Chapter 21: The ReasonMarcus focused his gaze and looked, seeing a small-statured Colonel wearing a Marine cloak with 'Justice' written on it. In front of this Colonel stood a tall pirate.Looking at the situation, Marcus instantly recognized that these two were the pirate captain and the Marine scum. At this moment, for some reason, the two were facing each other in silence, and the whole room was unusually quiet.Seeing these two big bosses behind the scenes gathered together, Marcus was naturally very happy. Now that both sides were together, only the third party behind the scenes was missing. As long as he could deal with these two, he would gain the initiative, and at that time, he would transform from prey into the hunter.However, Marcus didn't think he could deal with both of them at the same time. Both of them had the strength of a Marine Headquarters Colonel. If it were just one person, Marcus would be confident, but with both together, Marcus was not so arrogant.What Marcus had to do now was to wait quietly for an opportunity. As the saying goes, to kill a snake, you must hit its seven-inch mark. Since he was going to act, it had to be a fatal blow."Space Isolation."Neither of these two in the room were simple characters. Just in case, some basic preparations were still necessary.After using Space Isolation to isolate himself, Marcus finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he didn't encounter someone with Observation Haki, Space Isolation would not be discovered.Once he was sure everything was safe, Marcusfocused his gaze."Deika, you asked me to send all my subordinates out, surely not just to watch you drink tea here?" Fandi asked with a look of confusion, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes, but it vanished in an instant.Regarding this Marine scum, Fandi had always looked down on him. Back then, after this bastard discovered that Fandi had unearthed a treasure, he used reporting it to Marine Headquarters as an excuse to force Fandi to hand over half of the treasure to him. If he hadn't been unsure of his ability to keep this bastard there, Fandi would have wanted to kill him long ago.This bastard did nothing and took away half of the treasure that Fandi had spent so much effort to find. What Fandi looked down on most was that this bastard was a complete villain.On the surface, he was a Navy Colonel, but in secret, he did many dark things. Even the method of using the town's men to threaten the other residents was his idea.Based on Fandi's current understanding of Deika, Fandi realized one thing: in the eyes of others, he was a demon, but in front of Deika, he could be considered a good person."Clink." Gently placing the teacup on the table, Deika said, "I came here this time because we are in big trouble.""Hahaha..." Fandi burst into laughter, disbelievingly saying, "Deika, are you joking? This is your defense zone. Plus, according to your method, not a single person on this small island dares to report to the Navy. What trouble could there be?"Deika could naturally hear the sarcasm in Fandi's subsequent words. However, Deika was indeed a villain and could endure! He just chuckled and let the sarcasm in Fandi's words pass."Marine Headquarters just called, saying a Marinediscovered something wrong here. Since this is my defense zone, I am also required to cooperate fully," Deika said in a heavy voice.From Deika's words, Fandi also realized there was trouble this time. Marine Headquarters had actually sent someone; matters here probably couldn't be hidden for much longer.But after half a year of effort, the most important part of the entire treasure was about to be unearthed. Leaving just like this made Fandi very unwilling."Do you have any other way to delay for a few days? It's already in the final stage. Just one more day, and all the treasure can be dug away."'Tap, tap, tap.' Deika tapped the table, thought for a moment, and then shook his head, saying, "No, the person coming this time is no ordinary person; that is a Headquarters Vice Admiral.""Headquarters Vice Admiral!" Fandi stood up in shock, looking at Deika with a face full of disbelief.Regarding the combat power of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Fandi had heard rumors.A Marine Vice Admiral is a fighting force in Marine Headquarters second only to an Admiral. Every Marine Vice Admiral's combat power is extremely powerful.Although Fandi was an arrogant person, he was not completely conceited. He was very clear about his own combat power; if he encountered a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, it would be certain death, without even a trace of possibility to escape.Fandi's expression was already within Deika's expectations. For a pirate of Fandi's strength, encountering a Vice Admiral meant certain death.After a while, the calmed-down Fandi thought carefully and found something wrong, so he spoke up: "Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals are the core strength of the Navy. How could such a Vice Admiral, who often performs important missions, set their sights on us?"Deika also waved his hands in confusion, "How would I know? I'm just a Colonel. I don't have the qualifications to know about the affairs of a Vice Admiral."Hearing Deika's explanation, Fandi sat back down dejectedly. His partner in front of him was only a Colonel; he really had no way to deal with a Vice Admiral several ranks higher than him.It seemed he had no choice but to run this time, but before running, he still had a very important thing to do; he had to take back some things that belonged to him. Thinking of this, a flash of killing intent crossed Fandi's eyes.Marcus, who was eavesdropping outside, also had a look of confusion on his face. He had stated very clearly in the letter not to notify Marine Headquarters first. Stinky Old Man should have followed his advice.In that case, how did Marine Headquarters find out? Could there be a Marine warship nearby? But that's impossible! From what he learned from Cali, no marine warships had come by recently.Then there is only one reason: that fake distress signal was intentionally sent by Deika, but there was no motive for that at all.This place could have been completely hidden, and a huge fortune could have been obtained before long. But why, at the last moment, expose the secrets here and also reveal the fact that he is a Marine scum?The fact that Deika could give all this up at the last moment meant that Deika could get something even more important than these.What exactly could make someone give up everything from all these years? Marcus suddenly became curious.Deika calmly took a sip of tea. "This time, we must evacuate as soon as possible. Anyway, we've already gotten most of the treasure. Even if we leave, we haven't lost anything."Fandi nodded in agreement, but this did not mean Fandi would give up the most important part of the treasure. Fandi would evacuate as soon as possible, but only after the final treasure was excavated."Don't worry, within today or tomorrow, I will handle everything," Fandi said.Seeing that his goal was achieved, Deika didn't want to stay any longer and stood up, saying, "I still have many things to handle, so I won't stay any longer."After Deika finished speaking, he walked straight out the door. Seeing Deika leave, a look of ferocity appeared in Fandi's eyes, and he was just about to stand up."Oh! Also," but Deika seemed to remember something and turned back to say, "Remember not to leak any information about me; all traces related to me must be handled properly."Seeing Deika turn back, Fandi quickly stopped his rising figure. A flash of panic crossed his face, but it was suppressed in an instant as he replied with feigned composure."Don't worry, I've already prepared everything. The explosives are all set. As soon as the time comes, they will be detonated, and all those excavators will be blown to death. Moreover, when we leave, those women in the town will also be completely dealt with; my subordinates have been holding back for a long time.""This Marine scum is truly cruel enough," Marcusthought to himself.Although he had expected these pirates to do this, hearing it for real still made Marcus very angry. These were thousands of lives, yet these people decided so easily."Mhm." Since everything was prepared, Deika didn't say much more; he just reminded him once again and then walked out.UU Reading welcomes all book friends to come and read. The latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users, please go to read.
