Marco

Once the ships had set sail and gained a far distance from the island that not even Van Augur could see through his scope, Marco appeared in the sky and dropped down onto Alyssia's ship.

A giant sized white snake had appeared and stared towards him aggressively. "Sss!"

A small winged cat suddenly enlarged in size then stared vigilantly towards him. "Hiss!"

A large horned ape carried a large club on its shoulders and readied itself for combat. "Oooh!"

They were about to attack the intruder until a voice came from behind. "You can all go back now. He is allowed to board my ship."

They dispersed and went back to their previous resting places but kept a watch over the safety of their master from further away.

Marco transformed back from his Phoenix Zoan form to his normal state. "Was that offer genuine?"

Alyssia shrugged. "It depends if your people can keep hidden and not have word spread out that I am harbouring wanted pirates. I have a reputation to uphold."

Marco carefully looked over her. "Who are you and what is your goal?"

Alyssia sighed. "Alyssia Lucine of the Mink tribe, martial artist and currently a mercenary or explorer. My goal is nothing in particular so if you are wondering why I took the risk to interfere today then do not worry about it too much.

It is always good to have some strong friends in this world and there should be far less creeps like him with outrageous powers that can cause a lot of harm. Helping you all was just a little extra and if we can build upon that then that is good,"

Marco knit his brows and asked coldly. "No… who are you really? What is your agenda here?"

Alyssia crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "It seems that you do not believe me huh? I am just me and I will take up whatever role or face that will help me to survive on the seas.

The world is always changing and experiencing big events so it is best to be able to not get caught up in them but it is always good to have allies to weather the storms ahead.

It is only a matter of time before my home is caught up in the world struggles so I do not want to be without those that can help out when that time comes. It was just a coincidence that I was there but I think it was a good thing that I was there.

Am I right? I have a feeling that the likes of Blackbeard will be a chaotic force in the world from now on and even if I did not stop him, he would find a way to mess with what is mine. Anyone that can go after my people will receive no mercy from me."

Blackbeard was someone that did not mind plotting against rising rookies on the Grand Line that had never once offended or made contact with him so that he could achieve a small part of one of his schemes.

In order to rise to power and make his plans work, he was ruthless enough to go after anyone that was a part of the steps to his plan.

Monkey D Luffy was one person who barely avoided him for a long time but Portgas D Ace took his place to allow Blackbeard to gain his status as a Warlord to further his goal.

The war between the Marines and Whitebeard then the attack on Impel Down was the result of his scheme which would have led to him getting the Quake Devil Fruit too.

If bringing down the White Storm that was a rising influence in the world could help him achieve something or to simply raise funds then it was possible for him to start messing with those around her or to send others towards the ships affiliated with her.

The intimidation had worked and her attack on his had left his arm wounded so he would need to be treated.

That time in recovery and trying to organise his own matters after being named as the Forth Emperor would keep him busy enough to not make a move on her or her people yet.

It would buy her a little more time to prepare and to work on forming more connections in the New World before anymore troubles came her way or when she began to start putting some of her own plans into action.

The progression in her bloodline limit had surpassed seventy five percent during the time that had passed but it was more difficult to reach the final stages if she was too caught up in so many things.

Alyssia had a lot going on with the promises she had made to others and her attempts to gain a higher mastery over the skills she had obtained.

There were times when her experience points had filled up and then she had to spend them again so what she had obtained may or may not have been crucial towards exploring new possibilities with her research.

With the progression of her transformation, Alyssia had already become closer to her previous goal and once it had been completed, she could explore other areas to improve herself.

Her physical body and abilities were more than enough to assassinate anyone with a single piercing blow if they let their guard down and Blackbeard was just an example of that.

He let his guard down and it had cost him greatly when her claws dug into his shoulder.

The blood dripping down her nails had been collected previously so his unique physique characteristics could be studied further.

If she wished to kill him then she would have done so but she did not yet need the fame for killing an Emperor.

It was enough that she would be known to the world for stepping in and ending the war for the sake of the citizens but it would not be good to gain fame for killing a newly crowned Emperor that had almost defeated those in their way.

There would be rising stars that would see her deeds and would think that she coveted such a position for herself then they would come up with all kinds of theories about how she took advantage of his weakness to end his life.

Those that saw her as a potential Emperor that got her position through those tactics would be seen as weak and they would believe that she would not be able to hold that position.

Even if she did not covet that position, there would be people coming to bother her to take up that place so they could come under her influence or so they could challenge her for the right to take that position from her.

The fame points gained from her name spreading the way she wanted was enough to earn more points so it was satisfying enough.

If Blackbeard had to be killed then it would be on a much grander stage when she had gained a much higher mastery over her three Haki.

Her mastery was very high in each of them but there was still a large gap in some areas that needed improvement through facing others with those levels of Haki.

If Alyssia fought Blackbeard head on then the battle would go on for a very long time until she finally gained a better mastery over them but by then, Marco and many others would have been wounded or possibly dead.

The surroundings would be destroyed from their fight and the longer it went on, the more destruction and death would happen so it was best to rely on intimidation tactics and bluffs to make Blackbeard believe that she did not mind fighting right there if it came to it.

The additional crew members on his side could also pose a problem to her if they interfered with the battle so it was another reason not to fight without having a strong backup besides the wounded crew of Marco.