Chapter 22

Markus intended to meet up with Luffy and the others for the iconic scene of them all standing on the wall and calling out to Robin. He had no intention of not being there at that pivotal moment when Robin's hope was restored and she chose to live instead of die. He didn't waste time just moving, though. He continued to blast any marine nearby without even looking. Honestly, the constant notifications going off in his ears were starting to get on his nerves.

He checked and did a quick rough estimate of the remaining forces. Of the 10,000 men stationed at Enies Lobby, less than half remained available to fight. The majority of the defeated marines belonged to Markus and the other members of the Strawhats that were moving ahead. Most had personally been blasted by Markus.

As he got closer to the others, he finally decided to take a look at his gains. What he saw caused his jaw to drop. Each Marine he defeated was worth between 500 and 3,000 experience. He'd defeated somewhere around four thousand of them... That added up to a shit-ton of experience! His level had jumped from 98 when he arrived at the island to 120! That was even crazier than beating Aokiji!

He rubbed the back of his head before letting out a sigh. He could beat enemies like this all day long. He decided. Once this was over, he planned to hole up in his image training and destroy massive groups of enemies nonstop. Who knew what level he would reach in a few weeks? He may never be as skilled with a sword as someone like Zoro, or as good a marksman as someone like Usopp but what would their skills matter in front of absolute strength? Who cares how good they are if their hardest hits couldn't even pierce his skin?

Markus immediately dumped all 135 of his attribute points into his Spirit attribute raising it from 319 to 454 while his Willpower pool grew from 3,190 to 4,540. With his spirit suddenly boosted, he got a good idea. Or maybe it was a bad idea... He plucked Kashu from his waist and stored it inside of his inventory. From there, he retrieved Shodai Kitetsu.

Shodai Kitetsu looked just like the other two swords in the Kitetsu series, the only difference being its color scheme. Zoro's Sandai Kitetsu had a red theme and the Nidai Kitetsu had a purple and white theme, the Shodai Kitetsu had a pure black theme with orange accents. It shared a similar handle and tsuba design with the other two swords as well as a similar sheath. It was easy to tell that all three swords were from the same series.

Markus barely had time to look at the exterior before he felt another will attempting to take over his own. He gripped the sheath of the katana tightly in his left hand while grabbing the handle with his right, "Listen up, you're mine now. Don't bother trying to fight me, you can't win. You only have two choices. Obey and serve me, or rot forever in the place I just pulled you out from. Make. Your. Choice."

The will of the Shodai Kitetsu seemed to hesitate for a moment before it retreated back into the blade. However, it made its reluctance to do so rather clear. Markus slowly began to pull the sword out of its sheath, "Fear not. You will taste plenty of blood and reap plenty of lives. Serve me faithfully and you will be well fed. Just know, I will only feed you the blood of enemies I consider worthy. It would be a waste for the blood of weaklings to become rust on you."

Shodai Kitetsu seemed to tremble in joy within his hands at his words. Markus nodded and continued to draw the blade from its sheath. The blade of the Shodai was gorgeous. The entire blade was dyed black, permanently imbued with Armament Haki. This sword was capable of wounding any Devil Fruit user no matter the skill of its wielder. However, it would only prove its real power in the hands of a swordmaster. Markus wasn't one, but he could be with some effort.

Markus tilted the sword and looked at its black mirrored edge. He could still see the hamon, or pattern, of the sword as it was different shades of black. Like the Sandai Kitetsu, the Shodai had a flame-like hamon. The difference being the hamon of the Shodai looked far more aggressive and domineering. As if the sword itself would become a cutting fire that would slice the world asunder. It was beautiful.

Markus sheathed the Shodai and placed it on his hip where Kashu had previously been. He would save the sword for stronger opponents. For now, he drew The Devil's Flintlock and began using it to shoot his targets. He might as well grind his marksmanship skill for a bit before catching up with the others at the next gate.

As he was walking, he smiled and pointed his gun in a certain direction. He quickly charged and fired three Lightning Blasts with one hundred Willpower each. This gave each shot +456% base damage, why? Because of the 50% discount on Willpower costs for ranged attacks. True Agility even applied to the ranged attacks of his Goro Goro no Mi abilities. He didn't even want to calculate the additional damage bonuses he was getting on top of the base damage from those skills.

Needless to say, all three shots blasted through their target, the three-headed judge Baskerville. Of course, he didn't really have three heads but was three people dressed as one person. Baskerville was the Chief Justice of Enies lobby and now they were dead. Markus just chuckled to himself and resumed his walk while firing off shots in seemingly random directions. No marines could get within a thousand feet of him without suffering severe injuries or death.

As for how he was getting away with all of this? Spandam was an incompetent moron and had knocked the receiver off of his Den Den Mushi making it impossible for him to know what was going on outside of his office. It made wiping out his underlings a breeze and was something Markus was more than happy to take advantage of.