Chapter 22: Internal Strife?Seeing Deika walking towards the door, Marcushurriedly prepared to hide to the side. But before Marcus could act, an unbelievable thing happened in the room.Deika had just turned around and hadn't even taken two steps when Fandi, who was sitting in his seat, slowly drew the pirate sword at his waist, leaped up, and stabbed at Deika in front of him.As a battle-hardened Navy Colonel, Deika still possessed basic reaction capabilities. Upon sensing the Killing Intent and the sound of something breaking through the air from behind, Deika quickly looked back.But he was a step too late. Deika, who was defenseless against Fandi, would never have expected that Fandi would launch a sneak attack from behind.With that turn of his head, seeing the pirate swordstabbing down from a diagonal angle, Deika froze for a moment and hurriedly tried to dodge to the side.But in that instant, Deika missed the optimal timing to evade. Fandi's pirate sword struck Deika directly in the heart.Blood instantly gushed out from the heart, flowing along the sharp blade and staining the front of his clothes bright red.If Deika hadn't looked back first just now and had instead dodged to the side, even if he were injured, it would have been a minor wound and wouldn't have struck his heart like this.Looking at the blade in his chest with a face full of disbelief, Deika looked up at Fandi, who wore a cruel smile, his eyes filled with a mix of confusion, resentment, and fear.Blood flowed from his mouth as he stammered, "Wh... why... why!"*Puchi...*Fandi pulled out the long sword and said with a smug expression, "If you want to blame someone, blame your own greed. You actually dared to threaten me and wanted to take half of the entire Treasure Trove.""From the day I started cooperating with you, I was just using you. It's no longer safe here, and you have no more utility value. So just die quietly for me."Hearing Fandi's words, Deika died with a face full of hatred, but his eyes remained open, indicating that he died with grievances unaddressed."Hahahaha..." Seeing that Deika was finally dead, Fandi laughed wantonly.For the past half year, Fandi had always wanted to kill this insatiable Navy Colonel Deika!But he needed him to hold off the Marine for him, so he had to endure this bastard lording it over him..Now that the Marine had discovered this place, this villain no longer had any utility value, so Fandi killed him immediately to vent the hatred in his heart.Watching this scene unfold, Marcus understood less and less. It was understandable that Fandi wanted to kill Deika. Even if he were in Fandi's position, he would have killed Deika; no one wants to be forced to give half of a Treasure Trove they risked so much for to someone else.But Marcus found it strange that Deika died just like that. Logically, as the mastermind who played Fandiand the Marine in his hands, Deika shouldn't have died so easily. This was just too pathetic.Could it be that Fandi had seen through Deika's schemes long ago? But from what he just heard, it didn't sound like it.Witnessing this massive turn of events, Marcus felt like his brain suddenly wasn't enough to process it; things were becoming increasingly complex.Fandi thought about it and felt it was better not to let the news of him killing Deika leak out. Sometimes, less trouble is better than more, so he hid Deika's body under his seat.Wiping away the blood he had just gotten on his hands and taking one last look at the hidden body, Fandi walked towards the door.Although he had killed Deika, the fact that a Marine Vice Admiral was coming was still true. He now needed to make those people speed up their progress, striving to finish digging the last part tonight, and must leave this small island by tomorrow.According to the treasure map, the final part was the most important part of this Treasure Trove. It could be said that this Treasure Trove was built specifically to hide the things at the very end.That was a power capable of subverting the world. As long as he obtained it, found a place to hide, and made that power his own,At that time, let alone a Marine Vice Admiral, he wouldn't even need to fear an Admiral.By then, with such powerful strength, he could go to the second half of the Grand Line, dominate the entire Grand Line, obtain the legendary One Piece, and become the Pirate King.Thinking of this, Fandi was incredibly excited. He had prepared for so long, and now he was just one step away; he couldn't fail at the final moment. So at this critical time, he had to watch from the side and ensure nothing went wrong.Seeing Fandi coming, Marcus quickly moved to the side and waited quietly for Fandi to leave.Watching Fandi's back disappear behind the gate, Marcus did not follow him but instead fell into deep thought. Because Marcus now realized that this matter was becoming more and more complicated. He didn't understand it yet, and it would be unwise to rush in blindly.The root of the whole matter was this Treasure Trove; everything was happening around it. Now that the full face of this Treasure Trove was about to be revealed, whoever was behind the scenes would take the initiative to jump out.What he needed to do was hide in a place where he could observe everything, waiting for the Treasure Trove to be fully excavated and for everything to come to light.Then he could play the role of the oriole behind the mantis stalking the cicada. After deciding on a plan, Marcus also left the house and went to the treasure site. No matter how clever the prey, it could not escape the hands of the hunter hiding at the very end.Just as Marcus left, a small sound suddenly came from the room."Captain!" A pirate on duty saw his Captain walking out with large strides. Although he was curious why his Captain had come here, he still called out respectfully.Fandi nodded and instructed, "Mhm, go wake everyone up for me now. We need to dig everything out tonight."Yes!Although he didn't understand why the Captain was doing this, the boss's orders only needed to be executed without asking too many questions. The pirate knew this, otherwise, he wouldn't have been sent to guard the Captain's house.After notifying his subordinates, Fandi rushed towards the treasure excavation site. A significant amount of time had already passed tonight, and he had to hurry.When Fandi arrived at the excavation site, all the pirates had gathered, along with many town residents who had just gone to sleep not long ago.To save time, Fandi adopted a two-shift system. All residents were divided into two groups: one group worked during the day, and the other worked at night. So besides the people currently digging, there were actually quite a few people sleeping.But now that everything had to be dug out tonight, he had to wake everyone up. Anyway, all these people would die after tonight.Seeing the people below being noisy, a flash of displeasure crossed Fandi's face, and he roared loudly, "Quiet! Everyone, be quiet!"The residents below instantly fell silent. No one dared to disobey the words of that cruel pirate Captain standing above.Seeing the people below being so sensible, Fandinodded in satisfaction, cleared his throat, and said loudly,"Today, I have gathered you all to tell you some good news. The excavation of this Treasure Trove is almost finished. As long as you finish the final digging today, we will leave this place tomorrow. At that time, you can go home and reunite with your families."Hearing the news from Fandi, the originally quiet crowd began to whisper again. Some were very happy they could go home and reunite, but some clever people had faces full of worry.These people all understood that it was impossible for pirates to be so kind as to release everyone. Now that the excavation was almost done, their time to die was also approaching.The pirates hadn't killed everyone before because they still needed people to work. Now that the work was gone, these pirates would not let the residents of the island go."Now, all of you, get down there and get to work!"Meanwhile, Marcus, who had also arrived at the scene, was quietly watching everything... UU Reading. Welcome all book friends to come and read. The latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all at UU Reading! For mobile users, please go to read.
Chapter 23: Back from the Dead?Time passed like a white horse crossing a crevice, flashing by in an instant, yet Fandi felt that time was moving incredibly slowly.Fandi had been sitting here for the entire night; the night had quietly passed, and a sliver of light had already appeared on the horizon, but the excavation operation was still ongoing.Nothing of value had been dug up, and Fandi's patience was gradually wearing thin; his fingers twitched non-stop, revealing that Fandi's Internal Energy was already incredibly agitated at this moment.But just at this moment, a pirate shouted from below: "Captain, we've dug something up!"Fandi immediately stood up and looked down.He saw several pirates guarding a black stone.Only a corner of this stone was exposed, while the rest was still buried in the soil.Seeing that they had only dug up a stone, Fandi's originally excited heart instantly turned to anger; it was just an ordinary black stone, yet it had caused such a big commotion.Seeing their Captain's angry face, the pirate hurriedly explained: "Captain, this is not an ordinary stone; there are some very strange characters on it."Hearing his subordinate's explanation, Fandi's expression improved slightly, and he asked: "Besides this, did you dig up anything else?""Nothing else. We have reached the very bottom; now there is only a layer of stone bricks paved underneath. The entire Treasure Trove has been completely excavated," the pirate replied respectfully."Is that so?" Fandi pondered, stroking his chin.That being said, the black stone below must be the most important Treasure Trove mentioned on the treasure map, and as for that powerful energy, it should be recorded in those characters.After thinking this over, Fandi decided to go down and see for himself; only by seeing it personally could he understand such a thing.When Fandi arrived below, the residents had already been driven into a corner by the pirates, and the pirates were all standing by the black stone, whispering to each other."It couldn't be that the final Treasure Trove is just this, could it!""Who knows? We'll only know once the Captainverifies it.""That's right, even if it really is some kind of treasure, it's not for us. Let's just watch honestly!"...Seeing Captain Fandi arrive, the pirates surrounding the black stone hurriedly cleared a path.Fandi walked to the side of the black stone and observed it carefully, but discovered he couldn't make anything out. He had never seen the characters carved onto the black stone before.Fandi ordered: "Dig this black stone out for me completely."With the boss having given the order, how could the pirates dare not comply?They all picked up the tools nearby and cleared the soil off the black stone."What on earth is this thing?" Marcus, who was standing to the side, thought to himself while watching the black stone.That's right, Marcus had also followed Fandi down, except Marcus had used Space Isolation to hide himself.And since not a single one of these pirates had Awakening of Observation Haki, they naturally couldn't detect Marcus's presence.Most of this black stone was hidden in the soil, and just by the little bit exposed, Marcus couldn't tell what it was either.However, Marcus had a guess in his heart, but without seeing the whole picture, Marcus didn't dare to make a final judgment.Boom... boom... boom...But just as the pirates started to dig out the black stone, a series of explosive sounds rang out all around the top of the giant pit, accompanied by flashes of fire that illuminated the entire giant pit as if it were broad daylight.Before the people below could even react to what was happening, a huge disaster quietly arrived.These explosives had been planted by the pirates; they were originally intended to kill all the residents.The pirates' earlier plan was to have all the residents enter this pit as usual, and then detonate the explosives above to bury all the residents alive.Therefore, these explosives were buried very deep, but now, for some unknown reason, they had been detonated.The powerful force generated by the explosives caused the top to collapse.Consequently, countless stones fell from above, creating a truly spectacular rain of stones.But for the people at the bottom of the pit, it was simply tragic, with countless giant stones falling from a height of dozens of meters.The small ones were only the size of a fist, while the large ones were as big as several people.For the pirates who had buried the explosives, no one knew better than them what kind of lethality the explosion would produce.So, the moment the explosives detonated, these pirates reacted and ran toward the top.But it was already too late; from a height of dozens of meters, given the speed at which these giant stones were falling, they smashed onto the ground instantly.Some pirates and residents who couldn't dodge in time were struck by these stones on the spot, their fates unknown.Fandi, who was rapidly dodging the stones, had a face full of terror, confusion, and resentment... To be safe, he had left quite a few men up top, so how could they have let these explosives detonate?If it were Marines or rivals arriving on the island, Bert, who was in the town, would have notified him long ago (Fandi still didn't know that Bert had been killed by Marcus). Who on earth did this?At this moment, Marcus, who had been hiding his figure, finally revealed himself, dodging the stones from above while moving.He also kept freeing up his hands to shatter the giant stones above the residents; as for some of the smaller ones, Marcus didn't have the energy to deal with them."These bastards, why did they have to plant so many explosives for no reason? Now they've been wiped out by someone, and they've dragged me into it too."Upon seeing a kid suddenly appear, some residents were nearly scared to death.But upon discovering that Marcus was powerful and was helping them, these residents all huddled toward Marcus's position.It was precisely because these residents were gathered around Marcus that Marcus could look after them.With Marcus stepping in, the number of deaths among the residents was quite low; most people were only injured.But the remaining pirates were not so lucky; many pirates were smashed to death on the spot by the countless giant stones, unable to even let out a scream.But this wasn't the end; these were just the falling rocks produced by the explosions, this wasn't the live burial.No one knew how many explosives these pirates had buried, but regardless, according to these pirates' plan.The power generated by the explosion was enough to bury the entire giant pit.One could see cracks appearing on the stone walls around the giant pit, and the four walls of the giant pit began to collapse.Countless soil mixed with stones flowed into the pit.Those pirates on the edges didn't even have time to react before they were buried alive.Watching this scene, Marcus revealed a bitter smile; this was similar to the mudslide that caused his death in his previous life. He hadn't expected to encounter it again in this world.However, he was different now compared to his previous life.In his previous life, he had no power to resist when encountering a mudslide, but now he could face it head-on; Marcus was very confident about this.Marcus was confident, but that didn't mean the residents beside him were. Watching the soil rushing in like a flood, everyone closed their eyes in despair; in this situation, there was simply no hope of escape."Space Shield!"Rumbling...In just half a minute, the giant pit that had appeared on the ground was buried in the blink of an eye. The project that thousands of people had spent half a year on was instantly destroyed in the face of nature's power.Beside the buried giant pit, a figure quietly watched everything happening before him, the corners of his mouth revealing a smug smile.And beside him lay the corpses of dozens of pirates.A gentle breeze blew by, and the word 'Justice' fluttered in the wind, but in this environment, it seemed completely out of place.That's right, the figure standing on the side was Deika, who originally should have been killed by Fandi.But now Deika was standing here perfectly fine, and just a moment ago, he had lit the explosives, burying everyone in this giant pit."Boom!" A loud noise came from the center of the giant pit, and immediately after, a figure burst out from the soil.UU Reading welcomes all readers to visit and read; the latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users please go to read.
