As expected, the system's mechanical voice rang out at once:
[Defeated a member of the God's Knights, Jaygarcia Heim Saint.]Reward: 7,000 attribute points.]
[Killed a member of the God's Knights, Jaygarcia Heim Saint. Reward: 5,000 attribute points.
"The God's Knights have been defeated!"
"Damn it! Who can stop Phoenix Marco now?! It feels like no one can beat him!
The Marines, who had just barely recovered some morale, were plunged back into despair. When the God's Knights had first arrived, they'd drawn a huge amount of firepower and given the Marines hope. Now that hope was yanked away again, their emotions were like a roller coaster, soaring up only to crash back down.
They were forced to realize a brutal fact: neither the Gorosei nor the God's Knights were a match for Marco. Even the World Government couldn't stop him.
Marco glanced at the system panel—12,000 new attribute points, added to his previous 10,000, for a total of 22,000. Without the slightest hesitation, he spread his flaming wings and shot toward Zack, shouting, "Zack, switch opponents! I'll handle him!"
Naturally, Garling noticed Marco's intentions. His expression twisted with anger. "Damn it, is he planning to take out the God's Knights first and then deal with us?"
A cold glint flashed in Saint Peter's eyes. "Damn ant. Stop him now."
"No. Marco can fly; we can't let him drag us around." Garling quickly changed tactics. "We deal with Big Mom first—then we'll take care of the rest."
Big Mom immediately grasped Marco's plan and scowled. "So that's it! He's planning to get rid of the other God's Knights first, huh? But using me as bait—how annoying!"
"Mama, I'll help you—"
Katakuri, Fossa, and Smoothie were already rushing over to her side.
Seeing her children arrive as reinforcements, Big Mom's mood lifted a little. She grinned broadly. "Mama mamamama! As expected, family is more reliable."
By then, Marco had already set his sights on another member of the God's Knights—Topman Cecilia Palace. Seeing Marco barreling toward her in a blaze of blue flames, her face drained of color. She had just watched Heim Saint die from a single punch. She had no confidence she could withstand even one blow.
The moment she tried to turn and flee, Marco's roaring Haoshoku Haki locked onto her, freezing her slender body in place. In that instant of paralysis, Marco was already upon her.
"S–stop…" Topman Cecilia Palace screamed in panic, staring at the blackened fist rushing straight toward her.
Marco showed no mercy. His fist slammed into her beautiful face with full force, and her head exploded in an instant—her skull blown apart by that single punch.
The system's voice echoed again:
[Defeated a member of the God's Knights, Topman Cecilia Palace. Reward: 7,000 attribute points.
[Killed a member of the God's Knights, Topman Cecilia Palace. Reward: 5,000 attribute points.]
With another 12,000 attribute points in hand, Marco couldn't help feeling that this time they'd come almost too easily. His total had climbed to 34,000. Without hesitation, he pulled up his status panel:
Name: Marco
Age: 43
Attribute Points: 34,000
Devil Fruit: Zoan-type – Phoenix Form (Awakened)
Devil Fruit Awakening Ability: Flames of Destruction
Haki:
Armament Haki – Top-tier
Observation Haki – Top-tier
Conqueror's Haki – Legendary
Physical Techniques:
Soru – Top-tier
Rankyaku – Advanced
Geppo (Moonwalk) – Advanced
Tekkai – Top-tier
Shigan (Finger Pistol)—Advanced
Kami-e – Advanced
Strength: 42,054
Speed: 24,900
Defense: 23,800
Recovery: 60,000
Stamina: 25,100
Mental Power: 31,300
System Combat Power Evaluation: King Level."
He switched over to the special attributes section:
"Armament Haki (Top-tier) → Armament Haki (Legendary): requires 30,000 attribute points.
Observation Haki (Top-tier) → Observation Haki (Legendary): requires 30,000 attribute points."
Marco's gaze lingered on armament and observation. Against the God's Knights and the Gorosei, Armament Haki's impact was limited; no matter how hard you hit, it couldn't deal with true immortality.
After a brief pause, he made up his mind and chose to upgrade Observation Haki first.
In an instant, 30,000 attribute points disappeared, and his Observation Haki rose to Legendary.
The change was immediate. His overall combat strength climbed as well—his evaluation shifted from an ordinary king level to a strong king level. A quiet satisfaction welled up in his chest. As expected, boosting his Haki had pushed his power to a new threshold.
With Observation Haki now at Legendary, Marco instantly sensed his perception range expanding. At the same time, a new technique surfaced in his mind:
Observation Kill.
This wasn't just a simple strengthening of Observation Haki but a fusion technique born from combining Observation Haki with Conqueror's Haki. With Observation Kill, he could completely hide his presence—and, more importantly, nullify an opponent's future-sight Observation Haki when it was directed at him.
Marco had long known of Observation Kill. Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, possessed this ability. Marco had once tried to learn it himself, but no matter how he trained, he'd never managed to awaken it.
The reason was simple: his Conqueror's Haki had been strong enough, but his Observation Haki had lagged behind. Without both at the right level, Observation Kill wouldn't manifest. Now, with Observation Haki finally reaching Legendary, it was as if a hidden switch inside him had been flipped—the technique he'd failed to grasp for so long awakened naturally.
Marco turned his eyes toward Big Mom's position. Most of the Big Mom Pirates' officers, along with Zack, had already rushed over to reinforce her.
Thanks to the overwhelming advantage of the Three Emperors Alliance over the Marines, the Big Mom Pirates could afford to send cadres to support their captain. Inwardly, Marco wished her "good luck," sincerely hoping she could hold out a while longer.
