Even with the flaw that left Akainu dissatisfied, Pluton's terrifying might was in no way diminished.
"Damn Marines! They actually went and built this thing in secret!"
Princess of the Sea, Shirahoshi, clenched her teeth in hatred. This kind of devastating bombardment, she might endure the first few volleys, but there was no way she could withstand the endless barrage.
The three Ancient Weapons each had their strengths and weaknesses. The Sea Kings, as independent entities, were the most flexible to command, capable of being dispatched individually. That was why the world regarded them as the greatest threat. Yet ironically, it was also this nature that made the Sea Kings suffer the most when facing Pluton.
For sheer, area-wide destruction within a given range, Pluton's cannonfire was unmatched. Against the Sea Kings' tactic of overwhelming numbers, it was the perfect counter.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The bombardment never ceased. The Sea Kings' fleshy defensive wall collapsed once again. Shirahoshi immediately commanded more Sea Kings to join the line of defense, trying desperately to withstand the firestorm.
But she was not one to only take blows. A number of Sea Kings dove beneath the edges of the bombardment zone, slipping into the deep and quietly approaching Pluton.
"Do you know?" Akainu suddenly spoke, drawing Kizaru's puzzled gaze. "Aside from its special construction, today's Pluton was built with one main purpose in mind, to counter the other Ancient Weapons. And as the most threatening of them all, the Sea Kings have always been our designated 'imaginary enemy.'"
"..."
That raised a troubling question.
If Pluton was designed with Sea Kings as its primary target… just how many specialized modifications had been built into it?
Kizaru's face stiffened and a chill crept down his spine.
'It's not that our forces are weak… it's that the enemy fights with trickery!'
Meanwhile, Shirahoshi suddenly received the returning signals of her forward Sea Kings.
They… couldn't find Pluton's position!
Her pupils contracted sharply as she cried out:
"Seastone plating!"
It was a ship-modification technique developed by Vegapunk, embedding thin plates of Seastone beneath the waterline of battleships. Because the Seastone emitted a wave nearly identical to that of the sea itself, the Sea Kings could not sense the ships passing overhead. That was how Marine warships could safely traverse the Calm Belt.
And now, Pluton too was clad in this technology!
Her idea had been sound: attack from the common weak point of all ships, the hull's underside. Destroy that, and even Pluton would be crippled. But the Sea Kings lurking beneath the waves found nothing.
And since most sea creatures weren't sight-based hunters, added to the pre-dawn darkness, they were effectively blind and deaf once submerged, unable to surface without risking exposure.
"Hmph! Naïve little girl!"
On deck, Momousagi saw through everything happening below the waves. With the help of Den Den Mushi transmitting the readings of undersea sensors, she knew exactly what the Sea Kings were attempting.
A cold smile curved her lips as she shouted the next command:
"Full power ahead! Ram them, tear them apart!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Just as Shirahoshi struggled to think of a counter, countless Sea Kings suddenly cried out in agony. Waves of despair surged through her as their dying signals reached her. She quickly realized, Pluton's bombardment zone was shifting.
The area of cannonfire was shrinking… narrowing into a line… spreading forward in a straight path through the Sea King defenses.
"What are they planning?!"
The answer came swiftly.
BZZZZT…!!
The air itself crackled with dazzling blue lightning. On Pluton's massive upper deck, its side armor slowly unfolded, revealing a silver-white machine at the core.
It was a cannon… but not a single barrel. Six enormous barrels were bundled together, like some gigantic Gatling gun, each one glowing with blue flames.
"A Super Electromagnetic Cannon…? No, an Electromagnetic Gatling?"
Kizaru's eyes went wide in disbelief as he stared at the weapon.
"That thing… wasn't it mounted on Rowen's Qilin? Why is it here?!"
He remembered clearly. The old muzzle-loader that had once been clamped in Qilin's monstrous jaw had been replaced long ago, once the smaller Super Electromagnetic Cannons were mass-produced for Marine warships. Later, the model was upgraded again into a full electromagnetic Gatling cannon.
Kizaru could never forget, when Vegapunk completed the refit and shipped it back from Sabaody, he himself had been the one, as Supreme Commander of the Scientific Division, tasked with overseeing its delivery.
