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Chapter 1153: The Man Who Grew Into a Feral Beast
Chapter 1153: The Man Who Grew Into a Feral Beast
Kuro?
At the sound of Marco's shout, Chopper—midway through concocting a medicine—instinctively glanced in that direction. One glance was all it took for his not-quite-human body to leap up in alarm.
"It's the Incense Burner Admiral!!"
Kuro's face fell. "His nickname is Golden Lion, you old man! Golden Lion!"
Chopper blinked. "Huh? Didn't he say he was a Vice Admiral?"
Kuro stiffened his neck. "That's where your focus is?!"
Whoosh!
A gust of wind rose, and the frost clinging to the half-undead forms of the men transformed into swirling white currents, all of which were absorbed into the shapely figure of a woman.
"Alright, alright!" The pirates and samurai stretched their limbs, discovering the icy chill had vanished. Cheers erupted from them.
"This..."
Chopper's mouth hung open, baffled. He'd been painstakingly brewing medicine—was the Ice Demon gone already?
"Yo, raccoon doctor, long time no see."
Fen Ni raised a hand in greeting, her ample chest swaying with the motion, drawing more than a few eyes.
"It's reindeer, you bastard!!" Chopper reflexively snapped, then squinted at her. Recognition dawned. "Ah! You're that medic who couldn't remember the right ingredients!"
They'd crossed paths back in Shabondy.
"Did you add Satiety Grass to that hunger-inducing pill?" Fen Ni asked. "It works way better than Emetic Grass, right?"
Chopper recalled the medicine he'd once corrected her on.
Fen Ni nodded. "You mean Navy medicine's 'Strength Pill'? Yep, I added it. Thanks, raccoon doctor!"
Chopper's eyes curved into wavy lines as he wiggled his body. "It's reindeer, you bastard~!"
Sazil, standing nearby, made a face. "A Strength Pill? Doesn't it have the side effect of making you lose your appetite?"
He remembered it clearly. Fen Ni had once swore her 'Strength Pill' had been perfected—no more hunger, just endless energy. Desperate to test it, he'd taken it. Strength surged, hunger vanished... for days.
The satiety lasted so long he couldn't eat anything. Where would his body get nutrients? Worse, the energy boost only lasted half an hour, while the side effects lingered. Helpless, he'd ended up on IV drips to survive.
The pill was better than starving, sure—but "side effects" barely covered it.
Fen Ni tilted her head. "It's gotten much better! I'm improving it every day. Admiral Kuro even praised it as a great weight-loss remedy!"
Sazil opened his mouth to argue but stopped himself. This was just how Fen Ni operated.
Marco smoothly steered the conversation back. "Kuro, you still didn't answer my question. Why are you here? The Navy never enters the New World's second half. What's your purpose?"
Kuro smirked. "You really don't get it, Marco? You've sailed these seas long enough. Remember—decades ago, the Navy's reach spanned the globe. Stepping into this region isn't unprecedented."
Years back, the Navy had indeed held global sway. But endless pirate conflicts wore them down. Under the World Government's orders, they surrendered the Grand Line's latter half, focusing on the first half and the Four Seas. Hence this land became known as the "New World."
Marco shrugged. "You're not planning to arrest everyone here, are you? Want a war with every pirate?"
"Take it less seriously", Kuro grinned, flashing his teeth. "If you don't resist, I might even let you return to fight Marshall D. Teach. He's having a rough time lately. You've got a chance for revenge instead of meddling in Wano Country's troubles."
Marco adjusted his glasses, his pineapple-shaped hair rustling. He glanced at Chopper, then up at the distant Castle Tower, before facing Kuro again.
"Not happening", he sighed. "I'm already here, and Izou's with me. If I left now, he'd tear me a new one."
Hmph.
Kuro rested his hand on his sword hilt, gaze sharpening. "You won't step aside?"
