Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

"Hmph!" At this moment, Shiki realized that he had been tricked. Not only had he failed to capture Nami, but he had also been lured away from the small sky island by Reina.

"Brother Shiki is really persistent! Is he planning to kill me?!" Reina said with a smile after seeing that his plan had succeeded.

"Hmph! You little brat, you just like to use petty tricks! In front of a true strongman, these petty tricks are useless! Even if I defeat you, I can still go back and fight my way back!" Shiki said disdainfully.

"In the face of absolute strength, tricks are naturally useless, but... I don't think Brother Shiki can crush me! Sharingan... activate!" At this point, if Reina doesn't activate his Sharingan, he's afraid he'll really be beaten to a pulp by Shiki the Golden Lion.

"Finally getting serious?" Seeing the three tomoe in Reina's eyes, Shiki's lips curled up slightly as he smiled and said.

“Of course! I wouldn’t dare to be careless when facing Brother Shiki!” Reina smiled slightly, then said to Marco, who had just arrived, “You go back first, I’ll leave this to you, you guys go ahead!”

“Reina, don’t be stubborn! Let me hold him off, you go back to the little sky island!” Marco shook his head and refused Reina’s request.

"What? You think you can beat me? Go on, go save Nami first! Shiki's target is her, not me!" Reina said with a smile.

Marco glanced at Skeeter, then at Reina, nodded, and said, "Alright! Be careful!"

Seeing Marco leave, Shiki, who was smoking a cigar, suddenly laughed.

"Hehehehe... Kid, have you got something wrong? With you here, why would I need that little girl? You're my top choice!"

Chapter 425 The Golden Lion Retreats

"Me? Does Brother Shiki really want to start a war with our Whitebeard Pirates?" Reina asked in surprise.

"Hmph! If you hold onto the idea that I won't hurt you... then you might really die here today! Then I can go find that little girl again!" Shiki said to Reina with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Reina was slightly taken aback, but instantly understood what Golden Lion meant. As a top expert, he originally respected Reina quite a bit, but in the battle just now, Reina did not go all out against him, which made Shiki feel insulted, so that's why he said that now.

"Phew~ I understand! It seems Brother Shiki wants to fight me!" Reina said softly as he floated in the air.

"Hehehehe... Kid, watch out... or you'll really die!" Shiki laughed and charged straight at Reina.

“Here…you are no match for me!” Reina said with a smile. “There’s nothing here for you to control!”

Shiki was taken aback, but instantly understood what Reina meant. However, he smiled and said, "It seems you've forgotten... who taught you swordsmanship in the first place!"

"Hahaha... You don't think I'm still the same as I was back then, do you? Let me think... How many years has it been since you last ventured out to sea? You don't think this ocean is still just you and Roger, do you?" Reina asked with a loud laugh.

"It seems I have indeed been gone for too long, so long that even you have forgotten I exist!" Shiki said softly, squinting his eyes.

"Enough with the nonsense! Try it and you'll see!" Reina swung the Hyōrinmaru in his hand and attacked Shiki directly.

Meanwhile, Marco, back on the small sky island, went directly to Haredas and ordered him to immediately relocate the small sky island.

"Don't worry, we have our own ways to protect ourselves!" Haredas nodded and told his companion to activate the mechanism. Soon, the small sky island was shrouded in white clouds, and if you didn't know better, you would never be able to spot any flaws.

"Phew~ That's good!" Seeing that Haredas had a solution, Marco felt much relieved. Only then did he continue running towards the direction of the previous battle, where Nami was waiting for him to rescue her.

"Marco! How's the situation over there?" Upon seeing Marco descend from the sky, A-Jian, who had been anxiously waiting, quickly stepped forward and asked.

"Reina is fighting the Golden Lion. I'll come back first to rescue Nami, and then go back to help him right away!" Marco said as he walked towards the place where Nami was submerged.

"Phoenix Seal - Heavy Strike!" Marco, now in his half-beast form, flew into the air and kicked out in that direction.

"Boom!" The lion-shaped rock shattered into pieces, revealing Nami, who had already fainted inside.

"Nami!" Bellemere and Nojiko exclaimed immediately and ran towards Nami's direction.

"Phew~ She just fainted, she's fine! Take good care of her! These clouds were released by the little sky island to hide her! Don't worry! I'm going to support Reina now, Nojiko... If anything happens, contact me immediately with this!" Marco took out a small Den Den Mushi from his body, handed it to Nojiko, and said.

