Destroying White Ghost

Swish, swish, swish! Axe shadows flashed one after another.

Within moments, the air was thick with the stench of blood.

More than twenty mangled corpses lay scattered around Mark, their blood gradually pooling into a small stream.

Pock looked terrified. His lips, pale from blood loss, trembled nonstop.

In East Blue,

Pock had feared no one since putting to sea.

If he had not lost most of his crew fighting Krieg, he would never have chosen to build up his forces in Clode Town. Even then, though, he had not been afraid.

But now, he was afraid.

His opponent was simply too powerful.

Krieg's brutality lay in his complete lack of scruples and his sinister, ruthless nature.

But the man before him was an executioner through and through.

He killed at an absurdly fast pace. More than twenty of Pock's men had been slaughtered in just over twenty swings of the axe.

One swing, one man!

Pock's lips were white and his face green with terror. With a thud, he dropped to both knees.

"Please spare me! I can agree to any demand you have. Please, you must spare me."

He desperately kowtowed to Mark, his voice sorrowful and full of pleading.

But Mark did not buy any of it. The Crescent Moon Axe sliced through the air, and a large head rolled across the ground.

Blood flowed into the stream, while the severed body twitched for a moment before falling still.

Mark casually pulled a piece of white cotton cloth from his clothes, wiped the blood from the axe blade clean, and slung it back over his shoulder.

"Let's go!"

Mark felt the body that had been strengthened by the fighting bracers and allowed a faint smile to curl his lips.

At least the trip had not been for nothing.

Daisy took out a green handkerchief and wiped the blood that had splashed onto Mark's face, her eyes full of concern.

She had long since grown used to seeing Mark kill.

From childhood onward, Mark had grown up under Jaba's training. It was inevitable that he would have to kill.

Besides, she had killed quite a few people herself. Especially during the past year of traveling abroad, her outstanding looks had made her an easy target, and she had killed plenty because of it.

And for pirates, killing needed no reason!

"Ah! I thought there would be some premium ingredients here. Looks like I was thinking too much," Mark sighed as he walked outside.

"If there aren't any, then let's just buy ordinary ingredients. I trust your cooking. Even ordinary ingredients will taste delicious in your hands," Daisy said.

"That'll have to do..."

However, just as they had walked less than ten meters, a scream rang out from the metal factory building behind them. Then a figure crackling with golden lightning flew out from inside.

"Old man, now you know how awesome I am, huh? Hahaha!" Golden Eagle cried!

He had actually been pretending to be unconscious. Just as the other party was about to experiment on him, he suddenly unleashed lightning and blasted the old man skyward like a cannonball. He had even split that old man's white hair down the middle with the shock.

He had finally vented the anger in his heart.

"First, I'll find that useless Pock. I need to let him taste what it feels like to get blasted through."

But the moment he flew out of the factory building, the sight before him left him stunned.

Corpses covered the ground, strewn everywhere... severed limbs and broken arms. Even Pock, whom he had been so eager to find, had been beheaded.

"This..." Golden Eagle stared blankly at everything before him, completely unaware that two figures had quietly approached.

Smack!

A broad hand suddenly seized Golden Eagle by the neck.

"Daisy, didn't I just say there were no premium ingredients? Here they are," Mark said, looking at Golden Eagle in his hand as his mood immediately improved.

Daisy drooled as she looked at Golden Eagle.

Golden Eagle's feathers were entirely gold, their color exceptionally pure.

His eyes were bright and lively, and the muscles of his abdomen were clearly defined. Even though she knew little about ingredients, she could tell that this Golden Eagle's meat had to be delicious.

"D-Damn it! Let me go! Let me go!" Golden Eagle desperately flailed his talons and wildly beat his wings, but the suffocating grip around his neck made his head grow dizzy.

Streams of golden lightning burst from Golden Eagle's body as well.

Mark felt a numb tingling in his hand, while a sense of danger rose from Golden Eagle.

Dark Water!

His long-term training allowed him to quickly use his ability in dangerous moments. A powerful suction force came from the hand gripping Golden Eagle's neck.

The streams of golden lightning were absorbed by Dark Water and sucked into the darkness space.

Golden lightning continued bursting from Golden Eagle's body, but it did nothing to Mark. Every bolt was drawn into the darkness space.

Mark looked at Golden Eagle, who was still releasing lightning, in surprise.

Not only could this bird speak, it could even discharge electricity?

And this electricity was not an ability. If it were, then once Mark grabbed him with the Dark-Dark Fruit's power, the ability should have vanished.

Yet the lightning on this bird did not work that way at all.

"What exactly are you?" Mark asked suspiciously.

Golden lightning flared wildly over Golden Eagle's body, but it was useless against Mark and only continued draining his strength.

Within moments, he had grown somewhat weak.

"W-Who I am is none of your business! Let me go!" Golden Eagle remained stubborn.

Smack!

Mark slapped Golden Eagle across the beak. The powerful blow sent blood seeping from the corner of Golden Eagle's mouth.

"Who are you calling 'your daddy'?"

"Y-Your daddy!"

Smack!

"Y-"

Smack!

"B-Big brother, stop hitting me! I was wrong!"

Golden Eagle felt as though neither side of his bird face belonged to him anymore. Everything he saw had become a blur.

His prized golden lightning was useless against his opponent, while the opponent's repeated slaps hurt like hell.

Left with no choice... yes, absolutely no choice (Circumstances forced my hand. I'll definitely get even later), he submitted.

Looking at the dispirited Golden Eagle, Mark asked, "What exactly are you?"

Daisy was curious as well. There were many species in the pirate world, but even gorillas, the animals most similar to humans, could not speak human language. How could he talk? Could he be a Devil Fruit user?

"I-I'm a parrot that ran away from home..."

A parrot?

"Then what's with that golden lightning of yours?"

"I-I don't know..."

Smack!

"I know!"

Golden Eagle no longer dared conceal anything and explained the reason. Mark hit far too hard; he felt that if he were hit a few more times, he might actually be beaten to death.

"It happened like this..."

After listening, Mark looked at Golden Eagle with a strange expression.

He had not expected this Golden Eagle to have escaped from there. No wonder he could discharge electricity. Wasn't there a duck in the original story that could release golden lightning just like him?

Floating Island "Strong World"!

Golden Lion's territory. Golden Eagle had originally been only a parrot, but after undergoing the IQ Experiment, his genes had changed somewhat.

Not only could he release golden lightning, but his appearance had gradually shifted toward that of an eagle.

Although his body had not mutated into one of the enormous creatures from the IQ Experiment, his combat ability was still impressive.

Mark looked Golden Eagle up and down.

After a moment, he said, "You have two choices now. First... I turn you into barbecue and fill my stomach!"

"Then... what's the second?" Golden Eagle asked cautiously.

"Second, join my pirate crew and become one of my crew members!"