Boom!!
"Punk Gibson!!"
Boom!!
Accompanied by a massive commotion, a towering iron tower collapsed with a crash, smashing into the ground and kicking up countless clouds of dust.
"Hey! Didn't you say there were guys here with strength rivaling the Warlords of the Sea? Tell them to get their asses out here!"
Boom!! Boom!!
Kid roared with arrogant defiance. He pressed his hands together, assembling a massive amount of metal into a giant mechanical arm, and began wildly smashing the enemies in front of him.
Boom!! Boom!!
Gin's expression was cold. Holding the Dog-Dog Fruit weapon, the Dachshund Gun, he coordinated with his abilities to continuously bombard the area ahead with tenfold-amplified cannonballs.
Every baseball bomb, after having its power amplified, was enough to easily blast a house into ruins.
"Run away!"
Boom!!!
"It's no use! We can't stop them at all!!"
Boom!!!
"Quick, request backup from the Science Defense Unit!!"
In an instant, the streets were filled with smoke and soaring flames.
A large number of stationed Marines and CP agents screamed in panic. They struggled to resist with their guns and cannons, but their defensive line gradually crumbled, quickly turning into a frantic scramble to flee in all directions.
A shadow cast over the ground. Gin looked up at the sky and saw Sanji, transformed into a giant dragon, riding the clouds and mist as he flew toward the cloud island suspended above the town.
He then glanced around, leaped onto a nearby building, and after a few bounds, arrived atop a high-rise.
Gin's cold gaze swept across the entire town, taking in the enemy's troop deployment. He casually called down to Kid below, "The Pacifista units are three streets away to the front left. It's strange, they show absolutely no signs of taking the initiative to attack."
"Huh? Are they planning to ambush us?"
Kid's face showed surprise mixed with a bit of impatience. He turned his head and charged straight toward the Pacifistas.
Gin wanted to call him back, but just as he raised his hand, he stopped.
He could roughly guess that Vegapunk was probably coordinating with them from the inside. Stussy had previously briefed them on the island's deployed forces.
According to her, the Five Elders' control authority over the Pacifistas was higher than Vegapunk's. To avoid any unexpected variables later, it was better to let Kid destroy them in advance.
He glanced back behind him.
The *Freewill* had docked, and Allen, along with the rest of the crew, had stepped onto the island.
'It feels like it won't be that simple...'
Gin couldn't help but mutter to himself.
On their way here, Stussy had painted a grim picture of the operation, but now that they were actually here, things were going a bit too smoothly.
In truth, Egghead's defensive power was absolutely not weak.
From the modified Sea Beasts on the perimeter to the Pacifistas on the island, the protective barrier of the upper laboratory, and the Seraphim—this force was enough to make the vast majority of pirates shrink back.
It was just that under Vegapunk's control, the island's strongest technological forces had all been put into standby mode.
The remaining defensive line, composed solely of stationed Marines and CP agents, was naturally torn to shreds with ease in the face of a Four Emperors crew's assault.
Right at that moment.
Boom!!
Suddenly, a clap of thunder echoed in the sky.
Gin instinctively looked up. As he stared at the clear sky in confusion, he saw several bolts of black lightning suddenly appear out of thin air!
Rumble!!
In an instant, fierce winds howled, and the entire sky rapidly darkened. The clouds surged madly as a terrifyingly powerful aura suddenly descended!
"This is...!"
Gin's eyes widened slightly in astonishment.
Those black lightning bolts struck the city park, blasting out countless black flames upon the ground!
The flames rapidly spread along specific patterns, quickly drawing a mysterious circular design!
The next instant.
That terrifyingly powerful aura from before suddenly vanished.
In its place, amidst the increasingly turbulent black flames on the mysterious pattern, seven or eight auras of varying strengths appeared out of thin air!
Gin's eyes darkened, his expression instantly turning grave.
Kid, who hadn't charged far, also snapped his head back.
Sensing the suddenly descended auras, he grinned fervently, as if he had found something interesting.
"Tch! So there are still some strong guys on this island!"
Kid's eyes turned fierce, his demeanor gradually becoming arrogant as he immediately turned around and charged toward the location where the auras had appeared.
At the same time.
Allen's group, having just landed on the island, also witnessed the bizarre phenomenon in the sky.
"What is that thing?"
"Several strong individuals have arrived...!"
Nami and Robin spoke with grave expressions.
Allen's gaze narrowed slightly as he spread out his Observation Haki.
The Five Elders?
No, the number was wrong. And if it were the Five Elders, their strengths shouldn't vary this much.
Feeling the several uneven auras, he instantly made a judgment in his heart.
