73 Chapter 9

After tagging everyone with his new skill so he could find them even after they'd separated, Markus used Soru to quickly open distance between them. If he stuck around them things would get violent very quickly as people with little to no sense would try to come after his head. His only worries came in the form of the Admirals that could come from Marineford in a very short time since they were so close now. None of them could hope to cope with the power of the Admirals at this point.

Markus enjoyed the sights and sounds of Sabaody, but he could also sense the darkness hidden beneath the bright facade of the island. This place was akin to a polished turd in his eyes. This was something he would need to get used to. Many of the islands in the New World had hidden darkness to them, just like Donquixote Doflamingo's island, Dressrosa. That man was already one of his primary targets so his reign would come to an end sooner or later.

He shook his head and pushed the dark thoughts out of his mind. Using Geppo, he jumped through the air and arrived at the top of one of the mangrove trees. Once there he found a nice spot to sit down with his back against the trunk. He observed the whole island and watched various people moving about. He kept an eye on his friends, especially the directionally challenged swordsman, while he relaxed.

While relaxing he observed the first encounter between the Strawhats and the Celestial Dragons. It wasn't a big incident, he didn't even remember it. A pirate that had been captured as a slave was running through the town screaming for help before his slave collar exploded. Judging by the fact that the weak pirate that detonated was still alive, the collars didn't seem all that powerful. The Celestial Dragon woman even shot the downed pirate and still failed to kill him. The Celestial Dragons really were worthless in every possible respect.

Luckily for Luffy, Hatchan restrained him and prevented him from shouting at or fighting with the Celestial Dragons. Markus sighed and shook his head. Honestly, pirates were far from the worst criminals in the world, that 'honor' belonged to the Celestial Dragons and no one else. Well, those two wouldn't be leaving the island alive anyway. Zoro and Luffy would both have encounters with them, Luffy would even punch one. Markus would finish the job though.

There wasn't any big issue after the encounter with the Dragons, but after leaving the public areas, bounty hunters started coming out of the woodwork and attacking. They weren't particularly strong and easily got their asses handed to them by Luffy and the others. It was kind of sad seeing the bounty hunters acting full of themselves and then getting pounded into the ground with one or two simple hits. It was only after they defeated their third group of bounty hunters that Markus decided to rejoin them.

They'd finally arrived at one of the places Markus was most looking forward to visiting, Shakki's Rip-Off Bar! As he arrived next to the group, they tensed up for a moment until they realized it was him. Luffy slapped Markus on the back, "Where've you been? You missed all the fun!"

Markus chuckled, "I saw you all having so much fun that I didn't want to interrupt."

Hatchan opened the door to the building while calling out, "Rayleigh, Shakki, are you here?"

As Hatchan walked in, Markus could see a young-looking woman holding a bloodied man by the collar while smoking a cigarette and surrounded by more unconscious bodies, "Welcome. What'll it be?"

Getting his first look at Shakky, Markus had to wonder what it was about some women in this world. Despite being a woman in her sixties, Shakky didn't look any older than her mid-twenties to early-thirties. Rayleigh was really a lucky man to have such a good looking wife. Shakky, full name Shakuyaku, stood at a little over six feet tall with short black hair and dark eyes. Her outfit was rather unique as well with a pink shirt that sported a black spider over her chest, a jacket over that, and pants that had a giraffe-like pattern on them.

As they stepped further in, Shakky looked surprised, then happy at seeing Hatchan, "Hatchan?! How long has it been? Ten years?"

Hatchan rubbed the back of his head and looked a little embarrassed. She looked around at the rest of them, though when she spotted Markus, her eyes narrowed a little bit and for a brief moment, everyone felt something dangerous. It quickly passed though, as Shakky continued to smile, "Just take a seat and wait. I was just extracting some outrageous money from these guys."

