Chapter 9: Navigator

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Hundreds of pirates faced Marco alone and were scared out of their wits!

The strength Marco displayed truly exceeded their expectations. This was the first time they had seen Marco, who could harness the powers of his Mythical Zoan fruit, actually freeze people!

Incredible!

The only thought on everyone's mind was to escape!

They didn't believe they could defeat Marco, so choosing to flee became their best option.

"We should flee separately! He's alone; he definitely won't be able to catch up with us!"

"Yes, just escape! Buy time and wait for Captain Jack to arrive; then we will be saved! When that happens, we can avenge Boss Dressk and take revenge for everyone who died! We'll kill Marco!"

With that, the group of pirates scattered from all sides of the ship. Those with Devil Fruit abilities jumped onto small boats hung on the sides of the ship, while those without powers jumped directly into the sea in a desperate attempt to escape!

"Since you are my enemies, how can I let you escape...!"

The blue flame wings on Marco's back, which were over ten meters long, suddenly shook, and he accelerated into the air.

Whoosh!

A blue flaming spear materialized in Marco's hand. The spear, surrounded by blue flames, exuded a terrifying aura. Marco wielded the spear, cutting down all the pirates he encountered on his way!

This technique was inspired by his battle with Admiral Aokiji, where he used his fruit abilities to create a weapon of immense lethality!

Marco moved like a wolf among a flock; no one could stop him!

"Ahhhh!"

Screams echoed across the vast pirate ship.

As he soared through the air, Marco's enormous flaming wings fanned out, releasing cone-shaped flames that poured down like rain toward the pirates trying to jump into the sea to escape!

Poof!

The blue flames struck the pirates who had leaped off the ship, piercing them in the blink of an eye. One by one, they fell into the sea, their bodies turning into ice sculptures as they descended.

Whether they had jumped from the ship or into the sea, all were frozen and ultimately fell into the depths!

"Whoosh~~!"

In the end, Marco single-handedly eliminated the entire crew of the pirate ship. With his flaming wings retracting, he landed on the blood-soaked deck, which was littered with bodies that he had picked up and thrown into the sea, leaving him standing alone.

"Based on their conversation, it seems that Drought Jack is on his way here!"

Drought Jack, a confidant of Kaido and one of the Four Emperors, was known as one of the infamous "Three Great Calamities." His nickname, "Drought," stemmed from the fact that wherever he walked, the land dried up and withered, eventually perishing. He was the captain of the Mammoth, a big name among the Beast Pirates, and had a bounty of up to 1 billion berries. He possessed the ability of the Ancient Zoan Elephant Fruit.

"This guy's strength is terrifying! In the original story, he faced the 'Duke of the Dog' Inuarashi and the boss of the Cat Vipers during the 'Wano War,' battling for five days and nights without a clear victor. Afterward, he rushed to rescue 'Doflamingo,' and even when faced with four warships containing Admiral Fujitora, former Admiral Sengoku, and Vice Admiral Tsuru, he fearlessly attacked, sinking two of the ships while retreating unscathed!"

Thinking of Drought Jack stirred Marco's fighting spirit, as he realized that unlike his previous encounter with Admiral Aokiji, Drought Jack was a real enemy. Once a battle broke out between the two, only one of them would survive. The other would face death!

Marco would never allow himself to die at the hands of an enemy!

Drought Jack might be approaching soon, but what concerned Marco even more was Blackbeard!

"Blackbeard… How many people did he send to reveal the direction of my previous escape?"

Marco now understood that if he wanted to kill Blackbeard, his current strength was far from sufficient!

Blackbeard alone possessed the power to defeat any Devil Fruit user with ease, which was enough to make countless people tremble! Moreover, Blackbeard had taken Whitebeard's Shock Fruit ability for himself!

Double Devil Fruit abilities!

"Not only that, if I'm not mistaken, in the original story, Blackbeard had already managed to leave three scars on the face of Shanks, the Red-Haired!"

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Marco felt a chill run down his spine. He resolutely decided that he must continually enhance his strength; not only should he develop his Devil Fruit abilities further, but he also needed to continually improve his physical skills!

Furthermore, the faster he improved his strength, the better!

Therefore, he needed to engage in constant battles… to enhance his power!

"Blackbeard… In this lifetime, I will never die at anyone's hands… and I will not die at yours!"

Thunder rumbled~~~!

At that moment, the once clear sky suddenly became filled with dark thunderclouds. Ominous, black clouds obscured the sky, foretelling bad weather; lightning flashed, and a violent storm was approaching!

Such was the nature of the New World; one could never expect the vast ocean to remain calm!

Marco looked up at the darkened sky and entered the cabin, which had incurred significant damage during the previous battle. However, there were still some parts intact, enough to shelter him from the wind and rain.

"Help me!~~!"

Not long after Marco stepped into the cabin, he heard someone crying for help from within its depths. He made his way to the second level of the cabin, where he discovered a girl locked in a cell.

Wow.

A blue flame burned in Marco's palm, illuminating the dark cabin. He saw that the person being detained was a girl with a ponytail who looked to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.

"Help me!"

The girl looked at Marco, the blue flame reflecting in her large eyes as they danced gently.

"I'm a pirate."

Marco, focused on survival, wasn't inclined to save someone unrelated to him. Even if he rescued her now, in this barren sea, she wouldn't survive long without assistance. Marco didn't have the heart to carry a burden right now.

"You're not with them."

The girl blinked, her eyes shining brightly.

"Huh? How do you know?" Marco asked, surprised.

"I've never seen you before, so you're certainly not part of their crew. The pirate group I was originally with was killed by them, leaving me all alone. Because… I'm a very good navigator, but I was unlucky to encounter them…!"

A navigator?

When did navigators become so common? Did they really just produce them in bulk?

This little girl dared to call herself an excellent navigator—was she exaggerating that much?

Although she seemed quite clever, Marco couldn't help but shake his head. "How good are you?"

"Huh?" The girl seemed momentarily confused; she must have misunderstood Marco's question. She quickly added, "Even in the worst weather, I can set sail by myself! I can find the nearest island!"

Marco couldn't help but smile…!

How good could she possibly be to boast so boldly!

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If you enjoy please support me on my patreon Future 50+ chapters at patreon.com/Darkphoenix11 Additionally, I have many other works you may be interested in. Please enjoy!