Chapter 8

Markus watched Sanji and Duval as they argued back and forth. It was rather amusing to him and he didn't feel there was any real danger to anyone from Duval or any of the people around them. They were barely stronger than normal humans and relied on their flying fish as well as weapons to have any real strength. As he watched, two of Duval's men came charging at Sanji with two of the few remaining flying fish while dragging a metal net between them.

He was about to intercept them until he saw the small smirk on Sanji's face. Feeling that he might have a plan of his own, Markus stayed where he was and just watched. His eyes widened as the net captured Sanji and the two men dragged him into the sea. Markus facepalmed and sighed, "Idiot."

Everyone grew worried about Sanji, even Markus. With Sanji in the water, there was literally nothing he could do. The weakness of Devil Fruits was getting rather annoying to him. He hoped he could find something to remove that weakness eventually. As they tried to decide what to do and Luffy yelled at Duval, Camie dove into the water. Pappagg laughed and bragged to Duval, "You seem to be forgetting something. Flying fish might be faster than a fishman but the top class in all of the ocean with the title of 'fastest' will always belong to mermaids!"

Markus honestly wondered if that was true... Camie herself had admitted to being captured and eaten numerous times... Markus just watched and was pleasantly surprised when he saw Camie surface while cradling Sanji in her arms. Seeing the scene, Markus instantly understood why Sanji allowed himself to be captured in the net! Seeing her surface, Nami shouted out to her, "Camie! Is Sanji okay?"

Still holding Sanji close to her chest, Camie shouted back, "It's bad! He's bleeding a lot!"

Once again, Markus facepalmed, "That scheming little... GENIUS!"

Sanji wasn't hurt in the least. Rather, he looked extremely happy as Camie held his head close to her chest. Camie was still panicking while Sanji breathed erratically while blood gushed from his nose. Markus couldn't really understand the appeal. He wasn't blind and he was more than happy to admit that Camie was cute, at least from her head to her waist. Maybe Sanji had a fetish for fishtails?

That made Markus wonder about his own preferences. He'd never delved into the topic before and was curious about himself. Clearly mermaids weren't a part of his preferences. Maybe after they grew old enough for their tails to split into two legs as Kokoro's had? Maybe he was a leg man? As he pondered that, he jumped into the air and used Geppo to arrive at the Sunny to take a long look at Nami and Robin. They were the only two women around at the moment, discounting Camie.

He stroked his chin as he looked both women over from their heads to their toes. His gaze wasn't lecherous but, rather curious. Obviously, both women were beautiful in their own ways. Nami had a girlish charm while Robin had a mature charm. Ever since Enies Lobby, she'd been letting more of her personality show and her attraction to dark or gruesome things was rather cute to him. Right now he was focused on their bodies though. His eyes wandered up and down focusing on their erogenous zones mostly.

Their breasts were nice, both were pretty large and perky while being bound to get larger over the next two years. Nami's continuing to grow made sense but Robin was already a full-grown woman so why would hers? Questions for another time, though he suspected the author of One Piece just liked busty women. His gaze moved down to their thin waists, wide hips, and plump rears. Robin was wearing a short dress that showed off her long slender legs while Nami wore a pair of short-shorts that showed off her athletic legs.

He nodded at his moment of self-realization. He was definitely a member of the ass and legs faction! No wonder he only found Camie to be cute but not nearly as appealing as Sanji found her. Perhaps he was a member of the breast faction? Having his moment of realization brought a smile to his face until he noticed the two death glares Robin and Nami were sending him. He hadn't been the least bit subtle about his probing gaze and the two observant women had noticed quite some time ago.

Markus immediately dropped his smile and turned his head in another direction in an attempt to appear innocent. If the sudden sprouting of arms on his body and the ground around him was anything to go by, Robin clearly didn't buy it. Her sprouted arms wrapped around his torso and legs, locking them in place so he couldn't move. Well, he could, he just didn't. He felt Nami charging at him from behind with her hand balled into a fist. She ferociously punched him in the back of his head with all of her strength. The blow wasn't enough to hurt him but it was enough to unbalance him with the help of Robin's restricting arms.

He toppled like a tree and landed face-first on the deck of the ship. Nami stood over him and glared down at him, "I don't know what you were thinking but don't look at us like that again! It's creepy!"

Robin nodded along with Nami's scolding. There was clearly nothing perverse about his gaze on their bodies and both of them could tell that. But the way he was gazing at them almost made them feel like objects. They weren't sure which type of gaze was worse but they didn't like either one. Markus allowed Nami to hit him as it seemed like a fair price to pay for what he'd done. After listening to Nami, he nodded his head, "Sorry, I won't do it again."

He would keep that promise, he'd figured out what his preference was and that meant he had no further need to look at them in a similar manner as previously. Robin's arms disappeared in a flutter of flower petals releasing him from her hold. He picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. When he turned his attention back to the matter at hand, he saw Sanji leap into the air to slam multiple kicks into Duval's face while calling out the name of each spot he kicked. Markus watched in awe as Sanji used his Parage Shot, or Plastic Surgery Shot, as the finishing kick.

