章 69: Chapter 5

Perona froze as cold sweat trickled down her back. Slowly, she turned her head around to face Markus, he would have sworn he heard the sound of rusty gears grinding together. Perona was frustrated, she wanted to take the treasure and remaining food supplies then run away but Markus was right there. She knew she couldn't defeat him in a fight and that even trying could end up very badly for her. She slowly stepped to the side to clear a path for him. Markus nodded and casually walked past the zombies into the treasure room where he proceeded to store everything inside of his inventory. Naturally, he didn't forget to perform his flashy light show while doing so.

Perona and her zombies stared, slack-jawed, as everything in the room quickly vanished into thin air. Once he had every last piece, Markus turned and gave Perona a warm smile, "See you later."

With those words, he vanished and returned to the Sunny where a special guest was currently heading. Markus looked out toward the horizon and smiled. Someone he really admired was about to appear and they would meet for the first time. He had time to blow while the others messed around, though he thought it was funny seeing Nami looking for the treasure he'd just stolen.

Soon, his focus switched and he turned around to face his new guest. Standing not too far away from him was a man that stood over 22 feet tall, Bartholomew Kuma. Kuma stood there holding a bible in one arm as he looked down at Markus. Kuma had a large torso with significantly shorter legs that didn't seem to fit his body. He wore a distinct bear-like hat, a blue jacket that had a white pattern similar to crosshairs, and white-ish pants covered in brown spots.

Markus looked up, directly into Kuma's eyes, "Hello, Bartholomew Kuma."

Kuma looked down at Markus, "'Thunder Beast' Silvers D. Markus, a member of the Strawhat Pirates."

Markus performed a small bow, "At your service, well, not really."

He straightened up and looked to the side, "If you're here for Moria, he just got his ass handed to him by my captain. You might be a tad too late." He turned to look at Kuma once more, "You're going to need a second new Shichibukai."

Kuma frowned at the news. Markus had felt Luffy putting the finishing touches on his fight against Moria. Without Oars to rough up Luffy and the rest of the crew, they were all still in great health. Kuma stared at Markus, "It seems I will have to eliminate all of you here."

Without waiting for Markus's reply, Kuma pulled the glove off of his right hand and swung it at Markus as if trying to slap him. Though it seemed like a casual move on Kuma's part, the speed and power behind the 'slap' was no joke. Markus reacted instantly and teleported a dozen feet back, "Now, now Kuma. There's no need to get violent. I see no reason to dismantle you here and now. Even with your Nikyu Nikyu no Mi, you don't stand a chance against me. So, instead of a pointless fight, why don't we just talk?"

Kuma stood tall and crossed his arms over his bible, though he left his glove off, "There is nothing to talk about."

Markus waved his hand dismissively, "Don't be like that. If we have nothing to talk about and just fight, then the world government is going to need three new Shichibukai."

Kuma frowned deeply but didn't move, he seemed prepared to listen. Markus smiled, "Great! See, I really like you as a man Kuma. Giving up everything, even your humanity, all for one goal. I won't interfere with whatever you want to do the next time we meet. But this time you'll need to return to the marines and report the defeat of Gecko Moria at the hands of Monkey D. Luffy. He won't be able to go anywhere ever again after I remove his head from his shoulders."

Markus clapped his hands together, "Oh right, if it helps you out. You can report that Moria was taking shadows indiscriminately from not just pirates, but marines as well. All to fuel his war machine to become the King of the Pirates. He was building up power until he was ready to betray the Marines and World Government. He even revived the giant monster Oars. Though I took care of that one easily."

Kuma remained silent and continued to stare at Markus. Markus got a little uncomfortable under the stare and gave Kuma one more tidbit, "You can let Dragon know that Luffy is still getting stronger and will continue to do so as long as his journey isn't ended too soon. I'll see to that."

Kuma seemed to stiffen when Markus mentioned Dragon to him. Markus grinned broadly, "You'd be amazed at what I know. Anyway. You should go now. I'm sure we'll meet again in the future, Kuma."

Kuma continued to stare at Markus unsure of what to do. The knowledge the young man had before him was unreasonable and it left him reeling. It was as if Markus knew everything about him from his Devil Fruit to secrets only a few people should be aware of. He didn't know how he should deal with this particular situation. Markus wasn't wrong when he said that Kuma couldn't defeat him. If their mutual bounties were anything to go by, Markus was leagues stronger than him. There was also that annoying teleportation he'd just perform a few moments ago.

Kuma finally decided to leave things at that and turned. As he was about to take his first step, Markus snapped his fingers, "Oh, right! Can you do me a tiny favor?"

Kuma stopped and looked over his shoulder with a frown. Markus put his hands together respectfully and gave Kuma a small bow, though he never lowered his guard, "There's a young woman on this island named Perona. She's not really a bad person and just wants somewhere to be safe. If you could send her to Dracule Mihawk's island I would owe you a favor. She's a cute woman with long pink hair done up in a twin-tail style."

Kuma couldn't help asking, "Why?"