The only others who could descend here via teleportation were the Holy Knights who had accepted Imu's Abyssal Mark. It must be them.
"Let's go take a look."
Allen said casually, simultaneously leaping onto a nearby building.
Nami, Robin, and the rest of the pirates quickly followed suit.
Meanwhile.
Inside the modern-style city park.
The sky above gradually brightened, returning to its previous clarity. The black flames burning on the ground slowly dissipated, revealing several figures draped in black cloaks.
Lucci took two steps forward, closed his eyes, and instantly spread out his Observation Haki.
Soon, he swept the surrounding situation and the various auras into his mind.
"They're heading this way, moving fast."
Lucci opened his eyes, turning back to the people behind him.
"Kaku, Jabra, you guys draw their fire and buy some time. Blueno, come with me. We're going to the laboratory first to eliminate Vegapunk."
"Don't boss me around, you pigeon bastard! Why do you get to execute the assassination mission while we have to stay here and face an Emperor?!"
Jabra glared, cursing at him with a look of extreme displeasure.
Lucci ignored him completely, turning to look at Blueno.
Blueno understood implicitly. He glanced up at the cloud island in the sky, reached out, and swiped at the air in front of him. A spatial door radiating a strange green light opened out of thin air.
Lucci leaped inside, and Blueno followed closely behind, casually closing the spatial door from within.
"Hey! Ugh...! That damn pigeon bastard!"
Jabra clenched his fists, gnashing his teeth.
Beside him, Kaku stepped forward and patted his shoulder, saying in a low voice, "Enough, let's deal with the trouble in front of us first. Even though we've gained new power, we still can't be careless against an Emperor."
"Shut up, Kaku! Are you trying to ride on my head too?! Even if that bastard Lucci is stronger than me, I'm still number two in the squad!"
Jabra bared his fangs, brandishing his claws at Kaku.
"Here we go again... the battle for second place..."
Behind them, Fukurou turned his head with a speechless look in his eyes. With the zipper on his mouth half-open, he muttered, "Even though Kaku and the others got the Abyssal Mark, Jabra, we only have the Deep Sea Mark."
"Shut your mouth, you idiot owl! The level of the mark doesn't represent strength!"
Jabra glared over furiously.
Kalifa calmly adjusted her glasses and said lightly, "Stop arguing, Jabra. The enemy is already here."
"Hm?"
Hearing this, Jabra finally stopped his tantrum and looked back. He saw a figure draped in a dark red spiked fur coat diving down rapidly from a building.
"Hey! Are you guys those Seraphim things?!"
Kid grinned fiercely. His right arm released magnetism, attracting the metal structures from nearby buildings and the metal-containing public facilities in the streets and park, pulling them into the sky.
"Seraphim?"
"Looks like this guy misunderstood something."
Kaku and the others were momentarily confused.
The moment she saw him, Kalifa pulled out a batch of new bounties that the Marine Headquarters had recently drafted but hadn't yet released to the public.
"Eustass Kid, his latest bounty has reached 2 billion Berries..."
"Be careful, everyone. This guy is strong."
Kalifa warned, then looked up at the sky.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A massive amount of metal converged toward Kid like a storm, deforming and restructuring in mid-air. Amidst countless sparks from the collisions, the metal quickly assembled into a giant mechanical arm!
"Punk Gibson: Demonic Claw!!"
Kid shouted with a ferocious expression. The mechanical arm roared out, the five fingers on the giant palm curling inward. The scythes at the tips of the fingers slammed down viciously like mechanical claws!
Boom!!!
Kaku and the others hastily scattered and leaped away. The giant palm smashed into the earth, causing the entire park to shake violently. The mechanical claws pierced into the hard ground, and the violent impact kicked up a massive cloud of dust.
Kid forcefully swung his arm to the side. Magnetism erupted, propelling the mechanical arm to sweep horizontally toward his locked targets. The sharp scythes effortlessly tore through the ground like a hot knife through butter!
Just as Jabra's feet touched the ground, he saw the giant mechanical claw roaring toward him again!
"Tch! Who could such a clumsy thing possibly hit? Is this guy's head really worth 2 billion?"
Jabra scoffed disdainfully, the tips of his toes pushing off the ground with explosive force!
"Shave!!"
Whoosh!!
The next instant, Jabra's figure vanished from his spot!
Rumble!!
The mechanical claw destructively plowed a trench through the ground, while Jabra flashed and suddenly appeared on top of the mechanical arm. His feet tapped continuously as he sprinted straight toward Kid!
"Tch, the Six Powers again?"
