The red sun in the sky finally began to slowly fade away.
"Ha—ha—"
Marco flapped his wings and hovered above the harbor, gasping violently as blue flames covered his entire body.
His severed legs rapidly repaired themselves. The skin and surface muscles that had nearly been vaporized regenerated at high speed, and even the hair burned off from his head grew back.
But Marco had no time to pay attention to his injuries.
He looked down.
What he saw was nothing but an even larger, spherical crater.
There was nothing inside the crater, not even molten magma. Seawater was pouring into it, and before long, this place would be completely submerged.
"AAAAARGH! You bastard!"
Marco roared himself hoarse.
He had desperately tried to stop the explosion from spreading downward, desperately releasing blue flames below, to the point that he had even let down his own defenses.
But there was still nothing left.
Only himself.
Marco turned and looked toward the distant sky, but he could not even see that guy's shadow anymore. He beat his wings, intending to give chase.
"That's enough, Marco."
At that moment, Ochoku flew over through the air with booming steps. He did not continue attacking Marco; it would not take much effort to finish Marco off in his current state.
But afterward, would he be the one to deal with Whitebeard?
Ochoku merely snorted. "What good would chasing him do? How much strength do you have left now?"
Marco did not answer. He only continued gasping heavily.
"To think he could push you this far. Where did that bastard Kaido pick up such a brat? Even Kaido himself wasn't this strong when he first joined the Rocks Pirates."
Ochoku's fury had vanished, or rather, it had sunk beneath the surface. He casually glanced at Marco.