The huge monster leaped from the sea, transforming in mid-air into a colossal mammoth that crashed down upon the four Seraphim.
A flash of recognition appeared in Blackbeard's eyes.
"Jack the Drought? From Kaido's crew? What happened to you?"
He stared at the mammoth, half of its body rotted away to expose the bone beneath, and a look of surprise crossed his face.
This had to be another of Rocks's "gifts."
But Jack had no time to answer.
BOOM!
The massive collision sent the four Seraphim flying, but they quickly stabilized and regrouped.
The mammoth landed heavily on a nearby reef and, with a flash of dark light, transformed back into a man.
Jack's body was pale, and parts of his skeleton were visible through his skin, but he stood tall, radiating an aura of deathly power.
"Blackbeard, you worthless trash!" Jack snarled. "Getting chased all the way to our territory by just four machines! The land of the Beasts cannot be challenged by the Marines! Rocks-sama will hear of your failure!"
The four Seraphim raised their palms, and four laser beams began to condense.
But to Jack, they were of no concern.
"Zehahahaha! Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Blackbeard laughed wildly, enraged by the taunt.
He spread his arms, and an immense momentum burst from him.
The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit flared, and its irresistible gravity instantly yanked one of the Seraphim toward him.
In the next moment, his other hand, wreathed in the white light of a quake, met the incoming machine.
He didn't just punch it.
He plunged his hand directly into the Seraphim chest, grabbing its core.
The power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit exploded from the inside out.
The Seraphim face, if it could show emotion, would have been one of pure shock.
It never expected Blackbeard to have been hiding this level of power.
The Marine commanders watching from the fleet would have been paralyzed with fear if they had seen it.
With a final, brutal twist, Blackbeard's quake power tore the Seraphim apart from within.
The shattered corpse fell into the sea below, splashing a spray of azure coolant.
A cold arc formed on Blackbeard's lips as he turned his gaze to the other three.
He moved with ultimate speed, a blur of darkness, and appeared before the second Seraph.
Before it could even react, another internal quake blast turned it into a shower of scrap metal.
He then set his sights on the third.
The machine's pupils shrank as the shadow of death rushed toward it.
It tried to dodge, but it was useless.
BOOM!
As Blackbeard's hand plunged into the third Seraph's chest, he heard a faint, high-pitched whine.
'Self-destruct.' He thought it was a hallucination, but then his entire world was consumed by a fiery, golden light.
The violent explosion sent him flying.
"Hahahaha! Blackbeard, you idiot!" Jack roared with laughter from his reef, watching the scene unfold.
But before he could laugh a second time, a shining figure fell from the sky above him—the fourth and final Seraph.
"Not good!" he gasped, a chill running down his spine.
BOOM!
A second, identical explosion engulfed him.
The rough-skinned and thick-fleshed Ancient Zoan user was blown from his perch and sent crashing hard into the sea.
Bright red blood flowed from his wounds.
But a moment later, he struggled to his feet, the muscles on his body squirming as his wounds rapidly healed.
Blackbeard stared in momentary shock.
The resilience of an awakened Zoan was truly on another level.
Then the pain hit him.
He rolled onto a reef, a grimace on his face.
The double-pain side effect of his Dark-Dark Fruit, now amplified by the Necromancer Staff's enhancement, was sending waves of unimaginable agony through his body.
He felt like every cell was being torn apart.
But even as he writhed, he roared with defiance.
"Hmph! You think this level of self-destruction can defeat me?! You Marines are too naive!"
Despite the agony, Blackbeard fought back the pain.
He knew that showing any weakness now would be a death sentence.
When facing the Marines, one must project absolute, unshakeable strength.
...
On the other side of the projection screen, the Marine high command was stunned into silence.
"What? He actually survived the Seraphim self-destruct again?!"
"How is that possible!"
"This man's power... it's monstrous!"
Watching the still-breathing Blackbeard roar with defiance, the Marines could only stare, their faces etched with disbelief.
In their minds, the Seraphim were invincible war machines.
But the man in front of them had just broken that rule.
...
"ZEHAHAHAHA! In the end, you Marines are nothing but a mob!" Blackbeard's arrogant laughter was a slap in the face.
The contempt was undisguised.
"Damn him!"
"Blackbeard, we will make you pay for this!"
While the Marine generals seethed with anger, Fleet Admiral Sengoku's expression was grim.
Blackbeard's power was far beyond their estimations.
"We're retreating," Sengoku said, his voice heavy.
He had watched the now-healed Jack rejoin the battle, and a deep worry flashed in his eyes.
"Marshal, are we really just letting this go?" a Vice Admiral asked.
"What other choice do we have?" Sengoku shook his head.
"If we continue to fight, our losses will be catastrophic."
The room fell silent.
No matter how much their pride stung, they knew the Marshal was right.
Blackbeard's power was unfathomable, and their expeditionary force of a few Seraphim was now deep in enemy territory.
To continue the engagement would be to needlessly sacrifice more lives.
Sengoku sighed, the weight of command pressing down on him.
The only thing he could do was order the remaining Seraphim to fall back.
But just as he reached for the Den Den Mushi, a crisp, clear voice echoed through the meeting room.
"With all due respect, Marshal Sengoku, I believe retreating now would be inappropriate."
Sengoku's head snapped up.
Every high-ranking Marine in the room turned, their eyes wide with shock.
The speaker was the single most important person in the modern Marine organization: Dr. Leon.
The moment his words landed, the dead, despairing atmosphere in the room was shattered, replaced by a sudden, fervent hope.
"Dr. Leon! Do you have another solution?"
"Yes, please, tell us what to do! We'll do anything to give the Marines a fighting chance!"
A small smile touched Sengoku's lips.
He knew that if anyone could find a way out of this mess, it was this brilliant young doctor.
"I do have a plan," Leon said calmly, his image projected on the main screen.
"But it will require your full cooperation."
The Marine executives leaned forward, listening with rapt attention.
"While our combat strength is great," Leon began, "it is not invincible. In my opinion, our strategic shortcomings are obvious. Our combat methods have become too simplified, and our over-reliance on the Seraphim project has become our single greatest vulnerability."
His words hit home, and a thoughtful silence fell over the room.
They knew he was right.
"No matter the plan, Dr. Leon, please tell us," a high-ranking officer said.
"Very well," Leon nodded. "First, as the chief scientist of the Marines, I propose that we immediately and actively reduce all investment in the development and research of the Seraphim project."
The room fell into a stunned silence.
Sengoku, the Three Admirals, every high-ranking officer—their faces were masks of utter disbelief.
The Seraphim were the core of their military might.
To halt their development now seemed like strategic suicide.
Without their technological advantage, they would be devoured by the pirates in an instant.
What could possibly be the purpose of such a request?
Leon looked at their confused expressions and continued, "I hope that we can begin to promote our Marine's new weapons instead."
"New weapons?!" The room erupted in a flurry of questions.
"Dr. Leon, what new weapons are you talking about? Can you give us the details?" a Vice Admiral asked, his voice full of a desperate hope.
Leon looked at them through the screen, a mysterious, confident smile playing on his lips.
He simply shook his head.
"Words wouldn't do them justice," he said. "It would be much better if I showed you."
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