Seeing Jinbei also unleashing fierce power on the battlefield, Beam arched an eyebrow.
Back when he had studied Fish-Man Karate, that blue fatty had been there too. They were acquaintances.
"It feels like the Revolutionary Army side is going to win," Beam commented.
The Dolphin Devil beside him disagreed. "Not so soon. The God's Knights haven't moved yet."
Makoto's gaze, however, was fixed on the trembling [Effort King] Koby, Helmeppo, and Usopp on the battlefield.
Seeing these three cowering in the corner of the battlefield, Makoto couldn't help but smile.
In the original work, Nami, Chopper, and Usopp were called the [Cowardly Trio of the Straw Hat Pirates].
But now, because of the butterfly effect caused by his group, Nami and Chopper hadn't joined the Straw Hat Pirates. Yet the [Cowardly Trio] had still emerged.
Koby's face was as pale as paper, his lips trembling nonstop, his pupils dilated with fear.
He looked around him… corpses and blood everywhere.
A Marine soldier fell before him, his eyes still open, though his pupils had already faded.
Koby's body shuddered violently.
"Can we... can we really leave this place alive?"
"With our strength... it's impossible to participate in a battle like this..."
He looked at Usopp and Helmeppo, his eyes full of fear and despair.
Usopp wasn't much better.
His face was pale green, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
"Why... why did I come to a place like this..." Usopp's voice trembled, carrying a hint of tears.
Helmeppo was even worse. His pants were already wet.
"I want to go home... I want to go home..."
Koby gritted his teeth, as if resolving something, and turned to flee toward the rear.
"Wait for me, Koby! Take me with you!"
Usopp and Helmeppo scrambled behind him, crawling and running.
"If you're running away, take me too!"
Seeing this, Nami said directly, "These three are way too cowardly, right?"
Makoto was speechless.
'In the original work, you're one of them, you know!'
On the scene, seeing Koby and the others running away, the Revolutionary Army and Red Hair Pirates didn't say anything.
But Yasopp, Usopp's father, sensed danger.
"Hey! You three, be careful!"
His Observation Haki had picked up an omen of death.
Doberman, one of the Marine's hawkish officers, had noticed the three fleeing.
Doberman raised his sword and said coldly, "Members of the Straw Hat Pirates, correct?"
Without hesitation, Doberman gave chase, ready to cut them down.
Yasopp, the sniper of the Red Hair Pirates, quickly raised his gun and fired from behind at Doberman.
Bang—!
The bullet precisely pierced Doberman's forehead.
A bloody hole appeared in the center of his forehead, visible straight through.
"Vice Admiral Doberman!" Marine soldiers cried out.
But what shocked the world was something else.
Though Doberman had a hole in his head, he didn't fall.
Not even a drop of blood had splattered. His body didn't waver at all. The sword in his hand continued to swing.
Shing—
A blade flashed.
Helmeppo's head flew into the air.
His eyes were still wide open.
But no sound came out from his mouth.
Plop.
The head hit the ground, rolled twice, and stopped at Koby's feet.
Helmeppo's face was frozen in a terrified, desperate expression.
Blood sprayed from his neck like a crimson fountain, spattering Koby and Usopp's faces and bodies.
Koby was completely frozen.
His pupils contracted sharply. His mind went blank.
He looked up and watched Helmeppo's headless body slowly fall, hitting the ground with a 'thud'.
"He... Helmeppo..."
Usopp collapsed on the ground, his legs weak, unable to stand.
Koby looked up, staring in disbelief at Doberman, who had swung his sword.
"This man... his head has a hole... and he's still alive?"
Doberman, expressionless, raised his sword again to strike Koby.
"Run... run!"
Usopp, summoning some unknown reserve of strength, grabbed Koby and scrambled away.
Doberman's sword struck the ground, shattering stone slabs, sending rubble flying.
Koby, being dragged by Usopp, had a blank mind.
He couldn't understand.
Why did that man survive being shot in the head?
The Yukinoshita sisters on the scene, Shanks, and even Makoto's group watching on the screen all had their expression changed slightly.
They recognized it.
That was the God's Knights' immortality.
"The Marine signed that contract too," Yukino said, biting her lip, displeasure flickering in her eyes. "This is troublesome."
Doberman's head was healing at a visible rate.
Within seconds, his skin was smooth as new, without even a scar left.
"Run... run quickly..."
Koby's voice was trembling, carrying a crying tone.
But Doberman's sword was already raised again.
The blade was coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, gleaming coldly in the sun.
"Die."
Doberman's voice was utterly devoid of emotion, like a whisper from the depths of hell.
The moment the blade fell—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four consecutive gunshots rang.
Yasopp charged from the side, his pistol nozzle spitting flames.
Four bullets, each coated in Armament Haki, shimmering black in the sunlight.
Shhk, shhk, shhk, shhk—
Blood sprayed, flesh flew.
Doberman's body was riddled with holes, like a punctured rag doll.
His body fell backward and slammed heavily into the ground.
Though he had an immortal body, having it destroyed this badly would still take time to regenerate.
"Koby! Usopp!" Yasopp shouted to the two terrified young men. "Hide on the ship! Don't run around!"
