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"What?" Both of them were stunned.
"Wano Country was destroyed?"
Marco nodded.
Not giving them time to fully process it, he went on, "And now that our Three Emperors Alliance is formed, our first goal is to rule the New World. The last of the Yonko, Red-Haired Shanks, has already led his crew out of the New World. Not long ago, we also defeated the Marines on Cake Island. That means, right now, there's no force in the New World that can compete with us."
"The reason I came here is because I don't want to see you killed by Kaido or Big Mom. If the Beasts Pirates or the Big Mom Pirates set foot on Zou first, they absolutely won't let you off—and you're also holding a road poneglyph."
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were shocked all over again. "How do you know we have a road poneglyph here?"
"Is that information really so important?" Marco replied calmly.
Their expressions hardened, their guard going up. Inuarashi asked solemnly, "Marco, is your goal this time the road poneglyph?"
Marco shook his head. "No. I'm not interested in that. You can keep it. I'm here to save you."
Nekomamushi let out a scoff, his tone edged with sarcasm. "'Save us,' huh? Sounds nice, but you're really just after the strength of the Mink Tribe. You want us to join you."
At that jab, a chill flashed through Marco's eyes. He fixed Nekomamushi with a grim stare. "Nekomamushi, I came to persuade you for the sake of our past camaraderie. But it seems you no longer see me as a comrade. Or maybe you've been playing 'king' here for too long and forgotten how the world really works."
"Don't force me to say anything harsher."
Feeling Marco's aura shift, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi instantly tensed. Inuarashi hurried to smooth things over. "Marco, Nekomamushi didn't mean it like that."
"Then what did he mean?" Marco shot back.
As he spoke, a furious burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him. The overwhelming pressure cracked the ground and shattered the nearby windows. A violent wind exploded outward, and in an instant, minks all over the island collapsed one after another, knocked unconscious by the rampaging Haki.
Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, closest to Marco, were forced down to their knees, struggling just to stay conscious. A moment later, Nekomamushi's eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the floor, completely out.
Gradually, Marco's aura receded.
All around Zou, members of the Phoenix Pirates stared at the fallen minks in shock.
"Was that Captain Marco's Haki just now?"
"What terrifying Haki!"
"Did Captain Marco's talks with them fall apart?"
One crew member turned to Jozu. "Jozu, aren't the two rulers of this country former members of the Whitebeard Pirates? So why did it end up like this?"
Jozu sensed Marco's Haki and immediately understood what was happening. His expression hardened as he said coldly, "There's nothing strange about it. Nekomamushi and Inuarashi were indeed apprentice crew members of the Whitebeard Pirates, but that was more than twenty years ago. Everyone, be on alert. Don't be careless."
"Yes!"
The once-cheerful atmosphere instantly turned heavy and tense between the two sides.
If the negotiations fell apart here, there was only one road left: battle.
Inuarashi, who had yet to lose consciousness, felt his clothes cling to him, soaked with sweat. He had never imagined Marco's Haki would be this overwhelming. It was just Haki, yet it crushed their wills to the point they could barely endure it.
He raised his head with difficulty, looking up at Marco. When he spoke, there was a tremor of fear in his voice. "M-Marco..."
Marco glanced down at him, then pulled out a chair and sat, posture calm and unhurried. Pointing at the unconscious Nekomamushi, he ordered, "Wake him up."
"Y-Yes..." Inuarashi replied, his body still trembling. He knew Marco was now one of the new Yonko, but he had never imagined Marco's strength had grown to this extent. This terrifying pressure was even more overwhelming than Oden's back then.
Before long, Inuarashi managed to rouse Nekomamushi, who had been knocked out by the force of Marco's Haki. As Nekomamushi came to, he too stared at Marco with a trace of fear. To be felled by Haki alone made Marco's power impossible to ignore. In that instant, all of Nekomamushi's earlier arrogance and carefree attitude vanished.
Marco fixed his gaze on Nekomamushi and said coolly, "You were right about one thing. The Mink tribe are born warriors, and you're strong. I do want the strength of the Minks on my side."
"However, if you don't want to join, I won't force you."
Hearing this, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi both fell silent. Under the weight of Marco's Haki, even standing felt difficult. If they rejected his invitation outright right now, there was no telling what he might do.