He looked around and watched what everyone was up to through his Haki, their antics brought a smile to his face. No crew members were in any real danger. The regular marines really were nothing more than fodder to them. Luffy had taken out hundreds and kept taking out more. Markus even briefly wondered if he'd have to worry about Luffy taking too many out. Well, it didn't matter. He was pretty sure he was close to the five thousand he needed to beat. Or maybe he'd already reached his quota? Whatever. He just kept shooting more for the hell of it. He needed to make them fear him so he would.

Markus noticed a massive group of people gathered exactly where Luffy was heading, the final gate on the island before it split and there was a gap to the final building. Markus stopped where he was, holstered his flintlock, and lifted his hands into the air. Electricity gathered as he spent three thousand of his Willpower on this attack, he was close to a level up so he would get it all back when it was over. Once the charge was complete, a massive pillar of electricity at least sixty feet wide launched from his hands and into the air. Once in the air, it arced toward the marines before it split into thousands of lightning bolts that rained down on the marines from above.

"Lightning Rain."

Yeah, that's right. Markus had gotten into the habit of saying the names of his attacks out loud. It was a side effect of hanging out with the Strawhats so long! When everyone around you has the same bad habit, you're bound to pick up that habit yourself! At least he managed to always say the name of the attack after it was launched instead of before!

Markus wasn't disappointed with his attack. Notifications kept going off giving him experience as well as the expected level up that refilled his Willpower. Markus threw his head back and laughed, that was just too strong in a battle like this! As long as there were enough opponents to beat he could fight forever. He could blow all of his willpower in a single massive area attack and recover the next moment when his experience came in.

A few minutes later, Luffy arrived at the last gate and climbed to the top. Shortly after he arrived there, Markus felt a weird fluctuation with his Haki before Blueno came out of his Air Door leading to his pocket dimension. Markus nodded. He really couldn't feel anything about Blueno or his movement until he came out of the dimension. The Doa Doa no Mi really was the ultimate infiltration fruit.

Markus switched back to using The Devil's Flintlock to continue to take potshots at people. As he moved, he spotted several large life signs and shot them without even thinking about it. Every defeated marine just made it easier for Nami and the others to move forward. While he was doing so, he laughed out loud. He could hear Usopp talking to one of the defeated giants. Turns out they were members of Brogy and Dorry's pirate crew. They'd been tricked by the Marines and were now furious. Things were getting more interesting.

He ignored everything but his crew and moved to the top of the final gate, which was really a drawbridge. He found a comfortable spot off to the side and watched the battle between Luffy and Blueno. He crossed one leg over the other and used it as a support for his elbow so he could rest his chin on the palm of his hand. He couldn't miss this moment as it would be the first time Luffy used Gear Second! This is where his new series of more and more powerful techniques would be born.

Naturally, the thought of suggesting the techniques to Luffy had crossed his mind. However, as far as he could recall, the only person who could teach Luffy anything was Luffy. He learned from observing and improvising. Sitting how down to teach him anything was an exercise in futility. The only reason Luffy participated in the Observation Haki training is that Markus would beat him up even harder if he didn't!

It only took a few moments for Luffy and Blueno to notice Markus sitting so casually. Luffy pointed at him, "Ah! Markus! No stealing my fight!"

Blueno narrowed his eyes at Markus but said nothing. Markus nodded in agreement with Luffy, "No problem Captain. A weakling like him isn't worth me lifting a finger. He's all yours. Have fun!"

Blueno practically growled at that comment from Markus. As a member of CP9, he was used to being the one looking down on people. He did not like being looked down on at all. He faced Markus, "Tough talk from a weak pirate that follows a captain with a lower bounty! If you really wanted to win you would both fight me."

Instead of replying, Markus just pointed in Luffy's direction. Blueno turned his head just in time to receive a fist to the face. Markus barely paid attention to the fight between Luffy and Blueno, for the moment. He paid attention to things happening within the building he was sitting on. Due to his interference, everyone was having a much easier fight as he'd already disabled or killed anyone that might be considered a threat. There were less than two thousand peons left of the marines and they were getting trounced by the Franky Family and Usopp's new giant friends.

He only began to pay attention to the fight between Luffy and Blueno again once Luffy took his iconic stance. Markus felt his heartbeat increase as he grew excited. This is it! He watched closely as Luffy crouched down and placed his fist on the ground. His legs compressed tightly and then expanded, pumping blood through his body at an abnormal rate. If his heart wasn't made of rubber and capable of handling the extra stress, such a thing would kill him instantly by bursting it. His body took on a red hue as steam poured out of his pores.

Markus leaned forward and watched everything closely as Luffy's whole demeanor took on a new facet. The once somewhat equal fight was about to become a one-sided beatdown as Luffy's speed and strength rocketed up. Markus could see the difference with his Observation Haki. Luffy had suddenly become a bright shining beacon of power.

