At that moment, Fujitora arrived behind the Gorosei.
He bowed his head respectfully.
"Thank you for your assistance, Saint Saturn."
Saturn briefly glanced at him.
Then his eyes shifted toward the distant battlefield, where Aramaki was still locked in combat with Ace and Yamato.
A faint trace of dissatisfaction crossed his face.
The strength of these two newly appointed Admirals clearly did not impress him.
A Marine Admiral, yet he was being held back by mere pirate commanders.
His tone turned cold.
"Fujitora."
"What exactly have you been doing?"
"You have yet to kill even a single commander."
Fujitora lowered his head slightly.
His voice carried a hint of embarrassment.
"It is indeed shameful to admit."
"This old man also did not expect the commanders of the Phoenix Pirates to possess such strength."
"When several of them join forces… even I find it difficult to deal with them quickly."
Saturn said nothing for a moment.
He was clearly dissatisfied with these two newly appointed Admirals.
But the Marines were currently short-handed.
There was little he could do.
"Never mind."
His voice turned cold again.
"Since I have personally arrived…"
"…this tedious battle should come to an end."
Fujitora bowed respectfully.
"Yes."
"I will assist Saint Saturn with all my strength."
Then he turned toward the surrounding Marines and issued a firm order.
"Withdraw the wounded soldiers immediately."
"Take them away for treatment."
Just as the Marine Commodore behind him was about to respond, Saturn spoke again.
"There is no need to concern yourselves with those fallen Marines."
His tone was indifferent, as if discussing something utterly insignificant.
"They are merely ants."
"If they die, they die."
Saturn's cold gaze swept across the battlefield.
"The commanders will be dealt with by me and Fujitora."
"You all go and annihilate the remaining pirates."
"Yes, sir!"
Upon hearing the order, the Marine Commodore did not hesitate.
He immediately led the surrounding Marines toward the battlefield to hunt down the remaining pirates.
Behind Saturn, Fujitora's expression darkened slightly.
Saturn's ruthless words clearly did not sit well with him.
But Fujitora was still a newly appointed Admiral. And in this operation, the Marines had already suffered enormous losses.
From the perspective of the World Government—
This campaign could only be described as a failure.
Under such circumstances, Fujitora had no authority to argue.
He could only remain silent.
Slowly tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword, Fujitora lifted his head and looked toward the dozen or so pirate commanders standing before them.
A trace of seriousness appeared in his eyes.
"Brothers, move out!" Zack shouted loudly.
"No matter what happens, we have to stop them!"
With that, he took the lead and rushed toward Fujitora.
The other commanders followed immediately.
Facing both a Gorosei and an Admiral, they chose to surround them without hesitation.
If they could somehow defeat these two monsters—
Then the remaining Marines would no longer pose a serious threat.
Soon, the battlefield fell into another deadly stalemate.
In terms of overall numbers, the alliance of the Big Mom Pirates and the Phoenix Pirates actually held the advantage due to Big Mom's soul power killing thousands of marines.
But when it came to top-tier combat power, the situation was completely different.
Each member of the Gorosei possessed strength equal to a Yonko.
Facing enemies of that level was an overwhelming burden.
Meanwhile, the Marines and pirates who had previously been knocked unconscious by the Gorosei's Conqueror's Haki had gradually regained consciousness with the help of their comrades.
No one stopped to mourn the fallen.
No one slowed down for the wounded.
Both sides simply returned to the battlefield.
As the brutal war dragged on—
Something inside both sides began to change.
The Marines had lost too many comrades.
The pirates had lost too many brothers.
Originally, some of the more soft-hearted Marines still believed in capturing pirates alive.
They had tried to avoid killing when possible, hoping to arrest the pirates after the war ended.
But now—
Seeing the corpses of their fellow soldiers scattered across the battlefield…
Those last illusions shattered.
Rage consumed them.
They no longer thought about arrests.
They began to carry out Sakazuki's order without hesitation.
Annihilate all pirates.
As for the fallen—
No one attempted to rescue them anymore.
The battlefield had already turned into a meat grinder.
Stopping to save someone now meant risking your own life.
And in many cases—
The injured soldier would simply drag their rescuer down with them.
So everyone made the same cruel decision.
Keep fighting.
Keep killing.
At this moment—
Both sides had become beasts driven solely by slaughter.
High above the battlefield, Marco, Saint Nusjuro, and Saint Mars continued their fierce clash.
