Even so, Marco remained confident in a war of attrition. Though Kaido had stepped into Weak King Level, the damage he'd accumulated over nearly three weeks of battle hadn't vanished. Old wounds, internal bleeding—none of it had truly healed. As long as the fight dragged on, Marco still believed he had a chance.
On the nineteenth day, the two clashed again at dawn.
But this ti was different.
Having fully stabilized his awakened state, Kaido imdiately seized the initiative. His offense was far more ferocious than the day before—heavier and relentless. Marco was forced entirely onto the defensive. Even with an awakened Devil Fruit, the strain was beginning to show; his stamina was slipping fast.
By the twentieth day, Kaido's pressure never let up.
Marco's recovery could no longer keep pace with the damage. His reserves were empty. He collapsed onto the shattered ground, chest heaving, lungs burning. Kaido didn't press the attack. He simply stood there, arms crossed, waiting—waiting for Marco to rise again.
Marco drew in a shaky breath. Slowly, he pushed himself upright. His knees trembled violently, barely supporting his weight. Every movent felt like dragging a broken body through mud.
Kaido watched him with a feral grin.
"Worororo… looks like you've finally hit your limit, Marco."
Marco stared back, breathing ragged, then let out a bitter chuckle. At last, he spoke—voice hoarse, but steady.
"I'm done. I won't fight anymore."
He lifted his gaze.
"You win."
The mont the words left his mouth, a familiar chanical voice echoed in his mind:
"Mission complete. Challenged Yonko Kaido of the Beasts and endured five days without defeat.
Reward: 3,000 attribute points."
Kaido's eyes shone with exhilaration—yet beneath it flickered a trace of regret.
'So… it's really over?'
"Kaido-sama won!"
"As expected—Kaido-sama is invincible!"
"Twenty days straight… and he still stands!"
The Beasts Pirates erupted in cheers. A battle that had raged for twenty consecutive days had finally ended, with Kaido of the Beasts standing victorious.
The Phoenix Pirates, however, paid no attention to the outco.
They closed ranks around Marco instantly, shielding their exhausted Captain at the center—ready for anything.
Marco inhaled deeply, then looked up at Kaido.
"A bet is a bet," he said calmly. "Jack's attack on Nanku Island—we'll consider that settled."
Then he turned his head slightly.
"Jozu. Hand Caesar over."
"Got it."
Jozu nodded, dragging the terrified scientist forward and shoving him toward the Beasts Pirates.
"K-Kaido-sama…" Caesar stamred, overwheld by the monstrous pressure surrounding him.
Kaido looked down at him, lips curling into a grin.
"So you're the one who makes SMILEs."
His eyes glead.
"Work hard for , and I won't treat you badly."
Caesar nodded frantically, bowing again and again.
"Y-Yes! This humble one thanks Kaido-sama!"
After that, Kaido's attention shifted away from Caesar. His gaze settled on Marco instead, and he spoke with a grin, "Marco, have you really not given it any thought? Becoming my son-in-law, that is. If you agree, the Beasts Pirates could one day be yours."
Marco was in no condition to entertain such talk. His mind was foggy, his body screaming for rest. Right now, all he wanted was sleep. He muttered weakly,
"Let's talk about that… another ti."
Kaido studied Marco's condition and snorted in amusent. He had no interest in taking advantage of soone at their weakest, nor did he harbor any intent to kill Marco. Truth be told, Kaido himself wasn't in great shape either—twenty straight days of battle had drained even him.
Still, through this clash, Kaido had genuinely co to acknowledge Marco's strength. In his eyes, the man before him now possessed power on par with Whitebeard himself. He laughed heartily.
"Worororo! Fair enough. You're clearly in no shape for this kind of talk. I plan to hold a celebration soon—when that happens, I hope you and the Phoenix Pirates will co."
"…Alright."
Marco didn't know what Kaido was plotting, but agreeing for now was the safest choice.
Noticing the Phoenix Pirates still watching him warily, Kaido found it amusing. He waved his hand and laughed loudly.
"Worororo! Alright, my little ones—we're heading back!"
Soon, news of the battle on Nanku Island swept across the world like a raging storm.
