Chapter 20

Markus building up for a large attack was a pretty obvious sight to Sengoku. He had no idea what exactly Markus was planning but the timing of it gave him a feeling of trepidation. He didn't want to take any risks and shouted, "SOMEONE STOP THAT BASTARD!"

The three Admirals looked at Markus preparing his attack, two of them decided to move, Aokiji and Akainu. Unlike Kizaru, their powers let them create physical obstructions such as walls and barricades. Aokiji created a thick wall of ice in front of Markus while Akainu created a bubbling wall of magma in front of the execution platform.

Seeing their defenses didn't perturb Markus in the least. He continued to channel his Willpower into his hands while adding his Armament Haki into the mix. The color of his lightning darkened and became more ominous in the eyes of the three Admirals. They couldn't help wondering how Markus could use his Haki on his lightning. If they knew the answer was 'because he has a cheap system' they wouldn't know what to do with the information.

Markus charged 75% (equivalent to 150%) of his over 8,000 Willpower into a Lightning Blast attack. When he unleashed his attack the whole world seemed to pause for a moment. A defeating crack of thunder echoed across the entire island as a massive pillar of darkly colored electricity ripped violently through the air. Aokiji's thick ice wall didn't hold up for even an instant. The Lightning Blast was simply too powerful and too hot for ice to even hope to contend against it. As for Akainu's wall of magma, it was irrelevant. Markus's attack wasn't aimed at the platform but at a control room hidden underground.

Sengoku's eyes widened in horror as he saw where the blast burrowed into the ground. He instantly understood what Markus had aimed for and what the consequences would be. There was nothing between Markus and his target that could stop the blast. The fifty-foot wide attack bored a hole clean through the building's walls, floor, and even the earth itself as it vaporized everything in its path, including the hidden control room for the siege walls and the marines manning said controls.

Sengoku's whole body shook. He didn't know what to do. Every part of his plan had been methodically destroyed by Markus. His troops? Half crushed in minutes, more still being crushed. The Shichibukia? Two down in an instant, one traitor. The Pacifista's? Gone without a trace. Injuring Whitebeard? Failed miserably. Raising the siege walls to bombard the pirates? A smoking crater. Every aspect of his plan seemed to have been seen through and destroyed with ease, almost all done by a single kid.

Markus wasn't done though. He leaped through the air and used strong Geppo steps to quickly arrive where Buggy and most of his men were frozen statues. He retrieved the frozen video Den Den Mushi and returned to the figurehead of the Moby Dick. The Den Den Mushi was quickly thawed by a small ball of electricity hovering over his hand. Markus smiled at the little critter, "There, there, that must have been a terrible experience. Are you feeling better now?"

The yellow snail looked at Markus as he smiled kindly at it. Feeling the warmth from the ball of lightning perked the little guy up. Markus held it carefully, "Do you think you could transmit for me?"

The little snail nodded and began to transmit right away. Markus's face was instantly shown on the screen in Sabaody for everyone to see. Markus didn't say anything though. Instead, he placed the Den Den Mushi on his head and looked in the direction of Sengoku, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"

Sengoku turned to look at Markus with rage written all over his face, though it quickly turned to horror when he saw the Den Den Mushi. Markus continued, "When this started, I gave you a choice. Now, nearly three-quarters of your men are defeated. All of your clever little plans are up in smoke. Your pet Shichibukai are nearly extinct. All because you made the mistake of thinking you and your men were stronger than you actually are! YOU'RE WEAK! Tricks, lies, and threats are all you and the Marines amount to! You did all of this to kill a single man, but look!"

Markus turned his head so that everyone watching the video broadcast could see Whitebeard standing tall and proud in pristine battle-ready condition, "Not even a scratch on Whitebeard while the losses you've suffered have been enormous." He turned back to facing Sengoku, "You chose... poorly."

Sengoku stood on the execution platform shaking in anger and humiliation. This entire endeavor had been a colossal failure. Markus turned to Whitebeard once more, "I think it's time for you to save your son and show the world why you have been feared for so long. Show the Marines the price they have to pay for messing with a Yonko so thoughtlessly."

Whitebeard threw his head back and laughed loudly, "GURARARARA!!! All of you who follow me be ready to crush these Marine bastards into the ground!"

Whitebeard took a few steps and leaped off of the Moby Dick while every pirate around shouted loudly together and became even more fierce in their assault. Sengoku practically panicked as he shouted, "GET READY! THE WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN IS COMING!"

Markus stood on the figurehead and continued to transmit the scene's in front of him. Today was one of the worst days in the history of the Marines and it was being broadcast to journalists live. Sengoku knew his career was completely over. His only hope was to somehow kill Whitebeard and redeem himself even just a little. Otherwise, he didn't know what the consequences would be. Seeing the scene in front of himself was like looking at a nightmare.

"Everyone! Follow the old guy!"

"We'll destroy you, Marines!"

"Open a path for pops!"

