At that moment, everyone was grinning ear to ear as they held their freshly issued bounty posters.
Ace glanced at his own poster and burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! I've finally crossed a billion too? Not bad, not bad!"
He scratched his head and added cheerfully, "Still, I'm a long way off from the top. I'm barely catching up to Jozu—and I'm still trailing Vista by quite a bit."
Izo strolled over with a teasing smile.
"Fossa, Namur, looks like the two of you got quite the boost this time around."
Fossa let out a hearty laugh.
"Probably because we each took on Sweet Commanders. That kind of opponent always makes the Marines generous."
He waved it off. "Not that I care much either way."
Namur then turned toward Jinbe and said,
"By the way, Jinbe, your bounty went up as well. The Marines don't know you're already our Fourth Division Commander, so the increase is… rather conservative."
"Thank you," Jinbe replied calmly as he accepted his poster.
His eyes swept over the number—468,000,000 Berries.
Marco, watching the lively scene, couldn't help but grow curious.
"So, how much did everyone's bounty go up?"
At once, the pirates crowded around him. Zack raised his poster high, practically bouncing with excitement.
"Captain, everyone got a huge increase—look!"
"First up, me—430,000,000 Berries!"
"Second Division Commander, Fire Fist Ace—1,034,000,000 Berries!"
"Eighth Division Commander, Fish-Man Namur—770,000,000 Berries!"
"Tenth Division Commander, Curiel—702,000,000 Berries!"
"Fifteenth Division Commander, Fossa—864,000,000 Berries!"
"Sixteenth Division Commander, Izo—634,000,000 Berries!"
One poster after another was raised into the air.
Everyone who had participated in the clash against the Big Mom Pirates saw their bounties soar—and even a few who had never been bountied before finally earned a price on their heads.
Seeing the joy on his comrades' faces, Marco laughed and called out loudly,
"Brothers! Since everyone's in such high spirits—let's have a feast!"
"Ohhhhh!!"
"A feast!!"
The deck erupted in cheers once more.
Still, Fossa spoke up with a hint of concern.
"Marco, our current crisis isn't fully resolved yet. Is it really okay to celebrate like this?"
Marco chuckled.
"It's fine. Now that this news is out, the Beasts Pirates and the Wang Zhi Pirates have definitely seen it too. As long as they're not complete idiots, they'll know to retreat."
"So that's how it is!" Fossa exclaimed, his worries easing immediately.
Marco then raised a finger and added,
"However! The danger isn't completely over yet. Tonight's feast will have no sake. We'll celebrate properly after we've reunited with Jozu, Vista, and the others."
"Ohhhhh!!" the crew answered in unison.
The lack of alcohol dampened spirits just a little—after all, what pirate didn't love a good drink? Still, with the crisis not yet fully resolved, everyone understood the need for caution.
As the crew dispersed to prepare the food for the feast, Marco slipped quietly into the cabin alone, intending to rest and recover.
After entering the cabin, Marco immediately summoned his system panel.
Name: Marco
Age: 43
Attribute Points: 20,000
Devil Fruit: Zoan-type — Phoenix Form (Unawakened)
Haki:
Armament Haki (Top-tier)
Observation Haki (Top-tier)
Haoshoku Haki (Intermediate)
Physical Techniques:
Soru (Intermediate), Rankyaku (Intermediate), Moonwalk (Intermediate),
Tekkai (Advanced), Finger Pistol (Advanced), Kami-e (Intermediate)
Strength: 10,054
Speed: 4,500
Defense: 8,800
Recovery: 45,000
Stamina: 10,100
Mental Strength: 9,300
System Combat Power Assessment: Yonko Level
Marco's gaze shifted to the Special Attributes section.
Devil Fruit Upgrade Available:
Zoan-type — Phoenix Form (Unawakened) → Zoan-type — Phoenix Form (Awakened)
Cost: 15,000 Attribute Points
Confirm? Yes / No
Without hesitation, Marco selected Yes.
In an instant, 15,000 Attribute Points vanished.
The interface flickered—and then refreshed, automatically switching to the Six Basic Attributes page.
Name: Marco
Age: 43
Attribute Points: 5,000
Devil Fruit: Zoan-type—Phoenix Form (Awakened)
Haki:
Armament Haki (Top-tier)
Observation Haki (Top-tier)
Haoshoku Haki (Intermediate)
Physical Techniques:
Soru (Intermediate), Rankyaku (Intermediate), Moonwalk (Intermediate),
Tekkai (Advanced), Finger Pistol (Advanced), Kami-e (Intermediate)
Strength: 12,054
Speed: 6,500
Defense: 13,800
Recovery: 60,000
Stamina: 15,100
Mental Strength: 10,300
System Combat Power Assessment: Strong Yonko Level
Marco's eyes widened slightly.