It was his first time seeing Sanji use his kicks for plastic surgery in person and it was... interesting. After cradling his face in his hands for a while, Duval finally lowered them and revealed his new look. Sanji's kicks had turned him into a 'pretty boy'. Somehow they'd even rearranged his hair! Duval's pudgy round face had been completely restructured into a slim look with high cheekbones and a square jaw. Markus shook his hand, and with that, the fighting was over, and there was nothing left to do.

Hatchan quickly recovered his ship slash takoyaki stand and sailed next to the Sunny as they left Duval's place behind. Duval was too busy celebrating his new looks to pay any more attention to them. Most of the crew, including Markus, hopped onto Hatchan's ship where he was cooking piles of takoyaki for them to eat. Markus had never eaten takoyaki before but he became addicted to it after his first bite. Everything about it was amazing from the texture to the taste. Though, when he saw Hatchan eat one he couldn't help wondering if it was some form of cannibalism... An octopus Fishman eating a food consisting of octopus was weird to him.

As they continued to munch, Hatchan nervously looked at Nami, "Um... h-how is it, Nami?"

Nami turned to face Hatchan while giving him a cold gaze, "... You know this doesn't mean I forgive you or anything, right?"

Hatchan nodded his head repeatedly, "Of course not! I just wanted to know if you liked the taste. Really!"

Nami let the silence drag out for a bit to build up the tension. Her history with Hatchan wasn't so simple after all. Everyone stopped eating and waited for her reply. When she was satisfied with letting Hatchan sweat enough, she smiled brightly, "It's delicious!"

Markus smiled at the interaction. He obviously couldn't understand Nami's feelings toward the Fishman without experiencing something similar to her. Still, he found her ability to smile at Hatchan and give him her honest opinion about his food to be a wonderful thing. He felt like it might be a sign of her maturing. He wondered what he would need to go through to mature into a proper man himself. If it was just about strength then he would be very mature at this point. He thought about the Devil Fruit tracker inside of his inventory and made his decision on which Devil Fruit to use it on for sure.

As they continued to eat, a loud voice shouted from a distance behind them, "HEEEEEEEY! You guys! Young Master!! Wait up! You can't leave without a proper goodbye!"

No one paid too much attention to the shouting of Duval as he came charging towards them on the back of the large cow he rode before. It was pretty surprising that it could swim so fast, "It's handsome... Ah! No! It's Duval!"

Markus joined Luffy in ignoring what Duval was saying and doing while focusing on stuffing his face with Hatchan's delicious takoyaki. He had no idea when he would be able to eat it again so he planned to get his fill. Though he did sneak quite a few into his inventory for later so it might not be that long of a wait before he ate them again. Sometimes he felt that his inventory was his true overpowered ability. As long as it wasn't living, he could store it away and pull it out later. Food and drinks maintained their temperature, it was truly a powerful ability.

The group partied and ate until most of them were stuffed to the point of being bloated. Luffy looked like a giant rubber ball while even Chopper had a protruding stomach. Markus was lucky enough to be able to use Semei Kikan to digest his food instantly and store it as energy inside of his body so he maintained his usual appearance despite 'eating' almost as much as Luffy. Truthfully, half of his servings ended up saved for later.

As the group relaxed after a delicious meal, they began to talk about how to get to Fishman Island and the second half of the Grand Line. There were only two paths available to them. The first was to fill out an application to the world government and get permission to pass through Marie Geoise. That option wouldn't work for several reasons, not the least of which was that they were all wanted pirates. Even worse though was the fact they would have to leave the Sunny behind. So obviously that option was completely out of the question.

The second option was the one taken in the canon story. They needed to head to Sabaody Archipelago and get a 'coating' on the ship. The other members didn't know what a coating would do, but Markus did. Once applied to the ship it would create a strong bubble around the ship and allow it to sail beneath the waves of the ocean to get to Fishman Island. It was a dangerous journey for anyone to take but it was the only possible path to pass into the Second Half of the Grand Line for the majority of people. There were other options but they weren't easily available to people without the right Devil Fruit or ships. If you couldn't fly over the Red Line or sail through the Calm Belt, deep-sea diving was your only option.

As the group continued to chat, Markus felt Saboady coming into the range of his Haki. Multiple life signs appeared in his mind. He felt multiple life signs that he would consider to be rather powerful, likely other pirates as well as the 'Supernova's' on the island. However, as they got closer another signal appeared in his mind that sent a shiver down his spine and caused him to break out into a cold sweat. The presence was probably the strongest one he'd ever felt, even stronger than Mihawk and Aokiji. He could only imagine this strength belonging to a single person, Silvers Rayleigh!

This... This had to be the very first time he felt this sensation... Fear. Even though Rayleigh didn't seem to be doing anything in particular, Markus's Observation Haki was leveled up enough for him to tell how strong he was even from this distance without Rayleigh doing anything. While Markus tried to calm down his beating heart, everyone else noticed the giant mangrove trees that made up the archipelago.

