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Because of Ayr's battle with the sword-wielding old man, a swirling storm of smoke and dust completely enveloped the battlefield, and Garp could only vaguely make out the silhouettes locked in combat, their ferocious strikes echoing out in pulses, each blow sharp enough to send tremors through the ruins around them. Even with his keen instincts, he couldn't identify who the figures were in that obscured whirlwind.
"To be able to fight one of the Five Elders to such an extent... don't tell me… Rocks has returned from the dead?" Zephyr muttered, shock widening his eyes. The true strength of the Five Elders was hidden from the public but not from former Admirals like him, for they had stood behind the veil of government secrecy for decades, guarding the ultimate authority of the World Government. To hold one's own against even a single Elder was something he could only compare to the overwhelming might Rocks D. Xebec had unleashed during the Battle of the Valley of the Gods.
"Resurrected? Impossible. Roger beheaded Rocks with his own hands—there was nothing left," Sengoku said gravely, shaking his head. "Not even a man like Rocks could come back from that." In a world filled with strange Devil Fruits and supernatural phenomena, true resurrection—especially after decapitation—was still unheard of.
"But if not Rocks… then who in this sea could go blow-for-blow with a Five Elder?" Zephyr asked, eyes narrowing, the air around him tense. While Garp, Zephyr, Sengoku, and Tsuru continued their hushed deliberation, one of the other Five Elders, standing calmly with arms crossed behind the battlefield, finally spoke: "It's Ayr."
The words struck like lightning, and even the members of CP0 and CP9—elites of the World Government's secret service—were dumbfounded. "A-Ayr?! No way… is it really him? Twice he's invaded Mariejois and now he's clashing with Lord Five Elders directly?! This monster… has his power increased that much since the Battle of the Valley of the Gods?!" Shocked murmurs rippled through the ranks; Ayr, the man who had once beheaded Kong, an Admiral of the previous era, was now standing against the pinnacle of the World Government itself.
"The Five Elders… they're not just political heads. They're living relics, guardians of an ancient era. They're untouchable…" whispered a CP0 agent. And yet here was Ayr—fighting them.
"Ayr?" Garp muttered, blinking rapidly in disbelief. "It's really him. The figure that cut through Mariejois the last time…" Zephyr confirmed, his voice tinged with both respect and horror. "Back then, even after fighting Kong, his strength was terrifying. But now… this is on a completely different level," Sengoku said hoarsely. Even Whitebeard, who once rivaled Roger, struggled to suppress one of the Five Elders, yet Ayr was holding his own.
A thunderous crash interrupted their thoughts as one of the two figures in the swirling smoke was blasted backward, smashing into a marble pillar that shattered under the force. The body skidded across the war-torn plaza before crashing into a heap of stone debris. "Who just got sent flying?!" someone exclaimed. "Hmph! Must be Ayr. Do you think one of the Five Elders would fall back like that? Right? There's no way. Ayr might be strong, but the Five Elders… they're monsters among monsters!" But another voice countered, "If Ayr can already force a stalemate with one of them… then if he keeps growing—" "Thank the heavens he came here to die. He's already too dangerous!"
The CP agents whispered anxiously, their hopes momentarily lifted by the sight of the figure flung from the storm. To them, Ayr was an existential threat to the World Government's control, and if he survived this encounter, his rise as the New World's supreme power would be all but assured.
But then their hope crumbled. The whirlwind of smoke slowly dispersed, revealing a single figure still standing within its eye—his back straight, Zan Shen held firmly in one hand, his aura oppressive and unyielding. It was Ayr. "How… how is it possible?! That's… that's Ayr!" Gasps erupted as the CP organizations stumbled back. Even veteran agents like Rob Lucci narrowed their eyes, cold sweat running down their spines. "D-Don't joke around! That means the one who got blown away just now was… Lord Five Elders?!" "Impossible! The Five Elders are said to have access to the strongest ancient powers! How could Ayr surpass that?!" But there was no denying what they had just witnessed—the Elder was the one who had fallen.
Shock turned to dread. Sengoku's face tightened as he stepped forward, peering into the dust-choked air with clenched fists. "Has Ayr truly become strong enough to repel one of the Five Elders?" Zephyr's disbelief deepened. "That monster… he's not just fighting equally. He won that exchange. What the hell has he become?!"
Zephyr had thought years of elite training, enhancements, and Haki mastery within Mariejois would one day let him seek vengeance against Ayr for his past crimes, but now, standing on the battlefield and witnessing the outcome firsthand, he realized how far behind he truly was. Ayr wasn't just a pirate, nor merely a warrior—he was something else entirely. He was a monster, no… a force of nature in human form. And the balance of the world had begun to shift.
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