Hatchan took it in stride so no one else said anything as they moved to find comfortable spots. Shakky quickly finished her extortion before trying up the men around her and throwing them out the front door. Markus found a spot at the bar counter and sat on a stool. He wasn't sure how to feel but he knew that Shakky was fully aware of who he was and she didn't seem happy about it. His curiosity was killing him but he couldn't outright ask anything.

While Shakky talked with Hatchan and Camie, embarrassing Camie in the process, Everyone got comfortable and relaxed. Luffy made himself at home and even directly raided the fridge. Brook even helped himself to some beans he found, "Shakky, these beans... They're delicious!"

Shakky laughed while Chopper yelled, "Luffy! Brook! I can't leave you alone for one second!"

Shakky pulled some cotton candy out of nowhere and held it out to Chopper, "Just let them do as they like. You're friends of Hatchan so it's all on the house. Here, this is for you."

Chopper was instantly won over and glomped onto the cotton candy. Seeing that, Luffy asked, "Hey lady, how did you know what Chopper likes?"

Shakky climbed to her feet and made her way behind the bar, "You're Monkey-chan, the captain of a pirate crew right?"

Luffy seemed surprised, though he really shouldn't have been. His bounty was already pretty high so he had some fame or infamy. Plenty of people should be aware of who he was, "You know about me too?"

Shakky arrived behind the bar, "Of course. You guys are pretty notorious. Plus, I'm a rather well-informed person. Though, I didn't know about there being a skeleton on your crew. Or that skeletons could move around..."

Luffy sat on a stool next to Markus while Shakky served the both of them cups of coffee, "I read about Enies Lobby." Her eyes flickered to Markus before returning to Luffy, "How much of it is true? Did you really start a fight with the government?"

Luffy seemed annoyed at the question, "Man, I really don't want to talk about that. It was such a pain in the ass."

Markus listened while Shakky fished for information from Luffy and he gave it out for free. Though, Shakky gave some in return. She learned that Garp was Luffy's grandfather and revealed that she'd been chased as a pirate by Garp... Forty years ago. When Luffy asked how old she was, she completely ignored him and changed the topic. Markus was tempted to spout out how old Shakky was but, he valued his life and couldn't waste his Second Life skill.

Hatchan joined the conversation at that point, "By the way, Shakky."

Shakky cut him off, "Oh, there's no need to say anything. I already guessed the reason you're here. You want to help Monkey-chan and his crew get their ship coated right? In other words, you want Rayleigh to do the coating for you? Well, he's not here right now."

"EHH?! The guy's not here?! But we want to go to Fishman Island!"

Shakky smiled at Luffy's outburst, "Well, there's no way he left the Archipelago, you should look for him in the bars and gambling houses around here."

Luffy picked up his coffee and sipped it, "If we wait here, he'll come back won't he?"

Shakky leaned on the counter and exhaled a cloud of smoke, "I suppose so. Though, he hasn't been back for about six months at this point." Her voice became a little venomous as she glanced at Markus once again before she continued, "He's probably been meeting women and shacking up here and there." Her tone went back to normal but no one had missed the change, "I'm not worried about his health or anything. I guess picking up and leaving for long periods of time is just what former pirates do."

Hearing the venom in Shakky's voice really made Markus want to interject and say something in Rayleigh's defense. After all, as far as Markus was aware the system was the one to give birth to him and just gave him the Silvers name. He might not have any blood connection to Rayleigh at all and here he was pissing off Shakky with his very existence. He said a silent prayer for Rayleigh while Shakky continued, "I think he would be somewhere in groves 1-29, he's pretty notorious himself so he'd not going to relax wherever Marines might be."

She looked up at the ceiling while taking a puff off of her cigarette, "Other than that, he does like Sabaody Park."

At the mention of Sabaody Park, Brooks, Chopper, Camie, and Luffy all got excited. Luffy even shouted, "The amusement park?! We'll look there!"

Shakky became a little serious as she spoke once again, "Look, wherever you go, you better be careful. My sources tell me that with you guys here there are now twelve pirates on Sabaody Archipelago with bounties over a hundred million, as well as one fool with a bounty over a billion."

