Three shadows plummeted rapidly toward Roa's ship from the sky above.
"Tch!" Loki, surrounded by a group of Devil Giants, clearly showed his annoyance. "Those irritating guys are here!"
Teach instinctively ducked behind Roa. "Boss, you gotta protect me!"
"Is it because of Bullet?" Roa asked with interest.
"You have no idea," Teach immediately launched into a string of complaints. "After you left, no one could control Bullet. While he trained like a maniac, he also forced everyone else to desperately get stronger!"
"He said," Doflamingo interjected gloomily, "that if anyone failed to satisfy you upon your return, he'd crush that person's skull."
"Then you should be thanking Bullet," Roa said with a light chuckle. "Otherwise, it might not have been his turn to crush your heads."
"Zehahaha..." Teach gave an awkward laugh. Oh, right. Should he say that Bullet was completely carrying out the Boss's will?
Just then, three figures slammed down onto the deck of the large ship.
The three men knelt down on one knee in a line before Roa.
"Boss! Welcome back!" (x3) The three voices rang out simultaneously.
Roa scrutinized the trio before him.
On the left was King. King was now forty-three years old. It looked like he hadn't used the Pure Gold yet, or only started recently, as he had fully developed into a mature uncle. He was dressed in black leather clothes and pants, his wide black wings folded behind him, and a fiery mane burning at the back of his head.
In the center was Dylan. He must have used the Pure Gold early on, as he looked virtually unchanged from twenty-five years ago.
On the right was Bullet. Only two years younger than King, his appearance was similar in age. His physique was no less impressive than King's six-meter-plus height, his muscles bulging and stretching the dark military uniform he wore.
All three looked at Roa with excitement, sparks practically flying from their eyes.
Not only was Roa observing them, but Teach's rowdy subordinates were also carefully sizing up the trio. These three men were practically unknown on the high seas. But according to Captain Teach, they were the original Calamity Corporation Executives! Especially the two monsters named Bullet and King, who were super-powerhouses that even Captain Teach and Loki couldn't defeat!
Just how powerful was the Calamity Corporation's strength?
"Stand up, Dylan, Bullet, King," Roa laughed softly. "Thank you for your hard work. And for waiting."
He had doubted whether Teach, Loki, or Moria would betray him, but he never doubted the loyalty of these three. They were Roa's first and most devoted subordinates.
"How could you say that!" The three men stood up simultaneously, Dylan's tone bordering on fanaticism. "Boss, your safe return is the greatest reward for us! Waiting for your comeback is our sworn duty!"
"That's right! Boss! Only by following you can we find meaning in our lives!!" Bullet was so emotional his eyes were red. The man, hard as forged steel, was practically weeping. "We finally waited for your return! Calamity is finally going to descend upon this world again!"
"Boss," King was more direct. "For twenty-five years, we have been preparing for this day!"
"Now, we just need your command, and we can immediately announce the return of the Calamity Corporation to the whole world!"
"Mhm." Roa nodded gently. "Then, follow me once again."
"This time, let's turn the world upside down."
"YES!" The three responded in unison, their faces alight with irrepressible fervor.
They had waited a full twenty-five years! During this long time, they sometimes hesitated, wondering if the Boss would ever come back. But each time, they quickly reaffirmed their belief. The Boss would return one day! All they had to do was strengthen the Calamity Corporation's power! With the Pure Gold available, they could even wait tens of thousands of years!
Fortunately, the Boss returned after only a mere twenty-five years! Although twenty-five years was long, it wasn't too long.
"Zehahaha! The war is about to begin!" Teach let out a strange laugh from behind Roa. "After twenty-five years, our Calamity Corporation can finally mobilize all forces again!"
"Teach!" At that moment, Bullet suddenly glared fiercely at Teach. "You scoundrel, what have you been doing these past few years? The resources you sent back have been decreasing."
"You can't blame me!" Teach quickly defended himself. "As our reputation grows, the World Government's pursuit and suppression naturally become more severe! Collecting resources is bound to become difficult!"
"Hmph, it better be," Bullet snorted. Then, he curled his lips into a cold smile. "Also, Teach, Dofla, Bege, and—" He turned and glanced at Loki, who was standing not far away. "Loki, you guys better not have slacked off these past few years!"
Roa raised an eyebrow. He's really strict.
"Tch." Loki grumbled, clearly unhappy. "You scoundrel, who do you think you are! Still trying to lecture me like a kid!"
"Zehahaha, you don't need to worry about that, Bullet!" Teach laughed heartily. "On Hachinosu, the Boss already tested us! He was very satisfied!"
"Indeed," Roa nodded softly. "Teach and Loki are quite strong."
"Since Boss is satisfied, it seems they really did a good job," Bullet lowered his head respectfully again.
"Alright," Roa looked up at the behemoth floating in mid-air. "Aren't you going to take me back? I want to see what kind of power you've accumulated over these twenty-five years."
