"Let me show that army guy why the navy always outweighs the army and air force in the World Government," said Kizaru. He turned into a beam of light and instantly appeared above the military formation.
Crossing his hands in front of his chest, a brilliant light radiated from him, forming a huge cross-shaped beam in the sky. "Yasakani no Magatama."
Countless light projectiles shot down toward the World Government army. Boom! Boom!
Explosions rippled across the formation, with searing heat sweeping in all directions. The once orderly ranks were quickly torn apart, leaving gaping holes.
"Damn you, Borsalino!" roared Decius, the army general. He could feel his strength diminishing as the formation was hit—his power was tied to the army, and the damage weakened him. The soldiers, mere mortals, stood no chance against Kizaru's laser attacks, and those not hit directly were already panicking, running in fear as they tried to avoid the next blast.
Screams and cries echoed across the battlefield as Kizaru's attacks continued. However, Decius wasn't going to just stand by and watch. The moment Kizaru attacked, he moved too. He leaped high into the air and threw a powerful punch toward Kizaru's position.
Crack! The force of his punch tore through the atmosphere, creating visible shockwaves that rushed toward the cross-shaped light in the sky. In an instant, the light shattered into countless fragments, scattering in all directions.
Kizaru's figure reappeared next to Fujitora. "What a shame," he muttered, hands in his pockets.
"Shame about what?" asked Fujitora, puzzled.
"I was hoping to achieve a bigger result, but he saw through my plan."
Fujitora remained silent. After all, it was unrealistic to expect them to wipe out the World Government's army in one strike. Their top-tier forces wouldn't just sit back and watch their soldiers fall.
In the end, the battle would come down to a clash of the top powers.
Fujitora turned his gaze toward Decius and Zogg, the air force general, standing at the forefront of the World Government's forces.
Meanwhile, the seriously injured Betty looked grimly at the shadowy figures of the World Government's covert operations unit. This unit was almost exclusively an assassination force, unlike the CP units, which handled multiple tasks. They had only one mission—eliminate targets.
Without any words, the four black-robed assassins drew their weapons and moved in to finish off Betty. There was no need for chatter; they had more rebels to kill after this.
Clang! A figure suddenly appeared, blocking the strike with a well-placed kick, sending the weapons flying. Sanji stood in front of Betty, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He exhaled a puff of smoke and said nonchalantly, "Hey, it's not very gentlemanly to gang up on a lady."
With a swift spin on his left foot, Sanji's right leg kicked the attacking hidden blade away, and with the same motion, he slammed his foot into the assailant's face.
Boom! The member of the covert ops was sent flying, arms crossed and coated with Haki, but still forced backward by the blow.
"Annoying guys, huh," muttered Sanji, looking at the enemies in front of him. As flames ignited on his right foot, the remaining covert agents charged again, their weapons cloaked in Haki.
However, just as they were about to reach him, four figures wearing combat suits suddenly appeared around Sanji.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The four covert ops agents were knocked back in unison.
"Sanji, taking this long to handle such small fry?"
"Oh, a woman? Is it that damned chivalry of yours again?"
"Sanji, we'll handle this. Go support the others."
[AN – This version of Sanji is an absolute gentleman. He got Zoro's cool and charisma]
"Alright, it's up to you now, Reiju. And by the way, chivalry is an honorable thing," Sanji replied, glancing coolly at Yonji before heading off to assist elsewhere.
With Kizaru and Fujitora on the scene, the gap in high-level combat power was closing. However, the World Government's hundreds of pacifistas were still a tough challenge for the allied forces.
Each pacifista cost as much as a battleship, and on the battlefield, they performed just as well as one. The allied forces had data on them thanks to Vegapunk, so they shouldn't have been struggling this much.
But the pacifistas' most terrifying feature wasn't their lasers—it was their memory-metal bodies that could regenerate from any damage.
Clearly, the World Government had some serious technological capabilities too.
With expressionless faces, the pacifistas targeted the allied forces, their electronic eyes flashing with red signals for locking onto targets.
"Tch, memory metal. The World Government really has been hiding some impressive stuff," said a figure with brown skin, silver hair, black wings on his back, and flames flickering on his neck, who bore some resemblance to a young Nicholas.
'Seraphim Nicholas' stared at the 200-plus pacifistas outfitted with memory metal. "What a nightmare on the battlefield," he commented.
Setting aside the cost, these pacifistas, equipped with lasers and regeneration, could rival several vice admirals each. Their impact was far greater than any mid-level officer.
"Heh, these 200-plus pacifistas are nothing like the one you're remotely controlling," came a mocking voice beside 'Nicholas.'
"If you keep talking like that, Queen, I'll turn you into a toilet," 'Nicholas'—Vegapunk—replied coldly, glaring at the cigar-chomping Queen.
[AN – Vegapunk is controlling Seraphim Nicholas as his own body through a Vr headset from far away]
"Alright, alright, my bad, Vegapunk. But why aren't you over on the other battlefield? You're controlling that pacifista from a distance anyway, so it's not like you're in any danger," Queen asked, looking toward Pangaea Castle.
"I'm no battle-crazed maniac. I'd rather spend my time collecting data. Has Judge's group already taken the berserk pills?"
"They should be launching their attack soon," Queen said, glancing expectantly at the rear of the World Government forces.