Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

Robin simply couldn't understand—heaven knows how busy Robin was every day with the post-disaster reconstruction work in Armor City. The various plans were piled up like a small mountain, and she was busy approving all sorts of plans from day to night. Sometimes, to meet Sett's needs, Tina would drag her to cover for her, forcing her to multitask...

"So that means a surprise attack? Haha! What a great thing!"

Upon hearing this, Sett was not surprised but rather pleased.

Rather than the constant probing and procrastination between major powers to avoid direct confrontation, Sett prefers straightforward and decisive battles. Just like in his days of underground boxing, there were no underhanded tactics; he'd yell, "Life and death are predestined, wealth and honor are determined by fate," and then immediately start fighting.

That's what you call decisive and efficient. Unlike now, people dawdle even when they're fighting. They deserve to be beaten to death!

In response to this,

Destroy it, hurry up.

Robin looked utterly desperate—even if they came together, at least she wouldn't have to abandon all the plans she'd worked on these past few days and start over, and hasten preparations to deal with the World Government's declaration of war.

In contrast, Sett's excitement was palpable—today was Sett's treat to dinner. Not only were the executives of Sett's City invited, but even old friends like Hawkeye Shanks were brought along.

Shanks and the others had already left Armor City and returned to the Grand Line, but they couldn't resist Sett's invitation, and with the Hextech Gate greatly enhancing the speed of transportation in this world, they came along too.

Right there at the dinner table, Sett couldn't help but wave the newspaper in his hand with a little excitement: "These bastards are really good at this, hahaha~ They're afraid I'll recover from my injuries and continue to grow stronger, so they're already preparing for war!"

"No normal person would be excited by this kind of undeclared war."

Glancing at the excitement on Sett's face, Hawkeye Mihawk, who was slowly cutting his steak with a knife and fork, said calmly, "World Government... Tsk tsk, the world really does change fast."

In Mihawk's memory, it seemed like only yesterday that he and Sett were chasing Shanks... but now, in the blink of an eye, Sett seems to have reached a point where he is now unattainable, both in terms of his ability to amass wealth and his own strength.

At a glance, none of the people seated were weaklings... even Robin and Tina were of extraordinary status. Especially after the development of the anti-magic stone isolation bracelet in Piltover city, it allowed the ability users of Armor City to use anti-magic stone weapons.

Although the anti-magic stone is not as hard as sea stone, its area-of-effect anti-magic effect on the battlefield is terrifying.

At least for now, no one thinks that Armor Castle is an easy target... especially after the battle between the two emperors, the deaths of Kaido and Charlotte Linlin have led many figures on the sea to believe that Sett will have the last laugh in this battle between the World Government and Armor Castle.

There's no way around it, Sett is just too strong... to a terrifying degree. Even if Sett's city falls, no one believes Sett will fail. And as long as Sett exists, the throne of the strongest will not fall into anyone else's hands.

"It seems they were forced into a corner."

Zefa snorted coldly, his words about his former employer showing no nostalgia whatsoever, but rather a palpable dissatisfaction and anger.

"For those high and mighty fellows, the stability of the sea is of no concern to them whatsoever. Maintaining their superficial prosperity is enough. On that basis, even..."

"..."

Upon hearing Zephyr's words, the others exchanged glances but didn't say anything more—in the original story, many people still couldn't understand why Zephyr wanted to leave the Navy and the World Government to become a member of the ONE Marines. But this world is different.

Because of Sett's existence, everyone on the high seas knows that Sett's reason for breaking through Impel Down was to avenge Zeff, which indirectly led to Zeff's story being known to many forces and figures on the high seas.

In this situation where all pretense has been laid bare, it would be a miracle if Zephyr were to speak favorably of the World Government—Zeffr is indeed a pushover. However, there's one thing: the more of a pushover or honest a person is, the more drastic their transformation will be once they cross their bottom line.