Chapter 24 TruthOn the other side, led by Cali, the Marine landed on the small island.Cali fought back the urge to vomit as she watched the charred corpses passing before her eyes, feeling shocked once again by Marcus's strength.The pirates who had once terrified the entire town had died such miserable deaths at Marcus's hands.Just then, loud noises erupted from the forest, drawing everyone's attention.Seeing that the noises were coming from the forest, the townspeople's faces were filled with worry, as their families were all there.Garp looked toward the direction of the explosion, a hint of confusion appearing on his face.Garp was not particularly worried about Marcus's safety; he was very clear about Marcus's capabilities. Even if Marcus encountered an enemy he could not defeat, he would still be able to escape.Colonel Andre, take your men and head over there immediately, Garp commanded, seeing many residents looking toward the explosion with concern.Yes! Colonel Andre quickly acknowledged the order and led all the Marine Soldiers toward the source of the explosion....Deika looked at the figure emerging from the soil before him and chuckled softly, Captain Fandi, how did you end up like this?The person who had just emerged from the soil was Fandi. Upon emerging, Fandi saw the figure standing nearby and the corpses of his subordinates covering the ground.A surge of murderous intent welled up within him; he knew that all his elite subordinates had died in that explosion. Now, apart from those still guarding the town, he was the only one left in his Pirate Crew.His heart bled knowing that the subordinates who had followed him for so many years were almost all dead. If Fandi knew that his subordinates in the town had also been killed, he might have fainted from rage.When he saw the true face of the culprit, the shock inside Fandi was unimaginable—a man who had died by his own hand had suddenly come back to life.Fandi was not stupid; he immediately realized what had happened and understood everything. That bastard Deika had faked his death and then dealt him a fatal blow at the final moment.Seeing the anger on Fandi's face, Deika laughed smugly, It seems our Captain Fandi has figured it out, but what can you do now?Fandi laughed in extreme anger, Is that so? You actually managed to fool me with a fake death; that's truly impressive. But you didn't expect that I wouldn't die, did you?Deika nodded, That's right. Captain Fandi, your life is truly tough; you didn't die even after that.My life is tough enough that I can kill you, you bastard, with my own hands.As soon as he finished speaking, Fandi's whole body began to change. In the blink of an eye, the mud-covered Fandi disappeared, and a stone man took his place.Fandi was also a Devil Fruit User; he had eaten the Paramecia-type Stone-Stone Fruit, which allowed him to turn his entire body into a stone man. It was precisely because he was a Devil Fruit User that Fandi had been able to rush out unscathed.Feeling the immense power surging through his body, Fandi looked at Deika with murderous intent and charged toward him.Deika, I will definitely not let you off this time; I will tear you to pieces!Hearing Fandi's confident declaration, Deika smiled dismissively, slowly pulled a pistol from his clothes, and pointed it at the charging Fandi.Seeing Deika pointing a pistol at him, Fandi curled his lip in disdain. Guns were of little use against a Devil Fruit User, especially after he had turned into a stone man; let alone guns, even cannons would be useless against him.Bang.After the gunshot, the rapidly charging Fandiimmediately slowed down and finally collapsed powerlessly to the ground. His original smile gradually turned into fear.Looking at the Sea Stone bullet embedded in his chest, he said angrily, You actually used bullets made of Sea Stone, you despicable guy!Deika walked slowly toward Fandi and squatted beside him. Despicable! I think it's you who are naive, Captain Fandi! When did I ever say I was using ordinary bullets? That was just your own wishful thinking. Besides, you're a Devil Fruit Userdealing with an ordinary person like me; I think you're the one who's despicable.Fandi was left speechless and could only snort coldly in frustration, turning his head away to ignore Deika's existence.Captain Fandi, do you want to know why I knew you were going to kill me and had prepared for a fake death early on? Deika said softly.Although Fandi also wanted to know why, he didn't want to be looked down upon by this bastard at the very end.How would I know, you despicable villain? But you're ruthless; you calculated everything and stole the Treasure Trove that belonged to me.Your Treasure Trove, hahaha... Deika suddenly burst into laughter. This Treasure Trove belonged to me in the first place.What?Hearing Deika say this, Fandi could no longer contain himself and looked at Deika in confusion. What is going on? What do you mean it belonged to you in the first place?Meanwhile, Marcus, who was preparing to break out of the soil, immediately stopped his movements. Marcus felt that what was about to follow was the truth of the entire incident; the moment had finally come for it to surface.Of course, I obtained that treasure map from the beginning, but I had no way to retrieve it. Later, I thought of a good plan: give the treasure map to a pirate, and let him go to great lengths to retrieve the Treasure Trove. In the end, I would be the fisherman who reaps the rewards.How about that? My plan is pretty good, right? Deika said smugly, looking at Fandi's face full of anger.Fandi really wanted to punch Deika in the face, but having been hit by the Sea Stone, he had no strength at all.Thinking that he had been schemed against by Deika for half a year, Fandi was furious. No wonder this bastard had agreed to cooperate with him back then.Fandi gritted his teeth and said: So, the Marinecoming last night was also a lie to me? Just to complete your plan, to make me think you were already dead, so you could carry out what followed?Deika raised his index finger, shook it, and spoke.No, the Marine really came, and it was I who personally leaked the information. I estimate they have already landed by now. After I kill you all, I will hide the most important part of the Treasure Trove. When these Marine see me killing these pirates with my own hands, they will even record a great merit for me.Haha... how is that possible? Everyone in this town knows of your existence; you won't be able to hide it at all, Fandi said with a laugh, as if he had already seen the scene of Deika being killed by the Marine.Deika smiled slightly, Is that so? No one on this island has ever seen me. When the time comes, I'll just say that those pirates were using my name, and I happened to discover it and came over specifically to investigate. After I uncovered the pirates' conspiracy, I killed all the pirates, but it was already too late to save the others.You... After hearing Deika's plan, Fandi couldn't find a single flaw in it.This plan was indeed perfect. Could it be that this bastard who orchestrated everything would get away with it, while we have to take the blame for him?Suddenly thinking of something, Fandi burst into laughter, looking at Deika with a playful expression.You planned for so long just to obtain that item in the Treasure Trove that grants great power. But I'm sorry to disappoint you; it's just a black stone; it has no great power at all.Deika grabbed Fandi by the collar in a frenzy, shaking him repeatedly. What did you say? No such thing? What exactly is going on?Seeing Deika's reaction, Fandi laughed even louder. That bastard Deika had planned for so long but hadn't gotten what he wanted at all; what he got was just a piece of junk. This was truly karma!He pointed to the hole he had just emerged from. That thing was protected by me underneath just now; it's right in that hole. If you don't believe me, you can go take a look.Deika hurriedly ran over and began to dig.UU Reading welcomes all readers to visit and read; the latest, fastest, and most popular serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users, please visit the reading site.
