It was no wonder Marco was dumbfounded.
Through the perception of Observation Haki, he could clearly sense just what kind of unprecedented colossus this was.
Its head seemed to hold up the sky, its feet stood upon the earth, and it was unmatched beneath the heavens.
He stared blankly at the gigantic hand slapping down toward him.
“Pops said that no matter what happens, we must never despair.” Marco gritted his teeth.
His right arm was covered in pitch-black Armament Haki as he clenched his jaw and punched out.
Bang.
Marco’s fist slammed into the Wood Human’s giant palm, but it had no effect at all.
Instead, his own arm was shaken numb.
What use was a fragile human fist against diamond?
The result would naturally be no damage at all.
More importantly, this monster not only possessed astonishing strength, it was also coated in Armament Haki.
How was anyone supposed to deal with such a perfect enemy?
“Get down.” Sylvan’s indifferent voice resounded through the sky.
With a thought, he controlled the Wood Human to slap down.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
After suffering the fierce impact, Marco spat out a mouthful of blood and instantly fainted.
His consciousness vanished as he fell from a height of a hundred meters.
His body crashed heavily onto the ruined island and lay motionless beneath the rubble.
Almost every bone in his body was broken, and the azure flames had disappeared without a trace.
Marco was the user of the Phoenix Fruit, so even if he was injured, he could regenerate.
However, there was a limit.
Injuries this severe exceeded the fruit’s healing limit.
Once the damage surpassed a certain degree, even in fruit form, he could still die.
“Dead?” Jack the Drought walked over and carefully glanced at Marco a few times.
Sensing that he still had a faint breath, a fierce light flashed in his enormous eyes.
“Marco, I’ll send you to your death myself.” “Stop.” Sylvan’s suppressed voice suddenly came over.
Jack the Drought shivered and reflexively pulled back his huge hand.
“I deliberately left him with one breath.
If you kill him, won’t all my plans go down the drain, you idiot?” Sylvan’s gaze scattered across the area.
The entire island was covered with members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Because they had inhaled the pollen, their bodies were numb and unable to move.
All of these people were chess pieces to threaten Whitebeard with.
“Lord Sylvan, wouldn’t killing this guy be better to eliminate future trouble forever?” Jack the Drought was full of confusion.
What value was there in keeping Marco alive?
“Your head is full of mush, isn’t it?
There are far too many brainless idiots like you in the entire Beast Pirates.” Sylvan could not help feeling speechless.
Jack the Drought truly had courage but no strategy.
Immediately after, he slowly explained in a soft voice, “Go tell Whitebeard to immediately bring twenty billion berries, or fifty Devil Fruits, to ransom them.
Otherwise…” A fierce light flashed in Sylvan’s eyes as he sneered.
“Otherwise, kill them all!” The current Beast Pirates were not yet as powerful as they would be in the future.
This era also had no such things as the Four Emperors or the Seven Warlords.
People only knew of the Three Legendary Pirates, which referred to Golden Lion Shiki, the Pirate King Roger, and Whitebeard Edward Newgate.
“As expected of Lord Sylvan.
Your wisdom truly is unmatched.” A trace of admiration flashed through Jack the Drought’s eyes.
Wasn’t extorting a huge sum from Whitebeard the best outcome?
“Unmatched wisdom, my ass.
Stop flattering me.
This is just the most basic form of blackmail and extortion.” Sylvan was truly caught between laughter and tears.
Then he reminded him again, “It would be best if Whitebeard gives us Devil Fruits.
Money works too.
Go trade with Doflamingo and buy more Devil Fruits to arm our pirate crew.
Doesn’t Kaido want to build an army of Zoan ability users?
To be honest, I’m also very interested in creating an army of beasts…” “Heh heh, I understand.” Jack the Drought nodded honestly, then brought a few underlings with him to find Whitebeard.
He was not afraid of facing Whitebeard alone at all.
After all, Sylvan still had hostages in his hands.
There was no need to fear Whitebeard acting recklessly.
“You… You bastard… You’re still a pirate with a bounty of five hundred million berries.
If you’ve got guts, kill us.
What kind of skill is it to use us to threaten Pops?” The half-dead Marco suddenly opened his eyes.
He did not have any extra strength to move, and even speaking was extremely difficult.
“You’re really naive, Marco.” A mocking smile appeared on Sylvan’s face.
He gave a wicked grin without the slightest concern.
“Because we’re pirates.
Despicable and shameless is what we truly are.
Every person aboard the Beast Pirates, myself included, is a complete and utter scumbag.
Hahaha…” From the moment he joined the Beast Pirates, Sylvan had abandoned so-called human ethics and morality.
If one wanted to survive in this cruel world, one could only be more ruthless, more cunning, and more despicable than others.
That was the true portrayal of pirates.
In the world of pirates, schemes and plots were already everyday occurrences.
To achieve one’s goals, any despicable method could be used.
Pirates like Luffy, who chased dreams and freedom, did exist, but there were pitifully few of them.
“You won’t let us go even after getting the money, will you?” Marco stared tightly at Sylvan’s face.
He was only twelve years old, yet Marco truly felt that he was unfathomable.
He could not guess what Sylvan was thinking.
“No, no, no…” Sylvan wagged his finger, squatted down, and looked at Marco as he comforted him.
“Don’t worry.
I’m someone who keeps his word.
If I say I’ll release people, then I’ll release them.
As for who I’ll release them to, heh heh, that has to remain a secret for now.” Sylvan smiled softly with ill intentions, his stomach full of bad water.
Hand Marco and the others back to Whitebeard perfectly unharmed?
Only an idiot would do that!
He was even certain that the moment Whitebeard received his people, he would lead every member of the Whitebeard Pirates into war against the Beast Pirates.
“Hmph.
Since we’ve already offended the Whitebeard Pirates, the two sides will fight sooner or later.
In that case, I might as well offend them even further and thoroughly screw that old man over.” Thoughts surged through Sylvan’s mind.
Since they had already torn away all pretense, he had made up his mind to play a big one this time.
If the era went berserk, then so be it.
He was no saint.