While Sengoku and Kong, the two former Fleet Admirals, faced each other, several Cipher Pol agents rapidly closed in on Sengoku's enormous golden body.
They had received direct orders from the Five Elders: strike while Kong and Sengoku were fighting, severely wound Sengoku if possible, and kill him if the opportunity arose.
If Sengoku died at Kong's hands, Kong would have no choice but to fight the Revolutionary Army to the bitter end.
Garp would never believe it had been an accident, and Dragon certainly would not either.
Unfortunately, the Five Elders had greatly overestimated the strength of their Cipher Pol agents.
Sengoku had been retired for years, but his strength had hardly declined.
In fact, after stepping down as Fleet Admiral, his health had improved considerably, allowing him to preserve far more of his combat ability than anyone had expected.
The instant the Cipher Pol agents moved, their figures were already reflected in the depths of Sengoku's golden eyes.
A flash of light burst across the battlefield.
Despite its colossal size, the golden Buddha moved even faster than the supposedly swift Cipher Pol agents.
A massive golden palm appeared directly in their path.
Against the Five Elders' agents, Sengoku showed none of the respect or restraint he had offered Kong.
As he unleashed his full strength, an enormous golden palmprint formed in midair.
"Buddha Shockwave!"
A translucent wave of energy shimmering with golden light crashed down over the Cipher Pol agents.
The overwhelming pressure and impact struck them as though they had run headfirst into a speeding sea train.
Bodies burst apart, and blood turned into crimson mist in the air.
The white suits that once symbolized their status were instantly reduced to shredded, dark-red strips of cloth.
One Cipher Pol agent after another was hurled away even faster than they had approached, smashing through one magnificent building after another.
Kong silently watched his prized student, his voice filled with helplessness.
"Sengoku, why are you doing this?"
"I always thought that if any Marines appeared in Mary Geoise, it would be Bullet, Enel, or Raleigh."
"I never imagined it would be you and Garp."
"You understand what you're doing, don't you? After this, you will have completely broken with the World Government. They may come to hate you even more than pirates."
As Kong spoke, the dazzling golden light surrounding Sengoku gradually faded, leaving only his enormous Buddha form.
"Teacher, do you truly believe Garp will leave while Dragon is still here?"
"Dragon is his only son. They may not have spoken much over the years, but you know Garp's personality. He was even willing to risk everything to protect the Pirate King Roger's child."
"If you allow Garp and me to take Dragon away now, we will leave Mary Geoise immediately. I can even guarantee on Garp's behalf that none of us will ever appear before the world again."
Kong's anger surged, and he could no longer hold back his curses.
"Garp is an idiot, and now you've become one too?!"
"Couldn't you have stopped him?"
"Mary Geoise has already been destroyed! Dragon and his Revolutionary Army have ground the World Government's dignity into the dirt!"
"Do you honestly believe the World Government will let Dragon walk away after this?"
Sengoku could only respond with helpless silence.
He understood every part of Kong's reasoning, but people did not always choose a path simply because it was logical.
On one side stood the World Government, the recognized authority of the world.
On the other stood his closest friend and the son he had watched grow up.
Without hesitation, Sengoku had chosen Garp and Dragon.
"Teacher, allow me to call you that one last time."
"For all these years, Garp was always causing trouble for you, while I was the one who listened and helped keep everything in order."
"But this time is different."
"For once, I want to be like that bastard Garp and follow what my heart tells me."
Both men felt helpless, their frustration simmering without anywhere to go.
Everything came down to Garp and Dragon.
One wanted to save them both.
The other was determined to capture Dragon.
Unfortunately, Sengoku's proposal was far too sentimental.
Dragon had led the Revolutionary Army in an all-out assault on Mary Geoise.
The Five Elders hated him so deeply that they would gladly tear him apart and devour his flesh.
No matter what anyone offered, even if Kong and Sengoku personally guaranteed Dragon's behavior, there was no chance the Five Elders would willingly let him go.
They had wanted the Revolutionary Army's leader dead for years.
The only reason they had failed was because Dragon's movements were too secretive, and Cipher Pol had never been able to locate the Revolutionary Army's main base.
