Chapter 16
Markus spent the next four days hanging out with the crew while they waited for the Log Pose to store the magnetic field of the island so they could move onto the next one. During those four days, Markus got into a rhythm. He would buy out the entire materials tab of his shop daily. He didn't know what the majority of it was used for but he decided to stockpile everything that came up so that he could use it if necessary in the future. He also started buying any blueprints that caught his attention. It was mostly weapons and a few pieces of armor but rarely he could find blueprints for other kinds of items.
During the four days, the deconstruction of the Maxim had finished and his inventory was stuffed with all kinds of things. The deconstruction option was actually pretty awesome. All the gold became gold ingots, the wood became planks, the jet dials were all in a pile together, and a few other things that made him smile. The best item was a dial he didn't recognize right away called a 'Thunder Dial'. As could be expected from its name, it could store and release electricity. It seemed to have been the 'battery' of the Maxim.
Speaking of dials, they'd begun to appear inside of his shop, usually only one or two each day in the miscellaneous tab of the shop. Unfortunately, he'd only seen normal dials so far and he had a huge stock of those from his purchase back on Angel Beach. No ancient or extinct dials had made an appearance yet.
Once the Maxim was deconstructed, he did the same thing to the seastone prison he'd stolen from Crocodile. It only took two days and he ended up with piles of concrete blocks and seastone ingots. Once he had the seastone ingots, he cut a small piece off of one, with difficulty, and used it to start a new training regiment. He would hold the sliver of seastone and do his best to fight against the weakening effect of it. He'd never be able to use his Goro Goro no Mi abilities while affected by it but if he could gain some resistance to the weakness then he might still be able to use his physical abilities. His speculation paid off as he was rewarded with a new passive skill.
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Seastone Resistance
[Passive, Level 1, 0.0% Expereince]
Constant exposure to seastone has allowed you to build up a resistance to its weakening effect. You still won't be able to use your Devil Fruit abilities but at least you won't be completely useless.
1% Seastone Resistance
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That wasn't the only skill he gained during their time off, he also got his hands on the Beginner Gun Mastery skill from his shop for 25 million Belly. It wasn't any different than the Beginner Sword Mastery and just allowed him to continue to level up his Gun Mastery. Like his Sword Mastery, he gained a subskill with the upgrade. The subskill just helped him instinctively correct his aim to take into account things like windage and elevation, helpful for sniping.
The second awesome find was the Soru skill for sale for 125 million Belly. Naturally, he bought it instantly and learned it. The last Rokushiki skill he needed to complete his collection was the useless, to him, Kami-e. It wasn't that big of a deal though, he would get it for free once the quest completed and he got the Rokushiki Skill Token from the rewards. After that, he could finally figure out how to get his hands on Rokuogan! It might seem silly to want a skill like Rokuogan when he had the Goro Goro no Mi but he wanted to see if he could combine the Rokuogan with his Hasshoken to create an even more powerful technique that requires no Devil Fruit power. He couldn't become totally reliant on his Devil Fruit.
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Soru
[Active, Level 1, 0.0% Experience]
The Soru technique is one of the six techniques of the Rokushiki, the six marine skills. Soru is a rapid movement technique that allows the user to dash at extreme speeds to dodge attacks or to attack at a higher speed for greater power. To activate the skill the user must kick the ground a number of times in a very short interval. The number of kicks required is reduced as the level of the skill increases.
Kick the ground 10 times to travel up to 2 feet instantly.
+2% Damage for Soru based attacks
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Markus didn't neglect his other skills either. Almost all of them saw a rise in level and became stronger. He managed to level up twice more but saved his attribute points for now. Killing thousands upon thousands of peons and eventually stronger opponents added up. Not to mention sniping Aokiji to death multiple times. There was even a newly unlocked subskill for his Shigan that let him fire compressed air bullets with the attack. All-in-all his skills all saw great improvement during the four days they waited.
Only two skills were annoying him with how slowly they were leveling up, his Goro Goro no Mi Control, and his Lightning Speed. His control had managed to get to level eight so far but he really wanted to get to level ten so he could design a skill with the systems help. As for lightning speed, it was still only level one and needed another twenty percent more experience to level.
Once the four days were up and the log stored, they started to sail once again. Finally moving after four boring days of sitting still put everyone in a great mood. They could finally leave the ice-covered island and go on their next adventure. Though playing on the ice had been fun for a while, after that it just became cold and annoying. As they sailed away from the island, Markus heard the sweet tone of a completed quest.
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Quest Complete!
