As everyone's strength underwent rapid qualitative change, Whitebeard—the first to raise his great blade against the green-flame skeletons—was finally freed.
No longer did he need to shield his comrades from the rain of energy bolts. He left the remaining half of the barrage to the others and, with a flicker of his figure, appeared at Roya's side.
If the previous exchanges had been a kind of tempering for all of them, then Whitebeard had endured the heaviest hammer blows of all.
By now, he had truly become a piece of "steel forged a hundred times"—to him, these low-grade cannon-fodder units were no longer worth personally striking down.
Whitebeard let out a sigh of emotion.
"To think, after losing my Devil Fruit power, my body's strength would grow this fast!"
Roya chuckled.
"But of course."
Without a Devil Fruit siphoning his life force, and with the Star Spirit continuously supplying him the planet's source energy, it would have been strange if his body hadn't grown explosively stronger.
And once the body's strength reached a certain height, combined with the superlative control of Life Return and the newly-formed energy output system forged through the fusion of different Haki—qualitative transformation was inevitable.
Whitebeard cast a glance at Green Bull, who was still struggling vainly against the deliberate encirclement of Kuma and Im. His brows furrowed.
"This one's life-form is bizarre indeed. Each spore and fungus within his body is a separate organism, yet together they form a single intelligent being no different from us. It's as though one man is an entire race unto himself."
Roya laughed lightly.
"The world is vast and full of wonders. Perhaps under the yoke of his master's oppression, he evolved into this form in order to preserve a seed of his species."
Whitebeard gave a snort.
"Thanks to you, the shackles binding us have been broken—we've glimpsed deeper truths of this world.
Those who treat living beings as slaves and tools—one day, we'll wipe them all out, every last one!"
Roya nodded gravely.
"Perhaps they too are driven by terrible pressure from even greater enemies above them. Perhaps that's why they squeeze planets dry of energy and potential.
But regardless, we must resist their cold-blooded grazing and harvesting!"
Whitebeard's eyes blazed.
"Exactly! We are not tools. We are not crops to be cut down!"
He leaned closer.
"What's your plan? Whatever it is—we'll back you to the end!"
Roya was about to speak when suddenly his heart gave a jolt. His gaze snapped to the battlefield's core, which had seemed already decided.
The skeleton squad appeared cornered—only three remained, each broken and battered, missing arms and legs, none intact.
And yet—they did not retreat into desperate defense. Instead, they launched a fiercer counterattack than ever before.
Reckless, heedless, sacrificing all without hesitation!
The most damaged of the three skeletons suddenly detonated where it floated!
From the green fire in its chest cavity erupted a violent surge of energy, instantly engulfing a full kilometer around it.
Faced with such a vast-range suicidal blast, the fighters were forced to slow their assault and pull back, lest they suffer needless wounds.
But the explosion was nothing more than a diversion!
The wreckage of the Moby Dick, scattered across the sea, was blown completely apart by the shockwave, leaving the waters below bare and clear.
And the self-detonated skeleton fell freely into the ocean.
Though the green fire on its body was faint, the particle-flames within its eyes had not weakened at all.
Beneath the waves, Pacifistas were hauling up the shattered remnants of skeletons previously struck down and sunk.
In that instant, realization dawned on all—the true aim of the skeleton's self-destruction was not to kill, but to clear the field!
The purpose: to seize the inert biomass metal from the Pacifistas' hands.
"What are they trying to do…?"
The same question rose in every mind.
But apart from Roya and Whitebeard, no one could possibly reach the blast center in time to halt the surviving skeletons' next move.
Roya and Whitebeard locked eyes. In Whitebeard's gaze was iron resolve; in Roya's, unshakable confidence.
"Let them play all their cards. Let them reveal every trump they hold. It'll only give us more intelligence for the war that's coming against that so-called Seventh Overlord."
Whitebeard gave a curt nod, agreement in his eyes. But the hand clutching Murakumogiri only tightened.
For he could feel it—the crushing aura erupting violently from the two remaining skeletons.
The others, already withdrawn to the perimeter, traded quick glances. They understood Roya's intent and no longer rushed, but waited to see what would unfold.
With a plop, the self-detonated skeleton hit the sea.
And at that very moment, the two skeletons still hovering above unleashed their full, violent pressure.
Jets of green flame burst from their bodies, merging together, pouring down into the fallen skeleton beneath the waves.
The drowned frame ignited at once in emerald fire.
Under the blaze of combined power, the biomass metal comprising its body began a predetermined mutation!
An immense pull radiated outward, targeted solely at inert biomass metal.
The skeleton had become a colossal magnet—an electromagnetic core that drew only one thing: bio-metal. In an instant, every Pacifista in the vicinity was ensnared!
Even though they had been reforged by Roya's hand, they could not resist this pull.
Clutching the metal they had already secured, they were dragged inexorably toward the green conflagration.
Meanwhile, the burning skeleton's body itself began to soften, melting into a gelatinous mass of jade-green slime.
"Abandon the biomass metal—retreat!"
Kuma, receiving Roya's telepathic command, immediately relayed the order through internal comms, directing the Pacifistas to withdraw.
For flames potent enough to smelt and reshape biomass metal—such green fire could not be underestimated.
Roya would never sacrifice his Pacifistas needlessly.
In the blink of an eye, all the inert biomass metal was piled onto the gelatinous mass.
The emerald blaze engulfed it, reactivating the dormant metals.
They softened, melted, and merged seamlessly into the jelly.
And then—the two remaining skeletons plummeted from the sky, plunging into the sea…
…and fusing into one.
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