Chapter 25: poneglyphAfter spending the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he finally dug the entire black stone out completely.Deika sat powerlessly on the ground, staring at the black stone before him.This black stone was just as Fandi had described; it was a cube, with one side engraved with strange symbols, while the other five sides were incredibly smooth, with nothing on them at all.After half a year of planning, all he had obtained was a useless black stone; it was easy to imagine how angry and helpless Deika felt inside.Fandi and Deika could not recognize what this black stone was, but Marcus saw it at a glance.This black stone—no, it should be called a stone carving—was a treasure whose value could not be measured.This black stone recorded the true poneglyph, displaying the one hundred years of history that the World Government went to great lengths to hide, as well as information about ancient weapons.It could be said that the content recorded on this type of black stone was the ultimate secret of this world.The trajectory of the entire Pirate King world was based on these poneglyphs scattered across the globe, progressing step by step.When Marcus was at Marineford, he had once searched for information regarding this, but the World Government's work was indeed impressive; they had managed to completely cover up the hundred-year void of history, with not a single record to be found.It was during this search that Marcus first realized the power of the World Government.To be able to artificially erase an entire hundred years of history from the world, leaving no trace in any written book or record, one could easily imagine the World Government's control and strength over the world.Apart from a few people who knew, all that remained were those indestructible stone carvings that recorded the poneglyphs.Even the countries with countless high-tech advancements from his previous life could not exert such powerful control over the world.It was precisely because he understood this that Marcus did not continue his investigation, fearing he would be targeted by those secret intelligence organizations.But he hadn't expected to encounter one today; although he didn't recognize the characters on it, that didn't mean Marcus didn't want to transcribe them.When the time came, he only needed to find Nico Robin to translate the text; after all, she was the only person in the world who could read these characters.Deika was indeed a clever person; he immediately guessed that these characters were the key point and that the real treasure was very likely hidden within them.Thinking of this, Deika's dejected attitude vanished, and he looked at the characters on the black stone with excitement.He took out a piece of paper and a pen from his body, preparing to copy down all the characters.Once he left this island, he would find a way to translate these characters.Seeing that Deika's attention was entirely on the black stone, Fandi quietly moved his right hand to his wound, preparing to pull out the bullet made of Sea Stone.However, the suppressive power of Sea Stoneagainst ability users was simply too strong; let alone removing the bullet, even moving his hand was incredibly difficult.After multiple failed attempts, Fandi finally gave up on this futile action.Having been shot with a bullet made of Sea Stone, he could not remove it on his own without someone else's help.At this moment, Deika, on the side, had already finished copying all the characters, placing the paper on his person and keeping it carefully."This treasure can only be obtained by me alone. As for this black stone, let me destroy it!" Deika looked at the black stone that had already fulfilled its mission."Rankyaku!" Deika kicked towards the black stone through the air, and a pale blue, tangible beam of light shot from the tip of his foot, striking the black stone.A powerful explosion occurred around the black stone, kicking up a huge cloud of smoke.Marcus, who was familiar with the Six Powers, recognized at once that this was Rankyaku, one of the Six Powers.Unlike Soru, which Marcus often used, Rankyaku did not cause damage by kicking the enemy directly, but rather by whipping up a vacuum attack!It was like a sharp blade, cutting down the opponent. That blue light was actually an extremely strong wind kicked out by the foot.Although the method of attack was just an extremely strong wind, one should not underestimate the lethality of Rankyaku; when practiced to a certain level, it could even cut through steel.Looking at that powerful explosion, Deika's control over Rankyaku had reached an extremely high level.Unfortunately, this level of power alone was not enough to destroy the black stone; this kind of black stone was extremely hard, and it could be said that no one in this world could destroy it.As the dust settled, the black stone still stood there, and Deika's powerful attack had not left even a single mark."What?" Deika murmured in disbelief; he was very clear about the power of his kick just now.Even if he hadn't used his full strength, he had used eighty percent of it; how could he not even destroy a single stone?How is this possible... Rankyaku! Rankyaku! Rankyaku...Deika couldn't believe what he was seeing, and kept firing Rankyaku after Rankyaku at the black stone, but when the dust cleared, the black stone still stood there, completely undamaged.Watching the scene before him, Fandi was initially extremely shocked, but then he thought of something, and a smile slowly appeared on his face, eventually bursting into loud laughter."Hahahaha..."Fandi said with a mocking expression: "Deika! Your plan was perfect, but in reality, anything can happen. You, who foresaw everything, didn't foresee that this black stone couldn't be shattered by you, did you? Now your goal will not be reached, and that treasure will not belong to you either. Your scheme has failed!"Having his inner pain exposed by Fandi, Deika, in a fit of rage, unleashed a Rankyaku at the fallen Fandi.But Deika was indeed a villain who could endure; in the end, he forcibly suppressed his killing intent towards Fandi, because Fandi was still useful.Deika planned to kill Fandi right in front of the Marines just as they arrived, so that the Marines would believe him.At the last moment, he shifted his foot slightly to the left, and the highly destructive pale blue beam of light grazed past Fandi; although it did not cut Fandiin half, Fandi's right arm was still severed.With his right arm severed, blood flowed out like a stream, and intense pain surged into his brain, but Fandi forcibly endured this pain.Excessive blood loss caused Fandi's face to turn pale instantly, and watching Deika's furious appearance, Fandi laughed while enduring the pain."When the Marines arrive, the secret of this treasure will definitely not be hidden. But when the Marines discover that it records incredibly powerful forces, they will surely search for it. After designing this for so long, this treasure will not belong to you in the end. Deika, you are lifting a rock only to drop it on your own feet. Hahaha..."With every word Fandi spoke, Deika's killing intent towards him intensified; at this moment, Deika's killing intent had reached its peak, and even the air seemed to be frozen by it.However, at this moment, a figure rushed out from underground at a spot covered by soil next to Deika.This person was Marcus, who had been hiding underground all along. After learning the whole truth, Marcus decided not to hide anymore; it was time to come out and resolve the whole matter.Deika and Fandi were startled by the figure that rushed out; how could anyone still exist after such a powerful explosion?Fandi instantly became overjoyed; someone who could survive that explosion must possess decent strength.And among the people buried below, those residents were just ordinary people and simply didn't have such strength, so this person must be his subordinate.As long as this subordinate could remove the Sea Stone bullet from his body, then with their combined strength, they would definitely be able to defeat that bastard Deika.As long as he killed Deika, he could then hide the black stone before the Marines arrived, take the white paper with the records, and escape; the treasure would be his.Deika also considered this situation, so his expression immediately turned ugly; how could Fandi still have such a subordinate?Although he felt danger, Deika was not afraid; although he might not be able to beat these two, he could still manage to escape.What really made Deika feel uncomfortable was the loss of face; he had just boasted about how perfect his plan was, but suddenly so many uncertain factors had appeared.But when Marcus landed, what appeared on Deikaand Fandi's faces was not shock, but fright, and the same sentence popped into both of their minds."Where did this brat come from? Isn't this just screwing us over!"Marcus saw through their thoughts at a glance; after all, he had seen too many such gazes over the past year."Kid, who are you?" Fandi said angrily.Having experienced the feeling of going from heaven to Hell once again, one could imagine Fandi's mood.If he weren't completely powerless, given Fandi's temper from over a decade ago, he would have just slashed over."Marine Captain, Marcus!""Marine!?"UU Reading welcomes all readers to visit and read; the latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users please go to read.