Markus turned his head and shifted the scene from Whitebeard calmly walking forward, to Luffy running like a madman. Luffy had never once stopped charging toward the execution platform. His determination to save Ace was clear. Ivan and Jinbe flanked his sides, helping him defeat any Marines foolish enough to get in their way. Without Shichibukai to slow them down, they could easily accompany Luffy in his endeavors.

Markus crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Whitebeard went ham on the Marines. Thanks to the potions Markus donated to him, Whitebeard had gained a small portion of his original strength back and it made all the difference in the world. When a Vice Admiral was ballsy enough to attack the old man, Whitebeard blocked his sword strike with minimal effort and sent him flying into the air. While the puny Vice Admiral flew, Whitebeard grabbed the very air itself in both hands and pulled.

Chaos. Pure and utter chaos. Whitebeard used his Gura Gura no Mi and caused the entire island, the ocean surrounding it, and even the very air itself to shift like a gyroscope carnival ride. Everyone was thrown off balance as the entire island shifted in multiple directions. Even Markus had to take a knee to keep himself from falling off of the Moby Dick.

Markus shook his head, "Damn, old man you look like you're having fun."

As the attack ended and the world seemed to normalize, Whitebeard cocked his arm back and concentrated strength into it. He poured so much power into his arm that his muscles visibly swelled with power. Once he was ready, he punched forward and shattered the air in front of himself. The blow sent a massive shockwave forward toward the execution platform. Everyone watched in shock as the blow crashed through everything in its path causing utter destruction. It shattered everything in its path until the very last moment when it veered off course and crashed into the city. As the dust cleared, everyone could see that the blow had been deflected by the combined efforts of all three Admirals.

Markus pat the snail sitting on his head, "Hey buddy, keep an eye on the old man and that guy." He pointed at Luffy who was scaling the wall around the bay to get to the plaza, "They're the main stars, alright?"

The little yellow snail bobbed its eyes up and down in confirmation of Markus's request. Markus was one of the four main people in this event but he was enjoying his role as a wrench thrower. Anytime Sengoku tried to do something, he would do everything in his power to keep it from happening. He had a few goals for this war but the main one was embarrassing the Marines and dragging their reputation through the mud. So far, he was doing a damned good job at it, if Sengoku's tomato-red face was anything to go by.

Unable to take it anymore, Sengoku gave a hasty order, "The situation is terrible but... Begin regardless Akainu! Melt the ice and take their only foothold away!"

Hearing the order from Sengoku and seeing Akainu follow it without question really made Markus want to facepalm. Had Sengoku lost his mind? He shouldn't be so stupid as to try something he knows would fail. Was he hoping for a miracle? Did he think Markus couldn't block Akainu a second time? Markus had no idea what was going through Sengoku's mind but it was clear that the Fleet Admiral was growing desperate. Well, things were about to get a whole lot worse for him.

Following Sengoku's order, Akainu turned his arms into bubbling magma and began to fire off fists of molten stone into the air like a machine gun. Markus just shook his head and charged energy between his hands. As he did, a laserbeam of light from Kizaru passed through his body, right where his heart was. Did that lazy Admiral actually forget he was a Logia user? Markus gave Kizaru a look of contempt as he launched his Haki infused Electro-Repulsive Net once more.

Everyone on the battlefield stopped and looked at the massive net of electricity once again surrounding the entire bay. They were confused until the first gigantic fist of magma came into sight. Dozens soon followed the first as they all came screeching down like meteors. It was all for naught as the net captured every single one and repulsed them all back at the island. Explosions and fires broke out everywhere as the magma fists meant to kill pirates began to destroy the marines, their buildings, and set fire to the island.

Markus looked at Sengoku and shouted, "I didn't think you were stupid enough to try the same thing twice! Are you getting senile? Or just desperate? I bet you're wishing you took the first option now!"

Pirates laughed and cheered as their morale swelled even higher. Meanwhile, there was a pall of despair surrounding the Marines. Ever since the battle started they'd constantly been on the losing side. If this continued it would be a complete route of the Marines. So far all they'd managed to accomplish was taking down a few weaklings while a huge number of their Captains and Vice Admirals had been taken down. At this point, even if they killed Whitebeard, Ace, Luffy, Markus, and every last pirate, they would still be on the losing side of the war.

Markus left the net up until every last fist that Akainu fired had been stopped and reflected onto the island. The damage was devastating as not just the headquarters but the homes and businesses of the Marines families behind it burned. Markus couldn't rightly calculate how much damage had been done to the marines but he was sure it was easily in the tens of billions.

Once Akainu's attack was fully ended, Markus ended his Electro-Repulsive Net as well. He was pretty sure they wouldn't try something like that again. If they did, he would just conjure up another net to stop them. His Willpower regeneration was extremely high. With how high it had become, he was certain he could fight for days straight as long as he conserved his strength and didn't blow it all on a single attack. He was curious how fast it had become so he opened his status page while the pirates resumed their unstoppable assault.