Yonkos Marco and Kaido of the Beasts had clashed for a full twenty days, a battle so fierce it reshaped the island itself. In the end, Kaido erged victorious, further centing his reputation as the undisputed strongest creature in land, sea, and air.
In response, the Marines increased Kaido's bounty to 4,972,900,000 Berries.
As the defeated party, Marco's bounty remained unchanged.
Three days passed after the battle.
Marco slept soundly through all three, sinking into the kind of deep rest only exhaustion could bring. By the ti he woke, his body had mostly recovered. The Phoenix Pirates showed no sign of discouragent—after all, Marco was far younger than Kaido. To them, this loss wasn't an end, but a promise of future victory.
Wearing sunglasses, Marco lounged on a beach chair, basking in the sunlight as he reviewed the newly updated system panel.
New Mission:
Vengeance — Defeat Kaido, the strongest creature in land, sea, and air.
Reward: 10,000 attribute points.
He scrolled further.
The forr Establish Authority mission had vanished—failed due to his defeat.
What remained were the real priorities:
Revenge Mission: Annihilate the Blackbeard Pirates
Reward: 10,000 attribute points
Bounty Targets:
Marshall D. Teach (Blackbeard): 3,000 attribute points
Shiryu, Jesus Burgess, Doc Q, and others: 500 points each
Vengeance Mission: Defeat Kaido
Reward: 10,000 attribute points
Final Aspiration:
Surpass the Old Era and beco the strongest of the New Era.
Reach a bounty of 5,564,800,000 Berries or more and inherit Whitebeard's title of Strongest Man in the World.
Reward: 10,000 attribute points.
Marco exhaled slowly beneath the sun.
Of the three remaining missions, only eliminating the Blackbeard Pirates felt realistically achievable. The other two were far more troubleso—after all, Marco knew better than anyone that he still couldn't defeat Kaido head-on.
He had co painfully close.
If Kaido hadn't suddenly "sat up" at that critical mont—awakening the Azure Dragon Fruit and breaking through his long-standing bottleneck—the outco of that battle might have been very different.
"Damn… even the Rokushiki have improved quite a bit," Marco muttered as he opened his status panel.
Na: Marco
Age: 43
Attribute Points: 3000
Devil Fruit: Zoan Type — Phoenix Form (Awakened)
Haki:
Armant Haki (Top-tier)
Observation Haki (Top-tier)
Haoshoku (Top-tier)
Body Techniques (Six Powers):
Soru (Top-tier)
Rankyaku (Advanced)
Geppo (Advanced)
Tekkai (Top-tier)
Shigan (Top-tier)
Kami-e (Advanced)
Strength: 12,054
Speed: 6,500
Defense: 13,800
Recovery: 60,000
Stamina: 20,100
Spirit: 13,300
System Combat Evaluation: Strong Yonko Level
Seeing that his combat evaluation was still stuck at Strong Yonko Level, Marco let out a slow breath.
"So this really is a massive wall…"
His Devil Fruit Awakening alone had elevated him into this realm. During the battle with Kaido, he had poured in 8,000 attribute points, mastered Conqueror's Haki Infusion, and pushed his Haoshoku to the top-tier—yet even all of that hadn't allowed him to step beyond this threshold.
"Either my base attributes still aren't high enough…" Marco murmured, eyes narrowing,
"…or I'll need to raise at least one type of Haki to Legendary level."
At that mont—
"Captain."
Zack approached and reported, "Monet says she wants to speak with you."
"Monet?" Marco blinked in mild surprise. "The Snow Woman?"
"Yes," Zack nodded. "That Monet."
Marco frowned slightly. Monet was a familiar figure from the original tiline, but aside from so initial curiosity, he had never paid her much attention.
"Didn't she leave with Caesar?" Marco asked.
Zack shook his head.
"No. She stayed aboard the Moby Dick. She said she wanted to join the Phoenix Pirates. At the ti, you were fighting Kaido, Captain, so we didn't disturb you with it."
Marco nodded slowly.
'Interesting…'
He was genuinely curious now—curious about what she wanted, and why she had made that choice.
"Alright," Marco said calmly. "Let her co over."
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