I do not own One Piece.
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Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has written some pretty amazing stuff for One Piece.
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Rise from the Ashes
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Chapter 11: Punk Hazard
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Pacing back and forth upon the Moby Dick II's deck, Marco kept checking the water to see if his brothers had returned from their reconnaissance of Fishman Island and paying their respects to King Neptune.
Around him his brothers continued maintaining the ship and their endless training. These particular waters were infested with something inhabitants of the boring Blues would call the offspring of a clam and a squid . . . .which then had children with a crocodile-horse hybrid. Having two heads, with one on either end, is pretty rare, Marco dully acknowledged. Just enough to break the tedium to their daily schedule.
Yet he knew there was honestly no need for him to be waiting around up here. Yes, they had to stay on constant alert for enemy pirates, or any marines waiting for pirates to surface from Fishman Island, but there were plenty of other people on watch. Not to mention how even if Izo, Vista, Haruta, and Namur had immediately turned around upon arrival, it would still take them at least another hour to get back.
Alright, time to man up, Marco finally admitted, knowing that he had procrastinated long enough.
With a surprising amount of trepidation for man who had lived for so long as he had, and could just heal away nearly any injury, he made his way to the ship's personal hospital. When Pops had been alive, it had been a bustling center with some of the most advanced medical developments outside of places like Drum Kingdom. The superior technology and practices here had not only kept Whitebeard alive and fit far past his prime, but had ensured that any injured family members were up and fighting again with breathtaking speed.
That was two years ago.
Marco's Sisters had been . . . upset when Pops had sent the ladies off his ship to Fishman Island in preparation for their arrival at Marineford. He had been gentle but firm, and the most dangerous man in the world had clearly been working to hold back some tears of his own as he sent his Daughters away. Except he had firmly held to refusing to bring them into a war. And so the nurses and doctors who made up the medical staff had anxiously waited for their Father and Brothers to come home. Come home with Ace.
When they had learnt how their beloved brothers had died, how many had died so tragically of their own wounds, the grief had almost crushed them.
And then Straw Hat had rung the Ox Bell.
For the Sons of Whitebeard, it had been what they needed to relight the fires within them for something more than just vengeance.
For the gentle looking nurses and doctors in their pink miniskirts and leopard-pattern stockings, it had told them that war would be coming again, and they had all vowed to be there next time. When they had all joined the crew, they had all pledged to obey the laws of the Whitebeard Pirates, including not to get involved in fights; but the man they had sworn fealty to was now dead, leaving them free to make their own choices, and they would not tolerate losing any more family when they could help.
Since he refused to take up the title of Captain, Marco could not even order them to 'cooperate,' relying solely on his own personal authority. When his Sisters had confronted him about their new ambition, like all of his Brothers he suffered from too many years of both the gentlemanly teaching from their Father, and held too great of an instinctive fear of the women who ruled the hospital to dare to outright order them to stay behind again. Therefore he had decided to play it safe and try to reason with them, saying it would be too dangerously distracting for them to fight; that they would be too inexperienced to bear the horrors that lay ahead, and that having to protect them would put their Brothers at inexcusable risk.
If the doctors were all dead or injured, who would heal everyone else?
But they bore the Mark of Whitebeard too, and his Daughters had been no less chosen for their spirits of steel and love for freedom, and they had endured the horrors of the New World as much as anyone. Their bodies acclimatized to the rigors of these harsh seas, and had faced and overcome their own share of monsters even before joining the Family. The men were worried that the 'girls' would be too vulnerable on the battlefield while trying to help their Brothers? Fine then.
They were all children of the sea and born equal, but now it was time for them make sure they were treated that way (not that they loved their Father and Brothers any less).
Overnight they had gone from a dozens of the world's best medics —now lacking their primary patient— to a small army of angry and guilt driven women with far too much knowledge of human anatomy and how best to hurt people, along with far too much free time to gain further practical experience for the latter.
They had also thrown out all the miniskirts and high-heels they had worn while their Father had lived, trading them in for more practical clothing.
Finally arriving at the door, Marco gave a polite knock out of habit. "Come in!" a lovely voice called out. Impassively he walked in, taking in the rows of scalpels, knives, needles and darts, unfazed by all the glares he was getting. "If you're upset about how none of you got to go down to Fishman Island, then get stronger," he bluntly told them. If they did not want to be coddled, he would respect that. "Right now, none of you are that good yet-yoi."
