In the end, Daisy could only attribute this ability to a special power carried by the Dark-Dark Fruit.
After all, this fruit was inherently mysterious. It was hailed as the most vicious Devil Fruit in history, so it was understandable for it to possess some special abilities.
And that was that.
After Mark's constitution reached ★★☆, ordinary people provided very, very little benefit. A massive pirate fleet of several thousand people had only filled one-third of the energy in the third star.
Although it became harder to advance in star rating the further he went, there had been thousands of them. By Mark's estimation, he should have reached ★★★ at the very least. Who would have thought...
I'll leave this kind of fodder to Chiu Chiu from now on... Mark thought. He only needed to deal with those who could increase his own strength.
Of course, Mark had his own theory about this diminishing return in experience.
It was probably like playing a game. When someone high-level fought someone low-level, they barely gained any experience.
Having figured it out, Mark washed up, then applied a layer of maintenance oil to the Mountain-Splitting Axe.
Once he had dealt with the miscellaneous matters, Mark prepared a delicious lunch for Daisy and Chiu Chiu.
Fructose salad, salt-baked prawns with horn salt, abalone steak with sauce, and a whole spread of sumptuous dishes.
After the group had eaten their fill, the Moss continued toward Loguetown.
Two days later...
The waters near Loguetown—
"Mark, how did they know we defeated Krieg?" Daisy asked, puzzled as she looked at the wanted poster in her hand.
Mark had noticed this question earlier than Daisy, and he had already figured out part of the reason.
He raised his head and pointed toward the sky. Daisy followed his finger and saw seagulls passing overhead from time to time.
"You mean?" Daisy asked in surprise.
"Yes, these seagulls!" Mark nodded.
"If I'm right, many of these seagulls are connected to Morgans!"
Daisy said, "That albatross from the World Economic News?"
"Mm..."
Morgans controlled the largest news agency in the pirate world, the World Economic News.
The prerequisite for obtaining firsthand news was having people at the scene. As the big boss of the World Economic News, most of his subordinates were seagulls, the most common animals on these seas.
Looking at it that way, Morgans was also the largest intelligence broker in this world.
After Mark was wanted, Morgans must have set his sights on him. Otherwise, the news could not have spread so quickly. Moreover, as one of the rulers of the underworld, Morgans moved between pirates and the World Government and had connections with both major powers.
That also explained why news of Mark killing Krieg had spread in such a short time.
"But if that's the case, wouldn't his intelligence network be even stronger than the CP Organization's?" Daisy had once been a Celestial Dragon, so she still knew quite a bit about the World Government.
"Probably not. The CP Organization has likely infiltrated the World Economic News long ago. It's even possible that the World Economic News was founded by the World Government, and Morgans might just be a puppet!" Mark voiced his speculation.
"And no matter how powerful the World Economic News is, it can't reach into the New World."
Mark was certain of that.
The World Government did not know the movements of those great pirates in the New World at all. If they had, they would not have been surprised by Red-Hair's arrival at Marineford.
Nor would they have received no news during Kaido and Luffy's battle on Onigashima, only learning afterward that Kaido and Big Mom had been defeated.
Many other matters also showed just how severely lacking the World Government's intelligence on the New World was.
There... was the domain of pirates.
Time passed quickly, and Marco's group arrived in Loguetown.
The shops lining both sides of the streets buzzed with activity. Stores selling all kinds of trinkets and collectibles were everywhere.
"Mark, it's so prosperous here!" Daisy hugged a pink teddy bear bag in her arms, her face full of curiosity as she looked at the bustling streets around her.
Mark said, "Loguetown sits at the border between the Grand Line and the East Blue. It's normal for it to be this prosperous."
After all, this was also where the Pirate King had been executed, and many pirates came here because of its fame.
"Boss, I'm about to die from exhaustion..." Chiu Chiu said resentfully.
Walking down the street, Chiu Chiu had many bags hanging from his body, all filled with local specialties and restocked supplies.
Mark smiled. "The capable ones work harder..."
He patted Chiu Chiu, then turned and walked beside Daisy.
Chiu Chiu hitched up the bags on his body, looking even more resentful.
Chiu Chiu's golden feathers attracted the attention of many people nearby.
And... they also drew the attention of certain others.
At the Loguetown Marine base, inside the colonel's office—
A Marine soldier knocked on the door and entered.
"Colonel Smoker, members of the Moss Pirates have been spotted in Loguetown!" he reported to Smoker after saluting.
Smoker had been holding a recent newspaper and reading it.
Upon hearing the Marine soldier's report, he shoved the newspaper into a drawer.
"Take me there!" Smoker stood and walked over to the Marine soldier.
"Yes!" The Marine soldier turned and led the way for Smoker.
The group quickly left the Marine base and headed straight for Mark and the others.
"Colonel Smoker, don't we need to gather the Marines from the base?" Tashigi asked while they were on the way.
"No need. The enemy's strength cannot be underestimated, and this Mark is very likely a Logia-type Devil Fruit User. Sending too many soldiers would only tie my hands. Later, you can take a few soldiers and evacuate the surrounding residents."
Marine Headquarters placed great importance on the Morse Pirate Ship. Especially after learning that they had wiped out a pirate fleet of a thousand men, they paid even closer attention and continually gathered intelligence on the Morse Pirate Ship.
For the past few days, the first thing Smoker saw upon opening his eyes was intelligence on the Moss Pirates. It was fair to say that he knew the Moss Pirates very well.
The news that Mark was a Devil Fruit User had already been confirmed. Whenever he used his power, black mist surged around him over an enormous area, and guns and even weapons seemed unable to harm him at all.
Marine Headquarters had concluded that Mark was likely a Logia-type Devil Fruit User.
Mark's combat characteristics were simply too similar to those of a Logia. It was just that Marine Headquarters had yet to determine what kind of Logia Devil Fruit power Mark possessed.
Crew member Chiu Chiu was possibly an altered creature. In battle, he could unleash a type of golden lightning with immense destructive power. He was also unafraid of seawater, and his overall strength was not weak. The Marines had raised his bounty to 50 Beli...
Navigator Daisy, Mark's younger sister. Her information was unknown, even her appearance was unknown. She was an exceptionally mysterious girl.
"A black power, unafraid of damage..."
Smoker tightened his gloves. If the opponent truly was a Logia, things would become much more troublesome.
He did not know Armament Haki. Other than his Jitte, he had no means of touching the opponent at all.
The group passed through streets and alleys before arriving at a broad plaza...
"Colonel Smoker, the members of the Morse Pirate Ship are over there..."