That thought froze Marco in place.
But in the next second, he reacted and rejected the absurd idea.
No.
He knew his own ability very well. The Flames of Regeneration worked remarkably well on himself, but their effect on others was greatly reduced.
There was no way they could produce this kind of result.
His gaze snapped down to his empty palm, where the sensation of that bean seemed to linger.
"It wasn't me!"
Marco roared as he turned around, waving his arm toward the distant Moby Dick. His voice was hoarse with agitation.
"It was that bean! The bean he gave me healed Ace!"
That shout instantly cooled the boiling atmosphere on the deck.
The pirates, who had been wild with excitement over their commander's supposed awakening, froze in place.
What?
A bean?
Every gaze crossed the thousand meters of sea and landed on Zaraki, filled with shock and confusion.
This man had first defeated Ace in three moves with overwhelming speed and power, then casually tossed out a bean that pulled Ace back from the brink of death.
This had already gone far beyond anything they could understand.
Devil Fruit?
Science?
Haki?
No Devil Fruit, science weapon, or Haki technique they knew seemed capable of explaining this miracle-like scene.
What exactly... was he?
A fear born from the unknown began spreading through everyone's heart.
Zaraki ignored the gazes directed at him.
At that moment, his attention was focused on the series of notifications ringing inside his mind.
**[Ding!]**
**[Detected that the host directly endured Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki pressure and held his ground in direct confrontation. Overall evaluation: A.]**
**[Mission settlement in progress... Reward has been issued.]**
**[Congratulations, host. Skills unlocked: Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Spirit; Third Form: Thunder Swarm; Fourth Form: Distant Thunder; Fifth Form: Heat Lightning; Sixth Form: Rumble and Flash.]**
A stream of information instantly poured into his mind.
It contained the principles of five brand-new sword techniques.
These new moves were different from that simple, brutal Thunder Bagua-style strike, combining speed, range, variation, and destructive power on an entirely different level.
If the First Form had been an explosion condensed into a single point, then these next five forms fully released the violence and unpredictability of lightning.
Zaraki's blood heated faintly. His muscles longed for battle, and Murasame in his hand gave off a quiet hum, as if urging him to cut something down.
He really wanted to find someone sturdy enough right now and test every one of these new techniques from beginning to end.
Ace was still too fragile. He had not been satisfying enough.
His gaze instinctively returned to the mountain-like figure on the Moby Dick, and deep in his eyes, a trace of battle intent flashed.
Amid this strange silence, a sharp, urgent "purupurupuru" suddenly rang out, breaking the atmosphere.
The sound came from the Marine warship behind Zaraki.
Zaraki turned his head and saw Vice Admiral Yamakaji quickly walking to the side of the ship, picking up the trembling Den Den Mushi.
"This is Yamakaji!"
The moment the call connected, the Den Den Mushi's expression changed drastically.
Its mouth opened to the limit as it let out broken roars mixed with explosions and screams.
Yamakaji's face turned visibly pale. Fine cold sweat instantly seeped across his forehead.
"What?! The G-18 Branch is under attack?!"
"It's the Beasts Pirates'... Jack the Drought!"
The moment that name was spoken, not only did Yamakaji and Gion's expressions change sharply, even Marco and the others aboard the distant Moby Dick had their pupils contract.
Jack the Drought.
One of the Three Calamities under Kaido of the Beasts, a monster with a bounty as high as one billion berries, infamous for his brutality, toughness, and destructive power.
Why had that madman suddenly appeared here?
Gion reacted the fastest. She took a few steps to Zaraki's side, lowered her voice, and spoke gravely.
"Zaraki, something's wrong. G-18 is the most important logistics and supply base along this Grand Line route. If it falls, the Marine supply chain and nearby branches in this sea region will be crippled. Jack is a complete lunatic. He won't show mercy."
She paused, her sharp gaze fixed on Zaraki's still-calm face.
"We have to go support them immediately. But think carefully. That's Jack the Drought, a monster that even an entire fleet might not be able to take down in a head-on fight. Are you... coming with us?"
This was not only a question. It was also a reminder.
This opponent was different from Ace.
Hearing this, Zaraki slowly turned his head and looked at Gion.
He did not answer. Instead, the corner of his mouth rose uncontrollably, curving into a grin.
That look was like a starving hunter finally hearing news of his prey.
A Calamity worth one billion berries?
How perfect!
It was like someone had delivered a pillow the moment he felt sleepy!
He extended his tongue and lightly licked his slightly dry lips, then murmured in a low voice. It was not loud, but Gion heard it clearly.
"It would be a shame to ignore such a good target."
..
The excitement in that voice was too pure, too undisguised, and for a moment Gion wondered if she had heard him wrong.
