The system's mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
"Mission complete. You have defeated one of the Gorosei, Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro. Reward: 10,000 attribute points."
Another 10,000 points appeared in his status. Marco exhaled slowly, more weary than pleased.
Before he could dwell on it, Big Mom barreled toward him, shrieking, "Marco, hurry and save me!"
Marco's body was still a mess. The slashes from Nusjuro were laced with a bone‑deep chill and Conqueror's Haki; the damage clung to him stubbornly. Even with his absurd regeneration, these wounds wouldn't knit back together right away.
But when Big Mom cried out for help, Marco couldn't just stand by. He watched her rush up beside him as Saint Peter stepped in front of them, his expression tightening. Nusjuro had already left them a final message before being forced to retreat, then withdrawn to the Holy Land.
Saint Peter stared at Marco, face grave, and said coldly, "All this time, we thought Kaido was the strongest in the Three Emperors Alliance. Now it seems we were misled by past intelligence."
"It turns out you're the strongest in the Three Emperors Alliance."
Big Mom was just as stunned. She hadn't expected Marco to put down Saint Nusjuro so quickly. She had crossed blades with Nusjuro herself, and knew better than anyone how terrifying his strength was. Her lips curled into a fierce grin. "Mamamama! Marco, I'll leave this guy to you. I'm going to deal with those Marines."
Without waiting for his answer, she turned her back on Saint Peter and charged toward the Marine side.
She had already understood that, with her current strength, she couldn't take on the Gorosei. If she forced the issue, she might end up dead.
What she needed now was souls—to replenish her power and restore her severed arm.
Saint Peter kept his eyes on Marco, not daring to act rashly. If this man could bring down Saint Mars and then Saint Nusjuro in rapid succession, there was no question he had the power to defeat him as well.
If not for the magic circle that had brought them to Egghead Island—one they could dispel at any time to return—Marco would have finished Nusjuro off just now.
In all the centuries he'd lived, aside from Imu, Marco was the strongest being Saint Peter had ever faced. Even Rocks from those bygone days couldn't compare.
Rocks had only managed to bring down a single Admiral. Marco had already toppled one of the Gorosei and gravely injured another. That level of power completely surpassed Rocks.
Marco didn't rush in. The black flames still curled over his body, diligently mending his injuries.
"Big Mom is here!" a Marine shouted when he spotted her charging in.
The Marines had already been struggling against the Three Emperors Alliance pirates. With Big Mom's arrival, their morale shattered completely.
Without the slightest hesitation, Big Mom unleashed Soul Pocus, ripping away the Marines' lifespans one by one.
From afar, Kaido watched Marco cut down two of the Gorosei in succession, and a chill ran through him. Were those Gorosei too weak… or was Saint Warcury simply on a different level?
He forced down the unease and hurled himself at Saint Warcury in a furious charge. After witnessing Marco's fight, Kaido understood one thing clearly: dragging this out against the Gorosei was suicide. Even if they had found a way to crack that so‑called "Immortality," their recovery speed was still monstrous. A prolonged battle would only tilt the scales against them.
With that in mind, Kaido threw away all thoughts of defense and went all‑in on the attack. The sudden shift in his fighting style actually drove Saint Warcury onto the back foot. Now that Kaido could pierce his Immortality, every blow he landed truly hurt.
Meanwhile, inside the laboratory.
Vegapunk stared at the monitor feeds, eyes shining. "Excellent! Saint Nusjuro has been defeated as well. That means there are only three Gorosei left on the island."
He adjusted another screen, barely containing his excitement. "Hmm… looks like I might not have to leave Egghead Island after all."
On a different set of monitors, Saint Saturn was locked in combat in the lab, surrounded by seraphim and three pirate captains. Thanks to his Immortality, their attacks couldn't put him down, but he also couldn't easily break through the combined pressure of five seraphim and three commanders.
The seraphim's learning abilities were terrifying. This was their first real battle since creation, yet they adapted with frightening speed. Before long, they were already avoiding Saturn's spider‑leg strikes, having realized that even a seraphim would be badly injured if hit.
Working together, the five seraphim and three commanders kept Saturn constantly tied down, tugging and restraining him within the lab.
Vegapunk switched to another feed, watching the war between the Marines and the Three Emperors Alliance. With Big Mom's arrival, Marine morale had collapsed across the field. They were never a match for the Three Emperors Alliance to begin with.
Admiral Ryokugyu was held in place by Ace and Yamato. Admiral Fujitora was being stalled by over a dozen Phoenix Pirates commanders. On top of that, the Marines still had to face the remaining high‑ranking officers of the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates. They were already being pushed back everywhere—and with Big Mom herself stepping in, the last of their fighting spirit crumbled.
As he watched the Marines being one‑sidedly slaughtered by the pirates, a stab of pity went through Vegapunk. He snatched up a transponder snail and opened an island‑wide broadcast:
"Saint Saturn, Saint Warcury, Saint Peter, and all Marines on the island—this is the world's greatest scientist, Vegapunk."
Everyone who heard the broadcast froze in confusion. Why was Vegapunk speaking up now, of all times?
Vegapunk raised his voice through the transponder snail: "Saint Saturn, Saint Warcury, Saint Peter—and Marco, Kaido, Big Mom—both the Marines and the Three Emperors Alliance have taken heavy losses. How about we end it here? There's no need for any more pointless deaths and injuries."
"As long as you Marines are willing to retreat, I guarantee the Three Emperors Alliance will no longer pursue you."
