Chapter 61 – Dressrosa, an Empty Island. Big Mom's Fleet Begins to Move!
Boom—!!!
Akira slammed his foot down.
In that instant, a massive shockwave erupted outward. A towering surge of seawater rose like a solid wall, smashing violently into the deck of the merchant ship and dragging countless pirates—those who hadn't even managed to steady themselves—straight into the sea.
"Th-This… this is already… already over…"
Marco collapsed to his knees on the deck.
The eyes that were usually half-lidded and lazy now overflowed with a dull, ashen despair—so lifeless they looked almost dead.
He stared at the terrifying, gigantic figure standing between heaven and earth, a presence so vast it felt like it could reach out and grab the stars themselves.
The last shred of hope lingering in his heart shattered completely.
"This really is… not an existence we can fight against…"
"Yonko… or what?"
"Vice-Yonko…?"
"In front of a monster like this, everything we are is nothing but a joke!!"
Akira lowered his head slightly. A mocking grin spread across his massive face.
His voice rolled like layered thunder, exploding in everyone's ears.
"Well?"
"No more talking?"
"Weren't you pretty good at running away just a moment ago?"
Akira stretched out a single finger and casually tapped the ship's main mast.
Crack!!
The mast—thick enough that three grown men couldn't wrap their arms around it—snapped instantly like a fragile toothpick, then collapsed with a deafening roar!
"AAAA—!!"
Screams immediately filled the ship.
"Such power…"
Jozu's entire body trembled uncontrollably.
"Pure strength like this… it's even more terrifying than Oyaji was at his peak!!"
"Akira!!"
Marco suddenly forced himself to stand.
Blue flames flared up around his body once more—the very last remnants of his power.
This was his final pride.
The last dignity of the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"We… won't be imprisoned forever!!"
Marco threw his head back and roared.
His voice was hoarse, soaked in grief—yet blazing with unyielding resolve.
"We have to save Ace!!"
"Save our brother!!"
"You captured us once! Then we'll break out once!!"
"Unless—"
A desperate madness flickered in Marco's eyes, the kind of insanity born from being ready to die.
"Unless you kill every single one of us!!!"
"Otherwise, we will never submit!!!"
"That's right!!"
Vista drew both of his swords.
Even though his hands were trembling, his gaze remained firm and unyielding.
"Just kill us!!"
"If we can't even go and save our brother, then what's the point of us continuing to live?!"
Watching this group of pirates who were fully prepared to die, an extremely strange expression appeared on Akira's face.
It was the look one gave to utter fools.
"Save Ace?"
Akira's tone was dripping with mockery.
"With just you?"
He pointed at Marco, then casually pointed at the wounded men who weren't even fully conscious yet.
"A bunch of old, weak, and injured people?"
"Going to Marineford?"
"Are you asking for a pointless death?"
"Forget you lot—even if you brought your Oyaji, Whitebeard himself, to Marineford, it still wouldn't work!"
"You—!"
Marco choked on his rage.
"Enough."
Akira waved his hand impatiently.
That terrifying pressure instantly pressed down on the blue flames that had just reignited around Marco's body, forcibly extinguishing them.
"As for saving Ace…"
"You don't need to worry about that."
"Besides, going there yourselves would just be a waste of time."
Akira's tone suddenly became a little… gentler.
But that very gentleness only made it sound even more frightening.
"Still, since I admire this sense of concern between coworkers, I can tell you one thing."
"Ace is an 'outstanding employee' under my command."
"He's the officially appointed 'Boiler Room Manager.'"
"How could I possibly allow my own valuable asset to be destroyed by the Marines?"
"W-What…?"
Marco and Jozu both froze on the spot.
Akira grinned widely, revealing a row of eerily white teeth.
"I'll go myself."
"And bring him back."
"Oh, and by the way…"
Akira's gaze swept across everyone present. It was the gaze of a capitalist evaluating cheap labor.
"I'll add a few more 'coworkers' for you."
"Whether they're Marine Admirals or Shichibukai."
"As long as they can still work, I'll take them all!"
"..."
"..."
The entire area fell deathly silent.
Marco's mouth hung open, his jaw nearly dropping onto the deck.
What… did he just hear?
This monster was going to save Ace?!
And while he was at it, capture a few Admirals and Shichibukai to turn them into coworkers?!
"As for you all…"
Akira withdrew his gaze, his tone turning cold once more.
"Stay on the island and work properly to pay off your debt!"
"If there's a next time…"
Akira extended his gigantic hand, blotting out the sky, then slowly made a grasping motion.
"I'll fit all of you with Seastone!!"
"You won't even be able to sleep—working day and night without rest until every last bit of debt is paid off!!"
"Understood?!"
BOOM—!!!
As his final roar echoed, Akira suddenly lifted his leg!
"Get out of here!!"
Bang!!!
The unfortunate merchant ship—along with everyone aboard—was kicked flying by Akira!