She suddenly raised her head and met a pair of eyes bright enough to frighten her. Deep within them, the hunger burning there had almost reached the point of madness.
A lunatic.
The thought rose uncontrollably from the depths of Gion's heart.
Only at this moment did she truly realize that the man before her was fundamentally different from the officers at Marine Headquarters who followed the rules and framework of justice.
His reason for fighting seemed to be nothing more than fighting itself.
"You..."
Gion's throat felt dry, and she instinctively wanted to stop him.
This was far too reckless.
Jack the Drought was one of the highest officers of the Beasts Pirates, an opponent who would normally require an Admiral-class response with several Vice Admirals and fleet support before there was even a chance of taking him down.
No matter how strong Zaraki was, he was still only one man.
But just as her words reached her lips, a strong hand pressed down on her shoulder.
Gion turned back in surprise and saw Yamakaji slowly shaking his head at her.
This usually steady Vice Admiral had an equally pale face at the moment, but his eyes were firm.
He lowered his voice and quickly spoke at a volume only the two of them could hear.
"Don't try to persuade him, Gion. Let him go."
"But..."
"No buts!" Yamakaji's tone was resolute. "If G-18 falls, the Marine supply chain in this sea region will be crippled! You and I both know how that bastard Jack operates. He'll grind everything there into dust! If we rush over now, what can we do besides die?"
His gaze returned to Zaraki, complicated and filled with both fear and a trace of hope.
"But if it's him... maybe there's still a chance. Using a monster to deal with a monster is the only method we have left."
Gion's heart sank.
Yamakaji's words were cruel, but they were true.
Their conventional combat strength really was no different from a suicide offering in front of Jack the Drought.
She took a deep breath and suppressed the emotions churning in her chest, then looked at Zaraki again, her voice slightly hoarse.
"The warship can set sail at any time. What do you need us to do?"
Zaraki rolled his neck, the bones cracking sharply as he felt the power within him grow even more violent after the new skills were unlocked.
His mouth opened into a grin, revealing a row of white teeth.
"No need. You can all wait here."
He flexed his wrist.
The blood inside him felt as if it had begun to boil, every cell screaming in excitement.
"I'm already... having trouble waiting."
However, just as he was about to order the ship to turn toward G-18 at full speed, an unprecedented pressure suddenly descended, heavy and concentrated.
The pressure did not spread outward. It locked precisely onto Zaraki alone.
He felt the air around him empty in an instant, and even the light seemed to twist.
On the Moby Dick, the strongest man in the world, who had been seated on his throne the entire time, finally straightened his slightly leaning body completely.
"Gurararara..."
That low laughter rang out again. This time, it carried a note of amusement and an unquestionable dominance.
"Going to play with Kaido's brat?"
Whitebeard's eyes seemed able to see straight through people's hearts.
"What? I'm standing right here, and I'm still not enough for you to cut?"
The moment those words fell, every sound between the sea and sky seemed to be swallowed by that sentence.
The Marine soldiers aboard the warship, the pirates aboard the Moby Dick, and everyone including Ace, Marco, and Gion felt their hearts being gripped so hard they nearly stopped beating.
What... what was he saying?
Was that a provocation?
Or was it...
Zaraki stopped moving.
Slowly, inch by inch, he turned around and faced that enormous ship once more, facing the man on the throne.
The battlelust that had just been boiling inside him did not settle after Whitebeard's words. Instead, it rose even higher.
That was true.
Leaving this top-tier prey in front of him alone to run off and fight a Calamity...
That did feel a little backward.
He looked at Whitebeard.
For the first time, those eyes burning with battle intent showed a serious look, as if he were assessing the value of an object.
After a moment, Zaraki nodded. His tone was as calm as if he were discussing the weather.
"You really are worth cutting."
The entire scene fell silent.
If everyone had felt their hearts being gripped earlier, now it felt as if their minds had exploded.
This brat... was he actually seriously considering cutting Whitebeard?
Yet his next words made everyone feel even colder.
"How about this?" Zaraki spoke in a tone of discussion, even tilting his head slightly as though thinking on Whitebeard's behalf.
"I'll cut you first, then go clean up that guy called Jack. Perfect. I can use you as a warm-up."
"..."
Time seemed to stop completely at that moment.
On the Moby Dick, commanders like Jozu, Izo, and Vista had expressions that could no longer be described in words.
They were twisted mixtures of shock, absurdity, and anger.
Did this guy even understand what he was saying?
A warm-up?
He wanted to use their Pops, the strongest man in the world who had ruled the sea for decades, as a warm-up?
Arrogance? No, this had gone far beyond arrogance. It was irreverence toward a living god.