Now Dragon had personally brought his army into Mary Geoise and attacked them in their own home.
If the Five Elders did not insist on killing him after such a direct humiliation, even Kong would have wondered whether something was wrong with them.
"You truly insist on saving Dragon?" Kong asked one last time.
"Yes."
Guilt filled Sengoku's eyes, but his voice remained firm.
Kong stood in midair as the overwhelming presence that had once suppressed everything around him slowly faded.
From Sengoku's perspective, it seemed as though Kong had aged another decade in an instant.
"Then I'll throw away what little dignity I have left."
"I'll speak to the Five Elders."
"In both our names, I will guarantee that Dragon disappears from the world forever after leaving Mary Geoise."
"They may do whatever they want with the Revolutionary Army. Dragon must obey every order the Five Elders give him without question."
"Only under those conditions might he have the slightest chance of leaving here alive."
Sengoku nodded faintly.
His reason told him this plan would never work.
But with the situation already this desperate, even an impossible idea had to be attempted.
Perhaps, against all expectations, the Five Elders might accept their only remaining option.
Sengoku nodded gratefully.
"Teacher, I'll contact Garp and Dragon. I'll try to persuade them to accept those terms."
The only reason Sengoku had come here was because he could not bear to watch his oldest friend die at the hands of the Celestial Dragons.
If there was still a possibility of negotiation, then he had no reason to become the World Government's mortal enemy.
As long as Dragon's attack on Mary Geoise could be resolved, Sengoku could return to being the semi-retired Inspector General of the Marines.
After settling on their course of action, the two men headed toward their respective sides.
...
Inside the enormous palace of Mary Geoise, half of which had already collapsed, Garp, Dragon, Sabo, and the other Revolutionary Army officers were fighting the Five Elders and the God's Knights.
Huge stones flew through the air as everyone fought without regard for their lives, each side hoping to tear open the battlefield and gain the advantage.
Explosions rang out without pause.
Weapons and fists collided repeatedly in midair.
Everything changed when Kong and Sengoku approached together.
Seeing the two men walking side by side in apparent peace, both factions stopped almost simultaneously and turned toward them.
The number of combatants on the battlefield had already stabilized.
Although the Revolutionary Army was weaker than the World Government, defeating them would still take considerable time.
Whichever side Kong and Sengoku chose would immediately gain an overwhelming advantage.
The Five Elders retreated into the formation of the God's Knights and frowned at Kong.
"What happened? Why did the two of you stop fighting?"
The cursed-blade Elder held his weapon in one hand and calmly questioned Kong as he approached.
Anyone would become cautious after seeing two Admiral-level fighters walking together.
Their behavior made one thing obvious: they had reached some kind of agreement.
Until the Five Elders knew whether that agreement benefited them, they had no intention of relaxing their guard.
Kong opened his mouth, embarrassment flashing across his face.
He quickly steadied himself and spoke.
"Five Elders, Sengoku has proposed a condition."
"He asks that Garp and Dragon be allowed to leave."
"He guarantees that Dragon will never appear before the world again, and both he and Garp will abide by the same condition."
"As for the Revolutionary Army, Dragon will abandon them completely."
Ju Peter face twisted with contempt.
"Kong, do you think this is a child's game?"
"Do you honestly expect anyone to believe such promises?"
"If this proposal had been made before Dragon led his forces into Mary Geoise, perhaps we might have considered it."
"But Mary Geoise has already been reduced to ruins by his hand."
"Dragon must die here."
"Even if you choose to join their side, our position will not change."
The Five Elders' refusal was exactly what Kong and Sengoku had expected.
What Dragon had done went far beyond anything that could easily be forgiven.
For eight hundred years, no one had ever attacked Mary Geoise.
Now it lay in ruins because of him.
The threat Dragon posed to the World Government had already surpassed even Rocks and Pirate King Roger.
Sengoku's expression hardened as his mind raced.
While the battlefield remained silent, an idea finally came to him—though it was hardly a good one.
"Five Elders, right now you're only facing the Revolutionary Army."
