Breakfast ended, but nobody left the table. They all just sat there, looking at Marcus.
"Vivi filled you in on the East Blue Destruction Plan, right?"
Everyone nodded.
The reason Marcus had managed to keep the Straw Hats from using ender pearls to escape earlier was because he'd secretly exchanged a few words with Vivi using her Whisper-Whisper Fruit ability before they parted ways. After that, he'd tracked their movements using eyes of ender.
Over the past two days, Vivi had been working hard to develop her Devil Fruit power further. She'd successfully expanded her range from several kilometers to nearly ten, pushing the boundaries through sheer stamina output, the same way Usopp increased the explosive power of his ammunition through physical conditioning.
Now Marcus shared everything he'd learned about Shiki's plan and capabilities with the crew.
"The Golden Lion Pirates aren't called one of the Emperors' crews for one simple reason. Shiki keeps way too low a profile compared to the others."
He leaned back in his chair. "Look at how the Emperors operate. Big Mom spreads her influence across dozens of islands in Totto Land. Kaido occupies Wano Country and projects power from there. Whitebeard goes around claiming sons and building a massive network of allies. Even Shanks plants his flag in various countries, and those nations willingly seek his protection."
"But Shiki?" He shook his head. "He's so under the radar that the Marines barely consider him a threat anymore. It's like how everyone knows Silvers Rayleigh, the Pirate King's former right hand, is living in Sabaody Archipelago, but the Marines don't make a move on him."
"Why not?" Usopp asked.
"Part of it is a promise to Roger," Marcus said. "But mostly? When you're dealing with someone that overwhelmingly powerful, the government chooses to leave them alone. No point poking the bear. As long as he minds his business and lives quietly, they turn a blind eye. That's Marine policy with the World Government's blessing."
Zoro grunted in understanding. "Makes sense. Piss off someone that strong, and who knows what they'll do."
"Exactly. Same logic applies to Shiki. He's built his own faction, but he's kept it incredibly low-key. Within the Golden Lion Pirates, aside from Shiki himself, everyone else is fairly mediocre strength-wise."
"No elite commanders?" Sanji asked, lighting a fresh cigarette.
"Nothing like that. No equivalent to Big Mom's Sweet Commanders, no All-Stars like Kaido has. The entire Golden Lion Pirates currently have exactly one top-tier fighter: Shiki himself."
The room fell into thoughtful silence as everyone processed what that meant for their chances.
Sure, the Golden Lion Pirates only had one powerhouse but that one person could crush them all without breaking a sweat.
"I found something in Enel's leftover research," Nami said suddenly, breaking the quiet.
Everyone turned to look at her.
As the crew's navigator, she wasn't really a combat specialist. But she'd eaten the incredibly powerful Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and she'd been working hard to get stronger with it. Instead of just doing brute-force stamina training, she'd been thinking strategically about how to use her abilities better.
"I can already create clouds on my own with the Devil Fruit. But we're on Skypiea right now. There's an endless sea of clouds right beneath our feet."
She gestured downward. "In theory, I should be able to wrap those clouds with my lightning and turn them into thunderclouds for attacks. But I can't. The clouds beneath us won't respond to my power at all. Obviously, I can't borrow power from them. If I could, then Enel would've been invincible in this environment. But I did find something I can use."
She looked around the table. "The refugees from the White-White Sea, specifically the workers we rescued, told me about something. The Ark Maxim isn't just a flying ship. It's essentially a massive cloud-making machine. I want the Ark Maxim."
Everyone except Marcus looked surprised. Or rather, those who'd been watching Nami research over the past few days understood immediately, she'd even recruited Usopp and Goliath to help with her experiments. After all, the clouds were literally right beneath their feet. With some modifications, they had materials ready to use.
Goliath had quickly identified the key issue during their research: the Cloud Sea and the solid Cloud Land were both clouds at their core, formed through Pyrobloin. The difference lay in how that Pyrobloin was introduced. Sea Clouds originated from evaporated seawater, giving them sea-like properties, while Cloud Land was created from volcanic Pyrobloin, resulting in a stable, solid surface. The differing concentrations and sources of Pyrobloin were what gave each its distinct behavior.
That's why Nami couldn't convert the existing clouds into thunderclouds for her attacks. It was like trying to manipulate pure Sea Stone with Devil Fruit powers, basically impossible.
Marcus wasn't surprised by any of this. The only real question was whether the Ark Maxim could even be found, or if the beasts had already destroyed it. He stayed silent, and the rest of the crew exchanged uncertain glances.
Nami looked around in confusion. "Why did everyone suddenly go quiet? Is nobody coming with me?"
Sanji took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling slowly. "I'd love to help you get it, but... then what? Getting you the Ark Maxim would be a huge boost to your abilities. But right now, we're facing an enemy whose powers we can't properly counter. Shiki hasn't even shown much Armament Haki yet, and those two swords strapped to his feet? They look decorative, but who's to say he won't use them to attack."
He gestured with his cigarette. "Against a veteran powerhouse like him... we don't even know how to hurt him yet."
The simplest example was sitting right there: Luffy.