Every eye in the building turned to Markus. Seeing everyone staring at him, Markus just rubbed the back of his head like he was embarrassed, "Aw shucks, if you guys look at me like that, I'll blush."

Shakky sighed and returned to the point, "That means there are nine people other than Monkey-chan, Roronoa-chan, Robin-chan, and Markus."

For some reason, Markus felt slighted. Luffy, Zoro, and Robin had chan affectionately added to their names but he was just plain Markus. He knew how honorifics worked and that having none was supposed to be a sign of closeness but the way she said it seemed to convey the opposite. Without care for how Markus felt, Shakky explained, "There are seven different routes through the first half of the grand line. You picked one while others went through different ones. Just like you, they all experienced trials and tribulations to arrive at this point. No matter which route you take, you run into the Red Line and arrive here to cross the wall. All of the world's rookies have gathered here at the same time. That's not something that happens every day."

She closed her eyes as she named off some people, "Markus, Luffy, Kid, Hawkins, Drake, Law... Those names have been all over the newspapers. If it weren't for a member of your own crew, you would be the rookie with the highest bounty."

Markus looked in different directions as Shakky spoke about the other pirates that had arrived. He could sense some conflicts and had been able to identify a few of them thanks to overhearing their names from other people. Without seeing someone in person first, he couldn't identify who was who purely through his Observation Haki. Once he saw them, he would be able to remember their signature and could track them from that point forward.

The explanation continued as Shakky spoke of the many pirates entering the Grand Line but only a few remained to arrive at Sabaody. This removed the chaff from the wheat and left only the elite among the pirates remaining. As she spoke using Kid as an example, Markus contemplated robbing Kid of his Devil Fruit. He didn't want it for himself, he already had control over magnetism and wanted something that would add more to his repertoire instead of augmenting what he already had. Kid was not a good person so Markus wouldn't have to think too much about whether or not he should exterminate him, should they meet in person.

The group decided to go to the park first to look for Rayleigh. Shakky sent them off with some final words, "Take care. At the very least the marines know that the big-name rookies are here. It's alright though since they seem to be busy with something else. They should be too busy to bother, for now. As long as nothing major happens they won't come in force. So, be careful not to make too much of a mess."

As they were leaving, Markus turned to Luffy, "Since you guys are going to the amusement park, I'll slip off again so I don't draw too much attention to you all. Have fun!"

Before they could reply, Markus vanished with Soru and made his way to a different grove. He was listening to a conversation that was pissing him off so he planned to do something about it. A few seconds later, Markus arrived in front of a nondescript building sitting on the root of one of the mangrove trees. Within the building was a large number of people, including two of the guys Shakky had beaten and extorted. They had informed the people inside of Camie being a mermaid and now they planned to kidnap and sell her.

Markus didn't even bother confronting the people inside personally. He just lifted his hands while charging them with electrical power. Electricity crackled off of his body as he fired two large pillars of electricity directly into the building and torched everyone inside of it. He didn't hold back and didn't leave anyone alive. Everyone inside of that building was scum that was more than willing to kidnap Camie and sell her into slavery to make a quick buck. They fell on the wrong side of his new morality.

As far as triggering the events on this island, it wouldn't be a problem at all. All he needed to do was go to the auction house and mess with the Celestial Dragons to get an admiral sent over. Since he planned to kill them anyway, it wasn't any skin off of his back to save Camie and the others a little trouble and allow them to continue to enjoy themselves. Especially Camie, it was nearly impossible for a mermaid to come to Sabaody and have fun.

While the guys were at the park enjoying themselves, Robin and Nami were out shopping. Thanks to Markus restocking their money after Luffy blew it all on the party at Water 7, along with Moria's treasure, they had plenty of funds to enjoy themselves. Robin and Nami were clearly having a good time shopping together. Markus shuddered at the thought of shopping with the girls. When it came to shopping, they had infinite energy and even more domineering personas. He shook his head and started to walk towards Grove 1.

