"Just the three of you think you can stop me?" Ayr sneered, his voice calm but dripping with disdain.
Today, unless Kong, Dark Horse, or all three Admirals—Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji— stood united before him, there was barely a chance of mounting a fight against him.
But now?
With only Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr present?
They were nowhere near enough.
And as for the group of Marine Vice Admirals gathered behind them—shaken and barely standing under the weight of his Conqueror's Haki—they were even less relevant. Their presence held no sway over the outcome of what was about to unfold.
To Ayr, they were nothing more than background noise.
"Don't underestimate us!" Garp growled.
With a sharp motion, he threw off his cloak of justice, the symbol of the Marines fluttering in the wind before falling onto the snow-covered ground.
He rolled up his sleeves, adjusted his tie, and took a stance. His eyes locked onto Ayr with a focused, deadly seriousness.
"We move together. The three of us must stop Ayr here and now—no matter the cost!" Zephyr said through clenched teeth, his fists trembling not in fear, but in fury.
"We have to give Tsuru time to escape with the Op-Op Fruit!"
They all knew the truth—even with the combined might of the three, they may not be a match for Ayr. Not anymore.
His strength had transcended conventional levels, becoming something more reminiscent of legends—like the Sage of Six Paths from the ancient Shinobi lore, whose power could reshape the world.
But they had no choice.
Letting Ayr claim the Op-Op Fruit—the most coveted Paramecia Devil Fruit, known for its immortality-granting Ope Ope no Mi eternal surgery—would be a world-ending mistake.
If Ayr, a monster among men, obtained the power of eternal life, there would be no future for the world.
"Ayr! The three of us will be your opponents!" Sengoku declared, his voice resolute. "As long as we're standing, you'll never get near Tsuru!"
As Sengoku's words rang out, he stomped hard on the ground, propelling himself toward Ayr like a cannon shot. The speed was so extreme that it shattered the air with a sonic boom.
Sengoku's intent was clear.
As long as Ayr was focused on him, he couldn't maintain his Universal Pull on Tsuru—freeing her to escape with the fruit.
Seeing Sengoku launch forward, Garp and Zephyr didn't hesitate.
They followed with blinding speed—three titans of justice, moving in harmony.
In the blink of an eye, their figures vanished—only to reappear surrounding Ayr from three angles: left, right, and above.
"AYR!!!"
Their fists were raised—coated in thick layers of Busoshoku Haki and laced with the overwhelming pressure of Haoshoku Haki.
Each blow came down with the might of thunder, their combined killing intent tearing at the very fabric of the battlefield. The air cracked and roared around them.
These three were not just veterans.
They were monsters in their own right.
Each of them possessed strength on par with or even surpassing the Five Elders, the highest authority in the World Government outside of Imu.
When working together, their combined power was enough to annihilate armies and level islands.
Their strike was meant to end it in one blow.
To stop Ayr—or die trying.
Ayr watched them calmly as they came.
"…Troublesome," he muttered with a sigh, as if this entire encounter was a tedious interruption.
"Why can't things ever go smoothly?"
Truthfully, he had no interest in clashing with these three today. If he could have walked away with the Op-Op Fruit without conflict, he would have done so gladly.
But that was no longer possible.
Now, to seize the Op-Op Fruit, he had to first defeat Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr… and then take it from Tsuru's hands.
There was no other way.
"Ching!"
With a swift, fluid motion, Ayr drew the blade at his waist.
The steel gleamed under the pale light, radiating a deadly aura.
This was no ordinary sword.
It was one of the Supreme Grade Blades (Saijo Ō Wazamono)—a class of sword reserved for only the most fearsome of warriors.
This one, in particular, had once belonged to Rocks D. Xebec, the tyrant who sought to become king of the world.
When Rocks fell, Ayr claimed the blade as his own.
Now, it served a new master—one perhaps even more dangerous.
Ayr gripped the sword with one hand and raised it to meet the incoming blows.
His blade hummed with a resonance not unlike that of the Kusanagi Sword wielded by the legendary shinobi Sasuke Uchiha—sharpened not just by steel, but by energy, intent, and the weight of an age-old will.
As the three Marine legends converged upon him, Ayr narrowed his eyes.
He didn't move.
He didn't blink.
He simply waited—for the perfect moment to strike back.
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