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Time Rewinds...
Inside the bar, Shakky glanced at the four newcomers Rayleigh, Giorno, and Jolyne had brought in, her gaze lingering particularly long on Marco's pineapple-head hairstyle. She smiled wordlessly and retrieved several bottles of liquor from behind the counter.
Lobster, Herman, and Rege fidgeted uncomfortably. The woman behind the counter, smoking a cigarette, had let her gaze linger for a moment too long on their necks. How could she be so perceptive? Did she immediately recognize that they had once worn slave collars, just like Marco?
"So, the First Division Commander of a Sea Emperor has come all this way to find me," Liam said, leaning back beside Robin with his arms crossed and Long Leg propped up. "What brings you here?"
After taking a couple of sips, Marco sighed. "This isn't the first time I've sought you out."
"Huh?" Liam and Robin exchanged surprised glances. Had Marco been searching for them before?
Marco removed his glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief. "It was over half a year ago..."
...
More than half a year ago, aboard the White Whale in the New World Sea...
Whitebeard, his massive body riddled with intravenous lines, ignored the medical team's protests and guzzled sake from a gourd.
Marco averted his gaze and looked down at the newspaper in his hand.
The sensational rookie who defeated Charlotte. Mond had taken the world by storm, vying for supremacy with "Ghost (harmonized) Lady" and "Hawk Eyes." The news articles exaggerated Giorno Giovanna's power to absurd heights, emphasizing his control over thousands of swords that rained down like a torrential storm during the preliminary rounds, a rare spectacle in the Four Seas. The press relentlessly hyped his ties to Amande, Mihawk, and Shiryu of the Rain, practically shoving headlines into readers' faces: "The tournament will be spectacular! Watch the matches! Buy the papers! Join the debate!"
"Heh heh heh... This Giorno guy, with his ability to summon swords like that... did he steal the Magnet-Magnet Fruit from somewhere?"
A burly, rough-looking man in a black bandana walked up behind Marco, chugging straight from a bottle. He glanced innocently toward Whitebeard, the Old Man, and muttered, "If he could steal the Old Man's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the Old Man's health wouldn't be deteriorating like this!"
"Teach, do you really think so?" Marco asked, folding his newspaper.
Teach burst into hearty laughter, clutching his stomach. "Naturally not! How could that greenhorn ever snatch the Tremor-Tremor Fruit from Whitebeard, the Old Man? He's a century too early! Ze ha ha ha ha..."
That night, Marco went alone to Whitebeard's cabin. Teach sat on the ship's stern, drinking and watching from afar, letting out a few more ze ha ha chuckles.
The Old Man's roaring curses and the sounds of fighting from within the cabin woke many crew members. The division commanders rushed to the scene.
Bang!
[ Blue Flame Phoenix ] was thrown out of the cabin window. Marco tumbled onto the deck, gritting his teeth as he glared up and shouted, "Old Man! Even if you try to stop me, I'm still going to do it!"
"Marco, what's wrong?" Fourth Division Commander and Chef Thatch asked, puzzled.
Jozu watched as the Old Man emerged from the cabin, his face flushed with anger, clearly in a foul mood.
"Marco, I told you not to steal the Old Man's liquor!" Vista shouted as he rushed over, but Whitebeard's fury remained undiminished. He glared at his wayward son sprawled on the deck. "Marco, tell me this: when did this old man fall so low as to be looked down upon? I'm Whitebeard, damn it!"
The commanders' expressions turned grave upon hearing these weighty words from their captain. "What's going on?" Marshall D. Teach whispered, sidling up behind Chef Thatch. Thatch quickly clapped a hand over his mouth with a "Shhh!"
"It's not 'you guys'," Marco said, standing up straight, his gaze unwavering, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. "I'm your son, Old Man... I just wanted to do something for you."
Whitebeard's aged eyes reddened. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and roared, "Foolish son!"
He raised his fist and slammed it against the night air. Bang!!!! A colossal wave surged from the sea dozens of meters away, rising like a hundred-meter-high black curtain...
Is the Old Man...? The commanders exchanged uneasy glances. Though they didn't know what had just happened, they couldn't shake the feeling that Marco's words had made the Old Man... embarrassed.
The next day, Marco transformed into the Blue Flame Phoenix and soared away from the White Whale, heading toward the Calm Belt.
From the ship behind him, the faint sound of Whitebeard's grumbling roar echoed…
...
"The last time was during the Swordsman Grand Tournament..."
In Shakky's bar, Marco took a sip of his drink, shook his head, and sighed. "By the time I got to Resort Island, you guys had already disappeared. And there was never any news about you in the papers after that."
Robin pondered thoughtfully. They had left with Red Hair and Hawk Eyes before the Swordsman Grand Tournament even ended, heading to the island where Whitebeard and the Pirate King had once clashed. After spending a few months there, they quietly stayed in Drum Kingdom for over a month. Then, after passing through a few more islands, they joined Rose to confront Haiyna in her homeland.
Throughout this time, they had largely remained out of the public eye. The people of Drum Kingdom and Skyre Kingdom were unlikely to spread word of their presence, and the CP agents who knew their whereabouts, Lucci, Stussy, and others, clearly hadn't leaked any information to the newspapers.
"I searched for you for days with no luck, so I temporarily returned to the New World," Marco said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he put his glasses back on. He chuckled self-deprecatingly, "And immediately got a scolding from the Old Man..."
Liam thought for a moment, then said flatly, "So... why are you here looking for me? You haven't answered my question at all!"
Robin gently chopped him on the head. "Let him finish..."
Liam shrugged. "Fine, carry on."
"...Right." Marco smiled and looked at Giorno. "It wasn't until a few days ago that I got news you'd been captured at the Sabaody Archipelago Auction... so I came here immediately."
"Actually, I came to ask a favor of you both," Marco said earnestly to Giorno and Jolyne.
Rayleigh, Shakky, and the other three all turned to look at Marco...
Marco said solemnly, "The Old Man's health is deteriorating day by day. Though he's still as powerful as a monster compared to ordinary people, as the ship doctor, I know better than anyone the accumulated damage the Tremor-Tremor Fruit has inflicted on his body. Any other person would have died long ago from such injuries! Even the Old Man now relies on medication to maintain his health. Naturally, the most crucial thing is to alleviate the constant pain that torments him..."
"I want to ask you to extract the Old Man's Tremor-Tremor Fruit..." Marco looked Giorno straight in the eyes, "...and then transfer my Devil Fruit to him!"
"..." Liam fell silent for a moment, stroking his chin. "PhoenixWhitebeard? That's one hell of a massive bird..."
(End Of This Chapter)