The current Zephyr is no longer Zephyr, but Zephyr (who has turned evil).

Originally, Zeff was so engrossed in the development of Demacia and the training of its soldiers that he had set aside his resentment and hatred, focusing wholeheartedly on nurturing a new future. But now, faced with the World Government's undeclared war, the already corrupted Zeff no longer suppresses his dissatisfaction and deep resentment.

Seeing this, Fujitora shook his head helplessly and patted Zephyr on the shoulder to signal him not to get so excited. As one of the highest-ranking executives in the City of Arms, Fujitora and Zephyr had very similar interests and views and were good friends.

As a friend, Fujitora could only offer comfort when faced with Zephyr's predicament... It was absolutely impossible for him to advise Zephyr to think more positively.

To advise others to do good without experiencing their suffering is a sure way to fail. Such a person would never survive long on the high seas…

In contrast, Shanks was more curious about what kind of forces the World Government had dispatched.

He glanced at Sett beside him, but didn't offer any help—although Shanks now possessed power comparable to Kaido and the others, he was still far inferior to Sett.

"Who did they send? Could it be those three generals again?"

319·The Movements of World Governments

Why would Shanks ask such a question? Anyone living on this sea, even without being particularly well-informed, should know that the Navy's strongest force, the three admirals, were defeated head-on by Sett.

Sakazuki, the volcano-like fiery dog ​​known for his ability to evaporate an ocean, had one of his arms severed. Kizaru, considered the fastest creature in the world, capable of devastating attacks at the speed of light, had his leg broken.

Only Kuzan remains intact... but the battle between Kuzan and Shanks in the recent Armor City Invitational was incredibly brutal. Even now, Shanks is covered in bruises, and Kuzan, as his opponent, is in even worse shape. He won't be able to walk for at least ten days to two weeks...

Moreover, can the current admirals really pose a threat to Arms City?

People exchanged glances, their eyes revealing a peculiar glint—the Navy Admirals were all Logia-type Devil Fruit users, and among the most famous specialties of Armhead City, besides Hextech Crystals, there were also Anti-Magic Stones… The effect of such a wide-area anti-magic effect on Logia-type Devil Fruits was considerable.

In particular, Sett Castle itself possesses items that can isolate the magic field of the anti-magic stone, which means that if Sett Castle can use his ability, the Navy cannot... unless they can also obtain an isolation item.

Even so, the trump cards of the City of the Wrist are not limited to what is on the surface.

"No navy was involved this time."

Looking at everyone present, Robin stood up and said with some emotion, "This order seems to have come from one of the Five Elders of the World Government... or perhaps Im directly. Maybe it's because of their distrust of the Navy that they've directly assembled the Royal Guard of Mary Geoise to prepare for an attack. According to our informants, they've already met with the troops gathered on Mary Geoise."

"At the speed of the World Government, they will arrive in Armor City in three days at most."

In the past, even steam-powered warships would have needed at least a month or two to reach their destination under favorable conditions. However, the World Government's size is undeniable. Thanks to the overtime efforts of the science corps, while the World Government can no longer achieve the instantaneous speed of a Hextech portal, it has reduced the circumnavigation time to less than a week.

In other words, there wasn't enough time; otherwise, it might have been possible to shorten the time even further.

But war is always so sudden and unexpected—but Sett loves this kind of unexpected precision.

"Hahaha~ Isn't this great~" Sett sat in his seat, completely unconcerned. He relaxed his back, reclined in his chair, and even put his feet up on the table—and no one seemed to care. Because this world was, after all, where might makes right. Things like etiquette were mostly used to define social classes when strength was roughly equal. But in this superhuman world, the etiquette of the strong was simply having a powerful fist.

Sett's fist is the biggest.

"This saves me the trouble of racking my brains to find some baseless trifles to pin on the World Government! This ocean doesn't need someone on par with the Overlord. Before, it was the so-called Emperor of the Sea; now, it's time for that old bastard named Im to take the place of the Overlord!"

