The Void Domain was finished way faster than Marcus had expected. Or more accurately, with the Shichiseiken's destructive power and the combined buffs from Goliath and Shira, what had once seemed like an impossible project was now complete.
He hadn't bothered breaking through the bedrock layer above, there was no point. After some adjustments, the space beneath the bedrock looked pretty good on its own.
The entire Void Domain had been transformed into a specialized mob farm. Every ten-block layer was now lined with magma blocks.
He stood at the collection point, watching the system work. Zombified piglins spawned in the upper layers, immediately became hostile due to the farm's design, and fell to their deaths on the magma blocks below. Their drops were funneled through a hopper system into storage chests.
The setup was beautiful in its simplicity and brutal efficiency.
But problems were already showing up. The hopper collection system at the bottom couldn't keep pace with the sheer volume of drops. Too many piglins were dying too quickly, and items were piling up faster than the hoppers could transport them.
When he teleported down to check on the farm, his inventory filled to capacity instantly.
"I need to upgrade the hopper system."
But that was a problem for later. Right now, he had EMC to generate.
Gold swords, gold ingots, even the rotten flesh, it all went into the transmutation interface, transforming into pure EMC value.
The numbers climbed steadily. Ten million. Twenty million. Thirty million.
He watched the counter rise with satisfaction. After just three hours of farming, his EMC had reached eighty million.
And this wasn't even the farm's maximum potential. With some optimization and an improved collection system, he could probably double or triple this output.
After converting the Whisper-Whisper Fruit he'd found earlier and checking on the farm's status, he noticed the zombified piglins were falling more slowly now.
It wasn't that the spawn rate had decreased, their aggression was fading. One downside of piglin farms: they couldn't be completely AFK. You had to periodically re-trigger their hostility by hitting one of them.
Standing in the completed Void Domain, he felt a strange emptiness. It was like finishing a really good anime series, that bittersweet feeling of accomplishment mixed with the realization that the journey was over.
He'd thought building the Void Domain would take months, maybe even a year. But ever since obtaining the Shichiseiken's destructive power, the entire remaining construction had taken just two days.
The speed was so absurd it still felt unreal.
When his EMC value broke past three hundred million, he finally stopped farming and returned to the ship through his Nether Portal.
Time to fulfill some promises.
He gathered the crew on the main deck. Everyone showed up curious about what he wanted, though most of them probably already knew.
"Alright, I'm just gonna say it straight, I can enchant your weapons and armor now. I have been holding off because I needed to build up resources, but I'm ready."
"Finally!" Alvida grinned, hefting her iron mace. "I've been waiting forever for this."
"Yeah, sorry about the delay."
One advantage of fusing weapons with netherite ingots was that he didn't need to convert them into pure Minecraft items before enchanting. The advanced enchanting infuser could work directly with the hybrid weapons they'd created.
Alvida's mace wasn't classified as a sword, which would've been a problem with a basic enchanting infuser. But the advanced version could enchant anything, even boots, which made Sanji and Bon Kurei's fighting style possible to upgrade.
Speaking of which...
He looked at the two pairs of diamond boots sitting in front of him.
"You know what, forget these. I'll make you guys something better from scratch."
He tossed the boots back.
"Works for me," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette. "I just wanted to see what you'd come up with."
"Same here," Bon Kurei added. "Everyone else is getting upgrades, figured I'd join in for fun."
Marcus started with Alvida's mace, applying enchantments systematically.
Unbreaking VI. Sharpness X. Punch IV. Knockback IV. Fire Aspect IV.
Then he added the standard defensive enchantments: Protection, Blast Protection, Projectile Protection, and the full suite of supportive buffs.
He didn't bother with specialized enchantments like Channeling or Loyalty. Those only reached their full potential on weapons with sentience, like the Shichiseiken.
Take Infinity II, for example. Infinity I just made arrows unlimited, simple enough. But Infinity II could make two different things infinite, and the weapon itself had to choose what those things were.
