"Buzz—"

  "Charging plete!"

  "Please issue the mission and!"

  Before long, PX-1's eyes flickered with a crimson glow.

  "El-sama, would you like to test it now?" Ryan grinned, baring his teeth. "You hold the first-tier authority. Linlin-sama and Gerd-sama hold the sed-tier authority. We three hold the third-tier authority. The fourth-tier authority belongs to Thunder Camity Oka himself, and the fifth-tier authority is assigo other individuals with access chips."

  "Good, perfect timing to assess its bat capabilities." El smiled faintly. "Let's head to the arena."

  Setting Linlin and Gerd as sed-tier authorities was also a symbolic gesture to solidify their positions as the "Eastern aern sorts."

  "I'm curious to see this in a!" said Afar, the Fire Camity, with a chuckle.

  …

  Soon, they were inside an incredibly spacious arena.

  "Alright, let me test your bat power!"

  With a swift motion, Afar dashed to the ter of the arena, standing fidently. Fag PX-1—which had apanied El and the others—he spoke calmly.

  "PX-1, I and you to attack Fire Camity Afar with full force!" Ryan barked the order with a wide grin.

  "Buzz—buzz—"

  PX-1's eyes flickered again as it locked onto Afar.

  "Target firmed!"

  The t figure suddenly leapt forward, nding heavily on the arena floor. Its right hand rose, revealing a dark barrel embedded in its palm.

  "Buzz~~~"

  In an instant, a brilliant light gathered, and an intense ser beam burst forth, aimed directly at Afar.

  "Boom—boom—"

  The sound of the explosion reverberated through the arena. However, with the enhanced perception of his Observation Haki, Afar merely tilted his head, effortlessly dodging the lethal attack. In the distahe iron wall—crafted from reinforced metal—erupted in a cloud of thick smoke.

  "Swoosh!"

  Afar stomped on the ground, his figure transf into a blur as he charged forward with blinding speed. In an instant, he appeared before PX-1. Without using his Devil Fruit powers or even Haki, he relied purely on his physical strength to throunch.

  "Bang!!"

  The blow struck PX-1’s face before it could fully raise its arm to fire another ser. PX-1 was sent flying, crashing heavily into the wall behind it.

  "Boom..."

  The ground trembled as PX-1 smmed into the metallic barrier, leaving a dent in the surface.

  "This this a bit slowly..." Afar raised an eyebrow, gng at Ryan and the others. "But it’s impressively tough. A typical strong fighter trying to take a punch like that would likely sustain internal injuries, and their on might even break!"

  He had held back, yet PX-1 still couldn't match his speed. However, he could sense how absurdly durable the mae was—its steel body felt incredibly resilient.

  "That’s unavoidable; you’re too fast. Against the average speed of a Navy Rear Admiral, it still react effectively..." Ryan shrugged. "This is one area we still o optimize."

  "But as you mentioned, its greatest strength is its durability—its defense is over the top."

  Dr. Vegapunk poi PX-1, which had already stood back up. Though its face bore battle scars, it was otherwise unharmed.

  "Thanks to modifications from the Munch-Munch Fruit, it possesses araordinary steel body. Even Navy Vice Admirals would struggle to deal signifit damage to it without using full-powered Haki attacks. Moreover, its primary position includes shape-memory alloy, allowing it to self-repair to some extent."

  "Oh? Is that so?"

  Afar looked at the unscathed Pacifista in surprise. "That’s impressive—definitely built to take a beating!"

  "Let’s tinue..."

  El stood calmly on the sidelines, showing no disappoi. After all, this was just a prototype—a test unit with iable fws.

  "Swish..."

  Without hesitation, Fire Camity Afar spread his wings and darted forward at blinding speed. PX-1’s red eyes fshed as it raised both arms, log onto Afar once more. The barrels in its palms glowed brightly.

  "Zap... zap..."

  Multiple dazzling ser beams shot out simultaneously.

  "Boom! Boom!"

  Each beam, easily dodged by Afar, caused violent explosions upon impact. The arena shook, but the structure remained intact, thanks to reinforts from Saul’s Stoone Fruit powers and teical upgrades by Ryan’s team.

  "Bang!"

  Afar rushed in again, delivering a powerful kick to PX-1’s chest. The impact caused the metal to cave in as PX-1 was hurled backward like a onball.

  "Whoosh—"

  PX-1 crashed into the metal wall, leaving a massive dent. Moments ter, it stood up again, its colpsed chest rapidly expanding until it appeared as good as new.

  "Unbelievable," Afar muttered, watg the mae rise.

  "Zap... zap..."

  PX-1 sprinted forward, its mouth opening to reveal another hidden on. Its hands aimed at Afar as it unleashed a flurry of ser beams.

  "Buzz~~~ Buzz~~~"

  Bright beams streaked through the air, which Afar dodged with ease. Each missed shot tore through the arena walls, superheating the metal until it dripped molten rivulets.

  "Boom! Boom!"

  Explosions rumbled across the arena, leaving massive scars and partially melting the alloy walls.

  "Ssh!"

  PX-1 lunged fain, swinging its massive steel fists toward Afar.

  "Bang! Bang!"

  Afar met the attack head-on, exging fierce blows with the meical fighter. The two cshed repeatedly, like titans locked iless bat.

  Suddenly, Afar ched his right fist. His muscles bulged, veins popping as the fmes behind him dimmed. Without using Haki, he eled the ey of his raw strength.

  "Crackle..."

  His massive punch surged with incredible power and speed, nding squarely on PX-1’s head.

  "Boom! Boom!"

  The impact was devastating—PX-1’s face caved in, and it was sent hurtling across the arena. Sparks and small arcs of electricity flickered around its damaged frame, with traces of fluid resembling blood dripping from the ruptured se.

  Although PX-1 mao stand up again, its movements had grown stiff. The sparks aensive damage to its face had re sluggish. Still, it raised its arm and began charging another ser bst.

  "Stop, PX-1!"

  El’s firm and echoed across the arena, halting the mae. Afar also stepped back, ceasing his attacks.

  "Hmm, an average Navy Vice Admiral would struggle to hahis thing. If someone were surrounded by two or three of these Pacifistas, they could easily suffer severe injuries if they were careless..."

  El approached PX-1, examining the damage. The mae’s dented fad partially malfuning systems spoke volumes about the harsh test.

  "Against ordinary pirates or marihis mae would be unstoppable. Most of them wouldn’t be able to harm it and would be utterly helpless."

  "Still, its performaneeds signifit improvement."

  Ryan shrugged. "This is just the first-geion prototype, after all. We’re still a long way from mass produ and real bat deployment."

  "Plus, uhe robot Homies infused with Gerd-sama’s soul fragments, creating a fully autonomous and optimized Pacifista is far more plex. Achieving our ideal results will take more time!"

  Bleam