"Hey, hey, isn't this thing's vitality and defense way too strong? Is this what the Marine Science Unit has been researching all this time? That's honestly terrifying."
Looking at the Ice Saber in his hand that had only left a white mark on S-Snake's body, Kuzan was shocked.
He didn't know the specifics of the Seraphim project, just that the Marine Science Unit was working on a secret project. Now it seemed that the project had succeeded.
S-Snake's method of defense just now was very peculiar. It wasn't due to any special ability, she had blocked his attack purely by relying on the defense of her body. Combined with how she had previously neutralized his freezing technique, Kuzan faintly sensed trouble.
Since the Summit War, strange weapons had been appearing more frequently. Compared to the current Seraphim, the Pacifista and Wyverns were practically cannon fodder.
Crack.
S-Snake's current command was to fight. Although Sentomaru was already dead and Kizaru no longer had the authority chip to command the Seraphim, Vegapunk's clones could still issue remote commands.
When there was no one present who could give orders to the Seraphim, remote commands could not be interfered with.
S-Snake kicked Kuzan's Ice Saber, which instantly snapped in half.
The ice Kuzan produced wasn't normally so fragile, and the sharp ice blade was more than capable of severing ordinary humans' limbs. The fact that S-Snake could directly break it with a kick was because of her unusual physique and ability.
What fell to the ground wasn't ice shards, but fragments of stone. Her Green Blood came from Hancock's Lineage Factor. S-Snake had inherited not only Hancock's appearance but even her Devil Fruit ability.
"The Pirate Empress's ability… that one's Hawk Eyes, right? The SSG really came up with something incredible. Have they recreated the entire Shichibukai?"
Vegapunk was something of a perfectionist. He wanted everything to be exact. S-Snake and S-Hawk looked exactly like the younger versions of the Empress and Hawk Eyes. Even someone with face blindness could recognize them.
If he could create two, he could create a third, a fourth… With a bit of imagination, Kuzan began to piece things together.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
Muttering to himself, Kuzan didn't stop attacking. Facing the relentless assault from S-Snake, Kuzan moved in with a gesture like an embrace. As their figures crossed, S-Snake once again turned into an ice sculpture.
But before he could attempt to shatter her, S-Hawk's slash was already closing in from the side.
Buzz!
A blade flashed. Somehow, the weapon that had been knocked away earlier was already back in S-Hawk's hand. The terrifying slash forced Kuzan to retreat from his follow-up move, and S-Hawk flapped his wings, positioning himself in front of S-Snake.
Behind him, flames ignited, helping to thaw the frozen S-Snake.
Kuzan's ice techniques generally fell into two categories: one merely encased the target in a shell, which the Seraphim didn't care about; the other froze the target entirely from the inside out.
Even for a Seraphim, being frozen like that would make it difficult to break free.
"That was close…real close. We almost got into trouble. Aokiji is really troublesome. Even Seraphim can't fully resist his ice."
"Well, he was a former Admiral. If he manages to freeze you completely from the inside out, even a Lunarian can't mobilize their internal flames, let alone the Seraphim, who are still just children and haven't fully matured."
High above in the Labophase, Pythagoras wiped the sweat from his forehead. Kuzan's arrival was unexpected. Even with the Lunarian bloodline's powerful resistance, their strength seems to be inadequate when facing an enemy of this caliber.
If they had relied on S-Snake alone to deal with Kuzan, things might have gone very wrong.
At the same time, Pythagoras also noticed Shayna, who was currently fighting Kizaru.
"Shaka, that woman…"
"Yeah, that's probably her, one of the original Lunarians. But why is her flame blue...? It seems there are more secrets to their bloodline."
At first, the whereabouts of King and Shayna had been a mystery. No one knew where they'd gone after the riot.
But as their activities increased, their appearances in public became more frequent.
For those who had heard of the Lunarian legend, it wasn't difficult to pick up clues from their fighting style, let alone the former leader of the laboratory.
After Kaido broke out of prison, they disappeared along with him. Later, with Kaido's rise to power, the Beasts Pirates gained more officers like them. With a bit of attention, it was easy to notice.
King and Shayna's disguises were mainly meant for ordinary people, to reduce unnecessary trouble. For those real higher-ups, this was an open secret.
The laboratory already had sufficient samples; there was no need to carry out an operation to specially target them.
Aside from the strength that King and Shayna themselves had shown, the Beasts Pirates behind them were also a big problem.
If they were deliberately targeted, the cost of provoking the Beasts Pirates would be too great. If it really had to be done, based on current intelligence, it would be better to go capture Queen instead.
When the cost and benefit don't match, few are willing to take such action.
However, operations targeting the Lunarian race were never canceled. There might still be Lunarians elsewhere. If someone could actually capture King or Shayna, the World Government could use that to launch a new operation.
"She's very angry."
"Of course she's angry. Anyone would be furious after seeing something like this. This is what you'd call karma."
The main body should be in position by now. It's time for us to act too. Let's go, Pythagoras, the plan has changed."
No.1 Shaka represents good and is the most righteous among the clones.
He didn't agree with certain experiments, but he also didn't oppose the main body's participation in these plans for the sake of research.
"You're right. The observed data is already sufficient. There's no need to keep watching. She knows all the Lunarians' weaknesses."
Shaka and Pythagoras entered the elevator with the plate beside them, while Edison, Atlas, and York brought S-Bear to the top level.
"Punk Records separation complete. All personnel on the island have been evacuated."
"Excellent. It's time for us to retreat as well. This isn't the moment to face death. S-Bear, we're counting on you."
The Seraphim with Bartholomew Kuma's appearance took off his gloves. The pink paw pads looked bouncy. As everyone took their positions, S-Bear swung his arm.
Boom—
With a muffled sound in the air, the upper region of Egghead vanished into thin air. High above in the distant sky, the missing area had already been enveloped in a paw-shaped bubble, flying at high speed toward an unknown location.
S-Snake had inherited Hancock's Love-Love Fruit. Likewise, S-Bear had inherited Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit. This bug-like ability was precisely the escape method Vegapunk had planned.
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