As the battered Marine warship limped back toward Mariejois, a familiar face appeared on the Den Den Mushi's projection screen. It was Leon.
He didn't speak at first, his young face calm as he quietly observed the wounded and exhausted legends on the other end of the line.
After a long moment, he finally spoke, his voice clear and steady.
"Everyone. It has become clear that for the time being, Devil Fruits are a liability, not a strength. Our immediate future depends on the Seraphim."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in.
"That is one part of the plan. But I have another idea."
A flicker of hope ignited in Sengoku's eyes.
He leaned closer, desperate to hear what the boy genius had in store for them.
"Since the enemy has found a way to take your powers away," Leon continued with a glint of determination in his eyes, "we will return the favor. We will fight fire with fire."
"Please return to Mariejois as quickly as possible. I will need to take blood samples from everyone who was affected. I want to see exactly what kind of substance can suppress the power of a Devil Fruit."
A confident smirk touched Leon's lips.
"I don't believe in impossible technology. If they can make it, so can I."
Hearing this, Sengoku felt a genuine surge of hope for the first time since the battle had turned.
.....
On the other side of the world, Rocks D. Xebec stood on the bow of a massive, pitch-black galleon, addressing the greatest gathering of pirate power the world had ever seen.
"For too long, we have been hunted!" he roared, his voice carrying over the cheering hordes.
"For too long, we have been branded as villains by a corrupt government that hoards the world's treasures for itself! I say, no more!"
"Now is the time to take back what is ours! Now is your chance to carve your names into history! All you have to do is follow me, and burn their world to the ground!"
The roar from the crowd was deafening.
"KILL THEM ALL!"
"We are the true kings of the sea! What are the Marines to us?!"
The most powerful figures in the pirate world stood at the front of the crowd, their auras radiating immense power.
The former Four Emperors—Kaido, Big Mom, Shanks, and Whitebeard—were all there.
Beside them stood other legends: Redfield, Douglas Bullet, Monkey D. Dragon, and Golden Lion Shiki.
It was an army of monsters.
"Gurararara... Rocks," Whitebeard's deep voice rumbled.
"Are you certain about this? A direct assault on Mariejois, the heart of their power?" His eyes held a flicker of hesitation.
"Don't forget, the Marines have that boy genius, Leon. The things he creates are like miracles. The Seraphim, the ability to hold multiple Devil Fruits... he is the one who has allowed them to challenge us. Attacking him on his home turf could be... troublesome."
Rocks was momentarily taken aback, the image of the three indestructible Seraphim flashing in his mind.
They were, without a doubt, the biggest variable.
But then, a cruel smile spread across his face as he dismissed the thought.
"If those new Seraphim were so easy to produce, wouldn't the Marines have sent an army of them instead of just three? No. It's new technology, and they have a limited supply. You lot can easily keep those three machines busy."
He leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with mad ambition.
"And while they are distracted, I will personally neutralize every other powerful Marine on that island. Kizaru, Aokiji, Fujitora... once they lose their Devil Fruit powers, what will be left? Even with three Seraphim, the Marines will be finished!"
He straightened up, his voice rising to a passionate roar.
"Newgate, stop thinking so much! We are pirates! We are the wolves of the sea! The Marines are wounded, bleeding! Do we wait for the prey to recover its strength? No! We press the attack! We give them no time to breathe!"
With a final, defiant yell, Rocks ripped a captured Marine flag to shreds and ground the pieces under his heel.
The crowd went wild, all hesitation washed away by a tide of bloodlust.
"Kill the Marines and rule the seas!"
"We are mad dogs! We will tear them apart and take their treasures!"
"Loot the Celestial Dragons' treasury! Show those pampered fools what a real pirate is!"
Under the frenzied roar, an armada of hundreds of pirate ships turned as one, their bows pointing toward the Red Line.
They were coming to take everything.
...
In a quiet laboratory deep within the World Government's headquarters, a young boy paced back and forth.
Leon couldn't sit still.
The pressure on his shoulders was immense.
He understood the strategic situation better than anyone.
The pirates held every advantage.
The enemy's technology had rendered the Marines' greatest champions vulnerable.
Men like Akainu and Sengoku, who relied heavily on their Devil Fruits, had been weakened to a fraction of their former power.
This single technological gap meant that the Marines could no longer risk an all-out confrontation.
They were now the prey.
The pirates held all the cards, their forces were at peak strength, and their target was Mariejois.
Leon knew that until he could crack the secret of Rocks's weapon, the heart of the world could fall at any moment.