Personally, Marco knew his sisters were correct that frontline combat medics would have been invaluable at Marineford. It may not have been enough to save Ace, but how many more would have lived if more doctors had been present? To do so however, they had to be strong enough to protect themselves if necessary, but it was highly unlikely that they would become capable of being frontline fighters anytime soon.
(A true veteran of the New World never thought in terms of 'impossible' if he wanted to live.)
He continued to ignore all the scowls, or the scalpel which passed within a hair's breadth from his face —none of them would miss unless they meant to— and continued, "But we should hear back within an hour at the absolute soonest."
One particularly striking blonde, Esmirel, who had always chided Pops for drinking too much, stalked forward, her shirt unzipped far enough to show the new tattoo of Whitebeard's Jolly Roger over her heart, and got right into her older brother's face. "And then what!? Are you planning to forget to tell us when we even meet Straw Hat too!?"
Eyes narrowing a little now, Marco leaned closer in turn. "I didn't say anything when we were fighting Teach," another scalpel flew through the air to impale a battered picture of the traitor on the wall, "even when he started targeting you guys thinking it would throw us off, and I'm not keeping you out now. You want to be sent on more important mission? Then get stronger!"
And then he turned around and walked away, his measured pace making it clear he was leaving because he wanted to, not because they intimidated him. Then he stopped and looked back, "Aren't you coming out? We're all waiting on edge out here for when Namur and the others get back with news, so we might as well do it together."
Without hesitation the rest of his Sisters got up and followed Esmirel out the door.
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It was not until nearly dinnertime when the four finally returned, dispatching quick orders that the ship and allied crews were to set sail immediately.
"Pursuers?" one Brother professionally asked.
"Nah," Haruta reassured. "We just don't want to waste time."
Everyone gathered in the mess hall where hot drinks and food were given to the investigators, who bolted it down before letting the interrogation begin, while Marco hid his growing impatience.
With the last crumb gone, and all of the Division Commanders and Brother Captains assembled, Marco began.
"Was Straw Hat there?"
"No, we missed him by a week or so." No surprise there. Jinbe had offered to go get more specific information about what Straw Hat was planning, yet Marco had vetoed that, saying that it should stay an absolute secret. Two years, give or take, was enough information. Regrettably, a series of particularly bad storms had delayed their arrival at Fishman Island even further. Speaking of which . . .
"Did you meet up with Jinbe?"
"Yeeeah, turns out we just missed him too. Because of everything that happened, he had to leave as quickly as he could to handle some stuff with Big Mom. And an idiot rookie pirate was causing trouble for the mermaids, but he got that sorted out."
From the very beginning, the Whitebeard Pirates had insisted that Jinbe and the Sun Pirates focus upon the protection of Fishman Island, which was now too vulnerable to slavers. Regrettably, that meant turning to one of the rulers of the New World for aid. Kadio had been unacceptable for countless reasons, Shanks had been geographically unsuitable, and he was very picky about who he helped, but the insane female Emperor's ego had been stroked by both the offer of service from an ex-Warlord, and having an entire species under her protection given her supposed goal of bringing together all of races in the world. The fact that it sounded like Jinbe had been forced to head out for what sounded like damage control for whatever 'stuff' had happened, was decidedly ominous.
"So what happened?" Jozu quietly asked as he stepped forward, flexing his prosthetic arm.
"Short version?" Haruta asked with an impish grin that his brother's mirrored.
Familiar with this, Marco chose to spring the trap. "Sure."
"Straw Hat's crew of nine and Jinbe fought one hundred thousand enemy pirates, did more for Fishman-Human relations in one day than anyone's managed in two hundred years, and gave a personal challenge to Big Mom saying he would claim Fishman Island for his own."
Marco was proud of how he kept his eyes from bugging out and jaw from dropping like most of his family. Atmos had spit his beer into both Curiel and Kingdew's faces, not that they had noticed in their own shock. Esmirel expertly and absently slapped Rakuyo on the back to dislodge a piece of apple he was choking on. Throughout it all, the storytellers' eyes glinted in appreciation and further anticipation. "…Stop smirking and give us the longer version-yoi!"
Enthusiastically, with the odd interruption between the storytellers as they clarified a detail here or there, they laid out everything they had learnt.
When Haruta, Vista, and Izo finished, everyone was furiously talking with each other as they went over what they had heard . . . and reassured each other that yes, their youngest brother had apparently done all that.