Under normal circumstances, Marco often chose a brutal tactic—trading injuries for decisive blows. With the Phoenix Fruit's regenerative power, he could afford to fight recklessly.
But this time, things were different.
Both Nusjuro and Mars possessed something far more terrifying.
Immortality.
And because of that, they were even more willing than Marco to exchange injuries.
No matter how devastating the attack, they would simply recover.
Throughout the long battle, Marco had yet to fully unravel the secret behind their immortality.
However—
After fighting them for so long, he had begun to notice several subtle weaknesses in that ability.
Now, he intended to perform one final test to confirm his suspicions.
With a burst of black flames, Marco surged forward again.
His wings cut through the sky as he charged straight toward the two Gorosei.
Nusjuro and Mars showed no fear whatsoever.
They charged forward as well.
Marco moved first.
His leg shot forward, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki Infusion, delivering a devastating kick aimed directly at Saint Nusjuro.
From the battles so far, Marco had already formed a clear judgment.
Although both elders possessed immortality, Nusjuro's combat strength was slightly superior to Mars's.
Part of the reason might also lie in Nusjuro's swordsmanship.
His ice-infused sword techniques had a subtle counter-effect against Marco.
Every time Marco was cut by the Shodai Kitetsu, the freezing energy forced him to expend significantly more stamina to regenerate.
Because of that, Marco tried his best to avoid direct hits from Nusjuro's blade.
BOOM!
Marco's kick collided with the Shodai Kitetsu midair.
The clash created a violent shockwave.
Every member of the Gorosei possessed all three forms of Haki, each cultivated to an extreme level.
Naturally, Nusjuro was also capable of Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
But in terms of raw physical strength—
Marco held the advantage.
He suddenly increased the force in his leg.
The explosive power erupted instantly.
Nusjuro was blasted away like a cannonball.
Though his body was thrown back violently, his powerful Haki defense protected him from serious injury.
Just then—
"Die!"
Mars seized the opening.
His massive wings hardened with Armament Haki, turning into razor-sharp blades as he slashed toward Marco.
Slash!
A deep, brutal wound tore across Marco's chest.
Blood splattered through the air.
But the next second—
Black flames erupted across Marco's body.
The wound rapidly regenerated.
Marco didn't even spare it a glance.
His true target was Saint Mars.
Marco's fist ignited with Destruction Black Flame, wrapped in both Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
He drove the punch forward without hesitation.
"Fire Fist!"
BOOM!
The blow landed directly on Saint Mars's head.
The impact was catastrophic.
His head exploded instantly.
Fragments of flesh and bone scattered through the sky like shattered debris.
But before Marco could press the advantage—
A chilling sword aura sliced toward him.
Marco immediately recognized the attack.
Nusjuro.
Without hesitation, Marco twisted his body midair and narrowly avoided the deadly slash.
As he turned back, Marco looked at the headless body of Saint Mars.
His expression grew serious.
"His head was completely destroyed… and he can still regenerate?"
Even though Marco had used Conqueror's Haki Infusion to shatter the elder's skull, the body was already beginning to recover.
The flesh was reforming.
Bones were rebuilding.
This regenerative ability was even more exaggerated than Marco's Phoenix powers.
If Marco himself had his entire head destroyed—
He would die instantly.
The regeneration of the Phoenix Fruit had limits.
If the damage exceeded that limit, Marco could still be killed.
But the Gorosei's ability seemed different.
It was true immortality.
At that moment, Nusjuro reappeared before Marco, blocking his path.
His expression was dark with anger.
"You insolent insect."
"You dare to repeatedly harm the gods of this world."
The Shodai Kitetsu slowly rose in his hand, its blade radiating chilling killing intent.
"But no matter how desperately you struggle…"
His voice was cold and absolute.
"The final outcome will never change."
Watching Mars, whose head he had shattered, slowly regenerate, Marco finally confirmed his suspicions.
His expression grew grave.
"Even with full Conqueror's Haki Infusion, I still can't kill him?"
His eyes narrowed as he observed the grotesque reconstruction of Mars's head.
"This kind of damage can't be explained by simple accelerated regeneration…"
A thought formed in his mind.
"…Is this truly Immortality?"
After clashing with the Gorosei for so long, Marco had already gained a rough understanding of their true strength.
Although the system evaluated them as possessing strong Yonko-level combat power, Marco realized something after personally fighting them.