Koby and Usopp snapped out of it and scrambled toward the ships in the rear.
Usopp crawled and stumbled, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"Thank you, Dad!" Usopp looked back and shouted as he ran, his eyes full of gratitude and admiration.
Seeing this, Makoto almost couldn't hold it together.
'A son actually admiring a father who abandoned his wife and child?'
'Only in this messed-up world that such thing would happen.'
But Yasopp didn't have time to catch his breath. More gunfire and cries of battle erupted around him.
"Kill—!"
"For justice!"
"Take them all out!"
Marine Vice Admirals surged forward like a tide, swords flashing, guns roaring.
Even more shocking for the Revolutionary Army and Red Hair Pirates was this:
The Marine Vice Admirals, even many Rear Admirals, when injured, their wounds healed at a visible rate.
"What... what the hell is this..."
A Revolutionary Army's soldier's eyes widened, forgetting even to swing his sword.
"Are they immortal?!"
"Not immortal," Yukino's voice came from the side, calm and urgent. "It's Imu's contract. Their weakness is their hearts. As long as their hearts aren't destroyed, they can regenerate indefinitely."
Yukino, while speaking, formed hand signs with both hands.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A high-pressure water jet shot from her mouth, like a silver spear, precisely piercing a Marine Rear Admiral's chest.
"Pwah—"
That Rear Admiral's body stiffened.
He looked down at the bloody hole in his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Then his body went limp and fell.
He did not rise again.
"It works!" The Revolutionary Army's morale soared. "Attack the chest! The heart is the weakness!"
But knowing the weakness was one thing... landing a hit was another.
Those Marine Vice Admirals were already strong, and with them on guard, hitting their hearts was no easy task.
More often than not, Revolutionary Army's soldiers were cut down before they could even aim for their chests.
In an instant, rivers of blood flowed.
Not just Doberman, but viewers around the world increasingly noticed this bizarre phenomenon.
At the Sabaody Archipelago's auction house.
Makoto leaned back in his chair, watching the bodies of Marine Vice Admirals on the screen regenerating on their own, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.
"That Imu isn't as useless as I thought."
…
On the battlefield, Shanks gritted his teeth, retreating from the Marine Vice Admiral before him.
He looked up at Mihawk.
"Mihawk, did you sign that contract too?" Shanks's voice carried a hint of disbelief. "Why? I know you're not that kind of person."
Mihawk, gloom-faced, gave no explanation.
His fingers were clenched tightly around the hilt of his black blade, Yoru, his knuckles white.
He didn't want to explain. He was never a talkative person, and this matter was too humiliating.
…
Some days earlier.
The Warlords, following Marine Headquarters' orders, had come to Mary Geoise to prepare for war.
"Come, come, everyone. You've traveled a long way. You must be tired. First, have a meal and rest," Sengoku said, personally attending to them, his face full of smiles.
Mihawk and the others stared blankly. Normally, when they came to the Holy Land, this guy had never given them a pleasant expression.
The table was laden with delicacies and fine wine.
Mihawk hesitated for a moment, looking at the food.
But then he figured, they were the key combat force to be used against the Revolutionary Army and Red Hair Pirates. The World Government probably wouldn't do anything to them.
But halfway through their meal, they began to realize something was wrong.
"There's something... in this..." Doflamingo's pupils contracted sharply.
He stood up suddenly, trying to activate his String-String Fruit's ability, but his body was no longer under his control.
His limbs felt as heavy as lead, and his vision began to blur.
"You—!" Mihawk also stood, his hand on the hilt of Yoru.
But he stumbled.
The drug was taking effect.
"Sorry, everyone," Sengoku's smile faded, replaced by cold indifference. "This is a necessary sacrifice."
"You—!" Moria was furious.
"Bastards!" Blackbeard lay on the ground, gasping heavily, his eyes full of rage and unwillingness.
Then, the God's Knights emerged from the shadows.
Shamrock stood at the front, expressionless, looking down at these 'great pirates' lying on the ground.
"Imu-sama needs your strength."
…
Seeing Mihawk's silence, Shanks understood what had happened.
Clang—!!
They both were silent. Their blades clashed again, sparks flying.
Just then, a new change occurred on the battlefield.
The Marine Vice Admirals, like Doberman, Strawberry, Yamakaji… their bodies began to swell.
Fangs grew from the corners of their mouths, their eyes turned white, and pitch-black demonic wings spread from their backs.
"What... what is this?!" Yasopp's eyes widened.
"Domi Reversi," Yukino bit her lip, her face pale. "One of Imu's abilities. The controlled individuals take on demonic features, and their strength becomes more violent."
As soon as she finished speaking, Doberman had already charged.
His speed was more than double what it was before. Yasopp couldn't even aim in time before he was sent flying backwards.
"Ugh—!"
Yasopp's body flew like a kite with its string cut, slamming into the wall behind him, blood spraying from his mouth.
"Yasopp!" Shanks's expression changed.
Doberman's strength had just risen from Vice Admiral to Admiral candidate level.
"This is bad..." Shanks raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his face with his elbow.
Yukino maintained her dark expression throughout.
This was why she had been saying not to fight this war in the first place.