To Shiki, the denial just made Marcus look like some naive kid who still believed dreams and friendship actually meant something in this world. Someone who hadn't been beaten down by reality yet.
He didn't bother explaining or trying to prove his point. He just gave Marcus a knowing look, the kind of look that said "you'll learn."
"Shihahaha! Won't take long before you understand what I mean."
Marcus smiled back. "Maybe it won't take long at all."
---
In the end, Shiki brought Marcus back to the main complex. Sea-stone cuffs were locked around his wrists, but strangely, he wasn't thrown into a cell. Instead, he was placed in a fairly luxurious guest room with decent furnishings.
The room had food laid out on a table, and several attendants waiting by the door. They wore elaborate clothing and had an unusual feature, feathered wings growing from their arms instead of their backs. These were Sky Islanders, but modified by IQ plant exposure. The mutations had relocated their natural wings from their backs to their forearms.
Whether you'd call it an improvement was debatable. Mostly it just looked weird.
Still, the attendants assigned to serve him were all conventionally attractive women.
"Uh, I can actually bathe myself," Marcus said, clutching his pants as three attendants moved in. "I've been doing it for years."
The attendant looked uncertain. "But we were instructed to—"
"I don't care what your instructions were. I'm not interested."
The women exchanged glances, clearly not used to being refused, but eventually they bowed and retreated to positions by the door.
Marcus examined the room more carefully. The sea-stone cuffs were real, he could feel the drain on his energy, but aside from that restriction, he was being treated more like a guest than a prisoner. The accommodations would've been suitable for visiting royalty.
He approached the table and checked the food. Nothing obviously poisoned or tampered with. Just standard Sky Island fruits, grilled meats, and some kind of local wine.
He ate slowly, thinking through his situation. Shiki was playing a recruitment game, which bought him time. The legendary pirate wanted him to see the "truth" about pirate crews and the harsh realities of the Grand Line.
---
Meanwhile, the Straw Hat crew had regrouped in the White Sea.
Their expressions were grim.
After a journey that had gone almost completely smoothly since leaving the East Blue, they'd finally experienced their first real defeat. The helpless feeling of facing someone so far above their level was new and deeply unpleasant.
Chopper pulled out healing items and treated Luffy's wounds.
Luffy lay on the White Sea's cloud surface, staring up at the sky.
The speed of his defeat and how easily Shiki had toyed with him didn't leave him discouraged, that wasn't how he processed failure. Instead, he was thinking about something that had been nagging at him since the fight started.
Had they been relying on Marcus too much?
Ever since leaving the East Blue, the Straw Hats had never lacked food or money. Whenever they faced enemies too strong to handle, Marcus had been there with solutions. His abilities provided resources.
As captain, Luffy had been beaten without managing to land a single meaningful hit. He had no way to fight in the air, and his Haki was nowhere near Shiki's level.
If he'd been wearing a full set of diamond armor, maybe he could have traded blows more evenly. But that wouldn't have been his own strength, would it?
Vivi pulled out the ender eye to check on Marcus. She saw him alone in a room, pacing and apparently planning something. She breathed out in relief.
"Should we teleport him back?" Usopp asked.
Vivi shook her head. "He's not imprisoned. Shiki's trying to recruit him. And Marcus gave us a hint through the connection. He's planning to stay undercover and figure out what Shiki's planning to do up here."
Hearing that Marcus wasn't locked up or being mistreated, everyone relaxed slightly.
But there was an underlying tension nobody wanted to address out loud.
The uncomfortable truth was that he could probably survive without the Straw Hat Pirates... but could the Straw Hats survive without him?
Just then, Luffy's stomach let out a loud growl that broke the heavy silence.
Sanji instinctively moved to prepare food before looking around and realizing they had literally nothing. Even starting a fire would be difficult in their current situation.
That's when Chopper pulled out some cooked beef from his medical bag. He'd started carrying Minecraft food because it was more convenient than bandages and medicine for most injuries, it could solve about eighty percent of their medical problems instantly.
"Want some?" he offered the beef to Luffy.
The rubber captain sat up and stared at the food for a long moment, then shook his head. "We're still too weak."
Nobody argued, because it was true.
But the question hanging in the air was: how were they supposed to get stronger?
They'd gotten used to having Marcus help them. Now they had neither his assistance nor any guidance on how to improve.
Everyone felt lost.
Wanting to be stronger was one thing. Actually knowing how to achieve it was another entirely.
A feeling called dependence rose in their hearts. Without realizing it, they'd forgotten how to push themselves forward on their own.
Sanji lit a cigarette and took a long drag. "Getting stronger doesn't happen overnight. For now... let's just eat. We can't train on an empty stomach, right?"
It was the only suggestion he could offer.
Luffy's stomach certainly wasn't going to wait for them to figure out a training regimen.
Everyone exchanged glances, then nodded. The Straw Hats began their own attempt at self-improvement, though having been guided, they were now uncertain about how to proceed.
