[Metal Soldier]
It has the most basic, plain human shape; no special weapons anywhere on its body.
[Metal Bishop]
Four metal arms; the fists are perforated cylinders.
[metal castle]
Bulkier frame; a heavy machine-gun-style weapon mounted on the right arm.
[Metal Queen]
Humanoid head on top, lower body like half a corn-cob, eight metal tentacles linking to the torso.
[metal king]
The largest build, clearly power-oriented, carrying a massive black greatsword.
And the first to appear—metal knight.
These six units make up the powerful metal series.
Mere metal creations, yet they exude an extraordinary Aura.
Sitch brought a publicity-team colleague to a distant cliff-face.
'Getting to film this—worth dying for!' the cameraman shrieked in excitement.
Sitch couldn't share his thrill.
He only worried whether this distance was safe enough.
'Live-fire test—commence.'
At Bofoi's order, all six units moved at once.
metal knight and metal castle locked onto Aokiji.
Launch ports opened across their armor!
Countless missiles streaked out, painting the sky with long fiery tails!
Aokiji stood motionless.
Arms folded, muscles grotesquely thick, his triangular frame radiating power.
Cyan Dragon scales laced with Haki.
Wisps of white frost drifted around him.
In moments, the missiles slammed into him and detonated!
Flame and smoke swallowed him whole.
The barrage wasn't over.
The four close-combat units closed in!
The perforated cylinders compressed, charging.
Four metal arms blurred into after-images!
Metal tentacles lashed out, shrieking through the air!
They battered and stabbed at Aokiji's position.
The metal king, greatsword hoisted, angled the blade behind its back.
The black tip scraped the ground.
In an exaggerated power stance—
From high to low—
It delivered a pure-strength cleave!!
BOOM————!!!
A dull crash more like an explosion than a slash!
The ground caved and cracked across a huge area!!
The six drone units worked in perfect sync.
Ranged fire for cover!
Melee units encircled, unloading burst damage!
The devastation was staggering!
'Doctor, stop this now!' Child Emperor yanked Bofoi's arm.
'At this rate Mr. Aokiji will be in danger!'
'Brave, you met Aokiji earlier, yet you hardly know him.'
Bofoi opened data from his private satellite.
Center of the battlefield.
A colossal energy, unlisted in any database,
Declared itself in the satellite feed!
Compared with it, the metal series' energy signature was
Like a wave meeting a monstrous whirlpool—
Dismissed as mere spray.
'See that?' Bofoi's voice was grave. 'Aokiji may be human…'
'But he's definitely a Monster!'
Inside the smoke and flames,
An ice-plated Dragon-scale hand reached out.
It caught the falling greatsword mid-slash.
The already shattered ground collapsed further!
Aokiji looked unfazed.
'When I was a kid, I used to pretend I was a giant robot.'
'Missiles would explode all over me and I'd just stroll out of the mushroom cloud.'
'That image of an untouchable powerhouse stuck with me.'
Metal Bishop and Metal Queen burst through the smoke and struck!
Aokiji didn't even block.
He simply reached out, predicting their path,
Grabbed a tentacle and hurled with titanic force!
Both units were flung away!
They scraped across the ground, carving a long trench!
'I never became a robot, but my defense now is exactly what I dreamed of.'
His grip on the blade tightened viciously!
Fine cracks webbed across the steel.
The sword shattered into scraps.
A heavy shard thudded to earth.
'Still, taking hits forever—pain or not—looks like a weird kink.'
He raised a fist flickering black-red: 'My turn.'
BOOM————!!!
The upper half of metal king exploded into shards!
Inside the lab, one monitor feed cut to black.
Child Emperor forgot to bite his lollipop.
He stared, stunned, at the other screens.
A mere flicker of darkness,
And no matter how the Metal units dodged,
They were obliterated!
Every trajectory lay bare before his eyes.
'Doctor, the whole metal series is getting wiped out.'
'…Expected.' Bofoi analyzed the incoming data.
He only wanted combat data
To identify what Aokiji was.
A titanic figure like a demon-god flashed past!
metal knight and metal castle, tasked with ranged fire, ignited their thrusters to pull back.
Ice spears formed in an instant!
Freezing their legs solid!
What followed was a strike fused with the Haki of two top-tier warriors!!
Their own firepower couldn't touch Aokiji.
Haki blasted out!!
Shattered parts rained through the air!
The ground under the shockwave cracked into dust.
His tail flicked behind him,
Shaking off the dust.
Aokiji lifted the still-intact head of metal knight:
'Can you hear me? Fight's over.'
'Static… static…'
Crackling came first,
Then Child Emperor's distorted voice:
'Mr. Aokiji! I just saw—what is that form? It's incredible!!'
'Oh, off to visit lonely elders so soon?'
Aokiji reverted to normal.
He shook the metal head again:
'Dr. Bofoi, got the data you wanted?'
'…Analysis confirms your transformation stems from some ability,'
Bofoi murmured, adrift in oceans of data.
The nature of this power was bizarre; he couldn't parse it.
Unlike the chaos of Monster transformation,
It felt like a self-contained system.
'Remember our agreed payment; I've got things to do.'
He tossed the head aside.
Spotting Sitch and the others on the distant cliff,
The cameraman was still giddily reviewing the spectacular footage,
Muttering 'worth dying for' over and over.
Back at the Association, he packed up the Sky King ice-statue and every Monster figurine he'd beaten.
Z-City ghost town.
Mosquito Girl, on the verge of a feast,
Was now ready.
She eyed the clothes she'd snipped to ribbons,
Nodding in delight.
...
[Throw some stones]