Two days after the decisive battle, Fleet Admiral Sengoku reluctantly addressed the world with an official announcement: the execution of Fire Fist Ace had not been completely successful.
The truth behind this declaration was that Fire Fist Ace had lost an arm to Admiral Aokiji, and yet the Marines still claimed a tremendous victory in the war. They had slain the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, cut down nearly twenty thousand pirates, and taken thousands more into custody.
What Sengoku did not disclose were the Marine casualties, which were also significant. Revealing those figures would have severely undermined the Marines' reputation.
With the war over, Sengoku submitted his resignation to the World Government without hesitation. Mentally and emotionally exhausted, he felt the crushing weight of his failures.
Every strategy he had devised during the Marineford War had been outmaneuvered by Whitebeard, and when he sought to capture Blackbeard to amend his mistakes, Blackbeard had slipped through his grasp. Though some members of the Blackbeard Pirates were eventually captured, the escape of their captain remained a bitter wound.
In Fleet Admiral Kong's office, Kong studied Sengoku's resignation letter and spoke with a heavy heart, "Are you certain you want to step down? This war is not entirely your fault."
Sengoku offered a tired smile and replied, "Commmander Kong, don't try to console me. I held the title of Fleet Admiral. The failure of this execution is my responsibility alone."
Seeing Sengoku's resolve, Kong nodded and asked, "Then who do you recommend as the next Fleet Admiral?"
"Admiral Aokiji," Sengoku answered immediately, the choice long decided in his mind.
Meanwhile, in the New World, the Whitebeard Pirates' ship Moby Dick finally returned after two long days. A sense of relief washed over the crew.
Marco stepped onto the deck from his quarters and observed his crewmates. Many were resting, while others tended to the injuries of their companions.
After all they had endured in the Marineford War, every one of them bore wounds, and to say they were not exhausted would be a lie.
"Captain Marco, you're awake!" called First Division member Kuri as he hurried over.
Marco nodded slightly and asked, "Have we reached the New World?"
Kuri's eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes! Captain Marco, you were unconscious for more than ten hours, but you're alright!"
After Kuri ran off to continue his duties, Marco sat on the stairs and opened his system panel. His eyes fell on the mission tab, which was flashing urgently.
When he clicked into it, the 'Save Ace' mission showed as complete, accompanied by a prompt asking if he wanted to claim the reward.
Without hesitation, Marco selected Claim Reward.
A calm mechanical voice chimed from the system, "Save Ace mission complete. Reward: 10,000 attribute points."
With the reward added, Marco glanced at the other missions. The 'Retrieve the Body' mission was still incomplete, though the progress bar was already halfway full — the task would likely complete once Whitebeard had been laid to rest.
Marco then switched his panel to view his character attributes:
Name: Marco
Age: 43
Attribute Points: 10,232
Devil Fruit: Zoan Type – Phoenix Form (Unawakened)
Haki: Armament Haki (Advanced), Observation Haki (Advanced), Conqueror's Haki (Elementary)
Body Techniques: Soru (Elementary), Rankyaku (Beginner), Moonwalk (Elementary), Tekkai (Elementary), Finger Pistol (Elementary), Kami-e (Beginner)
Strength: 8,822
Speed: 4,500
Defense: 8,800
Recovery: 45,000
Stamina: 8,100
Spirit: 4,800
System Combat Power Assessment: Strong Emperor Subordinate level
Marco blinked thoughtfully. Several of his base attributes had increased — Speed, Defense, Stamina, and Spirit — though his Recovery remained unchanged at 45,000.
Strength was an attribute he had been actively investing points into himself.
His mind turned inward. Did awakening Conqueror's Haki cause this increase? Or did the trials of the Marineford War make me stronger?
Whatever the reason, he clearly was stronger now, and he still had over ten thousand attribute points to distribute.
First, he decided, I'll improve my Haki.
Marco opened the special attributes menu. The upgrade requirements displayed:
Conqueror's Haki (Elementary) → Conqueror's Haki (Intermediate): 500 attribute points
Armament Haki (Advanced) → Armament Haki (Top-tier): 10,000 attribute points
Observation Haki (Advanced) → Observation Haki (Top-tier): 10,000 attribute points
He wasn't inclined to spend points on Conqueror's Haki yet. Marco wanted to practice and refine it naturally first, to see if he could raise it toward Intermediate or Advanced levels through training before investing points.
Curious, Marco asked aloud to the system, "System, what abilities classify as Top-tier Observation Haki and Top-tier Armament Haki?"
The mechanical voice replied, "In the original reference, the future sight shown by Katakuri is considered Top-tier Observation Haki, and the Ryuo technique learned by protagonist Luffy in Wano Country is considered Top-tier Armament Haki."
Marco nodded as understanding clicked into place.
Now, with over ten thousand attribute points at his disposal, he faced a pivotal choice between enhancing his Armament or Observation Haki. Both would serve him well in the days to come.
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