Marco’s Decision

Marco thought things over and sighed. "I cannot promise you anything but if the times comes then try to call out to me for some help since I do owe you one. There are many among the older generation that just wish to retire somewhere but the younger ones may still have a little spirit left in them so I will let you know how they wish to progress."

Marco thought to himself. 'I plan on going to pops home to settle down there for now… Whitey Bay seems to want to go back home too just like some others but they have not mentioned their future plans yet. I had rejected Shanks back then so I cannot just join another group like this.'

Each person would have their own plans whether it was to come back after a little rest, retire or to just continue with their life of piracy until the day they were captured or were killed.

Marco rejected Shanks when offered if he and others would join the Red Hair Pirates then survived many things until they reached the current stage where his crew were on the verge of splitting up and going their own way.

If he accepted the offer then things may have been very different but that was his decision and he would have to live with it.

If he refused a man like Shanks then he would not just accept anyone that he considered to be weaker than Shanks.

It was that simple in how he viewed things but he was grateful towards Alyssia and would put in a good word to the others about her before he retired.

Alyssia looked a little relieved that he did not completely reject her. "That is good enough for me so thank you,"

Marco nodded. "No no.. thank you. If you had not intervened then it would have been the death of Jozu. Teach would have become a much larger threat if he had succeeded."

Alyssia responded. "It would be wise to keep your Devil Fruit users hidden during this time or to keep them by your side so they can be better protected. Now that he has taken the island and has made everyone retreat like this, his status as an Emperor has been solidified.

Once he has recovered then it will not be long before he starts taking measures to gather more powers to secure his hold over those territories he has taken over and to defend his newly earned position."

Marco showed a look of annoyance on his face and replied. "You are right. I will be careful and will try to make some arrangements for the others. If there is any decision made by the others then I will contact you privately. If you do need help then call me."

Alyssia grinned and shook his hand. "Best of luck out there."

All of a sudden, there was a force applied to her hand as Marco increased the force applied by his hand as he squeezed harder.

There was a strong layer of Armament Haki that covered his hand that came from his highly advanced mastery of it which earned him the right to hold the position he had in the Whitebeard Pirates before and after the death of Whitebeard.

The hand of Alyssia could feel the force being applied and increased the force of her own grip that was far stronger then Haki of her own was applied to meet his.

A pure contest of Haki mastery and brute strength happened between them until a very long time had passed.

The layer of Armament Haki that coated their hands and clashed was showing how the mastery of Marco was far more skilful than her but was gradually being pushed back more as time passed.

The advantage he had over Haki had been overcome in the later stages of their exchange until Marco grit his teeth. "Ow.. ow. Ow.. okay, you win."

Alyssia released his hand and had her eyes while she immersed herself in the feeling she had experienced.

There were many things that had been previously collected that had been collected within the system from many strong fighters but she had no strong opponents to test them on.

Whether it was the mastery of Haki that she had studied the theory of or the ones she gained some experience with but had not been able to fully test them out in real combat situations, they were tried out during the exchange with Marco.

The incredible power that were within her kangaroo body that were in her arm and leg muscles combines with her sharp claws was more than enough to inflict a deep enough wound on Blackbeard when he had no Haki protecting him but it could have been used to even crush his bones if Alyssia decided to do so.

All those physical advantages would give male kangaroos an edge when it came to strength but female kangaroos could also be quite powerful too which Alyssia had gained the most of her power from when she was born and matured.

They may not have been as large as males, but they were often more agile and quick while their smaller size would give them an advantage when it comes to maneuverability.

That was her starting point and basic abilities when she was born and would grow up but that was just the foundation of her body that had been developed further through training and further improvements as she grew up to reach her current age.

The level of her physical strength and her other maxed out stats plus the bonus stats could easily compensate for her lower mastery over Haki when she had an exchange with Marco until she could gain a little better understanding of how more advanced Haki users made use of their own Haki.

The training method that Alyssia used to strengthen her body with Electro had made her whole body far more powerful and durable than other peak level physiques due to her working on every part of her body using that method and not ignoring many places others would miss like the internal organs.

Even the most durable person would fall victim to internal or energy based attacks that attacked the insides of the body so Alyssia made sure to improve even in those areas.

Her training of the Six Powers and many others techniques had further strengthened her body where she had lacked training in those areas like her hands so her gripping, tearing and piercing power had been further improved upon while other techniques helped to control every part of her body to maximise the potential power used by her.

Alyssia showed a small smile as she said. "Thanks for that.. now I have a little more confidence."

She continued to think to herself. 'But this is still not enough to have complete confidence in myself.'

Marco waved his hurting hand and sighed. "You really have excellent potential. It is probably a good thing that I will be retiring. The new generation are rising and I will just be in the way. Farewell."

He jumped off the end of the ship and flew away leaving Alyssia. 'That potential of hers is scary. I think Teach has just missed his chance to have any opportunity to remove her from his path if he still considers her an enemy after today.'

He could tell that it was not enough for Alyssia to contend against Blackbeard on her own when his crew were all around to support him.

If she did fight a prolonged battle then things would be able to turn around for the better but by then, everyone else and most of the area would have suffered greatly by the damage caused during the fight.

More lives would have been lost so Marco had come to realise that Alyssia had acted in his crews best interests rather than just adding to the chaos on the island.

It was enough that they were able to get away with those that had survived and so many lower grade combatants had lost their lives so Marco no longer held the belief that he could keep his previous captain's crew active anymore.

The era had changed and new people were appearing within the new generation that had the potential to replace the current people in power.

All that was needed was enough time and luck for them to reach that stage.

As Marco flew back towards his ship, Alyssia continued to have her ship sail nearby to keep a watch over him before setting sail once again with a new destination in mind.