He intended to harvest as many attribute points as possible and push his strength even higher while she kept the fight going.
If he could elevate his Armament Haki to a legendary level as well, then maybe—just maybe—his power would break past the Strong King level. What lay beyond that, though, was still a mystery to Marco. He simply had no reference point.
Up to now, the strongest foes he'd ever faced were the Gorosei, empowered by God's blood, and even they had only reached king-level strength.
In this Pirate King world, the Strong Yonko Level was essentially the peak. Anyone who stepped into the realm of King Level was unquestionably the peak of their era.
Just like the former Whitebeard… and Rocks.
Marco had never seen Rocks with his own eyes, but it was almost certain that Rocks' strength hadn't been any lower than Whitebeard in his prime—perhaps it had even surpassed him.
On the other side of the battlefield, Kaido was still clashing with Topman Warcury when he saw Marco cut down two more of the God's Knights. A flash of frustration crossed his eyes.
He could feel it—Marco's power was still climbing in the middle of battle. That sense of Marco's relentless growth sparked a sharp urgency inside him, stoking his rage toward the man in front of him even further.
"Old man, wouldn't it be better if you just let me defeat you? Why are you still stubbornly holding on?!" Kaido roared, bringing his club down toward Warcury once more.
"A mere ant dares to slay a god," Warcury replied coldly.
He showed no hint of fear. He, too, had sensed Kaido's strength slowly rising over the course of the fight, and it had shocked him deeply—but even so, Topman Warcury's power still edged out Kaido's. On top of that, with his Undying recovery, even if Kaido managed to wound him, it would never be enough to finish him off.
Inside the laboratory, Vegapunk stared at the screens, stunned as Marco killed two members of the Holy Knights.
When the God's Knights had first appeared, Vegapunk had actually considered surrender. After working for the World Government for so many years, he naturally knew of the God's Knights and was all too aware of their terrifying strength.
He had never imagined that even existences as fearsome as the God's Knights would crumble so easily before Marco.
Now, all he could do was pray—pray that Marco and his allies would emerge victorious. Only then could he hope to remain on Egghead Island. Otherwise, he would almost certainly be forced to abandon it.
"Alright, let's deal with the God's Knights first," Marco murmured, then turned his attention to tracking down the remaining members.
The God's Knights were undeniably powerful, each one possessing strength on the level of a Yonko commander. Against division commanders, Sweet Commanders, or the All-Stars, they were indeed formidable. But in front of Marco, they were simply too weak.
With his current strong king-level power, there was no one in this world who could truly stand against him—aside from the mysterious Imu.
Just as Marco was about to finish off the remaining God's Knights, he noticed a sudden shift. After two of their comrades had fallen, the rest abandoned their positions and pulled back, clustering tightly around Saint Garling and Saint Peter as if seeking protection. They had clearly realized that facing Marco one-on-one meant certain defeat.
Seeing the God's Knights regrouping with the Gorosei, Marco didn't hesitate. Blue flames burst from his back as he shot straight toward their encircled formation.
On the other side, Big Mom—who had been fending off Saint Peter's relentless assaults—finally let out a small breath of relief when she spotted Marco closing in. Even for her, taking on a Gorosei alone was no easy burden.
"Mama, mama, mama, mama! You're finally here, Marco!" Big Mom bared her teeth in a feral grin as he approached. "You did pretty well. At least you took down two of the god's knights."
Marco's gaze swept over Big Mom, then shifted to Katakuri. Katakuri had briefly crossed weapons with Saint Garling, and the results were written all over him: several deep, ugly wounds carved into his body. If Smoothie and Fossa hadn't rushed in to cover him, Katakuri might not be dead, but he would've already lost the ability to fight.
Saint Peter's expression darkened as he watched Marco draw near once more. For the first time, he truly found Marco troublesome. Among the three emperors, Marco was probably the only pirate who genuinely threatened the Gorosei.
They had misjudged him from the very start. They never should have tried to handle Marco in a one-on-one duel. To bring him down, at least two Gorosei were necessary. Alone, none of them had any chance of victory.
Given how things stood now, Saint Peter knew they needed reinforcements. With just their current forces, defeating Marco seemed unlikely—and if Marco couldn't be stopped, their chances of winning this war would plummet.
As Saint Peter silently weighed how to report this to Imu-sama and request assistance—
Behind Saint Garling, Naronar Crimi Palace, sniper rifle in hand, suddenly erupted with an overwhelming wave of Haoshoku Haki—one that clearly did not belong to her.
In an instant, Saint Peter, Saint Garling, and every other Holy Knight's pupils shrank to pinpoints. This terrifying pressure was on a completely different level, far beyond anything Naronar Crimi Palace should have been capable of.
Big Mom felt that Haoshoku crash over her—a force even greater than Red Hair's and Marco's—and shouted in shock, "What in the world is going on?! How can that little girl have such powerful Haki?!"
Marco also had no idea what was happening. But as that monstrous Haoshoku bore down on him, his brows furrowed deeply.
Before their eyes, a pair of demonic wings slowly unfurled from Naronar Crimi Palace's back, and a succubus-like pointed tail extended behind her. Her eyes gradually changed, taking on the familiar ringed pattern of Imu-sama's. Then, from 'Naronar Crimi Palace's' mouth came a cold, utterly emotionless voice:
"Your speed is too slow."
The moment they heard that voice, Saint Peter, Saint Garling, and the others had their suspicions confirmed. Their faces went pale as they cried out in disbelief:
"I–Imu-sama…"
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