Like a cannonball, it shot through the sky and landed with terrifying precision back into the ruined harbor of Dressrosa!
Splash—
Akira's massive body rapidly shrank as he landed back on the bow of the Moby Dick.
He dusted off his hands, his expression completely relaxed.
"Done."
"They should behave themselves for a while now."
He no longer spared a single glance toward those "working cattle," whose courage had been completely shattered by fear.
The Moby Dick was restarted and began sailing toward Marine Headquarters.
…
Dressrosa, the ruined harbor.
"Cough… cough…"
Marco and the others crawled out in miserable states from the wreckage of the shattered merchant ship.
And right in front of them—
Doflamingo, who had been waiting for quite some time, walked over with Pica and his men, a sly smile plastered across his face.
"Fufufufufufu…"
Doflamingo adjusted his sunglasses.
In his hand was a thick stack of brand-new contracts, still clean and neatly arranged.
"Division commanders."
"Welcome back."
"It seems you really didn't want to leave our Dressrosa."
"..."
Marco and the others' faces flushed purple with rage.
They were just about to move and teach Doflamingo another lesson—
When, before they could even open their mouths, they saw him casually toss the new contracts in front of them.
"Based on your actions of 'escaping' and 'abandoning work,' as well as injuring our employees,"
"Lord Akira has issued an order."
"The working term for everyone…"
Doflamingo raised five fingers.
"Has been increased by another fifty years!!"
"Making it a total of one hundred years!!"
"Congratulations to you all!"
Doflamingo laughed arrogantly.
"You'll now be working for Dressrosa until you die!!"
"..."
"One hundred years…"
When Blackbeard Teach heard that number, his eyes rolled back, and he nearly fainted on the spot!
"Zehaha… so this is… hell?"
Marco clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms.
He was unwilling to be trapped in Dressrosa like this for the rest of his life.
But his worry for Ace made him stare at the Moby Dick growing farther and farther away, his feelings impossibly complicated.
"Akira…"
"Can that monster really save Ace?"
At that moment—
Doflamingo's subordinates forcibly made them sign and stamp the contracts.
After all the signatures were completed, Doflamingo didn't even leave a single person behind to guard them, turning around and leaving with his men.
As if—
He wasn't worried in the slightest that they might try to escape again.
"C-Captain Ma… Marco…"
Teach approached with a trembling body and asked quietly.
"Should we… still try to run away?"
Smack!!
Jozu immediately slapped Teach hard across the face with the back of his hand!
"Run away?!"
"Run away where?!"
Jozu pointed toward the sea, his face filled with dark lines and terror.
"Who knows if that monster… is still hiding somewhere nearby?!"
"What if he's deliberately waiting for us to try escaping again, then suddenly appears and kicks us away again…"
Jozu's entire body broke out in goosebumps.
"Our debt has already doubled!"
"If it happens one more time… we might have to work for him for our entire lives—no, even in the next life and the one after that!!"
"At that point, there really would be no way out. We'd just work until we drop dead!"
"..."
Everyone fell silent.
He was right.
Who would dare gamble?
Who would dare bet that that sadistic monster had truly left?
That crushing sense of despair had completely destroyed their will to resist.
"…Forget it."
Marco let out a long sigh, his entire body seeming to age ten years in an instant.
He glanced at his father, who was still unconscious, then looked out toward the distant sea.
"If… Akira said he'll save Ace."
"With that monster's strength and personality…"
A bitter, helpless smile flashed through Marco's eyes.
"He should… definitely bring Ace back."
"We… don't need to worry anymore."
"Only…"
Vista cut in flatly.
"After that…"
"Ace might end up owing that vampire even more."
"One hundred years?"
"I'm afraid Ace will get squeezed dry until there's not a single drop left!"
The Whitebeard Pirates looked at one another.
In the end—
Everyone turned their gaze toward the sea.
And in their hearts, they held a three-second moment of silence for Ace—who would soon be "saved," yet would also soon shoulder an incomparably massive debt.
…
At the same time.
The New World, the sea territory of Totto Land.
A super-massive fleet—ten times larger than the previous Sweet Commanders' formation—set sail grandly from Whole Cake Island.
Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, sat upon her gigantic throne, gripping a freshly delivered intelligence report.
It was news of Ace's execution, scheduled to take place in three days.
"Ma—mamamamama!!"
Greed and brutality gleamed in Big Mom's eyes.
"What a perfect opportunity!!"
"That Akira, and the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, will definitely go to Marineford to save someone!"
"Dressrosa right now…"
"Must be empty!!"
Big Mom stood up ferociously, swinging her massive sword, Napoleon.
"My children!!"
"Full speed ahead!!"
"While they're all gone!"
"We're going to rescue Katakuri and the others!!"
"And then…"
Big Mom stared in the direction of Dressrosa, greed spilling from the corners of her mouth.
"At the same time…"
"We'll seize that island…"
"And take complete control of it!!!"
"WOOO—!!!!"
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