The place was beautiful. The trees were huge and towered into the sky. The place wasn't a proper island but was just a grove of mangrove trees. In addition to the trees, bubbles floated lazily in the air making the whole place seem magical. Seeing everyone standing at the rail looking at the trees, Hatchan provided more information, "Those are the biggest mangrove trees in the world, Yarukiman Mangrove trees! Their roots go down ten thousand meters to the ocean floor and the top of their roots never go below the water level. Sabaody Archipelago is made up of seventy-nine of these trees."

Everyone 'oooh'd' and 'aaaah'd' at Hatchan's explanation prompting him to continue, "Everyone headed for the New World comes through here. Right now we're heading for grove 44, the civilian entrance."

Markus looked at the impressive trees and smiled. They looked a little weird due to their bark being made up of spiraling bluish-green and white stripes. They sailed through the waterways between the groves. Hatchan let everyone admire the view for a while longer before he spoke once more, "We'll dock the ship here, at grove 41. Make sure you remember that number everyone! The islands are all connected together with bridges so as long as you remember 'grove 41,' you won't get lost."

Everyone turned to look at Zoro simultaneously causing him to shout, "What are you looking at me for?!"

Markus snickered but didn't say anything. It was pointless. Nothing seemed capable of correcting Zoro's ability to get lost. They quickly docked as everyone was excited to explore the new location. As they landed on the ground, they all watched in fascination as a bubble slowly formed from the ground and began to gently float in the sky. Everyone was curious so Pappagg filled them in, "The Yarukiman Mangroves secrete a natural resin from their roots. When the roots 'breath' the resin is inflated with air and floats up."

Everyone was impressed, Luffy even jumped on the newly formed bubble surprising everyone when it didn't pop. He started leaping from bubble to bubble to get higher into the air. While he and the others discussed the theme park on the Archipelago, Nami turned to Hatchan to get down to business, "Hatchi, what did we come to this island for again? Something about 'coating' was mentioned earlier?"

Hatchan nodded eagerly, "We'll go meet the guy who does the coating and he'll cover your ship with resin. Simply put, that'll let your ship travel underwater!"

He turned rather serious as he continued, "This is the only way for humans to get to Fishman Island but if you get the coating done by a shoddy workman, then the ship and the crew could end up lost. I know a guy who I trust, so I'll take you to him. In return, I want you to all make me a promise."

Luffy instantly agreed, "Sure."

Hatchan's face darkened as he started to sweat, "In the town, the World Nobles are known to walk around. No matter what happens in town, promise me that you won't defy the World nobles! Even if someone were killed right before your eyes, just pretend that you didn't see anything!!"

After Hatchan's warning, everyone gathered some supplies and decided to leave the ship. Sanji had 'volunteered' to guard the ship after 'overhearing' Nami talking to herself. Markus kept all of his most important possessions on his body so he didn't have to get anything else. He did change into a new outfit though. He wore his favorite pair of black combat pants tucked into his usual combat boots. Around his waist, he had a gray belt with a skull buckle with Shodai Kitetsu hanging on his left hip and The Devil's Flintlock on his right. Over his torso, he wore a black tank top underneath his usual hoodie with the skull and lightning bolts on the back. As he walked to the exit of the ship, he ran his fingers along the smooth wood of the railing, "See you later, Sunny."

As they walked, Hatchan explained a bit more about the World Nobles, "The World Nobles are also called Celestial Dragons. They think they're too good to breathe the same air as us so they always wear helmets. If you see someone wearing a helmet you absolutely can't defy them in any way! There are other things you need to watch out for as well. Like I said before, this island is where people aiming for the New World gather. There are pirates, just like you, and the Marines chasing them. Then there are bounty hunters and kidnappers as well. If pirates are caught by the slave traders then the law won't protect them. If you do anything to stand out, then they'll all be after you in a heartbeat!"

Markus crossed his arms over his chest, "If that's the case, I should probably move on my own to draw less attention to you all."

Hatchan looked at Markus confused. He knew Markus was strong since he beat Arlong so long ago but why did he need to leave. Seeing the other Strawhats nodding in understanding only confused him more. Markus decided to enlighten Hatchan, "You're probably not aware but my bounty is over a billion Belly."

Hatchan's long protruding mouth dropped open so wide that Luffy could have probably been shoved inside with room to spare. In his place, Camie and Pappagg both loudly shouted, "WHAAAAAAT?!"

Markus smirked, "Now you understand. I'll keep an eye on everyone from a distance."

"But first..." He used his system to design a new simple skill.

Ever since his Control skill had been leveled up for free, had hadn't used any of his free skill creations. Until now. Once the skill was created, he moved around the group and pat everyone on the back, "I'll be around if anything happens."

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New Skill!

Electro-Magnetic Tag

[Active/Passive]

This skill allows the user to place a simple Electro-Magnetic Tag on a solid surface, or person. Once placed the tag will last until the user removes it, the object is destroyed, or the individual dies. Once a tag is placed the user can sense the distance and direction of the tag anywhere in the world. Placing a tag requires physical contact with the target.

[Active]

Touch a target to place an Electro-Magnetic Tag

Cost: 150 Willpower

[Passive]

Sense the direction and distance to any Electro-Magnetic Tag that has been placed.

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