King and Marco stood on their respective ships, confronting each other from a distance.
Like two masses of fire.
One blue, one yellow, both radiating terrifying auras.
The port instantly fell silent.
Everyone held their breath, not daring to make the slightest move.
The crowd at the port had already been cleared out by the guards arranged by Kyros, leaving only a few bold pirates watching quietly from afar.
A clash between pirates with bounties exceeding a billion berries was a rare sight on the seas.
Cold sweat formed on the foreheads of Kyros and Lepanto as they stood on shore, unsure of what to do.
They didn't dare step forward to intervene.
Members of these two great pirate crews were not people they could afford to offend.
Luckily, there were no civilians in the port now — even if Marco and the others began a fierce fight, at most it would just cause some property damage.
"Marco, what are you doing in Dressrosa?"
"Could it be, since Whitebeard was defeated, you plan to take Jozu and join another crew — perhaps even join the Thunder God Pirates?"
In the silent port, King was the first to speak.
Marco fired back without hesitation.
"Kaido didn't fare too well either, did he?"
Marco didn't believe Kaido could gain much of an upper hand against Sanders.
Even Pops was defeated.
Kaido was bound to meet the same fate.
"Looks to me like you're the one planning to join the Thunder God Pirates… asking Sanders to avenge you, maybe?"
Marco stared deeply at the flames behind King, his tone laced with meaning.
Back during their previous battle,
Marco had already roughly figured out King's true nature.
If his guess was correct,
The Wildfire King, one of the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates, was no ordinary human — he was likely a survivor of the legendary Lunarian race.
The Lunarians had been nearly wiped out.
The World Government had even offered an enormous bounty to locate any Lunarian survivors.
King wore a mask all year round — probably to hide his identity.
People like him were naturally enemies of the World Government.
So, Marco's speculation — that King might be here to seek Sanders' help for revenge — wasn't without basis.
After all,
Everyone on the seas knew:
Sanders became a pirate because his adoptive father was killed by the Celestial Dragons.
Upon hearing Marco's words,
The flames behind King burned even more fiercely.
He narrowed his eyes and stared at Marco.
Marco, not to be outdone, was also ablaze in his signature blue flames.
In the next instant—
Both men vanished from their ships.
When they reappeared, they were already mid-air.
The long blade at King's waist had already been drawn.
Covered in Armament Haki, the blade was also wreathed in flames.
The flames were extremely hot, distorting the air with their heat.
The longsword swung, slashing toward Marco, who had also appeared in the air.
Marco didn't flinch.
His body shifted into a half-beast form, and he kicked toward the longsword in King's hand.
"Crane Claw—!!"
Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out in the sky.
Marco's right leg, coated in Armament Haki, collided with King's flaming longsword.
An invisible shockwave erupted from the clash, rapidly expanding outward with the two of them at its center.
The powerful impact lifted nearby ships into the air.
The ship closest to them even suffered visible damage to its hull.
"So this is the strength of the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander? He's really strong!"
On the mast, Yamato's gradually color-shifting long hair fluttered in the wind, but her entire figure remained steady atop the mast.
After that brief clash, the two figures quickly separated mid-air.
Marco's arms turned into wings of flame as he hovered.
King was no less imposing, spreading his black wings and floating in the air.
"Looks like it's time to finish our unresolved duel from before, Marco."
"I really want to see whether the Phoenix truly can't die!"
King's voice was cold, and the orange flames on his body burned fiercely.
"I don't mind that."
"Our last fight didn't quite scratch the itch!"
Marco responded without fear, smiling as he spoke.
As he spoke, he gathered the blue flames on his body — clearly preparing to unleash a powerful technique.
Just then, a voice accompanied by the sound of footsteps and a wooden cane tapping the ground came from the shore.
"You two, this is Thunder God Pirates territory. If you want to fight, take it somewhere else."
Before Marco and King could even turn toward the source of the voice—
Both of their expressions changed at the same time.
A powerful pulling force suddenly washed over them.
Caught off guard, both of them stumbled mid-air and fell downward.
"Mr. Issho, you've finally arrived."
Upon hearing that voice, Kyros and Lepanto both looked visibly relieved and let out a breath.
The pressure from facing two second-in-command figures of Emperors was just too overwhelming.
If no one stopped them, the port would likely be completely wrecked.
Issho smiled and nodded, slowly walking to the edge of the dock to face the two vice-captains of the Five Emperors.
"Gentlemen, when visiting someone else's turf, it's best not to trouble your host."
"Give this old man some face — how about calling it off?"
Issho smiled as he spoke to Marco and King, who had both landed back on their ships.
Then, he added:
"But if the two of you do still want to fight… this old man would be happy to oblige."
At the same time, he lifted the gravity pressure he had placed on the two of them.
Marco and King instantly felt their bodies lighten.
The oppressive force that had felt like carrying a mountain vanished without a trace.
"Thunder God Pirates' Vice Captain — the Blind Wanderer!"
King instantly recognized the man. Taking a deep breath, he spoke softly.
A great pirate capable of clashing with Marine hero Garp… he really lived up to the reputation.
The gravity he used just now made it impossible for King to stay airborne — all in an instant.
No wonder the newspapers said he could pull meteors down from the sky.
Looks like the papers weren't exaggerating.
A trace of seriousness flashed through Marco's eyes, but he smiled as he spoke:
"Mr. Issho, is it? Don't get the wrong idea — we were just having a friendly spar."
As he spoke, the blue flames around him vanished immediately.
He had come to Dressrosa to ask something of the Thunder God Pirates — offending them now would be unwise.
King also sheathed his longsword.
He had come here for an alliance — starting a fight wouldn't help anything.
Besides—
Fighting on someone else's turf really would be disrespectful.
On the mast, Yamato's eyes lit up when she saw Issho's outfit and the wooden sword in his hand.
A samurai!
The Thunder God Pirates' blind swordsman vice-captain was dressed like a samurai.
And Yamato had always had a natural fondness for samurai...
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T/N:
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