"Okay! You... be careful!" Nojiko knew the situation was urgent, so she didn't say anything more. After taking the Den Den Mushi, she followed Arsenal, who was carrying Nami, and headed towards Haredas and the others.

Marco was relieved to see Nojiko and the others leave. He then spread his arms and flew towards the place where Reyner and Shiki were fighting.

But when he arrived, he found that no one was there. Just as he was about to look around, he heard the sounds of battle coming from the sea below.

Marco immediately began to descend, flying towards the area where the battle was taking place.

"Ice Burial of a Hundred Flowers!" Before Marco could even get in, he discovered that many parts of the sea below were frozen, and Reina and Shiki the Golden Lion were engaged in a fierce battle on the surface of the sea.

"Hahahaha... That's more like it! Long time no see, you've grown to this level!" After exchanging a blow with Reina, Shiki laughed loudly as he saw Marco approaching.

"Brother Shiki's charm is as impressive as ever!" Reina smiled slightly. He knew that Shiki the Golden Lion had decided to retreat upon seeing Marco's arrival.

With his current strength, plus Marco's, even the Golden Lion wouldn't dare say they have a chance of winning.

Sure enough, after glancing at Marco who was approaching, Shiki slowly rose into the air and said, "Since I've already said hello, I won't bother you any longer. Farewell!"

Watching Shiki the Golden Lion leave in another direction, Marco frowned and asked, "He just left like that? That's really unbelievable!"

“He’s only retreating temporarily. It seems he’s already got his eye on Nami! Let’s go back first!” Reina shook his head and said.

When the two returned to the small sky island, Nami and the others were working with Haredas and the others to repair the damage caused by the battle.

"Sorry for making such a mess here!" Reina said somewhat apologetically to Haredas after deactivating Hyōrinmaru's Bankai mode upon landing.

"Hehehe... If it weren't for you this time, we would be in big trouble!" Haredas shook his head and said.

“Indeed, the small sky island has been targeted by the Golden Lion. Have you thought about what to do?” Reina asked after a moment of thought.

"Don't worry! Apart from the permanent pointer we have here, we haven't made any other permanent pointers! As long as we hide the small sky island, ordinary people will definitely not be able to find us!" Haredas said confidently.

Reina nodded, took out the Vesalia Permanent Pointer, and then destroyed it right in front of Haredas.

"What are you doing...?" Haredas was taken aback and said, "You didn't need to do this. We trust you, that's why we gave you this!"

“I know, but it’s necessary to do this just in case! Also… if there’s any emergency, you can use this to contact me!” Reina said, taking out a small Den Den Mushi and handing it to Haredas.

"Huh... this Den Den Mushi... is a bit strange!" Haredas, who had just taken the Den Den Mushi, immediately sensed something, tilted his head and looked at it, saying.

“That’s right, this is a Den Den Mushi that Dr. Asie improved and re-bred. Even in the first half of the Grand Line, it can contact its own kind! Every captain in our Whitebeard Pirates carries one of these Den Den Mushi! In addition, there are also mother Mushi on Crescent Island, so the range of acceptance is even wider!” Reina explained with a smile.

"Oh~~ What an amazing invention! Is that doctor also a member of your Whitebeard Pirates?" Haredas immediately showed interest and asked.

“That’s right! Our pirate crew’s Sky Island was entrusted to his management, and he has now completely turned it into his laboratory!” Reina said with a smile.

"I really want to visit your Xuan Yue Island sometime!" Haredas said with a smile.

“You’re welcome anytime! If you want to come, you can contact me via Den Den Mushi! I’ll pick you up then!” Reina said with a smile.

"Hey~~ Reina, Marco~~ Haredas~~ Don't just stand there talking, come and help!" Nami, who had been doing the work, saw that Reina and the others were just standing there talking and had no intention of helping at all, so she immediately shouted loudly.

"Oh~ You look great! How are you? Are you alright?" Reina said with a smile as he walked over.

"Hmph! How could he possibly hurt me?" Nami said dismissively.

"Don't be careless! Golden Lion may already have his eye on you! He's the guy who almost wiped out the Roger Pirates!" Reina shook his head and said seriously.

"What?" Upon hearing Reina's words, Bellemere and A-Jen looked at Nami with some concern and said, "What should we do then?"

"Don't worry, nothing will happen. Didn't Reina say that he only almost, not actually, wiped out the Roger Pirates? Otherwise, he would be the Pirate King, not Roger! So, in that sense, he's still not as good as the Pirate King Roger!" Nami seemed completely unconcerned and waved her hand as she spoke.

