Chapter 13

Markus grinned from ear to ear seeing that he had finally mastered his Armament Haki. Without wasting a moment he opened his inventory and retrieved the skill book for Legendary Armament Haki. Honestly, he expected his Observation Haki to be the first he mastered. Either way, he was extremely excited and happy. He wasted no time in using the skill book. The instant he did, his body was bathed in a golden glow that slowly faded away.

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Legendary Armament Haki

[Active, Level 1/5, 0.0% Experience]

Armament Haki allows the user to physically harden their will to increase their defensive and offensive capabilities. The greatest benefit of Armament Haki is the ability to harm Devil Fruit users, even Logia users. Armament Haki can be applied to parts of or even the entire body of the user. It can even be applied to weapons when it reaches a certain level. Advanced users can even project Armament Haki a short distance from their bodies while extremely advanced users can project it into an opponent's body to deal internal damage.

Legendary Armament Haki not only covers the user and their weapons but also projects an energy field that greatly enhances the damage the user deals. This energy field can easily penetrate past the defenses of anyone with Haki weaker than the user. The internal damage is True Damage.

+600% Damage Dealt, can harm Devil Fruit users

-99.5% Damage Received

Internal Damage:

100% of internal damage converted to True Damage

Cost: 5 Willpower/Second

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Markus read over the description with a smile. He clenched his fist and activated his new Armament Haki. His fist was covered in a dark purple energy field while letting of small sparks. Interestingly, his fist wasn't blackened, there was only the energy. Yet he didn't feel like his defenses were weaker. They weren't any stronger either.

With his fist still clenched, he threw a casual punch. His fist cut through the air and the Haki energy around his fist shot out a few feet from him. It faded after a moment. He didn't feel any additional drain on his Willpower which surprised him. He felt excited at this development. If he worked on it, he could probably project the Haki even further to hit people when they least expected it.

The last thing he thought about was the last new thing about the skill. It said it was currently level one of five. None of his skills had shown a level limit before. His gun and sword mastery skills stopped leveling and needed upgrades every few levels but didn't show a level limit.

He didn't have much more time to contemplate things as the women began to stir and wake up beneath him. Hearing the noise, he looked around and noticed that he'd spent the entire night contemplating his Armament Haki and finally getting to use the legendary skill book for it. It was worth missing out on a night of sleep.

Once everyone was up and wide awake, Markus made Breakfast for himself and Rei. Bonney feasted on system meals once again. After breakfast, Markus and Bonney began to teach Rei about the boat. Yesterday she was a little too depressed from leaving her home for them to teach her anything. Today she seemed to be feeling a little better so they taught her. Markus even let her drive the boat for a while.

The only issue Markus had with Rei was her silence. It made discussing anything and getting to know her better nearly impossible. He had no idea how to solve that issue either. He tried, but all he really figured out was that she wanted to get stronger. She seemed slightly miffed that he couldn't teach her anything right now. Her attitude changed when he showed her some of his Rokushiki skills and explained them to her the same way he explained them to Bonney the day before.

They fell into a rhythm as a group. Markus would sleep or meditate outside on top of the cabin while the girls slept inside. He would also cook three meals a day for himself and Rei while stuffing Bonney with system food. Things were going nicely and Markus knew they would arrive at Water 7 soon. There was only a single incident that made things a bit awkward between himself and Rei.

The incident wasn't a big deal but... One afternoon, Markus was changing inside of the cabin when Rei stepped inside to get something. He was half-dressed in just his pants and the moment Rei spotted him she froze like a deer in headlights. His body was perfectly sculpted due to his attributes from the system. He had no scars, smooth skin, and no excess body hair. Even if his face wasn't the most handsome in the world, his body was probably the most perfect one. Add his Charisma on top of it and he could be considered pretty 'fatal' to the opposite gender... And some of the same gender too.

After that incident, Rei couldn't look at Markus without blushing. Bonney was quick to note that and constantly teased the two of them about it. It didn't bother Markus but when her teasing became too much, Rei would hide inside of the cabin. He once caught her buried under the blankets like a child.

Aside from that, the journey to Water 7 was peaceful. Well, discounting when the weather got annoying. It just required a little effort on the part of Markus to deal with it. His usual response was to lift the boat out of the water and quickly fly out of any storms or rough seas. The first time they flew out of a storm, Rei nearly had a panic attack until it was fully explained to her.

Now they could all see Water 7 coming up on the horizon. Thanks to its height, it could be seen from a greater distance than most islands. Markus could already feel the entire island with his active Observation Haki and everything seemed just fine. Bonney looked at the island with interest. She knew the man who built the boat they were on lived on the island and she wanted to meet him. Rei had a complicated look on her face. This was her first time traveling to another island and she was feeling a mixture of nervous and excited.

