Chapter 4

Markus sat and relaxed while watching as Franky and Robin found their way to Nami, Usopp, and Chopper in time to rescue them from a horde of zombies trying to capture them. Thanks to Brook, they knew how to purify the zombies and release the shadows animating the corpses, salt. The two new arrivals helped the other three to escape. They all planned to retreat to the ship since that's where Brook said their missing members would be delivered.

Brook was right and it's one of the reasons that Markus felt there was nothing much to fear here. As long as they weren't pushed too hard, the members of Thriller Bark wouldn't try to kill anyone. They needed to remain alive for their shadows to continue to exist and animate zombies. Once a person died their shadow died hence the zombie died. That went completely against their plans so they held back from killing.

A few minutes later, Franky, Usopp, Chopper, Nami, and Robin all arrived at the Thousand Sunny. When they spotted Markus sitting around eating a snack, they were shocked. Franky's reaction was the most subdued, he hadn't known Markus for very long, after all. Usopp actually looked a little relieved. He believed that if Moria had gotten Markus or his shadow, they'd be in even deeper shit. Chopper was just happy to see someone strong was alright. Robin narrowed her eyes at Markus and wondered what he had been up to this entire time to not be helping them.

Nami... she had the most visceral reaction to seeing him. She immediately charged up the ramp to board the Sunny and start wailing on his head with her fists, "Where were you?! We were so scared!! Why didn't you save everyone?! I know you're strong! You could have beaten everyone!! You made us worry about you, you bastard!!"

Markus didn't do anything to stop Nami from punching his head, she deserved to have a place to let out her frustrations. He also felt he somewhat deserved it as everything she said was right. After Nami calmed down a little, Markus stood and faced the rest of the crew, "We should wake up the other three first. They're in the male dorm sleeping. I'll talk after everyone is here."

Chopper, Usopp, and Franky went to wake up the other three while Robin and Nami stayed on the main deck. Robin continued to stare at him while Nami refused to look at him. Markus waited patiently until the other men rejoined the group. Usopp and Chopper had explained Nami's grievance to them so everyone knew what was going on. As they stepped onto the deck, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Franky all had serious looks on their faces. The entire crew faced a lone Markus together.

He looked at each and every one of them before bowing ninety degrees at his waist, "I'm sorry! Everything Nami said is true. I could have instantly ended this and made sure nothing happened. I deliberately chose not to. There are a few reasons for doing so but they all sound like lame excuses. All I can ask is that you forgive me."

Silence.

No one said anything while Markus continued to bow toward all of them. Everyone had a serious look on their faces as they stared at Markus. The silence dragged on until finally, their captain spoke. Luffy lifted his hand and gave Markus a thumbs up and a big grin, "Good job!"

Sanji and Zoro just had wry grins on their faces. Both of them knew their captain and his personality well. Franky didn't seem sure how to react, he just looked back and forth between Markus and Luffy. Most of the others were silent but Nami and Usopp loudly complained. The two of them were the weakest and most scared members of the crew. Luffy shut them up with his next words, "If Markus defeated everyone it wouldn't be an adventure!! It wouldn't be any fun!! Sure, if he did that we could help Brook faster... BUT! Then there would be nothing to do! If we just let Markus always beat everyone up then what's the point of being pirates! If Markus is going to do all the fighting for us we might as well give up our dreams! I might as well let him be the King of the Pirates! I REFUSE! I WILL BE KING OF THE PIRATES! I don't want Markus to fight my battles for me!"

Zoro nodded in full agreement with Luffy. If he let Markus do all the fighting he might as well give up his dream of being the strongest swordsman. Everyone hung their heads and thought over Luffy's words. If they let Markus do everything then wouldn't they be giving up their own dreams as well? There would be no great discoveries or adventures left. It would all be... too easy. Hollow. Pointless. If they didn't work for their own dreams then why even have any dreams?

Luffy walked up to Markus and pat his shoulder, "Raise your head, you've done nothing wrong."

Markus nodded and slowly raised his head from his bow. He looked over everyone and saw the looks of determination on their faces. Markus let out a sigh of relief and felt a weight removed from his heart. With the drama out of the way, Franky started to talk about Brook and what he'd informed them of. Robin added in things Franky forgot or skipped over. Everyone who had been a member of the crew since the East Blue was surprised to learn that Brook was a member of the crew that left Laboon, the gigantic island whale, behind at the entrance to the Grand Line.

After learning more about Brook, everyone was in agreement that they wanted to get him his shadow back and have him join their crew for real. Everyone was determined to defeat Gecko Moria to get not only their shadows back but the shadows of everyone else who'd lost them. Luffy looked seriously at Markus, "The shallot-head is mine, I'll defeat him!"

Markus just nodded, "That's fine. I'll take down Oars and return your shadow to you. Everyone else can take care of other problems and battles." He looked at Usopp and Nami, the two most scared of the coming fights, "Don't worry too much. If your lives are truly in danger, then I'll appear and save you. Just remember, I will only appear if you're really about to die."