For a regular gun, it would default to infinite ammunition. That was useful, but limited. But a weapon with a spirit, like the Shichiseiken? It could choose to make Haki infinite. Imagine firing a gun that produced endless Haki-infused bullets without draining the user. That was the real power of Infinity II.
Unfortunately, developing a weapon spirit was extremely rare. Without one, Infinity just meant unlimited ammo.
Still pretty good, though.
Usopp stared at the flintlock pistol Marcus had enchanted for him.
He didn't even like using guns anymore.
As for enchanting his slingshot with Infinity?
Useless, it had no effect at all.
Likewise, enchanting Clucky's exploding eggs with Infinity led to the same result. These items couldn't automatically choose what to make infinite.
"Better than nothing, I guess."
The flintlock wasn't just infinite ammo, though. Marcus had also maxed out Fire Aspect and added Channeling, even though the lightning effect only triggered if you physically hit someone with the gun itself.
As for using it in melee? You'd have to be an idiot to use this thing as a club. The lightning would probably hurt the user as much as the target.
When Marcus finished, the biggest power boosts went to Zoro and Alvida. Their weapons were perfect for multiple enchantments, and he'd stacked every relevant buff he could think of.
The others received more modest upgrades, weapons that were more durable or had specific utility functions.
Luffy and Chopper were pure close-combat fighters who didn't really use weapons. Luffy kept hesitating about what to enchant, while Chopper was perfectly happy just upgrading his diamond armor set.
Robin chose to enchant a small dagger she always kept hidden on her person. She requested Fire Aspect, Punch, and Knockback, nothing fancy, just reliable offensive power.
The Punch and Knockback enchantments seemed similar but worked completely differently. Punch triggered when a thrown weapon hit an enemy, releasing a shockwave on contact. Knockback activated during melee strikes, sending enemies flying backward.
For swordsmen who could produce flying slashes, the combination was devastating. Anyone caught by an enchanted slash would take both Punch and Knockback damage simultaneously.
An epic-level buff for sword users, no question.
The only person who seemed conflicted was Vivi. She stood holding her Peacock Slashers in one hand and a training sword in the other.
"I don't know what to choose," she admitted. "I've been learning swordsmanship, but I'm still a beginner. These Peacock Slashers have been with me since I started fighting. They feel like part of me."
Marcus understood her dilemma. The sword offered greater potential for growth, but her Peacock Slashers were already an extension of her fighting style.
"Why choose?" he said. "I'll enchant both."
"Both?"
"Sure. The sword gets upgraded to diamond tier, and I'll throw in Kashu so you can swap between them. Use the right tool for the right situation."
He saw her about to protest, probably about to recite some saying about quality over quantity, so he cut her off.
"You're not trying to become the World's Strongest Swordsman or the ultimate Peacock Slasher master, right? You just want to survive fights and help your friends. Having options makes you more versatile, not less focused."
His words seemed to break through her indecision. Vivi nodded slowly.
"You're right."
"Now let me finish these enchantments."
When Marcus finally completed everyone's upgrades, the Straw Hat crew had grown significantly stronger. Almost everyone now had at least one weapon with Fire Aspect, and their armor sets were fully enchanted with Protection VIII.
Luffy had eventually made the same choice as Sanji and Bon Kurei, enchanting his sandals instead of adopting a weapon. Marcus had maxed out Unbreaking and added Punch effects to their kicks.
Chopper simply upgraded his full diamond armor set and called it a day. For a brawler who relied on his Devil Fruit transformations, enhanced defense was more valuable than any weapon.
Of course, everyone's diamond armor was also fully enchanted with Protection.
"Finally..."
Marcus stretched lazily. Ever since converting the Whisper-Whisper Fruit, he'd been working nonstop. His mission was complete. The crew was upgraded. His EMC reserves were decent. Time to actually relax for once.
Just as he was contemplating a well-deserved nap, Nami's voice echoed across the deck.