"It'll do her, and Zoro, a bit of good to spend some time there."

Kuma didn't quite get it, but he nodded, "You owe me."

Markus smiled warmly at Kuma's reply. Kuma moved quickly with a speed that would seem like teleportation to most people. Markus kept a close eye on him but Kuma didn't do anything except pat Perona and make her vanish. With Markus's request completed, Kuma made his way off of Thriller Bark to return to the Marines.

Markus wanted to recruit Perona into his crew later, that was still true. However, before he could recruit a crew and become a captain, he needed to become a man first. He needed real experience as a human being, he needed to experience life instead of just getting experience with his system. He'd relied solely on his system to grow stronger and his companions to gain opportunities. Some time alone to grow as himself was in order.

Once he was satisfied with his growth, he could recruit companions and found his own crew. Until then, he would be a crew of one and have his own adventures. All of his plans were meaningless if he let himself become a real monster. He wouldn't give up on his plans to free this world from its darkness but he would put them on hold.

Speaking of darkness. He opened his system to take a look at it. He needed to listen to this thing less or pay closer attention to the options it gave him during quests. Ever since his infancy in this world, the system had trained him to obey it and he'd never really thought about that, until now. The very first quests he performed were logical and linked to his survival so, naturally, he would obey them. After he left the island he was born on, he continued to obey the quests because it gave him things and made him stronger. The system had kindly raised him... to be its pawn and do what it said without thinking about it. From now on, he would think before he acted.

As he pondered things about his life, every living human on the island was celebrating the return of their shadows. Luffy had crushed Moria and released all the shadows Moria had stolen. Without Oars, Moria wasn't nearly as big of a threat. Everyone had taken significantly less damage than the canon story. Luffy even looked a little disappointed at how his battle with Moria went. He was a little worn out from using Gear Second and Gear Third but he was up and running without any issues.

The group moved into a wide clearing so the people who'd been living without shadows for years could party with the rising sun and enjoy the feeling of it on their skin once more. Markus waited for everyone to leave Moria's castle before teleporting himself over to it. Technically it wasn't really teleportation, but he moved so fast that it might as well be. When he arrived he found Moria beaten, bruised, and unconscious on the ground. Markus looked at the destruction around the battleground and thought it was significantly less than it would have been in the canon with Oars raging around.

If Moria had survived the battle, it wouldn't have been too hard to rebuild and a lot cheaper. Sadly, he wouldn't. Markus was focused on trying to build his morality and Moria was on the wrong side of his bottom line. Moria was a vicious monster that robbed graves and stole shadows from people to create undead abominations. He placed out his two crates of fruits and vegetables in preparation for what he would do. Once he was ready, he drew Shodai out of its sheath and coated it in Armament Haki before taking a powerful step forward and slicing down. There was no resistance as he sliced Moria's head off.

He sheathed Shodai and focused on his crates hoping for one of the items inside to change. None of them did, however, he did feel a pumpkin not too far away changing. He quickly stored his two crates and arrived at the pumpkin that had transformed into the Kage Kage no Mi. The pumpkin looked like it had transformed into a weird black jack-o-lantern with ghostly grey swirls around it and the classic T-shaped stem topping it. Markus quickly grabbed the Kage Kage no Mi and held it in his hand. He could sense that it was not compatible with his Goro Goro no Mi. Another bust, not that he wanted to actually use it, so he stored it away within his inventory.

Out of the two Devil Fruits he wanted on this island, he'd only managed to get one. Still, he didn't think a fifty percent success rate was all that bad. Meanwhile, his overall success rate was around sixty-six percent since he'd gotten two Devil Fruits out of three attempts. He would have to remember to keep collecting fruits and vegetables as he traveled. The more he had, the higher his odds of successfully collecting the Devil Fruits of his future enemies.

With his task completed, Markus returned to the Sunny where Nami was sitting around pouting. He walked up to her and took the seat next to her, "What's the matter?"

Nami looked up at Markus with tears in her eyes, "Th-they..." She sniffled before she continued in an emotionally strained voice, "They managed to take all of their treasure away!!"

Markus deadpanned as he looked at Nami being so emotionally distraught over something like a treasure. Then again, she was kind of the bookkeeper of the crew's funds and a huge amount of it just went to feeding the gluttons on board. He could understand her stress in that situation. He decided not to tease her and instead stood up and walked to the center of the deck. Lightning flickered around, in keeping with his inventories cover, and treasure started to pour out. He set out every last thing he'd taken from Thriller Bark, along with a few extra gold bars from the Maxim.

Nami screamed in delight and charged directly toward Markus. He opened his arms expecting a happy hug to thank him for his hard work. He was left standing like a fool as she ran past him to examine the loot. Markus smiled at her antics before pulling out a few more items and setting them off to the side, "Nami, these are for you."

She didn't even glance away from her inspection of the treasure, "What things?"

Markus chuckled, "Just look. I think you can use them to make an even more powerful Clima Tact."

