On another battlefield, Marco was facing one of the Gorosei, Saint Mars.
Marco was confident that in a true one on one battle, none of the Gorosei could defeat him. To end the fight as quickly as possible, he deliberately chose Saint Mars as his opponent. Among the three Gorosei present on Egghead Island, Saint Mars was relatively the weakest.
Although Saint Mars possessed the ability to fly, that advantage meant very little in front of Marco, who could also soar freely through the sky.
With Marco acting as the primary attacker while Gan seized every opportunity to interfere from the side, Saint Mars quickly found himself under tremendous pressure.
The truth was that Saint Mars's so called King level strength relied heavily on his immortality. Even though that advantage had been somewhat restrained in battle, there was still a clear gap between him and Marco.
"Black Flame, Blazing Fist!"
Marco roared as both of his fists ignited with violently burning black flames.
Saint Mars's expression twisted with anger.
"You insect, do not become arrogant!"
Flames burst from his body as well.
"Divine Flames!"
However, the flames surrounding Saint Mars were ordinary orange, forming a sharp contrast with Marco's dark and violent fire.
The two figures clashed in the sky.
Their fists flew like a storm, striking each other's bodies with deafening impacts.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Blood began to spill from Saint Mars's nose and mouth. Although his immortality allowed him to recover rapidly, the terrifying pressure from Marco's Conqueror's Haki was overwhelming. Even his seemingly endless regenerative power struggled to keep up.
"Damn it... damn it!"
Saint Mars staggered backward dozens of steps in mid air. He wiped the blood from his nose while staring at Marco with clear fear in his eyes.
Marco, on the other hand, only grew more excited as the battle continued.
"Haha! What's wrong?"
His voice carried blatant provocation.
"Fight back! Is that all the strength you have?"
He grinned fiercely.
"Come on, show me more!"
With that, Marco charged forward again without hesitation, his assault becoming even more aggressive.
Saint Mars inhaled deeply, forcing himself to calm down.
He clasped his hands together, then slowly spread them apart as if opening a blooming flower.
A blazing sphere of fire began forming in front of his chest.
The fireball glowed like a miniature sun. Blinding light radiated outward as the sphere expanded rapidly, growing larger and larger.
Marco noticed the technique and raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.
Even so, he did not slow down.
Instead, he continued rushing forward.
When Saint Mars saw Marco approaching, he immediately stopped gathering more power. With a furious roar, he unleashed the attack.
"Take this! Gaia's Power!"
A massive fireball nearly ten meters wide shot toward Marco at incredible speed.
Marco reacted instantly.
His body flashed through the air as he dodged the attack with ease. Although he possessed enough strength to block it head on, there was no reason to suffer unnecessary damage.
The giant fireball tore through the sky and crashed into the ocean below.
Boom.
A towering column of seawater erupted into the air, rising more than a hundred meters high.
Marco glanced upward and shouted.
"Hey, you. Is running the only thing you know how to do?"
Above him, Saint Mars was already flying higher into the sky.
He ignored Marco's taunt completely.
Instead, he accelerated and began maneuvering through the air, clearly avoiding a direct confrontation.
After their earlier clash, Saint Mars had already realized something important.
Fighting Marco head on was extremely disadvantageous.
The problem was not that he lacked the strength to resist. The real issue was far simpler.
As a Celestial Dragon, Saint Mars had not experienced serious injury for hundreds of years. The sensation of pain had become something unfamiliar and deeply feared.
The Gorosei's immortality shared similarities with the Logia Devil Fruit ability of elementalization, but there were crucial differences.
For Logia users, powerful Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki, or Seastone could bypass their elemental bodies and deal real damage.
However, the immortality possessed by the Gorosei was even more unusual.
Only individuals with sufficiently powerful Conqueror's Haki could truly threaten them. Without it, harming them was nearly impossible.
That was precisely why Saint Mars avoided fighting Marco directly.
Marco's Conqueror's Haki was exceptionally strong. It could break through the Gorosei's immortality.
