Curiel stepped forward and reported solemnly, "Seven days ago, the Wang Zhi pirates launched attacks on Shihblan Island and Qimu Island. Jozu led his crew to intercept them, but in the end… Jozu and his men were defeated."
Marco's expression darkened the moment he heard this. Though he had anticipated such news, it still left a bitter taste in his mouth. He clicked his tongue irritably.
"So that bastard finally made his move. When Pops was still alive, he never dared cross the line. Now that Pops is gone, he can't wait to bare his fangs. Fine—this just gives us a proper reason to deal with him."
"Exactly. We'll kill him sooner or later."
"Beehive Island has always been in the heartland of our Phoenix Pirates' territory. Back then, we gave him face for Pops' sake."
"Now that the old dog has become so arrogant, we'll crush them to pieces."
"And it'll make up for the territory we sold to Big Mom!"
The surrounding crew erupted in heated agreement.
Before Marco defeated Big Mom, everyone had been focused solely on defending the remnants of Pops' legacy. But now, everything had changed. They had witnessed Marco's overwhelming power—the strength to defeat a Yonko-level monster. Confidence surged through the crew.
The Phoenix Pirates could do more than merely protect what Whitebeard left behind. Under Marco's leadership, they could surpass the Whitebeard Pirates themselves and rise to even greater heights.
Marco let out a soft chuckle when, suddenly, a familiar system AI voice echoed in his mind.
"New mission released…"
Kill Wang Zhi:
The Wang Zhi Pirates coexisted peacefully with the Whitebeard Pirates for decades. However, following Whitebeard's death, they have betrayed that trust and seized his legacy. Kill Wang Zhi, the treacherous conspirator, and receive 2,000 attribute points.
'Another mission,' Marco thought, the corners of his lips curling upward.
Mission or not, he would have taken Wang Zhi's head eventually. Having extra rewards was simply a bonus.
He didn't bother opening the mission interface right away. Instead, he looked around and asked calmly,
"We'll deal with the Wang Zhi pirates later. What about Nanku Island?"
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.
After a brief silence, someone spoke through clenched teeth.
"Nanku Island… fell yesterday."
"What? Lost?" Marco's eyes widened in shock. "Could Vista not handle Jack? Or did King or Queen show up as well?"
Curiel shook his head and replied quickly, "No, neither King nor Queen appeared. Although the Beasts Pirates have numbers and many Devil Fruit users, our high-end combat strength surpasses theirs. Jack is no match for Vista."
"The first time, Vista led his men and fought them for a full day and night. He severely injured Jack and drove the Beasts Pirates back."
"A few days later, they returned with even more forces. The second battle lasted two days and two nights, but Jack was still defeated by Vista, and the Beasts Pirates were repelled again."
Curiel's fists tightened as anger crept into his voice.
"We thought they would finally retreat… but we underestimated their shamelessness. The third time, they didn't engage us directly at all. Instead, they used poison gas bombs."
"A massive number of gas bombs rained down on Nanku Island, blanketing the entire area in moments. We suffered catastrophic losses."
Marco's face turned deathly pale. He immediately asked, his voice tense,
"What about Vista and the others? Are they safe?"
In truth, this was nothing new. Back in the original events, when Jack attacked Zou, he had also resorted to poison gas after failing to overpower the Mink Tribe head-on, ultimately defeating Nekomamushi and Inuarashi through underhanded means. If anything, such tactics perfectly showed how despicable he truly was. It was Marco's own miss to consider the possibility.
Curiel continued grimly, "After Jack released the poison gas bombs, Vista and his men had no choice but to evacuate Nanku Island. However, the island's residents didn't have enough time to escape."
"And while our forces were retreating," he added through clenched teeth, "the Beasts Pirates launched relentless bombardments. Five of our pirate ships were sunk, and many of our comrades were killed."
By the time Curiel finished speaking, fury was etched across the faces of everyone present. Poison alone was already vile—but deploying poison gas bombs on such a large scale was nothing short of madness. It was a tactic that sacrificed everything for victory.
Even if the Beasts Pirates had seized Nanku Island, what had they truly gained? The island was now blanketed in toxic gas. Most of its residents and livestock would die, and the land itself would be poisoned for a long time to come. Taking such territory under those conditions was practically meaningless.
Marco took a slow breath, forcing himself to calm down. Then he spoke, his voice cold.
"Then we're heading to Nanku Island. They probably don't know we've already defeated Big Mom—but that doesn't matter."
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
"We'll teach them exactly what happens when someone dares to provoke the Phoenix Pirates."
At that moment, Ace raised his hand somewhat awkwardly.