"Do I focus on finding a way to reawaken a sealed Devil Fruit," he mused, "or do I reverse-engineer their technology and create a weapon that seals their powers instead?"
The weight of the decision was immense.
The fate of the world literally rested on which path he chose.
Just then, Garp strolled into the lab, munching on a bag of rice crackers.
"Don't stress yourself out, Leon-boy," he said casually.
"Even if they get here, I'll just punch 'em all back into the sea!"
Sengoku, sitting nearby, sighed. "Garp, you fool. We've lost our powers. What hope do two old men have against the likes of Whitebeard and Shanks now?"
But Garp's simple-minded comment sparked an idea.
Leon's eyes went wide as a new path, a third option, flashed in his mind.
"He's right," Leon whispered, a slow grin spreading across his face.
"Who says Devil Fruits are the only path to power?" He slammed his fist on the workbench.
"We'll beat them at their own game."
He had decided.
He would create a counter-weapon.
And he had a brand-new, radical idea for how Garp and Sengoku could fit into his plan.
...
Aboard the pirates' flagship, just miles from the Red Line, Rocks lounged on a deck chair, downing an entire barrel of rum.
"Shanks," he said, his voice thick with drink and anticipation. "You've been quiet. Something on your mind?"
Shanks, who had been staring grimly at the approaching coastline, finally spoke.
"Rocks-san, are you sure this is wise? Attacking them so soon, so directly?"
"Hahahaha! It's the only way!" Rocks roared, crushing the empty barrel in his fist.
"The Marines are broken and wounded! But that boy genius of theirs is not. Every second we waste is another second he has to create more of those indestructible machines! If we wait, we will be the ones on the defensive!"
He stood, his eyes wild and bloodthirsty as he gazed at the towering red cliffs of Mariejois.
The final obstacle between his masters and their prize was in sight.
Annihilate the Marines, and the world was theirs.
As the armada of hundreds of pirate ships darkened the horizon, they were met with a silent, waiting army.
On the shores of the Red Line, tens of thousands of Seraphim stood in perfect formation like a sea of steel and synthetic flesh.
The Marines were ready.
This was the final battle, and they had committed every last one of their mass-produced war machines to the defense.
At the head of the army stood Admiral Akainu, his face a mask of cold fury.
The memory of their humiliating defeat, of seeing legends like Garp and Sengoku struck down, fueled a rage hotter than any magma.
"ROCKS!" he bellowed, his voice carrying across the water.
"Today, you and every pirate behind you will die!"
"Is that so, magma brat?" Rocks laughed from his flagship, his voice dripping with manic glee.
"A pity for you, but today belongs to us!"
Behind him, the pirate horde roared, a wave of madness and bloodlust that seemed to shake the very air.
"All units!" Akainu commanded. "Laser barrage! All ability users, full power! FIRE!"
Tens of thousands of Seraphim raised their arms in unison, the palms of their hands glowing with incandescent light.
At the same time, the thousands of Marine ability users unleashed their powers.
In an instant, the entire coastline erupted in a blinding storm of elemental energy and laser fire.
But Rocks just smiled.
"All according to plan."
He casually lobbed a single, strange-looking grenade high into the air.
It landed amidst the Seraphim ranks and detonated not with a bang, but with a silent pulse of dark green energy.
In an instant, every colorful aura, every manifestation of Devil Fruit power among the Marine forces, vanished.
Only the lasers from the Seraphim remained.
"What?!" Akainu stared in horror. "That's... the Devil Fruit sealing technology!"
As if on cue, the pirate ships unleashed a volley of thousands of cannonballs, each one trailing the same sickly green energy.
"All Seraphim, intercept those shells! NOW!" Akainu roared, a knot of dread tightening in his stomach.
He knew his role.
He had to hold this line, no matter the cost.
Every second he could buy was another second for Leon to work his miracle.
'Dr. Leon... even if it costs me my life, I will stop them here.'
Thousands of laser beams shot from the Seraphim, creating an impenetrable net of light that vaporized the incoming shells.
Rocks watched the scene unfold with an indifferent calm.
Everything was proceeding exactly as he had foreseen.
As the last cannonball was destroyed, Akainu looked up.
The sky was filled with a fine, dark green mist, raining down from the shattered projectiles.
It fell like a cursed rain, blanketing the entire battlefield.
And as it touched their skin, every last Marine, every last Seraph, felt the connection to their Devil Fruit powers flicker and die.