But Reina immediately realized that she just didn't want her family to worry.

"In short, you should be safe on the small sky island now, but if you sail in the future... well, who knows! So remember to tell Luffy about this after you reunite with him!" Reina smiled slightly, not exposing her true intentions.

While they were talking, Nojiko found Marco and returned the Den Den Mushi to him.

Having lived on Crescent Moon Island for some time, Nojiko naturally knew what the Den Den Mushi meant, so the first thing she did upon seeing Marco was to return the Den Den Mushi to him.

After spending a few more days on the small sky island, Reina and the others finally prepared to leave.

"Ah Jian, I'm leaving Bellemere in your care! If anything goes wrong, you'll be in big trouble when I get back!" Nami said to Ah Jian, raising her little fist.

"Hmph! What do I need him to take care of?" Bellemere, with a cigarette dangling from her lips, glanced at Ah Jian, who was grinning foolishly, and said disdainfully.

Ken was probably the happiest person to come out this time, because Bellemere seemed to have started to accept him, and neither Nojiko nor Nami seemed to object.

"Nojiko, here's my advice... think it over carefully!" Nami waved to Nojiko with a smile and said.

When Nojiko heard Nami's words, her pretty face turned red, which, combined with her short blue hair, made her look quite adorable.

"Alright, we're off! Nami... I'll be waiting for you in the New World! I'm really looking forward to your challenge then!" Reina smiled slightly as he looked at Nami, who was almost in tears.

"Wait for us! Luffy will definitely defeat you!" Nami nodded and said firmly.

Nothing happened on the way back.

However, the relationship between Marco and Nojiko became very strange. It was as if they had no feelings for each other... yet their relationship was sometimes very close.

However, after both sides learned about this, they seemed to have become quite restrained, which made Bellemere and Reina dare not interfere rashly, after all, this was their own business.

When they finally returned to Xuan Yue Island, neither of them dared to break the ice, leaving Reina and A-Jian deeply disappointed.

Arriving at Xuan Yue Island also signifies parting.

Chapter 426 Marco's Dilemma

"What are you really thinking? Is this going to drag on for so long?" Looking at Marco drinking, Reina wanted nothing more than to rush up and kick him.

Today is the last day that Nojiko and his group will stay. Tomorrow morning, Reina will escort them back to the East Blue, so he came here specifically to ask Marco what he meant.

Unexpectedly, Marco just kept drinking and completely ignored Reina.

"Sigh~" Reina sighed, knowing that such things couldn't be forced. After glancing at Marco, who was still drinking, Reina left.

After Reina left, Marco slowly got up, looked at the place where Nojigo lived, thought for a moment, and then sat down again.

"What's troubling my child so much?" Just as Marco sat down, the white-bearded voice suddenly rang out behind him, startling Marco.

"Father..." Marco relaxed upon seeing the white beard and said, "It's nothing, I just wanted a drink!"

"Gurararara... You've grown up, and you're no longer willing to share your secrets with your old man?" The white-bearded man smiled slightly and asked.

Marco hesitated for a moment with a wry smile, then told Whitebeard what had happened.

"Gurararara... What's there to hesitate about? If you like someone, go for it; if you don't, make it clear to them! We're all good men who will conquer the seas, why be so indecisive?" Whitebeard laughed loudly after hearing this.

“Dad… this is different from killing enemies! Actually, Nojiko is quite good, but precisely because of that, I’m afraid that being with her will…” Marco gave a bitter smile, his eyes somewhat dim.

"What? You don't have the confidence to protect your beloved girl?" Whitebeard glanced at Marco and asked.

"Of course not... it's just... I can't stay on Crescent Moon Island forever, but it would be too dangerous for her to come to sea with me! So... so I'm a little..." Marco first refuted Whitebeard, but in the end, he seemed unable to continue.

"Since that's the case, why don't you ask her directly? This is all you can give her. If she's unwilling, then letting go is the best course of action. But if she is willing, then isn't it enough for you to do everything you can to protect and cherish her?" The white-bearded man put away his smile and said directly.

Marco looked at Whitebeard, seemingly considering what Whitebeard had said.

“I understand, Dad! I’ll talk to her and clear things up first thing tomorrow morning!” Marco finally stood up, dusted himself off, and said.

"Bang!" Unfortunately, before Marco could regain his footing, Whitebeard's large hand slapped Marco on the back of the head, causing him to stumble and almost fall to the ground.

"You bastard... Go now!" Whitebeard said angrily.