Markus pulled his boat up to the same little bit of land that the Going Merry had docked at months ago. Even though it hadn't been all that long, he had a feeling of nostalgia at seeing the giant water fountain-like city. In all honesty, Water 7 had to be one of the best-looking islands he had visited in his time with the Strawhat crew. Once they were close, he dropped the anchor and gave the two women time to pack up what they would need. They would stay overnight for sure and possibly a couple of days depending on how things went.

Once they had their stuff and were on land, Markus stored his boat away. Rei was no longer surprised at the things he could pull in and out of thin air and Bonney had long since become immune to surprises from him. Before entering the city, Markus pulled out a few large stacks of Belly and handed them over to the girls, "Some spending money."

Bonney just accepted the pile of cash while Rei stared at it with her mouth and eyes wide open. Markus only handed her around three hundred thousand Belly, but it was still more money than she'd ever seen in her life! She tried to hand it back to Markus but he just ignored her action and made his way toward the city. He could hear Bonney telling Rei to just keep the money because Markus was apparently rich.

Money had little meaning to Markus so giving it to them so they could buy anything they wanted or needed. Especially, Rei. She didn't have many possessions so she could really use the money. He was sure Bonney would show her the ropes. If anything happened, he had both of them marked with Electromagnetic Tags and his Observation Haki active. Tagging Rei was a piece of cake given the small boat and cramped quarters.

Markus separated from the women and made his way into the city. He moved swiftly toward his destination. The sooner he spoke to the old man, the sooner he could get his new ship. As nice as it was to be on a small boat with two beautiful women, he was getting tired of sleeping on top of the cabin. It was only going to get worse before too much longer since he was going to pick up Kureha. Four people on a boat meant for just one or two was really pushing it.

As soon as he stepped in front of the shabby house of the old man, whose name he still didn't know or bother to learn, Markus started pounding on the rickety door. Through the door, he could hear the classic sounds of groans and glass bottles being knocked over before the familiar rude voice came through, "Goddamnit! Can't a man sleep off a hangover in peace?! Go away dammit! Whatever your selling, I'm not buying!"

Markus grinned at the familiar ranting, "Shut up old man! I'm back to commission a new ship!"

There was silence for a moment before he heard, "You're back so soon ya little bastard?"

Sounds of stumbling accompanied by mumbled complaints came from behind the door before it was pulled open. Standing there was the old man looking directly at Markus. Though, instead of his angry or unamused face, the old man looked confused, "Who the hell are you?"

Markus tilted his head in confusion, "Did you already forget about me and the boat you made for me old man? Did you finally go senile?"

"Senile your ass! I'm sharper than you'll ever be ya shitty brat! But, you ain't the fatty I made a boat for. So, who the hell are ya?"

It was at that moment that Markus remembered that he'd always visited the old man after using his Semei Kikan to make himself fatter. He'd completely forgotten that little detail in the time since he'd last visited. Instead of being worried about it, Markus just grinned, "What? Did I become even more handsome after losing a little weight? Well, sorry to say but I don't swing that way, old man. You should stop staring!"

"Who's staring you little shit! Fuck! I might be ancient but I'll still kick your ass from here to the ocean!" The old man glared at Markus, "Prove you are who you say you are."

Markus just shrugs his shoulders while his eyes begin to glow and emit sparks of electricity from the corners, "Good enough?"

The old man clicked his tongue, "I guess that will do. So what the hell do ya want? You bring me another interesting boat to build?"

Markus sighed a little, "I don't have anything drawn out like last time. Some stuff happened and the person that helped me draw it wasn't available. But, I can discuss my ideas with you."

The old man looked a little disgruntled at not having something to look at, but he stepped back into his messy house and left the door open for Markus. When Markus stepped in, he could see even more empty bottles of liquor than the last time he visited. It looked like the money he paid for his boat was put to 'good use' by the old man. They sat at the same bottle covered table as last time where the old man gestured to Markus to speak.

Markus took a breath before starting, "So, I've been thinking about a few different ways to make a ship that I can use to its full potential. Have you ever heard of a ship made entirely out of iron or steel?"

The old man choked on his own spit, "The hell?! No ship made entirely of metal could possibly float! It'd sink straight to the bottom of the ocean!" The old man suddenly had a serious look on his face, "Are you an idiot?"

Markus laughed and shook his head, "No, I'm not. Maybe a little demonstration like before?"

After speaking, he pulled an iron ingot out of his inventory and levitated it above his hand with his Gyro-Telekinesis. Lighting started to pump out of his hand and into the ingot to quickly heat it up until it glowed orange. He didn't have a skill like Enel to reshape the metal with just his electricity, he'd never tried to do something like this before. So, he used his G-TK to reshape the now malleable metal into a crude canoe shape.