"I have to admit," Namur quietly spoke up, but something about him made everyone hush to listen, "a part of me never dreamt I'd see something like what I saw down there. I know that I'm accepted here, you're my family, and yet seeing how many of my people were now willing to accept humans now . . ." The Fishman fell silent for a moment longer, his eyes holding a suspicious misty look to them that the others respectfully ignored. "I just wish Queen Otohime was alive to see her dream coming true." Delicately he wiped a tear from his eye.
Silence hung over the room, until Marco chased it away. "Well, there's no doubt that Straw Hat hasn't lost his touch. And if he's doing that much for the Fishman, that's just another sign he's who we're hoping him to be!"
"Provided he lives long enough, running around challenging Emperors," Curiel dryly noted.
"That makes three so far," Vista agreed with a broad smile, then further joked, "That we know of, that is!"
"And how many times has he challenged the World Government?" Jiru barked with laughter.
"Oh, I ain't complaining!" Curiel grinned as he brought up a barrel of ale. "Makes life interesting!"
"Wait. Wait. Wait," Rakuyo interrupted. "What about 'Cotton Candy' Chopper! What did you learn about him? Who's right? Who wins the bet!?"
The four looked at each other and squirmed in embarrassment, remembering how they had realized they had forgotten to ask while sailing away. Speculation had flared up amongst the Whitebeard Pirates at how the Marines had taken the unusual, if not unprecedented, step of placing a bounty on while claiming he was but a pet. Yet his poster did not display anything of note aside from how adorable he was, and that he loved cotton candy. Was he really a 'pet,' or something else? The answer to this mystery was now backed by a fairly significant betting pool which made it all the more important.
King Neptune might have said something about Chopper helping with Luffy's injuries, maybe in association with when Jinbe gave Luffy his blood, only honestly they could not remember any specifics. Or recall if they were right or not. "Whoops," Izo ruefully confessed.
"'Whoops!'?" everyone yelled or groaned, before Marco waved his hand to get their attention and they obediently silenced themselves. There was a time and place to contest his direct orders, and those were ridiculously rare in themselves, but not right now.
"Now that we're all settled down," Marco said. "There's three routes for Straw Hat to take, and knowing him, he'll probably take the most interesting one. The one the Log needles are the most wild in pointing to."
Everyone nodded in agreement, as he was repeating a conclusion they had come to months ago. And besides, even if they were wrong, an island that did nothing but rain down endless lightning was always cool to look at.
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En route to Raijin Island
Captain 'Thunder Lord' McGuy sighed in disgust as he watched the scene the Den Den Mushi was projecting. Caesar Clown, perhaps the foremost underworld scientist, was showing off his newest invention to whoever might be interested, broadcasting it to a wide variety of potential clients. His audience was an assortment of underworld brokers who had the connections and interest to watch this newest display, if only to keep abreast on what their own competition might purchase.
"If you don't want to watch it . . ." led 'Bohemian Knight' Doma suggestively.
"No, it's best to stay informed," the blond-haired man, said, handing the man and his monkey a beer each, "even if it's repulsive."
"The man or his invention?" the other smirked.
"Both," McGuy admitted. Doma had been his 'guest' ever since Marineford when his ship had been one of the casualties. By this point their crews were so intermingled there was no real point in even separating them.
They both turned their attention back to the screen just in time to see a very familiar figure tied up in a cage, and being introduced as a guinea pig for the weapon demonstration.
"Get Marco!"
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Marco, the Division Commanders, and every allied captain was crammed into the room to watch, and yet by the time they had all gotten there from their various ships, the scene had taken a drastic change.
Straw Hat —who was clearly not on Raijin Island, or any of the other starting islands— had somehow escaped the toxic gas and was now inside the research facility, and confronting the mad scientist himself.
All of this was after an infuriating wait as Caesar's operation suffered 'technical difficulties.' After an eternity however, the broadcast had started up again.
In a final and dramatic showdown, the young rookie had made perfectly clear how much of a threat someone worth 300 million berries was to him now, and completely humiliated what was supposed to be a proof-of-concept test for the 'ultimate weapon.'
And since it was recorded, they could watch it all over again with booze!
Despite the show however, the pirates were all automatically processing what they were seeing:
Fully developed Armament Haki, and across both hands and such a wide surface area at that.
His giant limbs are different than from when he took out that marine giant, only the hands are enlarged. Must be greater mastery of his Devil Fruit.
That gas is supposed to be poisonous to even touch, but he's unfazed. Is that fearlessness like Ace, or something else?
All of this and more as they scrutinized even the most minute detail.
His eyes, Marco finished. Yes. Ace's death might have nearly broken Straw Hat, but he rebuilt himself without losing any of his determination and self-confidence.