That event had only proved, in his eyes, what Rowen truly was, a symbol of the corruption of privilege and power.
"Exactly. But this one's just a copy. We secretly replicated the electromagnetic gatling cannon Vegapunk designed and installed it on Pluton… With Rowen here, the most difficult part, controlling and outputting the electricity, is no problem at all. The only challenge was the overall design."
Akainu explained, but his next words were drowned out by an earth-shattering explosion.
A burst of blue light surged over the sea, as if even time itself froze for a second. From the charging electromagnetic gatling cannon, well, cannon-like at least, a specially designed cannonball shot out from the barrel. Under Kizaru's horrified gaze, it instantly pierced through the spine of a colossal, large-scale Sea King.
Blood sprayed and shell fragments flew as a deep, terrible ravine was torn open in its back.
Though it lacked much explosive force, the penetrative power of the Super Electromagnetic Cannon was nothing Pluton's standard shells could compare with.
Roaring in agony, the massive Sea King arched its body and lifted its head above the waves. Only then did the group finally realize its true form.
It was a Sea King Star, a species so rare it was only reported in the Calm Belt! Back when Rowen had traveled to Hell Island for survival training, he had once glimpsed a Sea King Star under the moonlight, an awe-inspiring sight.
But compared to that juvenile specimen, this one was monstrously larger, its back covered with coral reefs and rocks that had grown into an armored shell.
Yet even that shell couldn't withstand the assault!
Zzzzt… Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Once charged, the electromagnetic gatling cannon cared little for what its target was. As long as someone pulled the trigger, it would unleash its fury.
Five consecutive electromagnetic shells tore mercilessly through the Sea King's spine, ripping out chunks of flesh and blasting through countless ocean beasts along the way.
When the bombardment finally subsided, under Kizaru's pained stare, the Sea King Star's back bore a jagged, cratered trench carved straight through it.
With a thunderous crash, Pluton rammed the beast's corpse aside like a raging race car smashing into an obstacle, insane and unstoppable, storming into the blood-soaked channel that had been blasted open.
"Plant explosives, then charge through!"
Momousagi's command was sharp and decisive. The deck sergeants didn't dare hesitate. Black canisters were dropped from the ship's belly, and then, like something was hot on their tail, the warship plowed through the gore, its hull buoyed by the Sea King Star's blood, sailing straight out the other end.
"This crazy woman!" Kizaru's lips twitched, a sense of ominous dread creeping into his heart.
"Wait… don't tell me---? I never taught her this!" Even Akainu widened his eyes in shock, suddenly realizing the danger. "That bald old undying fool is still on its back!!"
But it was already too late.
The moment Pluton burst out of the blood channel into open sea, the glow behind them flared. A deafening explosion engulfed everything.
BOOOOM!!!
On the horizon, it was as though a miniature sun had risen, swallowing the massive Sea King whole.
Craaaack!
Under the stunned stares of Akainu and Kizaru, the Sea King Star's screams suddenly cut off. Its enormous head crashed into the ocean, while from the spine down its body split into two halves, blood pouring endlessly into the blue sea, dyeing it crimson.
Then, its body collapsed, severed in two.
Behind it, lit by cannonfire and the rising sun, the pitch-black, monstrous silhouette of Pluton slowly retracted its armor plating, sealing away the electromagnetic gatling cannon once more.
Like a gunslinger victorious in a duel, it coolly "blew away the smoke" and holstered its weapon.
"Tch! So this is the Sea King that gives the World Government headaches?"
Momousagi turned, hand on her sword, her delicate face full of disdain.
"No big deal at all."
Akainu muttered, "...If the Gorōsei ask, just say they died heroically in battle with the Sea King. Recommend they be posthumously awarded the title of 'Battle Heroes.'"
'Really? Spouting such blatant lies with a straight face?'
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Even as Fleet Admiral, have some shame!
Kizaru screamed in his heart, but still nodded: "Mm, understood."
Not that he feared Akainu or the Gorōsei, but why invite trouble?
Right?
╮(￣▽￣)╭
(End of Chapter)
This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395