One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 231 Marco the Phoenix, Whitebeard's Invitation!
In the direction of Gate 5.

Naturally, no one dared to stop the fleeing civilians.

Because all the participants' attention was drawn to the figure in front of them.

"boom!"

Shenhou casually retracted his golden cudgel, hoisted it onto his shoulder again, and strolled forward at a leisurely pace.

But at this moment, his appearance was clearly different from before.

A strange golden light continuously emanated from his body.

He walked in the light, as if he were a god descended to earth.

People can no longer even make out his exact appearance.

But as he put both feet on the ground...
"Zi!"

The black and red lightning, a color reminiscent of a conqueror's, always seemed to spread around his body.

This directly caused the earth to crack instantly wherever he went.

Enemies who were either preparing to dodge or had already hidden themselves would fall to the ground almost instantly.

Behind Shenhou, on the road he traveled.

The gladiators who tried to unite and attack him were almost everywhere; corpses were scattered about.

Especially in the places he had just walked through.

"boom!"

A gigantic giant, wielding a massive hammer, is slowly collapsing to the ground.

That was 'Barbarian Hammer' Magni, a giant pirate who was quite famous in the New World and a traitor to Elbaf.

But
"One strike and 'Brutal Hammer' was done?"

"Hey, that guy has a bounty of 700 million Berries. He can't even withstand a single blow?"

"With sheer force, he actually shattered the ground?! How is that even possible?!"

Even if they joined forces, they couldn't hurt him at all.

However, at this moment, there are quite a few experts from the New World appearing in Dressrosa—for example, at this moment, a group of powerful individuals hidden in a certain building are able to withstand Conqueror's Haki.

They are a group of assassins trained by the Grand Duke of the Principality of Ravenholdt in the New World, and are quite famous throughout the world for their stealth abilities and Observation Haki.

However, even these assassins who can withstand this level of Conqueror's Haki are considered 'strong' in the vast ocean.

At this moment, looking at Shenhou, he still dared not make the slightest move.

Even though their Observation Haki told them that their opponent was full of weaknesses.

But what they had just witnessed served as a reminder to them.

If they really make a move, they will definitely die.

"Is it just my imagination? Why does this guy's aura seem to keep increasing?"

"What's with the light emanating from this guy? Is it some kind of ability to enhance himself?"

"Hasn't he been using his abilities to quell the chaos throughout the country?"

"With this level of power and domineering aura, doesn't this monster get tired?"

Yes.

At the beginning, they witnessed Shenhou's incredible power to annihilate the conqueror's army in an instant.

However, as assassins who had accepted the mission, they naturally had no reason to give up.

So they were waiting for an opportunity—the monkey was too conspicuous on the battlefield and would inevitably attract the attention of the weaker ones.

And that's exactly what happened.

All the gladiators at Gate 5 who were unwilling to give up 'Caesar' had indeed planned and launched a 'siege' not long ago.

Powerful figures from various factions were ready, waiting for Shenhou to step into the arena.

And Shenhou did indeed arrive—he neither dodged nor avoided, but walked directly into the encirclement.

Then there is no more then.

All those who tried to gang up on him became the corpses lying on the road behind him.

More importantly
After engaging in such battles more than once, and simultaneously using his ability as an avatar to quell the chaos throughout Dressrosa.

The aura of the Monkey King showed no signs of weakening, in their view.

His domineering aura is still terrifyingly strong.

"Perhaps it's fake? It's impossible for someone to get stronger after fighting a battle of this scale—he hasn't even replenished his food supply!"

"Whether it's fake or not, who dares to go up and fight this guy now?"

"Anyone who dares to go up now is an idiot who still hasn't grasped the situation."

"But the outcome of the remaining four gates is basically decided. The Three Calamities and 'Balloon Vendor' Assoria have almost secured the victory. Do we really have no choice but to give up?"

"But it's the Grand Duke's order."

The assassins were now in a dilemma.

But it is precisely at this moment.
"Wow!"

But they heard a clear and unique bird song coming from the sky.

They instinctively looked up.

then
"bake!"

They saw a giant bird engulfed in flames of intertwined gold and green, swooping down from the sky toward their location.

