Sengoku quickly used his white cloak to cover the phone bug, his face grim. In an instant, a wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted, silencing the unruly Marines. The soldiers, snapping out of their trance, looked around in confusion.
"What was that? What came out of my mouth?" a soldier muttered, slapping himself.
Sengoku, after explaining the situation to the Five Elders on the phone bug and confirming their identity, turned back to the five women on the pier. "You five, do you claim to be the Five Elders?" he demanded.
The women exchanged knowing glances, a silent conversation passing between them. Sengoku, growing impatient, pressed on. "If you are the Five Elders, then who are the five people in Mariejois?"
"Hahaha, you should know who we are," the bald woman replied with a slow, deliberate tone. Sengoku's mind raced, a terrifying thought taking hold: what if these were the real Five Elders, returned to reclaim their place?
Just then, the white-robed woman readily accepted a new challenge. "Dare to face the Five Elders of the Holy Land? Why not?" she said, a sense of anticipation building among the Marines. A unique battle was about to unfold.
An adjutant set up a Video Den Den Mushi and five special phone bugs on the warship's bow, all focused on the pier. A reporter from Sabaody Island hid under a boulder and recorded the scene.
Meanwhile, in Mariejois, the real Five Elders were furious, staring at the projected image of their female counterparts. "Shut up!" they snapped into their own phone bugs. "Isn't it a little unsightly?"
The two sides, now staring at each other through the screens, exchanged sharp words. "Who are you?" the male Five Elders demanded. "What is your purpose?"
"We are you," the women on the pier replied. "Our purpose? You'll find out soon! You should be the ones getting ready!"
As the tension peaked, the five women suddenly stood up and knelt on one knee toward an empty spot in the center. A handsome man with a confident aura then appeared out of thin air.
"Long time no see, everyone from Marine," Rodin said.
Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru all saw this heavy heart, with the same realization: Rodin was the one with the power to make these powerful individuals kneel.
"What is he?" the real Five Elders shrieked into the phone bugs. "Get up, you disgraceful things! Don't use our appearance to worship a pirate!"
"Master Rodin is the master of the world!" the women on the pier declared. "King, of Empty Throne!"
This declaration of war sent a shockwave through everyone present. "Big words!" the real Five Elders roared. "Sengoku, Garp, kill them immediately!"
"The time has come!" the women on the pier announced. "Please give the order to turn off the lamp this time!"
Rodin, a grin on his face, opened his hands as a blue electric arc crackled around him. He teleported high into the sky, a true king looking down on his kingdom. "Let these gorgeous fireworks bloom!" he declared.
The five women stood up, two of them heading for the coastline. Sengoku and Garp, now in their fighting forms, exchanged a determined glance.
"War!" they roared, their voices echoing across the water.
The order was given, and a deafening roar of cannon fire and gunfire filled the air. Dense fire snakes and black cannonballs rained down upon the pier, a relentless storm of destruction. But just as the projectiles were about to hit, the bald, the blond, and the fluffy women raised their hands in unison. An invisible force deflected the assault, and the cannonballs vanished into a silent wave in the air, the smoke and flames dissipating as if nothing had ever been there.
"We leave the rest to you, we... stop here," the three women said, their faces paling as they collapsed. Their energy had been spent deflecting the attack.
The long-haired woman with a fluttering white beard placed a hand on the white-robed woman's shoulder. "Scattered power is worse than being twisted together," she said. The white-robed lady's complexion became flushed with newfound power, and she nodded, her eyes flashing with a powerful aura.
"How long has it been since you fought?" she muttered, a calm confidence in her movements as she slowly unsheathed her black sword.
A cry of disbelief came from the Five Elders on the phone bug. "No... impossible, how could she have one?" But their words were cut short as the phone bugs went silent, as if knocked out by a terrifying force.
"Devil's Cry!"
A sharp, black crescent-shaped slash wave, accompanied by a mournful cry, shot toward Sengoku and Garp. Sengoku, as the Golden Buddha, unleashed a powerful shockwave, while Garp, his fist hardened with Haki, prepared to strike.
The black blade effortlessly cut through Sengoku's shockwave, and his golden fist was pushed back. "You still hold on when you can't hold it!" Garp yelled, grabbing Sengoku and launching himself forward. His iron fist slammed into the black blade, weakening it but also drawing blood from his knuckles.
The black blade then slashed Garp across the chest, the force sending him flying into the warship, which was torn apart. Sengoku watched in horror as his friend disappeared in a cloud of dust and debris.
"Garp!" Sengoku roared, launching another shockwave. But it was too late. All five elders, now completely exhausted, fell to the ground. "It's useless," the long-haired lady whispered, as the shockwave was intercepted by a lightning bolt from the sky.
A figure, a lightning body in proportion to Sengoku, floated down. "Leave it to me for the last thirty seconds," Rodin said.
Meanwhile, at the coating area, Zephyr and female Sakazuki were in a fierce battle. Zephyr, panting, looked at his fallen Marines and students. "Your subordinates are truly unbeatable," Baki said, her frivolous voice interrupted by Sakazuki's stern gaze. Baki, however, flew off as soon as she saw the blue thunder in the distance.
"Teacher Zephyr, it's time to decide the outcome," Sakazuki said.
"Teacher?" Zephyr pushed himself up. "I don't remember teaching a powerful disciple like you. moreover I don't recognize pirates as my students."
"Pirates?" Sakaski hearing the words stopped mid-step.
"Are you not a pirate?" he asked.
"Let's save that question for the end," Sakazuki replied.
"Then fight me with all your might!" Zephyr shouted, unleashing his "Crush Blaster". Sakazuki's right shoulder erupted with magma, and their attacks collided.
When the dust settled, Sakazuki stood unscathed. Zephyr, however, leaned against a dead tree, his chest heaving as his giant pulverizer shattered into pieces. "Your Devil Fruit is really similar to that guy Sakazuki's," he said.
"It's not similar, it's the Lava-Lava Fruit," Sakazuki corrected.
Zephyr smiled. "You've been fighting me with just your physical skills from the beginning... you're a strange one. But I have to admit, your physical skills are indeed very good." He took a deep breath. "Since you call me 'teacher' so sincerely, I'll teach you first lesson. Meet my final blow!"
Sakazuki muttered to herself, "And the last lesson." She retracted her magma and met his attack with a simple, gloved fist. A black ball of compressed air exploded between them.
When the whirlwind dissipated, Sakazuki, her hair disheveled, stood unharmed. Zephyr, after exhaling one final breath, lay down on his back. "
"Didn't you ask if I were a pirate before? I am not." Sakazuki said.
"What is it then?", Zephyr asked, his voice a whispher.
"If I had to define it, it would be... New Marine."
Zephyr, watching the sunset, closed his eyes. "Then go on with your captain, my special female apprentice," he whispered as his life ebbed away.