Seeing that his Observation Haki had truly reached its peak, Marco felt a surge of pure exhilaration. It confirmed his suspicion—so long as his base attributes were high enough, and he seized the right opportunities, Haki could indeed be trained to even greater heights.
More importantly, Marco clearly sensed the change within himself. The moment his Observation Haki reached this level, his overall strength had officially stepped into Admiral/Yonko Level. That realization filled him with confidence for the trials ahead—especially the looming challenge of facing the other Yonko head-on.
By any measure, this growth was absurd.
It had been barely two months since he transmigrated into this world, yet he had already risen from Yonko Commander level to Admiral–Yonko level. Such a rate of advancement was nothing short of monstrous.
Having a system truly was cheating. He didn't need to grind endlessly like the natives of this world, training day after day with no guarantee of results. More importantly, they couldn't see their progress quantified, nor did they receive clear rewards for their efforts.
'Now that I'm already this strong… should I follow the classic transmigrator route and build a harem?' Marco mused briefly—then immediately dismissed the thought.
Perhaps it was because this body was already middle-aged, but his desire in that regard was surprisingly weak. Even after two months in this world, he felt little interest in such matters. Instead, he found himself enjoying banquets with his crewmates far more—likely a lingering influence of the original Marco.
Or maybe it was simply the pressure.
From the moment he transmigrated, he had been thrown into a high-stakes game. The Marineford War had left the crew crippled, more than half their combat power wiped out. Every day brought new reports of pirates encroaching on their territories. His mind had been consumed by a single thought—how to hold onto the Yonko throne. Under such crushing pressure, there was no room for indulgence.
'…I'll think about Ann and the others later,' Marco muttered inwardly.
Shaking off those thoughts, Marco opened the system panel and switched to the Quest Tab, his gaze settling on the active missions:
Revenge: Eliminate the Blackbeard Pirates and avenge Pops.
Reward: 10,000 attribute points.
Bounty Targets:
Captain Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach—3,000 attribute points.
Crew members: Shiryu, Jesus Burgess, Doc Q, Van Augur, etc.—500 attribute points each.
Become a Yonko: Reach a bounty exceeding 3 billion Berries.
Reward: 10,000 attribute points.
Establish Authority: Teach the Beasts Pirates a profound lesson in response to their provocation.
Reward: 1,500 attribute points.
Challenge a Yonko—Big Mom:
Remain undefeated for one day—1,000 points.
Remain undefeated for three days—2,000 points.
Defeat her—10,000 points.
Challenge a Yonko—Kaido:
Remain undefeated for one day—1,000 points.
Remain undefeated for three days—2,000 points.
Remain undefeated for five days—3,000 points.
Defeat him—10,000 points.
Marco studied the list carefully, calculations running through his mind.
He was now at proper Yonko level, but pushing beyond that purely through attribute points would take an unknown—and likely massive—amount of time. The most efficient path forward was clear: awakening his Devil Fruit. And that required 15,000 attribute points.
At present, he had only 2,000.
If he challenged Big Mom and Kaido and merely stayed undefeated for one day against each, that would net him another 2,000. Three days each would bring the total to 6,000. As for actually defeating them…
Marco shook his head inwardly.
Even with his current strength, taking down Big Mom—the weakest of the Yonkos—would be far from easy. As for Kaido, the so-called strongest creature on land, sea, and air? That was an entirely different beast.
Marco never lost sight of his immediate goal.
First, stabilize the Yonko throne.
Only after securing that position would he begin planning anything beyond survival and dominance.
'As long as I can clash with Big Mom and Kaido for a full day and night without a decisive outcome, news of it alone will shake the world,' Marco thought. 'Even if the Marines drag their feet on updating my bounty, I can always stir up a few large-scale incidents. Once my bounty breaks three billion Berries, that's ten thousand attribute points secured.'
Among all his objectives, raising his bounty past three billion and solidifying his status as a Yonko was arguably the simplest. For someone at his level, notoriety came easily—cause enough chaos, and the numbers would rise on their own.
His gaze then shifted to the "Establish Authority" quest aimed at the Beasts Pirates. 'I wonder how Vista is holding up,' he mused briefly.
At that moment, Smoothie stepped forward, holding a transponder snail molded unmistakably in Big Mom's likeness.
"Marco," she said calmly, "Mama has something to say to you."
She angled the snail toward him.
"Mamamama!!! You've done quite well, Marco," Big Mom's booming laughter echoed from the snail before her tone cooled. "I truly didn't expect that after Whitebeard—that stubborn old fool—died, you'd still manage to hold his crew together. It must have been no easy task."
Marco replied evenly, "Linlin, the Whitebeard Pirates are now called the Phoenix Pirates."
"Mama! That's right—you're a captain in your own right now!" Big Mom laughed again, clearly amused. "To be honest, I never imagined you'd defeat Katakuri. He's my finest masterpiece. His loss truly surprised me."
Marco's eyes hardened, his voice turning sharp. "I didn't contact you to trade pleasantries. As fellow Yonko, your Big Mom Pirates burned our flag. That is a declaration of war."
He paused, then continued coldly, "Three days from now—the Kohn Islands. We settle this properly. If you don't show up, I'll kill Katakuri and Snack."
The transponder snail fell silent, the weight of Marco's ultimatum hanging heavily in the air.
------------------
AN: Check out my P@treon For +40 extra chapters.
Thank You For your Support!!
[email protected]/noviceauthor777