After speaking, Rocks extended another invitation to Marco.
"Alright, this is the last time I'll ask you: do you want to become my subordinate?"
This is already three visits from Rocks, so if Marco doesn't agree now, it would seem like he's being ungrateful.
But Marco was destined to disagree. Whitebeard was like a father to him; how could he betray his own family?
What's more, Rocks still looks like Teach, which Marco finds incredibly repulsive.
Marco answered with his actions.
He Zoan transformation, flapping his wings and unleashing a series of blue fireballs at Rocks below.
Having learned his lesson the hard way, he knew he had to avoid physical contact with Rocks, so he used a ranged attack and deliberately increased its range.
Although the Phoenix Fruit does have accompanying fire abilities, its flames are healing flames and do not have a burning effect.
Marco's fireballs only relied on their powerful impact to attack the enemy.
Seeing that Marco had refused him, Rocks wasn't annoyed. He grinned and said,
"Looks like you still prefer playing house with Newgate, what a shame!"
As he spoke, Rocks casually waved his hand, and the darkness behind him instantly condensed into jet-black spears, shattering the blue fireballs that were attacking him.
Immediately afterwards, the dark spear suddenly lengthened and pierced towards Marco.
Marco's eyes narrowed in mid-air, and he spread his wings, revealing a prototype shield formed from azure flames in front of him.
"The Thorn of the Undying!"
Puff puff puff!
The dark spear plunged deep into the flames, creating waves of heat before finally dissipating into the air.
Marco broke out in a cold sweat; his Thorn of the Undying was just a hair's breadth away from being breached.
Rocks looked at his hands with some dissatisfaction, thinking to himself,
"The Power of Darkness is getting weaker and weaker; I can't waste any more of it. I need to end this battle quickly!"
He reached out again towards Marco and activated Dark Water.
Upon seeing this familiar move, Marco's expression changed drastically; he had just suffered from this move before.
That's why, after recovering from his injuries, he immediately flew to a high altitude, thinking that this would allow him to escape the Dark Water's attack range as much as possible.
But the truth is that Marco underestimated the gravity of darkness.
After flailing about in the air twice, Marco was helplessly controlled by the Dark Water and flew towards Rocks.
Seeing that resistance was futile, Marco decisively deactivated the Phoenix Fruit's power and immediately wrapped his arm in Armament Haki.
As the captain of the first division of the Whitebeard Pirates, Marco's Armament Haki is naturally quite high, and he can already project it outwards.
He threw a powerful punch at Rocks, unleashing an invisible burst of energy.
Seeing Marco's quick thinking, a look of appreciation appeared on Rocks's face, and he said,
"Not bad, as expected of the person I've chosen. Their combat instincts are truly sharp, but it's a pity they can't be used by me!"
Despite saying that, Rocks' actions were anything but hesitant; he had long since mastered the art of Haki presence.
Although he is still using Teach's body, he can still unleash the full power of the original body, not to mention he also possesses Conqueror's Haki!
Conqueror's Haki is different from Armament Haki. It is not an innate power that everyone possesses; it is a kind of aura!
Simply put, its origin lies in a person's soul.
Rocks can still use Conqueror's Haki, and things like being enveloped in Conqueror's Haki are something he can do with ease.
Conqueror's Haki, crackling with jet-black Inazuma, clung to Rocks' arm as he unleashed a punch at Marco in return.
"Divine Silence!"
Marco's attack seemed so weak and powerless under this punch, and he was crushed in no time.
With a muffled thud, Marco's body plummeted to the ground like a kite with a broken string.
Marco was covered in blood and looked incredibly miserable.
He struggled to his feet and tried to use his abilities to heal his injuries.
This time, he successfully used his ability, and intense blue flames rose from his body.
After the flames burned for a long time, Marco sadly discovered that while his injuries were healing, the effect was negligible.
If he had watched the Marineford War in the anime, he would know that even the strongest Devil Fruit ability are powerless in the face of top-tier Haki users.
In the anime, he was knocked to the ground by Garp's punch and immediately wrapped in bandages.
To truly unleash the power of the fruit, we'll have to rely on Senga's Rinnegan!
Marco doesn't have the Rinnegan, so he has no choice but to swallow this bitter pill.
He vowed that if he could make it back alive this time, he would definitely train his Haki diligently!
Marco's mastery of Haki was already quite high, but he suffered such a great loss for two reasons: firstly, he lacked Conqueror's Haki, and secondly, Rocks was simply too strong.
Even Rocks, who is currently facing numerous limitations, is not someone he can handle.
Keep in mind that Rocks' current strength is already at the level of Four Emperors. If it were him back then, Marco would probably have been killed with a single punch.
Even if he is Phoenix.
Rocks strode toward Marco with exaggerated steps, his smile utterly wicked.
Marco watched as Rocks approached him step by step. He wanted to fight back, but he found that even moving a finger would cause pain all over his body. He could only stand there like a lamb to the slaughter, waiting for Rocks to come and reap the harvest.
However, Rocks did not end his life as Marco had expected.
He walked up to Marco and patted him hard on Marco shoulder twice.
Normally, such movements would be nothing, but Marco was seriously injured, and those two blows almost cost him his life.
Marco's face showed pain, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent, glaring fiercely at Rocks with his dead fish eyes.
If looks could kill, Rocks would have been killed ten thousand times over.
He ignored Marco's glare, which seemed to want to devour him whole, and said with a smile,
"Don't be nervous, I won't kill you, but I need you to pass on a few words to Newgate."
Marco was stunned, never expecting that he still had a chance to survive.
Without waiting for Marco's reply, Rocks continued speaking to himself.
"Go tell Newgate that his former captain Rocks, has returned, and tell him to get ready to welcome him! Hehehehehe!"
After saying that, Rocks turned around and left without hesitation, leaving Marco standing there, looking completely dazed.