They ended up eating electrically-grilled sea fish that Nami managed to catch and cook with her Devil Fruit's ability. Without proper seasoning or cooking tools, the baked fish was nowhere near as delicious as what they'd gotten used to aboard the Merry.
Everyone ate in silence.
---
Back in his gilded cage, Marcus finished his meal and dismissed the attendants who kept trying to hover. He needed space to think.
This was already his second day in this room. Shiki hadn't come to see him personally, apparently busy with something. And Marcus himself hadn't been able to gather any useful intelligence about the man's plans.
Some of the younger attendants had tried chatting with him, asking about his adventures in Mock Town or the Knock-Up Stream, clearly curious about the outside world. He'd answered a few questions but kept most details to himself.
While he was suffering through his "captivity," bigger events were unfolding across the world.
---
The afternoon sun shone brightly over Shiki's floating archipelago as news began to spread through underground channels. It came with video footage that quickly made its way to every major information broker in the world.
The footage showed giant beasts rampaging across Skypiea's territories. These land-based creatures were unnaturally powerful, completely unfazed by cannon fire from Skypiean defenders. Some moved in swarms, displaying terrifying coordinated behavior.
One clip showed ants flowing like a black ocean tide across the landscape. Wherever they passed, nothing remained, any creature caught in their path was reduced to a picked-clean skeleton within minutes.
These vicious beasts were frightening just to watch through video feeds. And according to the leaked information, these were only the earliest prototypes of Shiki's IQ plant-modified synthetic beasts.
Once this news spread, every major faction became curious about what the legendary pirate was planning.
Then Shiki used his old connections and new infamy to make an announcement that shook the entire world.
He called it the "East Blue Destruction Project."
The East Blue, known as the weakest of the Four Blues, heavily protected by the Marines. After all, the Pirate King had emerged from there, marking the beginning of the Great Pirate Era. In those early chaotic days, countless pirates had set out to sea searching for the One Piece.
And the man who'd resolved that chaos, punch by punch, was Garp, eventually hammering the East Blue into its reputation as the "weakest" sea. Even now, he returned to the East Blue every year like clockwork.
So when theShiki declared an East Blue Destruction Plan, it was undoubtedly a direct provocation to the entire Marines. The message quickly reached the kings of all East Blue member nations, and panic spread.
Sea Kings in the Four Blues were dangerous, sure, but they stayed in the ocean. They posed little threat to nations on land, at most, they disrupted sea trade routes, and most lived near the Calm Belt anyway.
But these synthetic beasts lived on land. And with Shiki's Float-Float Fruit allowing him to drop entire islands wherever he pleased, a plan to destroy the East Blue was no empty boast.
Instantly, all East Blue member nations fell into chaos.
And Morgans would never miss a story this explosive. This was essentially a declaration of war against the World Government!
These were member nations paying Heavenly Tribute. If the World Government couldn't handle this crisis, every country in the world would realize that membership offered no real protection.
Why pay tribute if you're not getting security?
The Government's maintained authority would crumble.
How could such a story possibly be ignored?
In less than a single afternoon, Morgans' newspapers had been delivered across all the seas. Within hours, every nation, from the Four Blues to Paradise to the New World, knew about Shiki's plan.
All member countries felt vulnerable. If this East Blue Destruction Project succeeded, would their own nations still be safe?
Countless reports poured into the World Government headquarters, landing on the desks of the Five Elders.
"Shiki..." one of them muttered, reviewing the intelligence reports. "We thought he'd gone quiet to enjoy his final years in peace."
"Unstable factors must be removed early," another agreed. "Before they become uncontrollable."
"According to CP intelligence and analysis, Shiki is currently on a Sky Island in the first half of the Grand Line. High-speed air routes can reach the location."
"Send Aokiji. No, send both Aokiji and Kizaru. If necessary—"
"No... they're just beasts. Two Admirals should be more than sufficient."
The plan was quickly set in motion. And Aokiji and Kizaru, upon receiving their orders, weren't surprised by the assignment.
Shiki had announced his "East Blue Destruction Plan" with maximum publicity. His goal was clearly to provoke the Marines and the World Government into action. Even without direct orders from the Five Elders, they would have moved on their own.
Even Garp was preparing to deploy. Given Shiki's status, the Marines had to send powerhouses of equal standing. Anything less would be an insult to the threat he represented.
The entire Marine organization went on high alert.
Then Shiki released a second announcement that somehow managed to be even more audacious than the first.
He was forming a grand fleet and inviting everyone to join.
Pirates, revolutionary armies, kingdoms, mercenaries, even street thugs were theoretically welcome. He even claimed that Marine deserters could join the Golden Lion Pirates without prejudice.
Of course, not just anyone would be accepted. There was a test involved. And the test was beautifully simple: reach the Sky Island he currently occupied.
He even distributed permanent Log Poses for free, ensuring anyone who wanted to could find their way to his location.
It was a grand gesture that somehow managed to be both generous and threatening.
After decades of silence, he had issued a worldwide invitation open to all challengers and potential allies... Except, notably, anyone from the East Blue.
That exception made his intentions clear.