He's still the man we've been seeking, the one who challenged Pops. He's still the man who stood beside him surveying the war.
He's indeed the man we've been seeking.
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They moved outside the cramped cabin and on deck, not wishing to accidently take out a wall with oversized figures like Jozu, Atmos, Blenheim, or Kingdew packed inside.
"Alright, do we have the slightest idea where he is?"
"Given Caesar's ramblings back there," Jozu answered, "it's someplace hidden. So we've no clue wherever it could be. Moreover, we've no idea how he's traveling now, or how fast if he skipped right past the three starting routes." Unspoken was how such a secret underworld lab would not be placed at one of the beginning islands of the New World. Ergo, something unusual must have happened to make Straw Hat appear further into this ocean in such a very short period of time.
"Yeah," Marco sighed with annoyance, "which means we've got to try and figure out where he's going. Again."
"Great, just great," Haruta muttered, with some of the others voicing complaints at how difficult it was to find the little brother they were trying to help.
"It's worse than that," and everyone turned at the sound of tension —and concern?— in Doma's voice. "Caesar works directly for Joker, which is an alias for—"
"Doflamingo," Marco grimly finished. This was bad. And not in the same way that Big Mom was 'bad.'
The smiling Warlord who had slaughtered so many of them during the War. Who had forced men like Atmos to attack his Brothers, and had cut off Oars' leg . . .
Not that the ruthless Emperor was not a serious and insidious threat to everyone else, except she was likely to regard Straw Hat as a rookie at this stage, preferring to wait for him to come to her territory and be crushed by her subordinates, rather than seeking him out herself.
The Heavenly Demon however was another story, especially given the provocation of publicly (in the criminal world) losing who was likely his foremost scientist. He would not just retaliate against Straw Hat with overwhelming power —although the kid may have grown strong enough to blunt that— but also with naked cunning and intelligence. Donquixote Doflamingo was an old hand at dirty tricks, and Straw Hat would be assailed by liars and fakers, poisoned food, assassins, tailored traps, tip offs to the Navy, and whatever else it took to prove to the underworld that Doflamingo was still its undisputed master, the king of webs and shadows. This was an entirely different form of warfare.
"Marco," Doma began, resolve firm in his stance, "if we have to, we'll take down Doflamingo."
"That'll bring Kaido down after us, 'cause from what I've heard, he's supposed to be Joker's biggest customer," McGuy warned, only in a way that told everyone that he would bear the consequences along with the rest of them.
"Can't make him hate us any less," Curiel sneered.
"I thought Straw hat was just picking a fight with Big Mom," Izo groaned. "And he'll already want to take on Teach, and then there's Shanks too!"
"Oh yeah," Vista nodded in remembrance, grimacing as he remembered his oddly prophetic joke from before. "Like I've said, judge the kid by his enemies."
"You shouldn't encourage him, he's bad enough as it is," Haruta deadpanned.
"You're just jealous," Namur snickered.
They continued their banter while Marco frowned in thought, before speaking aloud. "If we take down Doflamingo, then the whole New World will be thrown into chaos, and that will ripple across the rest of the seas. Everyone in the underworld here has some connection to him, and both he and others have interests in other seas, legitimate or otherwise."
"If one gang loses what Joker supplies, or the deals he brokers," Jozu clarified for his less . . . worldly siblings, "then everyone else that they do business with will lose profits too, or be unable to get what they want. A domino effect that will spread beyond just the New World. Weapons, booze, drugs, whole markets will collapse without the supply lines Doflamingo has arranged with his connections and Warlord immunity, not to mention the deals for Devil Fruits."
"Everyone this'll touch will get desperate, and start fighting each other, leaving blood in the water," the shark-like Namur observed with barred teeth. "They'll go to war with each other for the money and goods they need to survive, and then try to take over what's left of Joker's empire. It'll be a frenzy that'll spill out of control!"
In any other sea, it might not be as bad, but this was the New World.
Those who had survived here outside of the 'protection' of the World Government, were the most determined, violent, dangerous, and cunning to be found, and none of them would abandon what they had struggled and suffered for. They would stand their ground to fight for what was theirs, no matter how desperate it might be.
While the repercussions outside of the New World were harder to calculate, Marco knew there would be serious ones, and that the ripples —no matter how big they were— of whatever happened globally would wash back to this sea, further stirring an already chaotic situation.
Grimacing, Izo nodded in agreement. "That's one of the main reasons why no one challenges Doflamingo, he's tied everyone's economies so close together that everyone knows what'll happen if the system collapses."
