A streak of brilliant azure flame tore across the sky at ten thousand meters high, ripping open a long rift through the clouds.
Marco was pushing the speed of his Devil Fruit to its absolute limit.
Below them stretched the Calm Belt, a place where countless powerful beings had met their doom.
One after another, gigantic Sea Kings the size of islands emerged from the bottomless black waters, their ferocious heads silently roaring, trying to drag the tiny flier from the sky into the abyss.
But their massive bodies, once their pride, now seemed clumsy and laughable in the face of overwhelming speed.
Before they could mount any sort of effective attack, the blue streak had already soared above their heads and vanished into the distant horizon where sea met sky.
Lucian Thorn sat cross-legged on Marco's broad back, shielded from the raging winds by an invisible barrier of blue fire. He was as steady as a mountain.
His eyes were closed as his consciousness sank into the system space.
"System."
[Host, what are your orders?]
The system's cold voice echoed in Lucian's mind.
Without hesitation, Lucian gave a long-awaited command.
"From the SSR · Peak Rayleigh compendium, extract everything except swordsmanship—every other ability and physical trait. Pour it all into me!"
Rayleigh was different from Whitebeard.
His true strength lay in his unmatched swordsmanship—but Lucian didn't use a sword, and forcefully fusing it would just be wasteful.
What he wanted was Rayleigh's supreme mastery of all three types of Haki, forged through countless life-or-death battles, and a physique strong enough to go toe-to-toe with monsters.
[Command confirmed.]
[Extracting one-half of "Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh's peak-era physique, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki...]
[Extraction complete.]
[Infusion commencing!]
BOOM!
A terrifying surge of energy exploded through every nerve and bone in Lucian's body—an overwhelming force beyond description.
Agony.
An excruciating pain, as if every cell in his body was being ripped apart from within.
Lucian's entire body trembled violently. Veins bulged from his forehead, and cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes.
"Urgh—aaaargh!"
Even with Lucian's iron will, he couldn't stop a suppressed groan from escaping his throat.
Sensing the turmoil on his back, Marco turned his head with concern.
"Lucian! Are you alright?!"
"I-I'm fine!" Lucian forced the words out through clenched teeth.
"Just… a little too excited, that's all!"
He could clearly feel it—his body was undergoing a monumental transformation.
Every wave of pain was accompanied by a greater rebirth.
Already strengthened from absorbing half of Peak Whitebeard's power, Lucian's physique was now evolving at an astonishing rate, leaping toward an entirely new realm.
No one knew how long it lasted. Eventually, the searing pain began to subside.
In its place came an overwhelming sense of strength and fullness.
[Energy infusion complete.]
[Host's physical data has been refreshed.]
Lucian slowly opened his eyes. A flash of sharp light flickered within them.
He gently clenched his fists.
No explosive bursts of aura. No outward signs of Haki.
Yet Lucian could feel it—within that grip was the strength to crush steel and shatter mountains.
"System, what's my power level now?"
He asked with anticipation.
[Response: After the infusion of Peak Rayleigh's power, your overall strength has reached Admiral-level peak.]
[In a one-on-one battle against any of the current three Admirals, you would hold a clear advantage.]
Admiral peak!
Clear advantage!
Lucian's heart pounded wildly at those eight words!
Joy erupted within him like a volcano, engulfing his entire being!
Finally!
He had finally stepped into the true realm of top-tier combat power on this vast sea!
From now on, whether facing Admirals or Emperors, he could fight to his heart's content!
"Ahahahahahaha!"
Lucian couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter, filled with uncontainable pride and confidence.
Hearing the familiar laugh behind him, Marco twitched at the corner of his mouth.
'This kid… even laughs just like Pops.'
Just then, Marco began to slow his flight.
"We're here."
Lucian stopped laughing and looked ahead.
A massive island shrouded in mist appeared in his sight.
Amazon Lily.
The legendary island of women!
They didn't enter through the front gate, but landed instead in a remote part of the jungle.
The blue flames faded. Marco returned to human form, and the two stepped onto unfamiliar soil.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
As soon as they landed, sharp slicing sounds echoed from the surrounding jungle.
In the next second, over a hundred warrior women of the Kuja Tribe surged out from every direction. They wore light animal-hide clothing and held longbows armed with venomous snakes, surrounding the two intruders like phantoms.
Dozens of cold, gleaming arrowheads all pointed straight at them.
The air grew thick with naked hostility and tension.
"Who goes there?!"
The leading warrior barked sharply.
Marco immediately raised both hands to show he meant no harm.
"We're from the Whitebeard Pirates, here to visit—"
Before he could finish, a cold, proud voice—brimming with regal authority—cut him off from behind the warriors.
"Whitebeard Pirates?"
The crowd parted.
And there she was—the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, emerging slowly with her guards flanking her.
Hancock had already sensed the powerful aura of Marco and Lucian long ago and made full preparations in advance.
Her figure was graceful, her face breathtakingly beautiful, and yet an icy aura of "keep away" radiated from her. Her eyes, looking down on all, were filled with absolute disdain.
Her gaze fell on Marco's pineapple-shaped head, immediately recognizing him.
"Phoenix Marco," she said coldly, her voice devoid of warmth.
"What business do you have in my country?"
She paused—then, without giving him a chance to answer, continued.
"Your 2nd Division Commander, Portgas D. Ace, has already been captured by the Marines."
"If you've come to recruit the Kuja Pirates for war, you may turn back now."
"I, for one, have no interest in such troublesome matters."
As her words fell, the Kuja warriors all took a step forward in unison. Their bows drew taut, and the killing intent around them spiked to the limit.
With one word from the Empress, a storm of arrows would be unleashed.
Marco's scalp tingled.
He frantically waved his hands and explained with urgency.
"Please don't misunderstand, Your Highness! That's not our intention at all!"
"We're not here to drag Amazon Lily into the war."
Hancock raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
Marco continued earnestly, "We're only here for a certain guest. We heard he happened to fall from the sky and landed here not long ago."
"A guest?" Hancock sounded puzzled—and annoyed.
"Who?"
Marco took a deep breath and spoke the name.
"Straw Hat—Monkey D. Luffy."
Silence.
The moment "Luffy" left Marco's lips, it was as if the entire world hit pause.
The fierce Kuja warriors froze mid-breath, their expressions stiff.
And standing at the very front, Boa Hancock—whose face had been a picture of pride and cold disdain—suddenly froze as well.
Time itself seemed to halt.
Crack.
A faint cracking sound echoed.
It was the sound of ice melting.
The Empress's haughty expression began to visibly crumble, fractures spreading across her face.
A suspicious flush surged from her neck to her ears, painting her stunning face bright red.
Those eyes, once cold and disdainful, now brimmed with panic, nervousness, and something else… something called bashfulness.
"L-Luffy…?"
She repeated the name in a voice barely above a whisper, uncertain and trembling. Her body even flinched back half a step, and her hands shot up to cover her burning cheeks.
There was no trace left of the cold, majestic Warlord of the Sea.
All that remained was a love-struck girl—reacting with unfiltered sincerity to the name of her crush.
The entire jungle fell into dead silence.