Squard let out a furious roar and leapt forward.
Swinging his massive cleaver-like blade, he unleashed a sweeping strike—
a true One-Slash Army Breaker, aimed straight at the four towering Jailer Beasts!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Four earth-shaking impacts rang out in near unison.
The four colossal Jailer Beasts were simultaneously hurled backwards.
Even Squard himself staggered from the recoil, taking several steps back.
But the sheer force of his slash nearly shattered the resolve of the entire Prison Cannon Unit!
The beasts slammed into the sandbag bunkers like boulders launched from a catapult, crashing and tumbling into chaos.
With that single strike, the entire forward formation of the Cannon Unit was destroyed—
not a single shell could be fired anymore.
Saldeath, who had been standing just in front of the four beasts, was also caught in the blast of the strike's shockwave and flung backward.
He flew high, seemingly about to crash into the mangled cannon bunkers.
But the residual shock from the Jailer Beasts' impact hurled him back the other way, slamming him down at Roya's feet.
SMACK!
Saldeath hit the ground face-first like a ragdoll, landing right at Roya's boots.
Roya calmly raised one foot and pinned the little jailer under it.
Turning to Hancock, he remarked casually,
"Seeing that little snake always following you around, it's kind of made me want a pet of my own."
"That Sphinx from the last level was pretty obedient.
But it's a bit too big to carry around."
"What do you think about this little monkey?"
Saldeath's cap had been blown off by the shockwave, revealing a fuzzy little head.
Honestly, with that round face and tufts of hair, he really did look a bit like a monkey.
Hancock glanced down and commented,
"Huh… he really does look like a monkey. No wonder he kept shouting 'I'm a monkey!' earlier."
Already humiliated by being trampled underfoot, Saldeath's anger boiled over as Hancock mocked his name.
His tiny eyes gleamed red with rage as he shrieked:
"You… Bastards! I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"
He struggled to move his arms, bringing the base of his trident up to his lips.
This trident wasn't just a weapon—it was also a flute used to control the Blue Gorillas.
Blinded by fury, Saldeath blew the flute violently, giving a full-force Berserk Kill command to the Blue Gorilla units!
Worse yet—it wasn't just the gorillas. The nearby Army Wolves were affected as well!
ROOOAAAAR!!
A chorus of monstrous howls erupted across the arena, echoing all the way up to the upper floors!
Nearly a thousand Army Wolves' eyes turned blood-red.
Their drooling jaws unhinged, red tongues dangling like viscous whips, dripping with saliva and foam.
Over 300 Blue Gorillas, too, began to mutate—
their bodies swelling, muscles bulging until they stood over three meters tall, each upper torso as thick as a grizzly bear's!
With enemies this numerous and fierce, Buggy collapsed to the ground in fear.
He scattered his body parts, pretending to be dead in hopes of escaping unscathed.
Squard, however, was unfazed.
He held his great blade horizontally before him—right hand gripping the hilt, left hand steadying the spine—
then charged straight toward the densest group of Blue Gorillas!
Not to be outdone, McGuy transformed into a streak of platinum lightning,
blazing a full circle of electricity across the battlefield.
He moved so fast that the eye couldn't keep up—
only a shimmering trail of lightning could be seen.
Everywhere the lightning passed, Army Wolves collapsed, stunned to death!
Though Squard and McGuy's strength had grown tremendously, the enemy's numbers were simply overwhelming!
Within seconds, they were being swarmed by hundreds of beasts.
Wave after wave of Army Wolves and Blue Gorillas pushed through, breaking the defensive line!
More and more beasts joined the fray—
Seeing the danger, Hancock braced herself, ready to leap into battle.
She was prepared for a difficult fight—
especially since these beasts clearly weren't susceptible to her Devil Fruit's charms.
But Roya calmly raised an arm, gently blocking her from taking action.
With a light smile, he said,
"No need to worry. Squard and McGuy have got this handled."
Saldeath lifted his head with effort, his face twisted into a sneer.
"You should be worrying about yourself, fool!"
"It's already too late! My precious pets will rip you to shreds and feast on your remains!"
It all happened in a flash.
The Prison Cannon Unit had finally completed their first volley—
bullets and shells whistled through narrow crevices, converging from every angle onto Roya's location!
Hancock's face paled in alarm.
Buggy shoved his head into a pile of bone-dust, trying to disappear.
But Roya just smiled faintly—mockingly.
His Observation Haki field expanded in a wave!
The incoming storm of bullets… rippled.
They passed right through Roya's domain like pebbles dropped in water—
causing ripples, but never breaching the surface.
Hancock watched in awe as over a dozen bullets phased through her body harmlessly—
yet she felt no pain, no injury, not even a tickle.
Curious, she touched her own arm—
and was stunned to find her body perfectly intact, with normal sensation.
"Incredible…!" she gasped.
"It's like we're existing in a different dimension from those bullets!"
Roya quirked a brow and nodded with a smile.
"Not a bad explanation, actually."
Hancock was about to press for more detail, but her attention was drawn elsewhere.
The frenzied Blue Gorillas who had rushed toward them—
Their madness vanished in an instant.
The fury in their eyes faded, replaced by calm—
as if their minds had just been wiped clean.
Their mutated forms also shrank back to normal size.
One by one, they approached Roya…
then knelt in neat rows before him like obedient soldiers.
At the same moment, the bullets that had passed through the domain returned to physical space—
only to rain down directly on the Prison Cannon Unit itself!
Screams echoed as their own barrage devastated their own ranks!
Squard struck down the last standing gorilla and returned to Roya's side.
Thud! He dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
"Your blade servant was too weak, forcing you to act, Master. I await your punishment."
McGuy reappeared in human form after electrocuting the final Army Wolves.
He, too, knelt before Roya.
Roya waved them off with a light laugh.
"That's enough. Get up."
Then, he shifted his foot—pressing down harder on Saldeath, who let out a pained squeal.
Turning to Hancock, he asked with a smirk,
"So… what do you think we should do with this little monkey?"
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