Honestly, the Pacifista's performance in the original work wasn't bad at all.
At Sabaody Archipelago, the Straw Hat Pirates fought two rounds, exhausting themselves to finally destroy one, only for Sentomaru to immediately bring several more.
Putting myself in the shoes of the protagonist group, it truly felt particularly desperate.
If it weren't for Kizaru, Rayleigh, and Kuma intervening, Sentomaru would have wiped them out.
Even Charlotte Linlin, who was said to let the Supernovas attack her freely, chose to dodge the Pacifista's lasers, showing their power.
Furthermore, the most terrifying aspect of the Pacifista was their mass production.
If their numbers could be increased and their cost reduced, they could largely replace the role of the Marine.
However, what Blake didn't understand was why the Gorosei trusted Vegapunk so much?
With this kind of technological modification, the biggest fear is naturally the developer leaving a backdoor!
But the Gorosei seemed to have no such concerns.
Perhaps it was their habitual thinking at play, subconsciously believing that a mere scientist couldn't possibly defy the World Government.
But Saturn also didn't consider, if even he dared to secretly research ancient robots behind Imu's back, why wouldn't Vegapunk dare?
"Go on and research, sooner or later you'll cause trouble," Blake thought, enjoying the show.
He tossed the newspaper towards Betty and Ginny:
"Take a look; your friends seem to be out of luck."
Betty quickly caught the newspaper; she had long wanted to know what was happening in the outside world.
In fact, from the moment Blake could still sit there quietly eating dinner, they already knew that the original plan must have failed.
However, Ginny and Betty still hoped that Dragon and the others were strong enough to retreat in time after discovering the problem.
Betty carefully picked up the newspaper with trembling hands, as if afraid that a little too much force would tear it.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the headline didn't state the current situation of the Revolutionary Army, so she quickly flipped through.
Ginny put her hand on Betty's body, already prepared for the worst.
Bright lamplight illuminated the luxurious dining room, silver tableware gleamed coldly, and the air was utterly silent.
When Betty saw "Revolutionary Army cadres Ivankov, Crow arrested, escorted to Impel Down," her body couldn't help but sway.
Suppressing the complex emotions in her heart, she continued to read down.
It wasn't until she saw "Revolutionary Army leader Dragon, cadres Lindbergh, Morley killed on the spot" that she completely collapsed to the ground.
Ginny, who had originally intended to comfort Betty, also couldn't hold back, slumping onto the carpet like someone had pulled out all her bones, making a dull thud.
The entire dining room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, leaving only the two women's increasingly heavy and desperate gasps.
Perona, as she grew older, gradually began to understand appropriate behavior and didn't dare to cause trouble at this time.
Kozuki Toki looked at them with a sympathetic expression, as if seeing her past self.
In the first few years after Blake brought her back, she was in a daze.
If it weren't for her only remaining daughter, Kozuki Toki would probably have found a way to end her own life long ago.
Hancock, on the other hand, looked indifferent; those irrelevant people died, and that was that.
Robin sighed lightly; she could understand the blow this event was to Ginny and Betty, just as it was when she first learned of Ohara's destruction.
But Robin had now been with Blake for nearly ten years.
With the shaping of her values and the subtle influences over time, she had already developed a certain mindset of a superior, making it difficult to fully empathize with their feelings.
Blake cut the lamb chop on his plate, not even raising his head:
"What a pity."
Stella, sitting beside him, took out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of his mouth.
Blake's tone remained as flat as if discussing what to eat tomorrow:
"Whether it's you or Christopher."
"A group of idealists who took the wrong path; this is just the deserved outcome."
His words were like a key, suddenly opening the floodgates of Betty's memories.
She recalled that when she first eavesdropped on intelligence about the Celestial Dragons' internal strife and Fish-Man Tiger's plan to attack Mary Geoise, she and Ginny, despite their humiliation and hatred, also secretly harbored wild joy.
They believed they had obtained top-secret information through their exceptional skills and were convinced it was a god-given opportunity to severely damage the enemy and strengthen the revolution.
It wasn't until Red Port, after seeing Jinbe and his group off, that Blake suddenly appeared before her eyes, completely shattering their initial illusion.
"We..."
Ginny's throat sounded like it had been scraped with sandpaper, her voice hoarse and broken:
"We thought... that was what we overheard..."
"It was our own... intelligence we got our hands on..."
Betty's body trembled uncontrollably, and tears streamed silently from her eyes.
It wasn't sadness, but something deeper, more suffocating—
Self-blame.
She remembered losing sleep over this "unexpected gain."
And at the cadre meeting, she overcame all objections, persuading others to believe in and participate in this action.
"It's all my fault..."
Betty's voice was choked with tears, every word seemingly squeezed from her lungs:
"Clearly... clearly back then... the leader had some inkling..."
"It's all my fault..."
Blake finally looked up, a barely perceptible curve at the corner of his mouth:
"Over-reliance on one's own abilities is, in itself, a fatal weakness."
He elegantly raised his wine glass:
"To... your contributions."
These words became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Ginny and Betty's tears gushed out like a broken dam, and they instantly burst into uncontrollable sobs.
It wasn't out of fear or pain, but from regret for their own actions, which flowed through their limbs like poison.
They had not only lost comrades but had also become accomplices in the destruction of the revolution.
The lights were still warm, the meal still exquisite.
But the two had already fallen into boundless hell.
In this opulent cage, they would spend the rest of their lives chewing on the despair of this moment, forever unable to escape.
For these two steadfast Revolutionary Army warriors, Blake never intended for them to serve him from the beginning.
Unlike Robin and others who were trained from a young age, Blake and the Revolutionary Army had fundamental ideological conflicts.
Unless he used the brainwashing methods Imu used on Gunko, it would be almost impossible to change their minds.
But Blake not only lacked such methods, even if he had them, he wouldn't want to use such a way of turning people into robots.
After all, whether now or in the future, Blake would not be short of their meager combat power.
He preferred to see a group of distinct Slaves, even if their attitude was unwilling and dared not resist.
So, his reason for keeping the two by his side was more out of a squirrel-hoarding mentality, or simply lust.
After all, Betty's attire was truly striking; her pictures couldn't even be posted on a typical novel website.
And as Blake, who openly practiced double standards, he always showed more leniency towards beautiful women.
Hmm... limited to not letting them die on the battlefield, but rather keeping them by his side as Slaves.
Blake's attitude towards Ginny and Betty was similar to his attitude towards Kozuki Toki.
Both were kept by his side for aesthetics, to stay put, and not to cause trouble.
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