"Uh… Marco," he said sheepishly, "since you were unconscious earlier, I went ahead and ordered the ship to head toward Nanku Island in advance."
Marco didn't show any anger. He simply nodded in acknowledgment.
Then his gaze shifted to the corner of the crowd, where Jinbe had been deliberately keeping a low profile. A faint smile tugged at Marco's lips.
"Jinbe," Marco said suddenly, "from this moment on, you are the Fourth Division Commander of the Phoenix Pirates."
The words hit like a thunderclap.
Jinbe froze. So did everyone else. All eyes turned toward him in disbelief.
"W–Wait," Jinbe said, clearly stunned. "Marco, I've only joined the Phoenix Pirates half a month ago. How could I possibly be made a Division Commander?"
After their initial shock, the other captains quickly recovered. Fossa slung an arm around Jinbe's shoulder and laughed heartily.
"Come on, Jinbe. We've known you for years. Even if you weren't officially with us before, we've always treated you as one of our own!"
Ace grinned as well.
"That's right! You're a former Shichibukai and our comrade. If you become a Commander, no one here will object."
"But…" Jinbe still hesitated, his expression troubled. He had long-standing ties with everyone present, yet his actual tenure in the Phoenix Pirates was undeniably short. His seniority felt far too shallow for such a position.
Marco met his gaze directly and said firmly, "I didn't choose you just because of strength. More importantly, I trust your character."
A warm but resolute smile appeared on his face.
"You won't let us down. So don't refuse."
Hearing Marco's words, Jinbe knew that refusing again would only make him seem ungrateful. He bowed deeply and said solemnly,
"Thank you for your trust, Captain Marco. I will not let you down."
"Ohhhhh!!"
"Welcome our Fourth Division Commander—Jinbe!"
"Let's celebrate! A feast, a feast!"
Excited cheers instantly rang out across the deck, with several crew members already clamoring to prepare a banquet.
"Hey, hey—no way!"
"Captain Marco has just recovered, and you're already talking about feasting?"
"And Captain Vista's and Captain Jozu's situations still haven't been resolved!"
Those sobering reminders quickly dampened the excitement. The crew exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement—it would be better to celebrate once all crises were truly settled.
Just then, a News Coo flapped down from the sky and landed neatly on the ship's railing.
Someone hurried over, bought the latest newspaper, and immediately shouted in excitement,
"Captain Marco! There's news about you—your bounty's gone up!"
Marco was mildly curious, but the pirate holding the paper was practically trembling with excitement as he read aloud.
"The report says, 'Yonko Phoenix Marco fought Yonko Big Mom for ten days and ten nights on the Kohn Islands, ultimately emerging victorious and forcing the Big Mom Pirates to issue an apology.'"
"Captain, your new bounty is 3,225,800,000 Berries!"
Cheers erupted once more.
"Not just Captain Marco!"
"Commanders Ace, Fossa, and Curiel—everyone who participated in the clash with the Big Mom Pirates—your bounties all went up!"
However, some voices soon turned indignant.
"Captain Marco already defeated Big Mom—so why is his bounty still lower than hers?"
"Damn Marines, always playing favorites!"
Complaints and curses echoed across the deck.
Marco, however, remained unconcerned. As long as his bounty crossed the three-billion mark, that was enough.
Almost instantly, a familiar system voice echoed in his mind:
"Mission complete. Bounty has exceeded 3,000,000,000 Berries. Status achieved: New Yonko. Reward granted: 10,000 attribute points."
Marco's lips curved into a faint smile.
'It's finally done', he thought. 'With this, my total attribute points have reached 20,000. I can finally upgrade my Devil Fruit to its Awakening state.'
Just as he was about to open the system panel, the voice sounded again.
"New mission issued…"
"Mission: Surpass the Old Era—Become the Strongest of the New Era."
Among the legends of the Old Era, Whitebeard and Roger stood at the pinnacle. Reach a bounty of 5,564,800,000 Berries or more—surpassing both Roger and Whitebeard—to become the strongest of the New Era and inherit Whitebeard's title: 'The Strongest Man in the World.'
Reward: 10,000 attribute points.
"Another mission already?" Marco muttered inwardly. 'These things really don't give me a break.'
He recalled the numbers clearly. Whitebeard's bounty had been 5,046,000,000 Berries, while Roger's had reached 5,564,800,000 Berries—a figure no pirate had ever surpassed.
As the only Pirate King in history, Roger's bounty stood at an unparalleled height. Surpassing it wouldn't be easy.
After all, every era may have its strongest man…
But there was only ever one Pirate King.
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