"That is."

The leader of the assassins immediately widened his eyes.

But the next moment...
"boom!"

The giant bird crashed down, its claws striking out with tremendous force in an instant.

The building where the assassins had been hiding crumbled in an instant, leaving only their corpses and a huge crater.

Amidst the swirling smoke and dust, enormous fiery wings fanned it away.

"Ah, we've flown so far, we've finally arrived—"

A voice also came from within the flames.

The giant bird had now transformed into a being that was half human and half bird.

He had a blond punk hairstyle, a dagger at his waist, and a tattoo on his chest.

The tattoo, resembling a crescent moon beard, was enough to identify him.

"Oh my god! Unbelievable, another new contestant has come in from outside the birdcage."

obviously.

Doflamingo's Birdcage is a very powerful technique.

But before the true top powerhouses of this ocean, it is not an insurmountable wall of sighs.

The Monkey (申猴) is like this.

The person in front of me is the same.

"If I'm not mistaken, that's the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and also the de facto number two under Whitebeard."

"That's—'Phoenix' Marco!"

"Is he going to war with the Monkey King?!"

At that moment, commentator Gaz exclaimed in surprise.

"That commentator, the commentator wasn't just making things up."

Marco, who was scratching his head, shook his head helplessly.

He surveyed the chaotic battlefield around him, the fallen contestants scattered everywhere, and felt the terrifying Conqueror's Haki permeating the air.

"I never intended to go to war with this kind of guy."

As Marco said this, he raised his right wing and pointed to his feet.

"Hey, Shenhou, right?"

“I was just ordered to come to you, I had no intention of fighting you—in fact, I even helped you take care of a group of enemies.”

He looked at the monkey, bathed in golden light and exuding an unbelievably powerful aura, and earnestly boasted, "You only stole one of my victories."

Shenhou glanced at the number two figure in the Whitebeard Pirates and was somewhat surprised.

On the surface, however, he merely twirled his golden cudgel in a flourish and casually struck behind him with it.

"boom!"

The staff instantly expanded, bursting out with golden light, and instantly killed several enemies behind him who thought this was an opportunity and had already aimed their weapons at him!

"You've come looking for me?"

Then, Shenhou put away the iron rod again and looked at Marco.

"."

Seeing this, Marco was a little embarrassed.

Shenhou's attack just now is enough to show that even without him, Shenhou could discover the enemy hiding in the shadows.

However, as a veteran pirate who has roamed the seas for over thirty years, Marco naturally has enough skin to back it up.

So he didn't continue the previous topic, but simply replied seriously, "That's right."

"The news of Dressrosa has spread, and when my father found out, he sent me here—my first target is to find you, or rather, to find any one of the twelve constellations."

He said in a low voice, only the two of them could hear, "Simply put, for some reason I don't know, Father wants to see the Star Lord."

White beard?
Upon hearing this, Shenhou raised an eyebrow beneath his mask.

He wasn't too surprised that news of Dressrosa had spread—it was normal for something so big to get out, especially since Doflamingo hadn't tried to hide it.

But the crux of the problem lies in...
Whitebeard wants to meet the Star Lord?
For the entire ocean, this is undoubtedly a super shocking piece of news.

This was true even for Roy himself.

At this moment, he couldn't help but recall the information he had learned from Lingling using the Memory Fruit.

The last time Rocks appeared was at a dinner party for old friends in Elbaf.

During that gathering, he asked his old friends to have one last big fight with him.

Of the three people present at the time, Kaido and Linlin both rejected him without hesitation.

The only variable that might exist is Edward Newgate, the 'white-bearded'.

Now, the fact that Whitebeard sent Marco to find Shenhou and took the initiative to ask to meet the Star Lord further confirms Roy's guess.

To know.

Although Roy wasn't entirely sure of the location of the Whitebeard Pirates' Moby Dick, it certainly wasn't too close to Dressrosa.

Marco flew all that way—even as a Mythical Zoan-type Phoenix Fruit user, it was no easy feat for him to do something like that.

This further demonstrates how much Whitebeard valued this matter.