The crew talked and decided to split into two groups. Luffy, Sanji, Chopper, Usopp, Nami, and Robin would be one group, Franky and Zoro would be the other. Zoro really wanted to have a duel with the samurai zombie that contained Brook's shadow. Lastly, Markus would be on his own, his job was to take down Oars and return Luffy's shadow. Luffy would handle Moria and return everyone else's shadows. With their plan set, Usopp handed everyone small bags containing rock salt to use against the zombies to take them down for good.

As the others left, Markus looked in the direction of Oars. Such a massive being was impossible for even people without Observation Haki to miss, let alone him. Oars was a massive giant that towered more than double the height of a normal giant. He had a distinctive look with long hair hanging down his entire back, two huge horns sticking out of his skull, and a massive underbite with huge tusks. As for his body, it was oddly proportioned with a large rounded torso, long muscular arms, and short skinny stick-like legs. Skinny being relative to the rest of his body.

Markus watched for when Oars would stop acting so much like Luffy and lose his free will. He could go and purify Oars immediately, but where was the fun in that? Seeing a gigantic version of Luffy playing around on the island was pretty hilarious. Plus, he wanted to add a little drama to the whole affair.

Oars had climbed up to the top of the giant mast planted in the middle of Thriller Bark and was looking around excitedly. When he got bored with it, he dropped down and crashed through a part of the castle. This separated Usopp and Sanji from the rest of their group and forced them to join up with Franky and Zoro. Markus didn't mind it. Instead, he laughed when Oars grabbed an angled piece of the broken staircase and put it on his head like a hat.

Luffy, Robin, and Chopper met up with Dr. Hogback and his zombie girlfriend Cindry. Robin and Chopper held them back so Luffy could go ahead. Though they were soon joined by the zombies that contained Sanji and Zoro's shadows. At the same time, Franky, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji ran into Perona and her gaggle of 'cute' zombies. Naturally, she attacked with her negative hollows and took out everyone but Usopp. Seeing the shock on her face made Markus smile. She was shocked when Markus was immune as well, she was just too afraid to really think about it or react to it back then.

Markus watched the antics of everyone for a while before Oars seemed to change slightly. It was getting close to the right time. Markus hopped to his feet and swiftly used Geppo to move through the air. He closed the distance between himself and Oars before carefully and gently landing on his head. As he rode Oars, he peeked in on the fight of Zoro vs the samurai zombie. Something felt... off. Markus tilted his head and thought for a bit before he realized what it was. Zoro was using three swords!

Markus hadn't thought about it at all before but... wasn't Zoro supposed to lose one of his swords back at Enies Lobby? Mmmm it should have been his black-handled one, Yubashiri. After defeating the samurai zombie, he would get Shusui, a sword on par with the Wado Ichimonji that he already owned. That made Markus question which sword he would replace. As awesome as Sandai Kitetsu was, it was a lower grade than Yubashiri... He shrugged his shoulders. It didn't matter. Zoro could choose any swords he wanted. In the end, he would have four, leaving him with a spare.

Markus honestly felt good about accidentally saving Yubashiri. There were only fifty Ryo Wazamono swords in the whole world after all. He nodded his head and agreed with himself. He kept an eye on everyone but kept his main focus on where Oars was heading. Markus prepared a nice surprise for Moria on their arrival. Luffy had been fruitlessly fighting against Moria's summoned shadow for quite some time. The fight would ramp up after Markus ruined Moria's plan.

Markus rode on Oar's head as he climbed back to the giant freezer where his body had been revived. Moria was standing on a balcony with a wide grin on his face. Honestly, Markus couldn't stand the sight of Moria, he was just so... ugly. First, there was his deformed head to complain about. Moria's head was long and thin, like an oblong oval on top of a long fat looking neck. His neck looked like it had been sliced open and was held closed with stitches. Then there was the rest of his body. He looked like a tall fat pear wearing an ugly suit and standing on two thin tiny legs. Markus nearly gagged seeing his ugly visage in person.

Markus was hardly visible on top of Oars and could hear Moria practically shouting in his high-pitched voice, "I've been waiting Oars! It seems your body and the shadow have finally merged completely! Did you become a nice obedient zombie? Who is your master?!"

Oars was silent for a moment before it spoke in a voice similar to Luffy's, only louder, "My master is... Gecko Moria!!"

Markus let Moria have his moment of glory before he calmly jumped off of Oars' head and used Geppo to stand in front of Oars' mouth. Moria was too shocked to say anything as Markus pulled a large amount of salt out of his inventory and poured it all down Oars' throat. Moria's eyes widened in horror while Luffy just laughed. Oars threw his head back and gagged as a black mass started to wiggle in the back of his throat. Oars gripped his throat and fell to his knees while Luffy's shadow freed itself and flew directly to Luffy and reattached itself to him.

