Marco chuckled. "Who knows? But that so-called immortality isn't invincible. As long as your haki is strong enough, it should work on them."
He already had a rough idea about how the Gorosei's immortality functioned. For one, his Conqueror's Haki clearly suppressed it. Their recovery speed changed depending on the attack: when they were hit by normal blows, they regenerated almost instantly, but when struck by attacks infused with Conqueror's Haki, their regeneration slowed down noticeably. The only reason he hadn't killed them yet might simply be that his Conqueror's Haki wasn't strong enough.
So when he obtained 30,000 attribute points, Marco had immediately spent them to raise his Conqueror's Haki to legendary.
Through the system, he'd also learned that above legendary Haki, there was an even higher realm: Mythical Haki.
But Mythical Haki required 100,000 attribute points, and he was nowhere near that number yet.
"That special mark might be their weakness…" Marco went on.
"Of course, that's just my guess. We'll only know for sure if we target that mark in the next battle."
Kaido and Big Mom both gave slight nods, and Marco continued, "In truth, the Gorosei's combat power isn't all that impressive. Compared to an admiral, they're far weaker. It's just that their immortality is a pain to deal with—and their abilities don't seem to fear Seastone either."
"Oh? Not afraid of Seastone?" Kaido sounded genuinely surprised.
Marco nodded. They were allies now, facing the Gorosei together, so he held nothing back. "Izo once shot one of the Gorosei with a Seastone bullet. It didn't do a thing."
Kaido's eyes lit up. He leaned forward, excited. "So does that mean if a Devil Fruit reaches awakening, you can break free of a Devil Fruit's weakness?"
"No. They should've done it through other means," Marco replied, shaking his head. Thanks to the system's investigation, he was certain: the Gorosei were not devil fruit users.
Kaido and Big Mom both fell silent, lost in thought, until Kaido finally grumbled, "Tch… Forget the Gorosei for now. We should figure out how to get the One Piece first!"
"I'm not interested in that. I'd rather raid the Holy Land and execute the Celestial Dragons in public," Marco said firmly, sticking to his stance.
For Marco, the more Celestial Dragons he took down, the more attribute points he earned. As for the One Piece, he didn't care what kind of treasure it was. With enough attribute points, facing Imu—or even crushing Imu—wouldn't be a problem.
Big Mom laughed, teasing him, "For a pirate, you really don't care about the One Piece at all!"
Marco's lips curled into a playful grin. He turned to Kaido and asked, "Compared to the One Piece... Kaido, since we're allies, shouldn't we be honest with each other? Is your end goal really the One Piece, or is it overthrowing the world government?"
Kaido frowned slightly, confused. "Is there a difference? The One Piece is Roger's treasure. If we can get it, maybe we'll find a way to topple the world government."
Marco let out a mocking snort. "And after you get the One Piece, how do you plan to split it? Instead of chasing after that so‑called One Piece, it's better to just crush them outright with strength."
Big Mom listened with open disdain. "Hmph. The World Government has been around for eight hundred years. No one knows how deep their foundations run. Without the One Piece, even our Three Emperors Alliance would struggle to deal with them."
She sneered, continuing, "Your strength is really something; I'll give you that. But you should've felt it yourself when you fought the Marines and the Gorosei, right?"
"Their so‑called immortality is a pain. And besides them, there are also the God's Knights among the Celestial Dragons. The God's Knights aren't the trash you usually see wearing bubble helmets. They're the elite of the Celestial Dragons. Every single one of them has terrifying strength—and they're immortal too. Back during the God Valley incident, over thirty years ago, I had once crossed blades with a member of the God's Knights."
Kaido's expression hardened at her words. His clash with the Gorosei had been brief, but their immortality was indeed troublesome. Still, if Marco's analysis was right, then with his current strength, defeating the Gorosei wasn't impossible. The real problem was the God's Knights.
He himself had been attacked by members of the God's Knights during the God Valley incident, but back then, he'd been far too weak—completely outmatched.