There was an auction house on Grove 1 and Markus could sense the two Celestial Dragons heading inside of it. He expected that was the place where Camie would have been sold if she'd been captured. He could also sense a few strong presences belonging to a few of the 'Supernova's' along with a much stronger presence, Rayleigh. Markus had completely forgotten that Rayleigh had been captured and was supposed to be sold as a slave. He smirked at that and felt pretty bad for anyone stupid enough to buy him.

Markus quickly arrived at the auction house and entered inside without any issues. He was easily recognized and no one working there would dare to try and block his path. Of course, it helped that he was radiating an aura that threatened to kill anyone who opposed him. As he walked inside, he drew the attention of a few people. Most notably Law and Kid, two captains among the Supernovas. The two men looked at him with interest but didn't approach him or even attempt to speak to him.

Markus didn't pay attention to anyone, it was time to cause a little chaos. He walked down the center aisle of the auditorium toward the stage, drawing the attention of people as he moved. As he got closer to the stage where a pirate captain was being auctioned off, he finally drew the attention of the auctioneer. He paid no attention as the auctioneer started yelling at him and every guard that tried to stop him ended up 'mysteriously' fainting.

As he stepped onto the stage the auctioneer started yelling at him, "What the hell do you thi... guh!"

Markus shut him up by appearing in front of him and grabbing him by the throat. His eyes narrowed as electricity leaped from his body and fried the auctioneer to death. Anyone involved in the sale of slaves deserved nothing less. As he dropped the corpse in his hands, Saint Rosward, the father of the other two Celestial Dragons in the auction house, spoke up, "Guards, capture that man. I want him as my slave."

Hearing the words of Saint Rosward, Markus turned to face him, his children, and the guards now charging in his direction. Markus didn't change his attitude as he simply raised his hands and rained Lightning Bolts down on the guards until they couldn't move anymore. With the guards taken care of, his cold gaze turned to Saint Rosward, "Learn your place."

Markus's hand snapped out as a thick blast of lightning flew from his hand and slammed into the scumbag Saint Charlos. Charlos was a fat ugly man with snot constantly dripping from his nose. His presence would not be missed by the world. He focused on upping the amperage of the blast to over ten thousand amps. Back in his original world, it took around 200 milliamps or 0.2 amps to kill a human being. Using more than 50,000 times that amount was far more than enough to kill a weakling like Charlos. Even if the average human without special training was ten times stronger than a human from his original world, it would still be 5,000 times more than needed.

Instead of being afraid, Saing Rosward was instead infuriated, "YOU DARE!" He shouted even louder, "KILL HIM! RIP HIM APART!"

Markus ignored Rosward and the screams of the people around him. He could feel marines approaching and didn't care, there was no one strong among them. He could also feel Rayleigh coming from behind the stage with a giant. Markus ignored all of that and pointed his finger at Saint Shalria, Rosward's other child, "It seems you haven't learned your lesson."

Another lightning blast as powerful as the previous one claimed Shalria's life. Shalria might have looked more attractive and less disgusting than her brother but that didn't matter. Inside, she was just as disgusting. He wouldn't lose any sleep over ending her life. His gaze turned to Rosward once more, "Have you learned your lesson yet, scumbag?"

Clearly Rosward had not as he still looked purely infuriated and continued to shout for anyone that would listen, "KILL HIM! WHOEVER KILLS HIM I WILL PAY! 1,000,000,000 BELLY TO WHOEVER ENDS THAT BASTARDS LIFE!!"

Markus sighed and pointed his finger at Rosward, "You people really are pure scum and actually believe nothing can happen to you."

Electricity crackled around his arm as he charged up the attack to kill Rosward. Before he could fire it, two giant hands crashed through the wall behind him and ripped it open. From behind the wall appeared two people, a giant and the strongest man on Sabaody Arcipelago, Silvers Rayleigh.