Marco 3: Ren Mori vs.
Marco The moment the door opened, Marco immediately noticed the complete mess inside the room.
His brows furrowed slightly.
Then he calmly walked in, stopped beside an overturned chair, set it upright, and sat down.
With a faint smile, he said, “You haven’t really shown anything particularly impressive aboard the ship all these years, so…
it’s only natural that some people would question you.” “Huh?” Ren Mori stared at Marco blankly.
Then he glanced at the wrecked room around him and suddenly understood.
Oh.
Now he got it.
Marco had clearly misunderstood.
He thought Ren Mori had returned to his room and trashed the place because he was angry about the other crew members questioning his qualifications.
“Brother Marco, if I told you things aren’t what you think they are…
would you believe me?” Faced with Ren Mori’s explanation, Marco merely smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
Then, with the air of someone offering heartfelt advice, he said, “I understand.
I understand completely.” Seeing Marco’s expression, Ren Mori was utterly speechless.
You understand?
You don’t understand a damn thing.
Still, Ren Mori could not be bothered explaining any further.
With his personality, he had never cared much about what the others thought of him in the first place.
So he simply changed the subject.
“What did you come looking for me for, Brother Marco?” “It’s like this.
During tonight’s celebration, I was thinking the two of us could have a friendly spar.” “First, it’s also Pops’ idea.” “Second, it’ll give you a chance to show everyone what you can actually do.” “I’ve watched you train over the years.
You worked hundreds of times harder than most people on this ship, so I’m guessing you must have developed a decent level of skill in close combat.” If this had happened before, Ren Mori would have refused without hesitation.
After all, challenging Marco one-on-one would have been no different from asking for a beating.
There was no way he would have escaped without getting thoroughly pummeled.
But things were different now.
Ever since arriving in this world, Ren Mori had consistently trained his body and close-combat skills.
He was already fairly capable in that regard.
And now, he had awakened the System.
With the System’s help, his body had also undergone a complete tempering.
In other words, his current physique was somewhat similar to Big Mom’s.
He possessed an exceptionally tough body, and even his raw physical strength had risen by several levels.
If Ren Mori were to learn all three types of Haki now, the results would undoubtedly be astonishing.
Of course…
Ren Mori knew that his body had changed.
What he did not know was exactly how tough it had become.
Seeing Ren Mori hesitate, Marco continued, “You don’t need to worry too much.
The others don’t actually mean anything bad by it.” And Marco was not merely saying that to comfort him.
It was true.
The Whitebeard Pirates had always been a close-knit crew.
“Besides, if you want to become a Division Commander, you should use your own strength to silence those doubts.” “I know.” Ren Mori nodded.
“Tonight…
I’ll do my best.” “Don’t worry.
I’ll go easy on you.” Marco left those words behind with a smile before walking away, apparently completely at ease.
Ren Mori closed the door again and slowly sat down on the floor.
As for his upcoming spar with Marco, he had no intention of using Wood Release.
The reason was simple.
The moment he used it, everyone would almost certainly assume that he was a Devil Fruit user.
Yet Ren Mori had been aboard the Whitebeard Pirates for nearly ten years without ever displaying such an ability.
If he suddenly revealed it now, people would naturally think he had deliberately concealed his Devil Fruit power for almost a decade.
That would make him seem terrifyingly patient.
They might even start believing that Ren Mori had enormous ambitions.
Someone rather similar to Blackbeard— Marshall D.
Teach.
…
Time passed quickly, and evening soon arrived.
Food and alcohol had already been spread across the deck.
The atmosphere became increasingly lively.
Whitebeard sat near the center of one side of the deck, drinking with a broad smile on his face.
Naturally, every now and then, a woman wearing a white coat would remind him, “Pops, the banquet hasn’t even officially started yet.
Drink less.” “Nonsense!
Hasn’t it already started?
Gurararara…!” Whitebeard paid little attention to her warning.
She could say whatever she wanted.
He would keep drinking anyway.
Meanwhile, Ren Mori was surrounded by people constantly raising their cups to him, congratulating him on becoming the provisional Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates’ 17th Division.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the event they had all been waiting for finally began.
The friendly spar between Marco and Ren Mori.
“Ren Mori has always trained really hard.
I don’t think he can possibly be that weak…
so I’m betting on Brother Marco.” “You bastard!
Why are you saying something so obvious?” “Don’t forget, Brother Marco is a Devil Fruit user!
Ren Mori isn’t even comparable to him.” “Of course, if they were competing in schemes or strategy, I’d bet on Ren Mori.” “But unfortunately…” “This is a contest of strength!” “The odds on Ren Mori have already reached one to one hundred!” “Boring.
There’s no point betting on this at all.” “This fight is already over before it’s even started.” “No…
there is still one possibility.” “And that is…
Brother Marco throws the match!
Hahahaha!” The surrounding crew members immediately burst into laughter.
At that moment, in the center of the crowd— Marco and Ren Mori were both ready.
“Begin!” The instant Whitebeard gave the word, the spar officially started.
“Please guide me, Marco!” “Come on, Ren Mori.
Let me see the results of all those years of hard work.” The moment Marco finished speaking, Ren Mori pushed off the deck and charged forward.
In that instant, Ren Mori suddenly felt something strange.
His body felt light.
Extremely light.
Seeing Ren Mori move with such startling agility, Marco froze for a moment.
He had clearly not expected it.
“Sure enough!
You really have developed quite a bit of skill in close combat!” ⚡ Support the Story & Unlock More Chapters!