The increase was far greater than he'd expected.
His Strength jumped from 10,054 to 12,054.
Speed surged from 4,500 to 6,500.
Defense skyrocketed from 8,800 to 13,800.
And Recovery—his greatest advantage—leaped from 45,000 all the way to 60,000.
Even Stamina and Mental Strength saw massive gains.
When he calculated it carefully, the results were astonishing:
Strength: +2,000
Speed: +2,000
Defense: +5,000
Recovery: +15,000
Stamina: +5,000
Mental Strength: +1,000
A total increase of 30,000 attribute points.
He had spent only 15,000—and gained double that in return.
'This is absurdly profitable', Marco thought.
Although nearly half of the increase had gone into Recovery, reaching 60,000 meant that as long as his stamina held out, he could practically achieve true immortality.
Now, among his six core attributes, five had already surpassed the 10,000 mark.
Only one lagged behind.
Marco glanced at his Speed stat, still sitting below that threshold, and hesitated.
'Should I just invest a bit more and push it past 10,000 too?'
'It'd look… cleaner.'
'Forget it. No need to rush.'
Marco shook his head lightly. 'I've already reached Strong Yonko level. Unless I'm up against a pure speed monster like Kizaru, 6,500 Speed is more than enough for now.'
After all, his current strength had already reached the peak of this world—at least, the peak that could be clearly perceived.
Even the Three Admirals topped out at Strong Yonko level at best. Among the Yonkos, Big Mom was only at ordinary Yonko level. Kaido and Red Hair Shanks were undoubtedly stronger, but they should still fall within Strong Yonko level as well—far from touching King level.
As for true King level… Marco had only ever seen it once.
Whitebeard.
And that was Whitebeard in his prime—and even then, only at Weak King level.
With that thought, Marco reopened the Special Attributes section—and froze.
The Devil Fruit could be upgraded again.
And not just once.
There were four separate upgrade paths.
"Wait… what?" Marco muttered, eyes narrowing. "Do I choose only one of these? Or can I take them all?"
The four options laid out before him reminded him oddly of Digimon evolution routes—branching paths leading in completely different directions.
Devil Fruit Upgrade Paths:
Zoan Type — Phoenix Form (Awakened) → Phoenix Form (Redemption)
Cost: 50,000 Attribute Points
Zoan Type — Phoenix Form (Awakened) → Phoenix Form (Undying)
Cost: 50,000 Attribute Points
Zoan Type — Phoenix Form (Awakened) → Phoenix Form (Impart)
Cost: 50,000 Attribute Points
Zoan Type — Phoenix Form (Awakened) → Phoenix Form (Destruction)
Cost: 50,000 Attribute Points
Marco studied the four paths carefully. Each demanded an absurd 50,000 Attribute Points, but the implications behind them were obvious.
'Redemption… that should enhance the Phoenix Flames' healing effects on others.'
'Undying likely strengthens my own recovery abilities.'
'Destruction—no need to think twice. That clearly boosts offensive power.'
His gaze lingered on the final option.
'Impart… does that mean I can share my Phoenix abilities with others?'
That thought made his expression grow serious.
In recent events—Egghead Island, Elbaf—the Gorosei and God's Knights had all displayed something close to immortality. That power was almost certainly bestowed by Imu.
'If that's the case… then "Impart" really might mean bestowing abilities.'
Then what about Undying?
Was it merely enhanced regeneration?
Or something far more terrifying—true immortality? Eternal life?
Marco couldn't tell.
Staring at the four choices—Redemption, Undying, Impart, Destruction—he frowned. Were these merely upgrade skills that could eventually all be obtained… or were they irreversible evolution paths?
If it was the latter, then choosing one would permanently lock out the others.
That wasn't a decision to be made lightly.
"…Right," Marco muttered suddenly. "Why don't I just ask the system?"
He blinked, then laughed at himself. 'I can talk to it. How did I forget something this basic?'
"System," Marco called mentally. "Come out for a moment. Answer me. Attribute System?"
Silence.
"…Huh?" Marco frowned slightly and tried again, cautiously.
"Little AI? My friend…?"
"I'm here!"
The familiar AI voice instantly echoed in his mind.
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