn and adapt to the Allied Forces' attack patterns; and they could even predict Sabo's tactics and Allen's subtle intervention in time to some extent.
The most troublesome thing is the "Order Core Tower"—it constantly spreads a powerful force field, assimilating everything around it and uploading data in real time. If it is not destroyed, this mechanical city will continue to "repair" and "strengthen" itself.
"That tower must be destroyed!" Ace gathered the Flame of World Purification, only to find the flames significantly weakened by the force field. "No! Conventional attacks will be absorbed and adapted to!" Sabo struggled to evade the lock-on and analysis of countless reconnaissance devices. "Time has also become 'rigid' here, difficult to manipulate!" Allen tried to accelerate or decelerate local time, but felt immense resistance.
Just as the coalition forces were locked in a fierce battle and gradually surrounded by more and more mechanical guards and Pacifista who had adapted to their fighting style, several hidden doors suddenly opened in the city's sewer system (perhaps the only place that was not completely steel-plated).
A group of Resistance fighters, dressed in tattered clothes but with indomitable eyes, quietly appeared. They were familiar with the weak points and blind spots of this steel city.
"Follow us!" the lead warrior growled. "We know how to temporarily block their tracking! The core tower has a weakness!"
Led by these local Resistance fighters, the Allied forces painstakingly bypassed the main surveillance network and approached the underground foundation of the Order Core Tower by following a complex network of maintenance pipes and energy lines.
"The tower's protective force field is based on an 'absolute balance' algorithm, but maintaining this balance requires enormous energy. There's a tiny, periodic energy fluctuation gap in the energy transmission channel at the third conversion node at the bottom!" the Resistance leader quickly explained. "Only by attacking through that gap can the force field be penetrated and the core destroyed!"
"A gap in the cycle? Leave it to me!" Allen immediately focused his mind, concentrating his Time Perception on that point. "Found it! Ace, Sabo, now's the time!"
With Allen's precise timing guidance, Ace compressed the Flame of World Purification to its limit, Sabo unleashed a full-force attack containing the calculations of the Omniscient Domain, crashing into the foundation of the Order Core Tower during that one-hundred-millionth-second gap in energy fluctuations!
Boom--!
A tremendous explosion rang out, the tower shook violently, and the force field light on its surface flickered wildly before abruptly going out! The lights in the entire mechanical city dimmed by half instantly, the precisely operating machines paused briefly, and a faint trace of confusion seemed to flash across the numb faces of the people.
"We've succeeded!" the Resistance fighters cheered.
However, before the allied forces could even catch their breath, a cold, emotionless voice rang out through the city's broadcasting system:
"Unknown interference detected at the core of order. Emergency plan 'Final Protocol: Zeroing' activated."
"All units, eliminate all unregistered life signals. Priority targets: Revolutionary Army, Devil Fruit User, and time anomalies."
An even larger shadow rose from the center of the city—a colossal war machine unlike anything ever seen before, its target locked on the weakened Ace and Sabo!
At the same time, the eyes of the previously stagnant Pacifista and Order Guards lit up again, turning a dangerous crimson, and their attack patterns became even more ferocious and reckless.
The Resistance fighters, who had just seen a glimmer of hope, were once again shrouded in gloom, even more desperate than before.
"Final agreement... Imu... is he really going to completely destroy everything here?" Sabo stared at the massive war machine, his face extremely grim.
Luffy stood between everyone and the massive weapon, his eyes beneath his Straw Hat unwavering. "Then let's take this damn agreement with us!"
The real battle has only just begun.