A Pirate's Journey Begins with Refusing Red-Haired's Invitation

By the time Krieg chased after his men, it was too late to stop them. Every man he had brought was already down.

He shook with rage.

The woman behind him trembled uncontrollably. "Darling, what do we do? They look really strong."

"Get lost!" Krieg snapped, glaring at her.

She stumbled back several steps in fright.

Marco smiled. "What's the point of yelling at a woman? Looks like you're the captain of that big ship over there. How about you take your men and leave?"

His men burst out laughing.

Krieg tore off his coat, revealing a suit of Golden Armor. "Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you're with the Whitebeard Pirates. You only reached the Grand Line before me. I'm armed to the teeth. Wiping you out would be easy!"

"Oh, so you haven't been to the Grand Line yet." Marco smiled. "Let's see if this frog in a well is as powerful as he is loud. Come on. Show me what you've got."

Floating Restaurant: Krieg Courts Death

Outside the restaurant.

Marco's men alone occupied more than half the narrow deck.

Krieg pulled out two guns, while ten more barrels emerged from the sides of his Golden Armor. "Die!"

A hail of bullets poured toward Marco.

Marco grinned, and a pair of wings burning with Blue Flame appeared on his back.

Every bullet passed through him, leaving holes all over his body.

Krieg thought he had killed him.

Then Blue Flame covered the holes, and his body returned to normal.

Marco was completely unharmed.

He possessed the Mythical Zoan Bird-Bird Fruit.

Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit Users were even rarer than Logia users, and his fruit made him one of only five known creatures capable of flight.

Marco's Resurrecting Blue Flames enveloped his wounds and regenerated them, rendering attacks ineffective.

His power healed more than his own wounds. It could also speed up other people's recovery.

That was why the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' first division was also their ship's doctor.

"Damn it! A Devil Fruit User!" Seeing that his attack had done nothing, Krieg forced himself to calm down. He had not intended to use this. "So what if you have a power? I'm the man who'll rule every sea! Today, I'll show you my true might!"

Krieg took the shield off his shoulder and aimed it at Marco.

"That's MH5! The deadliest poison-gas weapon!"

"Masks! Put on your masks!"

"Bastard! Do you know what'll happen if you use that thing?"

The men in the water and aboard Krieg's ship shouted in protest.

Krieg sneered. "Shut up, idiots. A fight is a fight, and winning is all that matters! Anything goes if it brings victory. That's what strength is! Hahaha!"

"Poison gas?" Marco frowned and flew straight at Krieg.

He knew the gas would harm countless people if it spread.

He had to stop Krieg before he released it!

They were close.

Marco reached Krieg before he could fire the Poison Gas Bomb and knocked the shoulder guard containing it away with a single blow.

Krieg's eyes widened.

He had not expected Marco to be so fast.

Krieg caught the shoulder guard before it flew far, joined it to the other one, and pulled a shaft from between them. A sharp point extended from its end, forming a Battle Spear.

It was his secret weapon: an enormous spear weighing a ton. Any strike from its head would also cause a massive explosion.

"Die! You and this lousy restaurant can be destroyed together!" Krieg swung his Battle Spear at Marco.

Marco leaped aside with ease.

Krieg missed him, but the blow split the deck outside Baratie's front entrance in two.

Marco's men hurried back onto their ship beside it, narrowly avoiding a plunge into the sea.

Inside the restaurant.

Lin Mo frowned and appeared at the doorway with Flash Step.

Marco noticed him at once. "Kid, get back inside. It's dangerous out here."

Lin Mo paid him no mind.

He stared at the small piece of stern still visible above the water. His boat had sunk with the broken deck.

That was his boat...

He did not care how Marco and Krieg fought.

But once their fight affected him,

even if it was only a small, insignificant boat,

he would not let it pass!

Lin Mo looked coldly at Krieg as the man charged toward Marco.

Marco even moved in front of Lin Mo to protect him.

Lin Mo drew Toyako and stepped past Marco.

He met Krieg's attack head-on.

"Kid, get back!" Marco cried.

A fierce glint flashed in Lin Mo's eyes.

A powerful pressure radiated from him as he raised his sword.

One slash was enough.

Krieg's Battle Spear snapped in two under the Sword Aura before it even touched Lin Mo's Wooden Sword.

"What?!" Krieg's eyes flew wide.

"Huh?" Marco froze.

Everyone watching stared in shock.

Lin Mo's expression remained indifferent. He swung again.

The Sword Aura struck Krieg square in the chest.

Krieg's eyes rolled back, and he fell straight backward with a thud.

His men were terrified. They wanted to check on him, but none dared approach.

Only the woman crawled over, trembling.

She shook Krieg. When he did not respond, she felt for his pulse.

Her face went pale. She covered her mouth and cried, "He's... he's dead..."

"What? The boss is dead?"

"The boss lost to a child?"

"Who is that kid? He cut the boss's Battle Spear in two with one blow, then killed him with the next. Is he really a child?"

"He's terrifying! We'll die if we fight them. Everyone, run!"

Krieg's men scrambled to get their ship moving.

The woman looked from Krieg to the ship about to leave. After a moment's hesitation, she abandoned him and hurried aboard with the others.

Marco did not send his men to stop them.

Instead, he watched Lin Mo, who stood silently gazing at the sea.

"What are you looking at?"

"My boat..."

"Your boat?" Marco paused. He remembered a small sailboat tied to the outer deck when they had arrived.

Now there was nothing on the water.

The sailboat had sunk with the broken deck.

No wonder the kid had attacked.

It was his boat that had gotten caught in the fight...

Marco smiled. "What's your name?"

"Lin Mo."

"You look about nine or ten."

"Mm."

"You're good with a sword. Who taught you?"

Lin Mo glanced at him without answering, then turned and walked back into the restaurant.

Marco watched him go with a smile. He asked nothing more and called to the men on his ship, "Brothers, get ready. It's time for dinner."

"Coming!"

"That kid was incredible. Does he work at this floating restaurant?"

"Don't know. He isn't wearing a uniform or chef's clothes, so maybe not."

"If he doesn't, I'd love to have him join our crew. He'd be an interesting one! Hahaha!"

Marco's men filed noisily into the restaurant.

Zeff had several cooks push empty tables together and set out fifteen dinners.

Marco and his men gathered around them and began eating amid cheerful chatter.

Lin Mo sat alone at a small table nearby, quietly eating his dinner.

Then,

several of Marco's men called over to him.

"Kid, want to eat with us?"

"You were amazing back there! How about joining the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"Yeah, join the family! Pops is a great guy."

Lin Mo had no intention of answering. He kept eating.

Floating Restaurant: Marco's Invitation

It was only a simple dinner.

But Marco and his men made it feel wonderfully lively.

It was almost like a banquet.

They devoured meat, drank freely, and laughed as they talked at the top of their lungs.

Before long, they even began singing Binks' Sake, a song almost every pirate knew.

The cooks at Baratie were not busy, so they joined in too.

As for Lin Mo,

he seemed to be in a world apart from them.