"Yes!" Dylan nodded solemnly. "Boss, please follow us. Judge is already eager to introduce all the results he has achieved over the past twenty-five years."
"I'm looking forward to it too," Roa smiled.
The behemoth in the sky lowered its altitude again. Then, the clouds on its side suddenly changed shape, forming a massive pathway leading up to the sky city. Even more remarkably, the staircase-like clouds on the path continuously rolled upwards, much like an escalator.
"That's interesting," Roa walked up with a delighted expression.
Dylan followed closely behind, introducing, "These are all the masterpieces of the Weather Scholars of Weatheria. The clouds surrounding the base are a special creation, existing between sea clouds and island clouds. They can change shape freely and also have a physical form that can be touched."
Roa nodded slightly. "Are those old men still alive?" He remembered that most of the Weather Scholars of Weatheria were old men with long white beards.
"Yes, Boss. Thanks to the existence of the Pure Gold, they are all still doing well," Dylan said.
The Pure Gold really did appear at the perfect time. Did going to the Moon before time-travel really mean something? Was this truly the guidance of Fate?
How interesting. Roa smiled contentedly. Fate chose me? Not bad.
The cloud escalator quickly reached its end. Before Roa could even clearly take in the scene before him, he heard an extremely excited voice.
"Boss! You're finally back!"
A man eagerly rushed over, tears even streaming down his face from overwhelming emotion.
"Oh, it's Judge?" Roa chuckled lightly. "You haven't changed at all since then, either."
In fact, he was a little fatter than twenty-five years ago and looked healthier. Did he slack off these past twenty-five years? That won't do.He's in the prime of his life; can he really sleep at night?
"It's all thanks to the Pure Gold you left behind, Boss!" Judge wiped the tears from his eyes, his expression abruptly shifting to one of pride. He stepped aside, waving his right hand toward the rear. "Boss! Please look! This is the power we've accumulated for you over these twenty-five years!"
"Ooh." Roa's eyes widened slightly.
Unlike the original Calamity City, the top deck of this sky city was completely flat, almost like a small plain. And now, on this enormous platform, a black mass of colossal ships was parked in front of Roa.
All the ships were large, 500-meter-scale vessels, made entirely of metal. They lacked masts and sails, adopting a streamlined, spindle-like structure.
"I've seen it many times, but it's still so impressive," Teach, following behind Roa, couldn't help but exclaim.
"What are these?" Roa approached the gigantic metal ships with curiosity.
"They are Improved Airships!" Judge quickly introduced. "The original Sky City was too slow. These were initially designed to connect Sky Island and the Moon."
"I specially designed a Turbine Propulsion System to significantly increase the speed of these airships, drastically reducing the travel time needed from Sky Island to the Moon."
"But then I thought these ships could be used in war. They possess the power to dominate the skies! So, we intermittently manufactured fifty Sky Battleships!"
"Using this New Calamity City as a base, even without Enel as a power source, their maximum combat radius is over 2,000 kilometers! And after the energy is depleted, they can still use the weather technology to continue flying, albeit much slower! Combined with the ground-attack weapons mounted on the ships, they can easily suppress an entire sea region!"
Enel as a power source? Roa smiled. That explained why a battleship with a 2,000-kilometer combat radius could casually travel between Sky Island and the Moon.
"Not bad," Roa nodded with a smile. This Sky City was an airborne aircraft carrier, and these Sky Battleships were its carrier-based aircraft. Given their immense size, they could also be used as transports.
After passing through the formation of fifty colossal metal ships, Roa saw a sea of people. A black cloud of heads stretched out. Of course, they all shared the same face. To be honest, a close look was quite unsettling, like walking into a horror film set. At least, the few pirates obediently following Teach were startled. Burgess had been looking at the gigantic battleships in amazement, but the sight of these copy-pasted soldiers nearly made him scream.
"Boss, these are the latest generation of artificial soldiers, totaling 150,000 people," Judge introduced. "Their strength and endurance are about twice that of the clone soldiers from twenty-five years ago! Their lifespan is also the same as a normal person."
"Hmm?" Roa raised an eyebrow slightly. "Lifespan is the same as a normal person?"
Judge immediately realized that the Boss's old habit of enjoying torment was acting up again. He quickly said, "Because resources were limited, and we didn't know when you would return, we avoided waste... After all, it's impossible to equip all clone soldiers with Pure Gold..."
"Tsk, what a shame," Roa sighed. No wonder the black mist concentration in this floating city wasn't much higher than outside. Disappointing.
Beyond the dense ranks of clone soldiers were thousands of tanks and combat vehicles, and heavy artillery pieces several times the combined number of tanks and vehicles. Seeing this formation, only one thought flashed through Roa's mind: Steel Tide. Enough to fight World War II.