Besides, Nekomamushi's earlier words had already shattered what little remained of their old friendship. This was no longer the Whitebeard Pirates' era. These were the Phoenix Pirates, and more than twenty years had passed since those days. Everything from back then had already changed.
Gritting his teeth, Nekomamushi stared at Marco and said, "We can join you, but the Phoenix Pirates must dissolve their alliance with Kaido. Kaido is our enemy. There's no way we can become allies with him."
Marco listened, then shook his head with a hint of regret. "Then forget it. I'll be going."
He truly had intended to recruit the Mink Tribe, but to him, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi were acting ungrateful. Marco had no desire to waste any more time on them.
Besides, the two of them were only at a strong captain-level of strength.
"Wait a moment…" Inuarashi called out. Compared to Nekomamushi, he was far calmer, and he had already weighed the pros and cons. With the current Three Emperors Alliance, their influence in the New World was overwhelming. This time Marco had come personally, which meant there was still room to negotiate. But if they turned him away, the next ones to arrive would likely be the Big Mom Pirates or the Beasts Pirates—and those crews would not be nearly as polite.
"Marco, I think we can still discuss this matter further," Inuarashi said.
Marco, however, no longer held any fondness for Nekomamushi and Inuarashi. Although they had once sailed as apprentice crew members on the Moby Dick, they had been gone for over twenty years; whatever bond they shared had long since faded. On top of that, Marco was a transmigrator, and his emotional attachment to the past was even weaker.
He had two goals on this trip. First, to secure the road poneglyph for himself. He might never use it, but he absolutely couldn't allow others to obtain it so easily.
Second, he wanted to recruit the Mink Tribe. Their combat strength was formidable: Inuarashi and Nekomamushi both had power on par with the All-Stars, and in their Sulong forms, they were even more terrifying.
There were thousands of Minks living on Zou, and even their children were born warriors.
Marco fixed his gaze on Inuarashi and said coldly, "I originally thought that after so many years apart, we could sit down and have a good talk when we met again. But now it seems that after more than twenty years, things have completely changed."
He went on, "I've already said it: with the Three Emperors Alliance, all territories in the New World will fall under our control. In this world, everyone has their own freedom. I won't force you. If you don't want to join, I won't lay a hand on you. But for the sake of our past as shipmates, I have to give you a warning. If the Big Mom Pirates or the Beasts Pirates land on Zou, then your Mink Tribe will be facing the risk of annihilation."
Marco's words finally cooled Nekomamushi's temper. Though he was no longer a pirate, he still understood the might of a Yonko crew. The Mink Tribe alone could never stand against a Yonko.
Inuarashi nodded solemnly. "We understand your good intentions, indeed. The times have changed. Even though we live on Zou Island year-round and only learn about the outside world through newspapers, we can still grasp what's happening."
Nekomamushi added gruffly, "We can join, but we have one condition."
Marco frowned slightly but chose to hear him out. "Tell me."
"Even if it's an alliance," Nekomamushi said, "Kaido is still our enemy. I will absolutely not help Kaido."
"That's not a problem," Marco agreed immediately.
Inuarashi then continued, "Besides that, there is one more matter. If our young master, Momonosuke, returns in the future and needs us, please allow us to leave the Phoenix Pirates."
When Marco heard this, his brows knit on their own. He'd never cared about Momonosuke before and even now, he cared about nothing of the brat, but Nekomamushi's request suddenly left a filthy taste in his mouth, as if he'd swallowed something rotten.
A chill flashed in Marco's eyes as he said flatly, "What do you take the Phoenix Pirates for? You pulled this back when you joined the Whitebeard Pirates, and now you want to run the same stunt again? Let me make one thing clear first: I despise Kozuki Oden."
Nekomamushi and Inuarashi froze at his words, stunned. Marco went on, "Kozuki Oden chose to leave the Whitebeard Pirates on his own. Pops tried to talk him out of it, but Oden insisted on going with Roger. He said he'd come back after a year… but he never did. He broke his promise."
"And you two left our ship without even a goodbye. Not a single word. Calling that betrayal wouldn't be going too far."
"On top of that, after being tricked by Orochi and Kaido, you didn't even come to us for help. From beginning to end, you never told us anything. That's what really disappoints me."
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