Even from his conflicted expression, it was obvious he wasn't really listening to the conversation. Ever since breakfast had started, he'd been stuck in his own head, trying to figure out how to defeat Shiki. For the past few days, everyone had been trying everything they could think of to find a way to counter the Golden Lion Pirates captain.
But their progress was minimal. Even Luffy, usually loud and constantly bouncing around, had become quiet.
"Getting the Ark Maxim is fine," Zoro said bluntly. "But can you hurt Shiki with it?"
"Or worse," Robin added thoughtfully, "since he controls clouds and cloud-based islands... wouldn't he also be able to control the clouds your Ark produces?"
Usopp paled. "Oh god, we'd attack him with your thunderclouds, and he'd just redirect them back at us!"
"That outcome is completely unacceptable," Sanji agreed.
Seeing everyone's expressions, Nami sat back down and fell into a daze. She'd been so focused on developing her own powers that she'd completely forgotten she also needed a way to damage the enemy. She scratched her head in frustration. Well, she wasn't a natural fighter to begin with, so it wasn't surprising her approach to getting stronger had some blind spots.
This time, none of the Straw Hats turned to Marcus for help. They were at the age where they needed to learn to stand on their own two feet. They couldn't rely on him for everything, that defeat against Shiki had made that painfully clear.
Marcus stayed silent, watching them work through the problem. This atmosphere was exactly what he wanted. They needed to start thinking for themselves, finding their own solutions.
Just then, noise erupted from outside their shelter.
Aisa, who'd been watching the Straw Hats' somber discussion, turned her head toward the disturbance. Her Observation Haki picked up multiple voices, first increasing in number, then rapidly decreasing.
She realized something was wrong. The others noticed too, those with Observation Haki picking up on the chaos outside.
Marcus stood up first. "I'll handle it."
Some of the Straw Hats who didn't have Observation Haki looked confused, but those who did were already tensing up.
Just before stepping outside, he paused and looked back at the crew.
"One more thing you should know, Haki doesn't just increase attack power and let you hit Logia users. It also affects Devil Fruit abilities themselves."
He stepped out of the Cloud House.
---
The refugee camp sprawled across the cloud surface in front of Marcus, hundreds of Skypieans survivors huddled in tents, clustered in small groups.
"It's those dangerous Blue Sea people..."
"They're all crazy! They kill anyone they see!"
"Where are the White Berets? Someone find the guards!"
"They're all still injured from the last attack!"
"We're finished! This is the end!"
"They've come to wipe us out completely!"
"I've got nothing left to lose anyway! I'll fight these bastards to the death!"
"God, please save us!"
Voices erupted throughout the camp, overlapping and building on each other until the noise became almost unbearable. People were working themselves into a frenzy, panic spreading through the crowded tents. These people hadn't even encountered Shiki or the incoming pirates yet, but they were already tearing themselves apart from the inside out.
He even spotted two men throwing punches at each other near one of the larger tents, fighting over something trivial while their world burned around them.
Chaos, disorder, panic... once those things took root and spread, even people who still had some rationality left would collapse under the weight of mass hysteria. Fear was contagious, and right now this camp was an outbreak waiting to happen.
The door behind him creaked open, and a figure emerged looking miserable.
Usopp.
"Marcus..."
The sniper had been hiding for the past two days, and the guilt was written all over his face.
As "God" Usopp, he'd become the focus of countless prayers and desperate hopes. The weight of all those expectations had been crushing him, especially when he saw how much these people were suffering. The worst part had been during the evacuation. Marcus knew Usopp had heard the children asking their parents when "God Usopp" would come to save them. That single question had nearly broken him. These people believed in him with such genuine, desperate faith, and all he could do was hide from them.
His naturally kind heart couldn't take it. He'd been trying to distract himself by staying busy with equipment repairs and ammunition crafting, but when real danger appeared, self-delusion only went so far. Especially when Aisa had instinctively turned to look at him the moment trouble started. That look had made him panic. But children's eyes were painfully clear and honest. They reminded him of the three kids back in Syrup Village who used to follow him around, hanging on his every word. They'd known he was lying about his adventures, but they'd chosen to believe in him anyway.
And now he'd created another lie, one called "God," even if he hadn't meant to.
Marcus understood what Usopp was trying to say without the sniper having to spell it out.
"You sure about this? There's a good chance you'll pass out afterward." He didn't look at Usopp as he spoke. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the White Sea, where dozens of pirate ships of varying sizes and designs were appearing on the horizon.
Even while "imprisoned," he had been using Soul Possession to wander the area and gather intelligence. He'd learned exactly what orders Shiki had issued.
A grand invitation to every pirate crew in the area.
If he was being honest, he'd nearly forgotten about this part of the plot. In the movie version, these eager recruits had seemed numerous at first, but they'd basically just been background characters. The Straw Hats had blown them to pieces with rockets and guns, and then the real threat had been the beasts.
That whole sequence had felt pretty pointless in the film.
But now that the plot was playing out in reality, Shiki's move to summon pirates from across the seas was pretty damn intimidating.