"Besides, y'know, he's pretty powerful," grunted Haruta.
Everyone carefully did not look at Atmos.
"So the consequences of taking him out won't stay confined to the underworld," McGuy put in. "We'd be setting everything off, and even we'll have a tough time weathering it. The Traitor and the others could handle it, though Kaido will probably be the worst off, but he'll probably just try conquering more territory to make up for the loss."
"Which means even more madness and death," Marco concluded. "No, taking Doflamingo down is too risky right now. It'll enrage the entire New World, and everything'll stay together just long enough for everyone to try and crush us. Before we stir the pot, we've got to get ourselves into a stronger position so that we can survive whatever we set off. So we've got to play this quietly. We find Straw Hat and keep Doflamingo from getting at him."
The man in question was still a rookie after all, no matter how absurdly skilled and powerful, who had been lying low on the Paradise side of the Red Line. Even with someone like Rayleigh as a mentor, the man had been out of touch for years, unaware of how the New World had evolved to become even more fearsome and bloodthirsty. As veterans of the New World, the Whitebeard Pirates would be able to advise him on what he faced.
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The next day
"We've reeeally got to stop underestimating the kind of chaos he causes," Haruta deadpanned.
Marco said nothing, just re-reading the day's newspaper.
"So, just so we've got it clear: Doflamingo has suddenly resigned from power, causing the exact situation we were all worried about yesterday, and now Straw Hat's already in an alliance, with another of the Warlords."
"And three others of the Worst Generation are in an alliance," Kingdew pointed out.
"Who cares?"
"But what is Straw Hat's connection with Law?" Izo murmured. "Jinbe said Law claimed he saved him on a whim, so we thought that Law was just caged up by Caesar as a target of opportunity, but is it deeper than that?"
"That is the billion-Beri question," Jozu agreed. "First the Surgeon of Death shows up to save Straw Hat at Marineford, and now he risks his Warlord status for an alliance with him? Maybe they made a secret agreement two years ago? Even before he went to break into Impel Down?" They still had no idea how he pulled that one off, especially since they had later learned that only a scant few days before he had been far off on the Sabaody Archipelago. Yet somehow he had still traveled the necessary distance, entirely on his own apparently, to penetrate the fearsome prison despite, among other things, how it was stuck right in the Calm Belt and surrounded by Sea Kings. Of course, they suspected that their dear friend Jinbe had an idea on how Straw Hat pulled it off, only the Fishman had not volunteered anything, so they had not pressured him.
"But the Heart Pirates spent the better part of a year in the New World earning their status as Warlord, with all if the privileges of being a government's dog, and spent the next year enjoying them!" Vista countered. "You don't throw that away on a whim."
"Yeah, and it's the Surgeon of Death we're talking about here!" growled Namur. "He's famous for his brutality! Who'd get mixed up with him? Even the other pirates steer clear of him!"
"Straw Hat got all the prisoners of Impel Down to work together," Haruta pointed out. "Ivankov and Jinbe helped, but it still worked out. Maybe he's just that inspiring?"
"Or had an offer that trumped being a warlord," Blenheim rumbled. When they looked at his serious expression he gave a firm nod. "I mean it. Trafalgar Law is still a pirate, he wouldn't get into something like this without a substantial payoff, something that was worth the risk to his government privileges."
Having wandered off to the side, Marco leaned against the rail with his eyes closed. Contrary to appearances, he was soaking up the continuing discussion, waiting for the proper moment to speak up, even as he catalogued and assessed everything that was said.
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Away from the group huddled around the sole morning newspaper, the rest of the brothers and sisters were passing along the details of what was in the article and the ongoing debate. Unfortunately, like the game of 'Den-Den Mushi,' as the information passed from one sibling to the next, the stories became increasingly . . . distorted.
"Do you think Straw Hat's replacing Doflamingo as a Warlord?"
"Everything will be thrown into chaos!"
"I bet Doflamingo quit so that he could join like Law did! That Straw Hat's making an alliance with all of the Warlords, like he did with Crocodile and Jinbe at Marineford!"
"Do you think they'll go fight Doflamingo?"
"Do you think they've already fought Doflaming?"
"Straw Hat seems pretty tough, maybe he can actually beat Doflamingo. And Law has a pretty good bounty too."
And then the gossip really got going . . .
"Straw Hat and Law beat Doflamingo!?"
"No way! He beat a second Warlord!?"