"Log Pose has finished recording! We're ready to move out!"
Marcus dragged himself out of his workshop and up to the main deck. Nami stood by the helm, staring at the Log Pose with a puzzled expression.
"That's weird... The pointer's tilting upward. I've never seen it do that before. Could it be broken?"
The needle was angled slightly upward instead of pointing straight ahead. Still, she didn't take it too seriously. After all, it was only pointing slightly upward. As long as the general direction was correct, that was good enough.
Soon after, she shouted for the sails to be raised. "Alright, raise the sails! We're moving out!"
The Straw Hats sprang into action. Sails unfurled, ropes were secured, and within minutes they were cutting through the waves at a good clip.
The sea was calm and peaceful.
In the first half of the Grand Line, Marine presence was hit or miss. Some areas crawled with warships, others were lawless. The Straw Hats had been lucky so far, avoiding any serious encounters with the Marines.
That luck was about to run out.
They'd been sailing for maybe an hour when Usopp's panicked voice rang out from the crow's nest.
"Marine ship! Marine ship approaching from starboard!"
Marcus pulled out his spyglass and aimed it toward the approaching vessel. Sure enough, a Marine warship was bearing down on them, its sails full and its cannons already being aimed in their direction.
"Why are they shooting at us?!" Usopp shrieked as the first volley of cannonballs arced through the air. "We didn't do anything!"
Several explosions erupted around the ship as the cannonballs hit the water.
"Could be they've got our bounty posters," Marcus suggested. "We did cause a lot of chaos back in Arabasta."
Luffy's eyes lit up. "Ah! I see! That's so cool!"
"It's NOT cool! That means they're gonna arrest us!" Usopp immediately crouched down, clutching his head and panicking.
"Only if they catch us," Luffy said with a grin. "Full speed ahead! Let's lose these guys!"
"Aye aye, Captain!" Nami adjusted their heading, catching the wind perfectly to maximize their speed.
---
Meanwhile, on the Marine warship, a tall man lounged on a beach chair that had been set up on the deck. Nearly three meters in height, with a sleeping mask pushed up on his forehead, he looked as though he'd rather be anywhere else.
"Arara... what's with all the cannon fire? I was trying to nap."
A nervous Marine lieutenant rushed over and saluted. "Admiral Aokiji! We've spotted pirates ahead. We're currently attempting to identify them and engage!"
"Pirates?" Aokiji yawned and stretched. "If they're nobodies, just let them go. We've got more important business. I'm supposed to be heading to Arabasta, not chasing every small-timer we come across."
The lieutenant's face fell. "But sir, the Rear Admiral was hoping to—"
"I don't care what the Rear Admiral was hoping to do. Tell him to stand down. We've got orders from HQ, and those take priority."
"Yes sir!" The lieutenant saluted again and hurried off to relay the message.
On the bridge, the Rear Admiral was feeling quite pleased with himself. It wasn't every day he got to chase pirates while an Admiral was aboard. Maybe if he impressed Aokiji enough, he'd get a recommendation for promotion.
But his dreams were crushed when the lieutenant delivered Aokiji's order.
He gritted his teeth. He wanted to argue. But you didn't argue with an Admiral.
"Helm, cease pursuit. Set course for Arabasta."
"Aye aye, sir!"
The warship began turning away, leaving the Straw Hats to escape unmolested.
---
Back on the Going Merry, the crew watched in confusion as the Marine ship suddenly changed course.
"They're... leaving?" Usopp peeked out from behind the mast. "Why are they leaving?"
"Maybe they realized how awesome we are and got scared!" Luffy declared.
Sanji rolled his eyes. "More likely they've got somewhere more important to be. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."
"We should put some distance between us and them anyway," Nami said. "Just in case they change their minds."
Everyone agreed with that logic. They maintained full speed for another hour before finally relaxing.
Zoro had slept through the entire encounter. He was in his cabin, dead to the world.
