Chapter 15: Warrior God of Science and Defense
A solid month went by since Mark started his transformation. People from all over the Holy Land kept visiting him every day.
Because not only was he an important man amongst the celestial dragons, but this transformation was changing Mark a lot.
"You have changed so much, sweetie..."
"It's like you transformed before my very eyes."
Luna Rose wiped her eyes with a handkerchief; she had become used to keeping one nowadays.
Charles Rose wasn't here with them; he was talking to a tailor right now. It was necessary as Mark's sudden growth spurt had stopped two days ago.
It was time to get him some new clothes, which were made according to his own choice.
"Mom, that's because I have changed, before your very eyes."
Said Mark in a deadpan voice, but this voice wasn't quite right.
Mark's voice was much more heavy and magnetic, very different from his previous voice.
This made Luna Rose start crying once more.
"Oh Mark, look at you."
Mark sighed with helplessness, but he looked at the mirror anyway; it's not like he was any less shocked by this.
Staring back at him from the mirror was an attractive man in his prime.
He had pink, Super Saiyan-like hair and bulging muscles underneath his shirt; his balanced form gave a feeling of strength and agility at the same time.
"Damn, I really look like Goku Black."
Whispered Mark in amazement. His lips slowly rose up into an evil-looking smirk.
His green Potara-style earrings were shaking with every powerful breath he was taking.
His presence alone was overwhelming.
The more one looked, the more Mark seemed to fit in his recently appointed position.
"Junior Warrior God of Science and Defense Saint Mark Rose."
He was given this position by the Elder Stars themselves.
This was his rank; it officially proved that he was an elder in training.
He will be the next scientific elder, in case a replacement was ever needed.
He was worthy of receiving this position, because ability-wise, he was qualified to stand with the very best now.
After a month-long transformation, he had achieved what could be considered this body's absolute peak.
Both his strength and intelligence had been maxed out.
"Honey, they promoted you from a God's Knight to an elder in training."
"Scientific Warrior God is such a good title for you!"
"And these new clothes suit you so well; it makes you look heavenly!"
His mother, Luna, cheered happily.
She was happy for Mark even though she wasn't able to get over the fact, that her son changed had so much in such a short time.
"While these robes certainly look nice, I want the clothes I have ordered."
"That's the getup which would suit me perfectly."
Mark smirked while drinking tea from a nearby cup.
His mother was also sitting beside him, drinking her own tea.
"I know, honey, the black and grey color scheme you chose is suitable for your overall look."
"It especially complements your hair."
Mark agreed wholeheartedly; of course it goes well with his hair; those were the clothes of Goku Black.
His chosen design was exactly the same as Goku Black's clothes, with nothing extra added on his part.
Why fix it if it wasn't broken? This was Mark's philosophy.
_Knock knock._
"Oh, that must be your dad."
Mark lazily turned over towards the door.
He already knew this was his dad; he could feel the entire holy land with his observation haki now.
Hell, he might have sensed Im by accident once, but he wasn't willing to check again to confirm if he actually did.
"Come in, Dad."
His father entered the room with a hearty smile on his face.
A tailor entered the room right behind him with a bunch of clothes in his hands.
"Saint Mark, here is your order."
"I have made them durable and comfortable, just as you wanted them."
The tailor was quite proud of his work and happily handed Mark the clothes.
"I see; let me have a look."
Mark checked everything before feeling satisfied.
The tailor did a great job; there was also a pair of white boots included in the package; this completed his desired look.
"Good job, I am satisfied with these."
Mark didn't hesitate to praise the tailor for a magnificent job.
Although his dad immediately waved the tailor away, the man simply bowed to all three individually and left the room.
Mark calmly watched him leave while holding the new clothes.
He was quite happy with these; this style will become his signature clothes from now on; with these, he can finally complete his look.
The moment he puts these clothes on, that would be the moment Goku Black will be born in this sea.
'What better way to portray a god walking amongst mortals than to portray the very best one?'
Mark thought with a smirk.
Even though the tailor had quietly left the room, Mark wasn't impatient enough to immediately start changing clothes.
The transformation his body had gone through wasn't a simple one.
It didn't just give him strength; he had specifically chosen to do a balanced upgrade because of the scholar's warning.
And because of that, everything in his body was upgraded, including his brain.
Now he could think clearly and fast; keeping absolute calmness had become second nature to him.
"Son, the elder stars have sent you a letter; would you like to read it now?"
Mark's dad asked as soon as he sat down.
Mark didn't speak but raised eyebrows suspiciously; he gestured at his dad and asked him to read it for him.
There was no hiding of information between father and son; this was a sign that he still held respect for his father.
It was an important show of trust, and his father was more than happy with it.
"Hahaha! That's my son; I'll read it for you."
Taking out the letter from his pocket, he began going through it.
While his mom didn't care about this silly power play between father and son, she also moved close to Charles and began peeking into the letter.
Neither Mark nor Charles said anything about this; they let her do her.
"They asked if you want to learn under someone named Vegapunk."
"He can train you as the next scientific elder star. Huh? What an odd request."
Charles wondered out loud.
Meanwhile Mark was shocked, but he didn't show it on his face; an upgraded brain wasn't a joke, as long as he wanted to, he could show no emotions whatsoever.
He wasn't supposed to have any knowledge about Vegapunk; showing anything out of the ordinary might put him under unwanted suspicion.
Chapter 16: Vegapunk
"Vegapunk? What do they want me to learn from him anyway?"
Mark calmly asked while sipping his tea. His father wanted to know about this as well, so he read further.
