"Ah! He—he actually ate it!"
Whole Cake Island.
Screams of shock continued to rise.
Even Big Mom furrowed her brows tightly.
The Marines... since when did they have someone like this?
What a ruthless mouth.
To think he could stomach that.
Even she wouldn't eat it, yet he's savoring it like a delicacy.
What a monster.
The Marines really gave birth to a madman.
---
"Ahhh! Sabo! He really ate it! That's terrifying! This is too horrifying!"
Koala shrieked and dove straight into Sabo's arms, trembling.
Sabo—no, everyone present—furrowed their brows tightly.
Their eyes fixed on the screen, all of them stood frozen in place.
Even Dragon was stunned for a moment.
But he quickly snapped out of it.
"The Marines... have truly produced an extraordinary figure." Dragon muttered, his expression grim.
"What? This guy? How is he extraordinary?" Sabo couldn't understand.
This kid's only talent seemed to be cheering people up.
What was so special about that?
"His strength may be lacking, yet he remains utterly composed in front of so many powerful figures. He's anything but ordinary." Dragon added.
Sabo turned his gaze back to the figure on the screen.
But all he could see in Chiba was... ease.
Even... enjoyment?
Damn it!
Freak!
He cursed inwardly, but all Sabo could do was hope this lunatic would perish in the chaos of the battlefield.
At least then he wouldn't be able to torment anyone else.
But for Vir, this was only the beginning.
This was nothing yet.
Under Marco's utterly broken gaze, Vir once again raised his knife.
To everyone else, it looked like Vir was slicing off chunks of flesh, carving out organs one by one.
But in reality, what Vir was consuming was spirit essence.
No flavor.
No texture.
It melted the moment it touched his tongue.
Even the chewing was just for show.
Spearing another piece of Marco's thigh meat, Vir turned to him and asked, "Want some? Tastes pretty good."
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You've earned 400,000 negative points!]
Vir smiled faintly.
Marco did too—though his was far more strained.
'Eat? Eat myself? Ohhh, my dear brother, you're really putting me through hell! You're such a great friend!'
"The tragedy of man is not death... but waste."
"You... are being put to perfect use."
With that, Vir popped the meat into his mouth.
"Write that down!"
Akainu's booming voice suddenly cut through the air.
The Rear Admiral filming Vir immediately scrambled for pen and paper, hastily scribbling down his words.
But Vir's statement sent another wave of shock through the crowd.
"Holy crap! This guy's got style! Too much damn style! What's his name again?"
"Chiba! Sir Chiba! I'm bowing to you right the hell now! Sir Chiba, please! Don't eat me!"
"That sounds profound at first, but the more you think about it, the less sense it makes!"
"Damn, the more I watch, the creepier it gets. This guy's a straight-up psycho."
"Sir Chiba invites you to dinner—and you're the main course!"
Amid the uproar, Vir finally finished his "meal".
All the wounds had been "consumed".
Marco was now completely spent—eyes half-lidded, breath weak.
He looked like he was barely clinging to life.
Vir spared him only a glance before turning away.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained a 3% Damage Immunity effect!]
Seeing the result, Vir frowned slightly.
Was this guy too weak, or were his injuries too light?
This reward was pitifully small.
To max it out, he'd have to "eat" him twenty times.
Damn it, Old Ma. You're useless.
Shaking his head slowly, Vir began searching for his next "ingredient".
His expression practically screamed: Now, which little darling is about to get hurt~?
Hiss—
Screens worldwide showed countless people collapsing in terror.
Even though they knew this man was thousands of miles away, their spines still turned to ice.
This guy... was terrifying.
The Rear Admiral closest to Vir stumbled back more than a dozen meters in panic.
Damn.
He never thought being a cameraman would be one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
His hands trembled violently as he fought to steady them.
The surrounding Marines all scrambled back as if they'd seen a ghost.
The people on Amazon Lily who had experienced Vir's "kind treatment" were equally stunned.
Was... this treatment?
Marco looked like he was already done for, didn't he?
Was this really healing?
Just then, the tides of battle shifted once more.
Over on the other side, Ace—with Oars Jr.'s cover—had managed to break free from the encirclement.
But the cost was Oars Jr. being pummeled into the ground by Kong's fists.
Kong was past his prime, his strength a shadow of what it once was.
But handling Oars Jr. was still child's play for him.
Seeing Ace's group making their escape, Akainu immediately abandoned his fight with Whitebeard.
Melting into a torrent of magma, he surged toward them at terrifying speed.
Whitebeard's expression darkened.
Akainu and Kong?
This was bad.
But there was nothing he could do.
The two old bastards before him were impossible to bypass.
Their coordination was flawless.
He couldn't even take one of them down quickly.
Frustration made Whitebeard's attacks grow more furious.
Anxiety crept into his heart.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Ability obtained: Phoenix Rebirth!]
[Phoenix Rebirth: Automatically activates when Host is in a near-death state. Upon activation, Host will be engulfed in flames and restored to peak condition within three seconds!]
[This ability can only be used once!]
The system's announcement stunned Vir.
Near-death recovery to full health in three seconds?
This... wasn't this basically a second life?
No wonder Marco was such a good bro—gifting him an extra life just like that.
This ability was insanely overpowered.
Even if it was a one-time use, it was still beyond broken.
Marco had truly given his all.
Watching as Marco slowly regained strength—ready to showcase his own "Phoenix Rebirth" any moment now—Vir nodded in satisfaction.
Leaving Marco behind, Vir turned and sprinted toward Ace's location.
He had to move fast.
Ace's group wouldn't last long against Akainu and Kong.
As Vir disappeared into the chaos of the battlefield, Doflamingo watched with an intrigued smirk.
'Interesting... Very interesting.'
'This kid's future achievements will be anything but ordinary. If only I could recruit him...'
'A freak like him won't last long in the Marines.'
'Now that he's revealed such... unusual tastes, once they casts him out, I'll be there with an offer he can't refuse.'
'Eating people?'
'I don't mind at all...'