While the others cheered wildly for Old Man Whitebeard's return to his prime, too preoccupied to notice them, Marco pulled Giorno and Jolyne to the edge of the crowd.
"You want me to give you the Tremor-Tremor Fruit?" Liam asked, surprised. "Are you trying to become the ultimate unfilial son?"
"Huh?" Marco tilted his head, hands on his hips, confused.
Robin chuckled. "He means, are you trying to replace Whitebeard?"
The phrasing was a bit flowery, but Marco understood perfectly. "What nonsense are you sprouting!" he snapped angrily. "How could I ever do such a thing?!"
Liam's right hand, clad in a red-flamed armored gauntlet, gripped the Tremor-Tremor Fruit chip. "You want to just... exchange Devil Fruits with Whitebeard?"
"If the Old Man agrees, then Naturally I have no objections," Marco replied calmly. "Even without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he's still Whitebeard, the man who shakes the Four Seas. In fact, a Whitebeard with the Phoenix-Phoenix Fruit would be even more terrifying."
"Anyway, just hand over the chip first." He gestured to Liam's seemingly empty right hand.
Liam remained indifferent, and naturally, Marco became even more so. Just as Liam was about to press his right hand, which held the Tremor-Tremor Fruit chip, into Marco's chest, he suddenly withdrew it, his expression turning solemn.
Marco couldn't help but grow solemn as well. "What's wrong? Will repeatedly using this ability cause any harm to me, or to Old Man?"
"Huh? What are you suddenly talking about?" Liam asked, his face full of confusion. "I told you not to underestimate my ability. How could there possibly be such a trivial side effect?"
"Ah? Then why did you suddenly get so serious?" Marco asked, equally puzzled.
Liam pondered, "I just realized... does this count as me helping you once, or twice?"
Marco couldn't resist rolling his eyes. Just as he opened his mouth to retort, Liam burst into boisterous laughter and forcefully pressed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit chip into his body!
"Cough cough!" Marco choked violently, his face a picture of speechlessness.
Only Robin, standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle. The moment Liam deliberately hesitated, she had sensed that he was about to tease them again…
…
On the deck, the entire crew erupted in jubilant cheers as Old Man Whitebeard's health began to recover. Even the young nurses on board wore radiant smiles.
"As expected of Old Man Whitebeard!"
The pirates, who were more like sons than crewmen, crowded around Whitebeard, clapping and laughing heartily. "Marco's already mastering that Devil Fruit like it's second nature! Ha ha ha..."
"Hey, Marco..."
Just then, a familiar voice cut through the commotion.
Boom!
A thunderous crash echoed, followed by the crunching sound of something shattering...
"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit?!"
The Whitebeard Pirates whirled around. Commanders like Jozu, Thatch, and Vista instantly recognized the sound, it was unmistakably the activation of their Old Man's Tremor-Tremor Fruit powers.
When everyone looked toward the source of the sound, they were shocked to see Marco standing at the ship's railing, his hands glowing with the seismic power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!
"Marco, what are you doing?" Izo frowned as he approached.
The surrounding crew members were stunned and confused. "Did Giorno give Marco the Tremor-Tremor Fruit?"
"Why would he do that?"
"What exactly is Marco trying to do?"
Amidst the murmuring crew, Marco remained silent, gazing at the seismic energy glowing in his hands. He clenched his fists tightly and threw another punch at the Sea ahead.
BOOM!
CRACKLE...
The seismic aura struck the air, creating space-shattering fissures that spread hundreds of meters in an instant, crisscrossing like shattered glass. Colossal waves erupted in their wake.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE...
Marco unleashed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power in a relentless barrage of punches, each blow shattering the air and unleashing spatial fissures. The Sea churned into a raging tempest, its surface surging with colossal, cascading waves.
Jozu, Thatch, Vista, Blamenco, Rakuyo... Many of the commanders watched Marco's movements, as if they had guessed what he was trying to do.
"Heh..." Whitebeard chuckled, set down his Saijō Ō Wazamono blade, Murakumogiri, and sat back down on the deck steps. He picked up his massive sake bottle, tilted his head back, took a long swig, and asked, "Marco, what are you up to?"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Marco continued to pound the air with his tremor-inducing fists. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he smiled faintly. "I just wanted to experience a tiny fraction, even one ten-thousandth… of the 'thanks for the trouble' you've endured over the years, Old Man..."
Boom! Boom! Boom! He relentlessly swung his tremor-generating fists, each strike shattering the air and reverberating through his own body. Truthfully, one or two punches barely registered any pain.
The destructive power of tremors on the physical body is subtle and gradual. It's impossible to feel immense pain every time the ability is activated. It's inconceivable that there could be a Devil Fruit that punishes its user with every use, right?
'How much had Old Man endured to protect us, letting the Tremor-Tremor Fruit erode his body to such a state! Marco's eyes reddened as he threw punch after punch into the air, boom! Boom!'
"Gū lā lā lā, you fool of a son!" Whitebeard roared with laughter, drinking heavily but making no move to stop him.
Marco threw another punch, but his arm was suddenly grabbed from behind.
"Marco, haven't you had enough?" He turned to see Jozu standing there.
Marco frowned, retorting irritably, "Relax, I'll pay them back…"
"That's not what I meant," Jozu interrupted. "Isn't it our turn now?"
Marco stared in surprise as Jozu grinned. Behind him, Vista, Thatch, Blamenco, Rakuyo... and even Izo, who spun his Fire Gun twice before tucking it into his waist holster, joined the group. They all chuckled, "The Old Man isn't just your Old Man, is he?"
Whitebeard guzzled his sake, bellowing with hearty laughter, "What a bunch of foolish sons! Gū lā lā lā..."
Almost immediately, Marco, Jozu, Vista, Thatch, and the others turned their gazes in unison toward Giorno and Jolyne.
If each of them wanted to try the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, they would need Giorno to "troubleshoot" and demonstrate the technique for everyone.
"I know this request is a bit much..." Marco said, looking slightly embarrassed.
"It is a bit much!" Liam nodded. Just when Marco, Jozu, and the others thought their request was impossible, Giorno smiled faintly and asked, "Whitebeard isn't your 'Old Man' in the way a father is, right?"
Vista looked surprised. "You mean...?"
Marco, Jozu, and the others turned to look at the deck of the White Whale, crowded with their crewmates.
Hmm? Teach, who had been lingering at the edge of the crowd, quickly realized what was happening and froze in place, stunned.
…
Before long, a series of explosive "Bang!" sounds reverberated across the deck of the White Whale.
The intensity varied greatly. Some crew members couldn't even manifest the seismic power, earning them hearty mockery from their comrades. However, after Liam replaced their Devil Fruits with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, most of the commanders quickly mastered seismic techniques. They shattered the air with their fists, creating dense networks of fissures. Around the White Whale, the sea churned violently, convulsing within the fractured fissures with each seismic punch.
"My body feels numb..."
"This is the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power..."
"My body is too weak; I already feel awful... I just threw a casual punch, and I feel like my entire body is about to fall apart!"
After experiencing the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's "thanks for the trouble" firsthand, the crew erupted into lively discussion. Amidst the buzzing and chattering of the clueless crew….
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!...
Marshall D. Teach stood rooted to the spot, watching as Giorno Giovanna extracted a faintly glowing triangular object from the body of the man in front of him. Giorno glanced in Teach's direction, exchanged words with Marco and the others, and then strode toward him with a wide, confident grin.
Thump-thump!
Thump-thump!
As Giorno drew closer, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit in his hand grew ever closer as well. Teach could hear his own heartbeat growing louder and clearer with each step.
(End Of This Chapter)
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