Drought Jack's greatest feat was his sheer endurance and toughness.
First, he faced Issho, Sengoku, and Tsuru's lineup and still survived.
Later, even under Zunesha's disaster-level strike, he lived through it.
If nothing else, his body was absurdly durable.
Even among fish-men, Jack's physique was the strongest—without exception.
It could even be said that from the neck down, this body was solidly in the very first echelon, on par with the Pirate King's candidates.
If Jinbei had Drought Jack's body, then without a doubt, he could compete with Hawk Eyes for the title of strongest among the Shichibukai.
That's why sometimes, the mind is the greatest limiter of strength!
Without enough intelligence, you can't even bring out the full potential of your own body.
Jack was the perfect example of that.
No exceptions!
And this grouper fish-man who was originally supposed to be recruited under Kaido's banner was now riding a "small" boat, coming to cling to Michael instead!
What's more, he was spouting nonsense like wanting "to become a Marine" and calling Michael his "idol."
"Actually, it's not so strange that he'd have that thought." Stella checked Jack for injuries, then said with a smile. "After all, thanks to the propaganda from King Neptune and Queen Otohime, you've become the most popular human on Fish-Man Island. And in the branch, at least half the fish-man soldiers joined out of admiration for you, Michael."
Of course Michael was well aware of this.
Right now, in Fish-Man Island's plaza stood two statues shaking hands.
One was of Michael, and the other was Whitebeard.
In other words, when it came to reputation, Michael was on par with Whitebeard on Fish-Man Island—perhaps even slightly ahead.
After all, Whitebeard didn't have the time to frequently appear on Fish-Man Island, while Michael had visited often over the past six months.
"Tch, whatever. Since this big lug came to my door himself, wouldn't it be impolite if I didn't accept him?"
"A ten-year-old kid who can take fifty percent of your strength without injury… why do you sound like you're still disappointed?"
"First of all, it's obvious this kid's head isn't quite right. Strength can be trained gradually, but the mind… unless something miraculous happens, it'll stay like this for life." Michael shook his head.
"Second, just look at this huge body… how much do you think it eats?"
"…You've gotten more and more stingy. You literally control an entire golden city."
"This is what they mean when they say—if you're not the one managing the household, you don't know how expensive food is!"
Michael sighed.
Now he finally understood why the richer someone was, the stingier they seemed.
Because from their perspective…
Spending money hurt like hell!
...
By the time Michael's battleship arrived in Alabasta, it was already noon the next day.
That Jack—who had been knocked out cold by Michael's punch and enjoyed a newborn-like sleep—was now bouncing around again, full of energy.
"Uwah! What's this!? Is this the legendary desert? It's like a giant yellow ocean! So amazing!"
Jack looked at Alabasta's landscape and kept shouting in awe.
Michael's mouth twitched.
The contrast was unbearable!
That massive body and fierce, menacing face… but acting like an overly innocent little boy…
What an eyesore! Seriously, what an eyesore.
In the end, it took quite a bit of effort to rein in this runaway giant fish kid.
Then they headed straight toward Alabasta's royal palace.
After all, it was a banquet. Michael and Stella, two adults, bringing along one child—what was wrong with that?
The kid was only ten years old!
Right now, Alabasta was much livelier than usual because of Vivi's banquet.
At the same time, royal families from other nations could be seen arriving to offer their congratulations.
After all, Alabasta was a genuine great power—rich, strong, and dominant—so many nations naturally flocked here to curry favor.
Of course, there were also true friends who came sincerely to celebrate the birth of a new life in the Nefeltari family.
When Michael reached the gates of Alabasta's palace, he saw a tall, mature beauty he hadn't seen in over a month.
"Yo, Crocodile, you're awfully enthusiastic, huh? Already here waiting so early?"
"Hmph… I was invited, and I don't have patrol duty today, so I just came earlier." Crocodile's face showed disdain as she took a long drag from her cigar. But Michael instantly saw through her act…
"See, that's what they call saying one thing and meaning another." Michael pointed at her with a grin. "By the way, during your time working in Alabasta, you've probably seen Cobra plenty, right? So, did he ever suspect your identity?"
"Impossible. My face now is nothing like back then, and my whole aura is completely different… Besides, Cobra's not exactly the most perceptive person in these matters." Crocodile shrugged. Beneath her white Marine uniform, those bold curves were impossible to hide, while her fur coat concealed most of her allure.
"Oh, right. Bell-mère already went inside with the brats ahead of us… Wait a second, this big oaf came with you?"
"I'm not a big oaf! My name is Jack! I'm already ten years old!"
Jack puffed up proudly, patting his chest, very pleased with his age.
He was going to grow up fast!
Crocodile's cigar slipped from her mouth, and for a moment, the shock in her expression even lent her a goddess-like aura…
But the words out of her mouth betrayed her true nature.
"This little shit's ten? You messing with me!?"
"It's a long story. I'll explain later." Michael shrugged, then strode into Alabasta's palace first.
Though it was only noon and hours remained until the evening banquet, the palace was already filled with people.
After all, a princess's banquet was also a grand social event.
Naturally, Cobra didn't mind if his guests arrived early.
And the guests themselves wouldn't miss such a golden chance to mingle and build ties with royalty from other countries.
But they all had one thing in common—when they saw Michael and the others in their Marine uniforms, they instinctively moved out of the way.
After all, for those small nations, they couldn't assume the Marines were here to serve them.
Besides, plenty of them had surely done shady things in their own countries, so they carried a natural wariness, even resentment, toward the Marines as a military force.
Of course, there were also those who simply didn't want to deal with Marines.
Michael couldn't care less about any of that.
Once Dragon finished consolidating the resources and power of the Four Seas, the next step would be targeting the nations of the Grand Line.
So in Michael's mind…
Most of the royalty here were already as good as dead.
And with the dead, there was no point in talking.