Staring at the White Sea, he could count at least fifty different ships packed together. Had they all arrived via the same route? The Knock-Up Stream was one way to reach Skypiea, but that couldn't account for this many vessels arriving at once.
This had to be a different route, maybe the Sky Route that the first batch of pirates had used to reach the floating islands.
Usopp had noticed the armada too. His face went pale as he counted the ships.
He swallowed hard, and his legs started trembling on their own.
"J-just fifty or so pirate ships... nothing the great 'God' Usopp can't handle..." His voice was shaking almost as much as his knees.
"Well, I'm heading out then." Marcus's tone was almost teasing as he began pulling fruits from his inventory and setting them on the ground in a neat row.
"Don't leave! Let me come with you! At least let me make one last grand exit in front of these people before I collapse!"
Everyone on the crew had been working on ways to get stronger over the past few days. Usopp had been trying too, but his approach had some fundamental problems.
"Don't you still have those eggs Clucky made?" Marcus suggested. "These ships shouldn't be a problem for you with those."
Usopp let out a long sigh. "I used up all the explosive ammunition Clucky made for me. I burned through a lot of my stock fighting on the ship before you disappeared, and after you were gone, Clucky couldn't get more wheat. Then during the retreat, fighting off those beasts... I used even more. Now I've only got one C4 charge left in my bag."
He sighed again, the sound carrying all his frustration and self-recrimination.
With the Exploding Eggs combined with his sniping skills, he could unleash devastating long-range firepower. But he didn't have the ammo. Without those eggs, he'd lost his most effective attack damage.
He'd been studying ways to improve himself over the past days, working on new projectiles and strategies, but the truth was that his lack of proper physical training had created a ceiling on his development. You couldn't build a house without a foundation, and his foundation was shaky at best.
Marcus tossed the last fruit into Usopp's bag.
"What are you doing?" Usopp asked, confused by the gesture.
"I spotted a few ability users worth collecting."
Usopp sighed deeply. So that's it, huh?
Even after everything, he still wasn't strong enough to handle this on his own. He couldn't help but feel another wave of frustration wash over him. It was time for him to start standing on his own two feet. He couldn't keep relying on Marcus for everything. But just as he was resigning himself to being a spectator again, a golden apple appeared in Marcus' hand. At the same time, a splash potion shattered against Usopp's chest, coating him in glowing particles.
"What the—"
"Stop spacing out and eat the damn thing. I'm not going to possess you this time. Those fifty pirate ships out there? Consider them your training dummies."
"I can't... If I just had a few more Exploding Eggs, maybe I could..."
Marcus said nothing, just stood there watching him with an expectant expression.
Usopp fell silent. He stared at the enchanted golden apple that had rolled into his pocket.
His eyes gradually grew firm.
He grabbed the apple and bit into it, swallowing the entire thing in a few gulps. The taste was somewhere between honey and lightning, and he felt power explode through his body.
Then Marcus hurled several more splash potions at him in quick succession... Strength, Speed, Regeneration, Fire Resistance. The effects stacked on top of each other until Usopp felt like his entire body was vibrating with energy.
"You've got about three minutes before the potion effects wear off," Marcus reminded him with a slight smile. "Make them count."
Usopp didn't waste time responding. He was already charging forward, his body moving faster than his brain could process. With every step, an explosion erupted beneath his feet. Each blast propelled him forward, building momentum with every stride. In an instant, he shot out of the refugee camp like a human cannonball. His speed was already faster than anyone using Soru. He was a blur of motion, leaving a trail of displaced cloud vapor. He looked like a meteor streaking across the sky, burning bright against the white expanse of the cloud sea.
The first pirate ship never saw him coming.
It was a sturdy-looking vessel with reinforced hull plating and what appeared to be cannons mounted on both sides. The crew was laughing and drinking, celebrating their upcoming recruitment into Shiki's fleet, completely unaware that death was hurtling toward them.
The moment Usopp's body impacted the ship, it exploded into brilliant flames like a firework being lit. Wood, metal, and bodies flew in every direction as the vessel disintegrated under the force of the collision. The explosion was so violent that nearby ships were showered with burning debris. But he didn't stop. The explosion that had destroyed the first ship redirected his momentum, sending him careening toward the next target.
Another ship. Another explosion.
The fireworks continued, one after another, as he carved a burning path through the pirate armada. He was a living projectile, an unstoppable force of destruction that turned each ship he touched into a monument to fire.
And all across the refugee camp, people who had been moments away from tearing each other apart stopped and stared in awe at the spectacle.
"God Usopp..." someone whispered.
Then others took up the cry.
"GOD USOPP!"
"HE CAME TO SAVE US!"
"I KNEW HE WOULDN'T ABANDON US!"
Marcus watched the distant explosions with a small smile. Sometimes people needed to see miracles, even manufactured ones, to remember they had something worth fighting for.
Behind him, the rest of the Straw Hats had emerged from the Cloud House, drawn by the noise and light show.
"Is that... Usopp?" Nami asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," Marcus said simply. "That's Usopp."
They all watched as their sniper became exactly what those refugees needed him to be.
A god of destruction, burning away their enemies in divine fire.