However, Whitebeard's expected fury did not arrive.
On the throne, after a brief moment of astonishment, that majestic face suddenly erupted into an unprecedented, earth-shaking laugh.
"Gurararararara!"
His laughter whipped up the wind, raised huge waves, and made the entire sea tremble violently beneath its boldness.
"Interesting! Too interesting!"
Whitebeard slammed a fist against the rail beside him, producing a deep boom.
He stared at Zaraki, his eyes filled with undisguised appreciation and fondness.
"How many years has it been... How many years since anyone dared say something like that in front of me?"
He abruptly rose from his throne, his massive body casting an enormous shadow.
"Brat!"
Whitebeard spread his arms, his voice resounding into the clouds.
"Forget the Marines, and forget Kaido's fool!"
"Come be my son!"
The entire world went quiet.
Whitebeard's voice still echoed across the sea, carrying unquestionable authority and sincerity.
"My ship has never had a monster like you before! If the First through Sixteenth Divisions are already full, then I'll make a place for you myself!"
"Become my son, and this sea is yours to roam as you please!"
After that deathly silence came a completely uncontrolled uproar aboard the Moby Dick.
Every pirate looked at their captain as if they had lost their minds.
Was this a joke?
He was inviting a lunatic who had just heavily injured Ace and declared he would cut down Pops... to become his son?
He even wanted to make a special place for him outside the existing divisions?
That kind of treatment was unheard of.
Zaraki also froze slightly as he looked at Whitebeard's wild yet sincere face, feeling as though things had gone a little beyond expectations.
His gaze unintentionally swept across the crowd beside Whitebeard and landed on a burly man with a long braided beard.
That man was clenching both fists, veins bulging.
His square face was flushed red with anger and incomprehension, and his chest was rising and falling violently.
The volcano on the verge of eruption ultimately failed to hold back.
"Pops!"
A roar filled with suppressed fury and confusion exploded from the burly man's throat.
He suddenly stepped forward, making the solid deck tremble, as if he were about to leap over the rail in the next second and tear this ignorant brat to pieces.
However, a hand landed on his shoulder.
Zaraki glanced over casually.
It was the man with the strange pineapple-like blond hair and a normally lazy expression.
At this moment, that laziness had vanished, replaced by steadiness.
He held down the furious strongman, his lips moving slightly as though saying something in a low voice.
The distance was too far, so Zaraki could not hear him clearly.
But judging from the strongman's expression, his fury had been forcibly swallowed back down. His face grew even redder from the blood rushing to it and the effort of restraining himself.
Clearly, he had been persuaded.
Interesting.
It seemed Whitebeard's ship was not full of reckless fools after all.
But none of that had anything to do with him.
Zaraki turned his gaze back to the man before the throne.
The appreciation and expectation in Whitebeard's eyes were almost spilling over, the kind of genuine feeling an elder showed when seeing an extremely favored junior.
Unfortunately...
"Become your son?"
Zaraki repeated the words, his tone carrying no particular emotion, as though confirming a very simple phrase.
Then he suddenly smiled.
That smile was clean, even carrying a trace of youthful purity, completely different from the insane battlelust he had shown earlier.
"Sounds nice, but I'll pass."
He shook his head and refused cleanly, without the slightest hesitation.
"Marine, pirate, or someone's son... identities like those are too much of a bother to me."
"I just want to cut to my heart's content whenever I feel like it."
His tone was so matter-of-fact, as if he were saying that he ate when he was hungry!
Those words made Whitebeard's bold smile pause slightly.
They also caused the commotion aboard the Moby Dick, which had just settled, to erupt again in the form of a strange silence.
Everyone looked at Zaraki as if they were looking at a monster.
What kind of reason was that?
He rejected becoming the son of the strongest man in the world, rejected a place on Whitebeard's ship that would have made the entire sea turn its head, simply because... it was a bother?
Zaraki no longer looked at them.
He had already given his answer.
He turned and strode back onto the deck of the Marine warship, casually picking up a bottle of rum from a wooden crate that had rolled loose during the battle.
"We're leaving."
He spoke to Gion and Yamakaji beside him, whose expressions were complicated.
His tone was as calm as if he had merely chatted with someone on the shore for a while.
"Let's go back to G-18 and have a look. Hopefully that guy called Jack is a bit tougher to cut than expected."
After saying that, he twisted off the cork and tilted his head back, taking a long drink of the harsh liquor.
The alcohol slid down the corner of his mouth and soaked into his collar.
Gion and Yamakaji looked at each other and saw an indescribable heaviness in one another's eyes.
They said nothing more.
They simply turned silently and gave the order to set sail.
This man's thoughts and actions had already exceeded the limits of what they could understand.