"But don't forget that the Marines stand behind us."
"Perhaps Raleigh would not come to Mary Geoise solely for Dragon, but if several of us old men are involved, he will have no choice."
"Kong and I both served as Marine Fleet Admirals, and Garp was once hailed as the Hero of the Marines."
"Raleigh will not simply watch us die in Mary Geoise."
Mars narrowed his eyes.
Sengoku's argument had obvious flaws, but it raised a possibility they could not afford to ignore.
Only two major powers remained on the sea.
The World Government was one.
The other was Raleigh's Marines.
The Revolutionary Army and the pirates were already fading from the stage of history.
Even the habitually arrogant Five Elders had to consider the consequences of fighting the Marines directly.
A surprise attack from the Revolutionary Army alone had already been difficult enough to handle.
If the World Government also faced an enemy equal to itself, the Five Elders had few options left.
When they fell silent, Kong and Sengoku exchanged glances.
It seemed their attempt to borrow the Marines' threat had struck where it mattered.
Sengoku walked directly over to Dragon and sighed when he saw the wounds covering him from his fight against the Shield of the Celestial Dragons.
"Dragon, are those injuries serious?"
Dragon shook his head. The blood covering his body had already begun to clot.
"I'm fine, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. They may look frightening, but none of them have damaged my foundation."
Sengoku continued.
"Dragon, I've known about your beliefs and dreams for a long time. Garp and I have watched the path you've walked all these years."
"What I want to say is this: if something can no longer be achieved, why throw away your life and the lives of your family?"
"Come with me. From this day onward, you and Garp will disappear from the world."
"Leave the Revolutionary Army behind."
The fire in Dragon's eyes did not weaken.
He shook his head and rejected Sengoku without hesitation.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you know what kind of person I am."
"Leading the Revolutionary Army to capture Mary Geoise was something that had to be done."
"Everything I have built over all these years was for the sake of a day like today."
"You don't need to persuade me any further."
"The Revolutionary Army is my family."
"I will fight beside them until death comes for us."
Dragon's expression held helplessness, but the conviction deep within his eyes remained unshakable.
Rumble!
Bang—bang—bang!
In the distance, gunfire and artillery continued without pause among the ruined buildings of Mary Geoise.
Dragon could never abandon the soldiers who had cast away everything and chosen to face death beside him.
"My soldiers are still fighting the enemy."
"I also promised them that if we won this war, the ideals of the Revolutionary Army would spread across the entire world."
"We once swore that anyone who died while forging a path forward would deserve the world's respect."
"So there's no need to keep trying to change my mind, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"I'll stay with them and face death together."
Dragon's response left both Kong and Sengoku helpless.
What else could they say?
Sengoku had expected Dragon to react this way.
He had only thought that since Dragon was one of their own, perhaps he would be easier to persuade.
"Kill these rebelling insects!"
"Bastard! Die with me!"
Boom!
In the distance, a street contested by both sides erupted in an explosion that left behind an enormous crater.
Only after everyone's gaze shifted toward it did Dragon speak again.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I know you're trying to help me, but there's no longer any way to settle this peacefully."
Even without paying close attention to the distant explosion, Dragon could guess what had happened.
A Revolutionary soldier who knew he was about to die had probably chosen to drag a stronger Cipher Pol agent down with him.
Dragon's body once again shifted into a combat stance.
He intended to charge into the enemy ranks alone and tear open a path for his brothers.
Just as Dragon prepared to move, Garp suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder.
Even transforming into an element could not escape the overwhelming force of Garp's Armament Haki.
"Don't go, Dragon."
Garp lowered his head, unable to find the right words.
"Father!"
The wounds across Dragon's body had already stopped bleeding.
Garp understood exactly what his son meant, but he still could not allow Dragon to throw his life away.
Helplessness flashed through Garp's eyes.
He wished Dragon had never created the Revolutionary Army in the first place.
Even so, Garp's Haki-coated hand held Dragon's shoulder in an unbreakable grip.
Neither side spoke again.
Neither side moved.
Father and son remained locked together in a silent stalemate.