"Ugh…"
On the massive bed, Big Mom stirred at last, slowly dragging herself back from the edge of unconsciousness as the blood transfusion took effect.
"Mama…!"
The Big Mom Pirates all turned at once, eyes lighting up. Their earlier despair vanished, replaced by raw excitement as they saw her waking.
Marco, standing nearby, raised his brows. For her to regain consciousness this fast after being that close to death… It was exactly what he'd expect from one of the Four Emperors. That monstrous body of hers really was on a different level.
Big Mom's eyelids fluttered open. A moment ago, there had been nothing but pitch-black emptiness—but then, as if from nowhere, a surge of vitality had rushed into her, dragging her back from the abyss. When her vision cleared, she saw her many children of the Charlotte family circling the bed, faces buried in their hands, shoulders trembling as they cried.
"Mama, it's wonderful; you're finally awake!" Garett said, tears streaming down his cheeks. "This time, it's all thanks to Marco, who saved you."
Big Mom parted her lips, but no sound came out. Her throat and body still wouldn't obey her. Marco stepped in, his tone firm but calm.
"Alright, let her recover slowly. Once she's a bit more stable, she can use some of her own lifespan to heal those injuries herself."
'I'm… still alive…?'
The realization hit her all at once, leaving her inwardly stunned. Her memories were hazy—her throat being cut, the cold sensation of falling into the sea—but she remembered enough to know she'd been as good as dead. To have survived even that… it was beyond what she'd imagined.
Trying to confirm it for herself, Big Mom attempted to move. But her limbs were like lead; the massive blood loss had drained her completely. She couldn't muster so much as a twitch.
"Mama, don't move for now," Katakuri said immediately, stepping forward. "You've lost a lot of blood. We're still giving you a transfusion."
At his words, Big Mom stopped struggling. Her gaze drifted over her gathered children, and for the first time in a long while, her eyes shone with a simple, stubborn desire to live. A faint grin curved her lips.
"It seems this old woman's life isn't meant to end yet… To think I'd survive even in this situation."
"Yes!" Smoothie added, nodding hard. "Mama, this time we repelled the Marines, the Gorosei, and the God's Knights."
—
Out on the bows of the warships, Marco and Kaido stood side by side, looking down at the pirates of the Three Emperors Alliance as they bustled about, hauling and securing massive industrial machines. Kaido's eyes gleamed with a particular hunger; as an intelligent pirate, nothing appealed to him more than heavy machinery like this. He knew better than anyone how valuable such tools were.
"Marco…" Kaido suddenly spoke, his voice low. He turned, fixing Marco with a grave stare. "That Imu said you possess power not of this world. Is that true?"
"You actually believe that?" Marco replied calmly.
He did, in fact, possess power beyond this world—the system. It was thanks to that system that he had climbed from an initial Yonko Commander level to his current Strong King level in such a short span of time.
In just over half a year, his growth was so absurd that even Luffy's protagonist halo couldn't compare.
"There really isn't any other explanation," Kaido muttered, still skeptical. Marco's rate of growth was simply too fast, to the point of feeling unreal.
Marco didn't bother answering. If Kaido wanted to doubt him, then let him doubt. With the strength he had now, he no longer felt the need to explain himself to anyone.
Seeing that Marco remained silent, Kaido chose not to press further. Even so, he couldn't help but start believing what King had said. Perhaps Marco really was the reincarnation of Joy Boy.
Otherwise, how could his strength increase at such a monstrous pace? As for why Marco refused to acknowledge being Joy Boy, it might be just as King had guessed: after reincarnation, he'd lost the memories of his previous life, so of course he wouldn't believe he was Joy Boy.
Yet, that thought also stirred a faint sense of loss in Kaido. All this time, he'd been convinced that he would be Joy Boy's reincarnation. But in the end, it wasn't him.
Kaido had once told King that only the one who could defeat him would be Joy Boy. Could that person really be you, Marco? He wanted an answer desperately, but now was not the time. Once they left Egghead Island and reached somewhere safe, there would be plenty of chances to find out.