Not understanding his situation at all, Blueno mocked Luffy, "Emitting steam from your body, are you trying to imitate a steam engine? What? Are you trying to bluff?"

Luffy grinned and straightened up, "I am glad I met you here."

He took a wide stance with his right arm cocked back to throw a punch while holding his left straight out with his palm aiming at Blueno. Overconfident in himself just because he could use the Rokushiki, Blueno continued his mocking, "Are you trying to snipe me? You're just giving me a chance to escape. Try to aim your best and hit me!"

The next moment, Blueno used his Soru to charge at Luffy. Markus watched everything without even blinking. He wanted to engrave the first in-person viewing of Luffy using Gear Second into his memories. He saw how Blueno executed his Soru and recognized that his own version of Soru was superior. In his opinion, Blueno's Soru was mediocre at best and he still required ten stomps to perform it. Markus's level of Soru might be lower than Blueno's but his execution of the technique was flawless and only required eight stomps currently.

As Blueno closed in, Luffy counterattack instantly, "Jet Pistol!"

The single blow was strong enough to blast Blueno backward and force him to cough up blood. As Blueno crashed into the ground, Markus reviewed the blow Luffy had unleashed. He compared its speed to his own base speed and knew he wouldn't be able to dodge it without using some sort of movement technique. If Markus had to guess, Gear Second at least doubled Luffy's strength and more than doubled his speed, judging by how he just vanished as Blueno stood up.

Blueno's eyes barely had time to widen in surprise before Luffy was wailing on him mercilessly. The end of the fight came in the form of a Jet Bazooka versus Blueno's strongest Tekkai. The result was obvious to Markus but it took Blueno's body a few extra seconds to realize it needed to pass out. As Blueno stood there, after taking Luffy's blow, Luffy ended his Gear Second and lifted his thumb to his mouth. Markus spoke up then, "Luffy you really need to work more on your Observation Haki. He's already out cold."

The moment after Markus spoke, Blueno's body fell to the ground. Luffy started panting and turned to look at Markus, "I'm dead tired. I guess my body hasn't gotten used to it yet."

Markus hopped off of his resting spot and walked over to Luffy while pulling plates of food out of his inventory. Luffy's eye's widened to saucers while a waterfall of drool cascaded out of his mouth. He didn't even ask Markus where the food came from and instead chose to attack it like a ravenous beast. The two of them walked toward the edge of the building. Every time Luffy emptied a plate he would hand it to Markus. Markus would then swap the empty plate for a new one filled with still steaming food.

As they got to the edge, Luffy stopped eating and took on a serious appearance once again. He slowly inhaled deeply, at the same time Markus lifted his hand closer to Luffy. Once he had enough air, Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs, "ROBIN!!! WE'VE COME FOR YOU!!!"

Luffy's shout shook the very air itself and could be heard over the entire island, and then some, thanks to Markus amplifying his voice using electricity. Everywhere on the island, Markus could feel the shock people were feeling. Though there were spots of amusement, from his friends and allies, as well as a few of fear and anger, from Spandam and CP9.

Markus observed the building across from them while he returned to being a food dispenser for Luffy. He observed Spandam as the sick coward walked to the window and spotted the defeated Blueno. He could feel Spandam's fear and panic as he called for the other members of CP9. As he continued his food services, he saw Franky's ass suddenly begin to expand and couldn't help snickering. Franky was... Franky. That was the only way to describe the strange cyborg.

Hearing Markus snicker, Luffy glanced at him and asked with a full mouth, "What's so funny?"

Markus waved a dismissive hand, "Just Franky messing with the marines up there. We'll see Robin soon so you should wipe your mouth and clean up a bit to look good for her."

Markus wasn't trying to make Luffy look good to impress Robin or anything. He just didn't look nearly as impressive with crumbs, grease, and pasta sauce all over his lips and cheeks. He looked less like a captain and more like an unruly child. That just wouldn't do when facing Robin and the members of CP9. Markus even provided him a napkin to use. He was just in time too as Franky and Robin suddenly crashed through the wall of the building and appeared on the balcony.

As soon as he saw Robin, Luffy threw his hands in the air like it was a victory and shouted, "ROBIN!! I'm glad you're still there! Wait right there! It's kinda far but I'll try to jump over there!"

Luffy ran away from the edge of the wall and stretched his arms to grab one of the crenelations. He clearly intended to use his Gomu Gomu Rocket to get across. Markus watched all of this with his arms crossed over his chest. He stared directly at Robin and watched as she grit her teeth before shouting, "Wait!"

Luffy looked at her in silence as she continued, "I've told you several times! I... I'll never come back to you!! GO AWAY!! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACES AGAIN!!"