One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks

Outside the restaurant, the narrow deck was packed, mostly with Marco's crew.

Krieg pulled out two guns, and from his golden armor, ten more gun barrels emerged. "Die!" he yelled as a barrage of bullets fired toward Marco.

Marco simply smirked, and in an instant, wings of blue flames sprouted from his back. The bullets passed right through him, leaving holes in his body. But as Krieg thought he had won, those bullet holes quickly closed up, covered by the blue flames, leaving Marco completely unharmed.

Marco wasn't just any Devil Fruit user—he possessed the Mythical Zoan-type Phoenix Fruit, a power even rarer than a Logia. His abilities granted him the power to regenerate, making attacks against him ineffective. His flames not only healed his wounds but could also speed up the healing of others, which is why Marco served as both a commander and the ship's doctor for the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Damn it, a Devil Fruit user!" Krieg cursed as he realized his attacks were useless. He hadn't wanted to resort to this, but now he had no choice. "So what if you're a Devil Fruit user? I'm going to be the future ruler of all seas, and today, you'll see my true power!"

With that, Krieg removed the shields from his shoulders, aiming them at Marco. "Get ready to witness MH5, my deadliest poison gas weapon."

"Gas mask, quick! Put on your gas masks!"

"What the hell are you doing, Krieg? You know what happens if you use that thing?"

Krieg's men, both in the sea and on his ship, shouted in panic, but Krieg sneered. "Shut up, fools! In battle, winning is all that matters. Victory justifies any means, and that's true power!"

"Poison gas?" Marco frowned, realizing the danger. He knew he had to stop Krieg before he could release it.

In a flash, Marco flew towards Krieg, closing the distance before he could release the gas. With one swift move, he knocked the shoulder shield holding the gas canister into the sea.

Krieg was stunned; he hadn't expected Marco to be so fast.

Panicking, Krieg quickly grabbed the shield from the water and combined it with the other, pulling out a massive battle spear. The spear was not only heavy—over a ton—but also deadly, with an explosive tip.

"Die, along with this miserable restaurant!" Krieg roared as he swung the spear down at Marco.

But Marco easily leaped out of the way, and though the spear missed him, it shattered the deck at the restaurant's entrance, splitting it in two.

Marco's men quickly retreated to their ship, narrowly avoiding falling into the sea.

Inside the restaurant, Takumi frowned slightly before using Soru to appear at the entrance.

Marco noticed him and immediately called out, "Kid, get back inside! It's dangerous out here."

But Takumi didn't heed his warning. His eyes were locked onto a small piece of his ship's stern, barely visible above the water where the rest had already sunk after the deck broke apart.

That was his ship...

Marco and Krieg could fight all they wanted—Takumi didn't care. But the moment it involved him, even if it was just a small boat, it became unacceptable.

Takumi's expression grew cold as he focused on Krieg, who was charging at Marco.

Marco tried to protect Takumi, standing between him and Krieg.

But Takumi sidestepped, drawing his wooden sword, and moved to face Krieg head-on.

"Kid, get out of the way!" Marco shouted in alarm.

Takumi's eyes narrowed, and a surge of sword intent radiated from him.

With a single slash, Krieg's massive spear was cut clean in two, long before it could reach Takumi's wooden sword.

"What the—!" Krieg's eyes widened in shock.

"Huh?" Marco was stunned.

Even the spectators were left speechless, their eyes practically popping out of their heads.

Takumi's face remained indifferent as he unleashed another strike. This time, the powerful sword energy struck Krieg directly in the chest.

Krieg's eyes rolled back as he collapsed backward with a heavy thud.

His men were paralyzed with fear, too scared to check if their leader was even alive. The woman beside Krieg hesitantly crawled over, her hands trembling as she pushed against his chest. Finding no pulse, her face turned pale, and she covered her mouth in horror. "H-He's dead..."

"What? The boss is dead?"

"The boss got taken down by a kid?"

"Who the hell is that kid? That's terrifying! He sliced through the boss's spear like it was nothing and killed him in a single strike. Is he even human?"

"This is bad. If we go up against them, we'll all be dead too. We've got to get out of here!"

Krieg's crew, now in a full-blown panic, scrambled to start their ship and flee.

The woman, after glancing between Krieg and the escaping ship, hesitated only a moment before abandoning him to join the fleeing pirates.

Marco didn't bother to stop them, instead watching Takumi, who was silently staring out at the sea.

"What are you looking at?" Marco asked.

"My boat..." Takumi muttered.

"Your boat?" Marco was confused at first, but then he remembered that there had been a small sailing boat tied to the outer deck when they arrived. Now, there was nothing left—it had sunk into the sea along with the broken deck.

No wonder the kid got involved—his ship had been destroyed...

Marco chuckled softly. "What's your name?"

"Takumi."

"You look like you're only nine or ten."

"Yeah."

"You've got impressive sword skills. Who taught you?"

Takumi gave him a sidelong glance but said nothing as he turned and headed back into the restaurant.

Marco watched him go, smiling slightly before turning back to his crew. "Alright, boys, get ready. Dinner's served."

"Oh yeah, finally!"

"That kid was incredible. Is he with the Sea Restaurant crew?"

"Not sure. He wasn't wearing a uniform or chef's outfit, so maybe not."

"If he's not, we should get him to join our pirate crew. He's definitely someone interesting, haha."

Marco's men, full of energy, filed into the restaurant.

Zeff had already instructed the chefs to push a few tables together and set out fifteen dinners for Marco's crew.

The Whitebeard Pirates sat down, boisterously enjoying their meal.

Takumi, on the other hand, quietly ate his dinner at a small table off to the side.

One of Marco's men called out to him, "Hey, kid, why don't you come join us?"

"Yeah, you were awesome earlier! Ever think about joining the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"Come on, we're a big family. Pops is really great!"

Takumi ignored them, continuing to eat his meal in silence.

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