Marco escaped disaster

Seeing that the apple was ready, Su Yu casually tossed it to Marco.

Marco, who could normally catch a cannonball without a second thought, fumbled a little when catching an apple. He could hardly help it. This was no ordinary apple: it represented the hope of restoring Pops to his prime, as well as ten Devil Fruits. Marco did not dare let it suffer the slightest damage.

Marco cradled the apple carefully, then slowly raised it before his eyes and examined it with curiosity, unconsciously softening his breathing. Yet no matter how he looked at it, it was just an ordinary apple. That deep, dazzling ball of green light from earlier seemed like nothing more than an illusion.

Marco had been imagining how Su Yu would restore Whitebeard to his prime. Would he use some miraculous medicine, or treat Whitebeard in person? He had already been agonizing over how to persuade Whitebeard to accept treatment. He knew just how stubborn Whitebeard was. They had spent ages persuading him to accept treatment with medical equipment, and he had only agreed for their sake. Marco had not even told Whitebeard about this visit to Su Yu, instead slipping away under the excuse of having personal business to attend to.

Yet in the end, all he received was an apple that looked perfectly ordinary.

"Just have Whitebeard eat that apple. Relax, it won't get damaged that easily!"

Watching Marco's extreme caution, Su Yu silently shook his head and could not help offering a reminder.

Marco looked up with an embarrassed smile, then carefully placed the apple in a bag and hung it at his waist.

At that moment, however, he suddenly realized that he had not brought any Devil Fruits... No normal person carried Devil Fruits around wherever they went, did they...?

He had already received the goods but could not pay for them, which left him rather embarrassed. Yet he could not bear to return the apple and go back to gather the payment first.

Noticing Marco's predicament, Su Yu said casually:

"It's fine. You can take the apple back and have Whitebeard eat it first. As for the Devil Fruits, just bring them to me within three months. I still trust the Whitebeard Pirates to keep their word."

"Thank you, boss! I'll start looking for Devil Fruits as soon as I get back!"

Marco's gratitude was heartfelt. After all, Su Yu could easily have insisted on payment before handing over the goods. Given Su Yu's strength, Marco would have had no choice but to obediently raise the payment. Instead, Su Yu had allowed him to buy on credit, which meant Whitebeard could be freed from the torment of his illness sooner.

Afterward, Marco said goodbye to Su Yu and left the bar, then immediately assumed his Phoenix Form and took flight, causing a commotion in the street.

In the sky, Marco looked around but found no sign of Blackbeard. He hesitated briefly before deciding to head straight back.

He had intended to seize the opportunity to capture Blackbeard and bring him back, but Blackbeard had slipped away too quickly and was already nowhere to be seen. Even if he searched, he might not find him. Better to hurry back and deliver this apple to Pops!

Blackbeard would escape disaster this time.

What Marco did not know was that it was not Blackbeard who had escaped disaster this time, but himself. Had he actually encountered Blackbeard, he might have ended up taking Ace's place, handed over to the Navy by Blackbeard and locked away in Impel Down...

The underworld had been far from peaceful lately, because its uncrowned king, Joker, had issued a bounty.

The reward was extraordinarily generous, and the task itself posed no mortal danger, so countless desperadoes scrambled to pursue it. At that moment, everyone seeking the bounty seemed to become enemies.

And the bounty was for-finding clues to Pluton!

Though this was the underworld, the World Government had its own agents there, so it learned of the bounty immediately. After all, the name Pluton had always been among the keywords it monitored.

Once this came to light, Doflamingo was summoned for a meeting, just as expected. Others might not know that he was Joker, but how could the World Government not know? Had it not been for his status, it would not have bothered with a meeting at all. It would simply have thrown him into Impel Down on some trumped-up charge.

Only the Five Elders and Doflamingo himself knew what was discussed, but afterward, the World Government seemed to tacitly permit his actions.

As for why Doflamingo had suddenly begun searching for Pluton, that story began a week earlier.

It had been a brilliantly sunny day, without a cloud in the sky.

Yet the mood of Diamante, one of Doflamingo's senior officers, was entirely at odds with the beautiful weather, because Doflamingo had sent him to deliver gifts to Su Yu.

He had experienced Su Yu's terrifying power firsthand, and he had also read the subsequent news reports. By now, he felt an inexplicable awe toward the Sabaody Archipelago itself.

But he had no choice. These were Doflamingo's orders, and he had to obey, so he could only come.

Last time, they had arrived full of arrogance and left in utter disgrace. Now, standing before the entrance to the Wish-Granting Bar once again, Diamante was filled with conflicting emotions.

He steadied himself, then carefully pushed the door open. There were no customers in the bar, which allowed Diamante to breathe a sigh of relief.

Miland, who was wiping glasses behind the counter, watched Diamante with open hostility in his eyes and said bluntly:

"What do you want?"

Forcing down his discomfort, Diamante managed an ugly smile. "Young man, I'm not here to cause trouble. There may have been a little misunderstanding last time, so my young master sent me to bring your boss some gifts as an apology! Please let your boss know I'm here."

Miland frowned. He instinctively felt some distaste, vaguely sensing that the man was not sincere. In the end, however, he decided to leave the matter to his boss.

"Wait here. I'll get the boss."

Diamante nodded with a placating smile, his back bent. It was not that he wanted to bow; at five meters tall, he would have punched a hole through the bar's ceiling if he stood upright.

But before Miland could go upstairs to fetch him, Su Yu had already come down.

"Boss!" Miland called when he saw Su Yu, then moved to stand behind him.

"Mr. Su Yu, I..."

Before Diamante could finish, Su Yu cut him off without ceremony.

"I know why you're here. You should leave."

"Mr. Su-"

"Get out before I get angry!"

Diamante felt that terrifying presence again and fell completely silent.

He swallowed, his throat dry. In the end, he said nothing and reluctantly left, filled with fear and humiliation.