For centuries, the Gorosei had lived above the world, never experiencing real harm.
But Marco's fighting style was brutally straightforward. He preferred trading blows.
And exchanging attacks with someone like Marco was the last thing Saint Mars wanted.
Saint Mars glanced backward while continuing to fly, noticing Marco still chasing closely behind.
His expression darkened.
Using telepathy, he quickly contacted the others.
"Saint Saturn, Saint Peter, what is the situation on your side?"
Upon receiving the message, Saint Saturn and Saint Peter both looked somewhat troubled.
Their original plan had been to gather the Seraphim, along with Vista and the others, before using Saturn's immobilization ability to suppress them all at once.
However, Vista, Jinbe, and the others were already aware of that ability. From the very beginning, they had deliberately spread out across the battlefield to prevent being restrained together.
Saint Peter responded seriously through telepathy.
"Do not worry. We will finish things soon."
Saint Mars glanced down again at Marco, who continued chasing relentlessly.
His tone became stern.
"You must speed up. Those useless Marines are nearing their limit. Once the Marines retreat, the Three Emperors Alliance will certainly send more fighters to protect Vegapunk. Eliminating him will become far more difficult."
"Understood."
After ending the telepathic communication, Saint Peter turned toward Saint Saturn.
"Saint Saturn, time is running out. We cannot drag this battle any longer. We must deal with them quickly."
Saint Saturn's expression became complicated.
Originally, he had hoped to capture the Seraphim alive. As a scientist, he believed that with enough time he could decipher their authority control. Once that happened, the seven Seraphim would become an extremely powerful force for the World Government.
Unfortunately, the current situation made that plan nearly impossible.
Saint Saturn finally made a decision.
"In that case... eliminate them."
The moment he finished speaking, Saint Peter instantly transformed.
His body twisted and expanded into the enormous form of a giant sand worm. Without hesitation, he lunged directly toward S Bear among the Seraphim.
S Bear reacted immediately.
Both of his palms fired brilliant laser beams toward Saint Peter.
However, the attacks had almost no effect on the massive sand worm.
Saint Peter charged straight through the lasers and opened his enormous mouth.
Crunch.
He bit down violently on S Bear and began chewing.
A loud cracking sound echoed through the battlefield.
Bang.
A fracture suddenly appeared across S Bear's body. Sparks burst out as electricity flashed wildly.
Under the terrifying bite force of Saint Peter's sand worm form, S Bear's body was torn apart.
The Seraphim was ripped completely in half.
Seeing this horrifying scene, Vista, Jozu, and Jinbe were instantly shocked.
Even the remaining Seraphim showed visible fear.
Unlike ordinary machines, these Seraphim possessed emotions. They could clearly feel the pain and fear of losing one of their companions.
Inside the hidden laboratory, Vegapunk watched the scene through the surveillance monitors.
His face turned pale.
"This... this cannot be possible!"
His voice trembled.
"S Bear was actually destroyed!"
The Seraphim were his greatest creations, the ultimate symbol of what he called the strongest humans.
Yet even such powerful beings had been torn apart by the Gorosei.
Nearby, Stussy and the other satellites were equally stunned.
After all, the Seraphim possessed the Lunarian bloodline factor. As long as the flames on their backs remained burning, their defense should have been nearly indestructible.
And yet S Bear had been destroyed so easily.
It was almost unbelievable.
The enormous sand worm continued chewing the mechanical remains of S Bear's upper body. After a few moments, Saint Peter spat the broken pieces out.
Only then did everyone notice something disturbing.
The mechanical components had already begun decaying rapidly.
Saint Peter spoke coldly.
"Next."
The massive sand worm turned and began charging toward the remaining Seraphim.
"Damn it!"
Vista's expression hardened.
"We cannot let him succeed!"
He immediately rushed forward together with Jozu and Jinbe.
At that moment, Saint Saturn also moved.
His cold voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Do not worry."
"No one here will escape today."
His gaze was filled with ruthless killing intent.
"You will all die."