At that moment, Sanji found himself in a skirmish with Sentomaru.
Though the man looked like a huge, clumsy oaf, his fighting skills were far from weak. He could accurately predict every single one of Sanji's attacks. Not only that, but when he struck with his open palm, it was laced with Armament Haki, making his blows incredibly powerful.
But Sanji was a living lightning bolt!
Even if Sentomaru could predict his attacks, he just couldn't keep up with Sanji's insane speed. The fight didn't last long, and Sentomaru was quickly overwhelmed. What was strange, however, was his incredible endurance.
Sanji had been pressing him hard for a while, inflicting several minor injuries, yet Sentomaru stubbornly refused to go down, managing to hold Sanji in place and prevent him from leaving.
This infuriated Sanji. The Adventure was still waiting for backup, and this annoying guy was wasting his time. It was beyond frustrating.
"Hey, you big, red-bellied fatty, you need to be careful with my Thunderbolt. You're delaying me from helping Tashigi-chan, and you've completely pissed me off! I might not be able to hold back my power on the next attack, so don't blame me if you die!"
"Who are you calling fat?! I'm Sentomaru, and I'm a lot thinner than you!" Sentomaru argued.
He watched in shock as Sanji kicked out a lightning bolt. He quickly recovered and raised the huge axe in his hand, successfully blocking the attack. But the arc of electricity from the Thunderbolt spread to Sentomaru's body, and the intense current made him wince in pain.
"Lightning Mutton Shot!"
Sanji had appeared next to Sentomaru in a flash and kicked him away before he could even react. Taking advantage of the opening, Sanji transformed into a lightning bolt and shot off into the distance, heading straight for the Adventure.
Sanji was confident that his friends could handle their own battles. It might be tough for Nami and Robin, but he'd just have to make them a heartwarming meal later to make up for it. Right now, Tashigi needed his help more!
Everyone else was too busy with their own fights to pay attention to Sanji's escape. The three Pacifistas had just let loose with Laser Beams, sending everyone flying in different directions. Fortunately, they had dodged in time, or they would have been instantly annihilated.
Franky swung his Iron Cloud Saber, managing to connect with one of the Pacifistas. There was a loud clang, but the Pacifista didn't even have a scratch on it. The saber, however, was sent flying back, a testament to the cyborg's incredible durability.
"It's like a super-reformed human!" Franky said with a look of defeat.
"What kind of monster is this?!" Nami and Jango screamed in a panic.
Seeing this, Robin launched another attack, sending a giant Tempest Kick forward that managed to send a Pacifista flying backward. But before they could cheer, the Pacifista stopped in mid-air. The metal on its body had been torn open, revealing the hardened machinery underneath.
"Oh, it didn't even open a new one," Robin said, a bit surprised.
"This is terrible! I can't believe the Marines have something like this. Are we all going to die?!" Bepo, Shyarly, and Penguin were losing their composure.
At that moment, Sentomaru rushed back, still annoyed about being kicked so far away by Sanji. He glared in the direction Sanji had disappeared, a look of frustration on his face. There was nothing he could do, though. Sanji's speed was on par with even Kizaru, so he had no hope of catching him.
Well, there are still plenty of people in the Straw Hat Crew, he thought. I'll just capture all of them!
Sentomaru walked over to the three Pacifistas and boasted, "PX-1, PX-5, and PX-7 were built by Dr. Vegapunk, a great scientist whose wisdom is five hundred years ahead of mankind! How could you possibly defeat them so easily?! Just surrender, you hairy-hatted pirates!"
No one took Sentomaru seriously. Surrender was never an option. If they couldn't win, they would just run away. There was no shame in that. After all, they were in the heart of Marine territory. There were so many monsters here, even Whitebeard would have to retreat, let alone the newly crowned Five Emperors.
Jango stepped forward. "I'll handle this red-bellied guy. I'm not very good at fighting machines."
Franky and the others didn't object. Hypnosis wasn't very effective against machines, so Jango would be at a disadvantage against the Pacifistas. It was better for him to face Sentomaru. But even Sentomaru wasn't an easy opponent, so they just hoped Jango could handle him.
"Hmph! You're pretty arrogant if you think you, a mere hypnotist, can defeat me, Sentomaru!"
"Heh, how will you know if you don't try? I think people like you are easy to deal with," Jango said confidently, pushing up his glasses.
With that, Jango began to Geppo and dance while rapping, looking like a complete weirdo. But Sentomaru was well aware of Jango's hypnotic ability, so he simply launched a straightforward attack, swinging his giant axe directly at Jango without hesitation.
A faint smile appeared on the corner of Jango's mouth as he snapped his fingers. "One! Two! Jango!" he whispered.
Sentomaru stopped abruptly, looking around in a state of alert. He had felt a sudden sense of danger but couldn't seem to find anything. This was a very strange feeling, something he had never experienced before.
"Damn it! It's Jango's hypnosis!"
Sentomaru immediately shook his head vigorously, and the strange feeling vanished. But just as he regained his senses, he heard the sound of clinking bells. Jango was holding a chain of interconnected circular saws and rattling them.
The crisp sound brought the strange feeling back, and Sentomaru felt like he was falling into a trance. At the same time, Jango was a little helpless.
He was doing his best to use his Devil Fruit's power, yet he couldn't fully hypnotize Sentomaru. This only showed how truly powerful Sentomaru was. If Sentomaru wasn't so single-minded, he wouldn't even be able to hypnotize him so easily!
Taking advantage of the distraction, Franky, Nami, Robin, Shyarly, Kei, and Bepo focused on the three Pacifistas.
Kei led the charge, his claws growing enormous on the spot. He swept them at PX-1, sending it flying into the air. He then rushed toward it with Shyarly, leaving the other two Pacifistas to the rest of the crew.
Everyone could clearly see the deep claw marks on PX-1's body. Kei's raw strength was enough to damage the Pacifista, even without any transformation, which gave everyone the confidence they needed.
As long as they could restrain PX-5 and PX-7, Kei would surely defeat PX-1 and come to help them. It was just a matter of holding two robots in place, and they knew they could do it.
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