The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

The fierce slashing wave tore through the air and accurately hit S-Hawk and S-Kuma, who were off balance after being kicked by Sanji!

The slashes left deep white gashes on their flame-covered torsos and limbs.

Although they still failed to break through the defenses, the enormous impact sent them flying, smashing through several rows of control panels!

The cooperation has shown initial success, temporarily repelling this wave of Seraphim's fierce attack.

But none of the four looked relaxed.

Kaku frowned as he watched the Seraphim, whose white slash marks and kick dents were visibly healing under the flames burning behind them after being repelled.

"What... what are these guys made of?! My Tempest Kick combined with Armament Haki only left marks? I can't even scratch them!"

Sanji landed back on the ground, his right leg trembling slightly, and his face was grim: "Not only is it tough, but its recovery ability is also ridiculously strong!"

Jinbe, who had been observing S-Shark's (imitating himself) fighting style, now had an extremely solemn expression.

He recalled the battle he had witnessed on Onigashima.

"Gentlemen," Jinbe said in a deep voice, drawing everyone's attention, "I think I know what the problem is."

"If I'm not mistaken... these 'Seraphim' bodies have probably been implanted with the bloodline factors of the Lunaria race!"

"The Lunaria?" Kaku and Stussy had obviously heard rumors about this mysterious race as well.

“That’s right.” Jinbe, a member of the fish-man race, nodded. “That race that once lived on the Red Line and was known as one of the ‘gods’.”

One of their characteristics is that their bodies can naturally generate flames, which provide an almost invincible defensive force when the flames burn on their backs!

On Onigashima, King, the "Wildfire" of the Beasts Pirates, is a survivor of the Lunaria race.

At that time, even Luffy's Gear Fourth attack had difficulty inflicting effective damage on the flames behind him.

He looked at the seraphim who had risen again, their backs ablaze with flames.

According to Zoro's account after the battle, only for a brief moment when the flames behind them temporarily went out...

When defenses are significantly weakened, that's the best time to launch an attack and inflict damage.

Sanji suddenly realized, "No wonder we can't kick them! So that's the problem!" Then he had a headache, "But how do we extinguish the flames behind them?"

“I’m afraid…it won’t be that easy.” Kaku’s face was grim. “This might be some kind of passive ability, or it might require specific conditions to trigger.”

Jinbe's gaze returned to the S-Shark that was imitating him, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "However, what alarms me even more is..."

Dr. Vegapunk's technology actually elevated Seraph's strength to almost the level of a Shichibukai!

He paused, his tone incredulous: "Especially that 'S-Shark' that imitates me."

Its fishman karate skills, control over water currents, and application of power... are by no means simple program imitations.

That requires a profound understanding of the body and strength, and decades of arduous training to master its essence!

But...it actually did it!

These words made Sanji, Kaku, and Stussy's hearts sink once again.

Not only is its defense invincible, but its attacks also contain the essence of the original powerful warriors' skills...

These seraphim are simply perfect war machines!

Chapter 656 At this moment... it's like child's play.

Sanji, Jinbe, and CP0's Kaku and Stussy reached an agreement.

While fending off the Seraphim's fierce attacks, they anxiously tried to find a way to shut it down or put it back into slumber.

The laboratory's heavy alloy door, along with its attached emergency protective gate...

With a sickening metallic creak, it was blasted away from the outside by an incredibly brute force!

The twisted gate crashed into the room like a cannonball, crushing several sophisticated instruments along its way before embedding itself deeply into the distant wall with a deafening roar.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a gruff voice rang out first, brimming with undisguised covetousness.

"Zehahaha... So this is the War Machine that Vegapunk cobbled together? It does look rather interesting!"

"Who?!"

Kaku reacted the fastest.

He was already on high alert, and the extraordinary senses brought by his awakened form allowed him to immediately detect the dangerous atmosphere at the door.

He instantly turned around, his leg muscles bulging, covered in Armament Haki, and his long neck raised, assuming a fighting stance.

But, just as Kaku was about to question him...

"boom!"

Gunshot rings out, man falls!

A tiny hole appeared between Kaku's eyebrows without warning.

There was no splatter of blood, only a wisp of smoke rising.

But his expression froze in a mixture of astonishment and wariness, his pupils dilated rapidly, and his raised arm fell limply to his sides.

Immediately afterwards, his tall body swayed, as if all support had been removed.

It flew straight backward, crashing heavily to the ground with a thud, and then fell silent.

Kaku, an elite member of the World Government's intelligence agency CP0, a Zoan-type Awakened, and Rob Lucci's second-in-command.

Before he could even get a clear look at the enemy, he was shot in the head!

"Kaku!!" Stussy exclaimed in shock, her beautiful face drained of all color.

"What?!" Sanji was also shocked by the sudden sniping, and his attention subconsciously turned to the doorway and the fallen Kaku.

In that moment of distraction...

"Championship Wave Elbow Strike!"

A furious roar exploded from Sanji's side and behind (the direction from which the wall had been blasted open)!

A massive, dark figure, resembling a human tank, surged forward with astonishing speed disproportionate to its size.

The massive elbow, covered in jet-black Armament Haki, slammed into Sanji's unsuspecting side with terrifying power capable of shattering mountains!

"Boom!!!"

