Who could have imagined that in just over a year, Tengetsu Ares would grow into something this terrifying?
The island lay in ruins.
Everywhere the eye fell was cratered and torn.
When the shockwave finally faded, and they saw what was left of Garp
Zephyr's fury exploded. His Armament Haki crashed out in a brutal tide, blasting Kaidō off his feet.
Sengoku sprinted to Garp at once, staring, stunned, at the man who looked like a figure sculpted from blood. "G–Garp?!"
"I'm… not dead yet."
Blood spilled from Garp's mouth as he spoke, bright droplets pattering the ground like crimson flowers. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, then lifted his head. His eyes burned as they locked onto Ares.
That surging will to fight made Sengoku's heart jolt. He clamped a hand on Garp's shoulder and barked, "Garp. I'm ordering a retreat!"
His face was dark, a muscle ticking by his eye as he lowered his voice. "The operation… failed."
Garp looked up at him, the whites of his eyes veined red, the glare of a maddened beast. He growled through his teeth, "After all we've been through… after all the dead… you want us to "
" to cut and run like cowards?!"
Sengoku shot him a vicious look, inhaled hard, and forced reason into his tone. "You can't face defeat yet? You're no longer Ares's match. And with just Zephyr and me left, we can't take all of them down."
"If we die here, who protects Marine justice?"
"The seas will belong to pirates."
His grip tightened on Garp's shoulder, pinning him in place. "Listen to me. We withdraw for now."
"When the time is right, we'll erase the Rocks Pirates all the same."
Garp fell silent.
Fury still twisted his face, but his killing intent fixed on Ares, who was speaking with his comrades nearby.
Zephyr strode over then, his expression iron. "Give me two or three more hours and I'll put Kaidō down."
"Put Kaidō down and what then?" Sengoku shot back. "There's still Wang Zhi, Silver Axe, Captain John and that sea monster."
He wanted the same thing wipe out several of Rocks's officers in one stroke. But a true fight to the death would mean mutual destruction. Garp and Zephyr were more than colleagues; they were his brothers-in-arms. Losing any of the three of them would be a tragedy and a victory wasn't guaranteed.
If the Marines lost their three strongest pillars here, the seas would be left to pirates to ravage.
Ares Ares was too strong. The pressure he exerted on Sengoku was suffocating.
Sengoku exhaled a long, helpless breath. This had been a rare chance. But…
They'd failed. If only the Mythical Zoan had gone to Zephyr instead of Kaidō what a difference that might have made.
He looked at Garp, regret heavy in his voice. "Retreat."
On the other side
When he saw the Marines pulling back, Kaidō instantly lunged to pursue, but Captain John called out, "Kaidō, don't. Let them go."
"Why?" Kaidō dropped his human-beast form and returned to normal.
John wiped blood from his mouth and answered weakly, "If we keep this up… we'll all end up broken."
"Be grateful Ares pinned down Garp. Otherwise Sengoku would never have let us walk."
"And another thing…" His eyes flicked toward the coastline. "I don't know if that Sea Siren princess followed us. If she sees how many we are, she'll keep hiding in the dark."
That was what worried him most. The Sea Siren princess was terrifying; he had to assume she was ready to strike at any time.
Silver Axe limped up and cut in, "If this drags on, John and I will have to gamble our lives."
"We're both already hurt. We won't last long."
"Wang Zhi's badly injured too."
"Who wins between us and Sengoku's lot is anyone's guess."
Kaidō nodded, glowering at the Marines' retreating backs. "When my Armament and body are better trained next time I'll crush Zephyr."
Ares dropped his human-beast form then.
He turned to Kaidō and burst out laughing. "Kaidō, you've got a Mythical Zoan now? That's fantastic!"
"Ares, big brother!"
Ka idō laughed along with him. "Uorororo… this Mythical Zoan is insane. It's perfect for me!"
"Now I've got the power to stand beside you and hold back the strongest foes!"
Ares clapped a hand on Kaidō's shoulder. "Then we'll both keep getting stronger, and we'll knock down every enemy in our way."
Seeing Kaidō grow stronger genuinely delighted him.
"We should clear out as well," Captain John urged. "Kaidō's already got the Sea Tribe's treasure our job's done."
"And our ship's gone. We're short on medical supplies too. We need to move, fast."
Ares blinked. "So the Devil Fruit Kaidō ate… that was the Sea Tribe's treasure."
His gaze settled on Slardar.
He spoke plainly, sincerely. "Slardar, the treasure you guarded…"
"It's gone. You don't need to stay in these waters anymore."
"Will you…"
"Will you leave with us?"
It was the second time Ares had extended that invitation.
Slardar fell silent, thinking.
John grinned. "Ares, without Slardar we'd be dead. You'd probably never have seen us again."
"Yeah, if not for him, that ug that princess would've finished us," Silver Axe added, still shaken.
He and John had almost died in the hands of the Sea Siren princess.
Ares frowned. "Sea Siren princess?"
John quickly laid out everything that had happened.
Ares's curiosity only grew.
Kaidō studied Slardar too, surprised, then he bared his teeth in a grin. "Uorororo… Slardar, join us."
"In the sea, even I'm not your match."
"Your talent and your power shouldn't be buried in this dead ocean."
He respected Slardar's strength after all, the man had nearly killed him beneath the waves. Thanks to Slardar's racial gifts, they'd managed to drive a makeshift raft through raging seas.
To Kaidō, Slardar's value in battle and in navigation was undeniable.
Kaidō loved talent.
And Slardar was exactly that.
He hadn't forgotten: right now, Ares's "division" had only three people.
That's counting Katakuri. Without that kid, it was just the two of them
He and Ares.
For any proper unit, that was far, far too few.
Kaidō stared at Slardar, eyes bright with hope.
"Don't hesitate," John chimed in. "The world out there is incredible."
Ares turned to Slardar. "Do you still have concerns?"
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