Playing Games
Foxy wants to take members away from the Strawhats and make them into his own! This cannot be allowed. Participate in the Davy Back Fight and make sure the Strawhats not only come out on top but crush all opposition! Once you're done with Foxy and his crew, teach Admiral Aokiji a lesson in humility.
Objective 1: Participate in at least one game and win. (Complete)
Objective 2: Make Foxy regret trying to cheat since cheaters never prosper. (Failed)
Objective 3: Confront Admiral Aokiji and prevent him from weakening Nico Robin's resolve. (Complete)
Objective 4: Defeat Admiral Aokiji in one-on-one combat. (Complete)
Failure Conditions: Death, Death of a crew member, permanently losing a crew member to Foxy
Rewards:
Objective 1: 1x Rare Weapon Token
Objective 2: 1x Rokushiki Skill Token (Failed)
Objective 3: 1x Rare Item Token
Objective 4: Rewards TBD (Shodai Kitetsu)
Your item has been deposited inside your inventory.
Your item has been deposited inside your inventory.
Your item has been deposited inside your inventory.
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Markus looked over the message and instantly started swearing over and over again inside of his head. Not only did he fail to teach Foxy a lesson on cheating because of that asshole Aokiji, but his reward for defeating Aokiji was also a goddamned cursed sword! Not just any cursed sword either, the fucking Shodai Kitetsu, a sword never shown in the anime and manga, as far as Markus had seen. Sure, sure. It was one of the Saijo O Wazamono, one of the twelve supreme grade swords and therefore one of the most powerful weapons in the world, but fuck!
He wasn't that big on swords but the damned system seemed to be pushing them on him, hard! He groaned but decided to look at his new toy. The tokens could wait as he wasn't in need of a new weapon and he had no idea what kinds of items might appear with the other token. He just opened his inventory and checked his new sword.
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Shodai Kitetsu
Item Level 250
Katana
Damage: 538-897
Features: Light, Unbreakable, Eternal Supreme Sharpness, Imbued with Armament Haki, Cursed
Description: One of the twelve most powerful swords in the world, the Shodai Kitestu is the ultimate creation of the Kitetsu swordsmiths. However, it contains a powerful curse and an unending thirst for blood and death.
Curse: The wielder of the Shodai Kitetsu is required to have at least 350 Spirit, or 150 Luck, in order to overcome the curse completely. Wielders who fail to reach those requirements are subjected to the curse. The closer the wielder is to either requirement the less likely the sword is to act out. When the sword does act out it can force the wielder to perform attacks against their will, commit murder, or even commit suicide to feed the sword's desire for blood and death.
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After reading the description of the Shodai Kitetsu, Markus shoved it into the corner of his inventory and intended to leave it there for a long time. He wasn't as sword crazy as Zoro to pull it out and test his luck with it. If he failed to control it he could kill the entire crew or even kill himself. Fuck. That. He decided to ignore it and clear his head.
As they sailed, Markus joined Zoro for some weight lifting. It was one of the few other things Zoro would do aside from sleeping. As Zoro swung a pole with a couple of thousand kilograms in weight with one hand, Markus spoke up, "You're getting stronger."
Zoro grunted, "Not strong enough."
Markus nodded, "It'll get better once you gain Armament Haki, then opponents like Aokiji won't be impossible to defeat, just hard."
Zoro grunted again and continued to swing the pole and weights. Markus could see a hint of frustration in Zoro's countenance so he spoke again, "You'll get there. Not everyone is a freak like me. Just lots of them."
Zoro smirked at that but remained silent. Markus pat him on his bare back, "Just keep at it."
After chatting with Zoro, Markus made his way to the upper deck and sat in a sun chair next to Robin. He looked over at her and showed genuine concern as he asked, "How are you doing?"
Robin's bright blue eyes looked up from the book she was reading and locked onto Markus's own grey orbs, "Still fine, same as the last time you checked."
Markus grinned and leaned back in the chair, "Just seeing if you were feeling better now that we've left that island."
Robin sighed and returned to looking at her book while she tried to change the subject a bit, "You still not going to tell me how you know about my history with that man?"
Markus chuckled, "Nope. But you should know, the legacy of Ohara lives on, through you. Just know that no matter what you had to do to survive, it was all for just that. Survival. I'm sure that you will be the one to uncover the lost history and that the people of Ohara are watching you with pride."
Robin's eyes flicked in his direction for a brief moment before returning to her book. She flipped the page and remained silent. He shrugged his shoulders before hopping to his feet and making his way toward the stairs leading down to the main deck. Robin smiled at his retreating back, probably under the impression that he wouldn't notice. He did.