The moment Vegapunk's voice echoed out, the three Gorosei, Marco, and the others all bristled with anger—especially the Gorosei. What right did Vegapunk have to address them like that?
Kaido couldn't see where the transponder snail was, but with the voice echoing from every direction, there had to be multiple den den mushi hidden around the battlefield. He roared, "You're Vegapunk? What the hell are you saying?! How this war ends isn't for you to decide. You're just a scientist—you're not qualified to make decisions for us!"
"I..." Vegapunk was stunned into silence for a moment by Kaido's blatant disrespect.
Big Mom snapped as well, her voice booming over the battlefield. "That's right, this war won't end just because you say so. Since it's already started, we're going to wipe out every last Marine. You, a mere scientist, want to order us around now?! I only came here to help out on Marco's account—don't overestimate yourself."
Then she turned her irritation on Marco. "Marco, this guy is your subordinate, isn't he? How exactly are you disciplining him?!"
Marco replied with equal displeasure, "Instead of wasting your breath on me, you'd be better off taking down a few more enemies."
"Hmph." Big Mom snorted, clearly dissatisfied. She glanced at her severed right arm, then tightened her left hand around the soul she had just ripped away, growling, "Alright… be reborn! My arm…"
With the infusion of soul power, the torn stump began knitting back together, flesh and bone regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Big Mom flexed her restored right arm, then bared her teeth in a vicious grin. "Mama mamama! My arm's finally back!"
"However..." Her expression abruptly hardened. She fixed her gaze on Saint Peter, who was clashing with Marco, murderous intent boiling in her eyes—though deep within them, there was a faint trace of caution. She grinned coldly. "Before I kill you, I'll collect a little interest from the Marines first!"
With that, Big Mom whirled and charged toward the Marine forces. She had already decided: she'd let Marco finish off Saint Peter first. After that, she would take his lifespan for herself.
Seeing that both the Three Emperors Alliance and the World Government were refusing to back down, Vegapunk continued, "But a ceasefire now would benefit everyone! Saint Saturn, Saint Warcury, Saint Peter—I have already joined the Phoenix Pirates and now stand under the protection of the Three Emperors Alliance. You can no longer kill me, so you may as well stop."
The three Gorosei exploded in fury at his words. Saint Warcury roared, "Vegapunk! As the greatest scientist of our World Government, you betrayed us to research the forbidden poneglyphs. That alone is enough to condemn you to death!"
Vegapunk shot back immediately, "I only wished to learn the truth of history, and I never made my research public. Look at those Marines—they've already lost. Any further fighting will just raise the death toll. Stop this!"
Kaido's face twisted with fury. He bellowed, "Oi, Vegapunk, shut up! I don't care if you're the world's greatest scientist—this is a war between us pirates, the Marines, and the World Government! You, a mere scientist, think you can stop this war?"
Vegapunk fell silent. Saint Warcury's voice rang out harshly through the transponder snail, "If you want us to spare you, hand over the Mother Flame furnace and the authority over the Seraphim. In exchange, your crime of researching the Poneglyphs can be written off, and we will withdraw."
"Really?" Vegapunk asked, hope lighting up his face.
Stussy, standing beside him, instantly shouted, "Doctor, don't believe them!"
Marco, having heard everything, snapped angrily, "Oi, Vegapunk! Don't just decide things on your own! You're already a pirate—they're not gonna keep any promise they make to a pirate. We're about to win this battle, so shut the hell up! Don't drag down our morale! Stussy, make Vegapunk shut up already!"
From the lab, Stussy hurriedly added, "That's right, Doctor. The World Government will never let us go. We're pirates now. Lord Marco has already defeated two of the Gorosei—victory is right in front of us!"
Vegapunk hesitated at Stussy's words, lips trembling as he weighed his options. In the end, he said nothing more. He knew he couldn't make the Gorosei back down, and he couldn't make Marco and the others stand down either. With a heavy sigh, he reluctantly hung up the transponder snail.
From across the battlefield, Kaido, now more curious than angry, shouted toward Marco, "Oi, Marco! What are that furnace and those Seraphim they were talking about?"
Big Mom also turned her attention over, interest gleaming in her eyes.
Marco answered, "The Mother Flame is a super energy source—enough to erase any worries about fuel. It can also be used as the power source to drive Pluton. As for the Seraphim, they're human weapons modeled after the Shichibukai, infused with the Lunarian Tribe's bloodline. Each Seraphim's strength is on par with King's. On top of that, they can learn and grow. Once fully developed, they'll probably have combat power on the level of a Yonko."
"What?!" The surrounding pirates and allies were stunned.
Greed flashed in both Kaido's and Big Mom's eyes.
Kaido bared his teeth in a vicious grin. "Wororororo! As expected of the world's greatest scientist! He can even create fuel for the ancient weapon Pluton, and manufacture monsters like that."
Initially, just getting his hands on Pluton had been enough to delight him—yet he'd been unable to move it at all. But now, with Vegapunk in the picture, he could finally see a real chance to overthrow the World Government.
The Mother Flame that could power the ancient weapon Pluton could surely be used to awaken Pluton as well, another ancient weapon. As long as he obtained that fuel, he could resurrect the might of Pluton.
Big Mom, on the other hand, had her eyes fixed on the Seraphim. The Lunarian bloodline was one of the three great races still missing from her Totto Land. If she could get her hands on a Seraphim, it would fill a crucial gap in her ideal kingdom.
She just wasn't sure if she could even reproduce with these artificial weapons. But if it was possible, she truly wanted a Lunarian child.
One thought now burned in all of their minds: after this war, they had to get Vegapunk into their hands.
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