Even so, he felt that no matter how strong the God's Knights were, they shouldn't surpass the Gorosei. What he didn't know was how many of them existed.
It was confirmed that there were only five Gorosei. But the number of God's Knights was a mystery. If there were hundreds, thousands, or even more… then things would become very troublesome.
On one point, Big Mom was absolutely right: no one knew the full extent of the World Government's power after eight centuries of accumulation.
Marco looked at Big Mom, exasperation written all over his face. "Why are you such a coward? The Marines just turned your home into rubble, and you don't even dare to hit back?"
Big Mom was so enraged by Marco's jab that it was as if smoke were about to pour from her seven orifices.
Marco snorted coldly. "Anyway, I'm in favor of taking the initiative and attacking the Holy Land. Why should they be allowed to hit us while we just sit there and take it? Forget it, I can't be bothered to argue with you. We're all pirates. It's your freedom to chase after the One Piece, and it's my freedom to decide what I'm going to do."
"Hey, hey, hey, Marco, don't go doing anything crazy!" Big Mom's tone turned a bit flustered as she snapped back, "We're allies right now! It was because you suddenly attacked Mary Geoise that we got hit by the Marines and the World Government in the first place!"
Marco rolled his eyes. "If they really wanted revenge, shouldn't they be coming after me? Why would they target you? There's only one explanation: the existence of the Three Emperors Alliance makes it impossible for the Marines to just sit and watch. So whether I attack the Holy Land or not, the Marines were always going to come after your Big Mom Pirates."
Hearing this, Big Mom flew into a rage. She slammed her palm on the table, the impact echoing through the room, and roared, "Marco, what are you trying to say? Are you looking down on me? Do you think I'm the weakest of the three emperors?"
"I didn't say that." Marco spread his hands, a faint smirk at the corners of his mouth. "I'm just stating the obvious. Out of the three of us, your territory is closest to Marineford. If I were Akainu, I'd choose to hit you first too."
"Bastard…" Big Mom's face darkened, her expression twisting with anger. "Are you looking for a fight?"
Seeing her about to blow her top, Kaido quickly cut in, trying to smooth things over. "Alright, Linlin. Marco's just telling the truth. Don't take it so personally. …"
At that, Big Mom's face went an even uglier shade of green. She roared, "Bastard! Kaido, do you want to die too?!"
Kaido, however, didn't take her threat seriously at all. Ever since his Devil Fruit had awakened, he'd been convinced of his own invincibility.
That feeling had only grown after clashing with Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr. He was confident that even if Garp and Sengoku joined forces, he could still bring them down.
The same went for the Gorosei. Their recovery abilities were monstrous, but the pressure they gave him still couldn't compare to Garp and Sengoku. What made them truly troublesome was their so‑called "immortality."
Big Mom grew even more furious at Kaido's blatant disregard. At the same time, she was painfully aware that, in terms of sheer strength, she now lagged behind both Marco and Kaido—a fact made crystal clear in the last war.
Especially after the Whole Cake Island War, the Big Mom Pirates had suffered devastating losses. Her hundred thousand Homies were gone, and with them her proud numerical advantage. Within the alliance, her crew had clearly become the weakest. And on top of that, her territory just happened to be the one closest to the Marines and the World Government.
She shot Kaido and Marco a venomous glare, then grabbed a cake and bit into it viciously, as if she meant to tear all her hatred apart with her teeth.
Kaido turned back to Marco, his expression turning serious. "Marco, I'm not against attacking the Holy Land. But it's not time yet. We're allies. As allies, we move forward and retreat together. If you rush the Holy Land on your own, the world government will definitely strike back. Then we'll be forced into a full clash with the Marines, and all it'll do is wear us down."
"You've seen the strength of the Marines and the World Government, haven't you? A single Yonko crew can't handle a full-scale Marine assault."
"That's exactly why I said we should strike first," Marco replied. "If we don't hit them, they'll just hit us. While we're here chasing the One Piece, you think the Marines won't start a worldwide conscription? The longer we drag this out, the more forces they'll pull in from the Grand Line and the Four Seas."
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