A wildly arrogant smile crept across Sett's lips—he hated anyone being his equal. Just like in a competition, all that talk of "friendship first, competition second" before the game was utter bullshit to Sett.

The loser is eliminated and the winner takes all – that's the hard truth Sett believes in – where does all this friendship come from? In a low-martial arts world where individual strength is severely limited, equality for all is impossible, let alone in a world where the strong are often seven or eight meters tall and can shatter an island with a single punch.

He'd been annoyed with the World Government for a while, and now, Sett finally had his chance. It was just a surprise attack, and Sett was already itching to get started.

Sensing the intense fighting spirit emanating from Sett, Robin sighed helplessly. Although she knew Sett would never compromise, Robin was still speechless at how openly he was displaying his fighting spirit.

Silently dismissing all the post-disaster reconstruction work he had been working on, Robin then said, "Since we're preparing to start a war, how should we deal with the remnants of the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates?"

Robin explained, "In a war of this scale, if we leave these uncertainties in the rear, the consequences would be unimaginable if they caused unrest..."

Even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't fall down when dead. Although Kaido and Charlotte Linlin are now dead, and their corpses are even being used as experimental subjects and genetic specimens, it's undeniable that even without their leaders, the remaining officers of the two Yonko crews are no pushovers. Especially the Big Mom Pirates.

Charlotte Linlin's own strength is one thing, but it must be said that she does have some skill in raising her children. Especially her second son, Katakuri, whose innate Observation Haki is unparalleled, even in the vast ocean!

"It doesn't matter."

In response to Robin's question, Sett casually replied, "I've already killed their fathers, why would I be afraid of these kids? Even if I lose, so what? As long as I'm alive, let's see if they dare to give me attitude on my turf!"

As he spoke, Sett downed his beer in one gulp and slammed it down on the table with a thud. His arrogance was almost palpable, yet no one present doubted the weight of his words.

Meanwhile, no one noticed that, if you really count, Sett is only twenty-five or twenty-six years old. In terms of natural age, he's even younger than Katakuri…

But does that matter? No, it doesn't.

In fact, once people realize this, they'll be even more struck by it and understand the World Government's choice even more... At only twenty-five or twenty-six, he already possesses such terrifying destructive power. In another five years, perhaps not only the World Government, but even this entire planet will be unable to stop Sett's advance...

Thinking about it this way, everyone even felt a little sorry for the World Government—compared to this planet, the World Government only had a history of a few hundred years. But in those few hundred years, it inexplicably encountered a freak like Sett, who might only appear once every million years.

320 - The War Begins

Under the orders of the Five Elders, the entire Holy Land of Mary Geoise assembled at an unimaginable speed.

They were sailing, but at that moment, the World Government's navigator suddenly waved his aura vigorously, as if he had discovered something.

Just as the World Government sailors realized what was happening and looked around at the sea, they found that the vast ocean stretched as far as the eye could see, without a single ship or even a slightly larger wave.

Just then, a terrified voice came from the deck: "Look at the sky!"

Looking up at the sky, it wasn't a clear day; clouds of varying sizes and shapes drifted across the heavens. And behind each of these clouds, there were rows of black shadows hurtling through the air.

With a rapid descent, warships arrived at the nearshore waters from the air. Then, following the commands of their organs—bang bang bang bang—

Hundreds of airdrop pods were launched in groups of three toward the World Government's various warships.

Although it wasn't gunpowder or cannonballs, the heavy drop pod itself weighed close to twenty tons, even without considering the Demacian soldiers clad in several tons of heavy armor inside. Combined with the acceleration from the launch, when the drop pod crashed onto the warship, the relatively vulnerable vessel was smashed in half!

With a heavy thud as the engines opened, one after another, steel giants, whose average height had increased from three meters to five meters, emerged from the airdrop pods, before the horrified eyes of the World Government's elite soldiers.