Chapter 26: Killing Fandi"How is this possible!"Deika thought in confusion, how could a Marineappear here? And looking at the situation, this Marine had clearly been here for a long time. People had been guarding the town the whole time!"What did you do to my men in town? How many Marines came?" Fandi asked Marcus anxiously.Since this Marine was here, it was very likely that his men in town had met with trouble; otherwise, how could he have not received news of the Marines' arrival?He was still waiting for his men in town to discover the unusual activity here and come to support him. If those men were dead, he was truly doomed.Since everything was already clear, Marcus did not intend to hide it. "They died last night, and the rest of the Marines should be rushing here right now."Deika immediately realized an unprecedented crisis. It was no longer a question of whether he could obtain the Treasure Trove, but rather a matter of how to survive.However, before escaping, this Marine had to die. He must have heard everything just now. He had to die; if this Marine didn't die, he wouldn't be able to sleep or eat in peace.Deika was also a decisive person. Knowing he didn't have much time left, he had to resolve this as quickly as possible. While Marcus's attention was on Fandi, he attacked Marcus, hoping to catch him off guard."Tempest Kick"Deika did not hold back at all, opening with a lethal move. The pale blue light was like the blade of the Grim Reaper, vowing not to stop until it severed Marcus's head.Although most of Marcus's attention was on Fandi, that did not mean he had let his guard down against Deika. When Deika launched the sneak attack, Marcus had already noticed it."Shave." This was also a Rokushiki technique he often used. Marcus teleported to the side, narrowly dodging the Tempest Kick attack."Shave." Marcus teleported to Deika's side and threw a punch at the still-unprepared Deika.Although Deika was a disgrace to the Marines, he possessed decent combat ability to have become a Navy Colonel. Although he was shocked that Marcus could master "Shave" at such a young age, which caused his reaction to be a beat slow.But Deika's reaction ability in combat was still quite good. Since he couldn't dodge Marcus's imminent attack, he could only defend."Iron Body"Deika took a deep breath, and the muscles in his chest immediately bulged, preparing to take Marcus's punch head-on."Clang..." Marcus's fist struck Deika's body, emitting a sound like steel colliding. Enduring the pain in his hand, he suddenly increased the force in his fist, knocking Deika back several steps.Iron Body, a defensive technique among the Rokushiki. By channeling power into a well-trained body, it gains the hardness of iron, making it impervious even to ordinary bullets and blades.So, don't be fooled by Marcus knocking Deika back; in reality, Deika hadn't suffered any injuries at all. The one who was truly hurt was Marcus. If you punch steel with a bare fist, who do you think comes out worse?Seeing that Deika couldn't stop his backward momentum, Marcus wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. However, having suffered a loss just now, Marcus had learned his lesson and coated his fist with a layer of Space Shield.Seeing Marcus seize the opportunity to rush forward, Deika stomped his feet hard, sinking deep into the soil to stop his retreat. In his haste, he threw a punch to trade blows with Marcus.Tempest Kick! Shave! Iron Body!...For a time, two figures were in the arena, attacking each other rapidly. The two fought relying solely on pure physical techniques, kicking up massive waves of air, and countless dust particles surrounded them.Marcus did not use his Devil Fruit Ability, instead using the Six Powers against Deika. The power of the Six Powers was displayed to the fullest in their hands.Meanwhile, Fandi on the sidelines was having a miserable time. Every collision between Marcus and Deika generated a powerful shockwave.Many gravel stones near the two were sent flying into the air. Fandi, being powerless and unable to move, had many of these stones falling onto him.Watching the two fighting fiercely, Fandi could only keep cursing Deika for shooting Sea Stone bullets into his body, which had left him in this state."Boom!" The two collided like two meteorites, and a massive shockwave dispersed in all directions. Utilizing this powerful recoil, both sides quickly retreated."I didn't expect that there would be a Genius like you in the Headquarters, possessing the combat power of a Navy Colonel at only eleven years old," Deika said, panting heavily.It was evident that the battle just now had been extremely draining for Deika.Although Deika had blocked many attacks with Iron Body, Iron Body was not omnipotent. Its greatest utility was blocking cuts from sharp weapons and bullets. This kind of pure force was not something Iron Body could block.Don't be fooled by the fact that Deika appeared uninjured on the surface; in reality, many parts inside his body had already sustained damage.Marcus's situation was much better. Although his breathing was also very rapid, he hadn't sustained any injuries.After all, Marcus's Space Shield was very powerful, often blocking Deika's attacks at critical moments. He was just suffering from significant physical exhaustion now."Is that so? But I didn't expect your combat power to be so high," Marcus said with a hint of surprise.Hearing Marcus's praise, Deika laughed self-deprecatingly: "Is that so? Most people who know me a little bit would think I'm just a petty person. You thought the same earlier, right!"Marcus nodded. "That's right, I did. But not anymore. Your strength qualifies you to be a Navy Colonel. But there is one thing I don't understand?"Having fought a match with Marcus, Deika was in a fairly good mood and asked curiously: "Oh, what is it? I think I might be able to answer.""With your combat power and your level of intelligence, you are qualified to be a Commodore. Why... do you still do this?" Marcus voiced his question."Hahaha..." Deika laughed loudly and said mockingly: "Commodore? It's possible. But sometimes, the higher you stand, the harder it is to do certain things."Marcus nodded with a smile. It was indeed true. Wasn't his teacher Garp the same? With his teacher's strength and reputation, he could even be the Fleet Admiral, but why had he always been a Vice Admiral? It was simply because Garp didn't want to be."How about it? To have such combat power at such a young age, it seems your teacher is no simple person either. You know the darkness of some Marines better than I do; why not just join me and do this together?" Seeing Marcus lost in thought, Deika, who was on the verge of death, suddenly had the idea to recruit Marcus."Is that so?" Marcus smiled slightly. "I am different from the rest of the Marines. I have my own justice in my heart. In my eyes, people like you should be killed."Deika had long anticipated Marcus's answer. At around ten years old, this kid named Marcus already had the combat power of a Navy Colonel. His future in the Marines was limitless; how could he possibly follow him?Deika took a deep breath, killing intent gushing from his eyes. He had to kill this kid in front of him to survive.Facing Deika's killing intent, Marcus did not show any weakness, and a powerful Battle Intent surged from his body.Fight!!!!To quickly resolve Deika, Marcus did not hold back this time, even using his spatial ability."Space Lock"Deika, who was attacking at high speed, instantly came to a halt, his entire body trapped by a force of space.But Deika's combat power was not weak; he instantly broke free using his own strength. In reality, this was just because Marcus had held back. Marcus's Space Lock could even trap Garp for a moment; if Marcus had maintained it at full power, Deika might not have been able to break free.Seeing Deika break free, Marcus had no reaction at all and just stood there quietly, because Marcus had already prepared. More than a dozen "Death Ball"s appeared around Deika.Deika looked vigilantly at these suddenly appearing little black balls. Deika felt an aura of death from these small balls.Upon knowing that this kid was also a Devil Fruit User, Deika had originally wanted to escape, but these small balls had blocked his retreat."Boom, boom..."A series of explosions rang out from two locations. Marcus had not forgotten about Fandi, who was lying to the side with his hand cut off by Deika. In Marcus's view, trashy pirates like Fandi were also destined to die.As the smoke cleared, Fandi, who was already extremely weak from excessive blood loss, could not withstand the power of several "Death Ball" explosions and was killed on the spot.As a Devil Fruit User, Fandi could be said to have died very indignantly. Just as he started using his Devil Fruit Ability, he was hit by a Sea Stone bullet from Deika, and then tragedy struck. Lying on the ground, powerless, he was first had an arm severed by Deika, and then was blown to death by Marcus.Fandi was probably crying for his own plight in his final moments."The author is too hateful, writing me as worse than an extra; at the very least, there should have been a fight scene!"The smoke dispersed, and a figure was still standing.UU Reading welcomes all readers to visit and read. The latest, fastest, and most popular serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users please go to read.