Moria was screaming in rage but Markus wasn't done messing his day up. As Oars' huge body collapsed, Markus landed on it and covered it in purple electricity before pulling the entire thing into his inventory. From Moria's point of view, Oars just disintegrated into nothing. Moria was still screaming wordlessly while Markus Geppo'd his way up to the balcony and landed next to Luffy, "My job's all done."

Luffy just laughed and slapped Markus's back before dancing around and enjoying the return of his shadow. It took a bit but Moria finally recovered from his shock at the 'destruction' of Oars and with it his dream of becoming the King of the Pirates. He turned to stare at Markus as his eyes bulged and grew bloodshot, "YOU!!! I WILL KILL YOU!! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!!!!"

Markus vanished from where he was and appeared standing on Moria's shoulder with Shodai drawn, covered in Armament Haki, and pressed against Moria's throat. Moria froze as he felt Shodai just barely cut into his neck causing a small trickle of blood to drip down. Everyone froze as Markus held the sword steady, "I'm sorry, did you say something about killing me and my friends?"

Moria's rage instantly vanished and was replaced with primal fear. He carefully swallowed before answering, "N-no. I would never do that good sir."

Markus smirked and the next second he was standing next to Luffy with Shodai sheathed at his waist once again, "I thought not. You're not my prey, you're his." Markus thumbed at Luffy.

Luffy nodded and slammed one fist into his other palm before loudly cracking his knuckles. Markus turned and walked away while waving over his shoulder, "Have fun Luffy. It looks like your fight is the final one. Everyone else has defeated their enemies."

Moria looked startled at that but muttered, "Damn Absalom disappearing! Where did that bastard go when we need him?!"

Markus knew but didn't answer. Instead, he turned into purple sparks and vanished to make his way back to the ship. Luffy wouldn't have much trouble dealing with Moria now that Moria didn't have Oars on his side. Once at the Thousand Sunny, he returned to his seat and relaxed for a bit. He planned to watch the fight through his Observation Haki while ensuring nothing would happen to the Sunny while everyone else was busy.

All of the big-name enemies had been defeated. Aside from a few zombie generals that Sanji and Franky were slapping around, there was only fodder left running for their unlives. With Oars taken out and Moria infuriated, the fight between him and Luffy kicked off right away. While they were fighting, Makus noticed that Perona had woken up. Once she was filled in on what had happened since Usopp knocked her out, she immediately ordered her remaining zombies to head for the treasure they had stored.

Markus tilted his head back and thought for a bit. Once he reached his decision, he teleported from the Sunny to behind Perona and her minions so he could follow them. He'd swipe every last bit of treasure and give it to the crew once they left the island. It should help with their funding problems and feed Luffy for at least a little while... Maybe. Markus was pretty certain that if Luffy had his system, he'd have blown all the money from selling the golden pillar on food by now.

Speaking of spending money, Markus opened the shop and checked what was for sale. He'd tried getting in the habit of checking daily but lately, he'd been forgetting. As he flipped to the Miscellaneous tab he spotted something he'd never seen before, an Ancient Dial called a Laser Dial. He immediately bought it for 15 million Belly and looked it over.

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Laser Dial

Item Level 150

Ancient Dial

Damage: ---

Description: A bigger and better version of the simple Flash Dial. Like the Flash Dial the Laser Dial can store and release light. However, when light is released from the Laser Dial it comes out in the form of a powerful concentrated beam of light that can burn through almost anything. The damage dealt by the dial is based on the amount of energy stored. Once activated, all stored energy will be fired at once.

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After reading over the description of the dial, Markus felt like facepalming himself. He'd always been a little worried about fighting against Kizaru due to his light abilities... but... Weren't Flash, and his new Laser, Dials his weakness? He could fire light attacks, they could absorb light... Didn't that mean that these two dials were the perfect counter to his long-ranged attacks? Couldn't the same also be true for the Flame Dials and Ace's flame attacks?

He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a soft sigh. He felt like an idiot. The Dials were practically the ultimate counter to some elemental abilities. They could hold untold amounts of energy, some even said infinite, though the true amount was unknown. If he found a cold dial of some sort he would have dials to counter all three admirals. Heat or Flame Dial to absorbed Akainu's power, Flash or Laser Dial to absorb Kizaru's power, and some kind of cold or fridge dial to absorb Aoikiji's power.

After realizing the awesome might of Dials, Markus hung his head in shame. He should have looked at them more closely and thought of them as more than just nifty toys. They were the ultimate shields! He sighed again but his mood soon lifted as they arrived at where all of the treasure on Thriller Bark was hidden.

As soon as he saw all of the available treasure, he smiled and spoke, "Ahhhh my sweet Perona. Thank you for leading me here. You don't mind if I take all of this right?"