"All units, evacuate!" Sengoku commanded.
There was no other way.
If the battle continued, they would be at a severe disadvantage.
Though he was reluctant, he had to order a retreat.
"Hahahaha! Marines! Are you all so cowardly now?" Kaido couldn't help but sneer, his face was full of disdain.
"Mamamama! What can they do, Kaido? They don't have the strength to back up their arrogance!" Big Mom added teasingly.
Immediately, the faces of Sengoku and the others became even uglier.
The veins on Akainu's forehead bulged; he was furious to the extreme.
"Sakazuki! Don't fall for their trap! Let's go!" Sengoku spoke coldly.
He immediately took Garp and the others and quickly left Dressrosa through anywhere door.
Seeing the Marines evacuate in embarrassment, Big Mom and Kaido looked up at the sky and laughed.
Katakuri and the others cheered.
After being suppressed by the Marines for so long, they had finally struck back.
"Mamamama, not bad! Judge, all of you continue to strengthen our forces at this pace," Big Mom ordered.
"As we continue to develop and improve, in the not-too-distant future, not even the Marines will be our opponent!" Kaido declared, his spirits high.
*****
Different from the pirates' celebration, at Marine Headquarters, the atmosphere in the Fleet Admiral's office was depressing.
Sengoku and the others who had just returned from Dressrosa had extremely ugly expressions on their faces.
It wasn't just them; the Admirals and Vice Admirals who had been sent to arrest the other former Warlords had also returned to give their reports.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I'm sorry, but I couldn't bring back Moria," Vice Admiral Momonga said, his face full of guilt.
"Explain what happened," Sengoku frowned, a suspicion rising in his mind.
"We had hunted him down to the coast, but we never expected Whitebeard Jr to show up and forcefully take Moria away."
Hearing this, Sengoku frowned even deeper.
"And you?" he asked, looking at Vice Admiral Onigumo.
Onigumo also looked embarrassed.
"Fleet Admiral, when we were chasing Crocodile, we met the Okama King, Ivankov, who came to rescue him. We didn't expect that he and his assistant, Inazuma, were both dual-fruit users. With the cooperation of the two of them, our Seraphim were restrained, and Moria was rescued."
"Another dual-fruit user?!" Sengoku was taken aback.
He had just seen the incredible power of Kaido and Big Mom's forces.
He didn't expect the Revolutionary Army to have them as well.
And it seemed the Red Hair Pirates did too, even if their crew members didn't have Devil Fruits themselves.
Aokiji spoke up calmly. "I had a similar experience. Hancock was already defeated, but at the critical moment, the 'Dark King' Rayleigh came to her rescue. Then, the Golden Lion appeared, and he also brought a Seraphim with dual-fruit abilities, which is how they successfully rescued Hancock."
Kizaru also speak from the side.
"It was the same for me. I encountered Shanks. Their Emperor-class Seraphim possessed the Door-Door Fruit and a strange ability that can block attacks out of thin air."
Listening to the reports from his subordinates, Sengoku's expression darkened.
It seemed that all the major pirate factions had mastered the technology for the second Devil Fruit and had successfully combined it with their Seraphim.
The advantages the Marines once held were disappearing.
"We had many successes against other pirates," Sengoku said, shaking his head, "but almost all of our operations against the former Warlords failed."
In truth, it was because the other Emperor-level forces had seen an opportunity to rescue and recruit these powerful individuals to their own side.
But this also meant that the pirates' scientific level was rapidly catching up to the Marines'.
"Now, the enemy's strength is advancing by leaps and bounds. What should we do?" Sengoku's expression changed constantly.
A heavy silence fell over the office.
Suddenly, a pink door appeared out of nowhere.
"Sengoku," a voice said as the Five Elders stepped out.
"We've received the latest information. Kaido has become a three-fruit user?" Ju Peter was the first to speak.
Sengoku nodded. "Yes."
"What are his other two fruit abilities?" Nusjuro asked solemnly.
"One is Akainu's Magma-Magma Fruit. The other appears to be a 'Strength-strength' fruit, which grants him terrifying physical strength."
Hearing this, the Five Elders were also silent.
"That fruit may sound ordinary," one of them mused, "but when superimposed on Kaido's already monstrous physique, it must be terrifying."
"Yes," Sengoku nodded heavily. "He easily blocked the Imperial Angel's attack and sent it flying."
The Five Elders frowned.
This was a very difficult problem.
"Unexpectedly, they actually obtained a three-fruit ability one step ahead of us. This is a technology that even Leon hasn't developed yet..."
Suddenly, a Marine sergeant rushed in to report.
"Report! Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Dr. Leon asked me to inform you that he has successfully developed a new research product!"
"Hm?!" As soon as he said this, everyone in the room looked up.
'A new product?'
"Go! Go over immediately and see what new product Leon has developed!"
A glimmer of hope rose in the hearts of Sengoku and the others.
***.
"Leon, what have you invented now?"
Once inside the lab, Sengoku couldn't help but ask, his face anxious.
"You're all here," Leon said, looking around. "And the Five Elders, too? Huh? Why do you all look so sad?"