The old man silently watched and didn't question the ability of Markus to levitate and reshape the metal. He'd already seen his Devil Fruit and automatically assumed it was just the one. No one sane would assume that Markus had more than one power. With the still-hot metal floating in the air, Markus looked around until he spotted a bucket with dirty water in it. He flew the canoe over to the water and submerged it. There was loud hissing and steam as the stagnant water cooled down the nearly molten metal.

Once the metal canoe was cold enough, Markus floated it out and let it steam off the remaining water. The old man watched, curious, as Markus floated the small metal boat back down and set it on top of the water. His eyes widened as the boat floated on the surface. It didn't float perfectly and listed to one side where it was heavier, but it floated! He charged over to the bucket and observed the floating metal with obsessed eyes. Markus grinned at the sight, he knew the old man was interested now!

The two of them were silent for a bit. Markus just sat in his chair patiently letting the old man observe the little model boat. The old man wasn't so patient. He was observing the little example from multiple angles. He even picked it up to examine it before putting it into the water and watching it float again. According to everything the old man knew, metal should sink in water. He couldn't comprehend how a boat made of metal could possibly be floating! It didn't make any sense. He tried to understand it but eventually, he gave up and turned to Markus with fervent eyes, "Explain this!"

Markus chuckled, "It's a concept called 'water displacement.' The principle is pretty simple. If an object weighs less than the amount of water it displaces, it floats. Most wood displaces enough water to support its own weight so it naturally floats. In the case of denser materials, like metal, it has to be specifically shaped in order to displace enough water to float. Like the little example. By hollowing out the interior and expanding it to be wider and longer, the metal can float. If Id' done it perfectly then it wouldn't list, but I was just giving you an example."

The old man listens intently and nods at some of the things Markus explained. He looked at the floating hunk of metal and let out a sigh, "Fascinating. Sadly, it's still impossible to build an entire ship out of metal."

Markus chimes in, "If it's about the cost, I can afford it."

The old man shook his head, "It's not that. For a start, finding enough iron would be nearly impossible. Even with Puffing Tom connecting so many islands there's not enough iron to purchase and use. Even if there was, it seems to me that the iron would have to be perfectly balanced for the ship to not list or straight up tip over. There are no tools that can work metal to that kind of specifications. It's simply beyond what anyone is currently capable of."

He looked at Markus seriously, "To build a real ship using iron would require years of experimentation and practice to get the methods and tools correct. As for possibly making it out of steel? I doubt there's that much steel in the entirety of Paradise. It's all hoarded by the Marines."

Markus sighed but nodded his head in understanding. As much as he wanted to have a ship made of metal, it seemed like it was really impossible. He knew a bit about water displacement but he didn't know jack about building a ship. He had zero memories of the entire subject. The best he could probably do on his own would be making a raft, the same as Blackbeard had. Some logs lashed together with some rope. Building a big complex ship? Hell no.

The old man returned to his seat and grabbed a half-full bottle of rum to take a swig. After swallowing he looked at Markus, "Well, brat, at least you taught me something new and interesting. What kind of ship do ya want this time?"

Markus sighed. Originally, he wanted something similar to a destroyer from his old world, but clearly, that was impossible. A destroyer made of wood wasn't as cool or impressive. After thinking a bit, he spoke, "I'd like something along the lines of a galleon. A large ship that can fit a crew of around twenty."

The old man scoffed, "You wanna crew an entire galleon with just twenty people? Are ya daft? A galleon would normally be crewed by eighty people! You would need at least fifty at the bare minimum! No no. What you want is a caravel! That's more your speed with so few people. With some lateen sails, you'll be quick and maneuverable."

Markus listened to the older and wiser craftsman and nodded along at his explanation, "Alright, I can live with that. But, I'd like you to convert all the cargo space into more usable space. Full bathrooms, kitchen, library, the works. I'd like it to be more like a floating house than anything else. As for speed..."

Markus grinned causing the old man to grin in return and speculate, "Ya got more of them dial things don't ya?"

Markus nodded, "Not just the Jet Dials I gave you before either."

He dug into his inventory and started pulling out all of the different kinds of dials that could be useful in building his new ship. As he did he named them all for the old man, "Flame Dial, Water Dial, Lamp Dial, and Heat Dial. The Flame dial can store and release flames, the water dial can store and release water, and so on and so forth. I figured the Water and Heat Dials could be used for heated water, the flame can be used for cooking, and the lamps can be used for interior lighting."

The old man's eyes practically glittered at the array of useful dials. For the next couple of hours, the two men discussed the various aspects of the ship from its overall length to the different rooms that it would have. The old man made notes about everything as Markus stated his last, and most difficult, request, "I'd also like the keel to be made of Adam Wood."