— — — — — —
"Hound Blaze!"
"Brilliant Punk!"
Jozu's entire body turned into diamond as he charged at Akainu, who countered with Inugami Guren—a wave of magma shaped like a fanged dog's head.
Their clash was intense, their power almost evenly matched now under the 'Chicken Dinner Battle Royale' rules.
"Ehh~ so scary," Kizaru muttered, patting his chest in mock fear.
"Mei, I bet you anything this guy's never had a girlfriend in his life."
That cutting remark came from Kiana, who had just arrived at the battlefield. She took one look at Kizaru's phony expression and shivered all over, goosebumps running down her arms.
"Kiana, don't be rude! Even if… well, you might have a point." Mei tried to scold her, but after sneaking a glance at Kizaru, her voice softened at the end.
"…"
Kizaru froze. The words hit him like a cannonball. His whole face crumpled, his confidence shattering.
"Am I really that creepy? Do I really look like I'll never find a girlfriend? No way… no... no way?"
Leave it to Kiana—one casual jab and she'd just crippled one of the Navy's top fighters.
"That looks like it hurt," Aokiji muttered, lips twitching as he tried not to laugh at Kizaru, who was now squatting in the dirt drawing circles. Laughing was dangerous—if Kizaru snapped, he might drag Aokiji down with him.
"Kuzan! Face me!" Vista charged in, twin swords flashing toward the ice admiral.
---
Meanwhile, about a kilometer away, hidden deep in the forest, a mechanical titan army lay in wait.
"Mophead, what are we waiting for? They're tearing each other apart—let's wipe them all out in one go!" Tesla urged, fidgeting with impatience.
"Calm down," Einstein replied coolly. "We came for rare equipment, not pointless fighting. For all we know, someone else is lurking, waiting to pounce. Sit still if you want results."
"What's there to be afraid of? If someone tries to steal from us, we'll blast them to bits!" Tesla crossed her arms, brimming with confidence.
"With an IQ like that, how exactly did you become a scientist?" Einstein shot back without looking up.
"You little—want me to smack you?" Tesla cracked her knuckles, looking every bit the delinquent boss.
"Enough, both of you," Welt groaned, rubbing his temples. "If you two fight each other before the battle even starts, I'll lose my mind."
"Hmph!" Both women turned away, sulking, but stayed put. For now.
---
On the battlefield, an ordinary-looking stone rolled across the ground, unnoticed by anyone.
"Man, this place is paradise." Inside that stone, Rimuru was giddy. While everyone else clashed, he kept ambushing half-dead players, quietly stacking up points. He'd already earned over a hundred stat boosts without breaking a sweat. At this rate, the event wouldn't even finish before he hit god-tier.
The Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy traded blow after blow, none of them noticing that the real winner of this war was the little "stone" at their feet.
"Red Dog, you sure can take a beating," Jozu panted, his HP bar nearly gone.
"You're not so bad yourself—but just for calling me that name, I'll kill you today!" Akainu spat back. He wasn't in much better shape, glaring murderously.
"Kill me? Ha! You murdered Pops and Ace. I'll make you pay with your life!" Jozu roared, charging again.
"Bullshit! I never did any of that! Stop pinning it on me, damn it! Do you have any idea how many times Garp had beaten me bloody over that?!" Akainu snapped, voice cracking. Just bringing it up made his eyes go red.
It was true. Ever since that "incident," he'd been Garp's punching bag—three beatdowns a day, minimum. Sometimes Whitebeard would join in, turning it into a tag-team brawl. His Armament Haki had skyrocketed just from sheer survival instinct. But the trauma… no one would ever understand his suffering.
He was supposed to be immune to friendly fire as a guild member, but Garp didn't play fair. The old bastard threatened to destroy Akainu's little brother (his dick) if he didn't show up in the virtual battlefield, so here he was—abused into oblivion, hundreds of times over.
"Hellhound!"
"Crystal Nail!"
Finally, the two stopped holding back. With uncanny timing, both unleashed their ultimates at once.
The result: a mutual kill. The two collapsed together in one final, tragic burst of light.
"…Mutual destruction?" Garp grunted, fending off Thatch with a fist as his gaze flicked toward the distance. His brows furrowed. "At this pace, even if we win, we'll bleed ourselves dry and hand victory to someone else. Sengoku's side won't…"
"All units, fall back!" Sengoku barked at this moment.
"Withdraw!" Aokiji dodged Vista's slash and retreated immediately.
Kizaru, Kiana, and Mei also stopped fighting and retreated.
The Navy pulled out completely....
"It's our win," Vista shouted. Though the Whitebeard Pirates had only won thanks to the game's stat equalization, they still managed to hold the field. Cheers erupted as the marines withdrew.
"Vista, I've got a bad feeling," Thatch muttered, watching the enemy retreat, then glancing back at his own crew—every one of them hanging on with a sliver of health. If anyone struck now, they'd be wiped.
"Retreat," Vista ordered without hesitation.
"Retreat? Oh no you don't. Fire at will! Blast them to pieces!"
Tesla's patience finally snapped. She waved her hand, unleashing her titanic war machines. Cannons thundered, raining fire across the battlefield.
"Shit! Scatter!" Thatch shouted, face paling.
In the real world, the Whitebeard crew's natural strength might have let them tank the bombardment. But here, low on HP and without quick mobility, they were annihilated.
"Harvest time."
Hidden in the storm of fire, Rimuru grinned wickedly. The barrage gave him perfect cover—now he could move freely without anyone noticing.
The players might think the Whitebeard Pirates were eliminated by Tesla's artillery. In truth, Rimuru hunted them one by one, reaping stat points like candy, paving his way to true invincibility.
And again, Rimuru was the ultimate winner.
.
.
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