Chapter 27: Killing DeikaAlthough Fandi was killed on the spot by the explosion, Deika was quite tenacious.At the final moment of the explosion, Deika used the Six Powers technique, 'Iron Body', to forcibly withstand the first wave of the explosive force.However, in order to quickly finish off these two men, Marcus had set up a layer of spatial barrier around them. The power of dozens of 'Death Ball' explosions was concentrated in a small space; one could imagine what would happen to anyone inside.It was already quite impressive that Deika hadn't died on the spot, but after experiencing such an explosion, he was on the verge of death. Without treatment, he was certain to die.Looking at Marcus, who hadn't even moved from his spot, a self-deprecating smile flashed across Deika's face.This kid was so young, yet his combat power was so high. Relying solely on the Six Powers, he could fight him to a draw without falling behind. Furthermore, he possessed a powerful ability; Deikahad been defeated without even knowing how the kid had attacked.In truth, Deika didn't know that Marcus had been using his ability during their fight, just that he had been using it for defense. If he hadn't used his ability, Marcus would not have been a match for Deika, but there were no "ifs" in this world; the facts were as they stood.Seeing that Deika hadn't died under such an explosion, Marcus was also surprised, but Deika had to die; such a person had no right to live in this world.Marcus slowly walked toward Deika on the ground. Although he had survived the explosion, Deika's body was charred black, and he was no longer recognizable as a human.Watching Marcus approach, Deika knew that Marcus had come to kill him. Facing the impending death, Deika was very calm; he felt neither fear nor dread.Because Deika knew that in his current situation, he was certain to die. Since that was the case, why worry so much?Marcus stared at Deika expressionlessly. In Marcus's heart, he was already a dead man.Using his last remaining strength, Deika asked a question, "I want to know, who exactly did I lose to? Who is your teacher?"Marcus was willing to grant the wish of a dying man. "Marcus, Marine Captain. As for my teacher, it is Vice Admiral Garp.""Vice Admiral Garp, so that's how it is," Deikamuttered in realization.Deika was very clear about the deeds of Vice Admiral Garp. Vice Admiral Garp was a hero of the Marines who had chased Pirate King Roger into retreat back in the day, and his combat power was formidable.So this kid named Marcus was actually a Disciple of Vice Admiral Garp. No wonder he was so young yet so strong. With such a powerful teacher training him, how could the Disciple's strength be weak?Just as Marcus was preparing to kill Deika, who would have thought that Deika would pull out a gun and pull the trigger directly. Marcus had thought Deika had no power left to resist, but he hadn't expected that he still had a trump card. At this moment, Marcus couldn't dodge the bullet in time.Seeing the bullet hit Marcus, Deika laughed loudly. "Hahaha... kid, now you can die with me!"That bullet wasn't an ordinary bullet; it was the Sea Stone bullet used earlier to deal with Fandi. Deikahadn't used it before because he wanted to find a good opportunity, but who knew he would be instantly defeated by Marcus.Deika's actions just now were to make Marcus lower his guard and seize the opportunity to deal a fatal blow. Deika already knew he couldn't survive, but he had to drag this kid down with him.With the Sea Stone inside his body, this kid would be powerless, even worse off than he was now."Aren't you happy a bit too early?" Marcus used his spatial power to hold the Sea Stone in mid-air, staring intently at Deika.Seeing that Marcus was completely fine, Deikashouted in disbelief: "How is that possible? You're a Devil Fruit user, how could you hold Sea Stone?"Marcus's situation just now was extremely perilous. If he hadn't reacted quickly and rapidly set up a spatial barrier to block the bullet, he would have been dead for sure.After experiencing what just happened, Marcusdidn't make any unnecessary movements and directly used his spatial power to kill Deika.After confirming that Deika was dead, Marcus finally breathed a sigh of relief. Recalling the situation just now, Marcus still felt terrified. It was because he had been careless for a moment that he let Deika seize the opportunity and was almost killed.After killing Deika and Fandi, Marcus finally had time to look at the stone tablet inscribed with the poneglyph. After observing it for a while, Marcusgained nothing.He had no choice but to first record the text on the stone tablet, then create two Void Blades and dig up a large tree along with the soil beneath it.He placed the stone tablet in the pit below, used his spatial power to hide it, and then erased all traces.That's right, Marcus planned to hide the stone tablet. He didn't want to hand such a thing over to the Marine higher-ups. The reason Marcus had finished off Deika so quickly just now was to hide the stone tablet before the Marines arrived.Just as Marcus finished hiding the stone tablet, the Marine Soldiers finally arrived, led by Colonel Andre. At the same time, some town residents were following behind; they were worried about the safety of their loved ones and had specifically followed the Marines, and the Cali sisters were among them.The arriving residents immediately scanned the area, looking to see if their loved ones were there. However, the only person standing at the scene was Marcus, and many dead pirates lay on the ground; apart from that, there was no one else.The residents looked at the large pit buried in front of them and the destruction caused by the fierce battle, but there was no sign of any of their loved ones. A bad premonition flashed through the hearts of many residents.Colonel Andre also noticed that something was wrong and asked Marcus in a low voice: "Marine Captain Marcus, what is going on? Where are the residents who were captured?"Marcus stomped on the ground and said: "They are all buried underneath."Hearing Marcus's answer, some of the nearby residents fainted on the spot, many began to cry, and their gazes toward Marcus were filled with hostility.Hearing Marcus's answer, Colonel Andre's mouth twitched involuntarily. "Marine Captain Marcus, you are too honest. After something like this happened, you still say it so loudly."Seeing that the residents had misunderstood his meaning, Marcus couldn't help but laugh and cry. He quickly explained: "I only said they were buried underneath; I didn't say they were dead. They were protected by my Devil Fruit ability, and now they are all alive."After hearing Marcus's explanation, everyone realized what had happened and looked at Marcus, feeling a bit embarrassed.A massive excavation operation began, but these people were too slow. Fearing that the people underneath would suffocate, Marcus had to take action.Watching the countless families reuniting in front of him, a knowing smile appeared on Marcus's face. His mission had been accomplished; there was nothing left for him to do here, and it was time to go find the Stinky Old Man."Father!" The Cali sisters rushed into the arms of a middle-aged man. After half a year, feeling their father's embrace again, tears couldn't help but stream from their eyes.Especially Cali, who not only had to endure the pain of her mother's passing but also had to take care of her young sister. The pressure on Cali over the past half-year had been too great.Now all of that was gone, and it was all because of one person - Marcus. If not for him, this day would have just been a dream for her.Just when Cali was about to thank Marcus, she realized that Marcus had already left.The middle-aged man noticed Cali's actions and asked in confusion: "Cali, who are you looking for?"The Little Girl understood her sister's thoughts and spoke up: "Father, big sister is looking for that big brother, the one who saved everyone.""That young man is truly amazing; he is the savior of us all," the middle-aged man said with emotion.UU Reading welcomes all readers to visit and read. The latest, fastest, and most popular serialized works are all on UU Reading! Mobile users please go to read.
Chapter 28: Token of Love"Stinky Kid, you did well," Garp praised.In this incident, Marcus performed very well; he was composed in the face of adversity, calm in his actions, and possessed an excellent sense of the big picture.Garp had been in the Marine for so many years and had seen many Marine Soldiers with great potential. But this was the first time Garp had seen someone of Marcus's age who possessed such powerful combat strength, perfect perspective, and wisdom.Now that the promising Marcus was his own apprentice, Garp was naturally very happy. Garpbelieved that if given some time, Marcus would definitely become the most powerful Marine Soldierin the history of the Marine.As for Garp's praise, Marcus still felt very strange. The Stinky Old Man had always belittled him; why would he praise him today?"Stinky Old Man, I haven't seen you for a night, did you eat something wrong?""Hahaha..." The Marine Soldiers nearby, upon hearing Marcus's words, tightly suppressed their laughter. On the entire ship, Marcus was the only one who could speak to Vice Admiral Garp like that.Garp, who was in a good mood, felt terrible upon hearing this. Especially after hearing the laughter of the other Marine Soldiers, Garp suddenly became annoyed."Clang..."Since Marcus had ruined his mood, Garp had no choice but to transfer his anger onto Marcus. Garpdirectly delivered an 'Iron Fist of Love' to Marcus's forehead, sending him flying.Rubbing his slightly dizzy head, Marcus climbed out from a pile of broken wooden planks and muttered: "Is this the real Stinky Old Man? I must have been mistaken just now.""Right, Stinky Old Man, isn't the matter resolved? Why aren't we leaving yet?" Marcus asked Garploudly.Garp, still in a bad mood, couldn't be bothered to answer Marcus's question and walked toward the rattan chair nearby. He hadn't slept all night, and he needed to make up for it today.A Marine Soldier nearby explained: "Lieutenant Lin Tian, we are running low on some supplies on the ship and need to restock on this island.""Oh, so that's it. Thanks," Marcus thanked the Marine Soldier.Since it would take some time to depart, Marcusfound a corner and lay down. He hadn't slept all night and had fought two battles; he was already exhausted. Now that he had time, he should get some rest.However, not long after Marcus lay down and was about to fall asleep, he was woken up again."Sigh!" Marcus sighed, climbed up, and asked, "What is it now?""Lieutenant Lin Tian, someone is here to see you and says they have something to tell you," the Marine Soldier replied.Marcus followed the leading Marine Soldier with a puzzled expression. He had come to this small island and didn't know anyone. Could it be her? If it were her, it would make sense, but why would she come to find him?Following the Marine Soldier, Marcus didn't walk far before arriving at a beach next to the pier.Seeing the silhouette on the beach, Marcus knew he had guessed correctly; the person looking for him was indeed Cali. However, Marcus felt a bit puzzled as to why Cali was looking for him.Marcus walked toward Cali on the beach. Today, Cali was wearing a white dress embroidered with a pure white orchid. Her long hair was tied back with a light purple ribbon.Blue sky, white clouds, the ocean, a gentle breeze, and a beautiful woman—what a beautiful natural picture this was. Marcus, who had been an orphan in his past life, had never seen such scenery, and for a moment, he was stunned.After a while, Marcus snapped out of it, rubbed his nose in embarrassment, and realized he had been rude. She had called him over to talk, but he had just stared at her blankly; this was too embarrassing.Marcus said awkwardly: "Uh! Cali, what did you want to see me about? Is your father doing alright?"Although Cali was standing with her back to Marcus, she was very aware of his actions and expressions. Upon discovering that Marcus was staring at her intently, Cali's face had already turned beet red, and she was too embarrassed to turn around.She had no choice but to reply with her back to him: "Hmm, I came this time to thank you. If it weren't for you, my father would never have been able to come back.""It's nothing, that's what I promised you." Marcuswas quite pleased with Cali's gratitude.However, he felt a bit puzzled as to why Cali was standing with her back to him. Was he that scary? Cali was acting a bit strange today; last night, when she faced him, she was full of Haki. Why couldn't she even bring herself to look at him today?Cali said shyly: "Marcus, since you saved my father, I have prepared a gift for you."Seeing that Cali kept her back