Chapter 30: development

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! 

------

Rumble~~!

Marco faced the attacking Ghost Spider, who came at him with vicious intent, and suddenly unleashed a powerful punch!

In an instant, a terrifying popping sound echoed, astonishing all who heard it!

With the enhancement of armed color domineering, Marco's punch radiated a strong momentum that surged around his fist!

Click!

The fists of the Ghost Spider and Marco collided in an instant, and a brilliant white energy erupted around them. As the impact occurred, cracks formed in the ground beneath the Ghost Spider's feet, and his face contorted in pain. "Give me death!" he shouted.

With his other hand, the Ghost Spider lunged forward, thrusting a dark purple stinger at Marco with ferocity!

Poof~~!

The purple military thorn—a weapon in the pirate world resembling a sword but shorter than a sword and longer than a dagger—accurately pierced just near Marco's left rib. The moment the Ghost Spider successfully struck, a vicious smile spread across his face. "Marco… This is a highly poisonous military thorn! If you wish to kill me, you'll have to pay a price!"

However, as the thorn punctured his body, blue flames erupted instantly. Almost in tandem with the Ghost Spider's words, the flames rapidly spread, engulfing the Ghost Spider's entire arm!

Rumble!

At the same time, the power from Marco's fist surged forth once again!

The Ghost Spider's eyes filled with despair as his body twisted and contorted. The sound of bones shattering echoed around them!

Boom!

With a resounding crash, both his legs shattered simultaneously, causing him to kneel on the ground. Cracks spread beneath him, and the earth buckled under the weight of his defeat as his knees pressed deep into the ground!

Rumble!!!

Immediately afterward, the Ghost Spider was blasted into the earth, stones and debris spraying outward. Only his head remained visible above the rubble, eyes wide yet vacant—he was already dead, unable to die a second time!

Blah blah!

The dark purple military thorn, coated in poison, fell to the ground. Marco rubbed the area where he had been stabbed; the blue regenerative flames had already healed the wound. He smiled, "Under the regeneration flames, even highly toxic substances can't harm my body!"

Unless Marco ingested the poison, the regenerative flames would heal all wounds without fail.

"It seems… my Immortal Phoenix abilities require deeper development."

Previously, Marco had been focused on enhancing his blue flame powers, which included mastering freezing and temperature control.

However, he hadn't developed the undead characteristics of the Immortal Phoenix fruit as thoroughly. Until now, none of his enemies had forced him to rely on his healing abilities. None had pushed him into a desperate situation that required him to leverage the undead aspects of his powers—the abilities tied to rebirth and resurrection had gone almost unused. If he intended to improve his fruit abilities solely through training, it seemed unlikely. After all, the Immortal Phoenix's abilities were about rebirth and nirvana…

Thus, in his rush to elevate his combat effectiveness, he had neglected to focus on the in-depth development of the Immortal Phoenix's abilities.

Immortal,

Rebirth through nirvana,

These are the exclusive powers of the Immortal Phoenix!

Marco believed that when he faced enemies at the level of an Admiral, the auxiliary mechanism of the super assistance system would undoubtedly facilitate tremendous enhancements in his Immortal Phoenix powers.

Of course, his previous brief confrontation with Kuzan hadn't felt like a true battle. In Marco's eyes, he had merely taken advantage of Kuzan's natural powers over ice, catching him off guard while being unafraid of the sea.

"The ability to freeze, the capability to burn with high-temperature flames, and the might of armed color domineering…!"

Marco began summing up his strengths; he intended to develop the second stage of his fruit abilities, the "Animal Line, Mythical Zoan, Immortal Phoenix," instead of solely relying on the "immortality" granted by the regenerative flames!

The second stage of fruit ability development…!

It could be called "second gear!"

"Lord Marco…!"

At that moment, Stussy approached him. For the first time, her charming eyes reflected genuine respect as she added the honorific suffix "-san" to Marco's name. "I've dealt with the rest of the seamen."

The lowly sea soldiers and crew weren't worth Marco's time.

"Hmm."

Marco halted his thoughts for a moment. Developing the second stage of his fruit ability was not something that could be accomplished overnight; he would need both time and opportunity. He looked at Stussy, who stood respectfully beside him. "I have one more request. I need to know the real-time news and locations of all members of the Blackbeard Pirates, and I also require your unconditional cooperation when I need it."

Stussy hesitated for a moment but ultimately nodded, "No problem."

"Don't get me wrong; my requests aren't what you might think."

Marco said calmly.

Stussy, feeling slightly nervous, relaxed a little as she replied, "Thank you, Lord Marco, for understanding. I promise, at any cost, I will fulfill your request."

"Life paper."

Marco extended his hand with a smile.

Life paper would allow him to locate her anytime, anywhere.

Sure enough…

I still haven't earned his trust…!

Stussy bit her lip, her small hand like jade stretching out two fingers. From within her bosom, she retrieved a small white piece of life paper. Looking up at Marco, she said, "Here you are."

"Hmm."

Marco took the small piece of life paper, pondering…

Hmm…

There's a hint of… silkiness?

----------------

If you enjoy please support me on my patreon Future 50+ chapters at patreon.com/Darkphoenix11