"A bunch of petty thieves."
"You think you can ambush me? You're asking for death!"
Sakata Gintoki was suddenly attacked by six figures. Foxie's slow-down light beam was once again aimed at him, and he narrowly avoided being hit, becoming furious.
The attackers were swordsmen, and their attire suggested they were World Government's CP0. They were strong, proficient in Rokushiki, and possessed Armament and Observation Haki.
Their ambush on Sakata Gintoki was timed after Foxie's attack, aiming for a swift kill.
However, Sakata Gintoki sensed them first, so their surprise attack failed.
Despite this, the six no longer held back and attacked Sakata Gintoki with full force.
Sakata Gintoki snorted, his Toya sword spinning in his hand, sending countless sword energies flying.
*Swish!*
One of them was directly cleaved in half by Sakata Gintoki.
The others, intending to use their fallen comrade's sacrifice to ambush Sakata Gintoki, were unprepared for his preemptive defenses. His sword energies swept out, blocking all their attacks.
Foxie, hiding in the crowd, scanned Benedict's shadow clones.
While he wanted to attack them, he was unsure of their authenticity. Thus, Foxie's attention returned to Sakata Gintoki.
With a flick of his fingers into a delicate pose, Foxie's face displayed a cold smile.
This time, Foxie was confident he could take down Sakata Gintoki.
"The Slow-Slow Fruit isn't meant to be used like this."
Just as Foxie was about to make his move, a hand grabbed his arm, instantly suppressing the ability he was about to unleash.
Foxie's expression turned to horror as he tried to break free, but he was powerless.
Even more terrifying for Foxie was that he had no idea how Benedict had appeared beside him.
"Gaj!"
Knowing he couldn't escape on his own, Foxie frantically begged Gaj for help.
*Swish, swish, swish!*
Twelve figures appeared around them at breakneck speed, launching a surprise attack on Benedict.
They were still World Government's secret intelligence personnel, CP0, and these twelve individuals were all very strong, each possessing nearly Vice Admiral-level strength.
Benedict's gaze was cold. Before the twelve attacks landed, he instantly moved, reappearing on a nearby pirate ship.
The twelve failed in their ambush and quickly spread out again, surrounding Benedict.
"Do the Five Elders think too highly of themselves? With your strength, you want to assassinate me?"
Benedict, grabbing Foxie by the neck, scoffed as he looked at the CP0 members.
Simultaneously, a fierce killing intent flashed in Foxie's eyes. His freed hands immediately struck a delicate pose, preparing to ambush Benedict.
*Crack!*
Just as the slow-down beam was about to be unleashed, and the CP0 members were about to attack again, Benedict unhesitatingly crushed Foxie's neck.
Someone possessing the Slow-Slow Fruit, yet having made no progress in hand-to-hand combat, physical conditioning, Observation Haki, or even Armament Haki, was a complete waste.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing an Devil Fruit user and obtaining the Slow-Slow Fruit. Does the host wish to consume the Slow-Slow Fruit and summon special forces?"
The system's voice sounded. Benedict ignored it, tossing Foxie aside and striking swiftly.
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Benedict moved quickly, sending the attacking CP0 members flying with single punches.
Yes, one punch killed each of them.
"Fire!"
Gaj's voice rang out.
Upon confirming Benedict's true body had appeared before him, Gaj immediately ordered the secretly hidden elite troops into action.
At the same moment the CP0 launched their assassination attempt on Benedict, Gaj issued his command.
In an instant, nearly five hundred figures, soaring through the sky, aimed their guns at Benedict.
*Whoosh!*
Almost simultaneously, five hundred golden beams of light shot down towards Benedict's location.
*Boom!*
A massive roar, more terrifying and spectacular than the previous Patriot missile launch, erupted.
Furthermore, at that very moment, all pirate ships within a hundred-meter radius centered on Benedict were utterly destroyed.
The simultaneous barrage of five hundred lasers resembled an incredibly thick beam of light, obliterating everything in its path.
This sudden assault shocked everyone.
But it also filled countless pirates, Sengoku, Steel Bone Void, the Five Elders, Sakazuki, and others with anticipation.
Anticipation for Benedict's death under such an attack.
East Blue.
Shiki, who was controlling his floating island and was only half an hour away from descending above the Genbu Marine Base, watched the scene unfold through a live broadcast and was shocked.
However, after the shock, he felt immense anticipation and excitement.
"Hahaha, Benedict, how I wish you would die under such an attack."
"But I believe you, who defeated me, would not die so easily."
"This is good. When you have dealt with these ants and declared victory, I will make you witness firsthand the complete destruction of the Genbu Marine Base by my hands."
Shiki's anticipation for Benedict's enraged and helpless moments was palpable.
He was so eager that he now wanted to slow down, allowing the Marines of the Genbu Marine Base to know of their arrival, and to wait for the moment Benedict completely defeated the Vinsmoke family.
...
North Blue Battlefield.
The beam of light vanished. Where it had covered, only seawater remained; no bodies, no ship decks were visible.
Gaj, witnessing this, quickly swept his fierce eyes around, searching for Benedict's figure.
However, he found himself at a loss.
There were still Benedict's shadow clones visible everywhere, engaged in fierce battles.
Therefore, his ability had not been deactivated, meaning he wasn't dead yet?
"First, kill that damned monkey, and that white-haired kid with the sword."
Unable to locate the real Benedict, and with his secret weapon exposed, Gaj naturally no longer wished to remain hidden.
Above the void, five hundred modified robots, each equipped with a power unit on their backs, allowed them to fly.
Their weapons were beams of light shot from their mouths.
Their eyes resembled infrared scanners, capable of tracking targets.
Now, receiving their orders, these robots began firing beams at Gerlatz and Sakata Gintoki.
Sakata Gintoki and Gerlatz had already witnessed the terrifying damage inflicted by these robots, so neither intended to confront them head-on. Instead, they dodged rapidly.
Sakata Gintoki then leaped into the air, shaking off the remaining three CP0 members, and charged towards the robots.
"Thousand Blade Barrage."
Seeing Sakata Gintoki charge towards the robots, Gaj coldly snorted and issued his command: "Defend!"
As the command was given, the robots, previously arrayed in a single line, immediately grouped into units of fifty and erected an energy shield, blocking the incoming sword energies.
However, they only held for a short while before the energy shield was breached by countless sword energies.
*Boom, boom, boom!*
Explosions echoed continuously.
Benedict, who had disappeared, surged up from the seabed, punched through the energy shield, and then, one by one, together with Sakata Gintoki, smashed all the robots.