Nami grew interested and looked over. She tilted her head in confusion at what she saw, "Dials? I'm already using dials in my Clima Tact."

Markus gestured to a small dial with blue and white coloration, "Thunder Dial." He gestured to the next three dials, "Jet Dials."

Nami's eyes widened in shock, "What?! How?! Where did you get them?!"

Markus just waved his hand, "Doesn't matter. They're yours now. I even charged the Thunder Dial up nice and good for you."

Nami smiled warmly and collected the four dials, "Thank you, Markus."

Naturally, she was curious where he'd gotten four powerful dials from, but if he didn't want to answer then she wasn't going to push him. She trusted him more now than she did earlier that night and knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt them. Wherever he got the dials from, it didn't matter. She would gladly use them to become stronger.

Markus left Nami on the deck drooling over the treasure and her new dials to make his way inside of the Sunny and to the male dorm. He hadn't done a whole lot this time yet he felt more tired now than he ever did after a big battle. Still, he felt better after sorting things out in his mind and had picked his path to find himself and his future. He kicked off his boots, pulled off his hoodie, and lay down on his bunk to stare at the ceiling.

Eventually, the others came to the ship to grab more food for the party to celebrate their victory. Everyone recognized there was something wrong with Markus at the moment and let him be. On his end, Markus just stared at the ceiling of the cabin until he eventually fell asleep.

The crew stayed on the island for two days partying and then celebrating Brook officially joining the crew. Markus actually joined the party to welcome Brook. To do anything less would be an insult to Brook and his captain. He liked Brook and wasn't going to let his brooding ruin such an important moment. He wouldn't get to spend much time with Brook, but he was a member of the crew, and someone Markus liked so respect had to be shown.

After everyone finished partying those two days, Luffy decided it was time to leave. He wanted to get to the next island, Fishman Island. Somehow Nami had become friends with the only female pirate on the island named Lola. As they prepared to leave, Nami's new friend, Lola, gave her half of a Virve Card that would lead Nami to Lola's mother. As she explained how a Virve Card functioned, they realized that the piece of paper that Ace had given Luffy was a Virve Card.

Luffy dug around in his hat for a while before pulling it out. As soon as he did, Lola looked shocked. The Virve Card in Luffy's hand was smoldering and had shrunk a fair amount. It meant Ace's life force was decreasing and he could potentially die. Everyone was surprised and expected Luffy to want to go and rescue Ace right away but he refused. Ace was on his own adventure and wouldn't want someone to butt in, that was the reason Luffy gave.

Soon the crew set sail. Once they were a short distance from Thriller Bark, they decided to give the pirates remaining behind a show. Markus grinned as the barrel located at the back of the ship seemed to gather energy. They fired off a Coup de Burst and launched themselves through the air. Markus laughed at the sensation of their ship flying. It really reminded him of their trip up the Knock-up Stream to get to Skypeia.

As the ship landed a kilometer away, Markus got the notification for completing his quest.

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Quest Complete!

Ghostbuster!

Welcome to Thriller Bark! A land of ghosts and ghoulies straight from people's nightmares! On this island, a true nightmare hides awaiting its revival. Show the nightmare monsters whose boss.

Objective 1: Defeat the zombies! (Complete!)

Objective 2: Defeat any of the 'Mysterious Four'. (Complete!)

Objective 3: Defeat Gecko Moria. (Complete!)

Objective 4: Prevent the revival of Oars or defeat Oars. (Complete!)

Objective 5: Ensure Brook's shadow is returned to him. (Complete!)

Failure Conditions: Death, Death of a crewmember, Failure to recruit Brooks

Rewards:

Objective 1: Bonus experience based on the number of zombies defeated.

Objective 2: Random Skill Upgrade Token

Objective 3: Reward TBD. (Devil Fruit Locator)

Objective 4: Skill Book: King Punch.

Objective 5: Improved relationship with Brook, Reduced cooldown of Second Life.

You have gained 5,500 experience.

Your items have been deposited inside your inventory.

Your relationship with Brook has improved!

The cooldown time for Second Life has been reduced to 9 Months.

Random Skill Upgrade Token

When used, this token will upgrade a random skill a random number of levels. If the number of skill levels gained is more than the number of levels needed to Master the skill, the skill will automatically be upgraded to a more powerful version of the skill.

Devil Fruit Locator

This Rare item allows the user to locate one specific Devil Fruit anywhere in the world. If the Devil Fruit has been eaten by someone it will point to that person's location instead. To use the locator, the user must press the activation button while stating the name of the Devil Fruit they wish to locate. Once the name of a Devil Fruit is said it is forever locked in and cannot be changed.

Skill Book: King Punch

The signature technique of King Elizabello II, the King Punch is a punch of exceptional strength capable of releasing immense air pressure and causing massive damage to the surroundings. Rumor says that the King Punch is capable of taking down a Yonko in a single blow. There is a price for such power though. To use the King Punch the user must warm-up for a fixed amount of time to build up power and momentum before the punch can be thrown at full strength.

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