To face the four top combat powers of the Naval Headquarters—Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, and Tsuru—with only his own strength, and still hold the upper hand...
If Ayr wins this battle, then he's not just a monster...
He's a god.
No matter what, the Marines had to hold onto their confidence. That was the entire reason they came here—to believe they could bring Ayr down. But even that belief had begun to crack.
Fear and doubt were creeping in.
No—even if only for a fraction of a second—they couldn't allow themselves to falter.
"Everyone, don't lose heart!" Sengoku shouted, rallying his comrades.
"The battle has just begun. We, the Marines, will win!"
But in his heart, even Sengoku harbored a creeping thought of invincibility—not theirs, but Ayr's.
If anyone in this world could conquer it all, it was Ayr.
He had no discernible weakness. In combat, he was an all-around powerhouse—speed, power, durability, Haki, and instincts all pushed to the limit.
Sengoku dared not voice these doubts aloud.
If even Garp, Zephyr, or Tsuru caught wind of that hesitation, it could rattle their mindset.
And against an opponent like Ayr, mental weakness was a death sentence.
From the distance, Garp rushed back into formation, his battle aura still flaring.
"He dodged again?!" he growled.
"This guy's defensive power, attack power, reaction speed, everything... It's all above ours!"
His fists trembled—not from fear, but from rage at his own inadequacy.
"Can we really... defeat an existence like this?"
But Ayr didn't seem interested in dragging out this battle.
He wanted to end this quickly, take the Op-Op Fruit, and move on. There was no glory in toying with the four strongest Marines alive.
He wanted efficiency—and dominance.
Garp clenched his teeth.
"If only I had been just a little faster...!"
"Damn it… almost!!!" Tsuru cursed under her breath.
Moments ago, her palm—imbued with the power of the Wash-Wash Fruit—had been inches away from Ayr's back.
One more second, even a tenth of a second, and she might have sealed his fate.
Her fruit could cleanse enemies of evil, neutralize toxins, and render foes helpless.
Against someone like Ayr, it might've turned the tide.
But… he had reacted.
He dodged her ambush with impossible precision.
That was what they were up against.
"Ayr didn't even use any of his true abilities yet..." Zephyr thought grimly, sweat forming on his brow.
The confrontation just now—three of the Marines attacking in unison while Tsuru tried to land her critical strike—was their best chance.
And he defused it effortlessly.
What did that say about the gap between them?
From afar, Doflamingo and the others watched, silent and awe-struck.
"We're witnessing history," he whispered, the ever-present grin gone from his face.
The entire battlefield had turned into something more than a fight.
It was a moment that would redefine the balance of the world.
If Ayr triumphed, it would shift the power structure of the Grand Line, maybe forever.
"This guy's not a monster," Doflamingo muttered, "He's a god…"
He had fought monsters.
He had fought warlords, Yonko, even seen Gol D. Roger up close in Loguetown.
But Ayr—Ayr was something else.
He stood at the top of the pyramid, beyond any title or classification.
Back on the battlefield, Sengoku, Zephyr, Tsuru, and Garp steadied themselves.
Yes, they had been overwhelmed.
Yes, their plan to give Tsuru an opening had failed.
But this wasn't over.
They were still the strongest force the Marines had ever assembled.
Each one of them could change the tide of war alone.
Together—they were supposed to be unstoppable.
Yet... this one man was pushing them back.
And if they lost here—if they couldn't defeat Ayr—this battle would go down in history not as a Marine triumph…
…but as the day the age of pirates reached its peak.
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