"That is…" Kaido's pupils tightened as the ground began to tremble. He looked ahead to see a giant robot charging toward them, clutching some sort of machine.
"That's the one I mentioned before—Ancient Robot Emit," Marco explained. "He was Joy Boy's companion 800 years ago."
"You're saying that thing is from 800 years ago?" Kaido was shocked yet again.
Eight hundred years had passed, and the machine could still move. Not a trace of rust or corrosion. What in the world was it made of?
Soon, Emit reached them, flanked by four Seraphim and seven Pacifista.
"Marco…" Jozu called as he leaped down from Emit's shoulder and landed on the warship.
Emit slowly set the machine he was holding down on the warship's deck and said, "Marco, my energy is running low. I'm afraid I'll have to enter a dormant state soon. You must remember to find someone to recharge me."
"Yes, of course." Marco grinned. "Dr. Vegapunk is the world's greatest scientist today. He definitely has a way."
Emit nodded at that, then stepped fully onto the warship. His massive steel body took up nearly the entire deck. He settled down with his back against the mast, then his torso split open from the middle with a heavy metallic sound.
From within his body, he pushed out a stone-like object.
Emit lifted this energy stone from his chest cavity and set it carefully on the deck. "This super energy chip is the core of my energy," he said. "I'm about to enter a dormant state. Once I do, my body can't be opened from the outside. With current technology, even the world's greatest scientist probably won't be able to restore my energy."
"Super energy chip? Why does it look like a stone? An energy stone?" Marco eyed the massive block, over three meters tall. It might look like an ordinary rock on the surface, but there was no way he would believe that.
Emit nodded. "Yes, you could call it an energy stone. Its energy is now depleted. As long as its energy can be refilled, I can definitely help you in the coming war."
As he spoke, the open panels of his body began to close, locking back into place until his frame returned to its seamless steel form. With the super energy chip removed, the red light in Emit's eyes started to dim rapidly. "Then I'll leave it to you," he said.
When he finished, the glow in his eyes slowly went out.
Marco stared at Emit's now-motionless form and said firmly, "Don't worry. I will definitely find a way to restore the energy of this energy chip."
He walked up to the energy stone and tapped it lightly with his knuckles. A clear metallic ring echoed across the deck.
"It's really hard…" Marco ran his hand over its surface. The texture told him it was at least a hundred times tougher than normal stone. He called out to Jozu, "Take this super—never mind, let's just call it an energy stone." Take good care of this energy stone from Emit."
"Alright," Jozu replied with a nod.
The Phoenix Pirates quickly began hauling the energy stone into the ship's hold.
Meanwhile, Kaido's gaze settled on the four Seraphim. Just by looking at them, he could tell whose images they carried: Hawkeye Mihawk, Jinbe, Empress Boa Hancock, and Gekko Moriah.
He couldn't feel any aura from them, but he understood well enough how powerful they were. A vicious grin split his face. "Worororo… so that's it. These are the Seraphim!"
"Marco, give me two of them."
Marco's eye twitched, and he shot back with a teasing tone, "You sure like to dream. There are only four left in total, and you want two just like that? Fine. If you can beat me, never mind two—I'll give you all four."
Kaido's expression darkened at that. He glared at Marco, eyes turning cold. "Marco, from the way you're talking, you really think you've got me pinned down."
"Mhm," Marco smiled, calm and confident. "I'm stronger than you now."
Right now, Kaido was only at the weak king level, while Marco stood at the strong king level—an entire realm above him.
Kaido had no cheat-like abilities, no protagonist's halo. His previous Devil Fruit awakening, which pushed him from Strong Yonko Level to Weak King Level, had already been a freak stroke of fortune. For him to grow stronger again in a short time was almost impossible.
Kaido snorted, hot breath steaming from his nostrils. "Good. I'll see what you're really worth."
"Captain Marco…" Namur approached just then, his expression grave. "Something's happened at Hachinosu."
Marco's brows knit slightly. "What happened?"
Namur answered, voice serious, "Hero Garp of the Marines and former Admiral Zephyr attacked Hachinosu. We've completely lost contact. It might already be occupied by the Marines, or everyone there may have been wiped out or captured."