Buzzing

Whether wielding chainsaw swords, power axes, or even more straightforward heavy hammers and clubs, Demacian soldiers entered the battle wearing identical but differently painted armor.

Initially, Demacian soldiers were forbidden from painting on their armor. However, with military reforms, more than one soldier attempted to apply for armor paint modifications—Demacian soldiers, due to their high combat strength and small numbers, were distinguished by squads. Therefore, no one wanted their squad's glory to be shared with other squads.

The most well-known annihilation squad on this high seas traded their battle merits for the freedom to paint their armor—and Zephyr agreed, just to test the waters. From then on, the Demacian soldiers were unstoppable. Every single one of them trained day and night for the freedom to paint their armor. Now, different squads have completely different paint styles and even their own squad emblems.

The paint scheme of the annihilation squad is that of a sharp sword piercing through the skull.

"No one will be spared, only the truly dead!

With the roar of squad leader Erken, the bomb gun roared in succession. One after another, shells as thick as an adult's arm flew out of the barrel with blue smoke. With each hit, the World Government soldiers didn't even have time to catch their breath before half of their bodies were directly exploded into a cloud of blood mist and minced flesh!

But at that moment, the World Government reacted swiftly. Right behind them, the original Navy branch quickly dispatched several powerful individuals dressed in black, who used Moonwalk to rapidly approach the various warships. The gates opened, but what came into view was not the World Government's army forces that people had guessed, but rather rows and rows of shipping containers sealed with iron chains.

Upon opening the app, what comes into view are rows of pacifist robots that bear a striking resemblance to Sett.

However, unlike those seen in Armor City, these Pacifistas had very little flesh and blood; the vast majority of their visible surfaces were steel, and many were even unpainted. They gave the impression of having been freshly manufactured and rushed onto the battlefield…

And indeed, this was the case; the war came as a complete surprise even to the World Government. Just like now, soldiers were hastily assembled and then rushed to the battlefield. Like the vanguard troops on the warships, the vast majority lacked fighting spirit; upon seeing the Demacian soldiers, some even knelt and begged for mercy, hoping not to be killed.

The World Government didn't care whether they surrendered or failed—they were just cannon fodder anyway. Their only use was to see if they could probe the strength of Sett City and deplete the Demacian soldiers' stamina as much as possible before the battle.

However, their true main force is located in the Marine branch, which is now the World Government's headquarters—various powerful members of CP9 and even CP0, as well as the Celestial Dragons' guards who rarely appear in public, the World Government's scientific forces, and so on!

After several modifications and iterations, or perhaps inspired by the Piltover district, Vegapunk's modifications have greatly reduced the amount of flesh and blood required for the current Sett Pacifista. Apart from the heart, which is the core part and still requires the flesh and blood that Sett used to fly around in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, the rest can be synthesized through artificial means!

And through other resources and technologies of the world government...

Entering combat mode, the pacifists lined up and sped towards the sea. When the Mighty Legion was still several hundred meters away, their eyes shot out beams of laser light.

"Haha! It's that guy Kizaru's~"

On the spaceship, Sett watched with great interest. But the others weren't so relaxed—especially Judge. Vegapunk truly lived up to his reputation as the most talented person in this world. These pacifists, with their limited resources, were arguably maximizing their power!

When the laser beam struck the Demacian soldier's heavy armor, because it wasn't through the power of a Devil Fruit, but through scientific technology, the high-temperature ray was even able to leave a hole a finger deep in the armor!

Sett clapped his hands in response: "Judge, give him a live performance!"

"Ok!"

Hearing Sett's words, Judge nodded. Then, he pulled a switch. Five warships, secured by thick steel cables to massive mounting frames, descended from the sky.

Located in the center of the shelf is the Azure Wolf mech in standby mode. On either side of the shelf and on the surrounding warships are ceremonial ships specifically used for transporting large equipment.