And so, a crisis was averted, though nobody realized they'd just had a near-miss with a Marine Admiral.
---
Three days later, Aokiji still hadn't reached Arabasta.
He was getting increasingly irritated, which for someone as laid-back as him meant he was mildly annoyed instead of completely indifferent.
"How much further?" he asked the navigator.
"I'm not certain, sir. The Eternal Pose stopped working about two days ago. We've been navigating by dead reckoning and comparing multiple other Eternal Poses to triangulate the general direction."
"This is why I should've just biked there," Aokiji muttered.
The problem was Arabasta's demagnetization. Every Eternal Pose pointing to the island had been rendered useless, forcing ships to rely on skilled navigators and a lot of luck to find it.
The Marines had plenty of experienced navigators, but even they could only provide a rough bearing. The Grand Line had no latitude or longitude system, nautical charts were mostly rough sketches indicating relative positions between islands. A tiny error on the map could translate to thousands of miles off course in reality.
"Admiral! There's a merchant vessel ahead!" a lookout called.
Aokiji perked up slightly. "Hail them. Maybe they know the way."
The merchant ship turned out to be a trading vessel that had recently left Arabasta. When they realized they were talking to Admiral Aokiji himself, the captain fell over himself offering to guide them back to the island.
"Of course, Admiral! It would be an honor! We were just there last week, I know the way perfectly!"
Nobody wanted to piss off the Marines. Pirates you could fight, hire protection against, even eliminate if you had the resources. But cross the Marines? You'd spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, never knowing if those "pirates" who raided your ship were actually Marines in disguise.
With the merchant vessel's guidance, they finally reached Arabasta on the fourth day after leaving their previous island.
Aokiji stood at the railing, looking out at the massive desert kingdom.
"Such a huge island got demagnetized."
He pulled his sleeping mask back down over his eyes. Whatever was going on in Arabasta, it was bound to be more complicated than a simple fact-finding mission. He could already tell this was going to be annoying.
The Marines docked at Katorea.
The city was thriving. New construction everywhere, merchants hawking goods, people moving with energy. It was almost unrecognizable compared to the war-torn desert kingdom it had been just months ago.
Aokiji noticed something else too.
Monopolies were forming.
He'd seen it before in other nations. Smart merchants who got in early, established connections with the new government, then worked to exclude any competition. Within a few years, a handful of trading companies would control everything in Arabasta.
Not his problem, though. He was here about the demagnetization and the sudden political restructuring, not to investigate merchant guilds.
"Thank you for your assistance," he told the merchant who'd guided them.
"Admiral, if I might suggest, with your backing, I could help establish better trade routes to..."
The merchant tried to continue chatting.
He was just an ordinary trader who had paid dearly for a Vivre Card, only to be squeezed out by the monopolists. With an Admiral's backing, his business could surely rise again, or so he hoped.
But his wish went unfulfilled.
"No."
Aokiji turned and left without another word.
The merchant backed away quickly, muttering under his breath but smart enough not to push his luck. Still, as he watched Aokiji's departing figure, a thoughtful look crossed his face.
As Aokiji and his Marines made their way into the city, word of the Admiral's arrival spread quietly across the land.
Within an hour, the news had reached Koza in the palace.
"Admiral Aokiji?" he looked up from the reports he'd been reviewing. "Why would an Admiral come here personally?"
Kebi and Igaram, who'd brought the news, both looked tense.
"This can't be good," Igaram said. "The timing is too suspicious. We haven't formally declared independence from the World Government, but we also haven't exactly been following their rules lately."
"Do you think they're here to arrest us?" Kebi asked nervously.
Koza leaned back in his chair, thinking hard. They'd been exploiting an information gap, buying time to strengthen Arabasta before making any official announcements about their new government structure. But if the World Government had sent an Admiral to investigate...
An Admiral wasn't someone they could fight, and one wrong move could bring the full might of the Marines down on them.
The situation had suddenly become very delicate indeed.