Chapter 8: Happy birthday
Today was a bustling day in the holy land, as today was the birthday of Saint Mark.
He had just turned twenty, the gifted celestial dragon Mark Rose, was going to celebrate his birthday party and everyone was invited.
"Saint Mark, it's my honour to meet you, allow me to present this as a token of my gratitude."
A celestial dragon of lower birth than Mark, was presenting a plate of colourful fruits with beautiful swirly patterns to Mark.
"Chris! My pal, do not be so distant, come on in, please enjoy the occasion!"
Mark smiled and took the platter filled with devil fruits from Chris, who seemed thrilled at the prospect of Mark remembering his name.
"I will Saint Mark, thank you."
Smiling happily Chirs went inside, he might be smiling right now but he was very stressed.
This birthday was less a party, and more a gathering of every powerful family in holy land.
Everyone important was here. Mark was after all the heir to Rose family, and a newly appointed God's Knight!
Coupled with his good looks and bachelor status, Mark's importance was very high.
After Chris went inside, he found another celestial dragon of noble birth amongst them.
"Charlos! How have you been?"
Charlos looked up from Rose family's mermaid tank, and frowned at Chris as snot dripped from his nose.
"Chris? Go away, I am busy."
Chris didn't get discouraged by the rude words, he only tried talking to Charlos because he was Mark's best friend.
Being Mark's first friend and everything.
"Okay Charlos, I'll be off."
Though he didn't get discouraged, he knew he wasn't respected because he wasn't a direct heir, that is also one of the reasons he had come here.
Like countless others, he had come to build connections with Mark Rose.
Finding a large gathering of men and women, where people of similar status as his were standing, he decided to join in.
"Oh it's Chris, come join us."
Asked a man who was on the same level of nobility as him.
"Oh? It's my utmost pleasure."
Chris walked up to the group and saw who was causing everyone to gather around.
Giving his best smile he spoke to the girl in question.
"Shalria! You look as pretty as ever."
Shalria looked over to the newest addition around her with a haughty expression.
"Of course! It's my dear Mark's birthday today, how can I, Shalria look anything less than the best around."
Chris didn't reply and just smiled, because he knew this was a minefield, answering this will be result in a boom.
"Hah, your Mark? Please, don't kid yourself, he barely knows you."
"Your brother Charlos is his friend, it's got nothing to do with you."
And there it was, the boom.
Chirs slowly backed away as he watched Shalria's face twist with anger, she angrily looked at an equally pretty girl, if not even more pretty.
"Why you?! Gunko you shameless harlot! Don't think I don't know why you refuse to wear any pants!"
"Mark would never want to be with someone as cheap as you."
Gunko's face turned ashen when Shalria's words painted her in a very different picture, than what she intended to show.
Gunko was of lower birth than Sharlia, but she too was a newly promoted God's Kinght, she wasn't about to lie down and take this.
"You have some nerve spreading baseless rumors, when It's you who purposely wants to get close to Mark."
"You think he'll like you, just because your families are allies? Please, don't kid yourself."
Shalria's hand reflexively went to her waist, she was about the shoot Gunko.
Then she remembered that Gunko was very strong, and she doesn't have her gun with her.
So she decided to keep telling Gunko how much she sucked instead.
"Haha, good joke, Mark and I are childhood sweethearts, he was there the day I was born!"
"And you Gunko, you only like him because of his potential."
"You want to become a high ranking celestial dragon, by joining the Rose family."
Gunko scoffed, it was true but this wasn't something to be said out loud.
"You have no grace Shalria, your beauty is wasted on you."
"Only someone shallow like you would think, that I approached Mark because of his potential."
Saying something she herself didn't believe, Gunko continued before Shalria's incensed face.
"The admiration I have for Mark is genuine, it has no relationship with his abilities or status."
Ending with painting herself in a favourable light, Gunko quickly dodged the slap thrown her way.
"Shalria! How dare you! I'll have your head!"
As Gunko and Shalria were about to fight, they were restrained by a voice from afar.
"Oh! You guys are here, are you having fun?"