Kid sneered dismissively. With a thought, the magnetism tightly holding the metal within the mechanical arm suddenly reversed. He shouted deeply:
"Punk Metal Burst!!"
Bang!!!
Under Jabra's astonished gaze, the mechanical arm beneath his feet suddenly exploded, shooting out countless metal fragments in a dense barrage!
The powerful explosive shockwave sent Jabra flying. Countless sharp and jagged pieces of metal sliced open his flesh and pierced his body, spraying large bursts of blood into the sky!
Crash!!
Jabra smashed into the bushes at the edge of the park.
"I told him to be careful, that idiot."
Kaku gritted his teeth, then fixed a dark gaze on Kid. He drew two longswords from his back, activated Moonwalk, and stepped on the air, rushing rapidly toward Kid, who was falling in mid-air.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
The air erupted with muffled sounds. As Kaku stepped through the air, his body also began to change, growing yellow fur and brown spots. His neck rapidly elongated, transforming into his giraffe form in the blink of an eye!
"Four-Sword Style: Kirin!!"
Kaku shouted as he swung his blades, spinning his body in the air. Combined with the Tempest Kick erupting from his feet, four flying spiral thrusts bit forward viciously like the four fangs of a Kirin!
"The Six Powers again?"
Kid looked surprised. He quickly waved his arm, manipulating over a dozen pieces of metal to fly in front of him and assemble into a giant shield.
Clang!!
The steel shield was pierced by the spiral slashes! A circular hole was instantly torn open, but Kid's figure inexplicably vanished from behind the shield!
"He disappeared!"
Kaku's face showed alarm. He released his Observation Haki, only to suddenly sense danger coming from all directions!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Pitch-black steel rods whistled with ear-piercing sounds as they shot toward him from every angle. Kaku hastily raised his legs and unleashed consecutive slashes!
"Tempest Kick: Chaos!!"
Clang!! Clang!! Clang!!
A dense barrage of flying slashes erupted, continuously striking down the incoming pitch-black steel rods.
However, while he was dealing with the attack in front of him, Kid had somehow reached the high altitude above his head, descending from the sky at an extreme speed!
Kid extended his right arm behind him, his palm releasing magnetism, bringing a massive amount of metal crashing down with him. He shouted as he swung his arm toward Kaku!
"Punk Steel Fang!!"
The massive amount of metal coalesced into a giant mechanical tiger head. It opened its bloody maw and viciously bit down with its ferocious fangs!
Bang—Boom!!!
The mechanical tiger head slammed heavily into Kaku, unstoppably driving him into the earth!
As if a ten-thousand-ton mountain had crashed down, the entire park shook violently.
"Hey, you guys aren't Seraphim, are you? You don't look like Warlords at all."
Kid landed back on the ground, turning his head to look at Kalifa and the others nearby. He said coldly, "And those techniques... are you people from the World Government?"
Of course, there was a possibility that people using the Six Powers were pirates, but that was rare. Usually, they were either Marines or World Government agents.
And the group in front of him clearly wasn't wearing Marine uniforms. Coupled with their appearance here at this time, the answer was already obvious.
"You guessed right. Strictly speaking, we used to report directly to the Celestial Dragons. As for now..."
Kalifa paused, adjusting her glasses. A cold glint flashed across the lenses as she said coldly, "You're all people who know the truth, so there's no harm in telling you. Now, we report directly to that Lord."
"That legendary Imu? Tch, acting all mysterious. You're all just lapdogs of the Celestial Dragons anyway," Kid sneered mockingly.
But strangely, even though they had lost two teammates, there wasn't a trace of panic on the enemy's faces.
Just as Kid was feeling puzzled.
"Shave!!"
A black shadow sprinted over with terrifying explosive speed, instantly crossing over a hundred meters to arrive right behind him!
Kid's expression changed. He whipped his head around, only to see a demonic wolf with crimson eyes, a pair of demon horns on its forehead, and black flame clouds coiling around its shoulders!
Transformed into a demonic werewolf, Jabra looked ferocious. He thrust both arms out in front of him, his sharp ten fingers curled into claws, and struck forward swiftly!
"Moonlight Ten-Finger Pistol!!"
Squelch!!
The sharp wolf claws pierced into Kid's abdomen, splattering blood. Kid's pupils dilated in shock as he was blown away by the massive impact erupting from the opponent's palms!
Bang!!
Kid's body shot backward at breakneck speed. His back heavily smashed through the park wall and crashed into a building packed along the street.
Jabra grinned, revealing two rows of ferocious sharp teeth. "Gehahaha! This unparalleled power! This is my brand-new Demon Wolf Form!"