"Oh, Leon," Sengoku sighed. "You don't know. While you've been concentrating on your research, the Red Hair alliance has successfully given a dual-fruit ability to their Seraphim. And Kaido... he now has a third Devil Fruit ability!"
"Huh?" Leon looked surprised. "They can reach that level? They shouldn't be able to..."
"We can't believe it either," Sengoku said grimly, "but the facts are right in front of us."
Leon nodded upon hearing this, then opened his mouth with a smile.
"It's okay. Stay calm and don't be impatient."
He turned his head and pressed a button, and a silver box was presented to them.
"Is it another second Devil Fruit?" one of the Five Elders asked.
"No," Leon said. "This is the third Devil Fruit. As the name suggests, it's a product that can grant the user a third fruit ability."
He handed the fruit to Sengoku.
Hearing this, Sengoku and the others showed expressions of pure shock.
"This is great! With this third Devil Fruit, we have the strength to fight back against them!" Sengoku looked at the three Admirals.
"Which one of you will be first?"
"Let me do it," Akainu volunteered, stepping forward.
He couldn't stand the thought of Kaido and the others looking down on the Marines.
Only by personally taking action and crushing the enemy could the hatred in his heart be relieved.
He opened his mouth and took a big bite.
"Ugh... still so disgusting," he grumbled.
But immediately, he felt a tyrannical power emerge from within his body.
He couldn't help but tremble all over, as if something was about to break out.
"Hm?"
The faces of Sengoku and the others changed slightly as they stared at Akainu intently.
The next moment, Akainu roared violently.
Countless scales appeared from under his skin, a pair of dragon horns suddenly grew from his head, and sharp fangs protruded from his mouth.
It was Kaido's dragon fruit!
"This... this is Kaido's Devil Fruit! The Mythical Zoan Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon!"
Sengoku couldn't help but exclaim, his face full of disbelief.
Kizaru and Aokiji looked on in shock and even the Five Elders were speechless.
No one could have imagined Akainu's luck would be so good.
He already had his powerful Magma-Magma Fruit and Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Now, his third ability was Kaido's Azure Dragon fruit.
"Hahahahahaha! I feel full of strength!" Akainu showed a ferocious smile, his eyes filled with a fierce fighting intent.
With three of the world's most powerful fruit abilities in his hands, he was confident he could now face Kaido head-on.
"Hahaha, that's good!"
Both Sengoku and the Five Elders smiled, the uneasiness and worry in their hearts completely dispelled.
However, Chief of Staff Tsuru, who had been silent, shook her head.
"I think it's better not to be too happy too soon. This is the first third Devil Fruit we have developed, and the production efficiency is too slow. But Kaido and the others are already ahead of us. I'm afraid they are not far from a fourth fruit ability."
At her words, everyone fell silent again.
"Hehe, there's no need to be so pessimistic," Leon suddenly spoke up.
"After all, I didn't just invent the third Devil Fruit in my latest research."
"Hm?" Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"Next, this is my newest invention," Leon said, a sly twitch at the corner of his mouth.
From a second, blood-red box, he took out an item.
It was ugly and pulsed like a living heart, giving off a bloody, weird aura.
"Leon, what is that thing?"
"This is my new invention," he explained.
"It can tap into a person's potential and enhance them in every aspect. It's called a Monster Cell."
"A Monster Cell?" the Five Elders and Sengoku looked at each other.
"Hehe, I know you have your doubts. After all, it's something you have to eat, so it's right to be cautious," Leon said.
"So, let's grab a prisoner from Impel Down and try it out. Brother, please bring me the clown."
"No problem," Kizaru replied, and was gone and back in a flash, holding a grudge-filled Buggy.
"Admiral Kizaru! Why did you catch me again?!" Buggy wailed, trembling as he was carried by one hand.
"Huh?! The Five Elders?!"
Seeing the assembled group of Marine high command and the top leaders of the World Government, he trembled even more.
"Buggy, it's okay. It's a good thing I called you over," Leon's immature voice sounded.
He was feeling emotional.
As expected of someone with Conqueror's luck; Buggy was once again chosen as a guinea pig, and because of it, he would once again gain extraordinary power.
"Buggy, eat it," Sengoku ordered.
Buggy was taken aback with a look of bitterness on his face.
He knew he had become a guinea pig again, but there was no way to refuse.
With a look of someone heading to their own execution, he turned his head and looked at the pulsating Monster Cell that Leon handed him.
"...It looks so disgusting. Can I not eat it?"
"No."
Under the immense pressure of Sengoku and the three Admirals' gazes, Buggy had tears in his eyes.
He closed his eyes and quickly stuffed the Monster Cell into his mouth.
Immediately, everyone stared at him, unable to help feeling nervous...
------
Monster Cells (怪人細胞, Kaijin Saibō) are what seems to be a very largely mutated virus cell that transforms humans into monsters upon entering the human body.
The effectiveness of monster cells also relies on the inherent potential of the human, meaning the stronger the individual, the more powerful the resulting monster transformation.
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