In One Piece, as Hashirama Senju

[159] You're Awake?!

Chapter 159: You're Awake?!

—

The air was thick with the scent of ozone and the clanging sound of metal against metal, punctuated by the desperate shouts of battle.

Tsunade, Vivi, Mikita, Robin, and Marianne were locked in a fierce struggle against a horde of robot monsters towering twice their size; they weren't as big as the one that was in the 'Boss Room' but they were endless in number. They seemed to spawn from the very shadows of the city, swarming around the girls and aiming for their death.

Their once-pristine armors were now marred with scuffs and dents, evidence of the relentless onslaught they faced against the girls. Yet, they felt no pain, each of them fought with the ferocity of a cornered beast, while fatigue hung heavy on the girls' shoulders, their movements growing slower, more deliberate.

"Tsunade, dodge-"

– Boom!

Vivi tried to warn Tsunade, but an explosive punch from one of the robots interrupted her and sent her flying.

Tsunade, despite the warning, turned her head to look at Vivi in worry. That was a mistake as three robots fired beams from their chest in her direction.

Amid the chaos, a small figure lay motionless on the ground nearby. Karoo, the usually spirited duck, was now a heartbreaking sight, its body twitching feebly, with feathers burnt as she lay on the verge of death. She had received a terrible blow while trying to protect Robin, and now her well-being was uncertain.

Mikita glanced toward Karoo, her eyes flashing with a mix of fear and frustrating determination. She turned her attention back to the robots, dodging an attack and then counter-attacking a punch weighing ten tons.

"Krr... Error... Kill..." The robots, with their cold, gleaming exteriors and relentless precision, seemed impervious to fear or fatigue as they fought back with no issue.

Tsunade had tried using bursts of Conqueror's Haki before, but the robots did not have any will to shut down. So she could only fight manually, against the entire army, her fists glowing with a fiery aura, landing blow after blow, but for every robot they felled, it seemed two more took its place.

Robin, her face set in a mask of concentration, summoned giant limbs that sprouted from the ground and walls, grasping at their adversaries in an attempt to turn the tide.

They had faced countless of these robots before in the last two years, having to come to this city regularly to look for rations, canned food, and other necessities. But this trip was the most dangerous so far; they were physically weak, hungry, and fighting for days by now.

It was not looking good—and as they were thinking this, Robin received a terrible blow on her side as she puked blood and fell to the ground.

"What is this shithole?!" Tsunade growled as, for a moment, her Conqueror's Haki let out a roar of destruction that sent all the robots flying backward.

That did not last long, however. The robots crawled back at her, at everyone else, as the girls now had to focus on protecting Robin's body too. Vivi, wielding her dual nunchucks with graceful lethality, danced through the mechanical giants, her strikes a blur. Yet, the relentless tide of their enemies threatened to overwhelm even her skilled bladesmanship.

Marianne's form flickered between human and demonic fox, unleashing volleys of chakra-infused attacks, explosions blooming amidst the ranks of their foes. But for all their valiant efforts were worth, the mechanical monstrosities advanced without a stop, their movements synchronized and unyielding.