This great pirate likely learned some 'information' about the Star Lord from Rocks.

so.
"I will report back to the boss."

"But whether he will see Whitebeard, I cannot guarantee."

Shenhou grinned and made this response.

"of course."

Upon hearing this, Marco naturally nodded in agreement with Shen Hou's words.

However, in his heart, he was undoubtedly even more horrified at this moment.

Before seeing the Monkey in person today.

Although he knew that the twelve constellations were all remarkable individuals—after all, they were the organization that had overthrown the Four Emperors, and even though the Whitebeard Pirates were recognized as the 'strongest Four Emperors' of this era, they still had to acknowledge the greatness of this achievement.

He also vaguely sensed Whitebeard's special attitude towards the name.

However, having only heard of them by name, his understanding of the Star Lord and the Twelve Zodiac Signs was still not accurate enough.

But now that he has seen the Monkey King with his own eyes, he can clearly perceive it.

This level of Conqueror's Haki is undoubtedly on par with that of the old man and Shanks—perhaps a little weaker, but quite close.

But this domineering ruler, possessing such power, was subordinate to the Star Lord.

This was even more shocking to Marco than the news of Bigom's defeat.

However, at this moment, after extending an invitation to the Star Lord on behalf of his father...

Marco suppressed his shock and forced himself to say, "In that case, I'll take my leave first."

"Are you leaving?"

Upon hearing this, Shenhou was somewhat stunned—did this 'phoenix' come just to deliver a message and then leave?

"of course not."

But upon hearing this, Marco shook his head: "What I mean is, I want to go to the dueling arena—"

At this point, he seemed a little worried that Shenhou might misunderstand, so he quickly explained, "Don't overthink it. We have no interest in that guy named Caesar. It's just that there's a guy here, and I have to capture the Moby Dick."

"And just now I saw that he was almost at the dueling arena."

"'Balloon Vendor' Assori?"

Upon hearing this, Shenhou naturally understood who the other party was referring to.

The players who currently hold the advantage, as Gaz just announced, are the three calamities and 'Balloon Vendor' Assoria, these four seeded players.

Shenhou had also heard that the 'balloon vendor' had recently fought against the Whitebeard Pirates, even killing some of their members, and yet somehow survived.

"Yes."

When this was mentioned, Marco's words became serious and cold: "That guy is the one I absolutely have to catch—and then get to the bottom of things."

For the Whitebeard Pirates, most things could be forgiven or even laughed off.

But the death of a crewmate—or rather, a family member—is something the Whitebeard Pirates absolutely cannot tolerate.

He will catch anyone who hurts his partner, even if he has to chase them to the ends of the earth.

That was his second purpose in coming to Dressrosa.

"I see."

Upon hearing this, Shenhou nodded.

"In that case, let's go together."

".Um?"

Marco was somewhat stunned upon hearing this.

The next moment, he saw Shenhou slightly raise his hand and softly call out, "Somersault Cloud".

The words fell.

Golden auspicious clouds descended directly from the sky.

The monkey leaped into the auspicious clouds.

"It even has the ability to fly."

Seeing this, Marco scratched his head, somewhat curious about Shenhou's abilities.

But he clearly knew what to ask and what not to ask: "I thought you were planning to walk over there."

"That was indeed my original plan—I'm combative, and it's rare for me to be able to fight someone so recklessly."

Shenhou nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

"But now."

He whispered this to himself.

In the depths of his eyes, one could clearly see... (The sentence is incomplete and lacks context, so a direct translation isn't possible.)
[Gladiator Fruit LV5 - With each 'victory,' the user can undergo 'Victory Transformation,' which increases all attributes and combat power. The more victories, the greater the increase, and the enhancement continues until stamina is exhausted or the user is defeated.]

That was a Gladiator Fruit, but now it has been incorporated into the 'God of War Fruit'.

In the past battles, all the enemies that Shenhou and his avatars faced were naturally considered part of this 'duel'.

so.
Current number of wins: 2026

[Current Victory Deformation Strength: Extremely High]

He grinned and looked at Marco.

"I've had enough of fighting these little minions."

(End of this chapter)