After entering his cabin, Marco immediately accessed his system panel to review his status:
Name: Marco
Age: 43 years old
Attribute Points: 20,000
Devil Fruit: Zoan Type – Phoenix Form (Unawakened)
Haki: Armament Haki (Top-tier), Observation Haki (Top-tier), Conqueror's Haki (Intermediate)
Physical Techniques: Soru (Intermediate), Rankyaku (Intermediate), Moonwalk (Intermediate), Tekkai (Advanced), Finger Pistol (Advanced), Kami-e (Intermediate)
Strength: 10,054
Speed: 4,500
Defense: 8,800
Recovery: 45,000
Stamina: 10,100
Mental Strength: 9,300
System Combat Power Assessment: Admiral–Emperor Level
Curious, Marco clicked on the Special Attributes section.
Devil Fruit Upgrade: Zoan Type – Phoenix Form (Unawakened) → Zoan Type – Phoenix Form (Awakened), consumes 15,000 Attribute Points. Options: Yes / No
Without hesitation, Marco chose Yes, spending 15,000 Attribute Points to awaken his Devil Fruit.
Instantly, his panel updated to display his new stats:
Name: Marco
Age: 43 years old
Attribute Points: 5,000
Devil Fruit: Zoan Type – Phoenix Form (Awakened)
Haki: Armament Haki (Top-tier), Observation Haki (Top-tier), Conqueror's Haki (Intermediate)
Physical Techniques: Soru (Intermediate), Rankyaku (Intermediate), Moonwalk (Intermediate), Tekkai (Advanced), Finger Pistol (Advanced), Kami-e (Intermediate)
Strength: 12,054
Speed: 6,500
Defense: 13,800
Recovery: 60,000
Stamina: 15,100
Mental Strength: 10,300
System Combat Power Assessment: Strong Admiral–Emperor Level
Marco studied the numbers, astonished.
Strength had risen by 2,000 points, Speed by 2,000, Defense by 5,000, Recovery by 15,000, Stamina by 5,000, and Mental Strength by 1,000—an overall gain of 30,000 points from only 15,000 spent.
Half of the boost went into Recovery, granting him nigh-immortality as long as his stamina held.
Five of his six core attributes had surpassed 10,000, with only Speed remaining below.
Marco considered investing points to push it above 10,000 for symmetry but decided it wasn't urgent.
With his current strength, he already stood at the visible pinnacle of the world.
Even the Three Admirals only reached Strong Admiral–Emperor Level.
Among the Four Emperors, Big Mom was only Admiral–Emperor Level, and Kaido and Red Hair might be stronger, but likely still capped at Strong Admiral–Emperor Level.
King Level? That was reserved for legends like prime Whitebeard.
Returning to Special Attributes, Marco discovered that his Devil Fruit could evolve even further, revealing four potential upgrade paths:
1. Redemption: 50,000 Attribute Points
2. Undying: 50,000 Attribute Points
3. Impart: 50,000 Attribute Points
4. Destruction: 50,000 Attribute Points
Marco contemplated their meanings:
Redemption should enhance the Phoenix Flame's healing for others, Undying strengthens my own recovery, Destruction clearly boosts offensive power, and Impart… perhaps I can share my Phoenix abilities with others.
He recalled the Immortality displayed by the Gorosei and God's Knights in the Egghead and Elbaf arcs, considering that Impart might indeed involve transferring powers.
And Undying—was it merely extreme recovery, or true immortality, akin to the God's Knights?
Unsure, Marco pondered whether these were upgrade paths or permanent choices, as picking one might prevent selecting the others.
He realized he needed advice.
"System," Marco called aloud. "Come out, System. Answer me, Attribute Point System?"
For a moment, silence filled his mind.
Then, tentatively, he added, "Little Ai…"
"I'm here!" The system AI's voice rang out instantly, clear and responsive.
Marco smiled, ready to learn which path to take next, his mind buzzing with possibilities.