Both Shalria and Gunko's faces changed, they quickly fixed their appearances they put on their best smiles.
It was their image which will determine if they can join the Rose family. Mark silently watched the fight stop and breathed a sigh of relief.
'Father bragged too hard, the elder's took notice of my powerful observation Haki, and directly named me a God's Knight Candidate.'
'They can't help it, most celestial dragon's are too useless, the standards are pretty low the position wasn't even hard to get.'
Mark didn't think that living a normal life was something so utterly unique, that even the five elders were alarmed.
Mark's father bragged too much about him, causing the elders to know him, coupled with his friendly relationship with many heirs, he was directly appointed a seat amongst the God's Knights.
'This is what they would like us to believe, but Im was definitely involved in this somehow.'
'Maybe he (she?) was the one who found potential in me after the elder's recommend me.. something to think about.'
Mark knew the elder's were not only smart, they were also strong.
Saint Ethanbaron V Nusjuro carried a mito grade sword and was an awakened skeletal horse Yokai.
Anyone with eyes could see they were powerful. They were even named warrior gods.
For them, Mark had shown obvious interest in strength and had a rational mind, this made him prime God's Knight candidate.
'My new position aside, the twenty years of training I did wasn't in vain.'
'The constant daily practice sessions, two decades of nothing but observation haki practice has made me extremely good at it.'
'And best of all, I have finally unlocked it today.'
Life return.
That was unlocked by Mark today, it has been sixteen years of constant practice, sixteen whole years of endless grinding.
'Now that I have it, I can finally become monstrously strong.'
Mark's preparations were complete, he had learnt a lot throughout the years, and the technique life return was perfected by him.
Tody would be the start of Mark's rise, his two decades of penance will pay now off.
'After this party, I'll take my first step towards real strenght.'
'Not just in observation Haki, but real all around strength.'
Soon Mark was done reminiscing about the years, and was currently talking and laughing with his fellow celestial dragon's.
His noble life wasn't comparable to a barbaric one of the pirates, it wasn't all about eating meat and fighting enemies for him.
It was about gaining strength while living the best life imaginable.
He was a celestial dragon, the god of this world, he will next come down to the lower realm and claim it all for himself!
Chapter 9: Ambition
It was currently the middle of the night; Mark was sitting with his father and mother.
They were relaxing after his birthday party.
"Son, you have made our Rose family proud again!"
Charles Rose, Mark's father, praised Mark without hesitation.
Luna Rose too gleamed with joy as she spoke to Mark.
"Mark my sweetie! You have been named a God's Knight! Only few families can get this glory."
"Because of you, the Rose family will have a Knight sitting on top, for the upcoming century!"
Mark smiled; yes, that was true. The stunt his father pulled had secured the Rose family a position in the top families.
The God's Knight all came from different families, these families were generally known as the top families.
Of course, it's all an unofficial ranking. But everyone knows that if a choice has to be made, a God's Knight will always choose their own family.
"I am happy that my deeds have brought glory to Rose."
"Worry not, although all celestial dragons are one, I'll keep the Rose family in my mind as long as I live."
Mark declared seriously, but deep down he wasn't sure if he could do it; he didn't know what Im did to make the God's Knights so subservient to him.
It could be memory manipulation, or forced submission; maybe even a strong king's haki was responsible. Only time will tell.
If it was anything extreme like that, Mark will not be able to help himself, much less the Rose family behind him.
'I can have everything in the world by becoming a God's Knight.'
'Glory, power, authority, everything! And all it would cost, is bowing down to Im.'
'All it would require is to give up my freedom and live my life according to Im's wishes…'
Mark paused his thoughts; he involuntarily clenched his fists.
'Is that okay…? Am I going to give up my freedom for everything in the world?'
'While Luffy becomes the freest man in the world, am I going to dedicate my life to Im for a position of absolute authority?'
Mark's eyes became slowly shadowed.
'No.'
'I will not bow down to you, Im.'
'I'll make myself so strong that neither your Haki nor your devil fruit will work on me, and if the chance presents itself…'
Narrowing his eyes dangerously, Mark thought something that was blasphemous for a celestial dragon to think.
