As Marco made the decision, the system's AI voice resonated clearly in his mind:
"New mission issued: Repayment — Trafalgar Law saved over two thousand lives from the Phoenix Pirates using the Ope-Ope no Mi. Objective: Assist Trafalgar Law in eliminating his enemy, Donquixote Doflamingo. Reward: 1000 attribute points."
Another mission.
Marco glanced at the notification. Though the reward was modest, he knew that any mission from the system was not optional.
After delegating the home front to Vista and the other Captains, Marco boarded the Karma Pirates' ship, the Octopus, alongside Sak, Ace, and the other key members.
A few days later, the ship reached Punk Hazard.
From the air, Marco could clearly see the island's extreme transformation: one half was a frozen wasteland, the other a scorching inferno—a testament to the devastating clash between Admiral Aokiji and Admiral Akainu.
Sak's eyes widened in shock.
"Is this… Punk Hazard after the Admirals' battle?"
Marco nodded calmly.
"I've seen it from above. One side is blistering hot, the other frozen solid. The power of the Marine Admirals is beyond imagination. If their Devil Fruits aren't awakened, it's still hard to fathom how they could reshape an entire island and its climate like this."
Ace's curiosity piqued.
"Marco, you mentioned there's a powerful Devil Fruit here. Where is it?"
Marco's gaze turned serious.
"This island was originally Dr. Vegapunk's research base. Three years ago, Caesar Clown caused a massive poisonous gas leak, killing all living creatures here, and he was imprisoned for it. Later, Doflamingo freed Caesar, forming a partnership, and placed him on this island to manufacture raw materials for SMILE."
Trafalgar Law's expression darkened. He had long suspected Caesar and Doflamingo were cooperating, but Marco's knowledge confirmed the depth of the Four Emperors' intelligence network.
"SMILE?" Ace asked, confused.
"An artificial Devil Fruit," Marco explained. "But it's a failed product."
"Artificial Devil Fruits…?" Sak echoed, incredulous.
"Yes," Marco continued. "SMILEs were created by Caesar Clown. Their success rate is roughly one in ten, far below Vegapunk's creations. Anyone who eats a failed SMILE loses all facial expressions except a fixed smile—hence the name."
Turning to Sak, Marco revealed more.
"The Devil Fruit I'm after for you is also artificial. It's Vegapunk's creation, the Azure Dragon Fruit, engineered from the Lineage Factor extracted from Kaido's blood."
Sak's eyes widened in shock.
"An Azure Dragon Fruit… from Kaido?"
Marco reassured him.
"Don't worry. Aside from the inability to awaken naturally, it functions like any genuine Devil Fruit. Caesar's SMILE experiments were actually based on this Azure Dragon Fruit."
Ace's disbelief was audible.
"Wait… Kaido, a World Government test subject?"
Marco nodded.
"Yes. Captured multiple times by the Marines, Kaido always escaped due to his extraordinary strength. That's why he earned the title of the 'world's strongest creature.'"
Ace laughed, recalling past ambitions.
"I wanted to challenge him in Wano, but I never met him."
Marco chuckled.
"Don't worry. After Doflamingo is taken down, even if we don't seek him, he'll come looking for us."
At that moment, Karma and his crew brought forward dozens of legless test subjects, floating in the air with hydrogen balloons.
Marco's gaze sharpened.
"Where is Caesar?"
The leader snorted coldly and looked away.
A First Division member growled in frustration.
"Hey! Captain Marco asked you a question!"
Marco raised a hand to stop him.
"Karma, it's your responsibility. Extract the information we need."
Karma smiled confidently.
"Consider it done, Captain Marco."
Karma's team interrogated the test subjects, and soon they confessed. They were survivors of Punk Hazard's disaster three years ago, paralyzed from exposure to Caesar's poisonous gas. They had been rescued a year ago, and they knew Caesar's exact location.
Marco surveyed the frozen half of the island.
"Caesar and his subordinates must be over there. We'll split up. One goal: capture Caesar alive. Once we have him, locating the Azure Dragon Fruit will be simple. Let's move out!"
"Understood!"
___
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