That judgment was largely due to their immortality.
In terms of raw combat ability, they were not as overwhelming as expected.
Compared to true top-tier figures like Akainu or Kizaru, they were clearly inferior.
Even against ordinary Admiral-level fighters like Aramaki, their raw strength seemed slightly weaker.
Marco estimated their pure combat ability to be around the Strong Yonko commander Level.
But their Immortality was the real problem.
No matter how much damage he inflicted—
Even blowing their heads off didn't kill them.
And this world had no sealing techniques capable of trapping such monsters.
However—
Marco was not just anyone.
As a transmigrator who had once watched the original story, he had some understanding of how to deal with this kind of power.
A faint light flashed in his eyes.
With a sudden burst of speed, Marco rushed straight toward Mars.
If Mars recovered completely again, the opportunity would be lost.
He had to destroy the body faster than it could regenerate.
"Don't think about getting past me."
Nusjuro instantly moved to intercept him.
The Shodai Kitetsu flashed as he unleashed a furious barrage of sword strikes toward Marco.
"Get out of my way!"
Marco roared.
His fist shot forward, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
Even before the attack connected—
A violent Haki clash erupted in midair.
Feeling the overwhelming force behind Marco's strike, Nusjuro clenched his teeth and raised his blade to block.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Mars, whose head had yet to fully regenerate.
Although the Gorosei possessed immortality, Marco's speed and raw strength were clearly superior.
If it were not for the immortality bestowed by Imu, they might have already been killed.
Furthermore—
For many years, the Gorosei had been buried in government offices, far removed from real battle.
Their bodies had grown rusty.
They had never expected their first real battle in years to be against such a terrifying opponent.
Marco suddenly accelerated, attempting to bypass Nusjuro and continue his attack on Mars.
Nusjuro's expression changed instantly.
Another slash erupted from the Shodai Kitetsu.
"Your opponent right now is me!"
His voice carried clear urgency.
Mars had suffered a fatal injury.
He needed time to recover.
Seeing the tension on Nusjuro's face—and glancing at the motionless, headless body of Saint Mars—Marco's eyes suddenly brightened.
A faint smile spread across his lips.
"So that's it…"
"So even immortality has its weaknesses."
He pointed toward Mars.
"His recovery speed is much slower this time."
"Is it because the injury was fatal?"
Marco continued analyzing aloud.
"And whenever one of you gets seriously injured, the other immediately covers for him."
"Your mobility drops significantly."
His gaze sharpened.
"And right now… his body can't even move."
"Did losing his brain temporarily cut off his control over the body?"
As he spoke, the Destruction Black Flames around Marco surged violently.
He shot forward again toward the headless Mars.
As long as he kept attacking—
Mars would never be able to fully regenerate.
And that would effectively remove one of the Gorosei from the fight.
Nusjuro's face darkened.
It was as if Marco had just exposed their biggest secret.
He swung the Shodai Kitetsu again, unleashing another deadly slash.
"Ant! Don't be arrogant!"
Marco's eyes flashed fiercely.
"Who's the arrogant one?!"
This time, Marco didn't dodge.
Instead, he kicked out with his Haki-infused leg, releasing a massive Rankyaku vacuum slash.
BOOM!
The vacuum blade and Nusjuro's sword aura collided violently in midair, exploding in a storm of shockwaves.
Marco used that opening instantly.
He burst forward toward Mars.
Nusjuro's expression turned alarmed.
Marco's body was now engulfed in blazing Destruction Black Flames.
"Destruction Black Flame — Dance of the Phoenix!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Dozens of small black flame phoenixes, each about a meter long, shot out and landed directly on Mars's body.
They began burning continuously.
The cursed flames clung to the elder's body, interfering with his regeneration and preventing his immortality from activating properly.
"Damn it…"
Nusjuro's face turned ashen.
Taking advantage of the moment, Marco clasped his hands together.
His body spun through the air like a giant windmill.
Then—
He brought both arms crashing down in a devastating strike.
BOOM!
The heavy blow smashed into Saint Mars's half-destroyed body, sending the tattered figure plummeting from the sky like a meteor.
------------------
AN: Check out my P@treon For +60 extra chapters.
Thank You For your Support!!
[email protected]/noviceauthor777
-----------------------
To keep the chapters coming - Support with POWER STONES.
For Every 100 power stones - 1 BONUS chapter.