Judge said with some anticipation, "The combat method I envisioned is: the Sky Battleships carry the vehicles and soldiers directly over the target location, then conduct a round of saturation bombing from the sky. After essentially destroying the enemy's living forces, the soldiers and vehicles are airdropped together to clear the battlefield."
"We just haven't had a chance to practice it yet."
Quite modern. Roa couldn't help but chuckle softly. A classic Steel Tide Blitzkrieg. It was hundreds of years ahead of the current state of the sea.
"And, Judge, is that all?"
"Of course not!" Judge immediately became serious. "These are just the most insignificant, the most trifling parts!"
"Oh?" Roa raised an eyebrow. "Now I'm genuinely curious."
"These weapons can certainly play a crucial role in conventional warfare," Judge said seriously. "But in a battle between true powerhouses, they are merely fireworks, only serving as entertainment!"
"Boss! Please follow me. What I'm about to show you are the greatest achievements of our long twenty-five years!"
Judge led Roa into a huge building in the corner of the platform. This was actually a super-large elevator. Even Loki could easily enter it, so it was likely designed to transport the giant battleships.
The elevator traveled downwards. Since there was no elevator door, Roa could easily see the decks passing above them.
Soon, the elevator stopped on one of the floors.
"Boss! You're finally back!!" Another extremely excited voice rang out, and a man who had been waiting there rushed over eagerly.
Roa also briefly assessed the fellow. "Caesar?"
"Shurororororo! It is I, Boss!" Caesar, who also hadn't changed much since then, was equally excited. "I will now introduce you to the Calamity Corporation's strongest legion!!"
Judge simply pursed his lips but said nothing.
"Lead the way," Roa instructed.
"Yes!"
Soon, Caesar led Roa and the others to the edge of a vast training ground. It was clearly custom-made, with the floor and walls constructed from some special alloy.
"We chose this location to avoid damaging the Sky City during the demonstration," Caesar said with a grin. "Please look, Boss! This is the current Calamity Knights!"
Roa looked out onto the field. Rows of figures stood neatly lined up on the spacious training ground. They still used the same face as the clone soldiers, but looked slightly younger, around twenty years old. There were about a hundred individuals, all with expressionless faces.
"Calamity Knights?" Roa chuckled. "An evolved version of the original Calamity Knights?"
"That's right, Boss!" Caesar's smile was exceptionally radiant. "These are the Fourth Generation Lineage Factor Humanoids! Their total number is 105!"
"They possess stronger, more diverse Lineage Factor abilities. More importantly, they are also better adapted to using Haki!"
"Oh?" Roa's smile widened. "Then what are we waiting for? Demonstrate it quickly."
"Yes!"
Caesar nodded enthusiastically and issued a command to the Calamity Knights on the field. "Number One and Number Two step forward. Begin live combat now."
Before the words fully faded, two figures suddenly shot out of the formation. They looked identical, differing only in hair color: one had gray hair, the other blue.
The two figures collided almost instantly. A turbulent air current immediately spread, accompanied by small, crackling Haki lightning.
"Ooh." Roa raised an eyebrow. "Their Haki is pretty good." With his eyesight, he could clearly see that both humanoids' fists, which had collided, were covered in black Haki—genuine Hardening-level Armament Haki.
The two humanoids were evenly matched, both reeling back after the initial punch.
Then.
The gray-haired humanoid suddenly roared. The air in front of him instantly began to twist, and an invisible force caused the hard ground to tremble.
"Sound waves?" Roa instantly understood the essence of this humanoid's ability.
At the same time, the blue-haired humanoid pushed his hands forward, and white mist suddenly spread. A massive wall of ice instantly condensed.
Boom!
The sound wave collided with the ice wall, causing a violent explosion and scattering white mist. Then, in the next moment, the mist was blown away by a sudden gale.
The two figures had already collided again.
But this time, they had changed form! The gray-haired humanoid had transformed into a gray tiger, and the blue-haired humanoid into a blue lion! Their claws, wrapped in Haki, were desperately tearing at each other.
Roa turned his head in surprise toward Judge.
Judge nodded solemnly. "Artificial Devil Fruits."
Roa let out a whistle.
It wasn't over yet!
The two humanoids separated again, instantly shifting into Beastman form. Next, they slapped their waists, and in a burst of dazzling light, a gray and a blue Raid Suit covered their respective bodies.
The next moment, the two slammed into each other again, an iron fist meeting a flying kick.
BOOM!!
A violent air current immediately spread, and the metal floor groaned.
"This!!" Patrick Redfield, one of Teach's subordinates, was drenched in cold sweat. "That kind of power!" They're even stronger than us!!
Roa couldn't help but smile widely. "Interesting. With the Raid Suit, they're not far from Bege's level, are they?"
In other words, their power was already close to the Calamity level!
And there were over a hundred of these Calamity Knights here!
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