Marco followed up immediately: "What about Kizaru?"
"He's dead."
Marco gave a slight nod. When he'd captured Kizaru, he'd already prepared for the worst. If anyone came to rescue him, he would kill the admiral on the spot. It seemed that decision had been on point. At least the Marines hadn't managed to reclaim an admiral-level combat force.
Marco's expression hardened. "Find out whether the Marines killed them or just imprisoned them."
"Yes," Namur replied, then moved off to carry out the order.
At that moment, Ace and Yamato walked over. Yamato called out loudly, full of her usual fire, "Stinky old man, looks like you're still alive!"
Kaido shot Yamato a look and snorted. "I'm not going to die that easily. But I heard you and Ace teamed up to take down an admiral."
Yamato folded her arms, chin raised proudly. "Hmph! Next time Ace and I will team up to defeat you—just you wait!"
As they spoke, the light around them suddenly dimmed. In the next instant, a vast black, five-pointed magic circle formed in the sky. It was colossal, spanning what had to be over ten thousand meters across; its sheer size alone was terrifying.
Staring up at it, Ace's expression hardened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa… why is this magic circle so huge this time?!"
"Damn it, are the Gorosei and those guys from the God's Knights coming again?!" someone shouted. All at once, the pirates of the Three Emperors Alliance dropped what they were doing and turned their eyes to the sky.
Marco's and Kaido's faces were equally grim. Their battle had just ended, and their strength hadn't recovered yet. The Marines might have retreated, but if the Gorosei and those monsters from the God's Knights showed up now, they would be a nightmare to handle.
Right then, a purple-black spatial wormhole twisted open at the center of the magic circle. From within it, something enormous began to push through, inch by inch.
Even though only a fraction had emerged, it was obvious this thing was unimaginably massive.
"What is that?!" the pirates cried, brows knitting.
Some of the Beasts Pirates recognized it immediately. Seeing a corner of the gigantic object, they shouted in panic, "That's the thing that destroyed Wano—Uranus!"
The cry crashed over the Three Emperors Alliance like thunder. Many of them had never seen Uranus with their own eyes, but they had grown up on tales of the ancient weapon said to possess the power to destroy the world.
Marco reacted in an instant, his voice cutting through the growing panic. "Everyone in the Three Emperors Alliance, get on the warships and retreat immediately!"
He turned and barked more orders. "Kaido! Zack! Use your Flame Clouds to push the warships out to sea—get as far away from Egghead Island as you can now!"
Kaido immediately roared back, veins bulging. "Damn it, Marco, don't order me around!"
Even so, Kaido still followed Marco's orders. Flame Clouds surged beneath the twenty-nine warships, slowly lifting them and carrying them out toward the open sea. He bellowed, "My subordinates, hurry up and get on board!"
As Kaido focused on moving the ships, black flames erupted around Marco's body. He beat his burning wings and shot up toward Uranus, hanging in the sky. At this moment, only a small section of Uranus had emerged over Egghead Island, with most of its massive machinery still hidden inside the spatial wormhole.
Marco's plan was simple—fly straight up and destroy Uranus.
The instant Kaido noticed Marco's movements, he understood his intention. He roared out, "Zack, send the warships out to sea!"
Without another word, Kaido's body elongated and twisted, transforming into an azure dragon that soared into the sky after him.
"Get out of the way and watch me!" Kaido opened his massive jaws and drew in a deep breath, swallowing a torrent of wind. The air fused with the flames gathering in his maw as he roared, "Dragon's Breath!"
Boom
A blazing beam of fire, even more intense than his Heat Breath, blasted upward straight at Uranus.
Just before the inferno could slam into Uranus's hull, a fierce sword slash cleaved through the Dragon's Breath in a single strike. With a rapid series of deafening booms, the attack detonated in midair. The scattered embers burst apart like fireworks, dazzling and deadly all at once.
"This is…" Kaido's pupils shrank. As the smoke and dust thinned, the figures of four of the Gorosei finally came into view: Saint Saturn, Saint Nusjuro, Saint Peter, and Saint Topman Warcury.
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