Chapter 557: The God's Knights
The brief battle had ended.
Brett brought everyone, Seraphim included, back into Vegapunk's laboratory.
"Extraordinary power."
Shanks had nothing but admiration for what the Seraphim had shown. "Hard to believe something this capable was manufactured. Something that strong coming out of a laboratory."
The Seraphim were formidable on their physical gifts alone, and on top of that each one carried a powerful Devil Fruit ability.
Quite something.
Vegapunk's claim to have produced his greatest work had not been empty.
Brett looked perfectly unscathed, but Shanks was honest enough with himself to admit he would not have won against all eight. Against fewer, too, the fighting would have been hard. There was no question about it. Vegapunk had contributed enormously.
"Remarkable, yes."
Brett gave a quiet nod. His mood was good. "But still too inexperienced."
The Seraphim were a fusion of mechanical engineering and biological technology. Unlike the Pacifistas they were not robots. They had physical bodies. They possessed a degree of intelligence. They could grow through learning, through accumulated experience being fed into them.
"That's where we're counting on you, Brett."
Lilith nudged her elbow against Brett's thigh with a grin, a maneuver that honestly tested the limits of her height. "The Seraphim's hardware is mature enough. But like you said, they're lacking in experience. They still need to grow."
To be fair, their individual capabilities were exceptional. If you searched the entire ocean, only fighters at the level of an Emperor or an Admiral could reliably put them down. Figures like Jack, Marco, and Beckman, who served as lieutenants to Emperors, would not beat them in a straight fight.
But there was one clear gap. In terms of actual combat experience they were completely green. Like children swinging weapons. Physically indestructible, but raw in every other sense.
"We'll need everyone's help going forward."
Shakka stood with his hands in his pockets, composed as always. "Fight them. Teach them through combat. Give them techniques, give them experience. Let them grow quickly."
A large portion of the Seraphim's architecture was mechanical. Their capacity to learn was not comparable to an ordinary human's. They could absorb knowledge directly.
"That's no problem at all."
Brett gave a small nod.
His Observation Haki training was essentially complete. What remained was Armament. With his awakening having broken through the old limits on his body, the ceiling on his Haki had lifted as well, and his Armament was continuing to strengthen. Sparring with the Seraphim would serve him well. A single one was only so much, but bring the numbers up and there was genuinely no better training partner to be found anywhere on the ocean.
Just the right material to sharpen his Armament against.
"Then we'll join in too."
Rayleigh laughed. "Only Brett's experience would be a bit one-sided, wouldn't it?"
"Fair enough."
Shanks gave a nod. "Helping Brett train is winding down anyway. Sitting around with nothing to do doesn't suit me. Might as well make myself useful."
"In that case, we can also try teaching the Seraphim Haki."
The corner of Brett's mouth pulled up slightly.
The Seraphim were living creatures. They had intelligence. They were replicas of Kaido. There was no reason in principle they could not learn Haki.
"Wonderful."
Shakka was genuinely pleased. "Time is short, but trust in the Seraphim's ability to learn. They will not disappoint us."
"I look forward to seeing it."
Rayleigh smiled warmly. "Once they have real experience and Haki behind them, what kind of power will they actually have?"
Probably, at that point, even a single Seraphim would carry power approaching an Emperor's level.
Terrifying.
It really was terrifying.
Tesoro had already started sighing to himself.
He was the weakest combatant in the room and he knew it. Watching the Seraphim fight Brett had forced him to feel something he did not enjoy feeling. He knew, however much he disliked knowing it, that he could not beat even one of them.
On his home turf with enough gold around him he might be able to hold one at bay for a time. But in a sudden, unexpected encounter? No chance. He had no way to breach that defense. Armament Haki working from the inside could not do serious damage to something with the Seraphim's defensive capability.
Embarrassing.
Tesoro sighed inwardly.
Brett reached over and patted him on the shoulder.
The world was not a fair place.
Effort alone did not guarantee you would surpass anyone. The constraints of talent bound people in ways that hard work could not always overcome. And even among Devil Fruits there was a hierarchy that no amount of training could change.
Tesoro rolled his eyes and knocked Brett's hand away.
He had not fallen low enough to need comforting from Brett.
In any case, everything was moving in the right direction.
The second Pluton's construction had entered its final phase. What remained were only the last small details. It was close. This time it was genuinely close.
At almost the same moment, somewhere above the sea.
The enormous floating warship drifted in silence. Inside it, in one of its many rooms, the Five Elders were speaking with several figures in white robes.
The same color as CP0, but not CP0. These white robes were of an entirely different quality. Elaborate. Decorated with gold thread and set with gems.
These figures wore no masks. Their faces were open.
At the front stood an elderly man, white-haired, likely the same generation as the older members of the Five Elders. Behind him were several younger figures in white robes, each somewhere in their forties or fifties.
"The time has come for you to give everything."
Saint Nusjuro put a hand on the white-haired old man's shoulder and spoke to him directly.
"Naturally."
The elder gave a slight nod. "For the glory of us, the Celestial Dragons. In the coming war, let the rebels learn what the wrath of gods truly means."
"Good."
Saint Mars let out a breath that held genuine feeling. "Though never, in all the time before this, did I imagine things would reach a point where your involvement was necessary."
"We are Imu-sama's knights. This moment is what we have waited for."
The white-haired elder's voice was steady and certain. "The responsibility passed down through the ages. Let our generation be the one to carry it out."
"Then prepare yourselves."
Saint Nusjuro gave a firm nod.
"God's Knights."