Loguetown

In the end, Daisy could only attribute this ability to a special power carried by the Dark-Dark Fruit.

After all, this fruit had always been mysterious. It was hailed as the most vicious Devil Fruit in history, so it was understandable for it to possess some special abilities.

And so, the matter passed.

After Mark's physique reached ★★☆, ordinary people provided very, very little benefit. A massive pirate fleet of several thousand people had only filled one-third of the energy within the third star.

Although it became harder to advance the higher the star rating got, there had still been several thousand people. According to Mark's estimate, it should have at least reached ★★★. Who would have thought...

I'll leave these small fry to Chiu Chiu in the future... Mark thought. Those who could increase his own strength were enough for him to handle.

Of course, Mark had his own guess as to why this diminishing-experience phenomenon had appeared.

It was probably like in a game: when someone high-level defeated someone low-level, they barely gained any experience.

Having figured it out, Mark washed himself up, then applied a layer of maintenance oil to the Mountain-Splitting Axe.

After dealing with the trivial matters, Mark prepared a delicious lunch for Daisy and Chiu Chiu.

Fruit sugar salad, salt-baked prawns with sandhorn peppers, sauced abalone steak, and a whole spread of sumptuous food.

After the group had eaten their fill, the Moss continued toward Loguetown.

Two days later...

In the waters near Loguetown—

"Mark, how did they know we defeated Krieg?" Daisy asked, looking at the wanted poster in her hand in confusion.

Mark had noticed this question earlier than Daisy, and he had also figured out part of the reason.

He raised his head and pointed toward the sky. Daisy followed the direction of his finger and saw seagulls occasionally flying overhead.

"You mean?" Daisy said in surprise.

"That's right, these seagulls!" Mark nodded.

"If I'm not mistaken, many of these seagulls are connected to Morgans!"

Daisy said, "That albatross from the World Economic News?"

"Yeah..."

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, and 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 this way, Morgans was also the biggest information broker in the 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 emperors of the underworld, Morgans moved between pirates and the World Government and had connections with both major powers.

That also explained why the 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 knew quite a bit about the World Government.

"Probably not. The CP Organization should have infiltrated the World Economic News long ago. Maybe the World Economic News was founded by the World Government, and Morgans might even be a puppet!" Mark offered his own guess.

"And no matter how powerful the World Economic News is, its reach can't extend into the New World."

Mark was certain about that.

The World Government did not know the movements of those great pirates in the New World at all. If it had, it would not have been surprised by Red-Hair's arrival at the Summit War.

Nor would it 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 things all showed how severely lacking the World Government's intelligence on the New World was.

That place... was the domain of pirates.

Before long, Mark and the others arrived in Loguetown.

The shops lining both sides of the streets were bustling with people. Stores selling all kinds of trinkets and collectibles were everywhere.

"Mark, this place is so lively!" Daisy said curiously as she looked at the bustling streets around her, clutching a pink teddy bear handbag in her arms.

Mark said, "Loguetown sits at the border between the Grand Line and the East Blue. It's normal for it to be a little more prosperous."

After all, this was also where One Piece had been executed, and many pirates came here because of its fame.

"Boss, I'm about to die from exhaustion..." Chiu Chiu complained resentfully.

As they walked down the street, numerous bags hung from Chiu Chiu's body, all stuffed full of local specialties and replenished supplies.

Mark smiled. "The capable work harder..."

He patted Chiu Chiu, then turned and walked beside Daisy.

Chiu Chiu adjusted the bags on his body, his expression becoming even more resentful.

Chiu Chiu's golden feathers also attracted the attention of many people around them.

And likewise... attracted the attention of certain people.

At the Loguetown Marine base, inside the colonel's office—

A Marine soldier knocked on the door before entering.

"Colonel Smoker, traces of the Moss Pirates have been discovered in Loguetown!" he reported to Smoker after saluting.

Smoker was holding a recent newspaper and reading it.

Upon hearing the Marine soldier's report, he stuffed the newspaper into a drawer.

"Take me there!" Smoker rose to his feet and walked up to the Marine soldier.

"Yes!" The Marine soldier turned and led the way for Smoker.

They quickly left the Marine base and headed straight for Mark and the others.

"Colonel Smoker, don't we need to gather the Marines stationed at the base?" Tashigi asked along the way.

"No. The enemy's strength cannot be underestimated, and this Mark is likely a Logia-type Devil Fruit user. Sending too many soldiers would only make me hold back. Later, you just need to take a few soldiers and evacuate the nearby residents."

Marine Headquarters placed great importance on the Moss Pirates. Especially after learning that they had wiped out a pirate fleet of a thousand men, it took them even more seriously and continuously gathered intelligence on the Moss Pirates.

For the past few days, the first thing Smoker saw whenever he opened his eyes was intelligence on the Moss Pirates. It could be said that he was very familiar with them.

The news that Mark was a Devil Fruit user had already been confirmed. Whenever he used his ability, waves of black mist rose around him, covering an enormous area. Firearms and even weapons seemed incapable of harming him in the slightest.

Marine Headquarters had concluded that Mark was very likely a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.

Mark's combat characteristics were simply too similar to those of a Logia user. It was just that Marine Headquarters had yet to determine what kind of Logia fruit Mark possessed.

Crewmember Chiu Chiu might be a modified creature. It could release golden lightning in battle, which was immensely destructive, and it was not afraid of seawater. Its overall strength was not weak, so the Marines had raised its bounty to 50 Beli...

Navigator Daisy, Mark's younger sister. Information unknown, even her appearance unknown. She was an extremely mysterious girl.

"A black ability that isn't afraid of damage..."

Smoker tightened his gloves. If the other party truly was a Logia user, things would become much more troublesome.

He did not know Armament Haki. Other than his Jitte, he had no ability capable of touching the other party at all.

After passing through streets and alleyways, they arrived at a broad plaza...

"Colonel Smoker, the members of the Moss Pirates are right over there..."