"The Elders want you to learn everything from Vegapunk."
"They believe you can rival his intelligence when given the right tools."
"Remember when they checked your brain's neural response yesterday?"
"They concluded that your intelligence was upgraded along with your body."
"That's the reason they promoted you to junior scientific elder."
Putting down the letter, his father gave his advice.
"I don't know why they want you learning from Vegapunk instead of Saint Saturn, I'll use my connections to find out."
"Although, by the way they're acting, they probably want to replace the man named Vegapunk and make you in charge instead."
Luna was a bit confused by the heavy tone Charles used, so she asked him for clarification.
"Replace him? Do you mean... kill him?"
She gestured at her throat, showing Vegapunk being killed off.
Charles nodded grimly; his years of experience were telling him the Elders didn't like this man anymore.
"Vegapunk is definitely on their kill list; they just need a replacement for him."
"I guess that's where you come in. They believe you have the potential to be his replacement."
"This must be why you were given the title of warrior god of science and defense so early on."
Looking down at the letter, Charles thought about the Elders' offer, but Luna rejected it right away.
"You shouldn't learn anything from Vegapunk. He seems like someone they want to kill."
"If you gain all his knowledge, what's stopping them from seeing you as a threat in the future?"
In response to Luna's concerns, Charles shook his head. This matter wasn't so simple.
"Mark's promotion is a test of loyalty; if Mark learns from Vegapunk and remains loyal, he will become a real elder."
"But if he becomes disloyal after learning from Vegapunk, he too will be replaced, just like his teacher."
Charles stopped talking for a moment. He cautiously looked around everywhere, then asked his family to come closer.
He bent down and whispered in their ears at his lowest volume.
"Don't think that just because Mark is a junior elder, the Elders don't have the authority to kill him."
"I'll tell you a secret: I don't believe the Elders are actually in charge. There is someone above the five Elders."
"This information was erased from the records, but my father, Lord Rose, kept a copy."
Luna quickly put her hands over her face in shock, while Mark's eyebrows shot up.
"200 years ago, an elder candidate was killed in his home."
"It was said to be the act of a rogue CP agent, but that's not true."
Mark gulped. Yo, his father has some reach, but 800 years was a long time. Finding clues about Im wasn't out of the question.
A young Doflamingo found the secret of Castle Pangaea, while Sabo and Wapol straight-up strolled into the throne room, saw Im, and left casually for some reason.
Hell, random guards have to be disposed of regularly because some of them happen to see Im.
'Castle Pangaea's security definitely needs some upgrades.'
Charles didn't know about Mark's cranky thoughts; he continued to tell the secrets he knew in a low voice.
"The elder candidate who died was from the Rose family, so we have a copy of what actually happened."
"He seems to have gone against the other five Elders on something; that's what got him killed."
After saying this, Charles quickly sat up and pretended that nothing had happened.
On the other side, Luna hid her face with a handkerchief so her shocked expression wasn't seen by anyone.
Mark, meanwhile, managed to remain expressionless with his sheer calmness.
He wasn't too surprised that his father had clues about Im. Humans are inherently curious, and after living together for so long, some information was bound to leak.
What he was more concerned about was Im's loyalty test. He had to show his loyalty by agreeing to learn from Vegapunk, while also not appearing too interested.
Being too interested in Vegapunk would only get him killed.
"I understand, Father. I am ready to learn from Vegapunk."
Mark said casually.
"But before that, I want to roam around the world and have some fun."
"I've never left the Holy Land, and I'm curious about how the lower realms look."
"After I return, I will start studying under the scientist Vegapunk."
Mark waved his hand and announced his decision. This was enough to tell Charles what Mark was trying to do.
Mark was agreeing to the Elders' invitation and showing he was loyal to the Elders and the secret ruler above them.
At the same time, he was also showing that he wasn't that interested in Vegapunk's science.
This would prove that Mark was faithful to the Celestial Dragons and wouldn't bring them the same threat that Vegapunk did.
'My son has become really smart; he solved this danger with such ease.'
Luna and Charles Rose thought this simultaneously.
Being Mark's parents, they could see one more thing: Mark was very dissatisfied with being ordered around.
'Hopefully, he doesn't do anything drastic.'
The couple thought silently. The Rose family had birthed a monster. Their family was bound to change its status after this incident.
Their future depended on Mark's decision. They might reach the top of the world or degenerate to the level of the Nefertari family in the future.
'But no matter what happens, we will be there with you, Mark.'
Charles Rose thought grimly, then he suddenly remembered something important.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you something. There is another thing in the letter."
"Saint Saturn wants you to meet him at the arena immediately."
"He didn't say what he was calling you for, but as far as I understand, he might want to check your fighting skills."
Charles said this with a disgusted face, and Luna made the same face after understanding what Mark was being told to do.
Although Mark remained calm, Charles assumed he didn't like it either, so he tried to explain to his son.
"I know, I know, fighting is barbaric and beneath us Celestial Dragons; I understand it as well, Mark."
"Fighting and killing are things lower creatures do, but every Elder needs to know how to fight; it's a tradition."
Charles said this with disgust apparent in his tone.
Luna patted Mark on the head as well before telling him.
"Just go ahead and show your strength to Saint Saturn, then think of it as a bad dream and forget about it."
Mark, meanwhile, was smiling helplessly. This wasn't what he was worried about at all.
He was much more worried about fighting Saturn of all people, that too in his first fight.
'I haven't even unlocked Armament Haki yet!'
'How am I going to survive against Saturn, man? Much less damage him!'
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
27 Power
stone 
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