As he got close to the stairs, he stopped and looked at Nami's trees. The Immortal Tangerine Tree was pretty easy to spot. It being planted in the center of the trees helped but it was the look of the tree that gave it away. Though all of the trees were healthy and well maintained, the immortal one just looked better. It had stopped growing larger when it matched the size of the other trees, almost as if it knew when it should stop growing. The tangerines it produced were also far more fragrant and delicious than the regular ones. Naturally, the tree was Nami's pride and joy.
Markus plucked a plump and juicy tangerine off of the tree and made his way into the kitchen slash dining room of the ship. Sanji was at the stove cooking something. Luffy was sitting on the floor behind Sanji and watching him like a hawk while drooling like a dog. Nami was sitting at the dining table with her map-drawing tools out, putting the final touches on the section of Long Ring Long Island that they'd visited.
Markus sat down and started to peel the tangerine in his hand. As soon as he peeled off the first bit, the scent of the tangerine flooded the air and got everyone's attention immediately. All three people in the room immediately turned their attention to Markus. Nami narrowed her eyes as she watched him continue to peel the piece of fruit, "Markus, where did you get that?"
It was at that moment, he knew he fuc....
There was a loud crack as Nami punched Markus in the face with as much force as she could muster before he even got to finish that thought. The next thing he saw was the ceiling of the room and the tangerine spinning freely in the air. The next moment, Nami had snatched it out of the air and stomped over to stare down at Markus. She placed a foot on his chest and applied a little pressure, "You gave the seed to me, that means it's mine. So STOP TOUCHING IT WHENEVER YOU WANT!"
After she finished yelling, Nami slammed her foot on his stomach prompting his body to bend into a V shape. After she finished with him, she turned to glare at Sanji and Luffy prompting both men to sweat profusely and look away in fear. After Nami returned to her seat, she proceeded to finish peeling the heavenly smelling tangerine and eat it herself.
Markus sat up and took a peek at her while grinning from ear to ear. Naturally, nothing she did hurt him in the least, he just played along because the reactions of the rest of the crew when Nami 'beat him up' were priceless. He picked himself up off the floor, dusted himself off, and sat at the table. He set his elbows on the table and rested his chin in the palms of his hands to watch Nami work. Her maps really were beautiful and he was gaining a deeper appreciation for them as Nami taught him how to navigate. He still didn't have the skill but he felt it was only a matter of time.
Sanji finished cooking and placed a plate of delicious smelling food in front of Nami before picking up a second one and heading outside, obviously to deliver it to Robin. Luffy chased after him, "Eh! Sanji! FOOD! FOOD! Make me some!"
Markus heard a loud thunk followed by Sanji shouting, "Just wait your turn!"
Nami finished what she was doing before pulling her plate over and taking a bite of the food. Markus reached across the table and snagged a bit of it to munch on with his fingers. Nami glared at him, "Don't think that just because no one is here that I won't knock you down again!"
There was a smirk on Markus's face as he replied, "You could try, but I might not be the one who ends up on their back."
He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively causing Nami to blush and look away. With her distracted, he snuck another bite of her food. Seeing his action she yelled, "Stop that!"
Nami glared at him while he slowly chewed the food. Ever since he'd gotten his hands on that stupid Devil Fruit he'd become more playful and teased her far too much for her tastes... Well... maybe it wasn't really so bad. Unfortunately, Sanji and Luffy returned before Markus could tease Nami anymore. Markus decided to take her out on another date in Water-7 after the events at Enies Lobby.
Once she was done with her map, Markus sat next to her, "Nami, help me out with something. When we find a place to get the Merry fixed I want to see if I can get a small boat made."
She glanced at him, "Why do you want a small boat?"
He grinned, "I want one like Ace's. Something I can power with my Devil Fruit similar to your waver, just bigger. I just want some help designing the hull and sails, I can design the mechanics to use my power myself."
Nami thought about it and nodded. She wasn't a shipwright but she was one of the to artists on the ship and he didn't feel like hanging out with Usopp when he could hang out with a beauty instead. So they put their heads together and got to work on making the small boat.
After enjoying a delicious lunch cooked by Sanji, Markus stepped out onto the main deck to go over his plans for what was coming. Things should have changed at least a little due to his defeat of Aokiji on Long Ring Long Island. He needed to prepare for any surprises. As part of his preparations, Markus used his system to craft a simple bracelet and manually attached the sliver of seastone to its interior. He wore it and immediately felt weaker. The agents of CP9 knew how to deal with Devil Fruit users and had items such as seastone handcuffs at their disposal. He wanted to up his resistance as much as possible. Besides, this was a good chance for him to train in a weakened condition.