A heavy thud was accompanied by the faint cracking sound of bones breaking!

Sanji felt an irresistible force coming at him, as if his internal organs had shifted instantly, and the excruciating pain overwhelmed all his senses!

He didn't even have time to scream before he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string.

It crashed through several rows of sturdy lab benches and control panels, finally embedding itself powerfully into a distant alloy wall.

The wall cracked in a spiderweb pattern around him!

Sanji coughed up blood, his vision went black, and he was temporarily unable to fight.

"Sanji, my brother!!" Jinbe's eyes widened in fury!

But he was, after all, a seasoned veteran, and his shock and anger did not cloud his judgment.

Instead, they instantly realized that the attackers were not only powerful, but also well-coordinated and adept at using surprise attacks and sniping to create an absolute advantage!

"Plum blossom skin!"

Jinbe let out a low growl, and his massive body instantly lowered to his hips as he mounted his horse.

His arms were bulging with muscles like steel bridges, covered by a thick, dark Armament Haki that resembled armor.

He adopted the strongest defensive stance in Fishman Karate: Bridge Hand!

At the same time, with a slight shift in his footing, his imposing figure stood like a giant wall, forcefully blocking the path of the still-shaken Stusi!

He was right!

Almost at the same instant he completed his defensive stance.

"Weighted Pressure Punch!"

The black shadow that sent Sanji flying was "Fighting Champion" Gizas Burgess.

Without pausing, taking advantage of the momentum of the charge, he twisted his body and delivered a second heavy punch, imbued with domineering aura and shockwaves, straight at Jinpyo's gate!

"boom!!!"

Burgess's iron fist slammed into Jinbe's crossed arms in defense!

With a dull thud and the force exploding, the ground beneath Jinbe's feet sank, but his rooted body remained completely still!

The bridge man's defense perfectly absorbed all the impact!

"What?!" A look of astonishment flashed across Burgess's face. His sure-fire punch had been blocked head-on?!

"You bastard!!"

Jinbe's eyes flashed with a sharp light; the moment he defended was the beginning of his counterattack!

"Fishman Karate - Samewa Seiken!!"

Jinbe unleashed astonishing power from his core, concentrating all his strength into his right fist.

A more refined and powerful punch than the previous "Tangcaowa Straight Fist" was unleashed with the force of the ocean current!

"boom!!"

The straight punch landed solidly on Bages' chest, which was slightly open in surprise!

Bages felt an overwhelming force penetrate his body, his sternum groaned in agony, and he was sent flying backward with a scream!

"Bages!"

Burgess, flying backwards, was about to crash into the area on the other side of the laboratory filled with precision instruments.

There, a figure standing there with a gun in hand appeared out of nowhere: Van Oka.

Facing the rapidly approaching Burgess, Van Augur didn't even lift an eyelid, merely shifting his feet slightly.

His figure instantly moved several meters away, easily avoiding the "human cannonball".

Burgess slammed into the pile of instruments, triggering a series of explosions and sparks, and was buried in the rubble for a moment without moving.

Only then did the identities of the two uninvited guests become fully clear.

Van Oka still held that long sniper rifle, his dead fish eyes completely expressionless.

Burgess struggled to his feet from the rubble, spat out a mouthful of saliva, and glared fiercely at Jinbe, but a hint of fear appeared in his eyes.

"As expected of a former officer on Whitebeard's ship..." Shiryu of the Rain slowly stepped forward, his fingers tracing the scabbard of "Thunderstorm," his gaze fixed on Jinbe.

"Now that they've turned around and joined forces with the Straw Hat Pirates... their strength hasn't diminished at all."

Upon hearing this voice, Jinbe's heart sank.

But not because of Shiryu, but because...

Jinbe slowly turned his head, his gaze passing over Shiryu, Burgess, and the other two, and landing on the burly figure behind them, which was slowly approaching like a shadow itself.

Marshall D. Teach, grinning with his missing teeth and his signature smile, stepped into the laboratory that had been transformed into a battlefield.

His gaze first swept over Kaku on the ground and Sanji embedded in the wall, and finally landed on Jinbe.

“Zehahaha…” Blackbeard let out a deep laugh. “Long time no see, Jinbe. I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

"Blackbeard..." Jinbe's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with deep-seated hatred and vigilance.

This is the mastermind behind the Marineford War, the deaths of Ace and Whitebeard, and the one whose ambition consumed everything.

At the same time, he is also the person he least wants to see right now.

Blackbeard seemed completely unconcerned about Jinbe's hostility; his gaze was quickly drawn to the four Seraphim (S-Hawk, S-Snake, S-Shark, S-Bear) in the center of the laboratory, which were readjusting their postures.

"So this is the war machine Vegapunk researched?" Blackbeard licked his lips, his eyes burning with even greater greed. "It looks... truly amazing!!"

The four Seraphim seemed to sense Blackbeard's undisguised malice and threat, and the flames behind them suddenly intensified, activating simultaneously!

S-Eagle brandishes its sword, S-Snake releases its captive arrows, S-Shark stirs up waves, S-Bear stomps the ground, generating shockwaves.

Four terrifying attacks came from different directions and instantly struck Blackbeard!

Unfortunately, Blackbeard didn't even lift an eyelid in the face of this combined attack, which was enough to make Sanji and the others fight for a long time.