to him, Marcuswanted to tease her. He slowly walked behind her without making a sound and stood there quietly.After waiting for a while and seeing that Marcushadn't answered her, Cali began to panic, feeling a bit worried. "Marcus, Marcus! Are you still there?"Cali called out a few times, but there was no answer from behind. Thinking that Marcus had already left, she quickly turned around to look. Just as Cali turned around, a familiar face was right in front of her.The suddenly appearing face startled Cali, and her body instinctively recoiled. But because she retreated too hastily, her footing gave way, and she lost her balance, falling toward the sand.Seeing Cali falling, Marcus's first thought was definitely not to let her hit the ground. So, Marcusgrabbed Cali and pulled her into his arms.The moment she fell into Marcus's embrace, Caliwas stunned. Apart from her father, this was the first time she had been held by a boy.Realizing that their position was inappropriate, Calihurriedly broke free from Marcus's embrace. After what had just happened, the two stood there awkwardly. Cali, in particular, had a flush of red on her face and was so shy she didn't know what to say.Finally, it was Marcus who spoke, breaking the silence between them: "Right, Cali, what was it you said just now? I didn't hear it."Cali rolled her eyes at Marcus and took a cyan jade pendant from her chest. "This was left to me by my mother before she died. This jade pendant is a pair. I keep one piece on me, and I'm giving this remaining one to you."Taking the jade pendant Cali handed over and feeling the warmth on it, Marcus observed it carefully before carefully putting it away.Seeing Marcus being so careful with the jade pendant, she couldn't help but find it funny and chuckled: "It's just a jade pendant, there's no need for that."After putting the jade pendant away, Marcus looked at Cali and said seriously: "I want it, why wouldn't I? This is a token of love, so of course I have to be careful. If I lost this, it would be a huge sin."Upon hearing the words "token of love", Cali's face turned red instantly. She stomped her feet and said shyly: "You only know how to talk nonsense. This is just an ordinary gift; it's not any..."The shy Cali was like a Fairy who had fallen into the mortal world, making one unable to resist wanting to protect her.Marcus said with a grin: "Your mother gave it to you, and it's a pair; this must be a token of love. It definitely is a token of love."Facing Marcus's teasing, Cali couldn't utter a single word of retort, because when her mother gave her the jade pendants, she had said that these two jade pendants were tokens of love to be given to her future partner.She didn't know what was wrong with her today; why had she suddenly given the jade pendant away? Since she had given it to him, she couldn't ask for it back, and besides, deep down, Cali didn't want it back either.Unable to refute, Cali had to respond with silence....After restocking supplies, Marcus was ready to set off.To thank the Marine for saving the entire island, the residents of the island spontaneously rushed to the pier to see off the departing Marine Soldiers.Clutching the jade pendant, Marcus waved goodbye to Cali, who was standing in front of the crowd.As he was leaving, that little girl Cali actually kissed him. Touching the spot on his right cheek where Calihad kissed him, a happy smile appeared on Marcus's face.In this incident, he had not only gained combat experience but also obtained the poneglyph and won the heart of a beauty; he could be considered the biggest winner in this event.PS: This is my first time writing a chapter like this involving romance, and it was really difficult for me, so please forgive me if some parts are not written well!UU Reading welcomes all book friends to come and read. The latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all on UU Reading! Mobile users, please go to read.
Chapter 29: Colonel Lin TianStart the operation!Following Marcus's order, the Marines took up their weapons and cautiously advanced toward the canyon.Meanwhile, inside the canyon, a Pirate Crew of nearly a hundred people was trapped by the Marines.They were surrounded by the Marines on all sides, and now this Pirate Crew had become turtles in a jar for the Marines.A pirate observing the Marines' movements from the canyon entrance ran over, "Captain, the Marines have made their move; they have started their attack."Hearing that the Marines had attacked, the many pirates became restless. Although they knew the Marines would attack, now that it was actually happening, many pirates were still incredibly panicked."Everyone shut up!" the Captain roared.Forced by the Captain's authority, the panicked pirates had to force themselves to quiet down. Going against the Captain in this situation was just asking for death!The Captain looked around at the quiet crowd and said, "Now that we have been surrounded by the Marines, I only have a chance at survival if we fight for our lives."After a pause, the Captain said with a vicious look, "If anyone tries to flee or surrender halfway, don't blame me for not considering our years of friendship."Since the Captain had spoken, the pirates quickly echoed him."That's right, if we follow the Captain, we will definitely escape.""Kill those Marines!""By the way, who is leading the Marines this time?" Although the Captain had decided to fight the Marines to the death, he still had to understand the opponent's combat strength.If the opposing Marines were much stronger than them, charging in wouldn't be brave, it would be suicide. It would be better to surrender early to save their lives.Thinking of the Marine leading this time, the pirate who had come to report couldn't stop his whole body from trembling, and he said in a shaky voice, "This time… this time it is Navy Colonel Lin Tian.""Hiss..." Hearing this name, the pirates couldn't help but gasp. This name was not only thunderous to pirates, but most people in this world had heard of it."Colonel Lin Tian" was known as the most promising Marine Soldier since the founding of the Marines.He joined the Marines at eleven, was taken as a Disciple by Marine Hero Garp, trained at Marine Headquarters for a year, and then followed Vice Admiral Garp to roam the first half of the Grand Line.In one year, Marcus, relying on numerous war exploits and powerful combat strength, was promoted from Marine Captain to Navy Colonel.Having such an excellent soldier under his command, and being a Disciple of Garp, given the nature of Marine Headquarters, they naturally had to publicize it heavily; this was a good opportunity to increase the Marines' reputation.Therefore, at that time, the Marines highlighted Marcus's story at a press conference, boasting that Marcus was the strongest soldier in Marine history.Of course, this was already a fact; the Marines just made it sound more perfect.Consequently, Marcus became famous worldwide overnight. Everyone in the world knew Marcus's name, while our subject only found out about it through the newspaper on the third day.When Marcus found out, he was stunned on the spot.In Marcus's view, his strength was still so weak, and to be noticed by the whole world—wasn't Marine Headquarters setting him up?Since the matter had already happened and couldn't be changed, it could still be remedied.So, Marcus went to find Garp, hoping Garp could get Marine Headquarters not to release his photo. Garp also understood the seriousness of the situation and notified Marine Headquarters.Relying on Garp's prestige, Fleet Admiral Sengokuagreed immediately.So now, the world knows Marcus, but almost no one knows what Marcus looks like.Actually, what these pirates feared was not Marcus's reputation, but how Colonel Lin Tian dealt with pirates.Pirates targeted by Marcus generally had two fates: living or dying.This Colonel Lin Tian never had prisoners in his hands.He wouldn't do things according to Marineregulations; if he thought you hadn't done anything bad, even if you were a pirate, he would let you go.Quite a few pirates with high bounties had escaped with their lives from his hands.Conversely, if you were evil, even if you knelt to surrender, Marcus would kill you without hesitation.It was precisely because of this that these pirates felt afraid. These pirates knew clearly what kind of people they were, and now that they didn't even have a chance to surrender, they could only fight to the death.Watching these pirates actually dare to come out and have a direct battle with the Marines, a flash of surprise crossed Marcus's eyes.But there was more disdain; pirates like this dared to fight them head-on—it was truly overestimating themselves.Regarding this Pirate Crew, Marcus had already investigated them; the highest bounty among this Pirate Crew was only 60 million Berries.However, this Pirate Crew was just trash. A week ago, this Pirate Crew wantonly massacred people in a small town.It was Marcus who discovered the place at that time. The scene was truly horrific; at least a thousand people had died in that massacre.And the reason these pirates massacred the place was just to announce their arrival to the Grand Line.Marcus was furious at the time, so for the past week, Marcus had been searching for this Pirate Crew. Now that he had finally found them, this Pirate Crew would all die today.He gave an order to the Marines on the side, "Have all the Marines gather at the canyon entrance. Since these pirates want to fight us head-on, we have to give them a chance.""Yes," the Marine Soldier quickly picked up the den den mushi and relayed the latest order to the surrounding Marines.At the canyon entrance, when the pirates all walked out of the canyon, the Marines had gathered as well."This time, same as usual, I don't want any prisoners," Marcus said loudly, standing at the very front."Yes," the Marines answered with high Aura. These Marines had all seen the tragedy in that town, and now seeing these culprits, they were already filled with killing intent.Compared to the scene on the Marine side, the momentum on the pirate side was not bad either.Since there was no retreat and no chance to surrender, they could only fight to the death."Kill!""Kill!"Both sides, like a torrent, crashed into each other.In just one encounter, more than a dozen people fell to the ground, but those who fell were all pirates.And those Marines who were struck by the pirates were completely fine.In fact, it was just Marcus adding a Space Shield to the Marine Soldiers charging at the front, but it only served a purpose at the very beginning.After all, for these Marine Soldiers to grow, they had to experience such battles.Marcus slowly walked through the battlefield toward the Captain on the other side, and no pirate around dared to come and stop him.Just a moment ago, a few pirates swung their swords to attack Marcus, but before they could get close to him, they instantly died, and Marcus didn't even glance at them.Seeing this eerie situation, the pirates realized, "This Colonel Lin Tian before us is even more terrifying than the legends."Watching Marcus get closer and closer, the Captain's heart slowly sank.From the death of those subordinates just now, the Captain already understood that this Colonel Lin Tian before him had extremely powerful combat strength; he was simply no match for him.According to the Captain's usual practice, when encountering an enemy he couldn't beat, it was of course best to run first.But looking at the situation now, the other party had locked onto him; if he moved, the other party would likely be right on his heels.Step by step...When the Marines had finished dealing with all the pirates, Marcus had also walked in front of the Captain.During this time, the Captain had already been on the verge of collapse.He could only stand there, watching his subordinates die one by one, waiting for someone to come and take his life, while he couldn't do anything.Feeling death approaching step by step, under this immense pressure, the Captain finally broke down.He drew his sword and rushed toward Marcus like a madman, shouting, "Why have you been chasing us? Why do you have to kill us all? Since I can't live, don't think you will either. Go to hell! Go to hell!"Marcus opened his hand toward the Captain rushing at him. Thinking of those who had died tragically, Marcus's eyes were filled with anger."Space Crush," he whispered.Suddenly, the Captain's body stopped instantly, as if restrained by something.Then, countless cracks appeared on the Captain's body, just like a piece of glass about to shatter.Clang!Looking at the corpse that had shattered into who knows how many pieces, Marcus murmured, "People like you deserve to die."UU Reading welcomes many book friends to visit and read; the latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users please go to read.