"Hard to say", Marco replied lightly. "Still, thanks for removing the Ice Demon. Makes it easier for me to fight without holding back blue flames for healing."
No more Ice Demon meant he could focus on combat instead of maintaining his blue flame treatments.
He couldn't beat Kuro in a straight fight—but dragging things out? That he could manage.
Suddenly, former Beasts Pirates and Wano samurai stepped forward.
"We'll help you!"
"You gave us time to stay sober—we're with you!"
"So what if you're Navy? You won't get through!"
Pirates gripped weapons, battle intent blazing. Samurai, though unfamiliar with pirates, had witnessed Marco and Chopper's efforts. Seeing enemies now, they drew blades too, standing with the duo.
"Uh..."
Fen Ni hesitantly raised her hand. "Wasn't it me who saved you?"
The crowd exchanged glances, loosening their grips.
Oh right...
They'd focused on Marco and Chopper, forgetting Fen Ni was their savior.
"But Navy's the enemy!" a pirate yelled.
"We don't even know what Navy is", a samurai countered.
Centuries of isolation left Wano oblivious to the outside world. Concepts like World Government or Navy meant nothing here.
They'd united against Quinn's Ice Demon—but now, divisions resurfaced.
Marco intervened. "They're enemies of Luffy."
"Luffy?"
"Captain Luffy—the one fighting Kaido!"
The samurai's expressions hardened. Swords tightened in their hands.
"Then we're sorry!"
A samurai bowed grimly. "Forgive us, Navy. Though you saved us, we must save our country. You won't pass!"
Marco spread his arms. "See? No one's agreeing."
Boom!
As he spoke, crimson winds erupted ahead, rushing toward them with a blood-scented gale that froze Marco mid-breath.
Conqueror's Haki?!
No—wrong.
Marco refocused. No crimson wind. Just a man glaring.
Clang!
Weapons hit the ground.
Marco looked around—everyone stood paralyzed, trembling, oblivious to their fallen blades.
He gritted his teeth. "Killing Intent!"
Kuro approached, smiling. "Impressive. Not a single one fainted."
"Liar!" Marco tensed, blue flames flaring defensively.
They hadn't fainted because Kuro barely considered them threats—his Killing Intent was laughably restrained. But he had to hold this line. If Kuro entered, the battle might spiral out of control.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Kuro's footsteps seemed cursed. Marco watched the figure loom closer, the man warping into something monstrous—no longer human, but a feral beast radiating overwhelming Killing Intent, maw agape to devour.
Marco faltered, hypnotized by the beast.
"Roar!!"
The beast's howl jolted Marco awake. For a moment, it transformed into Kuro's face.
When had he gotten so close?!
Marco clenched his jaw, cold sweat drenching his brow. "An illusion?"
Veteran instincts kicked in—he'd fallen into a Killing Intent-induced hallucination. Kuro stood before him, smirking.
"You're pushing your body so far", Kuro murmured, brushing past him. "You think you can stop me?"
With a flick of his coat, Kuro strode through the group, his subordinates following like ghosts.
"Rest well", his voice drifted back. "I'm counting on you to hassle that bastard Marshall D. Teach in the Grand Line."
Footsteps faded as the Navy entered the castle, leaving silence.
Haa... Haa...
Marco gasped for breath, soaked in sweat. His blue flames couldn't hide his exhaustion.
He clenched his fist, then laughed bitterly. "He's terrifying..."
Compared to the raw youth who'd lost his father, this Kuro had evolved from pup to full-grown feral beast.
He'd faltered. He'd feared death.
But he had a mission—to protect the remaining "family." Dad's final order.
Wano?
Less important than that.
Yet...
Ace's little brother was still fighting. And Luffy mattered too.
Marco turned to chase—
"Marco!!"
A roar echoed. Perospero, rage contorted, approached with a group. The corpses of his triplet brothers lay behind him.
Marco's face softened—relief or guilt? "New enemies to stop. Sorry, Luffy."
(End of Chapter)
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