144. Comparable To Devil Fruit, Wanokuni Battle Suit
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A group of several hundred troops emerged, all clad in special uniforms differentiated only by their colors. But what truly caught Queen's attention wasn't their outfits—it was how these soldiers moved. Disembarking from their yacht, they soared into the air as if stepping on invisible platforms.
As a scientist, Queen quickly deduced the secret behind their flight.
'Those aren't ordinary uniforms. They're equipped with some kind of special enhancement.'
His lips curled into a grin as he prepared his response. "A floating device, huh? Then I'll just blow your ship sky-high!" With that, Queen activated the Gatling cannon in his mouth, unleashing a barrage of biochemical weapons into the air.
Yet, to his surprise, the troops in red and blue combat uniforms sprang into action. Wielding flames and lightning, they neutralized the airborne virus before it could spread, obliterating it in mid-air.
Before Queen could comprehend the sight, a third force entered the fray. Soldiers in purple suits expanded an immense suction force, drawing in the remnants of his plague. The virus, instead of wreaking havoc, was absorbed by their suits and rendered harmless.
"Huh?! You absorbed my plague?!" Queen roared, his disbelief morphing into begrudging awe.
His shock was short-lived as a voice, dripping with smugness, called out from behind him. "Figuring out how to absorb your plague? A genius like me found it child's play."
Queen didn't need to turn to recognize the voice. With a growl, he swung his tail—coated in Armament Haki—toward the source. The powerful swipe of his Brachiosaurus tail could crush boulders with ease, but this time, it was met with an equal force.
Startled, Queen turned his massive frame to see two familiar figures: Caeser, floating ominously on a cloud of gas, and Maria, her imposing form standing tall.
His heart sank. "Maria?!" he exclaimed, recalling the battlefield reports. This woman had been fighting Smoothie. If she was here, that could only mean Smoothie had already been defeated.
But it wasn't just Maria's presence that shake him. It was her new appearance. Her animalistic traits were now accompanied by a battle suit similar to the troops'.
"It's the enemy! Attack!" shouted Shinta from the main ship, rallying the surrounding forces. (T/N: I don't know who he is.)
Maria's battle suit shimmered, shifting from white to black before she vanished entirely. The attackers hesitated, their eyes darting around for her location.
In the next instant, Shinta froze, pierced by an invisible strike. As Maria reappeared, she flicked the lifeless body aside, her touch leaving a deadly toxin in her victim's system. Within moments, Shinta and his comrades succumbed to the poison.
"Invisibility?!" Queen gasped, his voice tinged with panic. He abandoned all thoughts of conserving his Haki, extending his Observation Haki to the fullest in an attempt to locate her. His gaze locked onto Maria's suit.
"It's that damn suit!" he growled. "What kind of tricks is it pulling?"
Her fruit doesn't have the ability to turn invisible, nor could he explain the massive power shifts displayed by the other troops. The answer was clear: it was all due to the enhancements granted by their uniforms.
"Shirororo. You've figured it out, Queen," Caeser said with a smirk, stepping forward.
He gestured to the battlefield. "This is the ultimate battle suit—a concept Judge once dreamed of but could never perfect. I've surpassed his vision, creating something far stronger!"
Originally, he planned to use the mechanical corps to seep, but after seeing the virus, he thought of Queen, with whom he was once a 'comrade'
But this wasn't just a scientific reunion. Caeser wasn't here to reminisce—he was here to gloat.
"Battle suits…" Queen muttered, piecing it together. He scanned the battlefield, observing the troops in action. Red and blue suits unleashed flames and lightning, decimating swathes of the Beasts Pirates. Soldiers in green suits displayed raw strength, smashing through massive Zoan-enhanced creatures with their bare hands.
Queen's stomach churned as the truth hit him like a hammer. This was no ordinary technology—it was an evolution of Germa 66's combat capabilities.
Among the troops, there was a group clad in white battle suits, scattering glowing, dandelion-like orbs into the air. These lights drifted down to the injured warriors of Wanokuni, healing their wounds with astonishing speed. Even the lingering effects of Queen's plague were eradicated, nullified as if they had never existed.
Queen's expression darkened. The sheer effectiveness of these troops, combined with their overwhelming numbers, rivaled the potency of Devil Fruits themselves. This technology wasn't just advanced—it was revolutionary. The tides of battle were shifting before his very eyes, and the advantage he had counted on was crumbling.
Adding to his frustration was Caeser, who continued flaunting his superiority.
"This tech…" Queen grumbled under his breath. "It's even more advanced than my own cybernetic modifications."
With a sudden whoosh and crackling zizi, Maria leaped into action. Flames and lightning gathered under her arms, while the three pairs of spider legs on her back unfolded, each dripping with a noxious toxin that hissed and corroded the deck upon contact.
Her battle suit shimmered, shifting into a dazzling combination of seven colors, reflecting the accumulation of every special ability within the troops.
Maria's form wasn't just enhanced by the battle suit. Her awakened Zoan powers had been augmented, granting her abilities beyond imagination.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Queen roared, his frustration boiling over. "Fine! If that's how it is, I'll just take that suit off you myself!"
With a thunderous roar, Queen's massive brachiosaurus form shifted into its hybrid human-dragon form.
"Bridal Heat Fist!" he bellowed. The mechanical arm on his right side ignited, the blazing claw lunging toward Maria.
Maria's spider legs shifted instantly, weaving a dense shield of webs that absorbed the brunt of Queen's attack. Without missing a beat, her flame and lightning-coated arms thrust forward, counterattacking with blistering speed.
"Hey, did you forget about me?!" Caeser's voice rang out as he raised his hand, summoning an explosive surge of gas around Maria.
The volatile mix detonated with devastating force. Maria, shielded by her memory-shape alloy battle suit, was only pushed back a few steps. In contrast, Queen was hurled through the ship's interior, crashing into machinery and leaving a trail of destruction.
"Ugh! Damn it, that hurts!" Queen groaned, snarling through the pain. "That Caeser… this explosion is almost as bad as one of Kaido's blows!"
He glared at the two of them. "So, you're ganging up on me now, huh?"
Maria loomed forward, her massive frame casting an ominous shadow. "You could say that. But we're not the only ones."
Queen tensed, his Observation Haki flaring as he sensed the faintest shift in the air. Relying on his instincts, he narrowly avoided an invisible strike. The ground where he had stood moments ago was reduced to a corroded ruin, melting away under Maria's venomous assault.
Maria retaliated with a sweep of her arm, unleashing a shockwave so powerful that it blew away the surrounding deck. Yet, the webs she had woven earlier caught the scattered debris, forming a complex lattice that ensnared the battlefield.
With a flick of her wrist, Maria ignited the webbing. The flames spread like wildfire, engulfing the cabin in an inferno of burning white smoke.
Queen didn't understand her intentions, nor did he care. His mechanical arms shifted, rocket launchers emerging as he aimed them at her through the rising smoke.
But before he could fire, a ghostly figure emerged from the haze. A white, grinning phantom head appeared, its eerie smile sending a shiver down Queen's spine.
A creeping sense of dread flooded his senses. He tried to move—tried to react—but he was a second too slow.