"We haven't proven about Crocodile yet!" snapped one Brother.
"Doflamingo's been around for a long time, and his former bounty was a large one, right? That's still really impressive even if another Warlord was helping."
Even further down the line . . .
"Straw Hat went straight to Dressrosa with just his eight crewmembers and beat Doflamingo's whole organization singlehandedly!"
"No, not all the members were there!"
"What? Seriously?"
"Where were they then? On vacation!?"
"Maybe he knew he didn't need them?"
"No, it can't be true."
"I heard them say he cracked the island in half with a single punch!"
"Are you all idiots!?" Atmos the Water Buffalo exploded, having wandered over since the discussion between the Division Commanders and Captains had died down. "We've seen nothing that says he even fought Doflamingo, he just defied him!" The giant man was very sensitive about the Warlord after the sadist had forced him to fight and hurt and kill his own brothers. I wish we were taking you down, Heavenly Demon, but we can't take the risk right now. But someday soon . . .
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That afternoon
The slight frown on Marco's face told everyone that knew him that he was worried, extremely worried.
"That article was a misprint?" Vista questioned with obvious skepticism as he looked at the newspaper, which for the first time in his memory had been delivered the same day as the morning version. Except this one had some crucial differences. "Has that ever happened before?"
"Now and then, just never for something important enough to warrant printing another newspaper for later that very day," Marco flatly answered.
"And something about a Warlord's status is something they'd want to be sure of before printing it in the first place!" shouted Haruta. "For crying out loud, he's willing to follow orders or he isn't, it's not that difficult a problem!"
"Was it a threat to Doflamingo from the World Government?" Izo wondered aloud. "Saying they would strip of his status unless he did something, and this was to pressure him?"
"No, it's too destabilizing. They want to keep up the image that the government and the system are flawless," Marco replied, and something in his tone made everyone turn to look at him. "The World Government wouldn't have made such a mistake, which means, as impossible as it sounds, it was deliberate. They wanted to fool everyone into thinking Doflamingo had left the Warlords and all the protections it would offer him!"
"But that doesn't make sense," Izo argued, seeing where Marco was going with this. "Sure, Straw Hat and Law are causing him trouble, and they caught the scientist working on the SMILES, yet a pirate, even a Warlord, can't have that kind of authority to fool the world like that just to make two pirate crews think he was vulnerable. And it's too much of a coincidence that this happens the day after they beat Caesar!"
". . . We can't underestimate that man," Jozu finally rumbled, remembering his own helplessness against the Heavenly Demon. His massive strength and powers rendered impotent until members of the Third Division had driven the Warlord off with weapon's fire.
"We're setting a course for Dressrosa; that's where we'll find Straw Hat," Marco declared. "What happens there…we'll play by ear.
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The next morning…
"EVERYONE WAKE UP! STRAW HAT'S DONE IT AGAIN!"
Stumbling out of his private cabin, which was festooned with paperwork and maps, the First Division Commander made his way to where the early-morning watch of his Sisters and Brothers were huddled around the morning paper. Oh, what now!? he wondered with something approaching despair.
He had been up all night doing planning sessions, he had not had his coffee yet, and he had been having a pleasant dream —a sadly rare occurrence— involving beautiful women from an exotic island whose male population had died out, fried potatoes, and broomsticks that helped you fly, and it had all made total sense!
"It's been only one day!" Marco groaned. "Not even a week since he came to the New World!"
Then he saw the headline:
"Doflamingo Arrested!
"Pitched Battle with Straw Hat Luffy and Law!"
Below in smaller print were the titles for smaller articles:
"The Dark Truth of Dressrosa!"
"Naval Admiral Fujitora and Marines Prostrate in Apology!"
"King Riku Dold III Absolved and Returns to Throne!"
"Straw Hat's Alliance with the Traitor Trafalgar Law Confirmed!"
"Royals held Captive within Dressrosa by Returning Home!"
Marco blinked, and began reading from the start again. He opened his mouth, only nothing came out. Finally he weakly uttered.
"Wha . . . ?"
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Author Notes:
The part with the medical staff was inspired by chapter three of "Theories and Backstory and Head-Canons, Oh My!" by Sarcasticles.
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"When Nekomamushi finds Marco" by MeanderCat
"He Can Play Anything" by MasterQwertster
"Storyteller" by midnite-republic
"Little Things" by MadRabbit
"Ask Why" by Suseri Otsusuki
"I command your breasts to grow!" by MeanderCat
"ReunionS" by both Rose7anne101 and Syrisna
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