AN : There is a limited time discount running on my Patreon page. Check it out and enjoy the story further. Kaido has been clashing with Marco!!
CODE - FA23B!!
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Marco came to a halt and looked up at the towering blue genie. Through the drifting smoke of its translucent body, his gaze locked onto the figure standing behind it.
"So it's you again, Daifuku," Marco said coldly. "Did you really think you were impressive just because I didn't bother dealing with you earlier?"
Daifuku snorted. At his signal, dozens of Big Mom Pirates stepped out from behind him, spreading into a defensive formation.
"We've already seen through your plan, Marco," Daifuku said grimly. "You're having your commanders stall Katakuri and the others while you pick us off one by one. But we won't let you pull that off."
Mont-d'Or stepped forward as well, adjusting his glasses as he added calmly, "That's right. Katakuri, Smoothie, and Cracker are far stronger than Snack. As long as we hold you here, once they defeat Fire Fist Ace, Fossa, and Namur, your Phoenix Pirates will collapse."
Marco glanced at the crowd blocking his path and let out a faint, disdainful chuckle.
"That's assuming," he replied coolly, "that you can actually stop me."
"You won't get past us," a voice declared.
Zack arrived at that moment, leading the First Division straight onto the battlefield, positioning themselves firmly between Marco and the Big Mom Pirates.
Marco spread his hands slightly, a playful smile tugging at his lips.
"See?"
The expressions of the Big Mom Pirates darkened. They understood the situation all too well—every attempt to restrain Marco only drew more Phoenix Pirates into the fray. And if Marco was allowed to freely eliminate the Sweet Commanders, their side would lose both command and momentum.
"Captain Marco," Zack said firmly, drawing his weapon. "Leave these guys to us."
"That's right," the First Division echoed as they charged forward, colliding head-on with the Big Mom Pirates.
"I'm counting on you," Marco said without hesitation.
He turned and sprinted once more toward Cracker, wasting no time on those beneath his notice.
The Big Mom Pirates could only watch in frustration. With Zack and the First Division blocking their path, they had no way to pursue Marco directly.
—Except for one.
"Don't think you can get away, Marco!" Daifuku roared, furiously rubbing his body as the blue genie surged forward once more.
A sudden slash forced Marco back several steps.
He straightened, staring at the genie—and at Daifuku standing behind it. This time, Marco's patience snapped.
"I gave you enough chances," he growled. "Are you really not going to stop?"
As Marco suddenly turned and charged straight at him, Daifuku's eyes widened in alarm. He hurriedly tried to summon the genie back to his side—
—but Marco was faster.
With a burst of speed from Soru, Marco vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared right in front of Daifuku.
Daifuku barely had time to register the blue flames roaring around Marco's fist as it filled his vision.
"Iron Body: Fire Fist—!"
The punch drove straight through Daifuku's abdomen.
Blood sprayed from Daifuku's mouth as his body convulsed, his eyes going wide in disbelief as the devastating blow ripped through him.
The battlefield fell silent for a heartbeat.
"Cough—cough—you bastard… Marco…"
Daifuku gasped, agony tearing through his body. The blue genie he had summoned faltered midair, its form unraveling as the pain overwhelmed his concentration, smoke peeling away from its limbs.
Marco's fist was still buried in Daifuku's abdomen. Hot blood splashed across his arm as blue flames surged outward, then compressed tightly around his forearm like a living weapon. His voice was flat, almost bored.
"I ignored you, and you really thought you could trade blows with me?" Marco said coldly. "Other than summoning that thing, you're completely useless. Can't even manage basic defense."
"Cough… cough… don't underestimate me…" Daifuku roared through clenched teeth. Enduring the pain, he suddenly grabbed Marco's head with both hands and shouted, "Genie—kill him!"
"Leave it to me!"
The blue genie, which had nearly dissipated, forcibly re-formed under Daifuku's ability. It shot upward, its massive sword stabbing straight down toward Marco's back.
Marco didn't even look.
The blue flames around his arm erupted violently, surging from his elbow into his palm—and then directly into Daifuku's body.
"Die," Marco growled.
"Phoenix Flame: Spiral Incineration Cannon."
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
A spiraling shockwave of blue flame detonated inside Daifuku's body. His chest and abdomen grotesquely swelled before the attack tore straight through his back in a blazing corkscrew of fire. Blood erupted from his mouth, nose, chest, and back all at once as his body was hurled away, spinning violently through the air.
Behind Marco, the genie's sword halted just inches from its target—then dissolved into smoke and vanished.
"Daifuku!"
"Lord Daifuku!"
Shock rippled through the ranks of the Big Mom Pirates.
A fearsome pirate with a bounty of 300 million Berries had been utterly crushed—in a single exchange.
Daifuku slammed into the ground and slid across the plaza, carving a long trail of blood behind him as it continued to pour from the gaping wounds in his body.
"How… how is this possible?"
"Daifuku-nii was a monster…!"
Some of the younger members of the Charlotte family stared in disbelief. The pride they had carried for years shattered in an instant.
For a brief moment, the entire battlefield fell silent.
No one dared to move.
If even Daifuku—someone of his caliber—had been annihilated so effortlessly, what chance did they have? Only the Sweet Commanders might stand against Marco now.
"Lord Daifuku!"
The Big Mom Pirates finally snapped out of their shock. Their ship doctor rushed forward, but one look at the wounds made his face go pale. Daifuku's internal organs had been shredded by the internal shockwave; some had even been blown out entirely. There was nothing that could be done.
Marco glanced at the wreckage of Daifuku's body, assessing the result.
"So this is the difference…" he murmured.
This attack was nothing like the one he'd used on Weevil. This time, the flames had penetrated cleanly through—Devil Fruit power and Haki perfectly fused.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
The injuries were eerily similar to the wound Ace had suffered at Akainu's hands in the original timeline—a single, fatal punch straight through the body.
But unlike Ace…
Daifuku had brought this upon himself.
If he hadn't insisted on blocking Marco's path again and again, Marco wouldn't have even bothered killing him.
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