The moment Markus looked at his status, his jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out. He had a right to be surprised...

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Name: Silvers D. Markus

Age: 16

Class: World's Enemy (1.25b)

Level: 294

Exp: 107,340,625/108,045,000

Hit Points: 5,760/ 5,760 (+253/30 seconds) [6,330/ 6,330 (+286 /30 seconds)]

Willpower: 8,130/ 8,130 (+348/30 seconds) [8,940/ 8,940 (+393/30 seconds)]

Strength (STR): 517 [568]

Vitality (VIT): 576 [633]

Agility (AGI): 467 [513]

Spirit (SPT): 813 [894]

Wisdom (WIS): 467 [513]

Charisma (CHA): 319 [350]

Luck (LCK): 306 [336]

Attribute Points: 645

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Markus felt a shudder run down his spine. Since arriving at Marineford he'd gained over one hundred levels with such ease that it was ridiculous. No wonder he felt so much stronger earlier. Every attribute had risen by over a hundred points and he could get even stronger with the 645 attribute points he could spend... And spend them he did. He dumped 100 points into Strength, Vitality, Spirit, and Wisdom first while the remaining 245 points were all placed into his Agility.

Unbridled power flowed through his entire body as everything about him was suddenly upgraded by a large amount. Markus closed his eyes for a moment to revel in the feeling. When he opened them again, his eyes were glowing as electricity crackled from them. With glowing eyes, he observed the battlefield as Whitebeard and his commanders crushed all resistance in their path. Major fights were breaking out between the commanders and two of the Admirals.

Marco was fighting against Kizaru. Marco couldn't match Kizaru's speed but his regeneration ability protected him from Kizaru's attacks while his Haki allowed him to fight back when he got close. Another commander named Jozu was fighting against Aokiji. Jozu was a massive man that stood over sixteen feet tall with a very muscular body, broad chest, and dark skin. Jozu was interesting to Markus due to his Devil Fruit. Markus couldn't recall its name but it was a Paramecia that allowed Jozu to turn his entire body into living diamond. As far as defensive powers went, it was probably one of the top in the world. Combined with his Armament Haki and he was nearly impossible to harm.

As for Akainu, he was standing off to the side with his arms crossed. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was pissed. Any pirate stupid enough to attack him ended up getting blasted into ash. Markus already planned to deal with Akainu. He would not be the next Fleet Admiral by the time Markus was done with him. Akainu was as bad as a villain with how he treated everyone. With him in charge of the Marines, they would basically become a giant villainous organization, even more so than they were already.

Markus didn't have the mistaken impression that pirates were the good guys. He knew that even he wasn't a good guy. If there were good guys in the world then Luffy was probably one of them. Maybe Dragon and the Revolutionary Army were as well. It didn't really matter though. Even if he wasn't a good guy, Markus was planning to do some good things for the world. He wanted to live in a nice world, after all. He looked up at the sky and thought about what he wanted out of his life when his adventure was over. He wasn't sure but he knew that he didn't want to have to spend his twilight years in hiding as Rayleigh did. Or die fighting on a battlefield while in his seventies as Whitebeard wanted.

The only conclusion Markus could come to was that he wanted to die a nice peaceful death surrounded by people he loved. He wanted to be able to live without fear. After all, fear is what drove him to get his hands on the Goro Goro no Mi. It was too easy to die in the One Piece world if you didn't possess strength. Pirates were always raiding islands. Corrupt Marines were abundant. Bandits would even live on larger islands and raid villages. Truly, people without some strength could only rely on luck and hope they were never attacked. That was a kind of life he didn't want to live.

Markus stopped thinking and focused on the battlefield as things ramped up. Luffy had finally managed to get to the plaza where he was confronted by all three Admirals. Kizaru made the first move and viciously kicked Luffy away. Sengoku, unable to control the situation anymore, ordered Ace's execution to proceed immediately. Markus wasn't about to let that happen. Two bullets materialized from within his hands from his inventory. With a quick flick of his fingers, two weakly powered Railgun's fired off and blasted the weak executioners off of the platform.

Sengoku turned to look at Markus while gritting his teeth so hard it was a miracle they didn't shatter. Markus wagged his finger back and forth like a parent scolding a child. There was nothing Sengoku could do but endure the humiliation. Markus had already demonstrated how easily he could end Sengoku's life. The fact he was still breathing was simply because Markus had decided to let him. All to let Sengoku live in humiliation and despair at his failure to do anything.

Sengoku finally understood just how badly he had messed up. In his quest to take down a Yonko, he had gotten ahead of himself and believed he'd prepared for all eventualities and come up with the perfect plan. Yet, all of it was destroyed by a single man who seemed to go about it so casually. Things for even worse for him as Whitebeard set foot in the plaza. His very presence intimidated the weaker surviving Marines and required the attention of an Admiral. Akainu finally stepped forward to confront Whitebeard.