OP: AMP Ch. 218

Where there was one Zoan transformation, naturally others followed. Within seconds, four more pirates had shifted into their hybrid forms, their bodies growing and warping as animal features emerged.

Marcus took stock of his new opponents, already pulling a fruit from his inventory. "Let's see... honey badger, water buffalo, rhino, and... are those two supposed to be mice? And that one's a mountain goat."

He rummaged through his inventory casually. "Hang on a second, let me check if I've got enough fruit for all of you."

While Marcus fussed with his preparations, the handful of pirates he'd already infected with the Shichiseiken's ghostly energy were barely holding the line. Their eyes had glazed over, foam forming at the corners of their mouths as the cursed blade's influence ate away at their minds.

"Attack now!" the honey badger roared, crimson light flickering in his eyes as a manic grin spread across his face. "Don't let him convert anyone else! This is our chance!"

He lunged forward, claws extended.

Sure, he'd been delayed, and maybe Shiki would look down on him for that. But with so many other captains watching, he could at least prove just how dangerous this kid's abilities were.

Besides, look at the poor bastards behind the kid, foaming at the mouth, convulsing on the ground. This wasn't a failure of his crew's willpower. This was some kind of Paramecia Devil Fruit bullshit.

All he had to do was take down the source, then catch up with the rest of the Straw Hats. Simple.

Except...

The honey badger's thoughts ground to a halt as he stared at his own claw, stopped cold by a hand. The kid hadn't even moved his feet. That relaxed posture, that strength... it was like watching an adult humor a toddler's temper tantrum. It reminded him of how he trained his own crew back on the ship. Letting them go all out while he suppressed them with one hand, demonstrating the gap in their strength.

Absolute domination through raw power.

But he was a Zoan user!

Zoan Devil Fruits were supposed to be the great equalizer. Take someone with average strength and triple it, quadruple it, sometimes more depending on the form and training. It was the fastest way for ordinary people to break through their limits and reach real power.

And yet this kid had stopped his full-force strike with one hand?

"I already told you," Marcus said calmly. "Don't rush me."

His other hand moved to grip the Shichiseiken properly. "You know, I've been wondering something. What happens when you combine Conqueror's Haki with a cursed sword?"

He spoke half to himself, not really expecting an answer. The honey badger probably didn't even understand what he was talking about.

Then an overwhelming pressure erupted from Marcus' body, so sudden and intense that reality itself seemed to warp around him. The honey badger, being the closest, got the clearest view as black-and-red lightning crackled across the length of the Shichiseiken's blade.

"This... this is... the mark of a king..." The honey badger's voice came out weak and confused. "Why... why aren't you a captain?"

His eyes rolled back and he collapsed mid-sentence, his Zoan form reverting as consciousness fled.

The effect spread outward from Marcus like a shockwave.

The Shichiseiken's Fear Domain, amplified by the ghostly corruption the cursed blade carried, layered on top of Marcus' own Conqueror's Haki... it was like three different crushing forces hitting at once.

In a single instant, fifty thousand pirates dropped.

The ones who'd been charging forward crumpled mid-stride. The ones further back simply collapsed where they stood. Some never even hit the ground before they were unconscious, their bodies going limp and piling on top of each other in unconscious heaps.

Not one person remained standing.

Marcus surveyed the aftermath, his eyes settling on the Zoan users who'd reverted to their base forms. There were probably other Devil Fruit users scattered among the fifty thousand, but he didn't have the time or patience to search through that many unconscious bodies.

He moved between the transformed pirates, finishing them off one by one. Within minutes, four Devil Fruits had reformed inside the fruits he'd prepared, their distinctive spiral patterns marking them as the real deal.

"Honey badger, rhino, mouse, and mountain goat. All common Zoans." Marcus examined each fruit with mild disappointment. "Better than nothing, I guess. Though honestly, I'm starting to wonder what the point is. I've got more Devil Fruits than I know what to do with, and nobody on the crew wants to eat any more of them."

He considered putting them on the transmutation tablet, then decided against it. These were weak fruits, not worth the eighty million EMC each conversion would cost. He already had plenty of options in reserve.

"Whatever. I'll figure it out later."

He pocketed the fruits and started walking, leaving the field of unconscious pirates behind. As he moved, experience points drifted from the fallen enemies and merged with his body.

He checked his experience bar. It had climbed to 30% of Level 69.

He sighed.

He'd imagined it differently in his head. Unleash Conqueror's Haki, drop a hundred thousand fodder enemies, watch his experience bar shoot up dramatically. Reality, as usual, was disappointing.

The bar had gone up, sure.

He shook his head. At this rate, future leveling was going to be a nightmare. By the time he hit Level 80, even major story changes might not give him significant experience gains anymore. The scaling was getting ridiculous.

---

While Marcus was grumbling to himself, Shiki felt the burst of Conqueror's Haki from his position deeper in the fortress.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "That came from the hall?"

As admiral of a fleet this size, he couldn't just wade into every fight personally. That would look weak. Besides, crushing a small crew of upstarts with his own hands, in front of all these newly recruited subordinates, would send the wrong message.

Better to let both sides serve as whetstones for each other. Let the Straw Hats exhaust themselves against the numbers advantage, then appear when they were at their weakest and offer them a "generous" choice, join or die. That's how you demonstrated both strength and magnanimity.

His Observation Haki was telling him that kid had handled the fifty thousand men and five bounty captains he had stationed as the first obstacle.

"Are pirates outside the New World really this pathetic?" he muttered.

He didn't bother hiding the contempt in his voice.

The five pirates walking behind him all had uncomfortable expressions. They'd seen it too through their own Observation Haki. Their reactions ranged from subtle discomfort to outright mortification.

One man in particular looked like he wanted to sink into the floor.

He was the captain with the largest crew here, a full ten thousand men under his command. In the South Blue, he'd been an overlord. Not only had he mastered Haki, he was also an Ancient Zoan user. Ankylosaurus type, one of the rarer transformations.

And every single one of his ten thousand "elite" subordinates was now unconscious.

Sure, the other captains had lost men too. But his losses were the worst by far. Made even more embarrassing by the fact that he'd been bragging just minutes ago about how well-trained his crew was, how they were all personally selected and developed by him.

He'd been positioning himself for a higher rank within the fleet, emphasizing his value. Large crew, personal strength, rare Devil Fruit, the complete package. And now his credibility had been destroyed before the real fighting even started.

As he opened his mouth to say something, heavy footsteps echoed from the corridor ahead. His body shifted reflexively, muscles bulging as he began his transformation.

"Perfect timing," he growled, his voice already deepening as his form changed. "Admiral, leave this to me."

By the time he finished speaking, his hybrid transformation was complete. Massive muscles strained against thick, armored scales. Four horns jutted from his forehead. His tail had grown into something resembling a wrecking ball attached to his spine, easily two meters long. The already narrow passage became cramped with his enlarged bulk, forcing the others to press against the walls.

Shiki glanced at the transformed Ancient Zoan user.

Ancient Zoans were legitimately powerful. The real question was why this one hadn't been recruited by Kaido yet. That crew was always hungry for Zoan users, especially rare variants like Ancient types.

Maybe Kaido hadn't found him yet, or this guy had avoided that crew. Either way, it made him wonder about the man's true loyalties and motivations.