Chapter 30: The Escaped SlaveLooking at the completely annihilated Pirate Crewbefore him, a flash of relief and worry crossed Garp's eyes.The relief came from the fact that over the past year, Marcus had indeed made significant progress in combat experience and mastery of his Devil Fruit. Furthermore, he had lived up to his expectations and the sweat he had shed; in just one year, he had risen from Captain to Colonel, arguably the youngest Colonel in the history of the Marine.However, the worry was that Marcus really didn't have much sense of belonging to the Marine, and he did things as he pleased, acting according to his own whims. Just like last time, Marcus let a pirate with a bounty of over one hundred million Berries go because he had never killed any innocents.This incident caused quite a stir when it reached Marine Headquarters. Some people wanted to make an issue out of it, but in the end, he and Sengokumanaged to suppress it together.Garp had always felt that Marcus would leave the Marine one day because his heart wasn't really with the Marine. Marcus loved adventure and freedom, and the constraints of the Marine didn't suit him.Scanning the area, Garp did not find Marcus's figure and asked a nearby Marine Soldier, "Where did Colonel Lin Tian go? Why can't I see him?""Vice Admiral, Colonel Lin Tian just went to the town not far from here. He said he would come back when the time comes."...On the other side, not far from the canyon, lay a busy town. Because this was the intersection of two of the seven routes of the Grand Line, there were many pirates and merchant ships here. Likewise, because of such a large flow of people, it was also very prosperous.At this moment, Marcus was strolling along the central street of this prosperous town, with shops and stalls visible everywhere on both sides, and of course, many pirates.As the intersection of two routes, one can imagine how many pirates passed through here every day. A large part of the reason why Saxon Island could be so prosperous was because there were so many pirates, and it was a well-known fact all over the world that pirates had money.In a place where so many pirates passed through, of course, there would be no shortage of Marines. A Commodore was stationed here, along with a Marine unit of over a thousand men.Not far from this island was also the base of the Seventh Branch of the Marine, and it only took an hour to get here from the Seventh Branch.Therefore, although there were not many Marines on this island, no pirates dared to actively cause trouble here, as the combat power of the Seventh Branch of the Marine was not weak.Having stayed on the ship for the past few days, Marcus was bored to death. Moreover, the ship rocking back and forth on the sea made him feel very insecure; it was much more reassuring to step on solid ground.A peddler grabbed Marcus, pointed to the things on his stall, and said, "Little friend, come and take a look. These were salvaged from the sea."Marcus quickly waved his hand to refuse. Who told the things on it to be so fake? Looking at the scrap metal laid out, Marcus wanted to laugh. If you want to scam people, you should find something with a little bit of character. Although it was broken like this, it could be considered a feature. But no one would be so stupid; this was obviously fake at a glance."Boss, are you telling the truth? How much is this thing?" Unknowingly, a man squatted in front of the stall, holding a black stick and observing it.When the boss saw a customer had arrived, he didn't care about Marcus anymore and bragged, "Of course, this was obtained from an extremely dangerous place. We even lost a few brothers for this. At that time..."After the boss bragged for a long time, the man paid the boss 10,000 Berries with a happy face and bought the stick.Marcus watched the whole process in astonishment. In the end, he could only shake his head helplessly. The world is huge, and there are all sorts of wonders. There were indeed still many things he had never seen before.Just as Marcus was about to continue browsing, the man who had just been scammed suddenly turned back and ran towards his direction. He looked panicked and kept looking back, as if someone was chasing him.Before the man had run very far, a team of Marine Soldiers rushed out from the crowd, pushed the crowd aside with their hands, and shouted, "Stop right there in front! If you keep running, we're going to open fire!"Upon hearing the Marines' words, the man ran even faster, but in his carelessness, he bumped into Marcus. A mere ordinary man, how could he possibly move Marcus? So, the man fell to the ground.Sensing the footsteps of the Marines, the man quickly scrambled up from the ground and apologized to Marcus, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."But because of this delay, the Marines had already quickly caught up and were only a few meters away from the man. This distance was just a matter of the blink of an eye for the well-trained Marines.Just as the Marines were about to grab the man, this team of Marines suddenly stopped in their tracks, unable to move.Realizing that their bodies were being controlled, a trace of fear appeared on the Marines' faces, and they immediately realized that a Devil Fruit user was nearby, blocking the Marines.The man quickly seized the opportunity, darted into the crowd, and disappeared.At this moment, the restraint around the Marines was released, but the man they were chasing had already escaped. The Marines could only sigh helplessly.His squad had been looking for this man for several days. They had finally almost caught him, but it had been ruined by someone at the last moment.The Marine squad leader scanned the surrounding crowd. Although he knew that the Devil Fruit user was among these people, the leader had no way to deal with it; there were too many people here, and it was impossible to identify them. Besides, a Devil Fruit user was not something his small squad could deal with, so they could only retreat helplessly.The one who had restrained the team of Marines just now was Marcus. Originally, Marcus had not intended to intervene in this matter.But seeing that this man had missed his chance to escape because he apologized to him, and he didn't seem like a bad guy, Marcus decided to help him out.The boss also recognized the man the Marines were chasing; he had bought something from him earlier. Afraid of getting into trouble, the boss had already started packing up his stall, ready to leave."Clang..." Suddenly, a gold coin dropped in front of him. The boss immediately picked up the gold coin, bit it in his mouth, and after discovering it was real, quickly hid it in his pocket.The boss looked up at Marcus and asked with a smiling face, "Little boss, what do you want to know?"As a businessman, he understood the saying "there is no such thing as a free lunch." The kid in front of him tossing a gold coin to him definitely wanted to know something.Marcus took out another gold coin and placed it in his palm. "I want to know what just happened."Under the temptation of the gold coin, the boss said excitedly, "Little boss, if you ask me, you've found the right person. There is nothing on this island that I don't know about. I am...""Cut the crap and get to the point." Marcus had no patience to listen to the boss ramble on here."This matter should start from a few days ago. That day, a ship came to the island. That ship wasn't loaded with goods, but with many people. No one knew who these people were, but many of them carried quite a few valuable treasures, so these people were very popular in this town. After all, they had money.""But the next day, the Marines from the Seventh Branch arrived and arrested all of them. Later, we found out that these people had all escaped from the Holy Land Mary Geoise; they were slaves of the Celestial Dragons. The Marines, under the orders of the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, were to capture all the escaped slaves, but some still escaped the pursuit. And the man from just now was a slave of the Celestial Dragons."Speaking of this, the boss shook his head and said sympathetically, "Come to think of it, these people really have a hard life. Becoming slaves of the Celestial Dragons, they will never have freedom in this life."Ignoring the boss's lament, Marcus threw the gold coin in his hand to the boss and walked in the direction the man had fled."Slaves of the Celestial Dragons, this is getting interesting!"UU Reading welcomes readers to come and read. The latest, fastest, and most popular serialized works are all at UU Reading! Mobile users please go to read.