'If the chance presents itself, I'll replace you, Im. There can only be one top dog, and that will be me.'
'Mark Rose.'
As soon as Mark made this declaration, something changed.
Something was unleashed from within him; he could feel it; he could project his ambition, his will, outwards.
But Mark kept this feeling in check and didn't do anything; he was currently with his parents, foolishly releasing whatever this was would only result in unnecessary attention.
"Mom, Dad, I am tired; I want to rest. Excuse me."
Mark had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to keep his emotions in check for long, so he excused himself immediately.
His mom, though, was startled; Mark never wanted to leave in the middle of their family time.
He must be feeling very tired.
"Sweety! Do you want me to call a doctor? How dare the guards let this happen to you!"
Charles became incredibly angry as well.
"Don't worry, honey, I'll execute all of them immediately!"
"Mark, my son! Do you want me to call a doctor? I'll call every doctor in the Holy Land!"
Although his parents words were brutal, Mark felt warm seeing them losing their cool for him; it was clear that they would do anything for him, but this was a little too extreme.
He didn't really feel tired; it was a simple excuse to avoid harming them by accident.
"It's okay, Mom and Dad; I just want to rest."
But his dad shook his head in denial.
"No, Mark! How could it be okay?"
"Servants! Come here, take Mark to his room, and give him the best care there is!"
The maids and butlers in the room started running towards Mark as if their lives depended on it.
Bringing a luxurious carriage up to Mark, they bowed down and made a path for Mark to walk towards the carriage.
'These people are way too overkill.'
Thought Mark while walking towards the carriage.
A butler helped him up, and a maid quickly got inside and started fanning him.
"Set off! Immediately!"
His father, Charles, roared, and they ran like the wind. Their destination? Mark's room is on the opposite side of the villa.
Yes, they were moving Mark through a carriage inside of his house.
"This is overkill, right?"
Mark twitched his lips and asked the maid beside him, who was currently fanning him.
But the second Mark looked at her, the maid felt so stressed she passed out directly.
Speechless, he looked around everywhere. Seeing that nobody had noticed the girl fainting, he decided to wake her up, or she would be really screwed.
_Pat pat._
Mark lightly patted her face, causing her to frown.
After a few seconds passed, she opened her eyes.
"Huh?"
The first thing she saw was Mark looking at her unamused; she was confused for a split second, and then memories came rushing in.
"No... Saint… Saint Mark…"
"Forgive… please forgive!"
Quickly closing her mouth with his hand, Mark gestured at her to shut up.
"Do you want to die? First you fainted in the middle of critical work, then you yelled after waking up. Are you slow?"
The maid quickly closed her mouth and stopped her terrified ramblings.
Mark's harsh words were like honey to her ears, because this confirmed that she was not given up!
Saint Mark not only didn't tell anyone she fainted due to the immensely dangerous question presented.
He also made sure nobody actually saw her making this critical mistake!
"Saint Mark, I… I am sorry…"
"I won't do it again, I promise!"
Mark nodded silently, and he gestured at her to get back to work.
He had already shown great tolerance by not letting anyone know that she messed up; if he was actually sick and needed help, and she happily fainted that time as well, it would be him who dies.
She was quite unfit for caregiver work at the very least; Mark will arrange for her somewhere she can actually achieve her worth.
'Sigh, where was I? Yes, now that I have managed to escape my parents, it's time I see what the feeling of ambition was.'
Mark wasn't completely certain but was almost 80% sure he had awakened his conqueror's Haki.
Almost all powerful celestial dragons have it; no reason he won't have it too.
His desire to not succumb to Im must have triggered his awakening; that was Mark's current thought on the matter.
'My ambition made my body react to it; if I have king's haki, many things will become much easier.'
Mark knew that in higher-tier fights, conqueror's haki is a necessity to even damage your opponent.
Having conquerors Haki made things way easier for Mark; he wouldn't have to look for different ways to make up for his damage output anymore.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
27 Power
stone 
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