With just five percent resistance he was drastically weakened. He hadn't been this weak since his days alone on that small little island in the East Blue.
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Name: Silvers D. Markus
Age: 16
Class: Wanted Pirate (125m)
Level: 98
Exp: 11,763,365/12,005,000
Hit Points: 2,210/ 2,210 (+83.4/30 seconds) [150/ 150(+4.7/30 seconds)]
Willpower: 2,970/ 2,970 (+109.1/30 seconds) [200/ 200(+6.3/30 seconds)]
Strength (STR): 267 [18]
Vitality (VIT): 221 [15]
Agility (AGI): 227 [15]
Spirit (SPT): 297 [20]
Wisdom (WIS): 221 [15]
Charisma (CHA): 123 [8]
Luck (LCK): 110 [7]
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Even with 'The Power of Friendship' giving him a 40% boost, his attributes were pathetic. He looked over his debuffed attributes before walking over to Zoro, "Hey, Zoro. Let's train."
Zoro's eyes widened as he took a defensive step back while brandishing his weights at Markus, "No, no need for that."
Markus laughed, "Don't worry. It's time for you to get your revenge on me."
Zoro looked confused until Markus showed him the bracelet and pointed to the seastone, "I'm trying to build up a resistance to seastone. Right now I'm at about five percent of my usual. I hope by training with you I can increase that so even if someone managed to get me locked in some or something, I can still fight."
Zoro looked suitably impressed by Markus's decision to work on one of his fatal weaknesses. After he was finished being impressed a wicked smile curved his lips. He could finally be the one beating Markus down for a change! Markus found one of the blindfolds everyone had to use while Zoro picked up a stick. The crew saw them and dismissed it. Markus's training with the crew was nothing new. It was only slightly odd that he wore the blindfold but not unheard of.
With his eyesight gone, Markus tried to use his Observation Haki but found it exceedingly difficult. He barely got any notice before Zoro slammed the stick onto the top of his head with a resounding 'CRACK!'. Markus collapsed to the ground feeling dizzy as blood leaked from the top of his head. Everything was silent except for Markus's groan as he held his head.
A moment later all hell broke loose.
"Did Markus just get hit by Zoro?!"
"What the hell?!"
"He's bleeding! Isn't that impossible?!"
"Doctor! Doctor! Where's the doctor! ... Oh! I'm the doctor!"
"Did that moss-head learn Armament Haki?! DAMNIT!"
"Markus! Are you alright?!"
Markus flopped on the ground and groaned. That single blow from Zoro had knocked off more than a hundred hit points and probably given him a concussion. Zoro was sweating profusely as he looked down at Markus splayed out on the ground. Markus peeled off the blindfold in time to see Zoro looking between the other members of the crew, "He asked me to train with him! It's not my fault!" He looked down at the groggy Markus, "It's not my fault!"
Chopper dashed over and began to clean the cut on Markus's scalp before generously bandaging it. It was honestly the first time the crew had ever actually seen Markus injured. Once Chopper gave the all-clear, a clearly angry and worried Nami stared at Markus, "Explain!"
Markus lifted up his wrist and showed off the simple gold bracelet on it, "I used this and placed a piece of seastone on the inside. I wanted to train myself to resist its effects, just in case. To help me, I asked Zoro. I told him I was only at about five percent of my usual strength and he still hit me so damned hard!"
Yes, Markus was throwing Zoro under the bus. Why? Because he could. He wasn't about to admit that it was his fault for not telling Zoro to hold back more. He was certain Zoro had held back at least a bit or his Second Life skill would have been triggered! Wait... Markus started to sweat profusely, the Second Life skill couldn't trigger if he was touching seastone! It was a Devil Fruit skill! His closest brush with death came at his own hands, how stupid was that?!
Markus slipped off the bracelet to let his attributes return to normal so his high regeneration could kick in and heal the damage. The wound was long gone because of his 'Life is but a Game' passive but the damage to his HP remained. While he regenerated, he enjoyed the sight of Nami beating the snot out of Zoro for hurting him so badly. Ahhh good old schadenfreude.
Once he was back to full health, he slipped the bracelet back on and looked at the battered and bruised Zoro, "Alright, let's do this again. Only this time, SERIOUSLY HOLD BACK! I don't want to die dammit!"