One Piece: King of the World

Chapter 268: The Spark That Ignites a War Between Emperors!

Marco had intended to take his time heading upstairs. After all, how much trouble could a single Devil Fruit possibly cause?

The middleman from the underworld had mentioned that the fruit had already been reserved by one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea— Enel—who had even put down a deposit. That was slightly inconvenient since taking it would mean stealing something Enel had already claimed.

But Marco wasn't particularly concerned. The Warlords were strong, sure, but he had his own pride. We're the Whitebeard Pirates!

And what did that mean?

They were the strongest, the largest, the most fearsome crew on the seas!

Marco found it laughable to think that Enel, as one of the Warlords, would actually dare to pick a fight with them over a single Devil Fruit. That would be ridiculous.

"If he wants an explanation, just give him some money," Marco thought casually.

It had to be said, the Whitebeard Pirates were arrogant. But they had the power to back it up. For decades, they had been the ones doing the bullying. Who had ever dared to bully them? Even the Navy had to give them some face.

The truth was, Whitebeard had spoiled his "sons" too much. But nothing lasts forever.

When he was gone, someone would teach them a hard lesson.

As Marco pondered these things, a sudden surge of powerful energy erupted nearby. One presence was unmistakably Teach, but the other, Marco's expression darkened as realization hit him.

"Red-Haired!"

Teach wasn't well-known, but Marco knew full well how strong he was, strong enough that they had once considered making him the Second Division Commander.

But Shanks?

Shanks was a monster. He had gone toe-to-toe with their old man and held his own.

Alarmed, Marco didn't hesitate any longer. Whatever the reason for the fight, Teach wasn't strong enough to handle Shanks alone. If he didn't step in, Teach might die.

With a burst of phoenix flames, Marco shot forward at incredible speed, racing toward the battlefield.

In pirate battles, there was no such thing as honor duels.

No one cared about one-on-one fights.

If you had numbers, you used them. No one was going to politely wait for their turn.

And right now, Teach was getting mobbed by the Red Hair Pirates.

Teach was suffering.

This wasn't what he had planned at all.

"I just wanted to get the Dark-Dark Fruit!"

He had thought it would be simple. Get the fruit, keep Marco as backup, and everything would be fine.

Instead, he had run into the worst possible situation, Shanks and his crew had the fruit now.

And there was no way they'd hand it over without a fight.

"Damn it! I should've brought backup!" Teach cursed internally.

The Whitebeard Pirates were used to outnumbering their enemies. But now he was the one getting jumped, and it was a humiliating experience.

To his credit, Teach was incredibly strong, even without the Dark-Dark Fruit, he was only slightly weaker than Shanks. He could still hold his own, even as more and more injuries accumulated on his body.

But Shanks had no intention of letting him go.

This wasn't just about the Devil Fruit.

The Whitebeard Pirates had barged into his territory looking for trouble. That wasn't something Shanks could just ignore.

And as for whether killing Teach would start a war?

Shanks didn't care. He might not seek out conflict, but he wasn't afraid of it either.

That was another story entirely.

---

At the same time, on the port of Versailles, Enel had just disembarked from his ship.

His Observation Haki was exceptional.

Even before he stepped onto the island, he sensed the chaos unfolding on Pleasure Street.

His brows furrowed. "A high-level battle? What's going on?"

Then, as realization dawned, his expression twisted.

"They're stealing my Devil Fruit?!"

His heart clenched for a moment.

And then—

Before his other foot could even touch the ground—

CRACK!

Lightning flashed.

Enel vanished.

In an instant, he appeared above the battle, looking down.

He saw Marco.

He saw a man he didn't recognize, who was also incredibly strong fighting against the Red Hair Pirates.

And then he saw it.

The Dark-Dark Fruit, clutched in the hands of a fat man.

"So they did steal from me!"

Enel didn't care who they were.

Whitebeard's crew? Red Hair Pirates?

His backer was the Celestial Dragons.

Did these so-called Emperors think they could outrank the World Government?

Without hesitation, Enel unleashed a devastating lightning strike aimed directly at Lucky.

Lucky hadn't expected anyone else to interfere. Caught off guard, he barely had time to react. Instinctively, he hardened his body with Armament Haki, managing to block Enel's lightning strike head-on.

But in the next instant, the lightning transformed—into Enel himself.

"Thunderbird," Enel murmured.

With a sudden burst of speed, he delivered a devastating kick to Lucky Roux's chest. The strike was infused with intense electrical energy, taking the shape of a screeching thunderbird as it made impact.

Lucky coughed up blood as he was sent flying backward.

The Dark-Dark Fruit, which had been firmly in his grasp, was knocked loose, spinning through the air.

Teach had been watching the fruit closely the entire time.

The moment he saw Enel arrive, he knew things had gotten even more complicated.

But there was no time to hesitate.

Without a word, Teach lunged forward, reaching out to seize the Dark-Dark Fruit!